I’m the Youngest Daughter of the Serpent Family
Chapter 65
* * *
“Rosaria! I’m gonna go out for a bit!”
“Where are you going?”
“To see Daddy!”
After my lesson ended, I took the frame I had received from Casana and headed straight for the office.
And right as I arrived, Kaid was just stepping outside. Durias was beside him as well.
What were the two of them doing together?
Perhaps because I was so used to seeing him with Baon, it felt a little unfamiliar.
The two had been walking somewhere on business, but stopped when they spotted me.
“Daddy!”
“Ah, Lady Irene.”
Durias acknowledged me, speaking first.
“I see you have no tail today.”
“……Hmph.”
“It seems you are still upset with me. In any case, what brings you to the office?”
“You don’t need to know!”
When I whipped my head away, Durias let out a small chuckle. I had almost forgotten, but bringing up the tail made me grumpy all over again.
Still, thanks to the rumor spreading, several things had worked out well, so maybe I should let my anger go at this point.
Softening my expression, I turned to Kaid.
“Daddy.”
“Yes. What brought you here?”
“This.”
Instead of answering, I pulled out the picture frame I had been hiding behind my back. Kaid looked at the frame impassively, his brow lifting slightly.
“A picture frame.”
“Uh-huh. I collected all the stickers today, so Casa gave it to me as a present.”
“I see.”
“I wanna take a picture too.”
Saying this much, he ought to realize I was talking about a family photo, right?
Yet Kaid shattered my expectations completely, as if that were out of the question.
“A picture? If it’s that, I believe Rosaria is already taking plenty for you.”
“Th-That’s just taking pictures by myself. Not by myself.”
I want us all to gather and take a family photo together!
As I clutched the frame tightly and sighed in frustration, Durias stroked his chin.
“It seems she wants a picture to put inside the frame.”
“Yeah.”
“Then wouldn’t putting one in solve the matter?”
It seemed that unless I stated it directly, they would never catch on in a million years.
Taking a deep breath, I blurted it out at the top of my lungs.
“I want a family photo!”
Silence fell over the hallway.
Not expecting such words to come out of my mouth, the two remained speechless for a while.
Kaid looked at the frame in my hands, then spoke slowly.
“……A family photo?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Right. We haven't taken a family photo yet.”
He muttered in a rather surprised tone, as if only just realizing the fact.
Feeling like there was finally a chance, I quickly chimed in with agreement.
“Yeah. So can’t we take one this time? I want one so bad.”
“That works out well, then. As it happens, your grandmother and grandfather said they would be coming.”
……Huh? Who’s coming? Did he just say Grandmother and Grandfather?
I froze completely. It wasn't really something to be so shocked about, but it still felt startling.
The realization that Kaid was someone’s son felt intensely foreign.
Kaid’s parents wouldn't be frail, and barring any special circumstances, they had to be living somewhere out there.
“Once the two of them arrive, we can gather and take it then. Has Lady Irene not met them yet?”
“……I’ve never seen them, not even once.”
“I see.”
“Wh-When are Grandma and Grandpa coming?”
Why was Kaid the only one who knew something this important? I needed time to prepare my heart, too.
“They said they would drop by soon.”
When I clutched the frame tightly from nervousness, Kaid let out a soft chuckle.
“Nervous?”
“Mm-hmm. Do Grandma and Grandpa know about me?”
“I told them this time, so they must.”
He told them this time. That meant before now, they hadn't known about my existence at all.
My face fell into a pout. My nervousness had only spiked. I was worried about how the two of them would receive me.
What kind of people were Kaid’s parents? As the previous Head of the family and the former lady of the house, their presence had to be immense.
“Still looking for useless things to worry about, I see. It isn’t a very good habit.”
Instantly noticing my worry, Kaid gave my forehead a light flick.
Hearing that put me at ease right away.
Just then, Durias spoke up.
“If you intend to converse a little longer with the young lady, should I go ahead first?”
“No. There is no need.”
Kaid shook his head, then looked at me.
“I have some business to attend to, so I must be going.”
“Okay. Got it.”
The two of them seemed to have business together. Even though I said I understood, my feet wouldn't easily move.
At that, Kaid tilted his head. He seemed to be asking why I wasn't leaving.
“Where are the two of you going, though?”
“Unfortunately, we cannot tell you that. Isn't that right, My Lord?”
“There is no benefit in you knowing just yet.”
“Pout.”
I stuck out my bottom lip. Saying it like that only made me more curious, but it didn't look like they would tell me even if I pressed until the end.
“Then we shall see you later, my lady.”
Durias bid his farewell, saying we would meet later. I silently watched the two of them walk away.
Just where on earth were they going that they couldn't tell me?
My feet, which had been glued to the floor, moved on their own and began to trail right behind them.
Just this once. Really, just this once.
I decided to secretly follow the two of them.
Hiding myself in the small gaps along the hallway, doing my absolute best not to get caught.
The two headed down to the first floor toward the dining hall.
“Hmph. You were just going to eat together without me?”
“……Lady Irene. What are you doing here?”
“Huh?”
Crouched behind a potted plant, I looked up. A passing vassal was staring at me with a bewildered expression.
“It’s nothing. I’m just playing, so you can keep going.”
“……Is that so? The floor is dirty, so please do not sit there for too long.”
“I won’t.”
“Then…… have fun playing.”
He seemed unable to understand how this counted as playing, but he reluctantly accepted it and walked on past.
Phew. That startled me.
I turned my gaze back to where Kaid and Durias had been.
“……Huh?”
To my dismay, I had completely lost them.
* * *
For now, I decided to search near where I had lost them.
“That’s strange. There’s nothing here except the dining hall.”
Past the entrance to the dining hall was the dead end of the hallway, so there wasn't any place for them to have vanished.
It was truly bizarre.
At first, I hadn't planned on taking it this far.
I had only meant to see which room they entered before heading back, but now that things had turned out like this, a stubborn urge arose to track them down no matter what.
“Nobody’s in here.”
The dining hall, my first search location, was predictably empty.
Did they go outside, maybe?
If that were the case, there would have been no reason to walk all the way over here. They definitely disappeared somewhere around here.
I stepped out of the dining hall, examining the surroundings closely.
Suddenly, a certain memory flashed through my mind.
And that was……
“Is that you, Lady Irene?”
I remembered Durias putting on gloves as he came up from this very spot, calling out to me.
The moment that scene came back to me, it felt as though a lightbulb had gone off in my head.
“It’s here.”
It was definitely right here.
“Looking back on it now, that was super weird.”
There was a space across from the dining hall, but it was blocked off by a solid wall.
Then where had Durias been coming up from?
There was only one answer.
Beyond this wall, there had to be stairs leading downward.
“How do you open it?”
Groping along.
I tapped on the wall, feeling around here and there.
At that moment, the wall slid aside, creating an opening large enough to enter.
“……Stairs?”
Inside was pitch-black, without a single speck of light.
I flinched, stepping back.
It felt like somewhere I shouldn't recklessly wander into.
Somehow, it felt like I had stumbled upon a dark secret of the mansion.
Swallowing dryly, I hesitated before taking a step inside.
Gulp.
Having only poked my head through the gap in the wall, I gathered my courage, brought my whole body inside, and set foot on the stairs.
I had taken only a single step, yet the very air felt completely different.
“I can’t see well……”
Just as I was resting a hand against the wall and slowly making my way down one step at a time so I wouldn't fall—
Someone swiftly brushed past me and blocked my path ahead.
Startled out of my wits, I squeezed my eyes shut before I could even let out a scream.
“It is still too early for you to enter, my lady.”
“……Wh-Who is it?”
“I apologize for startling you. It is Basad.”
“Basad?”
I opened my tightly shut eyes. My vision, having adjusted to the dark, allowed me to see Basad clearly.
He was standing completely in front of me, blocking any view of what lay behind him.
“Please turn back.”
“……Why? Daddy said I could go anywhere in the mansion.”
“You cannot enter this place.”
“This is my home. So I can go.”
“I am sorry.”
Basad was unyielding. Just what on earth was back there for him to go this far?