I’m the Youngest Daughter of the Serpent Family
Chapter 70
Chapter 70
It was an unexpected first encounter with my grandmother and grandfather.
I froze stiff at the realization of who they were.
We simply stared at one another in silence.
It was a moment where every second felt like an hour.
Helena’s purple eyes, tinged with surprise, soon went wide.
I hesitated and took a step back.
“Peep, pee-eep.”
Why is no one saying anything first?
As I looked back and forth between them in confusion, my gaze locked straight onto a pair of red eyes.
Hic.
“Peeep…”
Flinching, I gripped Casana’s hand tightly.
Seeing that, Ian furrowed his brow.
Radiating an unmistakable aura of disapproval, he swept his eyes over me from head to toe.
Finally, his mouth opened.
“This is my granddaughter?”
His tone carried a nuance of absolute refusal to accept it.
But why didn’t this situation feel unfamiliar?
It was an eerie sense of familiarity, as if I had experienced this somewhere before.
Like… when I first hatched from the egg and met Kaid.
They say blood doesn’t lie.
Uncurling my hunched posture, I slowly studied Ian.
Realizing how similar he was to Kaid made my fear melt away like snow.
Looking at him now, not just his looks but even his manner of speaking was the spitting image of Kaid’s.
“Peep!”
Stunned by the realization, I slapped a wing over my mouth. There was no room for doubt.
He really is Kaid’s dad!
When I couldn’t take my eyes off Ian and kept staring, his irritation surfaced.
“That look in your eyes is unpleasant.”
“What kind of look could a child possibly have to make you say that?”
“It displeases me. What were you thinking?”
Shake, shake.
I shook my head violently to signal it was nothing. Ian’s eyes narrowed, a dark glint rippling within them.
“So you were thinking something.”
“Ian. If you talk like that, you’ll scare the child. What will you do if Irene ends up disliking you and avoids you later?”
Helena chided, cutting in.
At that, Ian promptly averted his gaze and shut his mouth as if he had never said a word.
The pecking order was crystal clear.
Helena was undeniably the one in power.
Smiling softly, she bent her knees and met my eye level.
“Hello. It’s nice to meet you, Rin.”
“…Peep?”
…Rin?
What kind of name is that? Don’t tell me she shortened my name into a nickname?
Even Kaid hasn’t called me that yet.
“I’m your grandmother. My name is Helena.”
“Peeep.”
“Did you just succeed at beast transformation?”
“Peep.”
“My goodness. Such a tiny, trifling thing—raising you will be quite the treat.”
Flash.
Helena’s eyes, which had been curved in a gentle arc, flashed terrifyingly.
Her glowing pupils narrowed into thin slits in an instant.
“Peep, pee-eep…?!”
Scary…!
I scurried frantically into Casana’s arms.
What was that? What’s going on?
I was thrown into complete confusion.
Helena, whom I had expected to be the sweetest and kindest, felt like the most dangerous person here right now.
As I curled up and huddled into Casana’s sleeve, Helena tilted her head.
“Is the child cold? Why are you hiding?”
“That is likely not the case. She seems to be shy around strangers.”
“Shy around strangers?”
When Casana explained on my behalf, Helena blinked blankly before bursting into a chuckle.
“If you hide like that, I won’t be able to give you the present I brought.”
“…Peep peep?”
“A gift cannot be missing on the day I meet my granddaughter for the first time.”
My eyes sparkled, and I tentatively wriggled halfway out.
“You must be curious about what the gift is.”
“Peep!”
A present!
“Would you like to come here?”
Helena gently held out her hand.
Startled, I stared at the outstretched hand before me.
…Hmm. What should I do? It feels a bit awkward to climb onto her hand just yet.
But she said she’d give me a present and she’s trying to get close to me, so rejecting her would be rude, right?
All right. I’ll climb on just this once.
I timidly took a step.
Just then.
“Climbing onto a stranger’s hand just because they promised you a present, are we?”
A familiar voice reached my ears.
“Peep?”
I whipped my head around.
There stood Kaid and Baon.
It seemed they had come out after hearing the news that Helena and Ian had arrived.
Kaid had his arms crossed, watching in our direction.
As if to see just what I would do.
I swiftly set down the foot that had been stepping toward Helena back where it started.
Helena, who had been waiting for me to step onto her palm, widened her eyes.
“My?”
“I’m certain I taught you never to follow strangers. It seems you haven’t learned a thing.”
“Peep-peeeep!”
But Helena isn’t a stranger!
She’s my grandmother!
As I pointed at Helena and vigorously protested that I hadn’t been trying to follow a stranger, Kaid shook his head side to side.
“I have no idea what you’re saying.”
“Peep, pee-eeep!”
“Come here.”
Kaid approached. As if I had been waiting for this all along, I hopped onto his large palm without hesitation.
Kaid stroked my head.
“You succeeded at beast transformation.”
“Peep!”
That’s right! I succeeded!
When I brightened up and twirled around as if telling him to look, he let out a chuckle.
“You must have paid attention in class.”
“Peep.”
“Then I suppose I should keep my promise as well. Well done, Irene.”
A sense of security unlike before settled over me. My tense body slowly relaxed.
Come to think of it, I must have been quite nervous meeting Helena and Ian.
Watching us, Helena murmured with a shocked expression.
“Good heavens. Is that really our son?”
“The shell appears to be his.”
“To think I’d see him acting like a parent. I’m actually a bit moved.”
Ian snorted. As if that could ever be.
“By the way, Head of the family. Aren’t you going to greet the two of them?”
Baon, who had been keeping a measured distance far back, chimed in to ask.
I blinked blankly at him.
Why is he standing so far away?
At Baon’s words, Kaid—who had been looking at me with proud eyes for a long moment—turned toward the two he had put on the back burner and offered a belated greeting.
“It has been a while.”
“How prompt. I thought the sun would set first.”
“I did not expect Father to come as well.”
Kaid retorted with a crooked edge in response to Ian’s sarcasm.
“You said you would never come again, so what business brings you to my house?”
“I did not come to see the likes of you.”
“Is that so? The exit is that way.”
“You still haven’t fixed that utterly insolent attitude of yours.”
A heavy, oppressive silence hummed in the air.
An invisible energy clashed relentlessly between the two opposing men, neither yielding an inch.
Wh-What is going on all of a sudden?
I had no idea their relationship was this terrible.
As if he had anticipated this situation all along, Baon was watching leisurely from afar.
So that’s why he stood so far away in advance!
A surge of deep betrayal washed over me. When I glared at Baon, he gave an infuriatingly nonchalant shrug.
Baon mouthed the words:
‘What can one do? Better to dodge first. Even I’m terrified of getting caught between those two. Best of luck.’
The situation was hurtling toward catastrophe.
Neither showed the slightest sign of backing down first.
Just as their enormous pheromones were about to collide without a shred of compromise—
Clap!
Helena clapped her hands lightly.
“Now, then. I understand that father and son are overjoyed to reunite… but you had better stop for now, Kaid. You too, dear.”
“A most wise observation.”
Baon answered from where he watched in the distance.
Stepping between them, Helena brought the situation to a swift halt.
“We had better head inside first. How long do you intend to leave us standing outside?”
“I shall guide you to the drawing room. Right this way, please.”
“My, thank you, Baon.”
Taking the lead, Baon began guiding everyone toward the mansion.
I stroked my chest in relief.
Thank goodness it ended without anything blowing up.
As expected, Helena is amazing. She really is the one holding true power in this household.
When I looked up at Helena walking beside us in awe, she sensed my gaze and beamed at me.
“Peep?”
Why is she smiling?
She seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself right now.
“Isn’t it wonderful to see?”
“…Peep?”
“They get along so well, as always.”
…Just what part of that looked wonderful to her?
Does she genuinely think they get along?
Stunned into speechlessness, I stared at Helena in utter bewilderment.