I’m the Youngest Daughter of the Serpent Family
Chapter 9
I was astonished. That was a territory every beastfolk coveted.
In the ruined east especially, rumors abounded that the place was a paradise.
For it was renowned for its beauty and tranquility.
Yet so many powerful families sought to claim it that none dared touch it recklessly, or so I had heard.
Could it be that he had just taken it?
Recalling when the landlord had visited my room not long ago, less than a week had passed.
In utter disbelief, I blinked my eyes.
“Heh heh, with the head of the family taking the lead, nothing could have been more reassuring.”
“……Why is he suddenly showing interest in that land? He never cared about it before.”
“Indeed.”
Even while claiming not to know, Zeras looked at me with an expression that said he knew something.
Why is he suddenly looking at me?
As I tilted my head, my stomach suddenly let out a rumble.
I was getting hungry.
When I hovered near the lunch box, reading the room, Rosaria realized with a start and hurried to my side.
“Shall we have lunch now, Lady Irene?”
“Peep.”
“I’ll feed you.”
“It seems you are about to eat. In that case, I shall take my leave, as I have remaining duties. Have a pleasant time.”
“Peep, peep.”
As Zeras bowed in farewell and turned to leave, I waved my wing to say goodbye as well.
Now that I had seen him off, I could eat in peace.
Once a tiny triangular handkerchief was tied around my neck and I was ready to eat, Rosaria spooned food into my mouth.
Chewing the food, I suddenly wondered: when will I be able to take human form?
“Say ah?”
“Peep.”
It would be so nice if I grew up quickly.
Then Rosaria wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of feeding me every time and taking care of this and that.
Feeling a little guilty, I looked up at Rosaria.
“What is the matter, Lady Irene?”
“Peep peep peep peep. Peeeeep.”
I wanted to say thank you, but I had no proper way to express it.
With that, I had one more reason to achieve human form as soon as possible.
Rosaria smiled warmly and gently blew on the baby food.
As I ate happily, the rustle of grass being stepped on reached my ears.
“I wondered where you had gone, and here you are.”
“Peep?”
“Welcome back, My Lord.”
Rosaria adjusted her posture and greeted him.
Following her lead, I tucked my wings and bowed my head, only to lose my balance and pitch forward.
Ah, I still can’t bow properly.
As I stared in panic at the rapidly approaching ground, my body lifted into the air, dangling.
“Peep?”
“It seems you still do not know how to use your own body.”
“She is still very young.”
“I was under the impression it had been quite some time since she hatched.”
“It has only been three weeks.”
That’s right. I’m only three weeks old!
When I bobbed my head up and down in agreement, the landlord let out a short laugh.
“Right. You have a long way to go before you grow up.”
“……Peep.”
“It will take much longer before we can go boating.”
Boating?
I snapped my head up to make sure I had heard correctly.
Did he really just say we’re going boating?
“Ah, it will be summer soon, will it not?”
“Yes.”
“So that is why you swept through the Benea River! The scenery there is famously beautiful, indeed. But didn’t you say expanding our territory was a bother?”
“There is no harm in holding an extra territory or two.”
It seemed I hadn’t misheard after all.
Putting it all together, the landlord had just conquered the entire region and was returning to the estate, and now he was talking about taking a trip there later for fun.
Was that sort of thing supposed to be so easy?
As I stared blankly at him, he lightly tapped my beak.
“I’ll give it to you.”
“……Peep?”
Give me what? I felt like I had just heard something utterly absurd.
I was dumbfounded.
Rosaria clapped her hands together with a delighted look.
“That is wonderful! Lady Irene loves playing in the water.”
“Then it worked out well.”
“Lady Irene, aren’t you happy?”
Wait a minute, Rosaria. I need time to process reality.
If I’m understanding this correctly…
“Now that you have a new playground, we can go visit soon.”
Having grasped the situation at last, my beak dropped open.
Did he just give me that incredible place as a gift to use as a playground?
“Peep, peeeep……”
Faced with such an unfathomably lavish barrage of gifts for the first time in my life, I couldn’t pull myself together.
News spread far and wide that the Astrophel family had gained a youngest young lady.
It came nearly a month after rumors had first begun circulating that something was wrong with the third egg.
Since it was already an open secret that the third egg was not a Black Mamba, the vassals gathered in small huddles after the afternoon meeting, whispering among themselves.
“Didn’t they say it was a baby bird?”
“From what I hear, her eyes are red, just like the head of the family’s.”
“Is that true?”
The circle of vassals fell quiet.
For none of them had seen the baby bird either.
Where could they go to catch a glimpse of the protagonist at the center of all these rampant rumors?
When no answer came from anyone, a hint of disappointment crossed their faces.
“Has really no one seen her in person?”
“Heh heh. I saw her playing in the garden the other day. She could not have been more adorable.”
As the elderly man appeared in the meeting room, all eyes turned to him.
Zeras smiled benevolently, recalling the baby bird who had bowed so politely to greet him.
“……Are her eyes truly red, Lord Zeras?”
“Indeed, they are.”
Seeing the expression of an elder who usually froze the conference room with his fierce demeanor soften so gently, everyone could hardly hide their astonishment.
To think a young lady could disarm the great Zeras of all people.
As they were conversing in curiosity, someone raised a hand and asked,
“Still…… the young lady did not hatch from our clan’s egg, so how was she able to be taken into the family?”
All eyes shifted toward the man.
The lingering questions had yet to be resolved.
Everyone was curious as to how Irene had been registered into the family registry.
With Kaid making no mention of it, the situation was all the more frustrating.
“Since the head of the family acknowledged her as his daughter, does that not make her the youngest young lady of the Astrophel family for now?”
“That may be true, but…… if word gets out that we are raising a young beastfolk from another clan, won’t that cause trouble?”
Everyone’s expressions stiffened.
For taking in and raising an unchaperoned young beastfolk was strictly prohibited under beastfolk law.
Because it had a critically detrimental effect on a young beastfolk’s growth, custom dictated that a member of the same clan should raise them.
Moreover, it was even rarer for a young beastfolk to leave their territory on their own, which could escalate the issue even further.
It was a matter so grave that if the corresponding clan’s family raised an objection, she would have to be returned without any room for dispute.
Thus, Kaid acknowledging Irene, a baby bird, as his daughter was exceptionally unusual and fraught with danger.
Their excitement over the family gaining a youngest young lady was short-lived; the Black Mambas fell into somber expressions.
“Does that mean the young lady cannot remain in the family?”
“If things go poorly, that could happen. ……In fact, no one even knows how the young lady ended up in the family in the first place, do they?”
That was true.
In truth, Irene’s very existence was shrouded in suspicion.
After all, a species that could never have been born into the family had emerged.
Perhaps Irene had been caught up in the complicated affairs of adults before she was even born.
No matter what path brought her to the family, the reason behind it was bound to be unsavory.
“Good grief…… The young lady’s position is precarious indeed.”
“And yet the head of the family gave her a name. What on earth is he thinking?”
“How could we ever fathom his intentions?”
How shocked they had all been upon hearing the news!
They had assumed the baby bird would vanish from the family in no time, but……
Before they knew it, she had even received the name Irene Astrophel.
What was more, word had it that she was now toddling all over the mansion.
Rumors about Irene had spread like wildfire, capturing everyone’s rapt attention.
“At this point, I wonder if who the young lady is even matters.”
Someone murmured quietly.
As if by unspoken agreement, everyone’s eyes turned in that direction.
The Black Mamba who had spoken shrugged.
“Think about it. I heard he’s already given her everything from Anead to Benea.”
There was scarcely a soul who had not heard of that tale.
