The Youngest Daughter of the Snake Family - Chapter 35

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 35
That was the secret to why they could defend their territory despite having fewer individuals than other clans.
Yet Seigy still wore the look of someone who didn’t understand.
“How does that answer my question?”
“You just asked when you could undergo your next evolution, didn’t you?”
That was the answer.
Seigy’s expression turned incredulous.
“You think I want Airin?”
“Then what?”
“I thought becoming an adult form would let me see Airin sooner.”
“Oh my, is that so!”
Most don’t go to such lengths just to meet someone.
Muhella thought to herself.
Seigy seemed somehow caught in his own words, and the feeling left him uneasy.
In truth, he himself had invited Airin to the Northern Region because he wanted to know the reason behind her visits.
He’d thought that one more meeting might finally reveal the answer.
“I said I’d invite Airin to the Northern Region.”
“…What?”
“Won’t it be too cold for her here?”
Does he still not understand what it means to invite someone into one’s territory?
That couldn’t be right.
Seigy, who even received succession training, couldn’t possibly not know that.
Muhella answered, caught off guard.
“…I suppose it could be cold.”
“The weak are certainly troublesome.”
Seigy murmured softly. There were many things to worry about.
The carriage had already crossed into the Northern Region’s border. Snow falling from the sky came into view.
Seigy leaned back into the familiar air, taking comfort in it.
“Once I become Family Head, I’ll need to expand the territory first.”
“Huh.”
Muhella was at a loss for words. He was already planning to expand the territory just to invite Airin to the Northern Region.
He was devising plans on the spot because that small child wouldn’t be able to endure the cold.
If he gave his own way of thinking even a moment’s consideration, the answer would become obvious.
Was it because he was still young?
She was confused. At the same time, she felt a twinge of worry.
If what he desired were an object, it would be one thing—but when the subject became a person, everything changed.
‘It’s a bit dangerous. …Is it still all right for now?’
It might have been a whim of sorts.
Seigy was fickle by nature, after all.
“Do your best at it, Seigy.”
Though it seemed unlikely that Airin’s family would ever permit a visit to the Northern Region.
* * *
Strange things had been happening lately.
It was the gaze I felt from those around me.
At first I’d brushed it off as mere imagination, but as it persisted over time, I realized it was something more.
When that searing attention made itself known yet again, I stopped the hand that had been busily coloring.
And I called out loudly.
“Airin’s not scared of anything!”
A bright, ringing voice filled the room.
I quickly turned my gaze toward the window.
Reflected in the transparent pane were only a clear sky and lush green leaves.
There had definitely been something there!
I opened my eyes wide and climbed down from my chair.
I rushed to the window and stood up on my tiptoes.
Barely managing to look below the window, I saw only a wide, empty garden.
“No one’s there again.”
This time I’d moved incredibly fast.
Finding nothing at all, I let out a long breath.
I went back and sat at my desk, but I couldn’t stop my gaze from drifting toward the window.
I deliberately swung my legs with vigor, pressing down hard with my crayon, filling my palm.
“I’m not afraid of any ghost.”
In truth, her heart was hammering.
She mumbled words that contradicted everything she felt, like some desperate incantation, and swallowed hard.
The coloring book held no interest for her anymore.
Her attention had wandered elsewhere long ago.
She was halfheartedly coloring in the picture book when Rozaria emerged from the bathroom, her expression puzzled.
“Did someone come by?”
“Huh? No. Nobody came.”
“Then who were you talking to just now? Why did you say you weren’t scared?”
I decided to tell Rozaria about the secret I’d been keeping all this time.
“Rozaria…….”
“Yes, what is it?”
A shaky breath escaped her.
She pressed her lips together, fighting back tears.
Her clenched fists were smudged with crayon, a mess that only deepened her distress.
Everything felt wrong and unfair, and her nose began to burn.
Intellectually, she knew there was no such thing as ghosts, but emotions lived in a separate realm entirely.
“I’m so scared……. Is there really a ghost……. Waaaah.”
Though she insisted she wasn’t frightened at all, it was every bit a lie.
The moment I broke down in tears, Rozaria asked calmly.
She seemed uncertain that she’d heard correctly.
“A ghost?”
“I’ve been seeing one since before…….”
At the unexpected mention of a ghost, Rozaria’s expression shifted to concern.
When I suddenly threw myself into her arms, she gently patted my back.
“Don’t cry, it’s not a ghost.”
“Really……?”
“Yes. So stop now.”
“Sniff, okay.”
“Someone’s been watching you?”
Nod, nod.
Nestled in Rozaria’s embrace, I just bobbed my head, and I heard her soft laugh.
“I’ll take care of it for you.”
“How?”
“I think I know who it is.”
Though I couldn’t imagine how she knew, her words brought a wave of relief.
I wiped away the tears trailing down my cheeks with the back of my hand.
Once I’d calmed down somewhat, Rozaria rose to her feet and walked toward the window—the very one I’d checked moments before.
What was she planning to do? There was no one there.
Rozaria threw open the window and spoke gently into the quiet air.
“Come out now, or you’ll vanish without a trace. One, two…….”
Her tone was entirely at odds with those words.
The moment Rozaria began counting without warning, a shadow that had been hiding somewhere urgent burst into view.
It was a silver-haired man with an elegant bearing.
Never expecting a person to materialize from thin air, I stared at him in a daze.
When he noticed my gaze, his deep violet eyes locked onto mine.
“Hello there. This is our first proper meeting, isn’t it?”
I was so startled that I hiccuped.
The man pulled his body inside from the window ledge, muttering as he did.
“That’s too much, Rozaria. At least warn me before you start counting. Do you know who I am?”
At the mention of a name I’d heard before, my eyes went wide.
So the three of us already knew each other.
“Because you were hiding and watching, she got frightened. You should be thanking me for the countdown.”
“Ah, that was a mistake. I thought I was being careful, but I got caught anyway.”
The man spoke with complete confidence.
Hearing this, Rozaria smiled knowingly.
“You were dying to be seen all along.”
Like two people who’d known each other for years, their exchange flowed without hesitation.
I slipped closer to Rozaria’s side.
I wanted to know who this man was and why he’d been hiding and watching me.
“Rozaria, an old friend of yours?”
“Ah, this is Messis, I’m told.”
Rozaria introduced the man to her.
“He was a colleague when we were stationed at the Border, and it seems he’s been assigned to escort you this time.”
“Me?”
So that’s why he was watching from the shadows.
She recalled Karma from a few days ago, who’d also been introduced as an escort knight.
So Messis had been protecting her all along without her knowing—somehow the discovery brought her comfort and a strange warmth.
It seemed like everyone was watching from somewhere!
She felt as though she were playing an endless game of hide-and-seek.
Where could she go where they wouldn’t see her?
She had countless questions, but decided to ask them one at a time.
“Messis, you’re protecting Airin too?”
“Of course. I came running from far away to protect the young lady.”
“Messis, your speech is rather curt.”
Rozaria offered him a gentle correction.
Messis’s face flushed with embarrassment.
“My apologies. I’ve been practicing, but I’m not used to it yet.”
She didn’t mind such things at all and laughed it off, saying it was fine.
“So, how far away is the Border?”
Unable to gauge the size of the Southern Region, she asked, and Messis began counting on his fingers.
“You’d have to ride for several days straight, so it’s quite far. The very edge of the South is exceptionally distant.”
“Wow.”
She, who had recently begun taking keen interest in the world beyond these walls, felt her eyes light up.
“I want to go too. When can we leave?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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