The Youngest Daughter of the Snake Family - Chapter 36

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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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Episode 36
Having never stepped outside the Mansion, envy crept into my voice unbidden.
“Once you’re a bit older, you’ll be able to go out with us.”
“Really?”
“Though not to the Border, I’d wager. The way Master abhors it, he won’t permit it. ……Or will he?”
Messis stroked his chin, murmuring to himself.
“Perhaps he’ll have us tidy the surroundings so you can view it properly.”
His serious expression and tone sent a spike of unease through me.
What if his words came true? I shook my head hastily.
“No. I don’t want to see Airing either!”
“But a moment ago you said you wanted to see it.”
“I didn’t!”
Whatever else, I knew there was nothing good about causing trouble at the Border.
I could roughly gauge how formidable Messis must be to guard such a vital region.
The moment I imagined Kaid ordering people like Messis to raise hell at the Border, my desire to go evaporated entirely.
As I continued to shake my head in firm denial, Messis smacked his lips.
“Is that so? What a shame. Everyone was hoping to see you, you know. We only brought a few as representatives.”
“Besides Karuma and you, who else is there?”
“Do you want to know?”
“Yeah.”
I desperately wanted to know. I was dying of curiosity. As I leaned forward eagerly, Messis broke into a grin.
“Should I tell you a little?”
I nodded. Messis leaned in close to whisper in my ear.
The moment he was about to speak, a fragrant scent pricked the tip of my nose.
What was this smell?
Stretching my body toward the source of the scent, Messis drew back with a movement quicker than usual.
I looked at him in bewilderment, and he gave an awkward laugh.
“It seems you’ve caught a whiff of Pheromone, but you shouldn’t try to smell it like that, Miss.”
“Huh? Why?”
Was this perhaps impolite among the beastfolk?
Since I wasn’t yet accustomed to their customs, I might have made a mistake.
As I was deliberating whether to apologize, Rozaria provided an explanation.
“Messis is uniquely specialized in poison among our clan.”
“Poison? Messis, you have poison?”
I asked quickly, catching something I hadn’t anticipated. Messis wore an expression of course I do.
“Everyone is born with it.”
Good heavens. So all the family members I see every day are carrying poison?
Yet I’ve never felt such a scent before.
I looked at Rozaria beside me. Surely not…….
“Do you have it too?”
“I do. It’s the most powerful weapon that increases our survival.”
“I had no idea…….”
“That’s because everyone was careful. If you were to become addicted to poison, it would be disastrous, wouldn’t it?”
It was the most startling and shocking news I’d heard in recent times.
I had somewhat expected it, but hearing a direct confirmation felt entirely different.
I could now grasp just how carefully everyone around me had been behaving.
“Miss Airin has no Poison Immunity. So let’s keep some distance and converse, shall we?”
“Yeah, I’ll stay here.”
I decided to heed Rozaria’s words faithfully.
“Messis is being careful, so there’s truly no need to worry.”
“Yeah. I understand.”
The more I learned, the more undeniable it became that the Black Mamba were an absurdly overpowered clan.
From birth, they possessed not only superior physical abilities but Pheromone capabilities that far exceeded imagination.
Could it really be that all of them could wield such power?
“But Miss, are you truly all right?”
“Hm?”
“I’m relieved if you are. My Pheromone did touch you.”
Messis’s expression hardened as he asked. I examined my body but found nothing amiss.
“I’m fine.”
“But I’m sure it touched you…….”
“You’re not mistaken, Messis, are you? If my Pheromone had touched you, you wouldn’t be standing here unharmed.”
“Is that so?”
He tilted his head and nodded.
Even the smallest amount of contact seemed to pose a problem. The reality of where I was being raised suddenly became terrifyingly clear.
I’d need to be more careful from now on.
I sat pressed against the far end of the sofa’s backrest.
Messis laughed deeply, his shoulders shaking at my reaction.
Between the flowing white hair, piercings hung densely along the curve of his ears, catching the light.
The meticulously crafted jewels gleamed with brilliance.
Though calling them jewels didn’t quite feel right.
Messis stopped laughing, steadied his breathing, and spread his hand open.
“There are four Escort Knights total, including myself.”
“Four?”
“That’s right. Quite a few, isn’t it?”
Messis murmured something about the head of the household being zealous.
I found myself agreeing with him. Four knights seemed like a lot.
More than I’d expected.
So there were still two more Escort Knights I hadn’t met yet?
Where were they all hiding and watching from?
This room didn’t even have proper hiding spaces.
They might be outside, just like Messis had been earlier.
As I glanced toward the window, Messis shook his head, a smile still playing at his lips.
“Unfortunately, they’re not here right now. Everyone except me is away from their posts.”
“Where did they all go?”
“We work Rotating Duty, so we take turns watching. Everyone was together during the Banquet, but that’s different now.”
I felt genuinely disappointed at the news I wouldn’t be meeting them.
My lips jutted out in a sulk.
I wanted to see them so badly, even if I’d have to do it in rotation.
It seemed unavoidable, yet I still felt frustrated.
Several days had passed since the Banquet ended, and aside from Messis, none of them had shown their faces.
“Oh dear, don’t be upset.”
Rozaria seemed to read my thoughts and gently patted my shoulder as she explained.
“They’re all busy writing their Reflection Letters.”
“Reflection Letters?”
“Yes. The head of the household ordered it.”
Now I remembered—Kaid had told everyone to submit a Reflection Letter.
So the reason things had been quiet was because they were all somewhere in the Mansion writing their letters.
Maybe if I wandered around, I’d bump into one of them by chance?
I looked at Messis.
He sat at ease, radiating the relaxed confidence of someone who’d already submitted his Reflection Letter.
“What is it? Do you have a question?”
“Have you finished your Reflection Letter?”
“Of course.”
“Once everyone’s done, can they all come see me?”
“Are you that eager to see them?”
“Yeah. I want to see them right away!”
I nodded enthusiastically.
As I clenched both fists, Messis’s gaze drifted to my hands.
The faint smile that had been lingering at his lips deepened, and his mouth curved upward in a long arc.
“I’m not sure when they’ll finish. Those fellows have never written a Reflection Letter before, so it’ll probably take them quite a while… and I suspect some of them don’t even know what one is supposed to be.”
Messis tapped the armrest of the sofa as he murmured, then glanced sideways at me.
As I tilted my head in confusion, a playful glint flickered across his dark eyes.
“Though I suppose there might be a way.”
“What way?”
“For that, there’s something I’ll need you to do for me.”
“Me?”
Messis pointed at the Colored Pencils and Crayons scattered across the desk.
Then he gestured toward the Sketchbook peeking out from the shelf’s edge.
“Would you write them a letter? Just something saying you want to see them soon. I’ll deliver it for you.”
“…Hmm?”
“Do you think she might suddenly finish that Reflection Letter at lightning speed and submit it?”
Messis smiled softly.
Would she really hurry through her work and come visit if I sent her a letter?
I was a little skeptical, but I decided to try anyway.
I pulled out my Sketchbook.
Messis had crept up beside me and was watching with obvious interest.
What should I write?
I drew a large heart in the center, bold and prominent.
“Karuma can’t write yet, so Rozaria needs to help.”
“Of course I’ll help. What would you like me to write?”
“Hmm.”
I thought for a moment, then spoke clearly, word by word.
“Come see me soon. Airin waiting.”
Rozaria wrote out the words in faint letters above the heart to make them easy for me to trace.
I followed her lettering with Crayons.
I filled the remaining space with stars, and the letter was complete — it looked quite charming.
“All done!”
“My, what a beautiful letter.”
“You gotta deliver it right!”
Pride swelled in my chest until I felt like I might burst.
Messis took the letter with a subtle expression on his face.
“This might actually work.”

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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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