The Youngest Daughter of the Snake Family - Chapter 50

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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 50
Messis taught me a great many things beyond that.
I learned that the South was rich in resources—so abundant that there was almost nothing one couldn’t obtain—and that this prosperity had led to unusually many alliances with other clans.
Though spices were scarce, they worked hard to maintain intimate relations with the West.
Wow. Messis, you’re like a total genius.
My eyes sparkled as I looked at him, and Messis grew flustered, turning his gaze away.
“What? That look on your face—surprised?”
“I thought you didn’t know things like this. How do you know so much?”
“……Well, I’m a Branch Member myself, you see? I attended all the basic classes, so I know these things.”
“Branch Member?”
“It means my bloodline has the same root as the Astropel Family.”
The same root? Didn’t that mean we shared ancestors? I gasped in shock.
“So you’re a distant relative of my father?!”
Of everything I’d heard so far, that was the freshest and most shocking.
When I asked in alarm, Messis shook his head, saying it wasn’t quite like that.
“It wouldn’t have been true in the past, but it is now. These days, clan members who have rendered service to the family are also acknowledged as Branch Members.”
“I see.”
“That said, there are still actual blood-related Branch Members too.”
“Is that person Baon, by any chance?”
I recalled Baon, who had black hair.
I’d been told that black hair and crimson eyes were traits born only to the people of the Astropel Family.
Yet as I wandered through the compound, I’d occasionally spotted people who carried one or the other of these features.
Not just Baon—Rosaria also had violet eyes.
At my words, Messis nodded in agreement.
“That’s right. It’s complicated, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. But I think I get it.”
It was a bit complicated, but I felt I understood it broadly enough.
Simply put, it meant they acknowledged both mixed-blood clan members and those who had rendered service to the family as Branch Members.
This was something I’d felt for a while now, but the South was incredibly open-minded.
In other places, they’d never acknowledge someone as a Branch Member just because they’d rendered service.
This time, I pointed casually at the North on the map and asked.
“By the way, Messis. How cold is the North?”
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“I need to visit later. Seiji lives there, after all.”
“……Ah.”
Messis’s expression became complicated. He seemed at a loss for how to explain, and after hesitating, he posed a question to me.
“……Do you understand what it means when a Beast-kin invites someone to their own territory?”
“Means?”
There’s something like that? I blinked slowly. I had no idea what it meant.
Now that I thought about it, I recalled that Rosaria’s expression hadn’t been very pleasant when I mentioned being invited by Seiji.
What on earth could that mean? When I shook my head to say I didn’t know, Messis let out a long sigh.
“I thought as much. You don’t know.”
“Right.”
“……Then I’d rather you heard that meaning from someone else. As for what I can tell you……”
What you can tell me?
“The North is extremely cold……and you have no reason to go there.”
“Why not?”
“The head of the family would never allow it.”
So just give up.
Messis patted my shoulder gently.
But why would Caid never allow it?
I tilted my head in confusion.
Without saying a word, Messis swept away the picture that had been drawn on the floor with his foot.
* * *
The weekend arrived. Today I had no appointments scheduled, so I planned to borrow a book from the Library.
To boast a little, I could now read books with simple content without Rosaria’s help.
It was nothing short of remarkable progress.
By the way, I’d learned this expression from a book too!
I pushed open the Library door and stepped inside.
“Good afternoon.”
“You’re back again, Airin. Did you finish all the books you borrowed last time?”
“Yes.”
I handed back the books I’d borrowed from Media, who managed the Library.
Lately I’d been reading mostly books that were popular with young Beast-kin. What should I read this time?
After completing the return record, Media smiled warmly and gestured toward a stack of books beside her.
“Do you see these?”
“What are they?”
“Books I ordered specially for you. Which would you like to start with?”
Hmm, where should I begin? This batch had noticeably more text than what I usually read.
It looked a little difficult, but I thought I could manage it. Besides, I’d already read most of the fairy tales in the Library.
I’d better start with the thinnest one.
“Then I’ll take this one.”
“Oh, you will? I heard this book became quite popular in the West.”
“In the West?”
Did different regions favor different books? Now that I thought about it, this one felt a little different from what I’d read before.
“Yes. Each clan has slightly different recommended reading lists. Since everyone has different inclinations, what they learn in childhood varies too.”
“I see.”
“Until now, what you’ve been reading were recommended books for young Beast-kin that are popular in the South.”
That was oddly interesting. So everything I’d read so far reflected the growth direction the South preferred?
Most of those books emphasized watching your surroundings and cooperating with others to survive.
……Though my nature didn’t seem to care much for atmosphere and simply did as it pleased.
Ironically, the second most common theme was things like “I do well on my own.”
I wasn’t sure which approach to embrace, but I suspected they wanted me to find my own middle ground.
“Well then, I’m leaving now.”
“Yes. Enjoy your reading, and do come back.”
“Okay.”
I left the Library and headed to my room. I wasn’t planning to go out today and would be staying in my chamber instead.
I kept adjusting the overalls straps that kept slipping off my shoulders as I hurried toward my room.
My stamina had improved enough now that moving between floors was no problem. Before this, I’d tired far too easily.
“Rosaria, I’m back.”
“You’re home early, Airin. Have you decided what book to read today?”
“Yes. This one. Media recommended it. It’s popular in the West apparently.”
“I’ll prepare some refreshments for you.”
“Thanks.”
I settled onto the sofa and lay back against a cushion.
I was turning pages slowly and reading when suddenly the door swung open with a bang.
It was Arban.
Rosaria, who had been arranging snacks on the table, greeted him warmly.
“Welcome, Arban.”
Arban gave a curt nod and headed straight toward me.
I set down my book and looked at him curiously.
“Arban?”
“Yeah.”
“Hi.”
His crimson eyes, fixed on me with an intensity that felt almost uncomfortable, narrowed. Why was he staring like that? When I inched backward, Arban folded his arms and flopped down on the sofa across from me.
“You took the Pheromone Class this time, right?”
“Yeah. You remembered?”
“Someone mentioned it to me…… So, did you succeed?”
“Not yet. I haven’t felt the pheromone properly yet.”
“Still? When will you be able to go on the trip then?”
Ah. That was why he’d come to my room.
The fact that he’d come seeking me out on the weekend suggested he was pretty impatient about this.
Arban cleared his throat and finally broached the subject.
“……When do you think you’ll be able to succeed?”
“Maybe in just a few more days?”
Arban let out a long exhale. He seemed frustrated that I couldn’t give him a more definite answer.
After sitting in silent thought for a while, his eyes suddenly lit up and he called to me again.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“To get good at Beast Form Transformation, you need to think of pheromones spreading evenly throughout your entire body.”
I burst out laughing all of a sudden. So that was why he’d gone quiet.
“Hehe. I see.”
“…Why are you laughing?”
“So you’ve been sitting here this whole time trying to figure out how to tell me that?”
He’d wanted to show me an easy way to succeed at Beast Form Transformation, so he hadn’t left and just kept sitting there with me.
Arban cleared his throat and looked away, muttering.
“It wasn’t that much deliberation.”
I could see Rosaria watching us from beside, her expression warm and amused.
“Since the young master taught you directly, Miss Airin should be able to manage it in no time.”
“…Anyway. So when are we going to class?”
“Not today—it’s the weekend.”
“Then what should we do now?”
“I was just going to stay in my room.”
I pointed to the book I was holding. I’d meant to read it, but playing with Arban seemed like more fun, so I’d put it aside for now.
But what could we actually do together?
As I looked around the room wondering if there was anything we could play with, I suddenly remembered something Messis had said yesterday.
“Oh, right. Say, Arban.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know what it means when someone invites you to their house?”
“…What?”
Arban froze at my question, then asked back.
“Who told you that?”
“Seiji.”
“…Who’s that?”
“A friend.”
But why was he reacting so sensitively?
At the word “friend,” Arban’s face began to crumple. Then suddenly he stood up.
“That means he’s saying he wants to marry you!”

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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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