The Youngest Daughter of the Snake Family - Chapter 55

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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 55
“I hope you’ve been well, Aileen! I heard the good news and came right over.”
Hestia carried a basket decorated with flowers in her hand.
Inside, it was brimming with small chocolates.
“Congratulations on your humanization. You’re truly remarkable. ……But why do you seem a bit down?”
“It seems Miss Aileen is not entirely satisfied.”
“……Is that so?”
Hestia looked at me with a bewildered expression.
“I wanted to succeed on the first try.”
“Ah, I see. That’s actually quite rare—succeeding right away like that.”
“……Rare?”
But Set and Arban both succeeded on their first attempt, didn’t they?
Hestia tilted her head in confusion.
“The young masters were already far more developed when they succeeded, so we must treat them as exceptions. If they struggled with Pheromone Control at that stage of growth, it would become a serious problem. You see, the Black Mamba grows in the blink of an eye. If you miss the timing, it becomes rather dangerous.”
“……Is that so? Then doesn’t Aileen seem slow?”
“Miss Aileen is actually quite fast. Her pheromones have only just now entered a stable phase, haven’t they? Everyone’s been talking about it because of that…….”
“Miss Aileen is embarrassed. She said she wanted to succeed in a more impressive way.”
Rosaria explained in my stead. I nodded in agreement.
But hearing that succeeding right away is rare actually made me feel a little better.
Still, the faster the growth, the more dangerous it is to miss the timing. I hadn’t known that.
“It seems the young lady is eager to grow quickly. The Patriarch must be disappointed.”
Hestia settled comfortably onto the sofa as she spoke.
“That’s true.”
Rosaria agreed warmly and brought out tea steeped from fresh leaves.
“I hear you’ve just returned from a business trip, Hestia.”
“Ah, that’s right. I went with Durias.”
With Durias? I thought he’d gone alone, but it seems they went together.
“What sort of business was it?”
“Hmm……. Just an external assignment.”
Hestia smiled vaguely and dodged the question. Her face made it clear she found it difficult to answer.
I walked toward the sofa where the two of them sat. Then I let the chocolates I’d been clutching in both hands tumble onto the table.
“Do you like my gift?”
“Mm. Now Aileen’s feeling better. Thanks, Hestia.”
“Think nothing of it. By the way, I was already covetous of your paw prints, but…… that tail is quite tempting too.”
Huh. What did you say?
I quickly tucked my tail away. Hestia’s eyes were gleaming.
My tail—it’s in danger!
When I hid behind Rosaria, Hestia reluctantly withdrew her gaze.
Hestia stayed for quite some time, engaged in pleasant conversation. Then, glancing at the clock, she rose from her seat.
“I’m afraid I must leave now. I have matters to attend to.”
“You can always come visit again another time, Hestia.”
“Then I’ll take you up on that and visit again later. Miss Aileen, let’s see each other again next time too.”
“Mm. Take care, Hestia.”
Click.
Hestia left. Phew. Now I could have some peace and quiet, couldn’t I?
I was already on my fifth chocolate when I popped another into my mouth. Normally, Rosaria would have told me to stop, but today she didn’t.
It seemed she was letting it slide out of consideration for my mood.
Still, having a tail has its good points, doesn’t it?
I giggled. My spirits were gradually returning to normal.
That’s when it happened.
Knock knock.
A third knock sounded at the door. Who could it be this time? I puffed out my cheeks. I wasn’t pleased about another visitor at this point.
When Rosaria started to rise, I shook my head.
“Aileen will go check.”
With that, I climbed down from the sofa and yanked the door open.
“Who is it? Aileen just wants to rest now! Please come back another time!”
“Come back another time?”
……Huh?
“What do you mean by resting? You haven’t even had your lessons yet.”
The person at the door was Cade. He looked displeased at my less-than-warm greeting, regarding me with a sour expression.
“. . . Huh? Father?”
I froze in place.
Cade, still standing rigidly by the door, smiled faintly. A chill brushed past me.
My spine tingled with unease, and I flinched.
Of all people, it had to be Cade who showed up.
I stood there gaping, unable to form a single word, when Cade opened his mouth as if to help me along.
“Being turned away at my own home—that’s a first.”
“. . .”
“Amusing.”
In other words: ‘You’re the first person to ever turn me away like this.’
The moment I averted my eyes from his gaze, I caught his smile deepening at the corner of my vision.
No, I saw nothing. I didn’t see anything at all.
Should I just close the door and pretend none of this happened?
Gripping the doorknob tightly, I entertained a thought I couldn’t possibly face the consequences of.
Fortunately—very fortunately—Rosaria shifted the atmosphere before I could do something reckless.
Thanks to her, the crisis veered in a different direction entirely.
“Oh? Family head, what brings you here at this hour? Isn’t it still morning meeting time?”
“It ended.”
“. . . Already?”
Rosaria glanced at the clock in surprise. By the usual schedule, the meeting should have still been in session.
“Nothing important came up.”
“I see.”
“I thought I’d pop by and see her face while I was heading back, so . . .”
Flinch.
I dove behind the door.
Clutching the doorknob, I peeked upward.
Cade had already stepped deep into the room and was looking at me with exasperation.
I smiled awkwardly, my lips quivering, cold sweat beading on my forehead.
“Aileen really misses her father so much.”
“Is this what it feels like to be bowed down to?”
“That’s . . . just your imagination.”
“Is it?”
“Yes! Absolutely!”
I declared loudly. Cade, momentarily taken aback, let out a soft laugh.
His mood seemed to have eased. Though it didn’t seem like he’d been that genuinely upset to begin with.
Increasingly, it felt like he simply enjoyed teasing me.
“Did you hear the news and come rushing over, Family head?”
“Durias was excitedly spreading the word to everyone he ran into.”
. . . Of all people, it had to be Durias who got caught!
If Cade had learned about it, then certainly every Black Mamba in the Mansion knew by now.
A heavy sigh escaped me.
Cade glanced around the room, then settled onto the sofa, crossing his legs.
“Looks like we’ve already had a visitor.”
He gestured with his eyes toward the basket sitting on one side of the table.
“Yes, Set and Hestia stopped by.”
“Really! Hestia came, and Set dropped by too.”
Unable to hide my joy, I broke into a bright smile, and Cade chuckled.
“Set’s visit made you that happy?”
“Of course. I thought he was coming to tease me, but he actually came to congratulate me.”
“Oh?”
“And he even taught me how to make my tail disappear.”
I launched into an enthusiastic explanation, full of pride.
“That’s rather unexpected.”
“Right?”
Though it might have been just me, Set and I seemed to have grown closer lately.
His manner of speaking and his demeanor had softened slightly, I’d say.
The sharp-edged version of him from our first meeting was almost nowhere to be seen now.
He still had moments of being difficult, but it didn’t feel like he actually disliked me.
Cade regarded me quietly for a moment, then spoke again.
“Aileen.”
“Hmm?”
“I hear two of your guard knights helped you hide your tail.”
“Ah…”
“Do you dislike your tail?”
“No.”
I shook my head, denying that much.
“Then it must bother you that you look different from the rest of the clan.”
His tone was matter-of-fact, yet his words struck at the heart of it.
I startled and lifted my head sharply to look at Cade. His expression said he’d known I would react that way.
The fact that Cade—not someone else—had brought it up left me feeling oddly unsettled.
Even Rosaria, who spent every moment at my side, hadn’t grasped this concern, yet Cade had been paying attention to it. I couldn’t quite believe it.
I stared at him blankly.
He seemed to be thinking, then opened his mouth.
“Has anyone ever told you that you look different?”
“No. No one’s ever said such a thing.”
“Then what?”
I hesitated to speak.
Watching the mood, Rosaria quietly left the room. She seemed to have decided that this conversation needed to be between us alone.
Cade didn’t press for an answer. He simply waited for me to speak.
Could I really tell him everything honestly?
I fiddled with my clothes for a moment, then finally opened my mouth.
“…It’s just that I seem to be different from Aileen. No one else here is a bird.”
“And?”
“What am I supposed to be?”
The fact that I was a bird was too certain. And yet I was living in the Astrropel Family.
Nothing made me more anxious than that. If I couldn’t fit in anywhere, what would become of me?
Cade answered my question.
“You are Aileen Astrropel.”
“I know that much myself.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Cade’s brows drew together. I clamped my mouth shut. A long silence followed. As only the tick of the clock’s second hand could be heard, Cade spoke.
“Since you say you know it, I’m sure it’s not the case, but just to be clear—”
Hm?
“You’re not actually wondering what species you belong to, are 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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