The Youngest Daughter of the Snake Family - Chapter 60

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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 60
Abandoned by her own kind, yet she’d dared to dream of returning.
And what of Estella, who had taken her in and cared for her? Durias made no effort to hide his contempt.
Nothing had been formally proven, but circumstantial evidence left little doubt—it was Ella who had fled with Aileen’s egg.
Estella’s death, too, was almost certainly connected to the woman standing before him.
Knowing how deeply Estella had trusted Ella, Durias felt bile rise in his throat.
Ella trembled in the Basement Dungeon, where the air itself seemed to reek of death. Her golden eyes darted about in barely concealed panic.
The way she was racking her brains for what to say was painfully transparent.
Even now, still calculating how to scrape together another moment of life.
Durias barely restrained himself from crushing her throat.
Ella flinched and stumbled backward, gasping for breath.
“You were abandoned in the Eastern Region, as far as we knew. How did you imagine you could ever return?”
Durias had just managed to reclaim his composure, and he smiled his characteristic smile as he spoke. Ella crept slowly toward the corner.
“They s-said they’d give me a chance.”
“A chance?”
“……I-if I just obeyed…… they said they’d let me go home.”
“So you betrayed your mistress. Is that what you’re telling me?”
“No, that’s not it!”
Ella shook her head frantically, insisting it was nothing of the sort.
Had the dungeon kept her locked away so long that her mind had rotted?
It was almost amusing—she’d admitted to the betrayal with her own mouth, yet now she was denying it.
Did he really have to look at that face any longer?
Durias’s expression twisted with disgust.
Crouched and watching his every move, Ella muttered desperately.
“That…… I never expected the lady to…… to die.”
“Ha.”
“I didn’t want that for Estella! I never wanted it to go that far!”
Ella’s frantic words caught in her throat, and she fell silent.
Fear-stricken eyes searched his face, gauging his mood.
“I’m disgusted.”
The smile that had been playing at Durias’s lips faded, his features hardening into ice.
The pathetic sight of her cowering in the corner like her life depended on it was almost laughable.
He rose and stepped toward her, bending down until their eyes met.
Ella flinched and tried to retreat, but his grip on her jaw was unyielding—he yanked her face forward with brutal force.
“So. You betrayed Estella, who kept you alive until Adulthood, and now you’re suddenly talkative about a man named Meryl whom you barely saw as a child. Is that right?”
“……P-please…… spare me.”
“Which one? Meryl? Or you?”
Ella couldn’t bring herself to answer. She was thinking, weighing her options. Which would she choose?
Moments ago she’d begged him to spare Meryl—now, with herself added to the choices, she hesitated.
So that was the depth of her feeling.
And yet she’d betrayed Estella just to see some childhood crush.
Durias looked at her as one might regard an insect.
Hot tears rolled down her cheeks onto his hand. It was revolting.
For a moment he considered simply killing her. Then he released her jaw.
That was not something Cade wished him to do—not yet.
“I can never understand the human heart. Perhaps that’s why it’s said to be the hardest thing to know.”
Estella had trusted her despite their different species, had given her affection, had even shared her private name with her.
And all the while, Ella had been in contact with the very clan that had abandoned her, preparing to betray her mistress and flee.
That alone should have driven him to madness—but there was still more to hear.
First, he needed to know what instructions that clan had given her.
The scattered brushstrokes of the picture were finally ready to coalesce into a single shape.
“Now, let’s have a deeper conversation.”
“……!”
“I’d advise against keeping secrets. Unless you’d prefer that Meryl—whom you hold so very dear—never sets foot in this place.”
* * *
A quiet village in the Southern Region.
In a charming garden bathed in warm sunlight, a man and woman sat in intimate companionship.
A woman with deep crimson hair set down her teacup, savoring a moment of leisurely ease.
“Still can’t stand anything sweet, I see, Ian.”
“And you’re indulging more every day, it seems.”
“If you hate sweets, you’ll be cursed.”
The woman lifted a fork embedded with a sapphire gemstone set in silver.
Then, with practiced elegance, she stabbed it deep into the chocolate mousse cake and brought it to the man’s lips.
“Ah.”
“…….”
“Darling?”
“……sigh.”
The man who had resigned himself to his fate opened his mouth. He had black hair and crimson eyes that seemed familiar from somewhere.
As the sickeningly sweet taste spread across his tongue, his brow furrowed sharply.
“It tastes better when I feed it to you, doesn’t it?”
“Helena.”
“Yes?”
“Never mind.”
But the man who had done wrong held his peace.
“Then why did you hide the letter that came for our son?”
“Because you were going to tell him to go to the capital.”
“My, you know me so well?”
Helena’s eyes widened. Her beautiful violet eyes curved softly into crescents.
Ian, who weakened every time he saw that smile, knew he had lost again.
The Black Letter Envelope wedged between her index and middle fingers stood crisp and proud.
In the center, a serpent insignia was carved with unmistakable clarity.
The seal of the Astrropel Family.
“Our only son even reached out in person, saying his grandson should come visit.”
Whoosh.
The fork, laden with cake for a second time, lifted upward. Ian’s crimson eyes flickered with anxiety.
Fortunately, the second forkful disappeared into Helena’s mouth instead.
Ian exhaled softly in relief.
“When shall we go?”
Helena laughed with delight. Ian chuckled in return.
“Whenever you wish.”
The intimate conversation between the Previous Family Head of the Astrropel Family and his consort continued.
“You’re not upset because Cade took so long to contact us, are you?”
“What do you mean?”
Ian answered softly in denial and shook his head, but Helena did not lower her suspicious gaze.
She cupped his cheek in her palm.
“Everyone in this household is so terribly dishonest.”
“I’ve always been honest with you.”
“Hmm. Then that’s fine.”
Helena released the face she had been holding.
More than three years had passed since they stepped down from their roles.
Save for Estella’s funeral and the birth of their two grandsons, they had not visited the Mansion.
It was a gesture of consideration from the Previous Family Head toward Cade.
They were waiting for their son to ascend to the position of Family Head and take complete control of the Clan.
The sudden appearance of the Previous Family Head would not be a welcome thing for Cade.
“It is strange, though.”
“It is.”
Helena’s face was weighted with concern.
Just when it seemed their son had married and sired an heir, solidifying his position……
“Suddenly a daughter born of a different Clan appears. Something must be happening within the Family.”
“Perhaps.”
“You speak as though it were someone else’s affair?”
“He’ll manage it himself.”
Her brow twitched.
Helena’s eyebrow furrowed.
Even if they had stepped down, surely this was too indifferent an attitude to take.
“Is that truly all you have to say?”
“It is.”
Now everything of the Astrropel Family rested in Cade’s hands.
Until he sought their counsel, the Previous Family Head ought to remain silent.
Yet Ian’s heart was troubled all the same.
Since Cade refused to explain what the matter was, Ian found himself equally frustrated.
“Still, to think we have a granddaughter now—it’s not such a bad feeling. I wanted to have a daughter myself.”
……
“Someone objected, though.”
“That’s absolutely out of the question. When that child was born, she absorbed far too much of your pheromone as it was.”
Ian shielded his eyes from the memory he’d sooner not recall.
Even now, thinking back on it made his head spin. He’d thought Helena was the one in danger.
If giving birth to a son was like that, wanting to bear a daughter?
Understanding Ian’s heart, Helena let out a soft laugh.
“Well, I’ll have to be satisfied with a granddaughter, then.”
“It’s remarkable he didn’t abandon her, given his temperament.”
“I should have told him to abandon her. Want to make a wager?”
Had she told him to, or hadn’t she?
Her violet eyes sparkled with amusement at this rare bit of fun.
Faced with her confident demeanor, Ian decided to retreat.
“Why so quiet?”
“Because I think you’ll win.”
“How dull you are.”
Helena set down her empty teacup and rose from her seat.
Ian’s cup still held nearly half of the sweet black tea.
She couldn’t fathom why he insisted on a tea that didn’t suit his palate each time, but there was something not entirely unpleasant about him drinking the same variety as she did.
“I should send word to the Family that we’re coming. I’m eager to see my granddaughter.”
“I haven’t acknowledged that child as my granddaughter, Helena.”
Ian protested with clear displeasure. Helena tilted her head at this.
“But Cade’s already given her his name, hasn’t he? Don’t you think calling her Aileen would be adorable?”
……
“It might be nice to bring her here for a few days and spend time together. You’re far too quiet on your own.”
Even with the two of us here, I feel lonely sometimes, you know?
Helena spoke with a laugh, her tone full of teasing. And once again, Ian fell beautifully into her trap.

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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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