Chapter 9
I was stunned.
That was a region every beastman wanted.
Especially in the ruined East, there were countless rumors that it was practically paradise.
It was famous for being beautiful and peaceful.
But I had heard it was one of those territories that many powerful families coveted, making it too dangerous for anyone to recklessly lay claim to.
Could it be that he had actually acquired that place just now?
Considering that it had been less than a week since the estate owner had come to visit me in my room, I could hardly believe it.
I blinked several times in disbelief.
“Hoho. With the Head of the Family stepping in personally, I can’t tell you how reassuring it was.”
“……Why are you suddenly interested in that land? You never showed any interest in it before.”
“Indeed.”
Although Zeras said he didn’t know, he looked at me as though he knew something.
Why was he looking at me all of a sudden?
I tilted my head in confusion, when suddenly—
Grrrrooowl.
My stomach rumbled.
I was starting to get hungry.
When I began hovering around the lunchbox, glancing at it hopefully, Rosaria suddenly realized what was going on and came over to me.
“Shall we have lunch now, Lady Irene?”
“Peep.”
“I’ll feed you.”
“It seems you’re about to have your meal. Then I shall take my leave. I still have some matters to attend to. Please enjoy your time.”
“Peep-peep.”
When Zeras said his farewells and prepared to leave, I waved goodbye to him as well.
Now that I had seen him off, I could eat in peace.
Once I had put a tiny triangular napkin around my neck and gotten ready for my meal, Rosaria fed me a bite.
As I accepted the food, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
When would I be able to take human form?
It would be nice if I could grow up quickly.
Then Rosaria wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of feeding me every time or taking care of every little thing for me.
I felt a little guilty and looked at Rosaria.
“Is something wrong, Lady Irene?”
“Peep, peep-peep-peep. Peep-peep.”
I wanted to tell her thank you, but I had no proper way of conveying it.
And now I had one more reason to hurry up and learn how to take human form.
Rosaria smiled sweetly as she blew on the baby food to cool it.
I was happily eating when I heard the sound of footsteps rustling through the grass.
“I wondered where you had gone. So this is where you were.”
“Peep?”
“Welcome back, Head of the Family.”
Rosaria shifted her posture and greeted him.
Following her lead, I folded my wings and bowed my head.
But my body immediately tipped forward.
Ah. I still can’t bow properly.
I stared in alarm at the ground rushing toward me, but then my body was suddenly lifted into the air, dangling helplessly.
“Peep?”
“Looks like you still don’t know how to use your own body.”
“She’s still very young.”
“I thought it had been quite some time since she was born.”
“She’s only three weeks old now.”
That’s right. I’m only three weeks old!
I nodded my head up and down as if agreeing with him, and the owner of the estate let out a soft laugh.
“I see. Then she still has a long way to go before she grows up.”
“……Peep.”
“It’ll be quite a while before she can go boating, too.”
Boating?
I jerked my head up to make sure I had heard him correctly.
Had he just said we should go boating?
“Ah, summer is almost here, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“So that’s why you swept through the entire Benea River area! The scenery there is certainly famous for being beautiful. But didn’t you say expanding your territory was a hassle?”
“There’s nothing wrong with having one or two more territories.”
Apparently, I hadn’t misheard him.
Putting everything together, it seemed that the estate owner had gone out, conquered the surrounding area, and was now on his way back to the mansion.
And he was talking about going there later for a little outing.
Was it really that easy?
I stared blankly at him.
He lightly tapped my beak.
“I’ll give that to you.”
“……Peep?”
Give me what?
I felt completely bewildered.
It sounded like I had just heard something absolutely outrageous.
Rosaria clapped her hands delightedly.
“That’s wonderful! Lady Irene absolutely loves playing in the water.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Lady Irene, aren’t you happy?”
Wait a minute, Rosaria.
I need some time to process reality, too.
If I was understanding this correctly……
“You have a new playground now, so we can go visit it soon.”
Once I finally grasped the situation, my beak fell open.
Did he just give me that incredible place as a present so I could use it as a playground?
“Peep…… peeeep……”
For the first time in my life, I was completely overwhelmed by a gift so enormous that I couldn’t even begin to comprehend its scale.
The news that the Astrophel family had gained a youngest daughter spread far and wide.
It had been almost a month since rumors first began circulating that something had gone wrong with the third egg.
It was already common knowledge that the third egg was not a black mamba, and after the meeting that afternoon, the retainers gathered in small groups and whispered among themselves.
“Wasn’t it definitely a baby bird?”
“I heard her eyes are the same red color as the Head of the Family’s.”
“Really?”
The retainers, who had been standing in a loose circle, fell silent.
None of them had actually seen the baby bird themselves, after all.
Where could they find the mysterious subject of so many rumors?
When no one had an answer, disappointment flickered across their faces.
“No one has actually seen her?”
“Hoho. I happened to see her playing in the garden the other day. I’ve never seen anything so adorable.”
When an elderly man appeared in the meeting room, everyone’s attention immediately turned toward him.
Zeras smiled kindly as he remembered the baby bird politely greeting him.
“……Are her eyes really red, Lord Zeras?”
“They are.”
The old man, whose usually stern demeanor could make the entire meeting hall turn cold, had softened so visibly that everyone struggled to hide their amazement.
The young lady who could actually make Zeras soften like that.
Everyone was exchanging curious whispers when someone raised a hand and asked a question.
“But…… if the young lady isn’t one of our clan’s own, how was she able to become part of the family?”
Everyone’s eyes turned toward the man who had spoken.
The matter remained shrouded in mystery.
They were all still curious about how Irene had been registered as a member of the family.
Since Kaid had made no further mention of it, the lack of an explanation was only more frustrating.
“The Head of the Family has acknowledged her as his daughter, so doesn’t that make her the youngest lady of the Astrophel family for the time being?”
“That’s true, but…… wouldn’t there be a problem if word got out that we were raising a young beastman from another clan?”
The expressions on their faces stiffened.
Under beastman law, taking in and raising a young beastman who had no guardian was prohibited.
This was because it could have an extremely detrimental effect on the child’s development. Normally, a young beastman was raised by someone from their own clan.
Moreover, it was exceedingly rare for a young beastman to leave their own territory of their own accord, which could make the situation even more serious.
If the young beastman’s clan raised an objection, the matter was severe enough that the Astrophel family would have no choice but to return the child without being able to offer any rebuttal.
For that reason, Kaid’s decision to acknowledge Irene, the baby bird, as his daughter was an extremely unusual—and dangerous—one.
The retainers had been excited for a brief moment at the news that their family now had a youngest lady, but the black mambas soon wore gloomy expressions.
“Then are you saying the young lady won’t be able to stay with the family?”
“I’m saying that could happen if things take a turn for the worse. ……After all, none of us actually knows how the young lady came to be here, do we?”
That was true.
In fact, Irene’s very existence was suspicious.
She was a species that could never have been born into this family in the first place.
Perhaps Irene had become entangled in the circumstances of the adults even before she was born.
No matter how she had ended up in the family, the reason was unlikely to be a pleasant one.
“This is troublesome…… The young lady’s position is rather ambiguous.”
“And yet the Head of the Family even gave her a name. What on earth could he be thinking?”
“How are we supposed to know what’s going through his mind?”
How shocked had everyone been when they first heard the news?
They had assumed the baby bird’s existence would soon disappear from the family altogether.
But before they knew it, she had even been given the name Irene Astrophel.
And now, apparently, she had begun toddling around the mansion as well.
Rumors about Irene had spread far and wide, drawing everyone’s attention.
“I’m starting to wonder whether it even matters what kind of person the young lady is at this point.”
Someone muttered the words quietly.
As if they had made an unspoken agreement, everyone’s gaze turned in the same direction.
The black mamba who had spoken shrugged.
“Isn’t that obvious? I heard he’s already given her everything from Anead all the way to Benea.”
There wasn’t a single person in the family who hadn’t heard that story.
