Chapter 41

“Miss Irene. It’s time to wake up.”

Wiggle. Wiggle.

When I fall asleep to take a nap, I always wake up in a daze.

I wiggled into the blanket wanting to sleep a little longer and heard Rosaria’s voice whispering in my ear.

“You have to get up. It’s already past five.”

“Hmm.”

“The Lord said that today, everyone should have dinner together.”

Blink.

We’re all going to have dinner together?

I sprang to my feet. It has been ages since we had a family meal. Sticking my head out of the blanket, I looked at Rosaria.

“Family dinner?”

“Yes. You have to get up and get ready to go, right?”

“Yes, I’m up. I’ll be the first to arrive.”

“I’ll tidy up your hair first.”

“Yes.”

Ha-am. 

I yawned loudly because I was not fully awake yet. I had a lot of fun in the garden today.

Sitting on the bed, I waited for Rosaria to fix my hair. I could feel her hand gently brushing it down. While I was fiddling with my side hair, I suddenly thought I wanted to have braids today.

“Rodaria. Can I have braids now?”

(Note: She’s talking about length hair)

“Okay. Shall I braid it?”

“Yes.”

Rosaria started braiding it down, and a yellow ribbon was tied at the end of my tightly braided hair.

“What do you think? Do you like it?”

“Woah, pretty!”

I didn’t feel uncomfortable with my long braids tied on both sides. After all preparations were done, I left the room to go to the dining hall.

“I’ll be the first.”

“If you go now, Miss Irene will arrive early.”

“Really?”

Everyone was busy, so there was a high chance that they would come on time.

I turned the corner of the hallway to go to the stairs that went to another floor. At that moment, I ran into Seth that was coming down from the floor above.

Seth looked a little surprised, as he didn’t know he would run into me.

“Irene?”

“Brother? Where are you going?”

“I was on my way to the dining hall.”

Already? This fast? It was a very unexpected situation.

Seth, who had stopped in his tracks, said as he went down the rest of the steps.

“You braided your hair, Irene.”

“Rodaria did it for me. Isn’t it pretty?”

I held my long, braided hair with both hands and showed it. Seth, who quietly looked down at my head, walked by my side.

“Brother Seth, didn’t you miss me?”

“Who knows.”

“Heh. I wanted to see everyone very much, so I came out first.”

“I see.”

But why did Seth come out so quickly? Did he leave early because he had something to see before going to the dining hall?

When I curiously looked at him, Seth’s red eyes that were looking straight ahead turned downwards.

“I just have nothing else to do.”

“Okay. Oh, that’s right!”

I almost forgot to brag about it!

With a wide smile, I started to brag to Seth.

“Me too! I can take classes in the forest now.”

“Forest?”

“Yes. Now I can take pheromone classes in the forest. Isn’t it cool?”

Hurry up and say it’s cool. As my eyes twinkled in anticipation, the corners of Seth’s mouth stiffly rose as if it were made of plastic.

“That’s great.”

It was a soulless reply, somewhat within the anticipated scope of his reactions.

Because Seth is awkward when giving praise.

In the meantime, I had roughly grasped Seth’s nature, so there was no damage to my self-esteem.

“Now I can turn into a bird and fly. Isn’t it cool?”

“That’s great.”

“And…….”

“By the way, Irene.”

“Uh?”

Seth’s eyes grew wide open, and a smile that seemed to be plotting something was deeply drawn on his face.

“You must not lose concentration when you change your body. If that happens…”

If it happens?

“Only a part of your body will turn into a beast’s, so you might have to walk around like that for the rest of your life.”

Kwagwang.

(Note: Mental Shock sfx.)

I was in shock.

Seeing how I stiffened with an open mouth, Seth laughed. He passed by me, who was frozen in place. I stared blankly at his back which was moving away.

What happens if only half of my body changes?

When I suddenly came to my senses, I followed him with quick steps and grabbed Seth’s cuffs. Seth, who was slowly walking by, stopped at a small turn in the corridor as if waiting.

“What?”

“W-what happens if I only half transform?”

“Curious?”

“Yes.”

Of course, there must be a way back, right?

However, the expected answer did not come back after a long time.

Seth shrugged, seemingly in trouble.

“I don’t know. It has never happened with me before.”

“……”

“I was successful in one smooth try.”

“Kasa never told me anything like that!”

“Did she forget?”

If it was that important, she would have told me in advance, but to think she must have forgotten.

As I was gloomily staring at the floor, Seth giggled.

Why are you laughing? As soon as I raised my head, Seth returned to his expressionless face and cleverly tilted his head.

Something was fishy. Did you make fun of me until now?

As I squinted my eyes, Seth went past me once again.

“I think wherever you go, you will be fooled by others.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Yes.”

A very dignified answer came back without hesitation.

I paused for a moment in my confusion, and then came a deep sense of betrayal. The brief moments of seriously agonizing with something I thought was real until a second ago seemed to be insignificant.

When I sullenly inflated my cheeks and followed Seth again, he slowed down.

“I was surprised to think it was real.” (Irene)

“I was also a little surprised that you had been deceived so easily too.” (Seth)

“I won’t fall for it anymore.”

“I thought you’d be fooled a little longer.”

It was a voice filled with nuances of regret.

I wiped my chest in relief. After all, there’s no way Kasana wouldn’t say something so important.

While arguing, we arrived at the entrance to the dining hall. When we were about to go inside, I saw Arban coming from the other side.

I warmly waved my hand.

“Arban!”

Orka was together behind Arban. After meeting him for the first time in a long time, I gave him greetings and waved my hand. Orca lightly bowed down.

“Hello, Young Master Seth, Miss Irene.”

“Where did Arban and Orka go?”

The two were dressed in outerwear that I had never seen before. It was very different from the outfit I saw when he had been training in the forest.

When I curiously looked at him, the corners of Arban’s mouth, who had taken off his coat, rose sharply.

“You still have a long way to go.”

“Where have you been?”

“Outside.”

“…Out?”

As in outside the house?

When I, who was puzzled, glanced at Orca, he smiled awkwardly instead of answering.

It seems to be true that he went outside.

I heard it was only possible to go out when you are an adult. As I tilted my head at the part I still didn’t understand, Seth explained.

“It’s possible if Father allows it.”

“Daddy?”

“Yes.”

Oh my god, so that’s how you do it? Am I the only one who didn’t know?

I nodded and looked back at Seth.

“…Did Brother Seth go outside?”

“Yes.”

It seemed that the two of them had already gone out, except for me.

Then, when can I go out?

In an instant, my lips popped out. The sadness that could not be hidden was being expressed through my whole body. Seeing my expression change in real-time, Orca was greatly embarrassed and at a loss for what to do.

“…T-the Lord will soon give you permission. Don’t be too heartbroken, Miss Irene.”

“Can I also go out soon?”

“Of course.”

“When?”

“That’s……”

Orca’s lively lips that were giving out answers one after another could not open at my last question. His words faded and his eyes that had been looking at me slowly turned to another place.

Orca’s hand, not knowing what to do, were restless in the air. He even looked nervous, unable to answer.

“What are you all doing here?”

At that moment, Cade’s voice was heard, and at the same time, Orca’s complexion brightened. He was filled with expectations that he could finally get out of this situation.

I still curled my lips with a bitter heart and looked back.

“Daddyyyyy!”

“Hm?”

Then I ran to Cade and hugged him.

When I looked up while tightly holding his leg, Cade, who was looking at me, raised his head and looked at Orka as if asking for an explanation.

“What’s going on?”

“That’s… When the Miss found out that Young Master Arban has gone outside, she wanted to go out too.”

“That’s why she looks so sullen.”

“It seems that she was upset that both Young Masters were allowed to go out.”

“Is that so?”

Cade looked down at me and asked. I buried my face in his leg and nodded my head.

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