Chapter 63

I couldn’t adapt to this situation that has been going on for days.

At first, I kindly answered and greeted the Black Mambas who spoke to me, but… It was very uncomfortable to have the same pattern of conversations over and over again.

This is because they would sneak up to my side every day, list the advantages of the South one by one, and then disappear.

I couldn’t figure out why they were doing it all of a sudden, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that they wanted to look good to me.

But why do they always miss the most important thing in the South?

“Arya.”

“Yes……?”

I opened my mouth with a very serious look on my face.

“There’s one. The most important thing is missing.”

“What? The most important thing? …What is missing? Please let me know.”

“Jeez. There’s my Daddy here! That’s the best thing.”

“……”

“From now on, I won’t tell you again. Alright?”

Arya, who was blankly listening to me, nodded her head.

She looked shocked as if she had not thought that far.

“……Well, that’s right. The biggest pride of the South is, of course, the Lord.”

“Right?”

“……Yes.”

Arya’s eyes didn’t agree at all, but I was sincere.

It didn’t matter what the South was like as long as I could be with my loved ones. It didn’t matter if the seasons weren’t good or if there was nothing to promote.

“Ah! We really need to break up now. I have to go in early.”

It took too much time. I waved my hand to Arya, who was still stiff and hurried my steps again.

Hum Hum Hum. 

A hum came out of nowhere. Because today was the day I collected all the stickers that Kasana gave me.

What kind of gift is she going to give me? My heart was pounding with anticipation.

Since Kasana gives meaningful gifts, it will be the same this time, right?

I arrived in the room on time and opened the door.

“Rodaria!”

“Miss Irene, are you here already? Now you’re coming on time even if I don’t have to pick you up.”

“Yes. I should do it.”

Now, even alone if I’m alone, I can keep the promised time well.

As I proudly opened my chest, Rosaria’s gaze turned to the pockets on both sides of my dress.

“Miss Irene. What is that?”

“Ah, this?”

I touched the bulging pockets.

They were small snacks that I received one by one while walking around the mansion. Rosaria let out a small laugh as I poured a fistful of each onto the table.

“Everyone gave me one.” 

“Somehow everyone’s acting so obvious.” 

Rosalia shook her head as she couldn’t stop it from happening and put the snacks that I had received into a snack bin instead.

Meanwhile, I went into the bathroom and washed my hands thoroughly. I’ve been around a lot today, so I have to double the foam and rinse.

After I turned off the faucet and wiped the water off, Kasana was there.

I walked swiftly forward and sat down. 

“Kasa! I’ve collected all the grape stickers.”

Rosalia, who was neatly arranging the cushions next to her, smiled warmly.

“Of course, I remember. I can’t believe you’ve already collected everything, thank you for taking the class very well.”

“Are you going to give me a present?”

I held out my hand, flapping the sticker paper I had taken out beforehand.

Kasana, who looked at me, frowned for a moment, then pulled something out of her bag.

“…First of all, I think I should tell you something first.”

“What is this?”

What Kasana took out was a thickly folded paper book.

“……Sigh I’m ashamed to tell you this.” 

She had an uncharacteristic blush, unable to meet my eyes.

What in the world is she going to tell me? Why is she reacting like that??

One by one, I quickly turned over the pages of the paper book that was prepared by hand, it was a book that lists a hundred reasons why the South is better than the East.

As a matter of fact, I was about to ask her if this kind of thing will continue in the future.  Why is everyone so anxious to tell me the same things every time they see me?

As I let out a deep sigh, Kasana quickly added.

“Everyone is worried that you will change your mind.”

“They think I will go to the East?”

“Yes.”

Rather, I was worried that I would be sent back, but the people around me were worried that my heart would be carried away.

Knowing the reason, I burst out laughing for nothing.

I held the paper book dearly in my arms. As of today, one more treasure was to be added to my chest.

“Tell them that I like here more.”

“All right.”

“You should also let them know that I’m going to keep this.”

“I will. And…”

A rustling sound was heard.

“This is a present for Miss Irene, who collected all the stickers.”

I opened my eyes and spread my hands wide. Inside the wrapping paper was something square.

“Can I open it?”

“You’re welcome to do so.”

Carefully unwrapping the wrapping paper, a silver frame with rounded corners was revealed.

“Photo frame?”

Holding an empty picture frame with no contents inside, I asked Kasana.

“The young lady has never taken a picture with her family yet, right?”

“Yes.”

“The two Young Masters don’t seem to be interested in family photos, but I thought the young lady might be different.”

Family photo.

The word came so unfamiliarly. Rosalia had taken pictures of me, but I had never taken pictures with anyone.

“Why don’t you tell the Lord?”

“…Daddy?”

“Yes. You can just tell him that you want to take a family photo.”

It was hard to imagine.

What would it feel like to frame a picture taken together? 

I swiped through the middle of the frame.

But this might really bother him. How do you convince him?

I really want a family photo.

“I will definitely take a family photo and put it here.”

I’ll have to somehow convince him. I grabbed the frame.

“So, shall we start the class now?”

“Yes.”

The frame was set aside so as not to disturb the class.

What Kasana brought today wasn’t the usual letter study book. It was a book with a black cover with the Astrophel family pattern drawn in the center.

“Today, we’re going to learn something different.”

“Something different from studying letters?”

“Yes, I’m going to tell you about the history of the Astrophel family.”

“Then is this a history book?”

“It’s similar. It’s a short record of the first Head and what kind of relationship they maintained with other regions during their reign.”

I opened the first page as if possessed by something.

A page appeared with the name of the first Head of State who first proclaimed the beginning of the family.

Tamur Astrophel (508-623)

He was a handsome man with a unique atmosphere.

Tamur had long black hair that reached down to his waist and sharp eyes. He had blazing red eyes staring straight ahead as if our eyes had met.

“This is Tamur Astrophel, the first head of the family. He has led the family for about 30 years.”

“…Tamur Astrophel.”

I awkwardly called him after his name. He seemed to have founded the Clan at a very young age.

It is because his appearance depicted in the picture looked similar to the current Cade. 

“Tracking back to just five hundred years ago, the continent was still not divided into realms. It was an age of disorder.”

“Then how does everyone live?!”

“No one thought it was a problem because it was a natural thing to take and to lose.”

It was a shock. There were no specific territories for the werebeast?

It meant that anyone could be evicted overnight after being deprived of their territory by another person.

It was a time when life could be threatened at any time.

“That’s why the weak clans of that time preferred to live in groups. On the contrary, the strong clans did not like the pack life because they could hunt alone.”

“But isn’t it good to go around together?”

“In a pack, there is always a boss. There’s no need to artificially make a group to create such a situation.”

It could be. I’m sure everyone had a lot of power. If they were not uncomfortable living alone, they would not have felt the need to form a group.

“At that time, the concept of a family did not even exist. There were signs that families were about to emerge one by one, but none of them had only one leader that would be called the Head of the State like now.”

“Huh? Why is it like that?”

“Most of the hierarchy-sensitive families were born late, because they didn’t want to cause any friction between their kin.” 

“I see.”

“However, the Astrophel family was a little peculiar. There was no internal friction and it was the fastest established family among the chieftains.”

“……Hmm?”

Isn’t that a completely different result from the elaborate explanations you have given so far?