Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The First Family Dinner
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"Can you get up there by yourself? Shall I help you?"
Rosaria, who had been following behind me, asked when she saw the high chair. I shook my head.
"No! I can get up by myself."
I was a big girl now, so I could handle something like this with ease.
I wasn't the same little chick I used to be.
Hnngh!
As I pushed with my arms and climbed onto the chair, Rosaria clapped, looking proud.
Just as I was smiling brightly with pride, I heard a scoff from beside me.
"Hmph. Barely able to climb a chair, and you call yourself a Black Mamba."
"Aileen is a birdy!"
"Ha?"
The curly-haired, black-haired boy lifted his chin and smirked.
"You're nothing but a mouthful. What are you saying that so proudly for, you idiot!"
The boy seemed to be waiting for me to shrink back and cry.
His expression screamed, *Well? Aren't you scared?* But what could I do?
I had just learned that among Black Mambas, the phrase 'a mouthful' was actually a term of endearment, so it had no effect on me whatsoever.
"Dat's wight! Aileen is cute!"
So I retorted confidently. The boy flinched, then shouted in a choked voice.
"Wh-what! What nonsense are you spouting! You're just a mouthful!"
"Dat's wight! Being cute is all that matters for Aileen!"
For some reason, I felt my shamelessness growing by the day.
Set watched the two of us bicker with a pathetic look on his face.
As if he couldn't understand why we were acting this way.
I glared at the curly-haired boy next to me, then broke into a grin.
The boy seemed at a loss for words.
When I took no damage and acted as if nothing had happened, his face crumpled, and a hint of panic flashed across it.
*This isn't how it's supposed to go. What is this?*
That was the look on his face.
Kaide, who had been watching the argument, spoke curtly.
"Enough."
At that one word, the boy pouted and backed down.
Hmph.
The boy whipped his head away.
Once the chaotic atmosphere settled, Kaide spoke again.
"Set, Arban. Surely you haven't forgotten that today is the day you meet your sister?"
So the kid sitting next to me must be Arban.
I peeked at Arban, whom I was seeing for the first time, with curious eyes.
We had argued, but I couldn't help being interested in him.
It seemed Arban felt the same, as our eyes met.
I felt a pang of guilt, as if I'd been caught secretly staring. I pretended to be nonchalant and looked straight ahead, but Set greeted me familiarly.
"We meet again, Aileen."
"......Yeah. Hi."
"So you were growing after all?"
Set spoke his inner thoughts without hesitation, his tone deceptively friendly.
Most people would only think something like that. He was surprisingly blunt.
"Have you two met before?"
"Yes. Once, in front of the forest. The ball was playing with her."
...Did I hear that right?
When I tilted my head, Set's eyes crinkled into a smile. His expression seemed to ask if there was a problem.
"...The ball wasn't playing wif me."
Set pretended not to hear and turned his head.
It seemed I had gotten on his bad side, and firmly so.
I felt it last time, and I could feel it clearly this time as well.
He couldn't openly show his displeasure in front of Kaide, but at this point, Kaide must have noticed.
It seemed it would take a very long time to change Set's mind.
Still, I even gave him that colored paper I folded as a gift...
Just as I grew sullen, the corners of Set's mouth lifted.
"Ah. You gave me that shabby piece of colored paper, too. It was the most pathetic gift I've ever received, so it was quite memorable."
"Then just throw it away."
Arban grumbled. For some reason, he seemed thoroughly peeved.
Set looked at Arban and said.
"Are you the only one who didn't get a gift from Aileen?"
"Who said I wanted something like that?"
"You seemed like it."
"I did not!"
It was the moment the second round of the brothers' fight was about to begin.
Arban opened his mouth to say something.
"Enough."
The tense atmosphere was once again calmed by Kaide's intervention.
Surely meals don't start like this every time, do they?
Set seemed to have taken a liking to teasing Arban, who reacted to the slightest provocation.
I tuned them out and picked up my child-sized fork.
It was the moment I speared a piece of meat that had been conveniently pre-cut for me.
"Pfft."
"...Don't laugh."
The table came up to my chest, making it difficult to eat.
My arm is going to get sore if I keep eating like this. What should I do?
As I was wondering if there was a better way, the plate in front of me suddenly disappeared.
"My meat!"
I glared resentfully at the culprit.
"That's my meat..."
"The table is too high. Come here."
"Huh?"
My eyes widened. Kaide was pointing to his lap.
I hesitated, then climbed down from the chair and walked over to Kaide.
*Pyo. Pyo. Pyo.*
A large hand slipped under my arms and lifted me up in a flash. My legs dangled in the air.
After setting me on his lap, Kaide nonchalantly brought a piece of meat to my mouth.
"Ah."
"Ahhh."
*Chomp.*
A large piece of meat, enough to fill my mouth, went in.
The tender texture and savory juices spread throughout.
*Nom, nom.*
As soon as I chewed diligently and swallowed, the next piece of meat entered my mouth as if it had been waiting.
"You eat well."
How many pieces had I eaten?
As I swallowed the last piece of meat, a chef wearing a baker's hat appeared from the direction of the kitchen.
"I've brought dessert, Gajunim, Young Masters... Oh, Young Lady Aileen, you're here too!"
The chef, who was placing down one delectable-looking dessert after another, greeted me warmly.
I realized he was the head chef who sent me delicious snacks every day.
"The uncle who gives Aileen yummy things!"
"It is an honor that the Young Lady knows of me. My name is Baharun."
I quickly bowed deeply. I remembered I had planned to thank him when I met him.
"Thank you for the yummy things every day!"
"I'm the one who's grateful that you enjoy them."
"I like Baharun!"
My voice rang out loudly in the dining hall. As soon as I said it, the atmosphere in the room instantly froze.
"......You like what?"
Kaide's hand, which had been about to offer me a snack, stopped dead.
Next, Set's gaze slowly turned to me. His brow furrowed subtly as he parted his lips, then closed them.
Finally, even Arban, who had been making a taunting face as if to say I couldn't even eat by myself, snapped his mouth shut into a thin line.
*What? Did I say something wrong?*
I tugged on Kaide's sleeve, which was frozen in mid-air.
"Ah."
"Right."
The chilly atmosphere thawed once more.
Baharun, who was sweating bullets, tried to change the subject as he continued his work.
"By the way, why is the Young Lady sitting on the Gajunim's lap?"
"The chair was too low."
"Ah, I see. Then I will have a booster seat prepared."
"Baharun."
"Yes?"
The corner of Kaide's mouth twisted up.
He stared intently at Baharun. Though it was only for a few seconds, a breathtaking tension passed between them.
"It seems your sense of perception has dulled."
"......."
"Shall I send you to the front lines of the territory to sharpen that sense?"
"......I misspoke."
"It seems so, doesn't it?"
"Yes."
As the threatening questions continued, Baharun quickly changed his tune.
And then he swiftly disappeared back into the kitchen.
I tilted my head, confused. What did Baharun do wrong?
Sometimes, I just couldn't understand grown-up conversations.
After eating the pudding, I took a large bite of bread piled high with whipped cream.
"Yummy!"
As I ate, oblivious to the whipped cream smeared around my mouth, Arban, who had been watching me listlessly, clicked his tongue.
"Hey."
"What?"
"Stop getting it all over your face. You're so high-maintenance, it's annoying."
While saying that, he dabbed my mouth with a tissue. His touch was rough, yet careful.
As I awkwardly received his care, Set spoke up.
"You were cooped up in the forest training for days. You must have worked hard, Arban."
"Ha?"
Arban retorted as if to ask what he was talking about, and Set's gaze shifted to the tissue.
For a moment, Arban's body flinched.
When I looked quizzically at his clearly flustered face, Arban shot up from his seat.
"Worked hard, my foot! It's not like I was practicing because I wanted to see her or anything!"
Arban stormed out of the dining hall.
*If he didn't, he didn't. Why is he so angry?*
I swallowed the last piece of bread and gulped down my drink.