Chapter 93
Chapter 93
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Sudden Growth
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Blink, blink.
My eyes fluttered open.
I’d been so feverish I couldn't sleep all night, and my memory cut off after Kaide picked me up.
"......Dada?"
I called for Kaide, then winced. My throat was hoarse and scratchy.
As I lay there staring at the ceiling, a voice came from right beside me.
"You're finally awake. Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
"Huh?"
"Your fever has completely broken."
Kaide placed a hand on my forehead to check my temperature.
The pleasant coolness made me beam, and Kaide smiled back.
"Seeing you smile, you must be fine."
"Uh-huh, I feel brand new."
Perhaps because I had been so sick, I felt incredibly refreshed.
The saying that kids grow after they get sick wasn't wrong at all.
"But when did we get home?"
"At dawn."
"Oh, okay."
I turned my body completely toward Kaide as we spoke, but a sullen voice came from the other side.
"Hey, are we invisible to you or something?"
"Huh? Arban?"
I shot up and turned around to see Set and Arban also sitting in chairs on the other side.
"You look like you're feeling better now."
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"Take this."
Set handed me what he was holding. It was a thick paper envelope.
What's this? I wondered, looking at it quizzically.
"They're the photos you took," he said.
"Really?"
"Arban and I went and got them developed."
The two of them went together to get the photos?
In disbelief, I opened the envelope. Inside were indeed the pictures I had taken.
"Your camera is on the desk."
"Mhm. Fank you, brothers."
"It's nothing."
Arban replied gruffly, looking embarrassed.
I was so pleased that I started laying the photos out one by one on the bed.
The two of them hadn't seen the pictures yet either and showed interest.
"You took a lot."
"Mhm. Once Set and Arban become adults, I won't be able to see you like this anymore."
Soon, these photos would be the only way to see them as they are now. So I had to take plenty.
If only I hadn't gotten sick, I could have taken more. I felt a little disappointed.
Arban cleared his throat.
"Then just take more from now on."
"To do that, we'd have to be together every day."
"That's not a problem."
Set replied, holding up one of the photos.
He had been reluctant to have his picture taken at first, but seeing himself in the print, it seemed he didn't mind it.
I should put these in a photo album, one by one.
I can't lose a single one, so I should put them back in the envelope for now.
As I started gathering the photos again, Set put down the one he was holding.
"But where's Rosaria?"
"She went to get some medicine from Hestia for a moment."
"But I'm okay now."
"You need to take it to prevent another high fever like yesterday's."
"What do you mean?"
It sounded like what happened yesterday could happen again.
Kaide began to explain in a subdued voice.
"The reason you had a high fever yesterday was due to a pheromone clash. And according to Hestia, it will continue to happen from now on."
Kaide started to explain what had happened to me.
He told me that as I grew, it might become harder to handle the pheromones, and that it would be even more difficult when I went through my intermediate growth.
As Kaide's explanation continued, Set and Arban were busy watching my expression.
They probably thought I would be sad to hear such a thing.
"So you're sayin' I'll keep gettin' sick if I don't take the medicine?"
"......Yes."
"I see. I get it, Dada."
I nodded calmly. Kaide's brow furrowed.
"What is it that you get?"
"Huh?"
"Did you not understand the explanation? If we don't find a solution, you'll have to live like this for the rest of your life."
"......"
"And you still say you get it?"
Kaide seemed angry at my calm demeanor. As if he were angry on my behalf.
I couldn't say anything. I felt a sharp pang in my heart.
The truth was, I wasn't okay at all. No one would be.
It wasn't my fault this was happening, so it felt unfair.
Who could immediately accept having to live in a perpetually unstable state?
I thought I could vaguely understand why Kaide was angry.
He was furious at the fact that I had to live in such a precarious condition.
And it seemed he wanted me to honestly say that I wasn't okay.
But if I said that, it would surely hurt Kaide.
I didn't want that to happen.
"Actually, I'm not okay. I'm weally mad. If I was born normally, this wouldn't have happened."
Kaide drew a sharp breath. I continued.
"But if that happened, I wouldn't have met you, Dada. And it's not your fault."
The reason I had to be sick was because I had absorbed Kaide's pheromones, but that was also the reason I was able to be born.
Because a Su-in who doesn't get enough nutrients in the egg will die.
"I'm so happy I was born here and got to meet everyone."
It wasn't that I wasn't angry. It was just that there was no one to be angry at.
"Besides, it's not like there's no solution."
"......That's true."
"So it's okay. Right?"
Kaide's mood softened.
He seemed relieved that I'd said that.
I heard Arban, who had been tense, let out a small sigh.
Set looked at me with a peculiar expression.
"You're strong, Aileen."
"That's right, I'm not weak! I'm strong, too!"
I'm super strong now. For real. I even knocked down a tree in the forest once.
Besides, now that my growth pattern was changing to be like a Black Mamba's, my physical abilities would improve even more.
To be honest, that part was a little nice.
I felt like I could now blend in more with the family.
Not that I had been feeling left out or anything.
Click.
The door opened and Rosaria returned.
In her hand was a paper packet of powdered medicine. It seemed I would have to take that every day from now on.
Seeing me awake, a bright smile spread across Rosaria's face.
"Lady Aileen!"
"Rosaria!"
I jumped out of bed and ran to her. Rosaria must have been so worried.
And she must have been upset that we had kept so much from her until now.
"Rosaria, are you okay?"
Rosaria, who had pulled me into a hug, paused. But she soon nodded.
"Of course. I'm perfectly fine. I understand now why you had to keep things about you a secret from me."
"I'm sorry."
"What do you have to be sorry for, Lady Aileen? I was angry at first, but it doesn't matter anymore. Right now, I just hope for your condition to improve."
Rosaria released me from her embrace.
Kneeling down, she examined my body, then suddenly looked down and her eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh my?"
"What is it?"
"Your clothes have gotten smaller."
My clothes are smaller?
I looked down as well.
Normally, the hem of my dress should have reached my ankles.
But now, a small part of my legs was showing.
How could I grow so much overnight? Was this also related to the intermediate growth?
Is a Black Mamba's growth this fast? I blinked, bewildered.
Does this mean I'll now look around ten years old?
"Lady Aileen, you've grown taller."
"It seems the intermediate growth has begun."
"What in the world..."
I dazedly lifted my leg. Come to think of it, did the floor seem a little farther away?
I was torn between being happy and worried. Hestia had said that as I grew, the number of medicines that could serve as a substitute would decrease.
I'm so happy I'm taller.
Unable to hide my joy, the corners of my mouth twitched.
"Hey, if you're happy, just smile. You look really weird right now."
"I can smile?"
"It'd be better if you did."
"I got taller!"
I cheered, throwing my arms up in the air, and Rosaria chimed in.
"Wow, you really did get taller, Lady Aileen!"
"Now I'll be tall like my brothers!"
I heard there was a limit to how much one's body could grow before becoming an adult.
Now I can grow, too!
Set and Arban sighed and smiled as if to say I was hopeless.
Kaide's face showed a mix of complicated emotions, but since I was smiling, he was smiling along with me.
"At this rate, I'll have to call for Dante immediately."
"Uncle Dante?!"
"Who decided he's your uncle?"
"He is my uncle!"
I scurried over to Kaide's side. Then I rested my arms on his leg and looked up at him.
"When is uncle comin'?"
"When would you like him to come?"
"Super fast. Tomorrow!"
"Then I shall send a letter to that effect."
"Yay!"
I spread my arms wide to express my joy.
And...
CRASH!
"...Huh?"
The small bookshelf mounted on the wall next to the bed fell to the floor with a loud clatter.
I stared at my outstretched arm, frozen awkwardly. That's strange. I was strong, but I shouldn't have been able to produce that kind of monstrous power with my bare hands without using pheromones.
Set looked at the fallen bookshelf with disbelief.
"Father just told you," he said. "Your growth is going to resemble a Black Mamba's."
"...I knew that."
"It didn't seem like you did."
Did this mean I had to live like this, with my strength so uncontrolled?
It seemed like not just my room, but every object in the mansion was in danger.
I timidly lowered my arms.