C 81
Akrea Safile, who had stepped forward, extended her hand to me.
As if asking for a handshake, I quickly reached out my hand, and she immediately took my hand and shook it up and down.
"Ugh..., it's better than I thought."
After holding my hand for a long time, she muttered something and finally returned to her seat under Erno Etham's fierce gaze.
"How did that madman manage to keep his eyes open?"
(N/T: This expression is used when someone is praised as a genius and finally loses touch with reality. In reality, it means someone loses their sense of perception from being too flattered or receiving too much recognition and ends up in arrogance.)
"Your brain is still empty."
"Call me big sister properly!"
Erno Etham responded with his usual friendly expression.
Akrea Safile pointed at Erno Etham and then gritted her teeth and lowered her hand.
"Uh, h-hello... matriarch. I'm Hayel Etham... I'm the second son and the third brother..."
"Hello..."
He was a very fragile-looking person. In his arms, he held a book with a dark red leather cover.
Unlike the others, he had a slender body and fair skin. On the contrary, there were dark circles under his eyes. The light blue eyes and black hair suited him very well.
"Is that person older than my dad...?"
He has a baby face.
As I looked at him, he must have felt embarrassed, so he lowered his head and tried to curl up.
Nelia Zardan, who was watching, laughed as she looked at him with curiosity.
"Hayel, he's the worst of us. Once he gets angry, he sees nothing else. What he used to beat your biological father with in the past..."
"Nelia."
Erno Etham interrupted Nelia Zardan.
Nelia snorted.
"Ah, not the sheep behind you, but that bastard."
Erno Etham covered my ears with the palm of his hand in silence.
Then he seemed to be talking about something.
The tendons stood out on the back of Nelia's hand as her eyes widened.
She seemed to be saying something with a very angry expression, but I couldn't hear her at all.
"It doesn't seem like she's covering my ears so tightly... ."
Is she using magic?
I'm curious, but I can't hear them.
As I grumbled, my ears soon cleared, and the hand covering them moved away.
"Ah, seriously..."
Nelia Zardan stifled a laugh.
"Anyway, if he gets angry, he'll just destroy a couple of shops, so don't deal with him."
"Sister...!"
Hayel Etham shook his head with a tearful face.
His tearful face is cute. It feels like I want to stomp on my feet.
"Well, we're almost done with the self-introductions... Oh, haven't you done it yet, Chronos?"
Chronos?
When I raised my head at the familiar name, the man who had been sitting silently to the side raised his head.
He was a man with dark, curly black hair and deep blue eyes.
To be precise, it was close to a very dark blue, as if it had reached the depths of the sea.
If other people's eyes were lively, his gaze was dull and lifeless, like that of a dead man.
It was a truly indifferent gaze.
The man who looked good in jet black wore a white cleric's outfit.
Books resembling bibles were neatly placed on the desk.
"... my name is Chronos Etham."
He opened his mouth slowly, reluctantly. His voice was as dry as grains of sand rolling in the desert.
Similar to the feeling of stepping on a brittle leaf?
"That person hates me."
Others may not have noticed, but I did. I could see their contempt for me in their gaze.
"Oh, you can leave out that grumpy bastard. He's been like that since he was a teenager."
"Ah..."
"He entered the temple without getting married and is now a cardinal. Maybe he was forced to come because he didn't want to attend this meeting. The Etham orders are absolute."
Is that so?
When I widened my eyes, Charniel Etham chuckled heartily. Next to him lay a tremendously well-forged greatsword.
"Yes, I suppose they didn't call us because they had nothing to do... After all, isn't the agenda due to the new family matriarch?"
"Yes, boys. How come no one comes to greet their father? If you really fail in parenting your children..."
"If I tell that to my mother, she'll probably come running with an axe."
Charniel said with a smile. Then Miriel Etham raised her eyes fiercely and turned her head.
"Well. I've also heard rumors, but is it true that the new family matriarch is a dragon?"
"Yes."
"I can't believe it. The first duke drank dragon blood, so dragon blood flowed into the Etham family, but dragons actually never born, right?"
"It's even stranger to me that the dragon isn't a direct descendant but was born from that damned bloodline."
That's interesting to me too.
As I nodded, they looked at me with curious eyes.
"Baby, can you turn into a dragon?"
Nelia asked.
I nodded. If I wanted to, I could return to normal.
"Have you done a paternity test?"
"Not yet."
Every time I tried to do it, I collapsed and fainted, and this time I even slept for a long time, so I really couldn't do anything.
"And the bastard?"
"It seems someone is hiding him. The tracks were cut, and then they disappeared."
"That's really embarrassing."
Charniel rubbed his chin.
"So that's it. We have to protect the young matriarch who woke up here, right?"
"Yes."
"Even if she's a collateral, you can't make them receive protection without verifying if they're blood relatives."
Everyone's gaze reached him at the dry voice.
It was Chronos Etham.
"I think the priority is to catch him and do a paternity test first."
"...Doesn't my third brother like something?"
Erno Etham's eyes narrowed. The feeling of being very uncomfortable was evident.
"I was just stating a theory."
"When did you ever debate in front of me?"
"I don't make mistakes in what I say, Charniel."
"That's true."
Charniel agreed with Chronos's words. The others nodded slowly.
"Because I also need a basis to move the soldiers."
His thick fingers slowly ran across the table.
"However, the bastard is not here, so we can't confirm it immediately. Can you find him, Hayel?"
Charniel asked. Hayel, who shrank his neck considerably, looked around and nodded.
"I'll try."
"Is this enough for now, Chronos?"
Chronos Etham nodded with a somber expression.
Charniel turned his gaze to me.
"Well, it's the first time I've served a young dragon matriarch... please take care of me in the future."
Charniel smiled and extended his hand to me. When I reached out my hand, my body suddenly leaned back.
"Eirin, you can't touch dirty things like that."
Feeling nervous, I looked at Charniel and then at Dad, then finally lowered my outstretched hand and smiled.
Dad said not to do it, so I shouldn't do it.
"...Am I dirty?"
"Well, looking at you, it's not something kids would like."
"You talk too much, I'm liked by my children."
"Yes, it must be because they've gotten used to the big brother's unkempt face, right?"
Said Akrea Safile. Charniel, who had pursed his lips, frowned.
"I look forward to it."
I nodded.
Then, the eyes that had been fighting and arguing turned toward me at the same time. They looked at each other, smiled, and nodded.
"Well, don't spoil the family."
"Yes."
Although I don't know how I can do that.
"And you should also be attentive to the people who are here. Because they are the vassals and collaterals who help us the most."
At Charniel's words, I slowly looked around.
Apart from those sitting at the round table, there were several people who had come to see the main family.
There were people I was familiar with and people I wasn't.
I slowly looked at the people lined up around the round table.
Although I had no idea who they were.
"I guess they're just asking me to keep an eye on them."
It really seemed like I had become the family matriarch.
In an instant, like a hole over a fence.
"Should I talk about 'Hatar' for now?"
It's really not an easy task to gather so many people.
"So, I think we can break it down slowly, what do you think? I'm going to spend time with the children after a long time."
"Ah, I also made a reservation at a fitting room."
"I want to go to the library..."
Charniel, Akrea, and Hayel spoke in succession.
It seemed like they would leave their seats soon. After thinking about it, I raised my hand slightly.
"Excuse me..."
The people who were about to get up stopped moving at my call and turned their heads.
