ITDSF 01

Chapter 1

The peaceful Astrophel household was thrown into an uproar overnight.

An unprecedented incident had occurred.

It all began with a mysterious egg of unknown origin.

It had looked ridiculously small and somewhat defective, and then, before anyone knew it, a baby bird had cracked its way out, chirping, “Peep! Peep!”

No one had figured out how it had somehow ended up among the eggs destined to become heirs.

Baon, who had been in charge of managing the eggs, was sweating profusely.

“Could someone have put it in there as food for the newly hatched young masters?”

“You seem eager to be thrown in as food yourself.”

“That was an unfortunate choice of words.”

Baon immediately corrected himself and stepped back.

The man standing before him was more than capable of doing exactly that.

Kaide Astrophel.

He was the head of the Astrophel family, leading and commanding all its members from the front.

As the clan’s leader, he had inherited the powerful strength of their manifested forms, along with a temperament more cruel and savage than anyone else’s, in equal measure.

His dangerous aura, black hair, and red eyes were the defining symbols of the Astrophel family.

Kaide probably wouldn’t actually throw him to the beasts as food, but Baon knew that if he didn’t behave himself, he might not leave with all his bones intact.

He cleared his throat.

“We checked to see whether it had received any pheromones from a guardian, but there were no traces.”

“Was it abandoned?”

“That is also a possibility. Otherwise……”

Perhaps its guardian had become unable to care for it any longer.

Either way, it wasn’t particularly good news for a newly hatched baby bird.

It was practically the same as having nowhere to return to.

“We believe its slow growth was caused by its inability to absorb pheromones properly.”

“I see.”

“What would you like us to do?”

Baon asked about the baby bird’s fate.

Kaide looked inside the basket on his desk.

Despite the fact that they were talking about its own future, the baby bird had tucked its beak beneath its wing, curled into a little ball, and was sleeping soundly, completely oblivious to the world.

It was the very picture of peace and tranquility.

It had no idea what awaited it.

For a newly hatched bird, having no guardian meant death.

If it had been discovered by another family, it might have been protected until adulthood.

But not here.

The Astrophel family strictly adhered to the rules of the wilderness, where the strong preyed upon the weak. Frail creatures were not welcome.

“Just dump it somewhere outside our territory.”

“Understood.”

Baon lifted the basket to carry out the order, wearing an expression that suggested he had expected nothing less.

At the same time, a tiny head suddenly popped up from inside the basket.

“Peep?”

The baby bird had woken up.

It tilted its head as though it were trying to figure out what was going on after just waking from a nap.

Its small, plump wings fluttered awkwardly, as if they weren’t quite ready to move properly.

Then it suddenly noticed its own wings and panicked, not knowing what to do.

At the sight, Kaide’s brow furrowed.

“The egg was small, and now it seems there’s something wrong with its head, too.”

“……Still, it’s rather cute.”

“Don’t say useless things.”

“Are you really going to abandon it?”

At that moment, astonishingly, the baby bird stopped moving.

It was almost as if it understood what the two men were saying.

If the baby bird had originally been born as a snake, that wouldn’t have been strange at all.

But for a baby bird, it was remarkable.

Apparently, it hadn’t been completely unable to absorb pheromones while inside the egg.

After all, it seemed to understand the clan’s language to some extent.

Baon’s eyes sparkled with interest.

“Then I’ll take it and abandon it.”

“Peep!”

“It’s the head of the family’s order.”

Keeping his eyes fixed on the baby bird, Baon delivered the line in a flat, textbook-like voice.

Each time he spoke, the baby bird reacted passionately, flapping its wings.

Baon took another careful look at the little creature.

Just as he had suspected.

The faint pheromones he could sense astonishingly carried traces of Kaide’s own.

“I can sense your pheromones, my lord.”

“I know.”

“……And you’re still going to abandon it? If you throw it outside the territory, it’ll be torn apart and eaten immediately.”

“You’re not about to suggest that I raise it in my family, are you?”

His characteristically sinister pheromones began to ripple through the air.

The pungent scent of poison made Baon look troubled as he took a step back.

“Peep…… Peep……”

The baby bird trembled in fear at Kaide’s pheromones.

Seeing it crawl beneath the blanket and cry in terror, Kaide hesitated and withdrew his pheromones.

“Peep…… Peep.”

The sight of the baby bird sobbing miserably and desperately searching for someone made Kaide press a hand to his forehead.

It was common knowledge that the moment a baby was born into the world, it would regard the one who supplied it with pheromones as its guardian.

Meeting the eyes of the baby bird, which was looking at him and crying desperately despite being frightened, Kaide scowled and waved his hand.

“Do whatever you want, Baon.”

What in the world was happening to me?

I still couldn’t believe what had happened.

Was I dreaming right now?

Unable to make sense of the situation no matter how hard I thought about it, I rubbed my eyes.

But everything was still the same, so I tilted my head in confusion.

How am I still alive?

Originally, I had been a young beastkin living alone in hiding in a small territory in the east.

I didn’t even know who I was.

All I knew was that I could walk on four legs and that I had a tail.

No one had ever told me who I was.

That was the consequence of having no guardian.

It wasn’t particularly unusual for a young beastkin to live alone in the east.

The powerful families were constantly fighting fiercely over their territories, so the east was always drenched in blood.

I had barely managed to stay alive, and my last remaining memory was definitely of being chased by a terrifying beast.

Of course, I had thought there was no way I could survive.

And yet, here I was, breathing and alive.

What’s more, when I opened my eyes, I had become a bird.

A bird.

I was a bird.

Unable to recover from the shock, I tried to cover my eyes, only to see a pair of small, plump wings.

“Peep!!”

This can’t be happening!

I shook my head vigorously.

They were so small that I hadn’t been sure at first, but no matter how I looked at them, they were definitely wings.

Trying to escape reality, I rubbed my face against the blanket.

The soft sensation nearly left me dazed for a moment, but I quickly pulled myself together.

What on earth was going on?

I anxiously looked around.

No one had explained what had happened to me.

And besides……

“You’re not about to suggest that I raise it in my family, are you?”

Even if I was a bird, calling me “it” was just too much.

Pout.

I let out a sigh and flopped down.

Too many things had happened in such a short moment.

I had only just woken up, and I was already exhausted.

Jingle, jingle.

I let my body sway with the rocking basket and looked at the man called Baon.

Where was he taking me?

Surely he wasn’t really going to abandon me outside the territory?

With a body like this, I couldn’t survive on my own.

The thought of having to be alone all over again immediately after being born made me feel gloomy.

I guess I’ll be alone in this life, too.

Perhaps he had noticed my unwavering gaze, because I found myself meeting Baon’s pale blue eyes.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Peep. Peep. Peeeeeep.”

“I have no idea what you’re saying.”

“Peep-peep! Peep!”

“If word gets out that there’s a bird here, someone might come to eat you. A snake, for instance……”

Gasp!

I covered my mouth with my short wings.

As I curled up and looked around anxiously, Baon leaned his face close to the basket.

“No matter how I look at it, it’s fascinating. You can understand what people are saying.”

The pupils of his blue eyes narrowed into thin vertical slits.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Oh, my goodness. He really must be a snake.

I’m a bird, and Baon must be a snake.

I knew that snakes were natural enemies of birds, so the feathers all over my body stood on end.

“I was joking.”

“Peep. Peeep……?”

“That didn’t even faze you, did it?”

Baon said cheerfully.

I breathed a sigh of relief and patted my chest.

Now that I had become a bird, it really felt as though everything about me was becoming more birdlike.

And now I had to worry about being eaten by a snake immediately after being born.

What a miserable existence.

I was gloomily staring at the bottom of the basket when Baon came to a stop.

“This is where you’ll be staying from now on. The head of the family has given his permission, so I suppose it’ll be all right.”