Chapter 18
Birds join the race the moment they break out of their eggs. To receive the food from their mother’s crop, they push their beaks in and cry out loudly. There’s no sharing. The brutal truth of survival of the fittest pushes any thought of defying this instinct to the back.
If there are two siblings, they cry louder. If there are three, they push each other. If there are four, they peck each other. If there are five, they drop one to the ground. The competition among siblings continues until their feathers fully grow. Though it eventually comes to an end…
Humans, however, never graduate from the competition of the nestling birds even after becoming adults. Because people leave behind wealth even after death. Both Hersel and Aria were like that. The difference being, Aria had nine more half-siblings, and her father was someone who would bequeath his assets based on their value.
I looked at Aria, the greediest among the nestlings and the most loved among the siblings. She waved her hand and got on the carriage. I responded with a simple nod and ended the meeting. The deal was safely concluded for now.
“Really… You will tell me where the ancestors’ ledger is buried?”
“If you don’t want it, never mind.”
“Oh… No, who said I didn’t want it?”
Even though she tried to hide it with a fake cough until the end, Aria couldn’t manage her expression. The reaction would be the same if I gave the ‘ancestors’ ledger,’ an heirloom lost to one of the Orbella’s children, to someone else. It was rare to find an item that could grab the mother’s attention so strongly. Recommending Hersel’s name on the recommendation letter was a risk worth taking. Anyway, securing a membership was a foregone conclusion.
And Edel Klais. Honestly, I didn’t really want to join. The place was filled with the upper crust of society, with an older age group, making it feel like a young person visiting an old dance hall. The reluctance to step into the elegant interactions of nobles, seen only in movies by a modern person like me, was just an added bonus.