CH 56

“…It didn’t come?”

(t/n: now, Beatty uses 안 왔어요 = (it) didn’t come, which is already using honorifics and more polite, and not informally.)

“Yes.”

Tak.

Only then did the maid let go of her hand which had tightly gripped Beatty’s wrist as she smiled.

“Please say it like that from now on.”

Voices mixed with ridicule passed through the ears of Beatty, who cupped her reddened wrist.

“How bad would I feel if I hear informal speech from a nobody, much less a kid?”

Beatty didn’t have many channels she could obtain knowledge from.

‘A kid… I’ll feel bad if I hear a kid speak informally to me.’

That’s why even if she heard words of disrespect, or further more, insults.

“You understand, right? Since if not… I’m going to be very angry.”

Since there was no one who correct her.

‘Then since she’ll be angry… Looks like I have to use honorifics.’

Young Beatty swallowed it up just like that, thinking that it was common sense.

“Yup… No, I mean, yes.”

“Good.”

The maid enjoyed the rising sense of superiority in suppressing the noble child.

“Good job.”

Nasty laughter filled the hallway like sticky mud.

***

‘No matter how kind the people here are.’

Since she couldn’t receive such kindness well, it became that much more impactful.

Beatty didn’t want to offend the kind girls by behaving badly.

‘They’ll be angry if the Half Young Miss speaks informally.’

Nod.

Beatty thought like that inwardly as she nodded.

Lost in her brief period of recollection, Beatty didn’t notice Ather’s eyes which had became cold before she knew it.

“They said, ‘A kid who’s not even a proper noble’…”

The subdued voice dangerously hovered the rims of her ear.

“Anything else?”

“Huh…?”

Beatty raised her head with a wondering expression, only to see Ather, who had already controlled his murderous energy, smiling.

“Aside from that, is there nothing else you heard?”

“Uh…”

It isn’t exactly a word that she wanted to say, but.

“A Half…?”

Grit.

‘Huh?’

There seemed to be the sound of a tooth breaking from somewhere…

However, raising her head, the only thing seen in Beatty’s eyes was Older Brother’s friend who was smiling calmly.

“Yeah….”

Like a predator that bent down its body to press its prey, in a much more lower voice, Ather opened his mouth.

“Who did you say said that?”

“Who?”

At the vague question asking to pinpoint who precisely, Beatty tilted her head as if it were difficult.

“Why? You can’t remember the name?”

“Uh… Since there are not many names that I know among them.”

“…Among them?”

Ather didn’t miss the implication which filled Beatty’s words.

“Uhm. At the Capital mansion, everyone said that, though.”

To the extent that it was difficult to exactly specify who. The default title which was used for calling her was “Half” among the employees of the Capital mansion.

“But since I’ve never personally heard the names of the people there….”

Somehow, at Ather’s eyes which were full of curiosity—murderous energy—Beatty wanted to properly give answers to the question he was curious about, but unfortunately, there were not many names she knew.

Since there was no way the employees who had totally ignored the noble kid as they pleased would introduce themselves politely, and…

‘Since they don’t talk to me…’

There wasn’t exactly a single person who came to talk to Beatty, excluding the time they teased her like that.

‘If it’s a name I know, I heard it all when they were talking with others about it, though, can I say this?’

Fortunately, before her contemplating was over, Ather spoke first.

“‘Everyone, you say.”

With colder and colder eyes, he kept thinking about the implication of the word that came out from Little Star’s mouth.

It was just words he asked to divert her attention, but even only with the child’s way of speaking, he didn’t know that there were remaining shadows of that mansion.

‘Very… I feel very shitty.’

It felt as if he had been hit in the head with a stone unexpectedly.

“….”

“Your Highness Ather?”

At the boy’s lengthened silence, Beatty held a dubious face. 

“Ah, sorry.”

Grin. Ather smiled reassuringly as he opened his mouth.

“It’s because I remembered something I left.”

It was a vaguely cold smile.

***

The First Prince left, saying that he forgot there was something he had to deliver to Older Brother.

‘Even if they’re like this and that, I guess he’s on good terms with Older Brother.’

He also said some strange things before he left.

“Ah. It would be better to not use honorific speech from now on.”

Beatty was puzzled thinking what in the world is he saying but he put on a gentle polite smile again and then said,

“Do you want to try talking casually to me first?”

Even so, there was no way she could do so to His Highness the Prince. When she closed her mouth tightly, he giggled, with her not knowing what it meant, and then he made a plan as he pleased.

“Let’s practice it together next time.”

Your Highness, the First Prince, seemed to kind of be a strange person.

Thinking like that, Beatty made a firm determination to avoid the First Prince as much as possible.

“Then, please call me if there’s anything the Young Miss needs.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The maid, who took the banquet dress off her, left the room, and dressed in a comfortable dressing gown, Beatty lightly sat down on the bed.

‘If it’s as usual, it’s time to sleep, but.’

Under the guidance of Father, who took health seriously, including sleeping early, she had also gotten used to going to bed early, but for some reason, today she wasn’t sleepy at all.

Is it because it was her first time going out to a big banquet?

‘There sure were a lot of people.’

The banquet, which she had only seen inside books, was more brilliant than she had imagined.

Actually, to perfect the banquet which Baby prepared, the Duke put in a budget that can even hold 10 more banquets.

Not knowing this fact, Beatty thought it was supposed to be like that, and she continued believing in the wrong standard while admiring, “Turns out a banquet is really something that’s sparkling”.

Beatty proudly looked back on today’s banquet, which had fortunately been well received.

“Ah!”

When she saw the object that was put all alone on the desk, she got up again while saying, “Ah right”.

‘I was going to bring it to Father separately, though.’

A greenish transparent potion bottle.

To make a Wermuth potion tea, it was a bottle that was completed with the highest purity made among the produced potions.

‘Come to think of it, don’t I have to report it?’

Since it was Father who made it possible to present the macrame decoration and also the Wermuth potion tea at the banquet.

Fortunately, the response was also good, so thanks to it, it seemed good to report that this kind of result came out.

‘One can never know, maybe he’ll invest in my merchant later.’

Looking at these small achievements that she builds one by one, won’t she be able to attract even a small investment when she establishes a merchant that will become independent later, although it’s still a far future?

It was a reasonable calculation.

Nodding, Beatty got up, holding the potion bottle.

Before Beatty, headed to the office with light steps with the bottle in her favorite bag, she turned around the corner of the hallway that connects to the office.

‘Huh?’

She sensed something that was different from usual in the air and paused her steps.

Around the office, where there was always a solemn atmosphere, it was quiet as the aides who came and went were talking in whispering voices, but unlike usual, she felt an uproarious sign.

‘What’s going on?’

Strange.

Tilting her head, Beatty carefully hid in the corner as she peeked out with her eyes only.

‘People…’

It was the first time she had seen that many people gathered like that in front of the office.

Guessing that as expected, there was something going on, Beatty rolled her eyes contemplating whether she should just come back later.

Looking around the surroundings like that, Beatty’s gaze stopped in one place.

“!”

Witnessing a familiar figure making an unexpected appearance, Beatty’s eyes greatly expanded.

***

“W-Why are you doing this to me!”

Dragged with her upper body tied up tightly, Firina shouted sharply.

‘Don’t tell me, it shouldn’t be that the plan got exposed, right?’

Firina, who was searching for her cooperator’s figure while looking around, met eyes with the Duke who was casting murderous energy quietly.

Eeek!

At the murderous energy which was hard to bear, without realizing it herself, she made a sound as if the wind was falling out of a pig’s lungs.

“…Viscount.”

Opening his mouth after holding back his sigh as if he was suppressing his murderous energy, the Duke’s voice was mixed with a growl.

At the low cry of the predator that naturally made one’s hair stand, the Viscount without realizing it herself almost turned around and ran away.

“Oh my. You can’t move.”

“Aack, how dare you!”

Firina gnashed her teeth and raised her voice, towards the soldier who was strongly holding the rope tight again,

“Eeek! If you treat me like this, do you think you’ll be safe! You lowly things!”

The soldiers’ eyes frowned upon Firina’s behavior, who was hurling curses while unsightly writhing like a fish vaulting its tied upper body.

“I’m a Viscount who can go in and out of the Royal Palace! I’m a precious person who can personally have an audience even with Her Majesty the Second Queen! To think you’re treating the honored me like a sinner.”

Firina whose face turned red from shouting loudly opened her mouth again.

Step step.

However, she couldn’t spit out the next word.

It was because she was fully seized with fear, seeing the Duke, who sent a gaze at her as if he was squeezing her neck, had reached the front of her, like a predator who was judging when to cut off the prey’s leash.

“….”

The golden eyes, which looked at her without a word, looked like they’d change suddenly and tear her apart at any moment soon.

“Du-Duke….”

Firina tried to make an excuse, saying something by laboriously moving her tongue which had hardened with fear.

“It’s a misun- misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding, you say…”

Criiing.

Immediately after the Duke’s voice, which was covered with murderous energy as if he’ll cut her off at any moment soon, the sound of footsteps rang clear.

Author's Thoughts

Hello everyone, EunEun is backk, bringing Beatty and the Aslan Family's story back as well~! I'm so sorry for the long wait TT I'll try my best for this novel to be updated regularly!^^ Thank you so much <3333