CH 4

“A squirrel? Is it also considered as a shapeshifter?”

“What do you mean a squirrel shapeshifter? What kind of ability would they have? Picking acorns?”

“It’s not even funny to have ourselves served something like that.”

Her shoulders flinched at the conversations that unconsciously came to her mind.

‘No, no. That’s not the important thing right now.’

Beatty fiercely shook off her murky thoughts, huff! 

The tiny shapeshifter purposely breathed out of her nose in confidence as if she was roaring.

Now, let’s think.

‘What should I do now?’

She did things impulsively right now, but she couldn’t help but think about the future.

‘If I don’t want to be locked up in the annex again. This is a perfect time, though.’

Before the regression, they tightened up the security of the mansion upon her first meeting with Ritter.

Her aunt locked her up borrowing the so-called ‘bridal class’ excuse and released a fierce guard dog to keep an eye on her. She couldn’t even escape in her squirrel form.

If she woke up to the time after she met Ritter, it wouldn’t be possible for her to escape easily from the mansion by shapeshifting into her squirrel form.

But….

‘It’s dangerous to stay like this.’

For young shapeshifters, the outside world was a dangerous place to wander around.

She understood it very well from her experience. When she was young, she went out to the streets while being oblivious to everything. Consequently, people found out that she was a shapeshifter and almost got kidnapped.

Brr.

Even now, she would tremble every time she recalled that moment. Beatty pondered while obsessively checking over her body for the tenth time today, as to not fail to retain her squirrel appearance.

‘If people can get their hands on the signum, a lot will lose their minds and pounce on the idea.’

Signum was auctioned only once in the history of the continent.

A whale signum, which was said to be fished by a fisherman out from the sea by chance, was sold at the price of three mansions in a large territory.

The tale of a fisherman that succeeded in rising to a higher status by selling a signum, was a story that everyone in the continent knew about.

‘If this becomes visible to people’s eyes….’

Beatty shuddered while caressing her small, concealed signum that was covered under her fur.

‘It would be great if I could become an adult soon. Ah, why on earth do I have to come back as a child, far from my coming of age ceremony?’

There was a reason why she planned to escape after her coming of age ceremony.

Being a young shapeshifter, her ears or tail would appear when she got excited. She also couldn’t separate the growing along signum from her body until she reached adulthood.

Only when she matured and became an adult could she handle the characteristics of shapeshifters freely.

‘Until then, is there no safe place to stay?’

She already left the mansion she severely wanted to flee from, but she had no clue of where to go right now.

Beatty didn’t have money in her hand and somehow became a child again. It would be very challenging for her to find a job to live off of.

She was lucky that she didn’t get kidnapped and sold right away with this body. But to work? It was unlikely.

‘… Should I go to the forest and live there?’

What if she needed to save a maiden that lived in the forest hiding from the servants?

What if she encountered a beast such as an eagle or a wolf?

‘With my age now, I think I’ll still be eaten even if in my human form.’

Sigh.

‘Where, oh, where should I go….’

Beatty struggled inwardly while scratching a piece of sticking-out wood from the stagecoach roof.

That time, a conversation came up.

“Have you heard of it? This time as well, the Lion Duke smashed the nose of those arrogant Holy Empire people! Take a look at this newspaper, this is what I’m talking about.”

“O-oh! Be careful, don’t get too close to the window!”

“Ah! My newspaper!”

Whoosh! 

A huge piece of paper blown by the wind suddenly hit her.

“K-kuk!”

Beatty, who waggled her short limbs in embarrassment, tilted her head when she saw the writing on the paper.

“Chuu… chu?”

[Astrum Daily, the Fastest Newsletter in the Kingdom

Date of Issue. XX Day XX Month 718 Year of the Continental Calendar]

Beatty leaned her head to look at the number on the top of the newspaper.

Continental Calendar Year 718.

Year 718! That was 10 years before the year she died.

Feeling there was a clue somewhere, Beatty read through the newspaper’s content quickly.

[The main force of the Holy Empire, which has frequently invaded the border for the past 5 years, had advanced to the kingdom.

However, under the command of the Duke of Aslan, ‘The Golden Lion Duke’ who possess countless titles, including ‘The Last Guardian of the Kingdom’, ‘The Barrier of the North’, ‘The Sword God’, etc, the kingdom’s army overthrew the force in the first battle.

If this kind of victory continues, the end of the long Great War will soon prevail.] 

‘This is it!’

Beatty, who meticulously examined the article, held her breath at the ‘the end of the Great War’ part.

Ten years ago.

People had been looking forward to the end of the long war, but instead, it became the moment of a withdrawal that no one expected.

That event soon was recorded as ‘the first retreat’ of the Golden Lion Duke who had been experiencing triumphant victories only.

‘If I can change this…’

It was a problem that people couldn’t even imagine at the moment, but ten years later, the solution had been offered.

Beatty knew the answer to that.

Sparkle. Sparkle.

Beatty’s black eyes shone, realizing a good idea.

‘This is my chance!’

She was previously blinded by her worries of what to do with her 8-year-old body, but now that she thought about it, she had the considerable ability.

According to what she found out on her way, the year currently was Continental Calendar Year 718. It was ten years before the last date she knew.

‘It means I can use the knowledge of the next 10 years in the future!’

“Chu!”

Eureka!

Beatty sprang up and raised both of her forefeet.

‘I’ll provide that ‘information’ to the Duke. It’s a place known to value their soldiers greatly, so if I request for protection with the payment of giving out the solution…’

Sorting out her thoughts, Beatty looked down at the picture in the article.

It was the illustration of an imaginary battle, and next to it, a portrait of the commander-in-chief.

‘The Golden Lion Duke, Leonhart Elde Aslan.’

Beatty, who had her eyes locked on the portrait, addressed him quietly.

‘My Lord.’

Although she was the princess—a direct descendant of the Duke family, Beatty had never met the lord of the family she was born to.

‘Aah…’

He was the person she had never called ‘Father’. It was difficult to say, even inwardly.

She was born as a squirrel in the lion family and he was the one who kicked the tiny shapeshifter to the capital. It was said that he didn’t want to see her….

‘They said that it’s shameful to put me in the Duke’s castle.’

An abnormality of the Golden Lion family.

Her aunt told her that she was abandoned by the mother of the duke because she was a nuisance; born to the Aslan as a little creature, not a big predator.

Although her aunt hated her very much, she wouldn’t have lied.

‘Given that they never even visited me once until I grew up, it must be true.’

From what Beatty could remember, she had never seen her father throughout her childhood.

She could only familiarize herself with her family through the portrait in the newspaper.

‘And, there was never a reply to my letter.’

To his son, he was a good father who cherished him so much. He didn’t leave him out even for the war. But to Beatty, he was a father who never even sent her a letter.

No matter how many letters she sent, still no reply came, even after she tried to change the messenger in case the delivery went wrong.

The only response she got was before her coming of age ceremony. She sent a letter to ask if it was okay for her to visit the Duke, but the letter was ripped into two and returned.

‘… You don’t have to go that far, tearing off the letter.’

Beatty choked up and was about to shrink, however she soon straightened up her shoulders.

Huff! She squeaked confidently while breathing out rough air through her nose.

“Chuu chu chuchuchuu chu chub?”

‘With this information I have and a well-behaved self, they won’t kick me out, right…?’

For a moment, the high-pitched sounding yet cute-looking baby squirrel had her confidence nearly shattered, but Beatty pondered over it again while clenching her small fist.

‘However may they hate me, I have to propose an irresistible deal.’

After all, a place that an 8-year-old body could go was limited.

‘I’ll go to the Duke and propose the deal first, then ask him to let me stay in the mansion in exchange.’

It was enough for her if they allowed her to stay until she’s old enough to be self-sufficient and financially independent.

‘Only until I become an adult.’

After the coming-of-age ceremony, she thought about going to the merchant association she dreamed about. If she made use of her future knowledge to the fullest, she’d be able to make ends meet anywhere.

‘No, what if I could make my own merchant association?’

Beatty, who was calculating the value of her future knowledge, broadened her dream a little bigger.

‘Great.’

The ‘information’ she would offer to her ‘opponent’ was a risky exchange for getting the place to stay until adulthood and gathering the capital of her business.

“Chuu chub chuuu!”

‘This deal has to be successful!’

That’s exactly what she thought.

Until that time.

***

A few weeks later.

A dirty-looking squirrel appeared in front of the Duke’s castle, wearing a piece of cloth that looked like it had been used to roll on the street, like a cape.

There existed a northern mountain range, where its distant peak was covered with eternal snow.

Beneath the huge natural barrier, a magnificent castle looked like it was part of the mountain range.

Before it, stood a squirrel that raised her front limbs out to express her joy—

‘Finally, I’m here!’

From the capital to the north, Beatty finally arrived at the Duke’s castle after an arduous journey across the kingdom.