CH 8

Translated by EunEun

Edited by Slowday

“Anyway, this thing.”

“‘This ‘thing’ you say…. Young Master, you can’t call your little sister like that!”

“Then, what should I call her?”

Listening to the bickering, Beatty’s eyes became big by the splattered topic.

“This Run…. Hm, the Squirrel.”

Ah.

For a moment, the boy looked back at her, and his next words were predicted.

“… has no name.”

When she was young, people around her called her like this.

“Young Miss Half, don’t fret, please just lie down. All right?”

“This month, you’re in charge of the Half? I’ll take care of her. Ah, right. I’ve got my eye on that jewel ribbon first, so don’t touch it!”

Half.

It referred to her.

‘So, I’m ‘Half’.’

Since she could hear everything from the time she recognized her surroundings, she naturally thought her name was ‘Half’.

“But, why is the Young Miss here called ‘Half’?”

Until the new maid who entered the mansion asked another maid.

“Doing it to a noble… isn’t it asking for trouble?”

“What do you mean trouble? Just look at how the Viscountess treats her niece, that Half! At that point, are we going to get reprimanded?”

“That’s right. Also, it’s because she’s really a ‘Half’, that’s why she is called like that. So what if she’s only being called a shapeshifter by appearance? Have you seen those black eyes?”

Black eyes.

Her eyes, the squirrel shapeshifter’s symbol, were as black as darkness.

It was different from the other family member’s eyes.

“Haven’t you heard that the Golden Lion Family members originally have golden-colored eyes?”

“Yeah, it’s the real eye color of a shapeshifter.”

“It is said that when you are facing them, you would naturally feel the urge to kneel down.”

The lion shapeshifter’s predator eyes.

The snake shapeshifter’s snake eyes.

The dragon shapeshifter’s dragon eyes.

Shapeshifters in the kingdom were known to have golden eyes. The thicker the blood of a shapeshifter, the more solid the golden color.

Aslan’s golden eyes were especially a symbol of a predator shapeshifter. It gave ordinary people a sense of pressure, feeling like they were being grabbed by the neck.

Unlike her family’s golden eyes, which brought fear and respect, her dark eyes weren’t admired.

“By comparison, I’ve never felt anything in front of the Young Miss Half.”

“Haha. That’s right.”

“That’s why it’s called ‘Half’.”

(t/n: the maids really called her ‘it’ (`ヘ´*)ノ using the unit for ‘things’, not a person)

So, she’s Half.

In front of the mirror alone, even if she muttered that it wasn’t her name, she was still the half-shapeshifter no one would admit.

***

Beatty, who was recalling her childhood memories, became pale.

‘No.’

However, she soon shook her head and made a firm expression.

‘I’m not Half.’

Her black eyes filled with firm determination shone clearly.

‘I have a name.’

Beatty.

That name was given to her when she was about ten years old, before the regression.

She belatedly remembered it. The name was informed through a letter from her family.

Even so, she was happy.

She considered it as proof of her father not forgetting her. Even if she was named late.

‘Well… even though that was the first and the last.’

At the end of the story that she had written her name down, she had never been contacted by her father since.

He was completely indifferent to her, so the name ‘Beatty’ was probably some words that simply occurred to him.

Even so.

‘As long as it’s in my hands.’

For a child who didn’t have much in her hand, it was a precious ‘mine’.

‘I’ll protect what’s mine.’

Squeeze.

Beatty clasped the hem of her luxurious one-piece dress that was given by the butler. She opened her mouth.

“I have it. A name.”

Her voice slightly trembled, but she soon calmed down and raised her head in determination.

“Beatty.”

“What?”

He showed a cold, expressionless face that would frighten ordinary children and make them cry.

As if he didn’t understand, the slightly cut forehead seemed to be filled with brutal energy. 

Rather than feeling intimidated, Beatty straightened her shoulders and proudly stated her name once more.

“Beatty, that is my name.”

It didn’t matter to her whether the name was insignificant or not to the person who gave it.

She was the one who received it. Since she thought it was precious, it’s worth it.

‘Surely, I must cherish my precious things.’

‘Because I don’t have much, I have to cherish it even more!’

With that mindset, Beatty stood upright under the boy’s pressure.

“….”

He looked down at Beatty with such mysterious eyes.

‘Does he… think I’m arrogant?’

What did those predator’s golden eyes contain?

His eyes are indistinguishable, whether it was indifferent or unexpected.

Gulp.

Beatty gulped her saliva without realizing it.

“If it’s ‘Beatty’… then it embodies the meaning of blessing.”

That time, Johanna, the butler intervened with a soft voice. She smiled, while her wrinkled eyes folded finely.

“It’s a good name, Young Miss Beatty.”

Beatty’s face brightened up when Johanna called her by name and complimented it as well.

“Perhaps, did you name it yourself? You’re smart.”

“No. I received it.”

“… I see.”

Beatty shook her head, while Johanna was taken aback by her answer.

However, it was only for a moment.

‘Someone must be upset.’

Johanna soon reckoned, fixing her facial expression.

“Beatty?”

After that, she heard her name called.

“…!”

Surprisingly, it came out of the boy’s mouth.

‘Did my older brother….’

What came to her mind was a title that she couldn’t say out loud yet.

Feeling prickly inwardly, Beatty clenched her fingers for no reason.

“Hm.”

Seeing Beatty’s flushed cheeks, the boy’s eyes were glowing. He then his mouth again.

“Tiny Kid.”

“Yes?”

“You’re tiny.”

Beatty opened her eyes wide in embarrassment at the sudden complaint.

“Tiny Beatty.”

The boy called her again by her name too. He mumbled satisfactorily afterward then uttered more.

“Tail Fur.”

“Yes~?”

“You’re tinier than the tail fur.”

“….”

Beatty was dumbfounded by the series of attacks.

‘My squirrel form… is he talking about my squirrel tail fur size? Ah, I missed it.’

Beatty didn’t know that the boy was referring to the bundle of fur at the end of a lion’s tail.

‘It’s an oddly fuming title.’

However, she had a feeling that it would mean something similar to a tiny kid.

“Tail Fur Beatty.”

Boo.

Beatty’s cheeks swelled up.

‘Who is not a squirrel? Look, my cheek pouches are getting much bigger.’

It’s fun.

The boy looked at his sister’s bulged cheeks with a visible grin on his face. He spoke again.

“A Tiny Kid With the Size of a Tail Fur.”

“….”

“Runaway Squirrel Beatty.”

All of a sudden, she burst out of anger.

“Since before, why are you calling me a Runaway—”

“Cough! Cough!”

Trying to stop the gradually overheating quarrel between the siblings, Johanna broke in with a loud cough.

‘I thought you were trying to get close to your little sister.’

Looking at it now, he wasn’t merely joking around to get along with her. He had become that older brother who enjoyed making fun of his younger sister.

‘You have to act like your age, Young Master!’

Johanna threw a look of resentment at the Young Master’s unsophisticated behavior.

“Young Miss Beatty.”

Then she turned to Beatty. She gave Beatty a warm smile before she began talking.

“A while ago, before Young Master came, you asked about who’s the one who acts as the Lord of the family’s representative, right?”

“The one who acts as a representative?”

Tilted.

When she heard the question mark, Johanna smiled inwardly and took a look at the child’s head, which naturally tilted sideways.

“Playing transaction… no, you said you wanted to meet someone with high authority to talk to about a proposal, right?”

“Ah! Yes!”

Right! That’s right!

Beatty nodded her head powerfully.

“The one who acts as the representative is someone who takes care of the family’s matters when the Master is away. If Young Miss wants to meet the person, should I call the person now?”

“Call… can it be like that?”

“Of course.”

“Then, shamelessly, yes!”

‘Hoho, that kind of word, where did she learn it?’

Did she learn words that looked like ‘adult words’ to look clever when playing transaction?

Johanna smiled delightedly at the sight of the Young Miss who seemed confident to use difficult words such as ‘shameless’.

(t/n: ‘shameless’ here was written as ‘염치 불고’. The meaning is, 염치 廉恥 [yeomchi] = a sense of shame/shame, and 불고 不顧 [bulgo] = not, and if it’s as the full word it means shameless. Johanna mentioned it as an adult word. It’s because the word shame itself has various versions. And 염치 is definitely not a really daily life-used word. Moreover, knowing the word 불고 means ‘not’ is definitely not really common. That word alone is usually likely to be mistaken as another word such as 불구 which can be from the grammar 불구하고 [function = in spite of/despite], or just a combination from the word 불다 with the grammar -고. So, that’s why Johanna thought like that. For a child knowing and using that word, is just… wow.)

“Then, in the meantime, both of you please enjoy the conversation.”

‘Hm?’

“Hm?”

The siblings who raised their heads were quite alike.

***

Thud.

After closing the door to the drawing room, Johanna turned her direction to the Office Room where the acting proxy of the Master would be.

Walking down the hall with a quick, but not frivolous, employee-like walk, Johanna muttered in an unexpected tone.

“I didn’t know Young Miss already had a name….”