CH 9

Translated by EunEun

Edited by Slowday

Perhaps due to the harsh nature of the environment, there were many unique customs in the North known as superstitions in the surrounding areas.

Among those myths, there were many beliefs about children. A lot of people believed in them, especially about a child’s name.

‘A name that doesn’t fit the child will result in a distorted destiny,’ was one of them.

Ominous things such as a child’s personality becoming corrupted, or getting involved in an accident that caused a fatal injury to their body, were assumed as the results of the child’s incompatible name.

‘Things like that should never happen!’

With those kinds of worries and also affection, people in the North usually observed their children’s personalities for a year or two before naming them.

In particular, the more the child was cherished, the more their parents would pay attention to the name selection that conformed to their children’s fate.

‘Still, it was terrible, for the Young Miss to not be named till she’s 8 years old.’

Johanna shook her head, thinking that her Master was awful.

‘But that kind of a relationship… Who gave the Young Miss a name? Could it be the Viscountess?’

Johanna’s head tilted sideways as she muttered in doubt.

“The Master must be very upset.”

How would the Master react if he finds out about this? He has been spending years looking for the most precious name on the continent.

‘Master should’ve decided early, yet he insisted on finding the name and its meaning that suited the Young Miss best.’

The problem is, how old is the Young Miss now? Also, for how much longer are we going to call her ‘Child’ instead of her name…?

Worrying about someone who wasn’t there, Johanna shook her head and continued her steps.

***

Meanwhile, in the Duke’s drawing room.

“….”

“….”

Beatty realized that she was left alone in the room, together with her brother who was blankly staring at her.

The knight standing behind her brother did look familiar to her, but he apparently didn’t have any intention to participate in the colloquy between the siblings—that finally met after a long time.

‘Th-this is awkward!’

The silence in the room was too thick for the squirrel to withstand alone.

‘When will Johanna come back?’

Desperately looking for the butler who left a lion and a squirrel shapeshifters together in one room, Beatty’s eyes kept darting to the door.

‘Sigh.’

The boy was entirely immersed in observing her behaviors, up to the most trivial one.

Though it was different from his black hair, he wanted to stroke that fluffy and shiny golden-colored hair.

The round black eyes moved back and forth, and the tightly closed small lips were rosy as if they were smeared with cherries.

All of those features were in a tiny face.

‘It’s small.’

The boy looked at Beatty again with a new kind of gaze.

He wondered if there was something that had been bothering her, as the bridge of her nose kept flinching.

‘Hm.’

He could soon imagine a squirrel looking around and wincing its snout.

‘I think she’s much smaller than the bundle of fur at the end of my tail.’

He had a feeling that what he said earlier wasn’t just a joke.

‘Come to think again, they said that she was in her squirrel form when she first arrived at the castle, right?’

Everyone but himself must be shrieking out of cuteness when they saw his tiny little sister’s mini appearance.

“Sigh.”

What is it that bothers her….?

“….”

The boy, who had been thinking for a while, suddenly got up from his seat. He approached Beatty and spoke.

“You.”

Beatty looked up, with a little nervousness, at her brother who was standing in front of her.

“Try transforming to your squirrel form.”

“…?”

What is this all of a sudden?

Beatty had an absurd expression hearing the boy’s unexpected request. She instantly put on a cautious look.

‘Why would he ask me to change into my squirrel form? Is it to torment me?’

Beatty’s mind was filled with a horrible image of a little squirrel being held on one hand and was spun around vigorously.

Unlike her imagination, the boy wasn’t thinking about such things.

‘She flinched again. What is in that small head?’

That was interesting.

‘She keeps on staring at me.’

Although her eyes were excessively wary, this little creature was courageously facing him nevertheless.

He was amazed since it was his first time seeing a creature that fell into a ‘cute’ category.

The reason was mainly owing to his environment. The young lion shapeshifter grew up on the battlefield.

‘She also doesn’t run away.’

Another reason was because of his physical constitution.

More often than not, little animals would be scared away when they sensed the slightest of his predator’s intimidating pressure he naturally gave off.

‘Though it’s also good not to see annoying things.’

It was nice that he didn’t get entangled with bugs, especially in war situations.

‘She’s like a white hare.’

When he entered the forest, the prey such as rabbits or deer would run away.

It was terrible.

‘It’s not like I’m emanating a murderous air. Why should they run away?’

In the first place, it wasn’t his intention to catch a white hare in the mountains for his dinner.

The rabbit’s pricked-up ears were unusually long and he found it interesting. Consequently, he wanted to catch the hare to explore it.

“?”

There was a question mark in Beatty’s face as she read the boy’s strangely sullen eyes.

Was she too obvious?

Beatty pondered for a moment, slightly concerned.

Her vigilance hadn’t completely disappeared, but she had defined the older brother in front of her as a ‘person that hates me’.

Unlike her father, who ignored or tore up all the letters she sent, she had no contact, at all, with her brother before the regression.

‘… There is no need to draw a line in advance, right?’

No, rather, she didn’t know if she had to look good or not.

Unlike herself, a person with a low virtue, her brother was someone with the outstanding aptitude of a lion shapeshifter. As the family pride, he undoubtedly deserved the respect.

Intending to stay in the Duke’s Castle until her coming-of-age ceremony, Beatty had to get along with him as much as possible.

‘Right.’

Beatty, who had organized her thoughts, gave in to her natural instinct.

Poof!

Flutter—

Beatty’s dress sank onto the sofa, while the ribbons and frills were rustling.

Inside the clothes, a bundle of fur moved like it was looking for directions.

Pop.

A little squirrel suddenly popped out of the dress’ sleeve.

“!”

The boy’s eyes open widely.

The squirrel was… the first pint-sized creature he saw up close.

The shiny pebble-like black orbs were blinding, and the bright hair-like fur coat had cute brown stripes.

The squirrel’s cheeks resembled fluffy buns, and the white fur around its cheek pouches looked soft.

The pricked-up squirrel’s ears weren’t fully alert and stood up close.

“You looked like me.”

‘Huh?’

“Pardon?”

The knight behind him uttered a question in disbelief, looking like he wasn’t sure about the Young Master’s words he voiced out just now.

“What in the world makes you think that such a cute squirrel like Young Miss resembles Young Master…?”

Not caring about the knight’s dissatisfied look, the young lad spoke with his eyes fixed on Beatty.

“Look.”

Prick—

Beatty’s ears pricked up, also listening due to her curiosity.

“Her ears are round.”

“?”

“Pardon?”

Unperturbed by the reaction of both speechless person and squirrel—

Ssk—

Carl intentionally took out his lion ears by half-transforming, then pointed at himself then Beatty.

“We look alike, right?”

The lion’s sharp fangs shined as he made the strangely proud remark.

“Woah, wow, ho, aha. If that’s the case, then my ears are also rou—”

“Are you going to interrupt me with those ugly ears?”

“Ugly…! Young Master, aren’t your words too harsh?”

The knight complained that it was complete nonsense.

“….”

Beatty closed her triangular mouth that opened unconsciously.

A squirrel’s ear and a lion’s ear.

One was about the size of a fingernail and the other was the size of a palm.

‘It’s totally different though…’

She looked at the two completely different ears, then at the older brother who claimed that they resembled each other because their ears were equally round.

‘… Even so, we’re a little bit alike?’

Somehow, her body was strangely warm.

A burst of faint giggle slipped out of her lips.

“Chuu.”

Unknowingly, a squeak leaked out of the squirrel’s triangular mouth.

‘Ha!’

Plop!

As the squirrel’s squeak slipped out, Beatty was particularly embarrassed. She covered her mouth with her small hands.

However, her brother had completely heard the short cry with his excellent hearing ability.

“….”

Her brother’s burning gaze made Beatty sweat.

“Is that your crying sound?”

The stare on her shining face felt hot, but Beatty hung her head and didn’t take off the hands that covered her mouth.

“Hmm.”

Looking at his bashful little sister, the boy thought about how to see more of the squirrel’s expressions.

Then, something on the tea table caught his eye.

“Here.”

“?”

The squirrel raised its head in wonder because of the remark, then a large hand appeared in front of her.

To be precise, a palm with an almond on it.

“I’ll give you this.”

The almond was from the ingredients plates for the cookie house. Offering the almond with his hand, the boy lured her with such a childish bait.

“….”

Beatty was straightaway dumbfounded.