CH 11

Translated by EunEun

Edited by Slowday

As soon as she realized that she was alive and back in the past, she whacked that traitor’s face within her sight.

She had no regrets about her action, but how it would look was obvious to people who were unaware of the circumstances.

‘The disgrace of the family committed a scandal, known as ‘an assault on the Royal Family’, then ran away to shirk her responsibility…?’

Maybe it was much worse than that.

She didn’t know how she looked to people around her, as she had fled from her mother’s family and returned to the house that had driven her out. But it must be an unfavorable impression.

–  Something really happened?

The Duke’s demanding voice had become threateningly low. It seemed to be mixed with a lion’s roar, unknown to whom it was aimed at.

Drip.

Beatty felt a cold sweat running down the back of her neck.

‘I don’t know if he has heard of it then ask me, or he is asking because he truly doesn’t know.’

Gulp.

She gulped again then made a bold decision.

‘If I tell the truth, won’t I look bad? But again, I can’t tell lies… well, there’s no other choice.’

Beatty opened her mouth while clenching her tiny fist.

“That’s right. I slapped Ritter, His Highness the Second Prince’s face.”

–  Hm?

“Huh?”

At the same time, a doubtful tone came from the person in the communication device and the boy behind her.

‘Ah! Looks like the news hasn’t reached the North.’

Beatty explained what happened in the Capital after roughly guessing from the reactions.

Her aunt talked about this and that concerning marriage, then she was introduced to the Prince she met for the first time.

“… Then, my hand just flew towards His Highness’s cheeks.”

To conclude the story, she was a mad person who slapped the Prince who was introduced to her.

‘That traitor Ritter, I can’t tell them that he killed me before the regression.’

Beatty finished her story, determined to be scolded. But unexpectedly, her family’s response was lukewarm.

–  Hm.

“Then?”

‘I thought they’d be mad at me after asking if I brought some kind of problem here.’

Like a cat seeing a ball of yarn, Carlitos tilted his head and patted Beatty’s that hung low. He then opened his mouth.

“Great job.”

“Yes?”

Beatty was puzzled by the out-of-the-blue compliment.

–  I can’t believe they’re going to make you go through a marriage that I haven’t even heard about.

“What do you mean by marriage? Such nonsense isn’t even funny.”

She was sure that her brother wasn’t able to hear the voice from the device, but somehow the father and son said similar things.

Beatty was thrown into confusion at the different responses she didn’t expect.

‘Huuh?’

–  I must have looked very easy to them.

The Duke declared with sophisticated anger in his twisted laughter.

–  Since the Royal Family was the one who crossed the line first, you don’t need to worry about it.

“Uhm, worry?”

–  Right.

‘I didn’t exactly run away because I was worried about it though.’

–  Because I already know about what happened, as soon as this war is over I’ll send a letter of rejection to the Royal Family.

The Duke continued, calmly announced without the intention to boast, that they wouldn’t dare to not accept his rejection.

–  That’s why you should go back now.

“Yes…?”

Beatty’s mouth agape at the sudden instruction.

–  Right here is a battlefield.

“I-I know!”

On the other side of the mountain range of the North was a border area, a place where battles took place every day. The war was right before her nose.

She didn’t come here because she looked down on the war. She did come precisely because this place was a place where the people served as soldiers of the Kingdom’s Army and existed as the battlefield itself.

“About that. The war has lasted a long time, hasn’t it? That’s why I think—”

–  Stop.

Rather, she was trying to help them seize the opportunity to end the long war.

Beatty tried to speak quickly, but she was interrupted by the Duke’s firm voice.

–  You don’t need to think about it.

It was a stiff tone that would not allow a rebuttal, like a commander ordering his army.

The Duke asserted, finishing his words.

–  Right here isn’t the place for you to be in.

That word stuck in Beatty’s heart.

She forced herself to stop talking, but then she thought about how he told her that there was no place for her in the Duke’s Castle.

‘I already knew about that, but…’

Poof!

As a response to her fluctuating feelings, her squirrel tail popped out and went down.

Carlitos who saw that appearance had a crumpled expression. He looked displeased.

“Hm.”

The boy strode out then reached out his hand.

“?!”

Beatty raised her head in surprise at his hand that completely covered the back of hers.

“What did you say to the child?”

–  I said to immediately go back.

“To the Capital?”

–  Yeah. If she’s in the North, her body….

Because the person who was connected to the communication wasn’t only the teenager, the Duke halted his words.

“Hmm.”

The boy got stabbed right on the spot when he saw Beatty’s sudden sullen expression.

“You don’t like going there?”

“!”

The boy asked as he looked into Beatty’s eyes.

He seemed to think that what she said was important.

“…Yes.”

“Okay.”

At his attitude, Beatty somehow felt her heart pounding.

As if the single word was enough for an answer, he nodded then faced the communication area and spoke.

“That’s what she said.”

–  … It has nothing to do with that.

“Why?”

–  It’s a place where we don’t know when we’ll be at the forefront.

“We can just push them all out to the battlefield, then. What’s so dangerous?”

–  Don’t you know how dangerous groundless confidence can be?

“I don’t know because I never thought it was dangerous.”

Even though the heir had a pretty insolent attitude when he talked to the Lord, the Duke spoke as if he was already used to his manner.

“I’m here, you don’t have to worry about useless things.”

–  … I don’t have time to hear your joke.

The Duke ignored his son and talked to Beatty.

–  I know you are listening.

“….”

–  There is no rebuttal. Go back to the Capital.

Hearing the Duke’s words together, Carlitos annoyingly spat out his words.

“Ah, why are you doing this to a kid that already refused?”

Beatty was a little surprised to see her brother’s crumpled forehead.

‘I didn’t expect he would take my side.’

Beatty was moved. She forgot to be cautious of Carlitos.

Looking at Beatty with such a sparkling gaze, the boy grinned at his thoughts and opened his mouth again.

“Father.”

–  ….

“You can’t see what kind of appearance the kid is having right now, right?”

There was no answer from the communication area. But Carlitos knew that the Duke would be listening to his words about Beatty.

“I’ve already seen her shapeshifter form, and do you know? She’s not even as big as my tail fur.”

“…?”

Beatty glared at him with absurd eyes. The emotion that had been rising to her throat quickly went back in.

“And her human form, it looks like her limbs would break if you put too much strength when holding it.”

The boy’s unrestrained description of Beatty hadn’t stopped yet.

“Ah, she also starved on her way here so there’s not even a fat on her face.”

‘He’s helping me… right?’

Wasn’t he just speaking ill of her?

Beatty looked up at Carlitos with a suspicious look.

“She’s weak.”

Cough—

Beatty’s ears soared with anger at that point.

The boy who didn’t see his little sister’s reaction, smiled innocently. He talked as if he already foresaw the future with his own eyes.

“At that rate, if we send her back, won’t she collapse on her way to the Capital?”

After being silent for a while, the Duke opened his heavy mouth.

–  For the time being.

Prick—

Beatty raised her ears, as she had a hunch that a different answer would come out.

–  Only until I come back, she can stay there.

***

Tak.

The boy gazed down on a weak pull at his sleeve.

“T-thank you.”

He could see his little sister’s slightly red face, and behind her back, her tail was swaying gently.

The boy beamed at his little sister’s words of appreciation, though her eyes avoided him because of the embarrassment.

“Thank you?”

“Yes? Yes….”

“Then, let me touch your tail.”

Beatty’s eyes dimmed at his ‘no such thing as a free lunch’ attitude.

‘…But still, it’s true that I’m grateful.’

She wondered if he might accidentally cut her tail off because of his uncalculated strength.

While throwing a wary look, unlike how she thought, Beatty didn’t avoid his cautious hand that reached out to her tail.

Grip.

A strange sense of satisfaction spread over Carlitos’s face when he touched the squirrel’s fluffy tail.

At that time.

“Th-there’s a big problem!”

The messenger hurriedly opened the door and rolled in, shouting while holding a torn letter.

“There is a fire in the military supplies warehouse! Cough! We’re running out of supplies to send to the Lord!”

Carlitos’s eyes, which softened at his little sister, suddenly sharpened.