CH 46

An envoy came to convey their intention of appreciation only with words and empty hands without any material reward at all, towards the family who had worked hard on defending and finishing the war.

He was in the perfect position to be insulted.

“You also supported the war alone, is it the same this time too?”

As if he understood the situation, Carl looked at his stupid friend and clicked his tongue.

During the war, the Royal Family said they would give support and sent down only one royal member. You can just imagine how bad the atmosphere was then.

Thinking about the humiliation Ather had undergone in the beginning because he came down at that time as ‘The Only One From the Royal Family’, sending him off again for this kind of matter was certainly unfair.

Ather just shrugged jokingly.

“Are you here to convey that one matter?”

“No. There’s one more.”

Ather, who politely bowed his head to the Duke and expressed his respect, then winked as he spoke lightly.

“Until the gratitude to the Hero of the Great War is fully expressed, I was told to stay in the North.”

‘He must have bothered the First Prince quite a bit. Seeing that he was sent up right away so that he couldn’t step on the Capital.’

The Duke easily saw through the King’s hidden intention.

Since after sending him to a dangerous place, the First Prince gained fame from the war through the blessing in disguise, the King expelled him to the North again to try and make it so that he can’t further his power after returning to the Capital.

“Ah, if by any chance there is any additional battle, I can also participate in war.”

“Although I won’t even have the need to get the Prince’s help.”

Even so, on the battlefield, the First Prince, who indifferently continued on after being expelled, showed his abilities and built up his contributions.

The Duke did not think badly of the First Prince, who as he himself said was a ‘comrade’.

“I’ll give you a suite guest room, stay as you please.”

“Thank you, Duke.”

Therefore, he could give favors to this extent.

“But, don’t you dare set foot on the floor that’s decorated with a golden acorn.”

Of course, it meant that he was equivalent to a bum, who approached precious Baby, even if he was a comrade or just a person.

“Golden acorn…?”

“Ah, that thing that has recently been put on Tail Fur’s floor. She liked it, though?”

“Hm.”

At Carl’s rejoicing words, the Duke nodded satisfactorily.

“First Prince. Keep that in mind.”

“…I’m not allowed to enter the acorn floor?”

“Yeah.”

Don’t even show yourself in front of Baby!

The Duke fired a cold look.

‘Forget about a fiance!’

Even when he thought about that while he emptied his seat due to the war, the Royal Family tried to push for Baby’s engagement as they like, it made inside him boil.

Even if the First Prince was different from the other Royal Family members, he couldn’t lower his guard.

He will cut all the boys who dared approach his innocent Baby.

“Duke Aslan…?”

Ather couldn’t understand why the Duke suddenly looked at him with eyes overflowing with murderous energy.

***

Already changed into comfortable pajamas, Beatty was hugging a pillow in her room.

‘Because I took a nap earlier, I can’t get to sleep.’

Perhaps her morning’s shabby appearance had made too deep an impression, the maids pestered her, saying that she had to go to bed early.

So, she did go to bed first, but there wasn’t a single sign of falling asleep at all.

“Poo!”

‘Should I read a book?’

As she sighed and contemplated, suddenly someone pulled her sleeve down.

“Huh?”

–   Fragment.

Beatty’s eyes opened wide.

“You are!”

The thing that was holding onto her pajama sleeves, was a magical beast with a white squirrel appearance.

The cute snowstorm squirrel had slightly stretched belly fat because it usually hung around somewhere after coming to the Duke’s Castle following Beatty.

The appearance of the squirrel friend was different from usual.

–   It’s me.

The Squirrel Constellation with its tranquility raised both its hand as it spoke ‘You recognize me, right?’

Beatty jumped up from her seat.

“Just what in the world were you going to say last time—”

–   This isn’t the time. Since the time I can be present is short.

The Constellation, who cut off Beatty’s words, turned around.

–   Hurry up and follow me.

“Wait!”

Jumping down the bed, the Constellation quickly moved its four legs.

Step. Step. Step.

Beatty went out to the balcony following the Constellation, who passed through the slightly open window.

“Where in the world—”

Whooa whooa.

Suddenly jumping in surprise and catching her breath as she looked around, searching for the Constellation, an unexpected sound was heard in Beatty’s ears.

It wasn’t the sound of the Constellation who she followed out quickly.

It was a boy’s voice that was slightly low but comfortable to her ears.

“Star.”

‘Huh?’

At the title that she hadn’t heard in a very long time, Beatty stopped for a moment.

A black figure came into her eyes as she traced her memories. Who was the one calling her so leisurely like this?

A black fog cloud appeared tinged with a blue light.

Inside the bunch of clouds that seemed to have completely separated the night sky, there could be seen two eyes that shone a clear gold.

As if it was glad, the black cloud transformed its long body in front of her.

“You!”

She recognized it at a glance.

No matter how long she hadn’t seen it, there was no way she could forget that appearance.

“This…”

With a burst of anger.

To suppress the emotions that burst out in an instant, gritting her teeth, Beatty’s lips trembled.

Since the clouds in front of her were the appearance of the friend she first made.

‘Ritter!’

“Yeah. It’s been a long time for me too—”

To the bastard who had the guts to shamelessly add ‘Glad to see you’–

“You traitor!”

Pow!

Beatty’s righteous fist took the lead.

“Gasp, gasp.”

Punching intensely for a while, Beatty stopped to catch her breath for a while because her arm hurt.

The bastard who was being beaten as if it was following her swing, unfortunately, didn’t seem to have been hit so hard, seeing his absentminded state.

“Ouch, ouch”.

Showing no sign of being pushed back even by her fist that she used up all her might, only after Beatty despicably looked at him, did the bastard pretend to be in pain.

Glare.

Glaring at the bastard, Beatty’s gaze became even sharper.

Already having read her mood, the black cloud quietly spoke.

“Star, why are you like that? Are you like this because I didn’t come to find you during those times?”

When she saw the bastard acting friendly as if he were still a friendly childhood friend, she got even more enraged.

“Sorry. I’m too late, right?

“What kind of prank is this?”

“Huh? Prank? Uhm… sorry, are you very angry?”

Beatty sharply shot back at the bastard who still pretended to not know.

“You think I don’t know? Ritter!”

“!”

The eyes inside the clouds opened wide.

‘Hmph. Since this time is still before you tell me your name, you must’ve thought that I didn’t know anything, right.’

In fact, it was actually like that.

A shapeshifter friend that she first made when she was young. The only existence who was kind to her.

‘That’s why… I was fooled easily, right.’

A real prince who resembled the prince inside a fairy tale. At the eyes that were similar to her shapeshifter friend’s appearance whom she had only met at night.

“What golden eyes?”

Since there was only one person who treated her kindly during those times, unlike the people around her, she asked him just in case.

“Your one and only friend…. Right. The one that has come to you in the shapeshifter form, is me.”

Somehow, although he had a menacing look at first, Ritter quickly admitted as he smiled kindly.

While saying that the cloud shapeshifter was a prank using magic items, and that in the future, he wouldn’t tell such a lie.

‘You bastard.’

Unknowing of the smile of the friend she had like, the shapeshifter which was pretending to be puzzled in front of her overlapped in her mind.

“No, wait. What do you mean ‘Ritter’?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

The black clouds swaying somehow looked like it was in haste with confusion, but she didn’t know what kind of trick that also might be.

“Ah, that’s right. You told me to call you ‘Prince’, and not your name, right?”

“It’s not that.”

Although he was distasteful, if the bastard put up his royal status and nitpicked, she would have no choice.

“That cloud, too, it’s no use trying to cover it anymore.”

“…What?”

Looking at the flinching cloud and snorting, Beatty said.

“I know everything.”

“…You said you know?”

“Yes.”

Only when she was young, she was deceived by the excuse of a cloud shapeshifter, but now she knew that there was no such shapeshifter in the world.

‘Since if I knew that he was a snake shapeshifter, his prince status would be caught immediately, that’s why he hid it.’

“You’re a snake, right.”

“Snake?”

“Even if you cover it with things like clouds, I already know. That you’re a snake shapeshifter.”

“Me?”

Whether he would continue pretending to know nothing or use his innocent voice was simply becoming more abominable, Beatty turned around the pack.

“Anyway, Your Highness Prince Ritter. Since I don’t have anything to say, I hope we would stop seeing each other.”

Hmph! Although it seems like he came to get an apology for when she had slapped him, she worried she would apologize!

“No, no.”

“Please get out of my way.”

“Wait a sec. I think there’s some kind of a misunderstanding, though.”

What does he mean by ‘misunderstanding’.

As long as the shapeshifter in front of her was Ritter, Beatty didn’t believe even a word of his words.

“First of all, I’m not a snake shapeshifter.”

“Ah, yes.”

Hesitating after seeing Beatty who doesn’t have any sign of trust at all, the black cloud eventually opened its mouth when she was going to enter her room.

“Wait a sec!”

Hooo. Sighing long, he withdrew the fog cloud.

“Oh?”

At the appearance that came into view in front of her, Beatty opened her eyes wide.

‘He’s not… a snake?’

Although there were scales similar to that of snakes, the size was definitely not a snake.

Him, whose shapeshifter appearance possessed a thick and long body, unique horns, and sharp claws, opened his mouth.

“Will you believe me now?”

“You’re not, a snake shapeshifter?”

“Yeah. In the first place, if I am a snake shapeshifter, I wouldn’t even be able to talk like this.”

‘Come to think of it….’

Just like she how couldn’t speak any language except squirrel language when she was a squirrel, the other shapeshifters also wouldn’t be able to speak human language with their shapeshifter form either.

Beatty did not know, but the one that is able to communicate with humans in their shapeshifter form, were only the dragon shapeshifters, which was already a mystical creature like a demigod and whose body was chosen by the First Constellation.

No, rather than this kind of thing, the thing that she was more curious about.

“Are you… not Ritter?”

“Yeah. That.”

He asked with a face that he really didn’t know the reason.

“Just why in the world did you think that I was Ritter?”

“About that….”

Since Ritter said that.

‘Huh? Then, did Ritter bastard lie to me about this, too?’

Instead of resolving the misunderstanding, more questions arose.

‘Why?’

Was there something that he would gain from lying to her and saying that her first friend was him?