CH 53

Originally, I was going to do it with a match, but.’

Because they reluctantly gave her magic supplies, saying that she was dealing with fire for the first time and she couldn’t use such a sloppy tool, she had to pretend to be a mage even when it was something that wasn’t in her destiny.

“Although it’s not magic, I’ll show you something like magic.”

Heup. Beatty gave a shout of concentration, and swung the staff strongly like she had become a real mage.

Whoosh.

Like the wind, the flames swept over passing the glass.

“Whoo.”

Fortunately, all the sugar cubes caught fire at once.

It was seen that the sugar, which the flames transferred to, melted and just like that, dripped down.

“Please watch the inside of the glass.”

Following Beatty’s words, the people who were looking into the inside of the glass opened their mouths, surprised by the change that happened shortly.

“Oh, o-oh?”

“The color?”

Until just now the moss-like green liquid gradually changed its color into a golden color.

“Ooh, the light…!”

And it began to emit a soft light.

“My goodness, it’s beautiful.”

“To think it would be such a perfect golden color like that, it’s like embodying the shapeshifters’ golden eyes!”

‘As expected.’

True to her expectations, the people’s reactions were enthusiastic.

As it can be seen from the fact that shapeshifters are also called the highest and noblest blood, if it was Astrum’s nobles, everyone had a yearning about shapeshifters.

The vague favorable impression about shapeshifters was crazy. Even in colors, the preference for the golden color which is like those of the eyes that most shapeshifters had was also very high.

Beatty lifted up the glass that had now turned completely golden and said.

“It’s a potion tea that’s made by refining the Wermuth medicinal herb that grows only in the snowy mountains.”

‘Although to be precise, it’s diluted by pouring a lot of water into the concentrated potion.’

After all, concentrated potions can’t be eaten by the human tongue. That’s why she also didn’t have a guilty conscience.

“The Wermuth grass only consumes snow as it grows in the snowy mountains. It also likes sweet things. Please look at how its whole body became beautiful when I fed it sweet things like this.”

It was revealed later that there was a reason for the reaction of soil and temperature during the medicinal herb’s growth, however she didn’t remember it as it was quite boring.

‘At an eighth year old child’s explanation level, it must be okay.’

That’s why although it was an explanation that was moderately put together, it seems like it was a good enough story for her to spit out with a child’s body.

Seeing that the nobles who heard the explanation were bearing heartwarming expressions.

“The Princess of Aslan has definitely prepared a lot.”

“Shall we taste it?”

The people, who had already accumulated quite the favorability through the fascinating sight that already captured their eyes, approached and took the potion tea.

Seeing those who were gathering in groups of twos and threes to talk about the taste of potion tea, Beatty thought inside.

‘Huhuhu. It’s just as planned.’

Presenting decorations that will be popular in advance and making the banquet venue a trend leader, was a matter of reputation when it was successful.

‘Reputation is not that….’

It was not like she would be recognized as a real Duke Family member and live in a noble society.

And for herself, who was in a position much like a nuisance position like herself, it was something that was utterly useless.

If she succeeds in settling down with the Duke Family safely and becomes an adult who can walk around freely, the actual important thing to Beatty, who wants to travel to the wide continent as a full-fledged merchant, was another thing.

‘As expected, the most important thing surely is money!’

First and foremost, gold coins.

Whether she enters as a merchant or sets up a merchant business, wouldn’t it be money that’s better the more one has?

Making and handing out the Wermuth potion tea at this time’s banquet was also all groundwork for that.

“Hm.”

Count Muscat, who was looking closely at the banquet hall’s decorations one by one, also received a Wermuth potion tea.

Seeing him keeping a sip in his mouth and closing his eyes as if he was savoring it, people whispered.

“That person is the central noble who’s famous for being picky, right?”

“Count Muscat? Don’t even mention it. He’s a gourmet and cultural critic, and he totally has a knife in his mouth.”

“They said there are not only one or two people whose banquet was ruined and shed tears because of him.”

As if he couldn’t hear the surrounding whispers, Count Muscat, who was closing his eyes motionless, opened his eyes wide.

“This taste!”

As if he would soon emit light from his eyes, he spilled his words with a thrilled expression.

“It’s magnificent! With the subtle base taste, and pop, the golden color water drops that are buried beneath. It literally feels like I’m drinking the essence of the Northern Mountain Range that’s been scooped out!”

At the Count’s words of praise as he kept on tilting his glass, the people’s eyes became wide, almost popping out of their sockets.

“My goodness, to think that such pure praise came out of that picky guy’s mouth.”

“Was the Count also scared of the Aslan Family?”

“No, but this thing called Wermuth tea, it really tastes good, though?”

Seeing the people who kept on drinking up the glass they held in their hands, Beatty nodded delightedly.

Even if there were people who haven’t drunk it, there was not one who only drank it once.

The Wermuth potion tea, which would become the most famous among the North’s specialty later, had an addictive taste, rivaling that of coffee.

‘It’s also surely healthier for the body than coffee.’

As much as the concentrated undiluted solution was a medicine, the potion tea, which was drunk after being diluted, was also good for one’s health if one drank it constantly.

Above all, it’s beautiful!

“With this kind of magnificent taste, to think that it’s color makes me have the feeling like I’m drinking gold. Furthermore, even the process of finishing the tea is perfect!”

It was the words of a certain count who enthusiastically admired the tea from afar.

After placing purified water infused with green Wermuth in a glass, and putting up a spoon that was inset with a beautiful pattern, and finally dropping the melted sugar over a flaming rising fire, the process of making the golden tea fully penetrated the taste of the nobles who liked aesthetic things.

It was to the extent that it was called the ‘Golden Rest’ instead of tea time, and the Wermuth time was widely popular.

‘Huhuhu. Since everyone has experienced it once like this, now they will look for it again even after they return.’

While imagining the future in which the Wermuth tea trend will spread out everywhere in the Kingdom through the mouths of the people who gathered here.

‘Next time, I surely have to get money from it!’

A sly smile came up on Beatty’s mouth, who thought of independent money that would accumulate one by one neatly if the tea became more and more popular.

Since Older Brother’s reaction when he secretly came to watch when preparing was also not bad, if it does well, it may be able to derive investment even from the Family.

A smile didn’t leave Beatty’s face, who was in the middle of her happy imagination, making a business plan after receiving investments.

Meanwhile, inside a remote terrace overlooking the banquet hall.

“She looks good.”

Staring at Beatty who had a bright face with smiling eyes, Ather, giggle, smiled as he muttered.

“Good for you, Little Star.”

Among the memories he had, the only one that was only full of sparkles.

Little Star.

Since she got angry if he called her ‘small’, it was a nickname that he called only in his heart alone.

At Ather’s mouth, which called the girl’s nickname with affection, there was hung his usual made-up lightness and other sincere smiles.

“….”

However, that smile cooled down when he saw a person who was glaring at Beatty as her hand, which held a fan, trembled at a corner of the banquet hall.

Viscount Firina Seaulus.

The person who was Beatty’s aunt, and was designated as Beatty’s guardian at the Capital instead of her chaotic main home during the war.

‘A kind relative who was in charge and raised her young niece… to say that, it surely is quite annoying.’

Ather’s eyes hardened coldly when he recalled the Viscount who used a way of talking that was very obviously looking down on her young niece ever since the beginning. 

Moreover, that night.

In order to make up for the conversation which they couldn’t even have properly at Carl’s surveillance, who was threatening, he also heard something from Beatty, whom he visited while stamping his attendance in the form of ‘Atel’ again.

“Our first meeting? Yeah. I was really surprised at that time.”

He thought her eyes that opened round were cute, however.

“About that, I heard that Lord Star is a God of a different world. And they said that if I pray hard, God will listen to my prayers… that’s why I prayed there every night. Maybe because I’m not a person from Lord Star’s world, he didn’t listen.”

At the expression that became sullen shortly, his chest tightened up.

“That’s why I was surprised to see Atel. Because it’s the first time Lord Star has come down to me.”

At the expression where she smiled after looking at him, his inside was excited without realizing it himself.

“What did I pray for, you ask? Uhm….”

Hesitating for a moment, the girl whispered softly, as if she was embarrassed to spit it out by speaking.

“I asked to make Dad not hate me.”

The Duke of Aslan. Ather didn’t see it like that, though.

Without even the thought to grasp the postwar situation, he changed his position of a comrade in arms or something, whoosh, in an instant just by Beatty’s words.

“Ah, and I also asked to bring down just a little bit of money.”

It was so cute of her babbling about the plan she had made firmly that if he brought down just a little bit of seed money, she would work hard to increase it and donate some amount.

However, the moment he was about to move on, he heard something that couldn’t be ignored.

“I surely thought that if I had money, I could eat warm soup and bread. Maybe I could also patch all the clothes that have holes.”

To think that the Princess of Aslan would be worried about patching up her clothes that have holes?

If he recalled that, it was obviously a strange matter.

‘Although I thought it was like that because she was a maid’s child in the past.’

When he first met Little Star, Ather thought she was the child of a resident maid who was staying in a noble mansion.

It was something which was inevitable because she wore shabby clothes and the place where the child stayed was also a corner room that was usually used as a servant’s residence.

When he brought gifts such as the palace snacks or a jewel music box, Little Star’s reaction, in which she was fascinated as if she saw an extremely rare thing, also helped a portion of his judgment.

Ather, who guessed based on the child’s identity, hid his identity as he was afraid that by any chance, Little Star would feel burdened.

Since he didn’t want to see the clear eyes which were staring straight at him, and the sound of the Royal Family that was distant from commoners, become infected with fear.

‘I never imagined that she could be the daughter of the Aslan Family.’

However, he never imagined even once that the Little Star, whom he thought was a commoner, was a noble, and at that a Princess of Duke Family.