Huh?’

Beatty, who was surprised by the unexpected words, raised her head.

The butler, who came into the view, appeared as if she had witnessed the despair of the world.

‘What the hell did those capital bastards do to our Young Miss?!’

The butler turned her head away for a moment to make sure the Young Miss didn’t notice her outburst of profanity. She cursed those capital bastards who couldn’t stop the Young Miss from running away alone for such a long journey, even if she was currently going through a rebellious period.

“Phew.”

In the eyes of the butler, who raised her head again, the Young Miss’s seemingly hollow—a distortion of vision that was exaggerated to some extent—white pocket cheeks that should’ve been full came to her view.

‘It’s been 15 days since I heard from the capital, and during that time, she wasn’t able to take care of herself..!’

What was important for the butler at the moment wasn’t about the Young Miss who supposed to be recuperating in the capital suddenly appeared in the north, nor torturing those capital bastards that let the precious Young Miss wander without any attendant—but, of course, all of this ought to be reported to the Master in detail later.

‘Letting our Young Miss starve, we can’t tolerate that!’

The butler gave out stern and quick orders, like a commander whose family was facing a crisis.

“Liz, you go to the kitchen right now!”

“Yes, Butler.”

“And the thickest blanket! Right, you know the stuff from the White Bear Family that the Young Master took last time? Go to storage room number 2, and bring it here.”

“Yes, I got it.”

“You should hurry up and go to the dessert shop.”

“Yes!”

Under the butler’s leadership, people moved instantly.

Everyone looked like they were on an exceptionally important mission.

“Chuu?”

‘What’s this?’

Beatty couldn’t help but put on a puzzled face.

***

The storm inside the Duke’s Castle finally calmed down.

Beatty, who already came back to her human form, was sitting at a banquet table with crooked legs. She was wrapped in a thick fur blanket, with two hands holding a glass of warm milk.

Noticing the butler’s intense gaze, Beatty opened her mouth in a bewildered voice.

“Excuse me..”

“Please eat, Young Miss!”

“Um..”

“Oh my, those pretty chubby cheeks are so skinny..”

“...”

In an atmosphere where she couldn’t say anything nice, Beatty had no choice but to hold up a fork.

‘Well, to tell the truth, I am truly hungry.’

In fact, she was starving since she only had fruits on the way here.

After emptying a few plates like that, a moderate sense of satiety came.

‘.. Did I eat too much?’

Beatty took a look at the dishes and tried to count the empty plates with her eyes. It’s been ages since she last ate warm human food, so she might have eaten a little too much.

‘She wouldn’t think of me as a glutton, right?’

She was going to put down the fork while taking a peek, then—

At that moment she heard a muffled sound.

“Cough! Cough!”

“?!”

Beatty was so surprised that her tail almost popped out.

“How hungry must have you been, but you can only eat this much..!”

‘Only this much? But, didn’t I eat that much?’

“Hm, this Johanna is greatly guilty. Even if we were apart, to think that we haven’t been able to take care of Young Miss’s meals! I don’t know how to face the late Duke...”

“Huh, huh?”

To that extent?

“Even after death, this ugly butler won’t be able to lift her head in shame.?Sob,?sob.”

“...”

Beatty quietly holds up her fork again.

“That’s right, that’s right. Try to eat more of this too, Young Miss.”

She stuffed more food inside her cheeks until it burst. Her stomach was so full that she could only shake her head because she couldn’t take it anymore.

‘N-now I can’t eat anymore!’

After emptying roughly twenty plates, she could barely leave the dining room.

***

The northern part of the Duke’s Castle.

On her way to the drawing room, she could see several statues adorning the hallway.

Just like a warrior protecting the North, there were majestic lion statues representing various kinds of weapons and families. And also, a cute squirrel statue...

‘Huh?’

She felt like she just witnessed something very incompatible.

‘..Did I see it wrong?’

Beatty rubbed her eyes.

“Now, it’s right here, Young Miss.”

At the same time, the butler opened the door to the drawing room before them.

Step, step.

Beatty entered the door. Meanwhile, at the Duke’s castle hallway, people stood quietly in their respective positions with a polite expression, as if saying, ‘I’m just here to do my job’.

“Huaaa!”

As if a silencing spell had just been lifted, a commotion erupted. However, they all had very soft expressions on their faces.

“Just now, did you see that?”

“Those two cute feet! She even walked with those tiny feet!”

“Our Young Miss, since when did she grow up like that.. oh, my heart.”

A person shouted in emotion. Another person still couldn’t believe that they heard the Young Miss’s footsteps with their own ears. Another one sobbed while gripped with sentimental feelings.

In the lively atmosphere, someone got excited and raised their voice.

“It’s the first time a child wanders around the castle!”

“Huh? It’s not the first time.”

Another voice refuted from the side.

“What do you mean, it’s not?”

“Well, there was also the Young Master.”

“Ah.”

Everyone who was busy adoring Young Miss’s cuteness went silent in an instant.

“Ah, right. ‘That’ Young Master was also a child once.”

“Young Master.. Young Master is..”

“...”

After a moment of silence, there was a rattling sound from behind.

Among them, those who turned their heads had their eyes lit up when they saw a trolley covered in white cloth.

“Is that Young Miss’ refreshment?”

That one word succeeded in turning everyone’s heads, resembling a mob of meerkats.

“Ah! I’ll do it! I’ll bring it!”

“Oho! Where are you going!”

“I won’t let you be the only one who can see the Young Miss from up close!”

“Everyone move! I’ll be the one to bring it, I’ll also feed her!”

The hallway fell into a clamor once again.

***

“I’ve brought some refreshments and tea for you.”

Somehow a maid who looked like she just got out of a mess entered the drawing room with disheveled clothes. She then took out the dessert from the trolley.

“Today’s dessert is a gingerbread house.”

Clink.

There were various sizes of gingerbreads, colorful icings, finely powdered sugar ornaments, and other cookies.

Plates filled with the parts of the gingerbread house were placed in front of Beatty, one by one.

“Woah~”

Every time a new dessert appeared, Beatty’s eyes widened.

It was the first time she saw such exquisite, pretty desserts.

‘As expected, these days the rumor about the trend of decorating desserts yourself among noble children was right!’

The maid, who was delightfully watching the Young Miss’s sparkling eyes, said with a proud voice.

“If by chance Young Miss needs more, please just say it. I’ll bring out everything, as much as you want.”

If it’s for our Young Miss’s sake..!

‘I don’t care if Hans’s arm, who made all these desserts, is about to fall out.’

Finally, the maid left the room with a satisfied look.

Bump.

‘Sigh!’

Beatty, who unconsciously looked at the animal-shaped biscuit, came to her senses at that moment.

‘Why are the people here..’

After finally having some warm food and soft clothes, the tension that was briefly forgotten inside her head built up again.

‘Why are they treating me this nice?’

That was strange.

“Young Miss?”

The child, whose eyes lit up by the appearance of desserts, suddenly stiffened her body. The butler spoke to her as if she had read her thoughts.

“Ah, by chance, is this the first time you made a gingerbread house? Can you see the square pieces here? This will be the cookie house’s wall. And, then..”

It was the first time Beatty learned something she didn’t know. It was also the first time she was being taught something step by step by an adult with an amiable expression and affectionate voice.

‘Huff! No, get yourself together!’

When the butler pointed out things one by one, Beatty, who was almost wholly focused on building the cookie house, shook her head violently.

‘There is no such thing as an unconditional favor.’

The only person who showed favor in her life was the one who hit her the hardest from the back.

The friend who hid the most dangerous poison behind the so-called ‘sweet friendship’.

‘If it seems just like a favor.. there must be a hidden reason.’

While looking down at the sweet desserts, Beatty once again grasped her shaken heart.

‘This time, I won’t be fooled by that kind of lie.’

She’ll never be as stupid as she used to be. All that she could trust was an exchange offer!

As planned, she would request a safe dwelling until her coming of age in exchange for the information.

‘Once I’ve secured a safe place, this time, my road to be a free merchant..!’

Beatty, who briefly imagined a happy future of journeying the continent, got sidetracked. She shook her head then began to talk, recalling her purpose of coming here again.

“I have something to say, Butler.”

“Young Miss, please just say it comfortably. You can also just call me Johanna.”

Beatty, who blinked for a while at the unfamiliar treatment, awkwardly opened her mouth again.

“Uhm.. Johanna.”

“Yes, Young Miss.”

Gulp.

“I’d like to make a deal.”

“Yes?”

‘A deal she said.. is it something like playing house that’s popular in the capital city these days?’

Johanna was puzzled for a moment but listened faithfully to the Young Miss’s words.

“I mean, I have a really good proposal for the Duke.”

“I see...”

“That’s why I want to meet and talk to the Lord of the House.”

“Lord of the House..?”

Johanna, who was wondering about Beatty’s title for the Duke, had a sour look on her face.

‘Oh my, how much does the Young Miss miss her father’s face..’

Must be it.

Because of the war, the Young Miss hadn’t seen her family’s faces for years.

‘You must’ve been very lonely.’

After all, the Master had sent a lot of letters, allowance, and expensive gifts too.

‘It was a passable budget allowance for a noble, but.. of course, it wasn’t enough to pay off that kind of matter alone.’

How could those things substitute meeting her father directly?

Johanna was heartbroken, imagining the Young Miss who had been waiting for her family alone after hearing an excuse from the adult who didn’t understand their child.

“Young Miss..”

While wiping away the tears that threatened to flow down, Johanna explained to the Young Miss with a dejected heart.

“The Master went out far away to punish bad guys.”

‘Huh? He’s not here now?’

Beatty, who only knew the news from the newspaper, was unaware of the Duke’s specific actions during this period.

Beatty, who thought vaguely about being in the Duke’s Castle, was embarrassed and racked her brain.

“In that case, other than the Duke then, the most authoritative person here.”

“But, if the Master knows that Young Miss wants to see him, he will definitely finish off those bad guys in an instant and come back. So until then, in this safe place.. pardon?”

Johanna, who worked hard to explain the situation to the Young Miss who missed her father, stopped talking. She was perplexed by the unexpected response.

‘We need to solve the problem before ‘the first retreat’. If I can’t see the Lord right away, I’ll try to persuade another decision-maker...’

While organizing her thoughts inside her head, Beatty asked.

“Besides the Lord, is there no other person who has the highest authority to talk about the Duke’s family?”

“Hm. If that’s the case, the person who takes care of urgent matters as the head when Master is outside would be—”

Before she could even hear the answer..

Bang!

The door suddenly burst open without any notice.

A boy stood in front of a wide-opened door.

A handsome face with thick black hair that could turn a hundred heads of passers-by.

But most of all, what caught Beatty’s eyes was the boy’s golden eyes.

‘That person is..!’

Two pairs of eyes collided with each other.

The boy opened his mouth while his hand swept back his jet-black hair.

“Hi, Runaway Squirrel.”