BSGE 80

Beatty shook her head, unable to comprehend how such a simple phrase could make someone so happy.

As she pondered again what a proper gift might be, she heard a familiar voice.

“What are you doing, Beatty?”

“Atel!”

Beatty’s face lit up at the sight of her friend, whom she felt she hadn’t seen in a while.

After catching up for a bit, Beatty asked where Atel worked during the day, mentioning that she often saw Prince Ather but rarely Atel. Feeling a bit flustered, Atel changed the subject.

“Come to think of it, you seemed to be worrying about something earlier.”

“Worrying? Ah, yes.”

“What’s the matter? If there’s anything I can help with, I’d be glad to.”

“Well…”

Encouraged by the suggestion that sharing worries halves them, Beatty opened up.

As she recounted the day’s events, her cheeks puffed out again.

“…and then, he told me to go and call him ‘Papa.'”

“Hmm.”

“I was being serious, but he was just teasing. I’m disappointed – I thought he was a good person.”

Feeling a bit stung by Beatty’s words, the dragon curled his tail and spoke.

“Maybe he was not teasing you? From His Highness’s perspective, it could have been a sincere answer-“

The dragon quietly closed his mouth under Beatty’s cold gaze.

“-Sorry.”

“Even if Prince Ather is your superior…”

Phew.

Beatty sighed and patted her friend’s shoulder, understanding his excessive loyalty but indicating there was no need to make excuses for such nonsense.

“…”

Ather, suddenly finding himself in the awkward position of seeming like a self-loving narcissist pledging loyalty to himself, decided to speak less.

As they chatted about other topics, Beatty suddenly cried out in surprise at an unexpected statement.

“You’re going somewhere else now?”

“Yes.”

Ather had to restrain himself from smiling at Beatty’s disappointed face.

“When? Why are you leaving so suddenly?”

“The Prince received transfer orders.”

“Transfer orders?”

“Yes. It seems there’s someone His Highness would rather not encounter.”

For a moment, Ather’s lips twisted into a sneer as he spoke of someone.

Seeing Beatty tilt her head in confusion, Ather quickly changed his expression back, as if he had never sneered, and said with a bright smile:

“So, I came to say goodbye in advance.”

“That’s too bad.”

Beatty’s eyes drooped sadly.

“Are you very busy during the day? The snacks today were really delicious…”

She thought about how they could have shared the tasty cookies and done so much more if he had come during the day.

The fruit pies baked fresh in the kitchen every day were so crispy and sweet, and she wanted to share them with her friend before he left, but it was too late at night now to call for others.

“You’re not leaving tomorrow, right? Can’t we meet during the day before you go?”

“During the day… there are too many interruptions.”

Even now, he had come at this hour to avoid those interruptions and have a proper conversation with Beatty.

Ather’s eyes darkened as he recalled a certain Mr. a from the Aslan family who would mercilessly interrupt whenever he tried to exchange more than three words with Beatty.

“Hm? Ah, I guess you must be busy during the day.”

“…”

Looking at Beatty’s understanding yet disappointed face, Ather felt the urge to tell her how pettily Mr. Carlitos, who pretended to be a kind-hearted brother in front of his sister, was interfering with his attempts to get close to her.

We only just reunited…’

Beatty lowered her head in disappointment.

From Ather’s perspective, it hadn’t been long since they’d seen each other in the capital before meeting again in the North.

‘Still… I’m really glad I found out that Atel, not that traitor Ritter, was my real friend this time.’

For Beatty, it had been a reunion after ten years.

Though it angered her to think she’d believed that traitor was her childhood friend all this time, she was happy to learn she still had a true friend after discovering the truth.

‘Even if we have to part again…’

“We’ll just be apart for a little while.”

As if reading her mind, her friend voiced the same thought, startling Beatty.

With a playful wink, Ather asked:

“You won’t forget me, will you?”

This was essentially what he had come to say.

‘It’s obvious I won’t be able to have a proper farewell with that lion keeping a sharp eye on us during the day.’

So he had no choice but to sneak in like this when there were no watchful eyes.

‘After all…’

Objectively, the difference wasn’t that great, but for boys and girls of this age, a 4-year gap felt significant.

Ather, still a boy himself yet looking at Beatty as if she were a child, thought worriedly.

“You’re going to Goncharyeong?”

“Yes, Your Grace. It’s by my father’s order.”

“Hmm.”

“It’s far, but the embroidery there is famous… Next time, I’ll bring a gift for the young lady.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Yes?”

“By the time we meet again, you’ll be erased from her memory.”

The Duke, having raised Carl first, was probably right about this.

‘…The Duke said children around Little Star’s age quickly forget faces they haven’t seen for a while.’

Ather, looking anxious, didn’t know.

That the duke’s words were merely wishful thinking, spoken in hope that his little one would forget about this wolf-like boy – with no actual experiential basis.

*

That night.

After her friend Atel left from saying goodbye, Beatty pondered for a long time but couldn’t think of a good gift that would make her father happy.

“Phew.”

Finally, as family tea time approached, Beatty thought while walking empty-handed:

‘Since Atel didn’t say anything against it either, maybe what His Highness suggested wasn’t so strange after all.’

Perhaps because her empty hands felt lonely, her heart gradually warmed to the idea of “repayment” that she had initially rejected so strongly.

In the end, thinking she had nothing to lose, Beatty opened her mouth as soon as she met her father.

“You’ve come. The refreshments are just-“

“Papa!”

“!”

The duke, who had turned his head to greet his little one as she entered, froze completely in that position.

“Papa…?”

As her father remained frozen like a statue for a long time, Beatty, finding it strange, cautiously spoke up.

‘I guess this wasn’t right after all.’

Puffing her cheeks slightly, thinking she shouldn’t have listened to Prince Ather, Beatty opened her mouth to explain the whole situation.

“Father, you see.”

“Why.”

“Huh?”

As soon as his little one’s form of address changed from ‘Papa’ back to ‘Father’, the Duke, who had immediately come to his senses, asked:

“Why did you change back?”

“Um… Didn’t you dislike being called ‘Papa’?”

“I don’t dislike it.”

The Duke stated firmly, actively clearing up the misunderstanding.

“I like whatever you call me.”

But his intense gaze seemed to say, ‘Though I’d prefer if you called me papa.’

Hesitating for a moment, Beatty tried again.

“Papa?”

“Yes.”

Beatty had never seen her father smile so brightly before.

At that moment, her field of vision suddenly rose.

“Whoa-“

“My little one.”

The Duke lifted Beatty as if she weighed nothing at all.

“I am your ‘Papa’.”

He firmly established the term of address to Beatty, whom he held preciously in his arms, with a smiling face.

Beatty’s cheeks turned red as she faced her father’s distinctly smiling face.

‘Just from that… my words made Papa happy?’

As she saw her papa delighted by her words, a wriggling happiness began to rise in Beatty’s chest as well.

“Hehe.”

Without covering the laughter that naturally came out of her mouth, Beatty used her free hands to tightly grasp her father’s thick arms that were firmly supporting her.

And then, smiling brightly like a blooming flower bud, she called out now without any hesitation:

“Papa.”

“…!”

Zing.

The child’s smile resonated in the Duke’s chest.

The duke’s gaze fell upon his son, who was making a disgusted expression, as he basked in the profound emotional afterglow.

Hoot. As if showing off being called papa, the duke looked at Carl with smiling eyes.

Meeting his father’s gaze, Carl spoke with an unpleasant expression.

“Don’t even think about me calling you that.”

“I wasn’t expecting it.”

The Duke, responding calmly to his son, turned his attention back to doting on the child in his arms.

“…”

Carl stared at them with a strangely irritated expression.

‘She’s my fluffy tail.’

Of course, that irritation was directed at his father, who had been monopolizing Beatty since earlier.

Grin grin.

He was also displeased that she was showing his father such a bright smile, one he had never seen before.

Finally, Carl, who had been watching the father-daughter pair with a disgruntled expression, suddenly stood up and reached out to reclaim Beatty from their father’s arms.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Unfortunately, the attempt to reclaim his stolen sister failed due to the still significant height difference with his father.

Grr.

With a genuinely irritated expression, Carl finally…

Poof!

“Ah!”

He transformed into his beast form and flew off with Beatty.