BSGE 82
by Cherry“What is wrong with these people?”
Though initially taken aback by the ducal family’s audacity to strike a royal without showing any signs of remorse, Ritter quickly regained his composure. Clearing his throat to indicate he would overlook the duke’s rudeness, he continued.
“Ahem. In any case, I’ll disregard the previous incident.”
Despite his gracious gesture to overlook both past and present discourtesies…
“…”
Duke Aslan remained silent, while the young lord’s expression clearly read, ‘So what? What do you want me to do about it?’
“Seriously, what is wrong with these people?”
Ritter was beginning to understand his father’s words about the Aslan family being so arrogant as to disrespect even royalty due to their slightly elevated status.
It wasn’t until after the meeting with the staff had concluded, just before leaving, that Ritter finally received a proper reaction from them. It came after he made a certain request.
“What?”
Ritter involuntarily shuddered as the duke’s icy golden eyes turned directly towards him.
Realizing his unseemly reaction, Ritter stiffened his posture, striving to maintain a regal demeanor as he spoke.
“As I mentioned earlier, I’ve already forgotten about our unfortunate first encounter. So, I was wondering if it might be possible to have a tea time with the young lady to clear up any misunderstandings?”
“Why do you need to meet her?”
Ritter flinched.
A chill ran down his spine at the young lord’s threatening growl. Faced with this unexpected hostility, Ritter couldn’t even bring himself to point out the lord’s impolite informal speech. Instead, he took a step back and stammered.
“I merely wanted to convey that she shouldn’t feel uncomfortable about our previous encounter in the future. She might still be holding onto it, you see.”
In truth, it was Ritter who was deeply affected by the incident, but the boy pretended to be magnanimous as he spoke.
“Uncomfortable?”
A snicker.
“There’s no need to worry about that. Oh, and—”
The young lord’s face turned serious as he delivered his final words.
“Don’t even think about hanging around my sister unnecessarily.”
*
“Your, Your Highness.”
“…”
The baron entered their assigned room, nervously eyeing Ritter.
He was worried the prince might take out his frustrations on him after being humiliated.
‘What if he starts overturning furniture? If we break the duke’s property while here to negotiate prices, the ducal family won’t be pleased.’
“Are you… alright?”
Contrary to his concerns, Ritter turned to him with a smile, displaying composure.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Pardon?”
“Hmm. Are you worried about fatigue from our long journey?”
The prince was acting as if the incident in the duke’s office had never happened.
“Ah, yes! That’s right. I was just wondering if you were feeling tired after such a long trip, Your Highness.”
The baron, realizing Ritter didn’t want to discuss the encounter with the ducal family, played along.
“You must be tired too, Baron. You may retire now.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. Please rest well.”
Click.
The moment the baron left the room, the artificial smile vanished from Ritter’s face.
“Leonhardt Elde Aslan.”
Ritter muttered, casually using the name of Duke Aslan, whom even the king had to respect and address politely.
“And Carlitos El Aslan. I won’t forget the names of those who disrespected me.”
The attendant, well aware of the Second Prince’s tendency to hold grudges even for minor slights, simply bowed his head silently from the corner of the room.
“Beatty Aslan… It seems I won’t even catch a glimpse of that young lady.”
Given that they hadn’t introduced her at the greeting, it appeared they were quite wary of a potential marriage alliance with the royal family.
“Hah! That precious golden lion blood. I hear this Aslan girl isn’t even a proper lion shifter, so what are they being so protective about?”
Ritter complained in an unpleasant tone.
‘If I can’t even see the young lady directly, there’s no room for maneuvering. I’ll have to give up on this matter. After all, I came down here in person for other reasons.’
Shaking his head lightly, Ritter confirmed the instructions with the subordinate he had brought along.
“You’ve released that person properly, right?”
“Yes! We’ve also made contact with Count Zealot as planned.”
“Good.”
Ritter nodded with satisfaction.
“We just need to wait until he sends the signal.”
Having concluded that the urgent matters were settled, Ritter, feeling the fatigue of travel, sat down in a plush chair.
‘Hmm. Well, the room isn’t bad.’
As he surveyed the luxurious room, which rivaled even the royal palace, with a mixture of envy and annoyance, his gaze drifted to the window.
“Hm? That’s…”
Ritter gestured for his attendant.
“You see that lake? I want to go there.”
“Pardon? But we were asked not to move around freely until mealtime.”
“Ha!”
Ritter glared at the attendant, clearly irritated by his words.
“Do you think I, a member of the royal family, should heed such instructions?”
“But, Your Highness—”
“The only one who can give me orders is His Majesty, my father.”
The hesitant attendant bowed his head.
“I need to see the Aslan young lady now.”
“The young lady, Your Highness?”
“I’m certain it’s her, judging by that hair.”
Though he had only seen it once, the boy hadn’t forgotten the unique, bright golden-yellow hair.
Moreover, that small figure was unmistakable within the castle.
Confident in his observation, Ritter left the room.
*
Upon encountering Beatty, Ritter addressed her with confidence.
“Hello there.”
“Ritter!”
Though it irked him that she called a royal by name so casually, seeing the girl’s face with her large, round eyes wide open wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
“You still address me that way.”
“…”
“Well, fine. You remember me, right?”
Of course she would remember.
While it was outrageous that the young lady had dared to assault a royal in their first meeting, seeing her staring at him blankly now…
Ritter was well aware of the effect his face had on girls his age.
Accustomed to being praised as an angel of sacred fire, the boy smiled at Beatty, who couldn’t take her eyes off his face, as if bestowing a favor.
‘Heh. Perhaps she slapped me initially to leave a strong impression.’
He thought that this little one was already resorting to strange methods to attract male attention.
“Pfft!”
“?”
Surprised by the unexpected laughter, Ritter opened his eyes in bewilderment.
He found himself inadvertently fixing his gaze on the girl whose eyes were brimming with laughter, when she touched upon a subject that no one in the palace dared to mention directly.
“Your, your tooth. Your tooth is missing! Pfft!”
What the girl had been staring at so intently was the gaping hole in his mouth where a tooth was missing.
Infuriated by the young lady’s audacity to not only captivate him with her eyes but also point out his flaw directly, Ritter burst out in anger.
“How dare you! Such insolence before royalty—”
“Pfft, there’s a big hole right in the middle of your teeth!”
Of course, his attempt at an authoritative roar had no effect whatsoever.
“Trying to act all dignified while talking like that. Puhehe!”
“S-stop laughing!”
Fwoosh.
Ritter’s face turned bright red as he watched the girl clutching her stomach with laughter.
His composure shattered for the first time, Ritter fumed inwardly, thinking indignantly.
‘It’s all your fault!’
Beatty’s punch in their first encounter had been powerful.
Her innate skill had accurately hit its target, causing the newly growing snake fang to snap clean off.
Though he’d been told it would grow back, there was nothing he could do about the lonely gap for now.
The boy had been secretly self-conscious about how ridiculous he might look without his important fang, and now she was openly mocking him.
“I said stop laughing!”
The more Ritter opened his mouth in anger, the more visible the gap between his teeth became.
As the girl’s laughter only grew louder, even Ritter’s forehead turned crimson.
“Eek!”
With his pride thoroughly trampled, the boy ended up fleeing the scene.
Watching his retreating figure, which looked like a dog running away with its tail between its legs, Beatty continued laughing for quite some time.
“Ah. That felt good.”
She couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed so hard.
This young body had its perks. Even small incidents like this could spark joy that spread throughout her entire being, leading to a hearty laugh.
‘The only problem is that it’s hard to stop quickly.’
A young body found it difficult to quickly shake off emotions that enveloped it entirely.
Feeling as though she had just released a month’s worth of laughter, Beatty stretched contentedly.
“The tooth that bit me is completely gone. Serves him right!”
She thrust her fists into the air, mimicking how she had punched Ritter’s face.
Remembering the sensation of those sharp teeth biting into her neck in her previous life, seeing Ritter now as a toothless baby snake felt incredibly satisfying.
“Just wait until we meet again. I’ll show you! Hiyah!”
Left jab, right hook!
Yah! Spinning tail attack!
As Beatty was enthusiastically beating up an imaginary Ritter, using not just her arms but also her squirrel tail, she suddenly paused as a thought struck her.
“But wait…”
Tilting her head, Beatty muttered in a serious tone.
“What is that villain doing in our home?”
That evil traitor couldn’t be here for anything good!
Firmly planting her distrust, Beatty set off to unravel this mystery.
Certainly, I’ll continue translating and enhancing the narrative to the end of the text:
Beatty, still chuckling from her encounter with Ritter, made her way back to the castle, her mind now focused on uncovering the reason for the young prince’s visit.
As she approached the main building, she noticed an unusual commotion. Servants were hurrying about, their faces a mix of excitement and apprehension. Curiosity piqued, Beatty decided to investigate further.
She overheard snippets of conversation as she passed by groups of staff:
“Did you hear? The Second Prince is here!”
“I wonder what this means for our young lady…”
“Shh! Don’t speak of such things. The Duke won’t be pleased.”
Beatty’s brow furrowed. The implications of Ritter’s presence were becoming clearer, and she didn’t like it one bit.
‘A marriage alliance? Not if I have anything to say about it,’ she thought, her determination growing with each step.
As she rounded a corner, she nearly collided with Carl, who seemed to be in an unusually foul mood.
“Watch where you’re going, squirt,” he growled, barely glancing at her.
“Carl, what’s going on? Why is Ritter here?” Beatty asked, ignoring his gruff demeanor.
Carl’s scowl deepened. “Nothing you need to worry about. Just stay out of sight until he leaves.”
But Beatty wasn’t about to be dismissed so easily. “Carl, please. I need to know.”
Something in her tone must have caught his attention because Carl finally looked at her properly. His expression softened slightly.
“Look, it’s just politics. Father will handle it. You don’t need to concern yourself with these matters.”
Beatty bit her lip, frustration building. She was tired of being treated like a child, even if she currently looked like one. “I’m not as naive as you think, Carl. This visit has something to do with me, doesn’t it?”
Carl’s silence was all the confirmation she needed.
“I won’t let anyone decide my future for me,” Beatty declared, her voice steady and determined.
For a moment, Carl looked taken aback by her resolve. Then, to Beatty’s surprise, a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“You know, squirt, sometimes you say the darndest things,” he said, ruffling her hair. “Don’t worry. Father won’t agree to anything you don’t want.”
With that, he strode off, leaving Beatty to ponder her next move.
She knew she couldn’t confront her father or Ritter directly about this matter. Such behavior would be unbecoming of a young lady of her station, and more importantly, it would likely be ineffective.
Instead, Beatty decided to bide her time and gather more information. She had the advantage of her past life’s experiences and her current position within the household. She would use every resource at her disposal to ensure her future remained in her own hands.
As she made her way to her chambers, a plan began to form in her mind. She may be small, she may be young, but Beatty was determined to show everyone that she was a force to be reckoned with.
“Just you wait, Ritter,” she muttered under her breath, a mischievous glint in her eye. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”
With renewed purpose, Beatty quickened her pace. She had preparations to make and allies to gather. The game was afoot, and she intended to win.