Chapter 16

Before Beatty could protest being called a “little one” in indignation—

“Oh!”

As if she had just recalled something, Johanna let out an exclamation.

“I held off on delivering the message since you seemed preoccupied earlier, but your room has been prepared.”

“My room?”

Beatty’s eyes sparkled.

‘Did they prepare a guest room for me?’

Compared to the worst-case scenarios she had imagined on her way to the north—such as being turned away at the door—this was going far better than she had expected.

‘No, I didn’t expect to be welcomed like this at all.’

She had anticipated a bucket of salt being thrown outside the door, but instead, knights had come running barefoot to greet her the moment she arrived. Rather than being handed a cup of cold water, she had been presented with a lavish banquet.

Instead of frowns and scowls upon seeing her, people were smiling at her with wide, genuine grins.

She had never imagined anything like this.

“?”

A strange ticklish feeling welled up in her chest, making Beatty glance down at herself.

“I’ll take you there.”

“Oh, will you do that for me, young master?”

Listening to the exchange between the two, Beatty wondered.

What kind of room would the ducal estate provide?

‘Honestly, as long as they don’t lock me up like in the annex before, I can manage even if it’s cramped and filthy!’

Having spent over ten years trapped in that annex, she was ready to be grateful for any room, no matter how small.

‘But… does the ducal estate even have such rooms?’

Even if they gave her a damp, half-flooded basement to stay in, she would still be thankful.

‘Judging by the banquet hall and the reception room where I was welcomed upon arrival…’

Given how everything in the estate was large and dazzling, it seemed unlikely that there would be a run-down, dirty room anywhere inside.

“Oh ho. You two get along so well—it’s such a lovely sight,” Johanna said, laughing heartily.

Hearing that laughter, Beatty’s neck suddenly felt hot for some reason.

“Let’s go.”

Click.

The boy was already ahead of her at the doorway.

He stood there, holding the door handle, waiting for her. That, too, made Beatty feel strangely ticklish inside.

She tilted her head, puzzled by the odd feeling in her chest.

***

“Huff, huff.”

Trying to keep up with his long strides, Beatty had to scurry along on her much shorter legs. Finally, when he stopped, she took the chance to catch her breath behind him.

“You…”

Her shoulders heaved up and down as she panted heavily from the effort of keeping pace with his long legs.

“You’re really weak,” the boy remarked in mild astonishment.

He tilted his head as if it made no sense to him.

“Or maybe your legs are just too short?”

He looked at her in open curiosity, as if struggling to comprehend how she could be so out of breath from such a short walk.

Beatty bristled.

Short?! He was just too tall!

‘He doesn’t even consider his own height!’

She glared at his absurdly long legs.

‘I’m not short at all…’

For her age, she was perfectly average in height.

The only problem was that he—her lion beastkin older brother—was ridiculously tall. That was the only reason.

Her cheeks puffed up with indignation.

Noticing her sulking expression, the boy tilted his head in curiosity before stepping aside and extending his arm.

“This is your room.”

‘Here? The hallway…?’

Was this his way of subtly telling her she had no room?

Frowning, Beatty knitted her brows and thought deeply.

But before she could fully process the situation, the boy pulled her along again.

“This is the playroom.”

A room packed with adorable dolls and toys.

“This is the dressing room.”

A room with three more doors inside, leading to other sections.

“The study.”

A library so full of books that there was even a staircase leading to a second floor.

The boy opened each door along the long corridor, giving brief explanations as they went, until he finally stopped at the very end of the hallway.

“The last one—the bedroom. That’s the last room.”

He turned to her, looking rather pleased with himself.

Beatty, overwhelmed by the grand tour, opened her mouth in confusion.

“Uh, so… my room is…?”

Was he saying she could choose one of these magnificent rooms?

As Beatty stared in a daze at the opulent spaces, a sudden realization struck her.

‘Wait!’

Her eyes widened.

‘This might be a test.’

There were stories like this, weren’t there?

The humble traveler who, when visiting a spirit’s home, chose the most modest seat and was rewarded, while the arrogant traveler, who immediately claimed the spirit’s throne, was scolded and cast out.

‘Sure, I might have unexpectedly helped the duchy today…’

They had accepted her words more favorably than she had anticipated.

‘But if I let that go to my head and start overstepping my place…’

Even though all she wanted was permission to stay until her coming-of-age ceremony, others might misunderstand her intentions.

What if they took this as an excuse to label her as an overreaching noble, trying to grasp at power beyond her station?

‘If I make the wrong move, I might get kicked out with nothing but the clothes on my back—just like the arrogant traveler!’

Gasp!

That was a very real possibility!

Terrified by her own imagination, Beatty sucked in a sharp breath.

“B-Brother!”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t need such a luxurious room!”

Beatty hurriedly pleaded her case.

“Just a small, unused, forgotten room—something nobody would notice even if it were gone! I’ll stay there quietly—”

She was really someone who knew how to be content.

Modesty and gratitude!

She could even make do with a doghouse-sized space. If she transformed into a squirrel, it would be plenty spacious.

As Beatty blurted out her desperate plea in a flustered rush, the boy furrowed his brow.

“What are you even saying?”

He thought for a moment before asking again.

“Was my explanation confusing?”

“Well, uh…”

How was she supposed to answer that?

Wasn’t this a test?

“Look.”

Noticing her confused expression, the boy tilted his head before continuing his explanation.

“You see that statue?”

“Yes? Yes.”

“From the door next to it…”

Starting from the entrance of the hallway—

With a sweeping motion, he gestured across the corridor.

“All the way to here.”

“……?”

“This is your room.”

“?!”

No way!

‘That’s not a room!’

It was an entire floor.

‘No, even if we count it as a single room—how could they give me such an enormous space?!’

Did the Aslan family always treat their guests like this?

It was overwhelming!

‘So this is the wealth of a grand ducal house…!’

It was incredible!

‘The generosity to just hand over an entire floor to a guest…!’

Her mouth gaped open in shock and awe.

Creak.

While Beatty stood frozen in place, overwhelmed by the scale of the estate, the boy casually reached out—

And lifted her up.

“!”

‘He picked me up again!’

This was now the second time in her life she had been hugged. The first had been upon meeting him earlier today.

(The time that traitor Ritter had put his arms around her didn’t count—it had been an assassination attempt, not a hug.)

It was a type of affectionate contact she just couldn’t get used to.

“I-I'm… heavy, you know.”

Her face flushed bright red.

“This?”

The boy looked genuinely confused, then stated with absolute certainty:

“You need to be at least ten times heavier.”

“……”

At that point, she wouldn’t be a squirrel anymore.

She would be a pig-squirrel.

Beatty was so dumbfounded by the ridiculous statement that she was momentarily speechless.

Click.@@novelbin@@

Before she could react, the boy carried her straight into the bedroom.

“Wow…”

As expected of the long summer days, the sun was still high in the sky, casting a brilliant sunset glow over the room.

The elegantly arranged furniture and the countless jewels decorating the space shimmered in the golden light.

A lake?

Beyond the large window, a garden with a vast lake stretched out beneath her view.

“It’s beautiful…”

The sight of the rippling water reflecting the crimson sky left her in quiet awe.

The boy let her take her time soaking in the view before speaking again.

“Here.”

This time, he gently set her down onto the massive, canopied bed.

“Go to sleep.”

“…The sun is still up, though.”

“You walked around a lot today.”

The boy’s voice was casual, tossing the words out as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“And you came all the way here on your own. You’re small, so it must have been tiring.”

“Ah…”

Beatty was momentarily taken aback.

There was an unexpected kindness in his words.

“You worked hard walking here with those short legs.”

“…I rode a carriage, you know?”

This time, she felt something entirely different.

Any trace of sentimentality disappeared as the boy once again emphasized her short legs.

The warmth she had felt a moment ago was gone, replaced by sheer indignation.

As Beatty’s eyes burned with silent fury, the boy remained utterly unfazed.

“Hm. Guess you’re not sleepy, huh?”

He glanced around the room before grabbing something and casually dropping it in front of her.

“Then do this instead.”

“……”

Beatty narrowed her eyes, staring intently at the object before her.

This is…