Chapter 39

“That’s right. He never even thought about it. He cut it off immediately, saying he had no time to waste on such useless matters.”

“He never thought about it…”

“He got so angry just hearing about you—saying he didn’t even want to listen to the story of his daughter who killed her own sister. I got scolded for nothing.”

“……”

Glance.

Pirina made a show of pressing her fingers to her forehead, as if exasperated, while secretly watching Beatty’s reaction.

Hehehe. Now she’s finally starting to understand the situation.

Seeing her niece go quiet, she was certain Beatty had been shocked.

Of course, contrary to Pirina’s assumptions, Beatty was merely deep in thought.

Something’s not right.

Her aunt’s words didn’t match what Beatty had overheard.

“…Every time he had a moment, he would take out these drafts and agonize over a name for me.”

It was a conversation she had unintentionally eavesdropped on in the office.

“…He spent years pondering the name… It took over eight years just to decide on it…”

There was no way her father had known she was outside the window listening, so he hadn’t been putting on an act for her benefit.

Why would my aunt lie and say that my father never thought about naming me?

It was possible that Pirina simply didn’t know much about her father, but Beatty doubted that.

More than that, she felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

No, it’s not just déjà vu… This is familiar. Very familiar.

This time, her aunt claimed he hadn’t wanted to name her, but there had been many similar claims before.

He hadn’t sent money.

He hadn’t visited her.

He had ignored her letters.

Look at this. All these “reasons” are just to show me how much he hates me.

Even my own father despises me.

Her aunt had repeated that idea over and over.

Beatty had heard it so many times that she could already predict what would come next.

Now she’s going to say…

“Now do you see? I’m the only one who truly cares about you.”

…She’s going to say I have no one else to rely on but her.

Watching her aunt lazily fan herself with a smug expression, Beatty thought:

Just as I expected.

Thinking back, it made sense.

When she was younger, she had been too focused on the idea that her father hated her to notice.

But now, looking through the eyes of someone who had lived almost to adulthood in her past life, it was obvious.

She had been systematically worn down while her aunt raised herself up in contrast.

This is the same trick merchants use to drive down prices!

It was even written in The Memoirs of a Merchant Lord, though it was a tactic usually employed by amateur traders rather than professionals engaged in long-term transactions.

“Heh, you understand now, don’t you? From now on, follow my words as if they were sacred.”

While Beatty held her head in embarrassment over how easily she had been deceived as a child, Pirina mistook her silence for submission and smirked triumphantly.

“……”

Seeing her aunt’s shamelessness, Beatty’s head cooled instantly, and she brushed away the brief moment of self-reproach.

She’s probably been lying like this the whole time.

All those years, she had absorbed her aunt’s words without question.

A discarded child.

A rat draining family wealth.

A disgraceful half-blood.

But now, for the first time, doubt began to grow in Beatty’s mind.

“…Hah.”

Even after that, Pirina continued to drone on about how kind and noble she was for putting up with such a “useless” niece.

I wasn’t really listening, though.

While her aunt chattered away, Beatty let her words drift in one ear and out the other, focusing instead on something more important.

“Aunt is suspicious, but there’s something even more urgent right now.”

Securing residency at the ducal estate.

Before her coming-of-age ceremony, she needed a safe place to stay.

Only then could she hide her Signum until adulthood, achieve her long-held dream of becoming a merchant, and travel freely across the continent.

So for now, Beatty’s top priority was figuring out how to extend her temporary lodging rights before winter.

As for Aunt… even if she’s lying, there’s nothing I can do about it right now.

At the moment, she had no home, no money, no power.

Wasting time and energy on resentment when she couldn’t take action was meaningless.

Once I gain the ability to settle things from my past life, that might be a different story…

But it wasn’t as if an opportunity would suddenly fall into her lap.

Shaking her head to rid herself of any lingering regrets, Beatty spoke her resolve out loud.

“The priority right now is securing stable housing.”

She had already been steadily preparing for that.

“I don’t know why Aunt showed up, but it definitely isn’t for my benefit. I need to speed up my plans.”

With a determined nod, Beatty clenched her tiny fists, gathered her notes, and dashed toward the study.

The Next Morning

Sunlight streamed into Beatty’s room.

Knock, knock.

After a light knock, the door gently opened.

The maids entered as usual, carrying fresh water for washing.

“…Huh? Where’s the young lady?”@@novelbin@@

Not seeing the small figure that should have been curled up in bed, they looked around in confusion.

“Gasp…!”

Thud.

The towel slipped from the hands of the maid who spotted her first.

“KYAAA! YOUNG MISS!”

They screamed in horror at what had become of their mistress overnight.

“Haha… ha…”

Beatty was not in bed but slumped over her desk, surrounded by stacks of books.

Dark circles hung under her eyes, a stark contrast to her round, chubby cheeks.

“…I finally… gathered them all…”

She mumbled in a daze, clutching an old book as if it were a precious treasure.

The maids trembled in shock at the sight of their lady looking like a zombie squirrel.

“Young Miss, are you alright?!”

“Oh my goodness, what happened to you overnight?!”

“I’m fine…”

The eight-year-old, having spent the night poring over documents, weakly lifted a hand in reassurance—but her words were far from convincing.

“Bbaba…”

“Young Miss?”

“Mmmmergghhh…”

Thud.

Before she could finish speaking, her body swayed forward, about to plunge headfirst into the water basin.

The quick-handed maid barely managed to catch her forehead in time.

“You need more rest.”

At that, Beatty frantically shook her head.

“I have to see Father!”

She hadn’t even realized she had spoken the word out loud.

Trying to shake off her drowsiness, she splashed water on her face.

“My, how admirable.”

The maids, amused by her determination, gently dried her face with soft towels.

“But the Duke would be happier if you got proper rest, Young Miss.”

“Yes, your health comes first.”

Unaccustomed to such kindness, Beatty’s cheeks flushed.

Thinking she was responding with the utmost formality, she put on what she believed was a serious, dignified expression and said:

“Thank you, everyone.”

But I still need to deliver this quickly.

She glanced toward her desk.

With her aunt’s unexpected visit, she wasn’t sure what kind of obstacles would arise.

So she had pushed herself to complete her preparations overnight.

I can’t let this go to waste.

Slapping her cheeks to chase away the drowsiness, Beatty forced her sleepy eyes open and spoke.

“I have something for the Duke. Can I go to his office?”

“Oh dear, I’m afraid he’s in meetings all day…”

Hearing the regret in the maid’s voice, Beatty remained undeterred and handed over the documents.

“Then, could you at least deliver this for me?”

“Of course! I’ll take it up right away.”

She wanted to get the information to him as soon as possible, so Beatty let out a sigh of relief as the papers were taken away.

…He wouldn’t just ignore it, would he?

Given that he had insisted on paying her for the information on Tuberosum, despite her declining, it was unlikely.

She had begun to develop a small amount of trust in her father.

Had the Duke known just how minuscule that trust was, his reaction would have been priceless—but thankfully, Beatty’s thoughts remained private.

“Young Miss, the documents have been delivered. They were placed at the very top of the Duke’s desk.”

Hearing that, Beatty finally relaxed.

She rose and stumbled toward the dining hall, still swaying with sleepiness.

***

“……”

Withered.

Like a dried-up blade of grass, Beatty weakly swayed, barely managing to grip her spoon. Watching her unsteady movements, Carl tilted his head in curiosity.

A life overflowing with stamina.

As someone who had never once experienced drowsiness, let alone the sluggish state of a sleep-deprived chick, the sheer sight of Beatty nodding off with her eyes half-lidded was beyond his comprehension.

“Tailfur.”

“……”

Thunk.

“…Are you planning to dunk your face into the soup?”

Noticing that Beatty hadn’t even registered his call and was about to plunge face-first into her plate, Carl reached out and pressed a hand against her forehead, stopping her just in time.