Baby Squirrel Is Good at Everything

As soon as she realized that she had been revived without dying, Beatty swiftly slapped the face of the betrayer before her, with no hesitation at all.

There was not a shred of regret in her action, but it was clear what others would think of it.

‘A royal assault? A disgrace to the family who fled to escape the consequences...?’

She couldn’t help but wonder if the situation might be viewed even worse.

Returning to her original family, the one that had cast her aside, after running away from her maternal side would likely leave a very negative impression on anyone who was watching.

• What happened, really?

The Duke's voice from the communication channel grew ominously low, as if a growl mixed with a lion's roar was coming from somewhere, directed at no one in particular.

Thud.

Beatty felt a cold sweat run down the back of her neck.

‘Is he asking because he heard it beforehand, or is he really unaware?’

Swallowing hard, she made her decision.

‘If I tell the truth, it'll definitely be seen in a bad light. But I can't lie… So, I have no choice.’

Clenching her small fist, Beatty opened her mouth.

“Yeah. I slapped Prince Ritter Dux Astrum across the face.”

• Hmm?

“Hmm?”

A confused sound came simultaneously from the Duke and the boy behind her.

‘Ah! Looks like it hasn’t reached them yet.’

With a rough idea of the situation, Beatty quickly explained what happened in the capital. Her aunt had been talking about marriage, and then she had met the prince she had never seen before, was introduced to him…

“…And then I slapped his cheek.”

In the story, she was suddenly portrayed as the mad woman who slapped a prince she had just been introduced to.

‘Ritter, that traitor, I can’t say he killed me before the regression.’

Beatty braced herself for a scolding but was met with an unexpectedly tepid response from her family.

• Hm.

“Is that so?”

‘Shouldn’t they be angry for bringing shame to the Duke’s family?’

The boy behind her, who had been tilting his head, suddenly grabbed Beatty’s hair like a cat holding a thread and spoke.

“Good job.”@@novelbin@@

“What?”

Beatty was completely confused by the sudden praise.

• You went ahead with a matchmaking proposal I didn’t even hear about.

“Marriage, what? That’s not funny at all.”

The sounds from the communication channel shouldn't have been heard by the boy, so how did their words match perfectly?

Beatty was perplexed by their unexpected response.

‘Huh?’

• Looks like I’ve been looked down upon.

The Duke stated with a twisted smile, mixed with restrained anger.

• The royal family crossed the line first, so don’t worry about it.

“Uh, don’t worry about it…?”

• Yeah.

‘It’s not that I fled because of that, though.’

• Now that I know what happened, I’ll send a rejection letter to the royal family after this battle ends.

The Duke declared calmly, without a hint of pride, that no one would dare reject his decision.

• So, you should go back now.

“Pardon…?”

Beatty was stunned by the sudden order directed at her.

• This is the battlefield.

“I know!”

She knew that just beyond the mountain range, there was the northern border where battles raged daily.

She wasn’t being careless, thinking the war was a joke. She was involved in the logistics for the kingdom’s military.

“See, the war’s been going on for a long time, right? So, what I thought was—”

• Enough.

No, she was actually trying to help end the long war.

Beatty was about to explain, but the Duke’s firm voice interrupted her.

• You don’t need to think about it.

It was a rigid voice, like that of a commander giving orders, not allowing for rebuttal.

The Duke made his point, final as a period.

• This isn’t your place.

Those words hit Beatty like a hammer to her chest.

She could still feel her feet moving reluctantly, but it felt as though she was being told that she had no place in the Duke’s household.

‘I knew that... but...’

Thump.

Her squirrel tail, reacting to the turmoil in her emotions, hung low.

The boy behind her looked displeased, his expression scrunching up.

“Hmph.”

He moved swiftly and reached for her.

“?!”

Beatty looked up in surprise as the boy’s hand completely covered hers, clasping it like a shield.

“What did you say to her?”

• I told her to go back right away.

“To the capital?”

• Yes. In the north, her body is…

The Duke cut his words short as he remembered the boy wasn’t the only one listening through the communication channel.

“Hmm.”

The boy, seeing Beatty’s dismayed expression, suddenly pierced the truth.

“Don’t you not want to go?”

“!”

The boy looked directly into Beatty’s eyes, his gaze sincere.

As if her answer mattered to him.

“…Yes.”

“Good.”

Beatty’s heart fluttered at his words, feeling a strange sense of excitement.

The boy nodded, as if one word was enough, then spoke into the communication channel.

“She says yes.”

• …That’s irrelevant.

“Why?”

• It’s a place that could become the front lines at any moment.

“Why not just push them all out of the battlefield? Then there’s no reason to worry about this place being dangerous.”

• Do you know how dangerous it is to be so baselessly optimistic?

“I’ve never felt like this place was dangerous, so I wouldn’t know.”

The boy’s attitude was quite disrespectful for someone addressing the head of the family, but the Duke seemed used to it.

“Don’t worry about unnecessary things while I’m here.”

• …I don’t have time to listen to your nonsense anymore.

The Duke ignored the boy and spoke directly to Beatty.

• I know you’re listening.

“…”

• There’s no change. Go back to the capital.

The boy, hearing the Duke’s words, shot a frustrated remark.

“Why are you sending her back when she doesn’t even want to go?”

Beatty was slightly shocked by the boy standing up for her.

‘Didn’t think he’d take my side.’

She was moved, forgetting to be wary of him.

The boy glanced at her with a gleam in his eyes, then grinned and spoke again.

“Father.”

• …….

“Don’t you see what she looks like right now?”

There was no reply from the Duke, but the boy knew the Duke was listening carefully.

“I’ve seen her beastkin transformation, but her size is smaller than my tail fur.”

“…?”

Beatty stared at him with a dumbfounded look.

The touch of gratitude she had felt earlier vanished in an instant.

“When in human form, if you hit her limbs, they’ll snap right off.”

The boy kept going, describing Beatty without hesitation.

“Oh, and when we were coming, she didn’t have any fat on her face, probably from not eating.”

‘Was he really taking my side…?’

Isn’t this just mocking me?

Beatty eyed the boy suspiciously.

“She’s so frail.”

Her ears stood up in anger as the boy’s words hit hard.

The boy, not noticing her response, smiled as if pleased and spoke as though the outcome was already decided.

“If we send her back like this, she’ll collapse on the way to the capital, won’t she?”

After a brief silence, the Duke spoke again, his tone heavier than before.

• For now.

With a sense of foreboding that something different was about to be said, Beatty listened intently.

• Stay there until I return.

Tap.

The boy looked down as he felt a light tug on his sleeve.

“Th-thank you.”

Beatty, blushing slightly, nervously spoke as her tail flicked behind her.

The boy chuckled at her bashfulness.

“Thank you?”

“Yes? Yes…”

“Then let me touch your tail.”

With an unexpected demand, Beatty narrowed her eyes.

‘...Well, I guess I am thankful.’

She hesitated, worried about accidentally losing her tail if he pulled too hard, but still didn’t pull her tail away as the boy reached for it.

Tap.

A strange sense of fulfillment spread across the boy’s face as he touched Beatty’s fluffy squirrel tail for the first time.

At that moment—

“C-crisis!”

Bang.

The door flew open, and a messenger rushed in, holding a tattered letter.

“The warehouse with the military supplies…! Ack, the supplies we were sending to the lord are burning!”

The boy, who had been gazing at Beatty, instantly shifted to a sharp focus as his gaze turned cold.