“Huh?”
Execution?
Beatty's expression revealed her shock at such an unexpected severity. Interpreting her reaction in his own way, the Duke calmly and thodically explained why the Viscountess could not be executed imdiately.
“Of course, if you wish, I could have her beheaded this instant. However, the only reason she’s still alive is because of the dicine she brought.”
“dicine?”
“Yes. We don’t know what kind of tricks she may have pulled with it, so it’s under investigation.”
Naturally, trust in the Viscountess had plumted to nothing after the way she dared to treat his child back in the capital.
That suspicious elixir she brought? There would be no argunt if they were to dispose of it imdiately.
‘But... if it really can cure her illness...’
A parent with a sick child—no matter how faint the possibility—could not bear to let go of even the slimst hope.
If, by any chance, the dicine was truly capable of curing her illness, then they had no choice but to keep the Viscountess alive.
Was it really from the royal family as she claid? If not, where had she obtained it? How was it made?
There was still information she might possess that needed to be uncovered.
With a solemn expression, the Duke turned to Beatty.
“If the dicine proves effective for your illness, I will hand the criminal over to you.”
Speaking with absolute sincerity, he promised that Beatty would be free to dispose of her as she pleased.
But faced with such a serious statent, Beatty only blinked in confusion.
“My illness?”
Ah, was he talking about the sudden fever she had?
But the doctor had said it wasn’t anything serious. And now, the fever had already gone down.
“I’m fine now.”
“...What?”
“Look, touch here. I’m perfectly fine.”
Beatty took the Duke’s hand with her small fingers and guided it to her forehead.
“......”
For a mont, the Duke was at a loss for words.
Looking down at his young daughter, who gazed up at him with innocent eyes, his throat tightened.
“...No, not that illness.”
His voice ca out hoarse. The sight of those clear, black eyes looking up at him /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ pierced him deeper than any blade.
‘To think she wasn’t even told about her own condition...’
A fresh wave of fury toward the criminal surged within him.
Grinding his teeth, the Duke carefully controlled his tone, making sure not to shock the child.
“Little one, you know you have a weak constitution, don’t you?”
“...I do?”
“In winter, you often lose consciousness, don’t you?”
“Oh, not really.”
“...I see. I did hear that you’ve been staying awake more often since coming here.”
The Duke nodded in relief at that much, though his expression remained complicated.
His daughter had been so fragile since birth. Unlike him or Carl, she hadn’t been able to break even a cradle, let alone wield a training sword—one of Aslan’s special training swords, reinforced with an iron core.
“When Carl and I shattered enough furniture to fill an entire room, you barely managed to make enough splinters to fill a single cradle.”
‘Isn’t that just because Father and Brother are absurdly strong?’
Sothing about that reasoning seed off.
Tilting her head, Beatty decided to point out the strangest part of their conversation first.
“But you’re saying my aunt brought
dicine?”
Now that was the most suspicious thing of all.
‘There’s no way my aunt would ever give
sothing good.’
Nodding to herself in certainty, Beatty watched as the Duke, despite the conversation’s unexpected turn, answered her question with sincerity.
“Yes. They claim it’s the Second Prince’s awakened ability.”
“!”
The ntion of Ritter’s na made Beatty’s eyes widen.
‘Wait... awakened ability?’
Unfamiliar with the term, Beatty asked what it ant. But instead of answering imdiately, the Duke looked at her with mild surprise.
“You’ve never heard of beastkin’s unique abilities?”
It was sothing every beastkin should have learned through basic education.
Noticing the unease creeping into his daughter’s expression at his question, the Duke quickly reassured her.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, little one. You’re at the age where you can ask about anything.”
“...Even so...”
Beatty hesitated, trailing off. But when the Duke offered to arrange a tutor for her if she wanted, she finally looked relieved.
“A unique ability is, as the na suggests, a special ability that each beastkin is born with. For example...”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
The Duke picked up a nearby iron plate decoration and crushed it effortlessly.
“Lion beastkin possess imnse physical strength.”
As if handling nothing more than a piece of folded paper, he easily restored the iron plate to its original shape.
“Snake beastkin can secrete fluid from their fangs. Whether it’s poison or dicine depends on the individual.”
Beatty listened, her round eyes growing even wider in amazent.
‘I thought beastkin were special because they were descendants of the Celestial Beings, but they also have unique abilities like this!’
As he explained the known abilities of various beastkin, the Duke’s gaze naturally drifted to Beatty’s wrist, where her black Signum was embedded.
“Squirrel beastkin must have their own unique ability as well.”
Blink.
Caught off guard, Beatty blinked her large eyes before hesitating. Then, she admitted honestly,
“I... don’t have any abilities.”
“That’s impossible.”
The Duke watched his daughter’s slightly dejected expression with an affectionate gaze, then added,
“You’re still too young, that’s all.”
“Too young?”
“The age at which one awakens their unique ability varies from person to person.”
Though it usually happened around ten years old, it wasn’t unusual for it to occur a few years later.
Gently patting his daughter’s head, the Duke spoke in a soothing tone, as if comforting her frustration.
“When you grow up a little more, you’ll discover your unique ability too.”
“......”
Hearing his warm reassurance, Beatty found herself unable to refute him.
‘But... even if I grow up, I won’t have one.’
She already knew what her future held.
She had grown all the way to the brink of adulthood in her past life.
And she had never awakened any unique ability.
A bitter taste filled her mouth.
Not wanting her father to see her expression, Beatty lowered her head.
***
That Night
Back in her room, Beatty leaned against the terrace window fra, gazing up at the night sky, lost in thought.
“The dicine...”
Poof!
So deep in contemplation, she didn't even realize that her ears had popped out from thinking too hard.
“My aunt brought a potion made from Ritter’s unique ability?”
Could that even be possible?
No, that couldn’t be right.
“This doesn’t make sense.”
“What doesn’t make sense?”
A voice suddenly cut through her murmuring.
“Huh?”
Startled, Beatty looked up toward the source of the voice—and saw a familiar figure she hadn’t seen in a while.
“Ahtel!”
Delighted to see her friend, Beatty greeted him with a bright smile. Then, a thought struck her, prompted by soone she had grown used to recently.
“Co to think of it, your na is similar to Prince Aether’s.”
Flinch.
Ahtel—no, Aether—gave a small start but quickly curved his eyes into a smile.
“...It’s a custom in the Eastern Continent.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Especially among dragon beastkin.”
“Dragon beastkin?”
“There aren’t many of us. So to strengthen our bonds, we tend to na ourselves in a way that resembles each other.”
It sounded plausible. But it was a complete lie.
Giving his little star the na Ahtel had been an impulsive decision on Aether’s part.
Since Ahtel was just a shortened version of Aether, of course, the nas would sound similar.
“I see. That’s an interesting custom.”
Not much was known about the faraway Eastern Continent beyond the vast sea.
Beatty’s face lit up slightly with excitent at learning sothing new, thanks to her friend.
‘Will I ever get to visit soday?’
Imagining her future after gaining independence, Beatty suddenly thought of sothing and asked,
“Oh, by the way, Ahtel, do you know anything about unique abilities?”
“You an the abilities each beastkin is born with?”
“Yeah!”
So it really was common knowledge among beastkin.
Her curiosity deepening, Beatty observed her friend’s beastkin form with keen interest.
“What kind of unique abilities do dragon beastkin have?”
“......”
Those pure, inquisitive black eyes stared at him without a trace of malice.
‘This is the first ti soone’s asked
directly about my ability.’
A beastkin’s unique ability was usually only shared with close family or lovers.
For soone else to ask about it—depending on the circumstances, such a question could be t with a sword rather than an answer.
So under normal conditions, he should have been offended.
But...
“Hm. Should I tell you a secret that only my little star gets to know?”
“A secret? Yes! I won’t tell anyone.”
Strangely enough, Aether felt no irritation at all toward his little star.
‘Instead, I just find her sparkling curiosity... cute.’
Shaking his head slightly at his own thoughts, Aether finally spoke.
“We dragons are often born with abilities related to celestial phenona.”
“Celestial phenona?”
“Things governed by the sky. Rain, thunder, fog—we can control them.”
“Oh! So that’s why you can control clouds, Ahtel!”
“...Sothing like that.”
Beatty pointed at the dark clouds surrounding them as if she had perfectly understood, her face filled with realization.
Aether gave a vague nod in response.
‘It’s not just clouds, though.’
Lost in thought for a mont, Beatty suddenly asked,
“Then, Ahtel, is it possible for soone to have two unique abilities?”
“Multiple unique abilities?”
Hearing such an unexpected question from his little star, Aether’s expression shifted in surprise.
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