Baby Squirrel Is Good at Everything-Chapter 68
“Hm. I wouldn’t say it’s impossible, but...”
Aether cast a brief glance at the dark clouds surrounding him before erasing all traces of surprise from his expression and continuing.
“Unless someone is born with an exceptional amount of beastkin power, it’s highly unlikely.”
“Really? Hm, was Ritter really that strong?”
Hearing the unexpected name muttered to herself, Aether immediately latched onto it.
“Ritter... You mean the Second Prince?”
“Yeah.”
Perhaps because she was used to being around the First Prince’s attendants, Beatty didn’t think much of her friend calling the Second Prince so casually.
Besides, speaking ill of someone behind their back was common, and if it was that Ritter, any discourtesy toward him was more than welcome—it wasn’t something she felt the need to correct.
“As far as I know, Ritter’s ability is poison.”
She was certain of it—the sensation of her body freezing up at the end of her last life was still vivid.
Seeing the conviction in Beatty’s expression, Aether briefly looked as if he wanted to ask, And how exactly do you know that? But instead of pressing her, he nodded in acknowledgment.
“Well, snake beastkin’s unique abilities usually involve either potions or venom, so it’s not strange.”
“But this time, my aunt brought a potion, claiming the Second Prince made it.”
“...What?”
Aether’s brows knitted together at that odd statement.
“...That doesn’t make sense.”
“Right?”
Encouraged by her friend’s agreement, Beatty pressed her fingers to her forehead in relief.
“Yeah. As far as I know, the Second Prince wasn’t born with that much beastkin power.”
Aether muttered this while recalling those pale yellow eyes filled with jealousy as they stared at him.
“He hasn’t even awakened yet, has he?”
“Huh?”
“...Ah, nothing.”
Brushing it off with a slight smile, Aether smoothly changed the subject.
After listening to the full story from Beatty, he fell into thought before finally speaking.
“In my opinion... why not try this?”
“Oh.”
Hearing his detailed suggestion, Beatty’s eyes lit up in intrigue.
***
Deep Underground in the Duke’s Castle
A place where ordinary people would have no reason to set foot.
A space heavy with an eerie, oppressive air.
The underground prison.
Each cell, lined along # Nоvеlight # the corridor, had no solid doors—only iron bars, allowing for a full view inside.
Hrk, hk-
In one of those cells, someone was wheezing with labored breaths, their swollen throat making each inhalation sound grating.
“...Why... Why am I in a place like this...”
Pirina.
She had been imprisoned after the truth of her mistreatment of the esteemed young lady of House Aslan had been revealed.
“That wretched brat... My own niece, and she doesn’t even come to save me...! Just like that abnormal sister of mine. A freak, a disgusting little mutation...”
Click, clack.
Even as her teeth chattered from the cold, she continued muttering curses under her breath.
Her hushed ramblings, however, were soon drowned out by an unfamiliar sound.
Step. Step.
Footsteps echoed through the still corridor, stopping directly in front of her cell.
Slowly lifting her head, Pirina sucked in a sharp breath.
“Y-Your Grace.”
Once, she had coveted that man’s beauty more than anything.
Now, she feared him.
That unreadable expression of his never changed.
Even when he ordered someone’s torture, his face remained indifferent. Cold. Inhuman.
“The restraints.”
“Yes, I have rechecked them. There are no issues.”
Without sparing a single glance at Pirina, who trembled violently as if she could hardly breathe, the Duke examined the locks securing her limbs.
After letting out a long sigh,
Tug.
He felt a small hand grasp the hem of his coat.
At the faint pressure, the Duke nearly smiled. But then he shook his head.
‘I had planned to wait until she was older to bring her here.’
For Aslans, there was no such thing as an age restriction when it came to bloodshed.
But when it came to this tiny child... for some reason, he wanted to delay exposing her to such things for as long as possible.
At least he had made sure to remove any unsightly traces before she arrived.
The underground prison was spotless, without a single speck of blood left in sight.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Even so, he still didn’t want to bring his daughter here.
But... he had already made a promise.
“I will grant you anything.”
“Then, I want to see my aunt.”
In the end, the Duke had no choice but to allow Beatty to visit the prisoner in the underground dungeon—though only under the condition that he accompanied her.
Beatty had insisted that she was already fully recovered, but that argument had been completely dismissed.
As the Duke let out a quiet sigh, recalling how things had led to this moment, Beatty peeked out from behind him.
“You!”
Pirina, who had been trembling like a mouse before a lion when facing the Duke, immediately changed her expression.
But Beatty, who had long grown familiar with her aunt’s expressions during her past punishments, remained completely unfazed.
“It’s been a while, Aunt.”
“There’s no need to address a criminal that way,” the Duke interjected bluntly.
Pirina flinched, but she forcibly held back her anger in front of him, forcing a strained smile onto her face.
“D-Did you... come to free me?”
Her trembling lips made her smile look anything but reassuring, and the way she clung to that desperate hope made the Duke not even bother to respond.
Seeing her aunt looking so pitifully submissive for the first time left Beatty with an unpleasant, prickling sensation in her chest. She quickly got straight to the point.
“You brought medicine, didn’t you?”
“...What? Ah—! Y-Yes! Medicine! I brought medicine for you, my dear niece!”
After spending days in the dungeon, Pirina had lost the ability to compose herself, and now she clung to the conversation as if it were her last lifeline. Her eyes widened as she shouted desperately.
“Your Grace! You can’t do this to me! That medicine is incredibly precious...! I begged the royal family for it...! They gave it to me only because it was me who asked—”
Her voice wavered, stammering uncontrollably, making her rambling almost painful to listen to.
She seemed barely sane.
Beatty took a step closer and spoke calmly.
“Is it really medicine?”
“...What?”
“You say it’s medicine, but how do we know it’s not actually poison?”
“Hah! T-The Duke’s family must have already tested it, haven’t they? Did they find any poison in it?”
Even in her situation, Pirina managed to curl her lips into a smirk, ridiculing Beatty’s suspicion.
Beatty turned to the Duke, wordlessly asking if Pirina’s claim was true. The Duke, who had been frowning in disapproval, gave a small nod.
Seeing his confirmation, Pirina’s expression brightened.
Hehehe. That poison would never be detected by an ordinary test.
She had, of course, anticipated that the Duke’s family—especially its direct bloodline—would conduct a thorough examination of the potion.
“It’s like an assassin lying in wait, completely dormant until their master gives the order.”
She could still recall her mother’s proud, dignified expression as she explained it.
The poison would remain undetectable, lurking silently in the body—until the royal family issued their command.
Once activated, it would spread instantly, capable of felling even an elephant beastkin in mere moments.
“I see. So it’s not poison, but...”
“H-Heheh. Yes! It’s a medicine I brought just for you, my dear niece. See? I think about you so much, so please, hurry and let me out of—”
“In that case, Aunt, you wouldn’t mind drinking it yourself, would you?”
“...What?”
Pirina’s face went completely rigid.
Her reaction was far too extreme.
Watching her closely, Beatty recalled her conversation with Ahtel from the previous night.
***
The Night Before
“Tell her to drink it herself.”
“Huh? The potion?”
“Yes. If it’s really what she claims it is, then it should be perfectly safe, right?”
“...Hmm. But she said it’s a rare, one-of-a-kind elixir.”
Would it really be okay to use it like that?
Seeing Beatty hesitate, Aether smiled lightly and reminded her of her position.
“You’re an Aslan—this is nothing for you.”
Beatty, still unused to being addressed with her family name by others, felt her cheeks flush slightly.
“She claimed it was a gift from the royal family, didn’t she? In this kingdom, there’s nothing House Aslan can’t obtain.”
Aether looked at her round, dark eyes, finding her surprised expression endearing.
‘A potion made by Ritter, huh...?’
He didn’t believe a single word that woman had said.
If Ritter, who was still too young, had already awakened his unique ability, then his mother—the woman who was more obsessed with her husband’s illegitimate child than anyone else—would not have remained silent about it.
‘Then it must belong to my father.’
Aether knew well what ability his birth father, the king, possessed.
Delayed-effect poison.
A treacherous ability specialized in assassination, capable of lying dormant inside the body and poisoning its target at the precise moment its caster willed it.
‘Exactly the kind of thing my father would be good at.’
Aether thought to himself with a cynical smirk.
Then, turning back to Beatty, he smiled brightly, as if he had never been lost in dark thoughts at all.
“If it’s really medicine, you can always request more from the royal family. No need to worry.”
“Would they really give more?”
“Of course. There are no more wars on the horizon, and they can’t afford to ignore a request from Aslan, one of the strongest military forces in the kingdom.”
He watched as Beatty blinked in quiet realization, seemingly still unaware of the full extent of her family’s power.
“Don’t worry. Things will turn out exactly the way you want them to.”
Anything.
As he murmured those words, Aether looked almost like a mystical being, as if simply speaking would make wishes come true.
