Question about possible meaning of “い”る quoted like this


In a novel I'm reading (Umineko no naku koro ni, by Ryukishi07) a child
character frequently affirms the existence of a witch named Beatrice (ベアトリーチェ)
in anger, as a way of protesting to older boys or adults who make fun of her
for still believing in her. She says it like this:

> A :「ベアトリーチェが“い”るうー！！」

What could be the equivalent in English? "Beatrice really 'exists'!!"? Or even
the English verb should be partially quoted? Are the quotes put on the "い"
just in order to emphasize the tone?

Maria (the girl's name) is portrayed as an innocent girl with a very child-
like vocabulary, except when the topic of discussion is about black magic. But
she doesn't use puns, and the phrase is used when she's acting like an
ordinary little girl.




Looks like there is no logical reason for this. This is an idiosyncratic
notation repeatedly used specifically in the _Higurashi_ franchise (that's
[why you shouldn't change the context or hide the
title](https://japanese.meta.stackexchange.com/q/2189/5010)). There are native
speakers wondering why it's written like that (for example, see [this
question](https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1332276568)).
Some readers may think this weird notation could be a foreshadowing of
something, or some may be reminded of [this suggestive
logo](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/37085/5010).

Personally, I doubt there is something more profound than the [Toys "R" Us
logo](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Logo_Toys_R_Us.svg). Hardcore
_Higurashi_ fans may be able to provide a better speculation, but
unfortunately that is beyond the scope of this site.

