The Baby Has No Strength to Hide! - Chapter 19

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 19
Zeronias, sir.
“Ahhhhh! Lili caught me!”
Indeed.
“Catch Lili, catch Lili!”
That child.
“Why’d you catch me? Why’d you grab me!”
Is she the gift you left behind for me?
“Calisto, Dorian caught Lili!”
Calisto’s aide dangled from Dorian’s ribs as Ailien thrashed in his grip—the very girl who’d insisted on playing tag just moments ago, now furious at being caught and at a loss for how to express her indignation.
She’d run to him with an air of grave injustice, but Calisto found himself too depleted to muster a response.
“Did you not ask me to catch her, sir?”
“Well, I suppose so.”
“Then I caught her.”
“But Lili is your master’s daughter, Dorian.”
Should I have let her go?”
“Must you make me spell it out?”
Ailien pouted, her lower lip jutting out. Most days she carried herself like someone who’d seen everything the world had to offer, but the moment circumstances turned against her, she played the child—and though it exasperated him, he found it utterly endearing.
“I offer my sincere apologies.”
“Lili doesn’t want a boring apology!”
The stern-faced knights, unused to children this willful, perspired freely as they rushed to give her whatever she demanded.
“Ah, I see. Then allow me to offer a more entertaining apology.”
“Ehehe.”
When Ailien laughed like sunlight breaking through clouds, even the dour knights found themselves smiling. The knights who’d initially been afraid to touch her now lifted her easily into their arms. Before long, Ailien spent more time being carried than walking on her own feet.
“I shall take Ailien with me now.”
Yet in this castle, there was one person before whom even Ailien’s whims bent.
“No, I won’t!”
“Won’t what. Come down at once.”
“Kaius is taking me away!”
Kaius, that was who.
“Put her down.”
“Dorian, are you really going to abandon Lili? Hmm?”
Dorian found himself caught between his lord and his young mistress, with no way to escape. Ailien clung to Dorian’s neck, refusing to let go, while Kaius stood immovable, his stance brooking no argument.
“You need to learn letters so you can read books.”
“Calisto can read to me!”
“Your father has a mountain of duties. You shouldn’t say such things.”
Calisto, who’d found himself nodding along, suddenly snapped back to attention. That was true. He couldn’t drop everything to read to Ailien whenever she desired.
“Then Kaius can read to me!”
“You need to be able to read on your own. Now come down.”
In the end, Dorian set Ailien down on the floor. Her hair fell limp against her head.
“Why do you keep being so stubborn?”
“The library is… noisy.”
“What?”
“The library is too loud.”
At Ailien’s words, the three men surrounding her fell silent. They exchanged glances, and in those brief looks, each understood the same thought.
The library was loud?
The loudest thing in Lubentain Castle was you.
“The library is loud? What on earth do you mean?”
Calisto spoke first. Drawing a straightforward answer from this small child required a rather lengthy journey—and one that demanded considerable patience.
“Don’t you understand Lili?”
Patience, patience.
“Ailien, you may not know this, but our castle’s library has Soundproofing Magic woven into it. We only understood why it was necessary after you arrived.”
Calisto carefully worked his way toward what he actually wished to say. Ailien’s large eyes blinked slowly.
“That doesn’t work.”
“What doesn’t?”
“Lili will cast it again. That magic is a scam.”
“But it was cast by Zeronias himself.”
“So Zeronias is a con artist.”
Huh. At Ailien’s words, the two men beside Calisto clamped their hands over their mouths as though they’d heard the most heretical thing imaginable.
“Just what are you hearing in there.”
“There you go—someone’s crying, sniff sniff.”
“Who’s crying?”
“Isn’t it you weeping inside because you hate learning letters?”
Kaius finally couldn’t hold back and spoke up. Calisto understood his son’s sentiment perfectly, but gently stroked the boy’s back as if to say he shouldn’t.
Ailien’s eyes went wide, and she pressed a tiny finger to her chest.
“Ooh. So it really is the true voice of Ailien’s heart?”
……
“Ailien is such a clever person who knows how to communicate with herself…….”
Ailien patted her small chest once or twice, clearly pleased with herself. Her large eyes sparkled like sunlight dancing across a blue sea.
“Ailien absolutely has to become a count.”
“No.”
“That should be ‘probably’ not ‘absolutely.'”
Calisto and Kaius spoke at the same time. Ailien rolled her eyes—here they go again.
“Say it again. Go on: ‘Ailien probably should become a count.'”
Kaius looked at Ailien and pronounced each word carefully. His aim was to correct her speech habits.
“Ailien probably has to become a count.”
Whether or not she understood his intention, Ailien’s eyes gleamed as she turned to Calisto.
That was right. Ailien probably did need to become a count.
Because to become a Hero, she needed a Title. Merlin had said that even before Zeronias became who he was, he held the rank of count!
“I said no.”
“Ugh, I’m so sick of this.”
When things wouldn’t go her way, Ailien lifted her small hands and clamped them tightly over both her ears.
The sight was endearing but so exasperating that Calisto couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
“My lord, it’s almost time for the vassal council.”
“Count Huyato is attending today, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he sent word that he would certainly make an appearance.”
Calisto fell silent in thought.
“He’s always had his hands full guarding the Sealed Stone. I’m always in his debt. When he returns to his territory, open the Grand Duchy House’s storehouse and load him with precious goods in abundance—not just supplies, but gifts befitting his station. See that he lacks for nothing.”
“Yes, I shall prepare it as you command.”
Calisto looked down at Ailien and added:
“Stay quiet and play. Today is a busy one.”
“Yes! Ailien will keep Kai quiet!”
Ailien tapped her small chest as if to say he should trust only her. Kaius, suddenly turned into a troublemaker against his will, was at a loss for words, though he offered no objection. He’d always felt the same bewilderment—where in the world had this child rolled in from?
As Calisto and Dorian disappeared from view, Ailien made a small sound.
“But shouldn’t Ailien go to the council too?”
“Why would you go there?”
“But Ailien is Ailien, isn’t she?”
Ailien tilted her head, and Kaius let out a small sigh.
“That place is…… only for adults.”
After a moment’s consideration, Kaius brought up a matter he was resigned to accept, phrased so Ailien could understand.
“So Kai couldn’t attend either?”
Though he was young, being treated that way by this pint-sized creature didn’t sit well with him at all.
“I’m sorry, but the Deladium Kingdom offered me a marquis’s rank, so I could attend if I wished. I simply declined because they said the time wasn’t right yet.”
“Deladium—where’s that?”
“Mother’s homeland. Our mother is its princess there, and a great Demon Swordswoman, and a Hero of the continent.”
Kaius’s cheeks flushed as he spoke of his mother. Ailien’s eyes brightened and she cried out loudly:
“Evangeline!”
“How do you know our mother’s name?”
Kaius asked in surprise, but Ailien only smiled sweetly.
Yet the clever boy could easily arrive at the answer.
“Zeronias must have told you.”
Ailien nodded in agreement.
Merlin’s voice often caught when he spoke of Evangeline—an emotion far too dense to dismiss as mere longing.
That’s why Ailien was always curious about her.
“When does Evangeline come home?”
“She’s busy with successor training right now. She’ll probably stop by the Deladium Kingdom first before coming. She’s such a busy woman.”
“Evangeline is busy but Father just loafs around at home?”
“What are you talking about? Father is incredibly busy too. Today’s council was hurriedly called because of urgent imperial orders. He’s supposed to go on patrol soon after.”
Calisto was squeezing his schedule only because of the tiny creature in front of him. Not knowing this, Kaius felt frustrated listening to Ailien prattle on thoughtlessly.
Ailien blinked and suddenly spoke up.
“Then Kaius must have been lonely, all by himself at home.”
“…What?”
“You were alone, weren’t you? And still just a baby!”
Though Kaius knew it was absurd, he found himself unable to respond at once.
He bit his lip, staring into empty air before slowly opening his mouth.
“I wasn’t lonely.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s only natural that they were busy. Even with the war over, traces of the Demon Race still linger. One can’t afford to be careless. That’s why they continued their patrols. They are great Heroes, after all…….”
Kaius added the words as if swearing an oath to himself.
“Since I inherited their blood, I must prove myself worthy of it.”
“Ailien will do it!”
“What?”
Ailien pounded her chest.
Just as she had done with Calisto, her gesture was one of utter confidence, demanding trust in her alone.
“Ailien is going to be a Hero!”
“What makes you think you could ever be a Hero…….”
He wanted to mock her, but the words wouldn’t come.
The child’s bold proclamation shone far too brightly.
“Don’t worry—you just stay home and keep Mama and Papa company, okay baby?”
“Keep company…? Wait, did you just try to say ‘living off others’ and completely butcher it?”
Kaius pressed his palm to his forehead.
“You need to study before you become a Hero.”
“Ailien can live just fine without studying.”
“You could live even better if you studied.”
“Zeronias told Ailien that studying doesn’t matter—you just need a big vessel.”
He’d said ‘you’ll grow into a great vessel,’ no doubt. Kaius didn’t bother correcting her. Watching what the girl was doing now, the man’s words didn’t seem entirely wrong.
“You said earlier you wanted a Title, didn’t you? You need to be smart to earn one.”
Kaius mentioned the Title as a clever ploy to encourage Ailien’s studies. But it was a perfectly calculated miscalculation.
“Wait, a Title! Ailien has to get one!”
Ailien’s eyes went wide and she bolted forward.
“Where are you going! Don’t bother your father!”
Kaius, suddenly aware of his blunder, rushed after her.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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