The Baby Has No Strength to Hide! - Chapter 34

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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 34
Meijina was so exasperated she wanted to grab the back of her neck. Here she was, treated with such care by everyone in the Empire’s high society as a fragile commodity, and this little thing was suggesting she was faking? Dramatics?
“If you pretend it hurts when it doesn’t, what happens later when you really are in pain?”
For a child, it was an oddly specific and thoughtful piece of advice. Calisto caught the hand of someone behind these words in Ailien’s confident demeanor. At the same time, he could guess why the child remembered that lesson so vividly.
“So you’ve faked it before. That’s how you heard it from Marlin.”
“Brother, did you just say ‘you too’?”
At Calisto’s observation, Ailien exhaled a long, deflating sigh—the mark of a direct hit. There had been far too much to do in the small cottage. Marlin, who usually indulged the child’s every whim, drew the line at certain things, and one of them was wallowing in bed all day long.
There were times when Ailien didn’t want to get up and feigned illness, earning a scolding from Marlin. If you resort to false complaints just to escape trouble now, what will you do later when no one believes you when you’re truly sick?
‘And what if no one believes me then either?’
In Ailien’s own way, it was advice meant to stir Meijina back to her senses.
Of course, there was no chance Meijina would grasp that intention.
“Meijina, go rest for a while.”
At Calisto’s words, Meijina spun around and glared at him. Her crimson eyes churned with resentment directed at him.
“You didn’t clear the candles from my room, did you?”
“…No, I didn’t.”
“Without them, I’ll die. They’re all that’s been protecting me.”
“Meijina Rubentain.”
“Never mind. I’m going.”
Meijina moved forward. This time the dizziness was genuine, and she stumbled, but she batted away the hand of the servant trying to steady her and climbed the stairs.
“Goodness, what a spirited one! Quite remarkable!”
“Don’t mind what Meijina says. She probably doesn’t mean it.”
“Doesn’t mean it? So she didn’t actually want to leave?”
Should he have caught her after all?
Ailien watched the direction where Meijina had vanished with a look of concern. Finding the expression endearing, Calisto tapped her plump cheek lightly with his index finger. Ailien’s gaze immediately shifted to him.
“You know, Calisto.”
“Hmm? What?”
“Everyone who comes here seems kind of strange.”
Calisto found himself in deep agreement with that assessment. The child nestled in his arms was, after all, one of “everyone who comes here.”
***
In the dawn when everyone slept.
Ailien woke to a vibration felt through her body. Rubbing her eyes, she drew out the Ruby Necklace.
“Are you telling me to wake up?”
Hum-hum.
“Yesterday it was morning, and today you’re making a fuss at dawn.”
Whirr.
“Can I fake it like Meijina did?”
Whirr-whirr. Hum. Whirr.
The Ruby Necklace began to tremble as if to say absolutely not.
“The Human-Horse Great War was chaos unlike anything else. Even Meijina was in an uproar, and now you too?”
Remembering the dinner, Ailien shuddered dramatically. Meijina hadn’t eaten even a single mouthful of mashed potatoes plain. She’d taken only a few bites, ended her meal, and then made everyone promise not to close her door, before standing to leave.
‘You’re tired, aren’t you?’
In the end, Ailien had complained about Meijina a little to Kora.
Kora could only laugh at the child’s honest assessment.
‘How wonderful it would be if all growing children were as straightforward as our little one.’
‘Lili is honest!’
‘Don’t hate Miss Meijina too much. At heart, she’s a gentle and good person.’
‘The child is kind.’
‘Yes, she is.’
Kora said so, but still—what a peculiar child she was. She exhaled deeply and began waking Kiki and Didi, who lay sprawled about nearby.
Kiki got up at once, while Didi looked a bit dejected. As Didi moved sluggishly, Kiki nudged her to hurry up. The flying squirrel felt a little wronged—she was nocturnal anyway, so this hour should be fine for her!
“Alright, alright. Why’d you wake me?”
Ailien shook the necklace and the Heart Wand shot out. As if it had been waiting for that very question, it gave a brilliant “Ping!” and blazed with light.
Whirr.
The wand moved of its own accord, as it always did, like a living compass, and pointed toward the far end of the hallway. Ailien’s small, fern-like hands were drawn along by the wand’s guiding force.

“Huh? Over there?”
The tip of the wand pointed to the end of the hallway.
“Is there treasure there?”
Ailien’s eyes sparkled even through her drowsiness. She followed where the wand led, crawling forward step by step. Over the dark corridor, a pink glow rose like a firefly, bobbing gently as it lit the way.
“Here?”
At Ailien’s question, the pink light vanished. At the far end of the hallway, plunged into absolute darkness, a single room stood with its door flung wide, and yellow light leaked through it.
The pale beam of light stretched across the corridor floor like a lighthouse gleaming over a dark sea, wavering and uncertain.
“Why is the light on?”
Ailien drew closer, drawn forward as if in a trance. The room was filled with the glow of dozens of candles. It was less beautiful than it was eerie—and somehow terribly sad.
The thick scent of melting wax and the acrid smell of burning wicks hung in the air. The room was stifling, and her eyes stung from the flickering flames dancing on every side.
“Oh dear, oh dear.”
The moment Ailien stepped inside and instinctively moved to shut the door—
“Don’t close it!”
A sharp cry cut through the room. Startled, Ailien flinched, but the door swung shut with a bang regardless.
Meijina’s face, emerging from beneath the blankets, was streaked with tears.
“Crying?”
“I’m not crying!”
Meijina raised her hands and scrubbed at her face roughly. It was a harsh gesture, nothing like the fragile composure she’d shown until evening.
Ailien paused to consider, then moved slowly toward her.
“Why are you crying?”
“I said I’m not.”
“Women cry three times, they say. Once when you’re born, once when the business you believed in and invested in fails, and once when you see something sad happen to a puppy or a kitten.”
“Pfft!”
“Of course, flying squirrels are included too. Actually, it’s all animals, really.”
By that logic, three times wouldn’t be accurate at all.
Meijina, who had been watching Ailien’s earnest expression, finally let out a hollow laugh. Seeing the small smile on the child’s face, Ailien’s own brightened considerably.
“You smiled!”
“That’s enough. The air in here isn’t good—let’s go.”
Meijina gave Ailien’s small back a gentle push. This wasn’t an environment suitable for a child. For someone like Meijina, it was sufficient to be alone in such a place.
“Don’t close the door when you leave.”
“But you were so insistent before—don’t, don’t—so why are you saying this now?”
“It’s not your concern.”
“But Lili can’t help being curious…….”
Ailien wiggled her fingers as she spoke. A flying squirrel perched on the child’s shoulder, and a cat was curled up at her feet. The squirrel gazed at her with eyes as earnest as Ailien’s own, while the cat seemed utterly indifferent to the whole affair, merely swishing its tail.
It was a peculiar trio. Had it been the Meijina of daytime, she would have shrieked about how the child and animals would destroy her already fragile immune system.
“……I’m scared.”
Why was that?
Before these three, her heart melted a little. Not even dozens of candles could have done what they did.
“What is it? Are you afraid of the dark?”
“Yes. I hate feeling trapped.”
When she was small, Meijina often found herself alone in the great expanse of Rubentain Castle.
The young Meijina would pluck flowers in the garden and offer prayers for the safety of her family, who had gone to war. Sometimes, the thought that this was all she could do filled her with helplessness.
Zeronias had said he loved all of Rubentain,
but would he love even her, who was utterly worthless?
Such thoughts gnawed away at Meijina constantly.
‘The young lady of Rubentain truly lives up to her station.’
‘Of course. The Countess was descended from knights, after all.’
‘We need people like that.’
Listening to the servants chatter, Meijina squeezed her eyes shut.
Yes, she was the weak one of Rubentain.

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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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