The Baby Has No Strength to Hide! - Chapter 4

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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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Chapter 4
Calistho had been gazing out the carriage window when he caught himself and turned toward Ailien. The child was busily examining every corner of the interior, and he’d been on the verge of saying something, wondering if she felt uneasy.
“Is this your house?”
“What?”
“Hmm, it’s a bit small, though…….”
The carriage that Calistho and Ailien were riding in had been recovered through the knights’ best efforts. While it couldn’t compare to those belonging to House of Rubentain, it was still quite fine by any measure.
“This is a carriage.”
“A carriage?”
Ailien tilted her head, then her eyes widened as understanding dawned.
“Lili knows that!”
“You do?”
“In theory, sure. When a horse runs fast enough, people just stretch out, right?”
It was a remarkably clever answer, yet it left him bewildered. Calistho pressed his palm to his forehead.
“Not anymore. Merlin and the other mages invented the Portal and drastically reduced travel distances. They’ve even cast spells on horses’ hooves so they won’t exhaust themselves…….”
“Meri’s amazing!”
Ailien began clapping her hands together. Full of excitement, the child hummed to herself while gazing out the window, then exclaimed loudly about how the scenery kept changing in flashes.
She truly was a child worth watching.
The carriage raced on and arrived at Rubentain Castle. Ailien, who had been marveling at everything until now, gasped even louder.
“It looks like a princess’s castle!”
It resembled a castle from the fairy tale books that Merlin had read to her. The fortress, with its snow-white walls as though cradling winter’s first snow, gleamed brilliantly with a silver radiance.
It looked like a mysterious fantasy floating above the clouds. At the castle’s highest tower, a lapis lazuli roof stood tall and piercing toward the sky. Each time sunlight touched it, a brilliant shimmer seemed to reach all the way to the town below the fortress. The entire castle looked like a crown holding starlight for a princess.
As if welcoming her, the castle seemed to give her its greeting, and Ailien smiled brightly and waved her hand toward it.
***
In what was called the heart of the empire, a man was reading a report.
“The Duke of Rubentain brought back a child from Hayana Forest?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor set down the report and gazed out the window.
“He keeps sending reports about the ongoing possibility of Demon Race appearances…… He seems to have plenty of time on his hands.”
He set the report down with a somewhat irritable gesture.
“Give the Duke of Rubentain more work. Move up the northern patrol schedule and add an eastern border inspection as well.”
“The eastern border too?”
“What else can be done?”
The Emperor smiled. He was known as the flower of the Tamine Empire, possessing a beauty both pure and fragile.
“A Hero must keep busy.”
Yet his inner self was just as inscrutable as his beauty was beautiful.
The Emperor’s aide had no choice but to nod and turn to leave.
***
“It seems His Excellency will arrive soon.”
Kaius, who had been holed up in the library reading, rose from his seat at the steward’s words. Both his father and mother had been away from the castle, which left him rather lonely, so this was welcome news indeed.
Kaius leaned his face out the window to look, and a question mark appeared in his mind.
“What’s that carriage? It doesn’t look like one from House of Rubentain. And didn’t Father leave riding Blanc?”
Blanc was the prized steed and partner of the Duke of Rubentain. Even on battlefields where the Demon Race rampaged, the horse showed no fear, ranging alongside Calistho through enemy lines.
“Could he be coming with Merlin?”
“With Merlin?”
Kaius’s eyes sparkled with light. Though he’d been incredibly young, he remembered Merlin’s warm touch and her gentle gaze.
The reason he could remember was that every birthday, Kaius dreamed a dream in which Merlin appeared.
In the dream, she stroked his hair for a long while. They didn’t need to exchange words to feel happy. It was like surrendering his entire body to a warm, soft cloud.
It was a secret he kept even from his parents.
And now Merlin was actually coming back.
Before the steward could say anything else, Kaius bolted down the stairs in a rush.
There was so much he wanted to say when he saw her.
But the person who actually stepped out of the carriage with his father was—
“Oh my, so you’re Kaius? You’re much bigger than I heard!”
A grubby little girl with an odd manner of speech.
“What is this?”
Kaius asked flatly, somewhat disappointed that this was not who he’d been waiting for. Ailien sniffled and rubbed her nose vigorously with the back of her hand. Kaius’s brow furrowed in disgust—a natural reaction.
She had blonde hair like his father’s and his own, though somewhat lighter. Her small face held unusually large eyes that sparkled as if holding light, a bright blue that might have seemed cute, but her gap-toothed grin made her look a bit foolish.
For Kaius, who despised both dirt and stupid people, it was the worst possible first impression.
Then a cat and a flying squirrel, equally grubby, pressed themselves against the child’s side. They stood there proudly as if to protect her, and the moment Kaius saw them, he flinched.
“Her name is Ailien.”
“Ailien?”
“Ailien Zeronia!”
“Yes?”
“Just call me Lili.”
Kaius found himself growing more irritated at the way Ailien carelessly threw around Merlin’s great title.
“Since she’ll be staying with us from now on, please look after her.”
“Yes? But why?”
“Understood.”
At Calistho’s request, Kaius hesitated, but Ailien agreed readily. When both Calistho and Kaius turned to look at her in bewilderment at this sudden reply, Ailien shrugged her small shoulders.
“Trust only Lili. Lili will give Kai lots and lots of attention. Kai is still a baby and needs lots of help.”
“…What exactly is she?”
At Kaius’s question, Calistho found himself at a loss for words.
Fortunately, the butler who had followed behind Kaius appeared and broke the silence.
“Welcome home, sir!”
“Ah, Peril. You’ve done well while I was away.”
“It was you who endured much hardship, sir. And this child is…?”
“Her name is Ailien. She’ll be staying at our castle from now on. She’s a child Merlin Zeronia asked me to look after specially, so please take good care of her.”
“Zeronia did?”
Peril’s face brightened. Merlin Zeronia was a Hero of the continent. Countless artists had composed songs about Merlin Zeronia, written poems, painted portraits, and carved sculptures.
Here was a chance to do something for Merlin! Peril bent down to meet Ailien’s eyes.
“Welcome, young lady. I am Peril Tosen, the butler who manages Rubentain Castle.”
“But-ler? What’s a sah? Can Lili do that?”
“No, young lady need not do such things.”
“Why not? Lili wants to! Lili thinks she can do it!”
“You need not trouble yourself…”
At Ailien’s innocent stubbornness, Peril looked to Calistho for help, but he merely turned his gaze away as if he knew nothing.
Forgive him—he had suffered enough on the journey here at Ailien’s hands.
Meanwhile, Kaius had gone rigid with cold fury.
A child Merlin Zeronia had asked for specially?
‘But I am Grandmother’s jewel.’
Kaius’s small, tightly clenched fists began to tremble violently.
“Kai, your face looks ugly.”
“You should have asked why his expression was so grim.”
Calistho swiftly grasped what Ailien had meant to say and corrected her phrasing for her. The girl nodded as if she understood, then worked her small lips thoughtfully.
“Kai, your face not good.”
Teach her one thing and she learns only half of it.
Kaius, having lost all will to respond, stared silently down at Ailien for a moment, then slowly raised his gaze to Calistho.
“I’m relieved to see you’ve returned safely. Would it be all right if I retired for the evening?”
“Of course. Thank you for keeping the house while I was gone.”
As Calistho praised him with an affectionate hand ruffling his hair, Kaius’s cheeks flushed deeply. Being praised by the one person in this world he admired most was always a joy.
“Oomph, oomph.”
Just then, a straining sound reached his ears, and looking down, he saw Ailien rising on her tiptoes, flailing her arms about.
‘Does she want her hair ruffled too?’
The more he saw of her, the more exasperating she became. Calling him a baby out of nowhere, praising him as if he were something special—Kaius gave her only the briefest of glances with an air of annoyance, bowed respectfully to Calistho, and disappeared back the way he had come.
Calistho, watching Kaius depart while looking down at Ailien’s small head, scratched his temple.
He hoped she hadn’t hurt his feelings.

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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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