The Baby Has No Strength to Hide! - Chapter 5

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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 5
“You know, Callisto.”
“Hmm?”
“Kaius seems like quite a shy person.”
Callisto recalled his son—always bold and confident wherever he went, always at the center of the group—but found himself unable to say a word.
What in Kaius had struck this child as shy?
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll manage.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Don’t thank me. I’m sorry too. This is my first time dealing with a little one, so I’m a bit clumsy at it. The theory is perfect, though.”
Ailien muttered this while struggling to fold her short arms across her chest. Peril, watching her, had to turn his head away to suppress a smile.
‘Callisto has a little one.’
‘A little one has a little one!’
‘That’s right, the little one had a little one.’
‘A baby of a baby!’
‘And the baby of a baby is named Kaius.’
Marlin’s face, as she thought of Kaius, could not have been more serene.
In all honesty, Kaius’s somewhat smug manner irritated her, but still—Ailien, destined to become a hero, had to endure and guide him.
“I have far too many little ones to raise.”
“I’m sorry? My lady?”
“But why do you keep calling Ailien ‘my lady,’ Peril?”
“Because she is my lady……?”
Ailien, who had been eyeing Peril with displeasure, suddenly widened her eyes at a passing thought.
Among all the little ones, the boss is me—so I’m the lady……!
“Right, I’m the lady, aren’t I?”
“Ah, yes. Of course…….”
Peril, unable to follow her train of thought, cast a helpless look at Callisto, but in the meantime Callisto found himself absorbed in fleeting glimpses of Marlin that shone through in Ailien. She would sometimes cast spells she’d developed on her own and botch them entirely, then mutter to herself, ‘The theory was perfect though.’
Worse yet, that magic was forbidden Prophecy Magic. Callisto had often warned her against it, saying he would secure victory for them without her resorting to such measures.
“Then, where would be my lady’s room…….”
“Aish, aish. If I could sleep with the sky as my blanket, then anywhere is space enough for me!”
Ailien spoke with affected dignity, clenching her fists grandly. Peril waved both hands in protest, but his mind was already racing. Did Lubentain Castle possess a room suitable for a girl this small and young?
In the wake of the Human-Demon War—that monumental event—the people of the Kairen Continent had come to prioritize strength and practicality over beauty. Lubentain Castle was no exception, and Peril could not help but feel uneasy about simply assigning some plain, rough room to this lovely little one.
Callisto, observing Peril as he deliberated before Ailien, spoke without inflection.
“Give her that room.”
“I’m sorry? That room? Do you mean—that room?”
“That room! That room!”
Peril’s eyes widened in alarm; Callisto allowed himself a faint smile; and Ailien, oblivious to everything, clapped her hands together with a bright smile.
***
In truth, as Peril opened the door, he found himself releasing a sigh of doubt.
After drawing a deep breath, Peril slid the key into the lock and opened the door that had been closed for so long.
“Wow!”
Ailien, peering out from behind Peril’s legs, let her mouth fall open at the sight of the room beyond.
She stood motionless for a moment, looking at the room, then at the Grand Duke, before sinking to her knees where she stood. At that, Kiki pressed her forehead against the child’s side, and Didi placed her small hand upon the back of his hand, as though offering comfort.
“My lady!”
“Ailien!”
At Ailien’s sudden gesture, both Callisto and Peril stiffened in shock, bending forward. The child’s small frame was trembling visibly. She looked like a frightened white puppy.
“Marlin…….”
After trembling for a long moment, Ailien spoke softly, and Callisto’s chest tightened. Curled up like this, she was so small he wondered if she might fit in the palms of his hands.
This was a child who had lived in that cramped little cottage, relying only on Marlin. Now, faced with the room where she would stay, perhaps the reality of her departure was finally settling in.
Peril also gently stroked Ailien’s back, swallowing down a poignant sigh.
Having thrown both men into such discomfort, Ailien drew a rough breath and slowly exhaled.
Then she slowly lifted her head. In her blue eyes—reminiscent of a brilliant blue diamond—transparent tears had gathered.
“Marlin, I…….”
“Are you alright, Ailien.”
“I, I…….”
“…….”
“I’ve really turned my life around…….”
Peril’s careful hand, which had been patting Ailien’s back, froze suddenly.
“Live long enough and you see it all!”
And indeed, this room was as though all the dreams of every girl had been gathered into one space. The first thing that caught the eye was a tall Canopy Bed like a small palace. Pale pink silk curtains draped softly from each of the four corners, and whenever sunlight touched the bedding, the silk caught and held the light in a shimmer.
On the walls hung tapestries that evoked mythology and a great mirror hung with small angel statues, and stuffed animals in the shapes of countless creatures were arranged in neat order.
“Who would’ve thought Lili would end up with a room like this, Kiki? Did you know, Didi? Did you?”
At Ailien’s pestering, Kiki simply lifted a foreleg and began licking her fur as if she understood nothing at all, while Didi bounced in place as though moved to even greater rapture.
“This is Lili’s room, isn’t it?”
……
“Isn’t it? Why won’t you answer me!”
“Miss!”
Callisto said nothing, merely gazing at her silently, and Ailien, growing exasperated, grabbed hold of his collar and tugged. Peril, witnessing the scene, grew alarmed and began attempting to restrain the child.
“Steward! Callisto won’t answer me!”
“Yes, it seems he was merely collecting his thoughts for a moment. He’ll answer you now. Please be patient with Miss!”
Ailien, feeling most aggrieved, began stamping her small feet. Peril gazed at Callisto pleadingly, repeating over and over, “Please be patient with her, Miss, please be patient!”
Only then did Callisto slowly open his mouth.
“Ah, I’m sorry. This is actually my room.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“What?”
Ailien collapsed to the floor as though the world had crumbled beneath her—the very picture of a tragic heroine from some melodrama.
“This is Callisto’s room? Then why did you bring Lili here?”
“Ah, I wanted to show it off.”
“How thoughtless. Lili means nothing to Callisto’s heart, it seems.”
Callisto, without thinking, touched his own mouth and lowered his head—for if Ailien caught him smiling just then, the situation would surely spiral beyond repair.
Really, there was nothing quite this adorable.
She collapsed into devastation over a careless lie thrown out without a moment’s thought. When Kaius was small, he’d been pranked often enough, but the clever boy had rarely fallen for any of them.
Perhaps that’s why—her small fist clenched, her huffing breath—struck him as so terribly endearing.
“Would Callisto yield his room?”
“Huh!”
“Aren’t you answering awfully quickly?”
“Since Lili is our guest, Callisto will give up this room. There—that’s what a good child does!”
The moment Callisto told Ailien she could have the room, she began bouncing with delight, burying her face in the fluffy bedding with such obvious joy that he found himself stomping his own feet with contentment. Together with Peril, he stepped out of the chamber.
“What time shall dinner be served, sir?”
“A little later. I’m going to the library—have Arden called for me.”
“Of course, sir. Are you quite certain this is all right?”
“What wouldn’t be all right about it?”
“And yet……”
“Miss Ailien will need a personal attendant, naturally. We’ll look into that as time allows. The child has been uprooted from her familiar surroundings, after all—the transition will be difficult enough.”
“Understood, sir. Until then, I shall ask Cora to attend to her.”
“That will do nicely.”
Callisto turned away from Peril, who seemed to have more to say, without hesitation. He knew what troubled the steward, but the matter itself caused him no concern whatsoever.
The room Ailien now occupied was one that Callisto and Evangeline had decorated together with their own hands.
He couldn’t say why, but it seemed they’d prepared it in hopes of having a second child—the happiness they’d felt raising Kaius had been so profound. A year’s worth of memories had vanished, leaving him only to conjecture what lay beneath.

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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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