The Baby Has No Strength to Hide! - Chapter 7

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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 7
Merlin smiled gently at Ailien’s spirited response.
‘She could’ve just given it to me, but Mari had to make such a fuss hiding my treasure!’
‘Now you’re making me sound like a terrible person.’
‘A terrible person! A terrible person!’
‘You’re only saying that because you don’t understand what it means.’
‘Huh?’
‘Well, in a way, I….’
‘What?’
‘Never mind. Anyway, it’s going to help you.’
Ailien gazed silently at the wand, as if remembering the day Merlin had given it to her.
That was the day Merlin had first hinted to her that she might have to leave this place.
Ailien had been shocked, but she’d still managed to smile brightly.
Merlin was the hero who would save this world. She had work to do.
“But you’re still just a baby, Ailien.”
She was weak because she was still young, but once she grew as strong as Merlin, she’d become an incredibly powerful Zeroniace.
But Ailien had no time to wait. She had to find the treasure and grow stronger.
Ailien sniffled loudly, swung the wand with all her longing for Merlin in her heart, mimicking the way Merlin held herself.
That was when it happened.
“Oh my?”
The Heart Wand in Ailien’s hand thrummed like a beating heart. Then it burst with a brilliant shimmer. Light sprang from the wand and traced out a map, upon which a heart symbol pulsed and glimmered.
Soon an arrow materialized on the map, as if seeking something, and drew itself forward.
“Mew!”
“Chirp!”
“What!”
While Ailien stared in amazement, Kiki and Didi clung to her feet, one on each side.
Kiki nudged her with her nose, while Didi pulled at her with his small paws, whimpering. Their meager strength left Ailien no choice but to move.
“You’re telling me to follow this, you two?”
“Mew!”
“Chirp!”
“That’s the treasure hunt, then!”
Ailien’s eyes sparkled like transparent beads. She was finally beginning the treasure hunt that Merlin had hidden for her.
Ailien gripped the Heart Wand tightly and hurried across the room in the direction it indicated. Didi and Kiki scampered after her.
And the moment she opened the door.
“Ow!”
Ailien rammed her nose into the chest of someone standing in front and clutched her nose with small hands. She’d hit so hard her eyes watered.
What thoughtless person was hanging around outside her room?
As Ailien lifted her head, her wide eyes searching for whoever it was.
“You. What are you doing here?”
Her gaze met Kaiius’s, whose expression had turned cold and hard.
“Tell me. Why are you here?”
For some reason, he looked deeply displeased.
Ailien stared at him blankly, then tilted her head.
“Why are you here?”
“Why are you here, Kai?”
“This is our house.”
Even as Kaiius answered, he thought himself childish.
Born among the heroes who had led the Inma War to victory, he had always grown up under tremendous expectations.
He had always tried to appear perfect, so as not to shame his parents’ names.
But in front of this little thing, he couldn’t seem to control his emotions, and that irritated him.
“But you said it was Kora’s house?”
“It’s my house too. I’m his son.”
“Is that so? But Kai’s father said I could stay here?”
“My father did?”
Kaiius’s gaze shifted past Ailien’s shoulders.
He stood for a moment with his lips pressed firmly together, lost in thought, then looked back at Ailien.
“There seems to have been a misunderstanding.”
“Huh?”
“This can’t be your room. I’ll speak to my father again, so pack your things.”
“But I like it here!”
Ailien clenched her fists and stamped her foot with a bang. Kiki glared at Kaiius, while Didi gathered her front paws together respectfully, as if ready to launch into persuasion if she could only speak human words.
Kaiius’s gaze lingered on Didi for a long moment before his brow furrowed again.
“What?”
“What!”
“You can’t say ‘but’ in situations like this.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s a promise and a rule.”
“A promise? Did you and Ailien make this one?”
Ailien thrust her pinky finger at Kaiius.
Brandishing it like she meant to poke his nostril, Kaiius had no choice but to stumble backward.
“Enough. Just move the furniture.”
“Why should Ailien have to? You’re not even a butler. You’re just Callisto’s son, aren’t you?”
“A butler…”
“You don’t know, do you? A butler is someone who steps into an empty place through proper procedures and ceremonies. Do you have the qualifications to become one?”
“I have no reason to become a butler.”
“Mm, I’m sure you don’t.”
Ailien nodded knowingly and smiled as if she understood everything perfectly.
Meanwhile, Kaiius’s fists trembled visibly.
Kaiius was the heir to the Rubentain Grand Duke House, receiving an enormous education befitting his station.
A butler’s qualifications—it was absurd, yet somehow his pride had been wounded.
“Listen well. I, Kaiius Rubentain, have no need to become a butler.”
“I understand, little one.”
“Hey, you!”
“Little one, you must understand. Not everything in this world will go the way you wish…”
Her tone—so like a grandmother’s—stripped Kaiius of his will to retort in an instant.
“Don’t worry too much. No matter how much you cling to Ailien, I’ll slip away in a flash.”
There was something sad in her expression as she spoke.
“But little one, Ailien is rather busy right now and doesn’t have time to play. Would it be alright if I heard the rest of your story later?”
Before Kaiius could even answer, Ailien vanished down the corridor.
Kiki chased after her eagerly, and Didi, perched on Ailien’s shoulder, kept glancing back at Kaiius with a pitiful look, as if worried about him.
Left alone in the corridor, Kaiius couldn’t hide his bewilderment and muttered to himself.
“What kind of person is she, anyway?”
***
“Little one really does have a willful personality!”
Ailien ran after the light streaming from the Heart Wand, speaking to Didi as she went.
Didi squeaked enthusiastically in agreement.
“Thank goodness Ailien understands exactly how to handle him, or I’d be angry.”
Her pale pink lips pouted. Truth be told, Ailien didn’t much care for Kaiius either.
Merlin had specifically said he was a good and brilliantly shining child.
“I suppose the brilliance blinded Merlin’s eyes.”
Ailien nodded, thinking this quite plausible.
“But where exactly am I supposed to follow this light to?”
Even from the carriage, the mansion had seemed enormous, but it was far more staggeringly vast than she’d imagined.
The light guiding her to Merlin’s treasure seemed to stretch on endlessly.
“Meow!”
As Ailien’s pace slowed, Kiki lunged forward and began butting her forehead urgently.
“Kiki will make it so Ailien can’t move.”
“Mew.”
“What!”
“Mew!”
“Alright, alright, I get it.”
When Kiki fixed her with a fierce look, Ailien hesitated but then quickened her pace.
“Whee!”
Dashing through the corridors, Ailien passed numerous people along the way.
‘One should greet people well. A greeting is, after all, a first impression.’
‘Does Merlin greet people well?’
‘Ailien, I am Zeroniace. I’m not in a position where I need to greet just anyone.’
‘But you just said one should greet people well? Then wouldn’t your subordinates get a bad impression? When they see you, they’d think, “Oh no, here she comes again, and not even a greeting.”‘
‘One shouldn’t say “subordinates” like that. You’re right, I understand. That was rather stubborn thinking on my part. From now on, I’ll make a point to greet people well.’
‘That’s an excellent attitude to have.’
Remembering the lessons she had given to Merlin, Ailien waved her hand cheerfully at every passerby.
Of course, she had been so startled by the sudden intruder that she hadn’t managed to greet Callisto properly when she first saw her.
“Hello, hello!”
At Ailien’s bright greeting, the servants’ eyes widened considerably.
Two of the maids stopped in their tracks.
“Who is that?”
“She must be the child Peril mentioned. His Grace said that Zeroniace brought a child he had been raising.”
“My goodness. Zeroniace himself?”
At the mention of a child raised by Zeroniace personally, the new maid turned her head again to look.
A golden furry thing was scampering along cheerfully with her.
It was just a young child and one cat running together, yet somehow it created quite a commotion.
“That’s hardly a common sight in the Grand Duke House.”
“Is it really the first time?”
At the new maid’s question, the older woman smiled and turned her head.
Her name was Kora, and she was the head maid of the Rubentain Grand Duke House.
“It’s not the first time. This place has been where children were raised before.”
“But…….”
As if she simply couldn’t imagine it, the new maid’s words trailed off uncertainly.
Kora laughed heartily, understanding what the younger woman was thinking.

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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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