The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 111

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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 111
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Leviathan sat alone in his study.
Rubian had been taken away by Rosetta, who insisted on putting her to sleep, and all the servants had been dismissed.
He leaned back against his chair and tilted his head, a groan escaping his lips unbidden.
‘Was it really just my imagination…?’
In that garden earlier, Leviathan had sensed—or so he thought—a strange trace of power emanating from Rubian….
Of course, it was impossible for a non-mage to perceive magical energy.
But he too was one who had transcended the body’s limitations. Moreover, he had grown accustomed to sensing Rubian’s presence as naturally as breathing.
The windstorm had been ferocious, and with the magical explosion from moments before and Asha Drucan’s spell still unfolding around them….
‘It was easy enough to be mistaken.’
He turned over in his mind the words he hadn’t finished saying just now.
“Rubian, was it you who saved Father in the garden earlier?”
If Adolf hadn’t knocked in the middle of it… he would have actually uttered that absurd question.
“Good grief.”
The escaped mage had been captured, and the Kingdom had ceased its pursuit.
The red-haired mage, unaware of this, seemed to have continued suspecting only the stern Rubian.
‘I hadn’t intended to kill him.’
Well, since the man had plans to approach Rubian again, who knows what might have happened after interrogation.
In the end, it had worked out well.
Just then, the study door opened and Rosetta entered.
“She’s asleep, Rubian. Completely out.”
She approached with a composed expression and examined Leviathan’s wounds.
“Today… I’m sorry for startling you.”
Rosetta shook her head with a slightly stiffened face.
“Being startled is fine, but next time, tell me beforehand about anything concerning our daughter. Otherwise, I really will be angry.”
At the cold glint in her blue eyes, Leviathan’s throat bobbed heavily.
“I will.”
“But why was that mage so desperate to get his hands on Rubian?”
“Her hair.”
“What?”
“Silver hair overlapped with the escaped mage. More than anything… it seems he was even more desperate because he couldn’t get a proper look at Rubian’s face.”
“How absurd.”
Rosetta slammed the desk in indignation.
“What? He infiltrated the mansion? Who was he looking for?”
….
“You should be grateful no body was left behind.”
If a body had remained… what would my wife have done?
Leviathan swallowed hard, seized by an inexplicable tension.
“But what was that thing you were about to say to Rubian earlier?”
Rosetta asked.
“Ah… it was nothing much. Just.”
“Just?”
Leviathan drew Rosetta’s hand close and pressed his lips against the back of it.
“I only meant to tell you not to be so reckless in the future, no matter how worried I might be.”
My heart throbbed as if I were telling a lie.
But thinking about it again, it was truly an absurd misunderstanding. I didn’t want to confuse Rosetta any further.
“Really. It’s exactly what our daughter needs to hear.”
Rosetta nodded firmly, deciding she must tell Rubian this.
She rewrapped the bandage around Leviathan’s arm securely. Soon, a weary sigh escaped her.
“Phew. The bleeding has stopped. I’ll check on Void and Liam before coming up. Go rest in the bedroom first.”
“But I can——”
“Excuse me, patient? Do you want to see our daughter cry again because your wound reopened?”
Leviathan shook his head vigorously, his face drained pale. Rosetta chuckled softly, gave him a brief kiss, and left.
With a click, the door closed, and Leviathan tidied up the cluttered desk.
As he finally tried to rise, he suddenly froze. It was because of a glass vial placed on one corner of the desk.
“…”
Why was it?
He stood rigid, as if captivated by something.
That glass vial which had helped him time and again.
The old ribbon stained with blood from carrying it through the battlefield caught his gaze. A vivid blue color… it was a beautiful shade, just like Rubian’s eyes.
“Father, watch out!”
That voice calling out to him.
Leviathan tilted his head slowly.
But that voice…
‘Before the Mage shattered the orb.’
Hadn’t it been inaudible…?
He gripped the glass vial tightly.
The Tracking Mage was dead, and the Mage Kingdom had succeeded in capturing the fleeing mage.
Everything had clearly come to an end. Without a doubt.
‘But…’
What was this?
Something strange kept accumulating inside me, refusing to be cleanly swept away.
What picture would these puzzle pieces, stacked like this, eventually complete…?
Leviathan felt fear for the first time.
* * *
Chirp chirp. Tweet tweet.
The sunlight and birdsong awakened my senses.
I stretched languidly as I rose and slowly opened my eyes…
‘Huh?’
I opened my eyes.
“You’re awake? Rubian.”
“Kalid.”
“…”
“I can’t open my eyes. What is this?”
Kalid pushed open the door he’d been quietly cracking and stepped inside.
Through my narrow slits of vision, his face looked terribly grave.
“What’s wrong. Have you been crying?”
“No. I didn’t cry that much.”
“…Is the Duke dead?”
“Don’t say such things!”
I burst out, and Kalid flinched slightly.
“If that’s not it, why would you cry so much?”
His voice carried displeasure. I fumbled around for something reflective nearby and held it up to my face.
Wow, can eyes really swell this much?
It was truly a remarkable sight.
“I guess I was too startled yesterday…”
For some reason, my energy had completely drained away.
Yesterday I’d collapsed into sleep without the luxury of reflection, but thinking back on it now, it really had been an extraordinary night.
“Whimper. Help me.”
I sat on the bed with both arms hanging limp, and Kalid let out a short sigh.
“Does my mana have an effect that reduces eye swelling?”
“I don’t know.”
“What.”
Yet my kind friend readily shared his cool mana with me.
A sensation like a spine being driven straight into my limp body!
I felt a bit more energized and stretched into morning exercises.
“You weren’t interrogated? I thought using magic would give you away.”
“Well, there was news from the Mage Kingdom about it.”
“Ah. So there was no need to explain.”
Kalid furrowed his brow as if he understood.
I pressed down on my lower back and leaned my upper body backward. Kalid’s straight face appeared upside down before me.
The place where the Mage Kingdom’s crest, hidden by magic, was located. I pressed my hand harder.
‘This mark is growing.’
The realization made my scalp prickle.
I thought I’d mistaken a shadow for something when I went to the hot spring with Rosetta… but I was wrong. The mark really was growing.
‘Get yourself together. You cried all you needed to yesterday.’
I steadied myself and recalled my priorities once more.
‘I need to seriously investigate this mark.’
That comes first.
A Sword Planted Upon Ruins.
That wretched original story had already been twisted beyond recognition by my actions.
Yet there was one thing that remained unchanged despite everything.
This stigma.
‘Of course, its effect on me now is minimal. Merely preventing me from directly attacking the Mage King.’
I extended my fingers rigidly, stretching them toward my toes.
My thoughts stretched outward as well.
The slender forearm of Seventh from my dream came to mind. The branches of the World Tree embroidered across it.
‘When the stigma spreads across the entire body and crawls down the arm to that extent… one cannot defy commands.’
Those hazy crimson eyes….
I tried to ignore the chill creeping up the back of my neck.
I would refuse to let that happen, no matter what. And….
“That stigma looks painful. Is it because of the atmosphere in this place?”
For some reason, those words bothered me.
In the original story, Leviathan spoke as if he knew something about the stigma.
Moreover, his tone suggested that the stigma’s growth was connected to this place—the Northern Region or Zebert—in some way….
‘There’s no good in Father knowing about this.’
And I couldn’t know how much Father currently understood about the “Mage’s Stigma.”
Therefore, I decided to observe the situation a bit longer.
“…How much longer are you going to do that? We were in the middle of a conversation.”
“Oh, sorry! Just a moment.”
I quickly lifted my head and stopped my stretching.
I rushed back to the mirror to check my eyes, but… they were still puffed up and swollen.
Ugh, why isn’t my blood circulation working!
“Tch. I have no idea.”
I gave up entirely and flopped onto the sofa.
Showing Kalid my ugly appearance felt… honestly a bit embarrassing.
“While the Kingdom is quiet, this is what needs to be resolved.”
“This?”
I placed my hands on my waist.
“My stigma.”
Kalid recalled the previous conversation with an “ah.”
“You said that removing it would make you a complete member of Zebert?”
“Well… yes.”
I gave a vague answer.
I couldn’t tell him that the stigma was growing—not when the boy was already drowning in worry.
“True. With the Kingdom having stopped their pursuit, now is a good time to move.”
Kalid soaked a towel in cold water and handed it to me.
What’s this? I asked with my eyes (though, truthfully, I couldn’t really see with my eyes….), and he directly placed the wet towel over my eye sockets.
Ah, this method works.
“But do you truly believe the Mage King has stopped pursuing me?”
I asked quietly, feeling a chill settle over me.

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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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