The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 123

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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 123
The magical restraint collar around my neck made this place all the more burdensome.
Of course, thanks to it, I had managed to cross the border without revealing myself as a Mage and reach Babylon Capital.
‘Zebert Duke is definitely here… Let me scout the area first.’
The woman muttering to herself quickly slipped out of the Academy and disappeared into the crowd.
‘Seventh, you cannot escape.’
Her emerald eyes gleamed with intensity.
She was a Mage known as the Mage King’s ‘Second’.
* * *
To be honest, the entrance ceremony was…
“Yaaawn.”
Utterly tedious.
‘Principal Odeli certainly talks as much as the Emperor.’
A true headmaster is indeed different.
I wiped away the tears that had gathered at the corners of my eyes and set my luggage aside.
As I collapsed onto the dormitory bed, Sortie, who had been sitting across from me and staring intently since earlier, finally spoke.
“Rubian, did you not sleep? I wanted to ask that, but… honestly, I’ve been wanting to say something since earlier. You really…”
Her familiar sky-blue twin-tails tilted gracefully.
“…must have had quite the summer.”
“Heh. I’m kind of ridiculous, aren’t I?”
I ended up burying my face in both hands.
“No, it’s not ridiculous exactly… how do I put it?”
Her eyes sparkled like glass marbles as she looked at me.
Sortie, unable to contain herself any longer, sprang from her seat and pressed close beside me.
“You look like a completely different person! I almost didn’t recognize you at first!”
I gazed at my reflection in those transparent eyes.
Hair that had grown long enough to frame my chin.
Cheeks that had filled out slightly, becoming rosy and plump.
Eyes as blue as the Southern Sea, and hair that resembled Father’s exactly…
The same as Father and my brothers…
Black hair.
“Rubian! Want to go sightseeing at the harbor with Mother? How about it?”
It had started with Mother’s sweet whisper.
“Oh… who are you?”
“Daughter, that’s too much.”
“Wow! This time it’s blue!”
“I drew some inspiration from the Southern Sea.”
“Wooow!”
Toward the end of summer, I had gone on a retreat to Southern Babylon with my family.
It was thanks to Grandfather’s miraculous logic—since I was scheduled to attend a ten-day autumn camp, my family had to attend their own ten-day camp as well.
‘Anyway, there’s no Tracking Mage around… it was fun.’
And that’s how I ended up seeing it!
The sea for the first time in my life!
“Me too! Me too, I want to disguise myself!”
“Huh? You’re going to dye your hair?”
“I’ve always wanted to try it!”
I protested while gazing at Mother’s deep blue hair. There was something about a resort that made people bold and daring!
“Ah. Leviathan will punish me if he finds out.”
“Then… what if we just don’t tell him? It’ll wash out anyway when I rinse it…”
Mother narrowed her eyes with a sly gleam.
“Who are your parents, child? You’re quite the clever one. Alright, follow me!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
And so, that’s how it happened…
“That’s how it turned out…”
Sortie tilted her eyebrows sympathetically and toyed with the ends of my hair.
“And your hair color won’t come back, huh…”
“Yeah. Asha mixed in some strange sustaining magic, apparently. My hair isn’t particularly mana-affine… rather, it’s so fine that it absorbed it better,” she said.
Mother’s original dye had been weak against rainwater and moisture.
So Asha had specially made a more durable dye for Mother, but that turned out to be the problem…
When washed with the special shampoo, the color fades, and it was upgraded to a product mild enough for children to use… but not for me.
‘It must have merged with my mana and caused some strange reaction.’
Ugh. So this raven-black look.
Seeing how even nullification magic didn’t work, the color had already completely soaked into my hair.
“Still, the color is gradually fading little by little…”
The black had become slightly lighter than at first.
At least it wasn’t an outlandishly bizarre color, so I suppose I should be grateful for that.
“But it really suits you… and most of all, you look like Zebert Duke! How fascinating!”
“Really?”
That was welcome news to hear.
‘Father would be even more delighted if he heard that.’
I recalled Father’s shocked expression when he first saw my hair.
“Who are you?”
“Your daughter.”
“…”
Father fell silent for what felt like a hundred years.
Even Father, who usually didn’t notice such things, was shocked by my dramatic transformation.
“Good heavens. Where is Rosetta Zebert? What on earth did you do to the child’s hair…”
“Father, but look.”
I crouched before a large mirror, admiring my reflection as I spoke.
“Don’t I look a bit like you now?”
“….”
At that moment, Father fell silent again for what felt like another hundred years.
I gazed at our reflection in the mirror and marveled at the sight with genuine wonder.
“Wow, just the hair color, but we’re practically identical.”
“…Hmm. Where did my beloved Rose go?”
After that, Father said nothing more. Which meant Mother, who had been hiding behind the wardrobe, was able to escape safely….
There were other incidents besides that, but in any case, it was a chaotic summer!
‘Do other families spend their vacations this loudly?’
Well, I’d need to have visited one to know.
“By the way, why didn’t the Duke attend the entrance ceremony?”
Sortie asked innocently.
“Oh, he had to rush off to meet the Emperor. Mother and Grandfather are staying in the Northern Region to watch the house.”
Father, heading to the Imperial Palace, had looked almost like a prisoner being dragged to the gallows. His expression was that of someone for whom everything was already over.
‘Well… he did come to the Capital because of me, after all.’
The image of Father, who had wanted to throw the Emperor’s letter into the fireplace the moment he received it, was still vivid in my mind.
But once the matter of the “Continental Alliance” came up, it seemed he couldn’t ignore it completely.
“Still, Leon and the other senior knights came! Didn’t you see them?”
“I saw them, but I thought they came to see Kalid off.”
Sortie pulled a cookie from her bag, popped it into her mouth with a satisfied sound, and pressed another into my hand.
“So that’s why no one recognized you in the assembly hall earlier. Right! You kept your face covered during the New Leaf Festival, didn’t you?”
The situation was rather amusing!
My laughter rang out clearly.
Since I wasn’t an official enrolled student, there was no nameplate attached outside the dormitory, nor did I receive items with my name engraved on them.
‘Hmm.’
I chewed on the cookie and gazed up at the ceiling with a vaguely unsettled feeling.
A fundamental question suddenly occurred to me.
‘Why am I always’
hiding something…?
Is it fate? Crunch, crunch.
“But anyway!”
I laughed lightly.
“It’s only for ten days anyway!”
“Hehe. That’s true. Plus, on the last night, our parents will be coming to observe!”
Sortie, beaming with a bright smile, began braiding one section of my hair. We had grown closer over the summer through exchanging letters, and that had made us even better friends.
As we were chattering away about this and that, there came a knock at the door.
When Sortie and I answered in unison, “Yes!”, the Maid assigned to our room poked her head in cautiously.
“Lunch will be served shortly, so I’ll help you prepare.”
“Oh, yes!”
Sortie quickly tidied up the surroundings.
“Since it’s the first day, you’ll eat in your room, but starting tomorrow, breakfast and dinner will be in your room, while lunch will be in the student dining hall like the other students!”
The cheerful Maid winked.
“The Academy’s Dining Hall has been newly expanded this time, and it’s absolutely splendid.”
‘Oh, the Academy must have plenty of money.’
I thought nothing of it and helped clear the table.
Not long after, the evening meal that arrived was absolutely magnificent. No joke—I thought the table legs would buckle under the weight.
‘The Academy really does have a ton of money!’
I chewed the food that melted softly on my tongue, lost in thought.
‘Now that I think about it, those beddings earlier were no joke either.’
As someone obsessed with bedding, I can guarantee those are the finest of the finest. They spread these throughout the dormitory?
‘This place really does have an incredible amount of money….’
At that moment, my fork stopped moving.
“Rubian? What’s wrong? Is it that delicious?”
A suspicion crossed my mind, but I quickly shook my head.
“No way!”
“Huh?”
“It’s nothing! Wow, this is really delicious! Can I have another bowl please!”
I stabbed a piece of meat and popped it into my mouth, moving my jaw eagerly. The melting sensation was truly exquisite!
But somehow the sauce flavor felt like a nostalgic taste from home….
‘No, no. It’s only been ten days.’
No way!
* * *
“Sigh…. A full ten days already.”
Leviathan ran his hand through his hair. The sound of his shoes echoing through the Imperial Palace corridor was somewhat irritable.
“Your Excellency, I’ve confirmed that everything you requested has been prepared.”
His adjutant followed quickly and reported.
“Bedding replacement, Dining Hall expansion, Chef reinforcement, food supplier changes, building safety re-inspection, additional security dispatch…. Ah.”
Even thinking about it himself, it was flawless work. His adjutant chuckled and added.
“I’ve also arranged for her to be roommates with the Camelan Young Lady as you instructed.”
“Good work.”
A full ten days.
My precious youngest daughter, not even fully grown, would be away from home, spending a whole ten days in a harsh foreign land!
‘That girl Rubian is so picky about everything.’
She’s quite particular about food and openly fussy about sleeping arrangements. What if she can’t eat properly and sleep well, and loses the little weight she has? What then?
‘She’s incredibly shy around strangers too.’
If it were up to me, I’d want to stay by her side all day, watching over her.
‘Damn Imperial Palace. Damn Emperor even more.’
Leviathan cursed inwardly as he climbed the stairs. The Emperor’s audience chamber door appeared in the distance.
“Principal Odeli said that having a roommate shouldn’t be a problem at all, with such a bright smile…. But, Your Excellency.”
“What.”
“Your expression looks rather frightening. You are heading to the audience chamber…, aren’t you?”
You understand, right? It’s not combat.
At his adjutant’s words, Leviathan clicked his tongue in displeasure.
I couldn’t even attend my only daughter’s camp orientation, and now combat? Fine, whatever.
He was thoroughly disgruntled.

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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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