The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 129

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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 129
“Huh? Rubian?”
Sortie caught hold of me. The Boatman rowing the boat also wore a puzzled expression.
“What’s wrong? Should I turn the boat around?”
“Oh, no. It’s just… my stomach feels a bit…”
I gripped the side of the boat, fumbling for words.
A burning sensation rippled across my back like fire, then subsided just as quickly.
‘Damn it… of all times.’
I clenched my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut.
The pain lasted only as long as I acknowledged it, fleeting as a shadow. But the lingering filth of the sensation—that was the real torment.
The sensation of the stigma growing.
I never wanted to know anything like this existed.
“Rubian. You’re breaking into a cold sweat…”
“It’s… it’s fine, Titi.”
I exhaled deeply.
As I straightened up again, I saw the worried face of the young girl before me.
“I think I got a little seasick.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah. This is actually my first time on a boat like this.”
I forced a smile toward Sortie.
“Boatman! Please… go a bit slower. My friend says she’s getting seasick…”
“Ah, yes, of course.”
A short sigh escaped my lips.
‘Now it’s completely unpredictable.’
Once I became aware of the stigma growing, I could no longer ignore it.
Fear crashed over me in an instant.
And then I needed someone to simply pat me and tell me everything would be all right.
“Father…”
A whimper.
Now I missed them.
Father, Mother, Grandfather… all of them.
To be honest, I was a little happy when I saw my older brothers earlier. Part of me wanted to abandon everything and run to them, to be held in their arms.
“Do you miss your parents, Rubian?”
“Yeah. A little…”
“…Actually, I do too.”
Sortie gently squeezed my hand.
We gazed out at the tranquil lakeside, our noses twitching slightly.
* * *
Meanwhile, the two brothers of House Zebert who had left the Library were lost in serious thought.
“Brother, we can’t let things continue like this, can we?”
Liam nodded with cold precision.
“Right. She definitely said she’d come to the camp, so why haven’t we spotted our fairy yet? We need to look into this more actively.”
Liam straightened his younger brother’s crooked ribbon tie, which had been bothering him since earlier.
Void was in his third year of the elementary division, while Liam was in his third year of the middle division, so their tie colors differed.
“I think you mentioned she seemed strange even during the entrance ceremony.”
“Right… Brother, this is just my guess, but what if Father is doing something to enjoy time with Rubian without including us again?”
Void completely jumped to conclusions and burst with frustration.
“Ugh! I wanted to go too! The Southern Region vacation!”
The two of them couldn’t go together because it overlapped with the Academy’s opening schedule. It was the kind of thing that would leave lasting regrets.
“So what do we do? Brother, you’re close with the professors—why not ask them?”
“Hmm.”
“Oh, just say you’re going to the University Research Division? Go there and ask about Rubian!”
“Maybe….”
Liam wore an expression of contemplation.
He, who had never lost the top position for six consecutive years, was a talent coveted by all the professors.
After three years in the elementary division, three years in the middle division, and three years in the upper division, there was the Academy’s University Research Division to advance into.
But strangely, the University Research Division had no fixed graduation period. Some quit after just one year, while others attended for a lifetime….
Liam had always found that mysterious.
That was when his eyes narrowed.
“Wait. But there’s a faster way than that…?”
A golden-haired head bustling about in the distance caught his eye.
“Come to think of it, besides our fairy, there’s definitely one conspicuous little brat around that age. Exactly that age.”
“Ah…? You mean….”
Liam adjusted his glasses and fell silent.
Reading the answer in that silence, Void’s round eyes widened as he let out a small laugh. The brothers’ pace quickened.
At that moment.
Kalid clicked his tongue with displeasure.
Because he’d just been kicked out of the Medical Building. The library clerk had unnecessarily and diligently escorted him all the way to the Physician.
“Say, Kalid? You seem to be in such robust health—better than robust, really, with a promising future ahead—so stop skipping and head back right away.”
‘…Sigh, what a pain.’
The young boy swept his hair back with an expressionless face.
His steps toward the Dormitory where class activities took place felt heavy.
‘If it weren’t for Rubian, I wouldn’t have come to a place like this.’
Honestly, he’d thought he’d be in the same class as Rubian, but since he wasn’t, his interest had waned even more.
“…Why aren’t we in the same class?”
“Look at your face. You’re angry again.”
“I’m sulking. You didn’t say anything like this to me.”
Rubian explained in her characteristically capable manner, speaking gently.
“It can’t be helped, Kalid. On the surface, we look like there’s an age difference between us.”
“…There’s only a two-year difference?”
“In a child’s world, even two years makes a significant difference. And right now, I’m living as an eight-year-old.”
“My age is…. You’re saying it’s too much?”
Kalid, twelve years old, said this.
He added dejectedly.
“I want to go home….”
“Hey now! Our mental ages are equally immature anyway, so it’s fine!”
“…Is that supposed to be comforting?”
In any case, Kalid found the Academy tedious for various reasons.
Of course, I had come here because there was something I needed to do.
‘I need to meet someone named Yuliope.’
Since I couldn’t yet discern what sort of person he was, approaching him carelessly proved difficult.
Either way, this place was irritating.
In the Dormitory, my roommate and the other boys pestered me relentlessly, and out here, the girls’ gazes fixed upon me with brazen directness.
Kalid turned his steps toward a path with fewer people. The geography of this area was already thoroughly memorized, so there was no problem.
‘It would be better to do sword training in the Northern Region.’
It was a place devoid of tension—not merely calm but slack, even.
Kalid thought that walking through such a place made him feel oddly like a stranger.
In truth, it was the same wherever I went.
Not knowing my own past properly, I sometimes felt foreign even to myself.
Where could I ever take root?
Walking along the narrow path, Kalid looked up at the sky. The brilliant autumn blue resembled Rubian’s eyes.
‘But I hope Rubian doesn’t think that way.’
She said her dream was to become an ‘ordinary child.’
Perhaps this was what Rubian meant by ‘ordinariness’?
Ordinary, peaceful, serene—a place like this.
Then I simply hoped this place would become comfortable and joyful for her.
‘But then…. Wouldn’t I be the most unsettling presence around her?’
Kalid clenched his fist slightly.
That was when it happened.
“Grab him.”
Without warning, my vision darkened.
“What…!”
Before I could even speak, a rough hand clamped over my mouth. My hands and feet were bound in an instant.
‘I thought this was a slack place!’
He instinctively sensed the presence of the Hooded Figures. Three in total.
“Good. Drag him down the back alley.”
A damp voice commanded. Kalid struggled as he was dragged toward some dark back alley.
“….”
Kalid glared at the three boys before him with an expression of utter exasperation.
“From now on, you answer only ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to what I say. Understood?”
The Hooded Figure’s deep violet eyes suddenly drew closer.
Kalid shook his head and untied the handkerchief that had been draped across the bridge of his nose.
A pleasant fragrance filled the air…. It seemed they’d chosen their blindfold with considerable care.
My wrists were bound behind the chair—though I’d seen this technique before. Of course, I could break free with just a bit of force, but….
“Where is my sister?”
Void Zebert loomed over Kalid menacingly as he demanded an answer.
“… That’s what I was about to ask.”
“Wait, Void.”
At that moment, the sharp-featured Hooded Figure interjected.
“You told him to answer yes or no, and now you’re asking questions like that? Calm down a bit.”
“Oh, right.”
“Move aside. I’ll conduct the interrogation.”
Liam stepped forward, pushing his glasses up with a swift motion.
“Did you see our house fairy? Answer yes or no.”
“Yes.”
At that, Liam’s movements froze abruptly.
“Only you saw her? You cheeky little brat.”
Void held back Liam, who was rushing forward to tuck Kalid’s head under his arm.
“Brother, brother. Just calm down!”
“Haha. Both of you….”
In the end, it was Licht, the third Hooded Figure who’d been grinning faintly from behind the whole time, who burst out laughing.
“You can’t conduct a kidnapping and extortion like that.”
“This was… a kidnapping?”
Void Zebert’s mouth fell open.

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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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