The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 14

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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 14
The maids stood before the Eastern Room as if in silent prayer.
“…Something feels strange.”
The maid who opened the door murmured.
The Eastern Room.
A precious chamber prepared in the finest location of the Duke’s Mansion.
“Wait, I’m tearing up again…”
“Hey, don’t do that… I’m about to cry too.”
The maid pinched the bridge of her nose and lifted her head.
Hazel’s eyes glistened with moisture as well.
It was a child’s room.
A space decorated personally by the Duke and Duchess.
“My goodness, they even bought Academy uniforms.”
One maid spoke while looking at the Dressing Room, her voice thick with emotion.
The room overflowed with everything from newborn items to belongings of a child around ten years old. Clothes, books, shoes, bags, toys… It was utterly disorganized.
What must Leviathan and Rosetta have felt as they filled this room with such things.
And when they finally had to close the room they’d prepared so carefully…
What must their hearts have felt.
The atmosphere among the maids grew heavy and somber.
“Found it.”
Hazel, her eyes reddened, pulled out a small box from somewhere in the drawer. It was a box brimming with delicate hairpins and hair ribbons.
“She always said it would be a girl, and look—she really did buy only girls’ things…”
Rosetta would habitually stroke her round belly and say it would surely be a lovely girl.
And Rosetta’s words had proven true.
‘If the young lady had existed… by now.’
Would she have been around the same age as Rubian?
‘Given how precious women are to the Zebert Family, she would have been loved beyond measure.’
Hazel deliberately shook off the thought.
“It’s too sad. I don’t want to think about it anymore.”
She sniffled once more and left the room with the other maids.
The walk back was silent.
“But will Rubian stay here indefinitely?”
Someone asked.
“Of course she will, won’t she? The Lord cherishes her so much.”
Only one person in this mansion had opened the Eastern Room, which had been shrouded in darkness for so long.
“But she hasn’t been formally registered yet. Anything could happen.”
“What? Anything could happen? What are you saying, Hazel?”
“Rubian must come to love this place.”
With a thud, as if bound by a promise, the maids’ footsteps stopped.
Realization spread slowly among them.
“Huh.”
“That’s why we need to do well.”
“….”
“…But I messed up today.”
Hazel swallowed down her despondent feelings and squeezed her eyes shut.
Crunch. Her grip tightened on the hairpin box.
Of course, she couldn’t reduce the box to powder, so… Hazel slammed her fist against the wall beside her.
A heavy vibration resonated through the wall.
“….”
The maids—her former comrades from her mercenary days—each gave Hazel a sharp smack on the back as they passed her leaning against the wall.
“Fix this at any cost, Hazel.”
Ugh, ugh, ack.
“We’re watching.”
“Make it right. Got it?”
These girls still had a vicious touch.
But Hazel, frustrated with herself, bore their punishment willingly.
* * *
“Oh.”
I let out a small exclamation as I looked in the mirror.
The bothersome bangs that had plagued me were now neatly secured. With a tiny strawberry-shaped pin.
“There we go, perfect!”
Hazel’s eyes crinkled with delight.
But where on earth had such a tiny pin come from?
“Let me see.”
The man standing quietly behind me spun me around to face him.
“….”
He fell silent for a moment.
His expression was difficult to read. His violet eyes seemed to darken with something deep.
‘Is something wrong?’
Perhaps.
Then he tapped my cheek with a soft sound.
“It suits you well. Keep it.”
I couldn’t understand why his faintly smiling face looked somehow sad.
“But Rubian, were you afraid of the scissors?”
The man asked as if suddenly remembering. I shook my head.
“It’s not so much that I’m afraid of scissors… it’s more that having a stranger bring something dangerous near my neck feels a bit….”
I glanced at Hazel. She was biting her lip until it bled.
“I guess I was just tense because it felt unfamiliar….”
It wasn’t that I had any traumatic memories. It seemed my wariness toward strangers had simply heightened.
Perhaps it was only natural, given that I was hiding my identity and being hunted.
“I’m so sorry, Rubian. I didn’t realize….”
“Oh, no! It’s just a matter of time….”
I hoped Hazel wouldn’t misunderstand.
“I just need a little time!”
Hazel nodded with a dejected expression.
“My apologies, ma’am. I was not attentive enough.”
“That’s enough. You can go now.”
“Yes.”
The maid with the gloomy face disappeared.
The man examined the pin lodged in my hair for quite some time, then began fiddling with the back of my head.
“Your front hair is one thing, but the back is terribly tangled. Doesn’t it bother you?”
“Mm….”
It actually did.
My hair was naturally thin and prone to tangling, but now it was beyond help.
“What if I cut it for you?”
“Huh?”
My eyes widened. I thought he was joking, but surprisingly, the man’s expression was serious.
“Would that be alright?”
Watching him carefully gauge my reaction, I pondered for a moment.
If it’s Leviathan….
Of course….
“Not alright at all!”
The man blinked.
“Have you ever cut hair before, sir?”
“No.”
Unless it was cutting a monster’s head.
“See! No experience! Rejected!”
“That was the reason?”
It was a critical matter!
“Tsk, as if it matters what a man does with hair that just grows back anyway….”
“Then I’ll cut your hair too!”
“Go ahead.”
Wow. So a handsome face means not caring about your hair at all.
The man chuckled softly and gently brushed the back of my head.
“Forget it. If you don’t feel like it, drop it.”
Since he backed down so easily, I felt like I’d somehow lost.
I deliberated for a moment. After all, it had been somewhat inconvenient every time I washed my hair….
“Then call Hazel back.”
“Why?”
“If Hazel directs and you cut, I think it’ll be fine.”
“Heh, she’s my responsibility.”
The man let out a hollow laugh.
But seeing the resolute gleam in my eyes, he said nothing more.
“Bring Hazel.”
At my curt command, Hazel appeared swiftly from where she’d been waiting nearby.
The same chair and tools from before were set up with practiced efficiency.
I settled between the man’s knees, his long legs stretching out languidly beside my body.
As he absently toyed with the back of my head, he murmured thoughtlessly.
“It melts in your mouth, doesn’t it?”
…Perhaps this was a mistake after all.
I quietly shielded the back of my head with my hand.
In any case, the world’s one and only salon had just opened!
“Ah, Master! You mustn’t cut that part!”
“Why not? It would look refreshing.”
Now I was genuinely anxious for different reasons.
“Yes, just hold it firmly with your fingers and cut along the line.”
“It’s nothing difficult.”
“Ah! If you cut it that way…!”
“….”
“…Gasp.”
“…What?”
I clenched my fists resting on my knees. Truly, I was breaking into a cold sweat for entirely different reasons.
“What was that gasp just now!”
“Ohoho. No, no, Rubian. It’s nothing at all!”
The fact that Hazel was laughing with that incongruous “ohoho” was itself a sign that something was very wrong.
“…Rubian, cut my hair too.”
From behind me came the man’s voice, somehow resolute.
“…Do that for me.”
“Ugh….”
It seemed everything had fallen apart!
Yet amusingly, I fell asleep in the middle of it all.
The soft murmuring voices, the warm, large hands running through my hair, and the gentle snip of scissors in the soft afternoon sunlight all blended together, making me drowsy.
Simply knowing that Leviathan was watching over me from behind was enough to make me feel this way.
It was truly a strange thing.
“Hm?”
Looking in the mirror, I was somewhat surprised.
“Better than I expected….”
“Not bad, right?”
The man wore a pleased expression.
Contrary to my worries, my hair had been trimmed flawlessly, looking impeccably neat.
‘Perfectly.’
I had become a boy!
“It suits you wonderfully!”
Should I be happy about this?
In any case, my hair—which had been disheveled and scraggly like a worn-out broom—was now neat and tidy, and I felt relieved. Even my bangs had been trimmed into orderly layers.
“Don’t take out the pin; it suits you perfectly.”
As I adjusted the pin resting delicately on the right side of my hair, the man spoke.
“Hmm.”
The man spun me around slowly, his hand covering his mouth.
“You look adorable from every angle.”
Hazel and the other maids nodded their heads vigorously, their fists clenched as though they were all holding back something with great effort.
“Thank you for cutting it so well!”
I gladly boosted the confidence of this amateur stylist lost in self-admiration.
The man raised his eyebrows mischievously and suddenly pressed his lips against the crown of my head.
“What are you doing!”
“Still won’t come off, huh.”
Did his brain turn to mush when he switched careers to hairdressing?!
I fled in horror.
The man, unbothered, simply laughed heartily as he kissed my hair.
* * *
“….”
The next morning.
Void paused as he entered the Dining Room.
Tap, tap. He touched the attendant beside him and whispered.
“…Can a fairy become my sister?”

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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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