The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 171

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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 171
With a grunt, I pushed myself up, and our world flipped upside down in an instant.
“Really?”
“N-n-no, that’s not it!”
“I can’t tell if you’re saying yes or no…”
Kalid scratched the back of his head and muttered. For some reason, I felt a wave of embarrassment wash over me and fled across the Training Ground like I was running for my life.
“Come with me! Isn’t that why you came to see me?”
Fifteen-year-old Kalid…
Had become far bolder than I’d ever imagined!
Thump-thump-thump-thump. My heart pounded with wild, unrelenting presence.
I crossed the Training Ground, swallowing down a dizzying breath. The hand that had been held tingled with sensation.
‘I really do need to buy a diary with a lock on it!’
It seems like the secrets I can’t let my family discover are only just beginning!
* * *
Phew, I finally caught her.
Kalid sat with Rubian on a bench in the Garden. Rubian had been running through the Training Ground diligently all this time and had become quite swift.
But I would never let her escape.
He settled himself on the outer edge of the bench beside the tree. Naturally, Rubian took the cool, shaded spot and kicked off her shoes with a soft thud.
A quiet murmur of complaint followed—these weren’t running shoes, after all.
“What did you want to ask me?”
Kalid asked while neatly gathering the small shoes that had fallen haphazardly.
“No, look at this.”
The notebook thrust suddenly before me was familiar.
Ancient language, the place names interpreted from it, and even their current names scattered haphazardly across the pages… It was essentially Rubian’s research notebook.
“There’s just one last place name I can’t figure out no matter what.”
Her round cheeks puffed out in a pout.
Kalid stared blankly at Rubian’s profile beside him.
“What about you?”
Blue eyes descended upon him like an assault.
Kalid had been exhausted lately.
At night it was from growth pains that felt like his joints were being wrung out, and during the day it was because of Rubian.
Lately, whenever he talked with Rubian, his heart would often flutter and he’d feel like he might be sick.
Was this also a kind of growth pain?
He had no idea.
“Um… I don’t know ancient language.”
“I figured.”
“Sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing again?”
A gentle breeze swept across her pale face as she smiled brightly.
His gaze was stolen by the silver hair that fluttered softly around her chest. It seemed she had been cutting and growing it repeatedly, and lately it had returned to being long again.
‘I think in the past, I disliked my long hair because there was no one to care for it….’
Here, there were plenty of people who could cut Rubian’s hair and style it beautifully.
Rubian, beloved.
Kalid thought the sound of those words was quite pleasant. Enough to make his mood soar.
“Licht says he’s not sure from just letters either. He thinks it would be better to come directly to the Imperial Palace Archives and search himself….”
“You’re going to the Imperial Palace?”
“Yes. It turns out Licht’s birthday party is being held on a grand scale in a few months. He said if I wanted, he could arrange access to the Archives!”
“….”
The good mood I’d been feeling suddenly felt muddied.
But I mustn’t show it. I had to remain calm and well-behaved.
“Of course, I’d need Mother and Father’s permission to leave….”
“They’ll probably worry, but I think they’ll allow it.”
“Really?”
The Mage Kingdom remained in hiding.
But not long ago, a few Mages who tried to secretly infiltrate the Delcan Ruins were captured. They self-destructed immediately upon capture, but it was evidence that the Mage Kingdom was moving in some form.
Of course, in response, the Emperor and Zebert Duke were also pursuing them relentlessly.
Chasing an enemy without a visible form wouldn’t be easy, but since the roles of hunter and hunted had reversed, I wasn’t particularly worried.
Their tail would be caught soon enough.
“Then I should tell Obron beforehand too.”
As I added this lightly, Rubian blinked a couple of times.
“You’re going to the Imperial Palace too?”
“Can’t I?”
“No, that’s not it… But your condition hasn’t been good lately. There’s no real need to go….”
“Rubian.”
I replied calmly.
“Wherever you go is where I must go.”
I had sworn it that way since we first met in that cave so long ago.
Whether Rubian understood the meaning of the words I didn’t speak, she closed her slightly open mouth firmly and turned her head away sharply.
“You… really need to break that strange habit of yours first….”
What habit exactly?
I was about to ask back when I stopped. A familiar silhouette appeared in the distance.
“Huh, isn’t that Uncle Allen?”
Rubian seemed to have spotted him too.
“He must have found the place with the stone monument in the area I told him about last time! Uncle!”
As she glanced around, I quickly brought her shoes, and Rubian hastily shoved her feet into them and jumped up to run over.
The man, with one eye covered by an eye patch and moving with a clinking gait, turned his head.
“Ah! Princess, no wait, Miss!”
The Mercenary Company Alpeon, which had recently come under Zebert Duke.
Since I hadn’t revealed my relationship with Allen, no one knew that Allen was also carrying out my missions.
Then, Allen’s gaze, which had been greeting Rubian warmly, shifted slightly. Our eyes met.
‘So they have information for me.’
I considered this with indifference.
“Hey, Kalid. I think we should dig into the Western Continent regarding anything related to the ancient kingdom.”
“The Western Continent?”
“The land of the infidels. Where peoples who worship gods other than our goddess gather and live.”
“….”
“I heard it’s a treasure trove of ruins? Delcan Ruins can’t even compare, seriously. I’m so excited…. There must be so many treasures we’ve never even heard of, right?”
The filthy face laughing with glee came to mind.
‘Maybe I’ll visit sometime.’
The land of the infidels.
‘Once Rubian’s matter is settled, someday.’
My priorities were always clear.
I casually ignored Allen rushing toward me, flailing his arms wildly, and headed back to the Training Ground.
* * *
Some time later, the end of summer.
“You want to go to the Imperial Palace?”
Leviathan raised an eyebrow as I walked alongside him.
“Yeah…. Is that not okay? Just exchanging letters with Licht has its limits, so I want to visit the Imperial Palace Archives myself. Licht said he’d like that too.”
I fidgeted with my fingertips, feeling slightly anxious.
“And apparently they’re throwing a huge birthday party for him at the Imperial Palace in a few months…. He said he’d send me an invitation.”
He gazed down at me quietly, then gently took my hand.
It was still small and delicate. According to me, I’d grown quite a bit, but I was still smaller than my peers….
‘I feed you so much, so why aren’t you growing?’
Swallowing his frustration, Leviathan replied softly.
“If you want to go, then go. What’s there to stop you?”
“Really? I thought you’d say it’s dangerous outside Zelocks and I couldn’t!”
With the Mage Kingdom and surrounding regions in unstable conditions, I had stayed quietly in Zelocks. This was the first time in years I’d mentioned wanting to venture outside.
So there was no way he could refuse. Besides.
“Is Father being foolish?”
“Huh?”
“Father has been preparing a lot all this time.”
He too had done his best to build a protective fence around me.
A hillside lush with fragrant herbs, cicadas singing loudly to herald the end of summer.
“So there’s nowhere in this Empire you can’t go. Of course, assuming you stay healthy.”
“Don’t worry about my magical power! I’m going to upgrade my magical tools with Asha!”
“Get a checkup.”
“…Father isn’t even a Mage.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll do it. Father’s smart enough to figure out if it’s safe for you or not.”
“Okay, fine.”
A checkup was nothing.
Rubian, now in better spirits, swung Leviathan’s hand back and forth playfully.
“Phew, I was a bit nervous. Honestly, I thought Father might refuse….”
To be completely truthful.
‘I want to refuse, but….’
Yet Leviathan knew the truth.
He could not keep his child cradled in his arms forever.
The time of rest had ended. The child would soon be ready to run toward where she desired, and I must not stand in her way.
“But where are we going now?”
Just then, Rubian, who had been glancing around, lifted her head.
“You ask so quickly.”
“Heh heh….”
Leviathan gazed toward the white fence visible in the distance and smiled gently.
“The Memorial Garden.”
The silver-haired head moved about ceaselessly, busy with purpose.
“Huff, huff.”
“Why are you working so hard again?”
“Don’t stop me. I’m doing what I can right now.”
Beads of sweat glistened on Rubian’s brow as she diligently pulled weeds near the graves.
Though the small garden within this Memorial Garden was well-maintained by Rosetta and the other adults who visited regularly, leaving little in the way of weeds.
Leviathan gently wiped the black stone monument that stood nameless and solitary.
“Father…. Are you sad?”
The child who had drawn near asked carefully, grasping my hand lightly.
“I am sad.”
Rubian’s brows drooped.
“She was the one I most wanted to protect, yet I could not save her.”
“Mm….”
Watching the child’s lips tremble as if holding something back, Leviathan let out a short laugh.
“Such an ugly expression.”
“Ugh.”
“Your father is actually very happy right now.”
“But you just said you were sad….”
“Is there a law that says I cannot be happy while being sad?”
He spoke without hesitation, then lifted Rubian into his arms with ease.
“Father, I’m getting heavy now….”
“That’s right. You’re incredibly heavy. My arms will break soon.”
“Then I’ll fix them for you right away.”
Still no protest about being held.
Leviathan smiled inwardly and adjusted his grip on the child with an exaggerated grunt.
“But…. Why are you happy?”
Rubian asked.
“You’re asking because you don’t know?”
“Would I ask if I already knew…?”
With a soft bump of our foreheads, a quiet whimper of pain escaped.
“Because the thing I want to protect most right now is clinging to Father’s side.”
“….”
I gazed at the round forehead turning away shyly, then lifted my weary eyes to stare at the black monument.
Standing alone across the vast expanse, the stone marker pierced my heart with its familiar ache.
‘I’m sorry. For leaving you alone in loneliness.’
But now I have something in my arms that needs protecting.
So later, when Father finishes everything and we meet again. Then I’ll give you another chance to be protected by me.
“Let’s spend this winter in the Capital.”
“Yes!”
Leviathan slowly turned and left the Memorial Garden. A gentle breeze swept over the hillside, softly pushing the two figures forward.

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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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