The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 196

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 196
Clop, clop, clop!
The horse quickened its pace.
“That mage is obviously a fake, right?”
I withdrew a small vial from my bosom, watching the shimmering liquid inside—like finely crushed pearls scattered throughout—slosh gently back and forth.
“This potion looks pretty authentic, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah… but look ahead.”
Kalid spoke in a low voice, his gaze fixed forward. In his eyes, reflected like a fleeting shadow, my pupils still bore a faint crimson tint.
‘I haven’t tapped into Wizeria’s power like this in ages.’
A paternity confirmation potion.
Sebelena had conveyed the visual characteristics and rough mechanism to me, and I’d hastily concocted it.
Of course, without the essential herbal components that formed the core of the genuine article, it was merely an imitation. Creating a convincing fake is often harder than making the real thing.
‘And to do it in such a short timeframe, no less. Honestly, I didn’t have time to draw the magical circles, so I called upon Wizeria. I’m grateful she answered.’
Wizeria had been acting like a moody adolescent toward me lately.
It probably started after she began studying the inscriptions on the monument by herself.
Could she be sulking over that?
‘Do I need to have a talk with her?!’
Still, since she lent me her power today after so long, I should forgive her.
I tucked the vial away and spoke with renewed embarrassment.
“Sorry for imposing. But Father said to move as quietly as possible to the cottage… a single horse draws less attention than multiple ones.”
“I know. And…”
“Hmm?”
“I prefer it this way.”
In that instant, a fierce wind swept past.
‘It sounded like he added something.’
It was too faint to hear clearly.
I swallowed hard, my gaze fixed ahead.
My vision caught the hand gripping the reins. The riding gloves made it appear larger and firmer than usual.
The solid, muscular back pressed against mine. The thick, powerful thighs that held the massive black horse steady.
I gnawed at my lip, recalling Kalid’s face from just moments ago.
‘…His neck was a bit flushed.’
What do I do?
This time it’ll probably taste like apples.
I swallowed a dizzy breath. Over these past few days, my early-stage urge to bite my friend had progressed through the middle stages and was now hurtling toward the terminal phase.
‘Sigh…’
Get yourself together, Rubian. Kalid and you are friends.
Comrades-in-arms who’ve shared life and death, and childhood friends at that!
To harbor such @#$% feelings toward a friend like that! How disgusted would Kalid be if he found out?
I shook my head vigorously.
Suddenly, a pained groan escaped from behind me.
“…The scent is too…. Close….”
Yes! Here on this refreshing forest path filled with the crisp aroma of fresh wood!
“I’m seriously going to lose my mind….”
A sharp sound—my grip tightened on the reins I held.
Lost in my own thoughts, I naturally had no idea what was tormenting Kalid.
‘Sigh…, what am I supposed to do.’
I even wanted to bite that hand.
I think I’ve really become a pervert!
* * *
The outskirts of the Capital.
An old cottage situated in a place where few people ventured.
The Mage trembled as he stared at the figure before him.
A man dressed entirely in black sat with his legs crossed, looking down at him.
Even though they faced each other across a table, the impression of being “looked down upon” could not be shaken.
His attire was far too loose and slovenly for a great nobleman.
Yet he didn’t look like a war hero who had saved the Continent either. The slightly tilted chin and hand carelessly draped across his thigh emanated an air of ennui and indolence.
‘But what is this tension.’
The Mage swallowed hard.
His wandering gaze suddenly collided with a pair of cold, violet eyes.
Merely meeting his gaze sent shivers cascading down his spine. It felt as though he had awakened a beast slumbering deep within the forest.
“How did you escape from the Mage Kingdom?”
The monotone voice vibrated through the air.
“We…we took a boat….”
The Mage finally understood.
He was completely overwhelmed by the presence of Leviathan.
He barely managed to steady himself and forced out words that refused to come.
“We…we evaded surveillance and set sail. Many more attempted this with us, but only those who arrived with me succeeded in escaping. The Kingdom’s barrier isn’t difficult to breach from the inside, and once we passed through the illusory mist, the rest was a matter of navigation….”
Leviathan’s eyes narrowed.
At the same moment, Leon, who had been standing like a shadow in the corner of the cottage, placed an object from his possession onto the table.
“Why did you send such things and ask to meet me?”
Leviathan spoke. Upon discovering the worn bundle, the Mage’s lips trembled as he opened his mouth with a quavering voice.
“The…the youngest princess….”
“….”
“I wish to see her just once. Did you see the portrait inside? That face…. Is she truly the youngest princess whom Your Excellency adopted?”
Tears suddenly welled up in the man’s eyes.
“I lost a child long ago.”
Leviathan clenched his teeth involuntarily. Every word the man uttered felt strangely familiar.
“Then I learned she had been taken by the Mage King. His ‘Seventh’….”
“Are you saying the Mage King deliberately took the child?”
“Yes. Whenever he discovers children with exceptional magical aptitude, he takes them by any means and makes them his own children.”
“You watched and did nothing while your child was taken from you?”
“Of course I tried with all my strength to get them back!”
The Mage cried out in a fit of desperation before lowering his head. Between strands of hair cut haphazardly, the crest of the Mage Kingdom was visible on his nape.
“…A lowly Mage like myself could never even imagine defying the King. Of course, I was always watching for an opportunity to reclaim my child…. But then the human-demon war broke out, and by the end of it, I heard my child had disappeared.”
The man wiped away his tears roughly and continued.
“Then, several years ago, the Mage King returned gravely wounded. At the same time, the gates of Arcadia closed. Most of what happens in the Royal Palace is classified, but fortunately, the Hub Mages who had recently returned from the Continent were there, so I bought information from them.”
“So my name came up.”
“…Yes. A magical beast appeared in the Babylon Empire Capital, and it was said that you, Duke Zebert, defeated it. I instinctively thought the Mage King was involved in that incident, and I learned about the youngest princess of the Zebert Duchy.”
The man bit his lip.
“Your Excellency…. I dare to ask.”
Blue eyes fixed upon Leviathan. Tears welled up and fell drop by drop.
“Is the youngest princess perhaps a Mage? Is that why she was attacked by the Mage King?”
“….”
“The ‘Seventh’ who fled the Mage Kingdom… is she truly the youngest princess, Rubian Zebert?”
The man suddenly rose and prostrated himself on the cold floor. Then, striking his forehead repeatedly, he spoke with desperate urgency.
“Please, please. Just let me see the youngest princess once. Let me confirm whether my lost child is alive or not. If you would only do that much, you may take this life whenever you wish!”
Anguished cries filled the cottage.
Leviathan gazed down at that figure from behind.
‘Whether the lost child is alive or not….’
He would offer his very life just to confirm that?
Even knowing the probability of it being a lie was high, somehow those words pierced his chest.
Indeed.
If all of this were false, his acting would be masterful.
He had never felt such sincere resonance with anyone’s words before.
Of course…. It was a statement that held not even a glimmer of hope for him. Because there was something in his life that would not return even if he sacrificed everything.
‘I’m being overly sentimental.’
He mocked himself and glanced away toward the window.
It was about time Rubian arrived.
‘But if he really is Rubian’s biological father….’
Some of what he just said might be the truth.
For example.
‘That the young Rubian was taken from him by the Mage King….’
Damn it.
He couldn’t suppress the emotion rising within him.
He barely swallowed the curse.
* * *
‘It’s quiet.’
The Mage, who had been weeping, glanced slightly up at Leviathan. A sinister aura made him shudder slightly.
The Duke, who seemed as though not a drop of blood would spill even if pricked with a needle, remained silent, lost in thought.
‘If only I hadn’t been caught by that blue-haired Knight in the Southern Region, I wouldn’t have suffered all this.’
After quietly glancing at Leon, he swallowed down his resentment.
‘Judging by the Duke’s aura… there’s no way he’ll let me meet the young lady willingly.’
It was as I’d anticipated.
After all, it was common knowledge that Zebert Duke cherished his youngest daughter more than life itself.
But it didn’t matter.
There were countless ways to approach Rubian.
‘A paternity verification potion.’
That very item which had recently swept across the Continent in small waves.
He intended to make use of it.
Of course, he didn’t currently possess that potion. However, the King of Casalia, who was presently staying in Babylon Capital, was on their side.
‘So if I can just escape this situation gracefully and make contact with the King…’
He could obtain the potion and manipulate it using the method the Mage King had taught him. Once he passed the paternity verification, he would have irrefutable evidence, making it simple to approach the young lady as her biological father.
‘For now, I should make one last plea here and withdraw appropriately. Though looking at that foul expression, it clearly won’t work.’
He bowed his head again.
“Please, I beg you!”
“Fine.”
“Just… just once. Yes?”
The Mage suddenly lifted his head sharply.
“I understand.”
The Duke’s expression as he granted permission was utterly foul. To anyone watching, he looked like someone refusing.
Leviathan exhaled a long breath, then spoke rapidly as if disposing of the matter.
“No matter how I look at this portrait, the face seems to match Rubian. And if you really are Rubian’s biological… or whatever.”
Ah, my stomach churned.
It seemed like he was adding something dismissive, but at that moment the window rattled, making it uncertain.
“Then it’s only right that I let you meet.”
“Huh…?”
This… is working?
…Why is it working?

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————