The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 222

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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 222
* * *
The air touching the tip of my nose changed first. It carried a humid warmth, that distinctive scent unique to the Southern Region.
‘Gasp… my mana…’
I was completely drained.
Of course, the irritating mana of the Southern Region clung to my entire body, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
Fighting back the urge to retch, I swallowed hard and was just about to open the eyes I’d kept squeezed shut when—
“Rubian.”
A massive embrace filled my entire vision. Strong arms wrapped tightly around my back, and a wave of mana surged through every corner of my body.
“Kalid?”
“Thank goodness…”
His voice sounded like something tightly wound had suddenly come loose. Hot breath brushed against the exposed nape of my neck.
“I came without seeing you open your eyes.”
His voice was thick with emotion.
“That worried me so much…”
“Hey, hey. I’m fine. And I can’t breathe.”
Kalid poured mana into me relentlessly, as though he intended to scrape out every last drop of his own reserves.
The mana I’d lost during the transfer was nothing—strength quickly filled me from head to toe.
“You worried a lot?”
“Yes, a lot.”
“Sorry about that.”
“…Really a lot.”
A soft laugh escaped me. For some reason, today he wasn’t being sharp or sarcastic at all—just a pure, devoted puppy.
I shifted slightly, thinking I might pat the top of his head, when—
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
Three question marks met my gaze in unison.
“Um, um… you little brats… what are you doing right now?”
Ah.
“Father? I don’t think dirt has gotten in my eyes yet. Why? What exactly am I looking at?”
“What the—? Kalid? Your armor looks really tight?”
Right.
This was definitely a situation the family could easily misunderstand.
I calmly pulled myself away and cleared my throat.
“Everyone, this isn’t what you think—Kalid was just giving me his mana…”
“Let’s go. It’s not far from here.”
What? You’re cutting me off mid-explanation?
Regardless, Kalid simply held my hand and strode forward with long steps.
“Wait, I don’t need any more mana…”
“I’m done too.”
What was that supposed to mean?
I turned slightly to gesture for my family to hurry over, but then I spun back around.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Walk faster. Faster! Sound the alarm! Or you’ll die!”
“…?”
The last thing I saw was Mother smiling sweetly as she began to draw her bowstring, while Grandfather held her back, swallowing tears of blood.
Whoooosh—
A desolate, acrid wind swept through the Gorge.
I stood before a massive Rock Cave.
“Is this another exit?”
“Yes.”
Kalid murmured, staring at the jagged rocks jutting out in all directions.
“Still no sign of activity.”
The ground had been weakened by the explosion that occurred inside the Cave. It was a precarious place where one wrong touch of magic could cause a collapse from anywhere.
“Any traces of the Demon Beast?”
“Nothing strong. But there’s complex illusory magic tangled inside, so it’s hard to read clearly.”
I bit my lips, gauging the range of my magical influence.
Just then, Grandfather rolled up his sleeves and, despite everyone’s objections, pushed aside one of the massive boulders.
A narrow gap appeared between the chaotically piled stones.
It was a space created by broad, flat stone slabs cleverly misaligned. Apparently, the villagers who had found this place unsettling had left traces of construction work sealing off the entrance.
‘If I’m lucky, this might lead inside the Cave.’
My eyes narrowed slightly.
“Wow, good thing I’m small.”
Kalid raised his eyebrows as if asking what I meant.
Ignoring his questioning gaze, I began rolling up my sleeves briskly.
There was only one thing I needed to do right now!
* * *
Father!
Leviathan turned around.
“Did you just… say Father?”
At those words, a scoff of disbelief came from beside him.
“What are you talking about?”
The baby lying quietly in the cradle wiggled its tiny hands and babbled.
“Daaaa!”
“See? He said Father.”
Leviathan insisted stubbornly, but Rosetta simply dismissed him by picking up the whimpering baby.
“Rubian, our beautiful little one will call Mother first, won’t we~?”
“Myaaa.”
“Oh, he answered. My daughter.”
Leviathan burst into laughter.
It wasn’t as though the baby had actually called him Father, nor had Rosetta truly answered him coherently—both of them were completely disarmed before the cradle.
It was a warm spring day.
Sunlight streamed through the window like a blessing, gently enveloping Rosetta and the baby in its warmth.
In that moment as Leviathan gazed at the scene in a daze, the child who had been playing so contentedly suddenly burst into tears with a wail.
“Oh dear, someone’s hungry. Leviathan, just a moment.”
He skillfully took the baby into his arms.
At first, he honestly had no idea how to hold something so impossibly small. But even this had become familiar with time.
As he cradled her gently and soothed her, Rubian laughed with a delighted coo as if she’d never whimpered at all. A baby was something soft and warm, seeming as though it might melt away at any moment. So fragile. So delicate.
Leviathan gazed at the dark crown of her head and let out a quiet chuckle.
‘The whorl is on the right side.’
The black hair she’d inherited from him swayed adorably around the right whorl.
Damn, she was precious.
“….”
Then, suddenly.
His hands stilled.
Somewhere in his memory, he seemed to recall thinking something similar before….
‘That can’t be right.’
He shook his head. The children could barely do anything but cry when they saw him.
There was no way he’d ever seen such a precious little head before.
“…How can something be this small.”
Leviathan gazed down at his daughter, swaddled snugly in her blanket, struck by the thought anew.
Hmm, with this size and weight….
“She’s just like the miniature shells Father used to develop….”
A sharp palm came down hard against his solid back. Smack.
“Is it appropriate to compare our daughter to a weapon, or is it not?”
Rosetta stood there holding the bottle, her eyes twitching.
Indeed, he’d been careless.
He furrowed his brow in serious contemplation before correcting himself.
“Then like a hot dog bun….”
“Out.”
He was eventually banished.
But time flowed peacefully.
In that time, Rubian learned to walk and, though clumsily, learned to speak as well.
“Young lady! Slowly, slowly please!”
The Maids scurried anxiously through the Garden, chasing after Rubian as she toddled about.
Every garden in Zebert Castle had been laid with thick, soft grass so that even if the child fell while running, she wouldn’t be hurt.
Leviathan followed leisurely behind, hands clasped at his back.
The weather was beautiful today as well.
It seemed like only yesterday when she’d first stood on two legs, yet now she moved her short, plump legs with such determination that she’d overtake him.
Just then, the child who had been walking steadily suddenly whirled around. Our eyes met.
“…?”
Rubian blinked his large eyes twice, then let out a long, heavy sigh—”Hiii-yuu”—before turning forward to continue walking.
Then he whirled around again.
“Hiii-yuu.”
Back to his steady pace.
Another whirl.
“Hiii-yuu.”
Steady pace again.
“…Good grief.”
I held my forehead in my palm, letting out a short groan before laughing softly to myself.
“How did something like this come from me?”
I am the strongest on the Continent, and Rosetta is no less formidable wherever she goes.
Yet Rubian, born between us….
Seemed to have been born with an abundance of fear.
“A cowardly daughter, indeed.”
Taking three steps before peeking back at Father, then four more steps before peeking back at Father again.
“F-Father….”
That was when I felt the grip on my garment. The weakest force in the world, yet to me more powerful and devastating than any strength.
“S-scary….”
The child had drawn close without my noticing, pointing at something. Following the direction of that small, round finger, I spotted a single small beetle.
It clung to a green leaf, sitting squarely in the path Rubian had been walking.
“Come here.”
I laughed and scooped the child up in my arms. Taking a long stride to leap over the beetle, the child giggled—”Hee-hee”—and wrapped their arms around my neck.
“Not scary anymore!”
My fearful daughter, unable to even properly see a small insect.
‘I must never show her even a picture of a magical beast.’
Of course. It would not be difficult.
The child would remain forever safe and peaceful within the walls I had built. She would see only harmless, warm, bright, and beautiful things.
Let me alone bear that hell. This small, fragile child would never have to step onto a battlefield drenched in blood.
“My precious….”
In that moment, a brief flash of lightning split the brightened sky.
“Uncle, is the war really over?”
“….”
I drew a ragged breath.
As if someone were coming to take the child from me, I held Rubian tightly in my embrace.
“…No.”
It could not be.
Absolutely not.
I murmured in a hoarse voice, burying the child deeper into my arms.
The distinctive scent of an infant filled the air.
With that, he erased everything once more.

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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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