The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 234

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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 234
Benjamin fell silent for a moment. There seemed to be no further need, nor reason, to cling stubbornly to his position.
“…The coordinates the Mage King revealed to me do indeed point toward Northern Arcadia.”
He spoke as though groaning.
“Everything you said is correct, Princess. He intends to use this old man to lay a trap for you.”
“…”
“The moment your boat reaches Northern Arcadia, the Mage King will activate the mark to enslave you. Or perhaps his First will be lying in ambush with soldiers, ready to unleash a devastating assault.”
The old man covered his face with his wrinkled hands. His fingers trembled violently.
“So…Benjamin, you came to dissuade me from going to the Mage Kingdom because you feared I’d fall into a trap. But why?”
Rubian asked with genuine curiosity.
“If he discovers you’ve defied the Mage King’s orders…he will kill you.”
At that, the elderly mage let out a low, hollow laugh.
“Princess, do you know what the Mage King’s limitation is?”
“Hmm…”
“He believes that others desire what he desires.”
“…”
“Trivial things like infinite power, eternal dominion, immortality…”
Benjamin met Rubian’s gaze. In his eyes—transparent as a polished mirror—the passage of time was laid bare, and his own weathered face was shamefully reflected.
“Death cannot threaten an old man who would consider it a blessing to die tomorrow. Now, rather…I fear more what people will say of me after I’m gone.”
“…”
“If a person’s life is a book, then where one places the final period matters greatly. At least, it does for me.”
There was once a time when I believed that living as a Kingdom Mage was the greatest glory. But at some point, doubt and helplessness crept in. When had it begun?
Perhaps it was around the time I learned that the Mage King was forcibly taking children, arbitrarily numbering them, and turning them into his “weapons.”
I could not discern what to follow. Nor did I possess the courage or strength to stand against him. Seclusion was the easiest form of evasion and escape.
Benjamin felt sorry toward Rubian. He wanted to apologize for the wounds inflicted when adults failed to fulfill their duties. Yet, concealing all this guilt, he merely played the role of an old man indifferent to death.
He hoped that his apology, offered to lighten his own heart, would not remind her of the heavy burden of forgiveness. Thus, he offered such a cowardly apology.
“But Benjamin, as you likely sensed when you saw the children earlier…”
Benjamin pressed his lips firmly shut.
“I won’t simply submit to it.”
Yes, that was an unforeseen variable.
‘She resolved the mark problem.’
A long sigh escaped.
“Sigh. You exceed my expectations in many ways.”
The Princess was stronger and more astute than he had imagined. Was it truly right for him to stand in the way of her path?
Rubian spoke in a gentle voice.
“I heard that when you served in the Kingdom, Benjamin, you were the one who guarded the collapsed Southern Temple.”
His eyes widened.
“How could you possibly know that? That’s something only someone with deep knowledge of the Royal Palace’s affairs would know…”
Benjamin, unable even to imagine that the Mage King’s Second had leaked this information to Rubian, abandoned further speculation.
“Yes, that’s correct. I was merely…a humble servant of the goddess, sweeping and tending that sacred place.”
He hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Of course… I did happen to possess considerable information about the place I was guarding.”
Rubian laughed.
“Then you understand—the coordinates of Southern Arcadia.”
A low hum escaped her.
“Share those coordinates with me, former High Priest and Southern Base Mage. I’ll handle the rest myself.”
The Mage King had given Benjamin the coordinates to Northern Arcadia.
Rubian intended to infiltrate from the opposite direction—the southern coast—and catch the Mage King off guard.
“My lady.”
“In exchange, I’ll take care of that hideous mark you’re carrying on your body!”
Her cheerful tone belied the gravity of her words.
Benjamin’s mouth fell open.
Remove the brand? Truly?
He wiped his lips and face frantically, unable to grasp the reality of what he was hearing.
Regardless of his state, Rubian withdrew the nullification magic inscribed on Benjamin’s palm and informed him he would be confined to a cell for a time.
“Report to the Mage King that you’ve completed your mission. He may attempt to verify through the brand, so it would be wise for you to remain under observation in prison for now. Of course, he might discover the truth quickly… but removing the brand comes after that.”
“…I understand.”
“Then, once the coordinates are complete, you’ll send them to me? I’m rather busy at the moment…”
Rubian rose with polite courtesy, but the Duke standing at a distance approached swiftly.
Benjamin, seized by sudden doubt, urgently grasped her sleeve.
“My lady… have you also had your brand removed?”
Her blue eyes flickered with an enigmatic light.
“Ah.”
Rubian glanced briefly at Zebert Duke approaching her, then smiled meaningfully and moved her lips.
No.
“…Why on earth not?”
“Because mine still has a use.”
“Hmm…”
“Shush. I’m fine! You know, like a Sword Master or something… I’m going to become a Brand Master.”
A what master?
“So keep it secret!”
“What secret?”
The Duke interjected with perfect timing.
“It’s a secret—I can’t tell. How could I explain that I was gossiping about Father behind his back?”
“Right. You’re just going to run off and whisper about this to Kalid.”
“That’s not it…”
Benjamin watched the bickering father and daughter recede into the distance, his expression vacant.
The brand of the Mage Kingdom that had long bound mages in servitude.
If the lady truly could erase it…
Something would change.
Goosebumps erupted across my entire body. My heart, which had been waiting only to stop, began hammering wildly, and blood I thought had gone cold surged hot through my veins.
‘The Mage Kingdom, the world of mages, will be fundamentally transformed.’
In the wake of that tremendous tempest of change, how would the duchess be recorded?
How would Rubian Zebert be remembered?
Benjamin clenched his teeth, his eyes following the duchess’s retreating figure.
‘Whatever happens.’
Your Grace.
“You cannot become a Stigma Master….”
That would be far too disappointing….
* * *
Meanwhile, at the very moment Rubian was meeting with Benjamin.
Licht stood at the highest point of the western building of the Imperial Palace.
His smooth face bore the gentle smile it always did as he gazed downward—a countenance beautiful and melancholic, like a divine messenger touched by sorrow.
“It would have been better if I were merely escorting a corpse.”
Shamefully, he contemplated cruel destruction rather than sacred blessing.
Through the western gate, where the most lowly and contemptible denizens of the Imperial Palace came and went, a carriage rumbled away.
It carried the First Prince, now a criminal and deposed prince.
Though he had not succeeded in placing him on the scaffold, he had managed to confine him to the barren Western Lands for life.
But what did any of that matter?
‘I caused Rubian to be wounded because of me.’
It was because he had delayed cutting down his enemy’s throat.
In searching for the perfect moment to easily achieve his desires, he had missed the moment to protect the one beside him.
How was he different from the Father Emperor?
In wounding someone he cherished while trying to protect his position, there was no difference.
“I really am useless.”
Perhaps the First Prince’s words about being a worthless prince were correct.
His spirits sank endlessly.
The position of Crown Prince he had so desperately desired would soon be his, yet somehow he felt no drive to move forward. He had achieved his goal, but it felt as though he had lost everything.
Did Rubian no longer need me?
Still, soon I would be Crown Prince, so wouldn’t I still have some value to her?
No, that wasn’t right.
She was far too intelligent—she would see through someone as weak and incompetent as me. Perhaps everything was already ruined….
“Fourth Prince?”
While he had been digging that mental hole, an unfamiliar voice called to him.
Turning around, Sebelena stood at the top of the stairs with a gentle smile, a letter held in one hand.
Licht’s fingertips twitched involuntarily the moment he recognized the handwriting from afar.
“What is it?”
“The Duchess Rubian said she would rescue you from that hole and that you should go out for a bit?”
In the densely forested eastern woods of Iosia.
The two of them quietly crossed the border in disguise, riding their horses onward.
“So the Mage King’s Second was truly alive all along….”
Licht murmured.
Sebelena briefly explained her connection to Second to the bewildered man.
“…So that’s how it happened. The Second whom Rubian saved fled to Iosia, and there you….”
As they continued their relentless ride while recounting the past, they found themselves at the entrance to Iosia Forest Village.
Sebelena quietly recalled the magical letter Rubian had sent.
【 Your Highness, I have a request. Second suddenly sent me a letter, but I’m not sure if I can trust everything in it. Could you perhaps verify it directly? 】
The contents that Second had supposedly sent were as follows.
First, that coordinates leading to Arcadia could be obtained through Benjamin, the Southern Base Mage.
And.
Information about shortcuts to the Arcadia Royal Palace and all manner of secret passages within the palace itself.
【 I think I’ll be able to verify the authenticity of the first part soon enough on my end. But I’m a bit anxious about acting on the next information. If this intel is real, attacking the palace would be quite easy, but honestly. 】
There seemed to be a hint of hesitation in Rubian’s handwriting.
【 I think there’s a high possibility it’s a trap. The fact that a mage who lost her magical core recovered perfectly…. It’s nearly impossible. 】
There are no perfect secrets in this world. Much less when Second—Senia—had tenaciously survived for eight years.
The Mage King had been covertly infiltrating mages across the Continent to gather information all this time, so he might have noticed her existence in the process.
‘Handwriting forgery is possible even through magic,’ she thought.
Sebelena bit her lip hard. She could only pray that she wouldn’t end up killing Senia with her own hands…. That was all she could wish for.
Before long, they arrived at the village.
Without even thinking to seek out the elder, they headed toward an isolated cottage. Sebelena moved with tense silence, her footsteps muffled.
“Let’s go through the back entrance. This way. Prepare your sword just in case there’s an ambush….”
Just then, the cottage door swung open with a bang.

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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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