The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 263

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

Chapter 263
* * *
Wistal loved humanity.
In particular, she enjoyed watching over one man—a human who was nearly the only one capable of standing against the Demonic Beasts, and above all, he possessed a remarkably gentle heart.
That was before she lost a child to the Demonic Beasts.
‘If he would only borrow a little of my strength, they could live in far greater peace.’
So she resolved to aid humanity, even as she clashed with the Dragon God who stood in her way.
That she would fall in love with him during this struggle was something no one could have foreseen.
They were on the verge of being bound together when someone’s machinations sowed discord between them. That ‘someone’ would later become the very embodiment of evil that spawned the Dark Mage, though neither knew it then.
“Look here, Wistal. He demanded this magic from me—a curse that would bind you with a brand, turning you into his puppet.”
She felt betrayed by the Dragon God, who sought to subjugate her through force.
So she cast away the ring she had intended to present to him once Arcadia was complete.
‘For my king.’
The very ring inscribed with those words.
‘You were my king who changed everything about me.’
She never dreamed it would one day be transformed into shackles by the Dark Mage’s hand.
Wistal fled to the human world.
Inhabiting the body of a girl no more than ten years old, clutching in one hand a sapling in which she had separated her own power.
This was immediately after she had shared the wisdom of magical circles with those who would become the first mages.
The moment she arrived on the Continent, she met Rin Babylon, whose golden hair shone beautifully. He spoke of wanting to build a nation here.
‘Then…’
Wistal willingly broke off a small branch from the sapling and planted it at the heart of this land. She then cast a sealing spell to prevent the Dragon God from noticing.
It would one day become the Ancient Manuscript Archive of Rieta Academy.
With the flow of magical power blocked, the invasion of Demonic Beasts would diminish, and this would buy time to establish a nation and raise soldiers.
After that, through Rin Babylon’s introduction, Wistal met the ‘man’ she had always watched over.
The man who, after losing his child, had only one goal remaining—to subjugate the Demonic Beasts.
“What is your name?”
“Wistal.”
“And the name of that sapling?”
“Well, Wizeria.”
“Anyone can see you just made that up.”
“Why are you so clever for a mere human?”
“Why are you so impudent for a mere child?”
Wistal lived as a human from that place onward.
But eventually, the end came.
Demonic Beasts exploding from dark magic, and the Dragon God’s rampage as he overturned the entire Continent searching for her.
Only then did Wistal understand—the misunderstanding between the Dragon God and herself had originated from the Dark Mage’s ambitions to conquer the human realm.
Consumed by a sense of responsibility, Wistal staked everything to drive out the Demonic Beasts dwelling in this land.
Moreover, she created a method to counter the brand the Dark Mage was using to dominate humanity. She intended to send it to the Dragon God along with a letter, wanting to tell him: this is why I misunderstood you.
The document was written in a bewildering cipher with multiple place names intermingled, so the Dark Mage who intercepted it could scarcely decipher it. Instead, he cunningly altered the final words, rendering it unrecognizable to anyone.
Unaware that her letter had never reached the Dragon God, Wistal slowly began to fade away.
“Wistal! Why are you doing this, huh?”
The man held her close and cried out. She was eighteen now.
“I’m sorry. I think it’s time for me to return to where I belong.”
“What do you mean….”
I wanted to see the person I love.
She whispered.
If only I could, I wanted to clear up the misunderstanding with him and fade away, but perhaps it was already too late.
“You know, this….”
Wistal handed the man a sapling with all its branches broken from being planted across the Continent.
“Plant it in the land where you decide to settle.”
“If I plant it?”
“The remaining power of Wizeria will protect you in whatever way you need, whenever you need it.”
“….”
“Perhaps, in the very distant future…. A miracle might occur where we meet again through this power.”
“If we meet again….”
The man asked, tears streaming down his face.
“Will you be my daughter then?”
To the couple who had lost their child, Wistal was joy. Another love.
Wistal smiled, her brows furrowing.
“Yes, Zebert.”
“….”
Someday, that someday.
“Let us become a family once more.”
After that, the man drove out the demonic beasts from the Northern Region as promised and built sturdy Castle Walls there. And he planted the Wizeria sapling first. Though it had already withered, I’m not sure if it held any meaning….
The remaining sapling’s power seeped into the earth, into the soul of the man who had planted it.
Later, Zebert’s descendants, who felt a powerful protective force, built the family’s Memorial Garden where the sapling stood.
“Someday. That someday.”
“Let us become a family once more.”
A promise made long ago. Its fulfillment.
That was why Wizeria’s power came to dwell within Rubian.
* * *
I was transported directly into the Royal Palace.
Whether I had a beautiful farewell with Wizeria or not, that wasn’t what mattered to my family.
“Bring a Physician at once, a healer, anything! Why are you all standing there like idiots!”
Grandfather shouted at me to live, his face contorted like a demon’s.
“It’s alright, it’s alright. Rubian. My dear….”
Mother, her face deathly pale, cradled in Father’s arms, continued wiping the blood from my face again and again.
My brothers and Hazel, who watched over me, were equally beside themselves. Everyone screamed and ran about in all directions.
In all that chaos, only Father remained silent, yet the hands holding me trembled so violently that I could tell without words how much his heart was burning.
“Just a moment.”
That was when Kalid appeared alongside Licht.
The instant our eyes met—the moment I resolved to destroy that core—he vanished somewhere.
He moved swiftly using instant teleportation magic, a technique he’d mastered while under the Dragon God’s dominion.
“Kalid? Fourth Prince?”
“Duke, I’m relieved I wasn’t too late. Though I must say, I never wish to perform such crude teleportation again…”
Licht cast a sidelong glance at Kalid, his face drained of color.
“Come quickly.”
With Kalid’s growling command, a throng of people shuffled into the Inner Chamber.
“Wow, the Royal Palace is in quite a state.”
“Did you see? That mage Kalid just teleported all of us here from Iosia. Is he a monster?”
“Eek. The real monsters are scattered all over this place. What are these dark creatures?”
That was when my consciousness flickered back, however faintly.
“Cough, what…”
“Rubian!”
“Wow, it’s Rubian!”
“Ah. You’ve come… Cough! Hello. Cough, cough!”
“Oh dear. Your condition…”
Wow.
I’d anticipated this, but it brings more joy than I expected.
‘Reuniting with the Children of Kanaral Gorge.’
For a mage, the magical core was a matter of life and death. Yet I was confident I could survive without one.
Kalid stood beside me, and since he’d heard from Licht what research the Children of Kanaral Gorge were conducting, we both knew what awaited.
“But how did you get here so… cough! …quickly?”
I’d expected it to take at least several hours.
“Kalid just appeared out of nowhere, grabbed me by the collar, and teleported us here.”
Licht answered while anxiously studying my blood-stained face.
“It’s best we don’t discuss this further, Rubian.”
I watched Kalid from a distance, breathing heavily and roughly. Despite his struggle with mana depletion, his gaze never left me.
‘I thought Licht knew the way, so we’d use a portal to travel back and forth.’
I never imagined he’d resort to such a crude method of teleportation magic.
Instant teleportation was a high-tier spell that consumed enormous amounts of mana. Using it outside Arcadia was nearly impossible.
‘Yet he forced it to work through sheer power…’
As a result, Kalid seemed to be experiencing mana depletion for the first time. Honestly, if any other mage had done this, it wouldn’t be surprising if their core shattered from mana exhaustion.
“What exactly are these things? Kalid, Your Highness.”
Then Father, who’d been watching, finally spoke, his voice dripping with cold displeasure.
“Please don’t worry, Duke Zebert. We’ve come to repay a debt to Rubian.”
“…A debt?”
The Braided-Hair Girl set down the bundle she’d been carrying with a thud.

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