The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 273

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

Chapter 273
“Then who else would I like?”
Kalid furrowed his brow as he spoke. I blinked blankly.
“But… then why didn’t you say anything until now?”
We’d had so many opportunities to confess our feelings to each other. I’d been a hyena circling those chances, waiting for the perfect moment!
If he liked me too, shouldn’t he have seized an opportunity like I did? Instead of running away!
“I thought I needed a proper status… a title befitting you before I could confess to you.”
Ha.
A hollow laugh escaped me. I stumbled backward and collapsed onto the ground.
“What the—what the heck!”
My limbs flailed about.
“Wait. But you, Rubian, you’re the one—”
Kalid’s expression turned serious as he traced his lips with one large hand. He’d picked up on something in my reaction.
“I… like…”
“…”
“…Do you like me?”
“Then who else would I like besides you!”
Wow, I hadn’t meant to confess like this.
It was a raw, unvarnished confession—no grace, no romance, no elegance whatsoever.
“Damn it, I really messed that up. What was that!”
I brushed myself off and reached for the vines around me to pull myself up.
“I thought I was the only one pining for you…”
But before I could finish, I was drawn into Kalid’s strong embrace.
Vines pressed against my back. He cradled me with his hand, shielding my back from the branches, and gazed down at me with a somewhat dazed expression.
“You were pining for me? You?”
“Yeah. But I thought you didn’t like me, so my heart was breaking.”
“…I don’t kiss people I don’t like. I don’t give them my time. I don’t hold them like this.”
“Same here. But you… every time I tried to confess, you’d run away… and whenever I’d gathered enough mana, you’d run away again! How was I supposed to know!”
“I avoided your words because… I thought you wanted to stop this since we weren’t anything yet…”
Then, as if realizing something, he gently bit my ear and growled.
“And most of all, the reason I suddenly ran away.”
“Ow.”
“You kept stimulating me like that—how could I stay sane? The way you touch me like this…”
“No, I wasn’t—”
I awkwardly withdrew my hand that had been tracing Kalid’s collarbone.
But he took my hand again and placed it back on his body. The sensation of his firm, heat-radiating form made me swallow hard.
“Do you understand now?”
I placed my hand on his chest and nodded.
Thump, thump. I could feel his wild heartbeat from here.
“So we are…”
“….”
“So we’ve liked each other from the very beginning, haven’t we?”
I whispered, toying with the collar of his shirt. Kalid’s Adam’s apple bobbed prominently.
My hand traced gently across it just as he seized my waist with fierce intensity.
“Then should we kiss without using our magic?”
Before I could even finish speaking, Kalid lifted me effortlessly into the air. With my hands braced against his shoulders, I lowered my lips to his without hesitation. My hair cascaded like a curtain, tickling both our cheeks.
Our breathing intertwined, and my entire body grew acutely sensitive, burning with heat.
Neither Kalid nor I had ever kissed anyone before, so I wasn’t entirely sure if what we were doing was right.
Yet with merely our lips touching, my entire body melted like gelatin, and the awakening of sensations I never knew existed within me felt utterly transcendent.
My hair became hopelessly disheveled from the soft spring breeze—or perhaps from Kalid’s rough fingers running through it.
‘Oh, that’s right. We’re outdoors….’
The moment that thought crossed my mind, Kalid channeled his magic to make the vines overhead grow long, concealing us from view.
So no one could see us.
Where does he even learn these things?
Growth was…terrifying. Truly terrifying.
“Rubian….”
Kalid whispered softly, his face flushed and disheveled, his lips still pressed against mine.
“Can I say I love you?”
“Why are you asking that….”
I gazed at him reproachfully, breathing heavily.
He kissed the tip of my chin and looked up at me with eyes that held a blind, boundless devotion.
“You are the most precious and beautiful person in my entire life.”
“….”
“My words of love feel far too trivial and worthless for you.”
“Even so…. Say it.”
We met in the most trivial and worthless of places, yet we harbored a love more beautiful and precious than anything else in this world.
How much time did we endure? How many harsh trials did we overcome to reach this moment, standing here together in this place?
“Tell me you love me. Don’t hold back.”
Kalid pulled me into an embrace and whispered.
“I have never stopped loving you.”
His voice, finally releasing the confession he’d held back for so long, carried the faint trace of tears.
“Rubian, I love you so much. I always have. You mean everything to me….”
Love. Love. I love you so much.
Countless confessions spilled forth. Our breathing grew ragged in an instant. He savored and filled every part of me.
Kalid, who once devoted everything to wishing for my happiness, had finally achieved his goal. Now I was drenched in the joy he had given me, smiling more brightly than anyone in the world.
I feel the same way, Kalid.
I love you so very much.
From that Cave where we first met….
Perhaps I’ve always wanted to tell you this.
After sharing passionate confessions and a long, lingering kiss, we walked out of the Garden hand in hand.
Kalid infused my body with mana once more, his magic flowing steadily and reassuringly.
“But what exactly is this mansion?”
I gazed up at the grand and beautiful estate before me, letting out a short exclamation of wonder. It was ornate enough to rival our own home.
“My mansion.”
“Huh?”
Had I misheard him just now?
Kalid chuckled softly, his eyes meeting mine.
“Your mansion.”
“Whether it’s ‘my’ mansion or ‘your’ mansion—I’m getting terribly confused.”
“It means the same thing.”
Oh…
As I processed the meaning behind his words, my cheeks suddenly burned crimson.
I let out a flustered cough, waving my arms about frantically.
“Fine. Kalid. I don’t want any more misunderstandings. So let’s settle this once and for all.”
“Settle what?”
“Our relationship.”
Thinking about how we’d fumbled around all this time without being able to say those simple words—that we liked each other—it seemed we needed to define our relationship clearly, out loud.
Kalid seemed to think the same, meeting my gaze with a serious expression.
“Yes. Rubian, let’s date—”
“Let’s get married!”
A cold wind swept between us.
A desolate breeze passing through.
“…”
“…”
“Oh my, oh my.”
I startled, pulling my hand away and stumbling backward.
‘Right, yes. I should date him first.’
I must have been influenced too much by my friends who charge forward like bulldozers the moment they develop feelings for someone.
“I got ahead of myself…”
Just then, Kalid strode forward and seized my hand firmly once more.
“Yes. Let’s get married. Absolutely.”
My ears flushed crimson as I stammered, lowering my head. Kalid laughed softly and pulled me into his embrace once more.
“But… can you really marry me?”
“It’s only been one second since you proposed, Rubian.”
“No, it’s just that all the mountains you’ll have to overcome suddenly seem to loom before my eyes…”
I muttered in a remarkably objective tone, pointing to the Zebert Family crest emblazoned on my clothing.
Kalid spoke with resolute conviction.
“I’ve always enjoyed overcoming trials and hardships for you.”
“Goodness, you really are something. Anyway, let’s keep this a secret relationship for now. What do you say?”
“I’m fine with anything.”
A spring breeze laden with the sweet fragrance of blossoms descended gently upon us both.
Kalid and I lingered beneath that shower of petals like ordinary lovers, whispering and laughing, sharing breath and warmth.
It was truly one of the most precious moments of my life.
A day so blissful it brought tears to my eyes.
As for our engagement and Kalid’s grand proposal—one that would be etched into the annals of imperial history—that is a story for another time.
A tale to be told later.
And so we became complete.

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