The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 295
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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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Side Story Episode 21
‘What on earth?’
Rosetta blinked slowly.
Now that I looked at him more carefully….
‘The portrait was practically smudged beyond recognition.’
This man seemed to possess a clarity that no one else around him possessed.
It was the moment I truly understood what it meant for a god to have crafted something with meticulous care.
A sharply defined nose and a resolute jawline.
Eyes that seemed to bow to no one, piercing and cold, with mysterious violet irises.
Along his elongated eye corners, transparent droplets fell, drip by drip, as if….
‘Wait.’
Rosetta furrowed her brow.
I feel like I’ve seen that face somewhere before….
‘That can’t be.’
I immediately dismissed the thought.
I had never shared even a breath of air with such a high-born nobleman. And if he were a man with such a fierce impression, I would certainly remember him.
“What exactly are you doing all of a sudden….”
“My sincerest apologies, my lord.”
Leviathan stared intently at Rosetta.
“…You know me?”
“Of course.”
The man caught his breath sharply. Rosetta smiled brightly.
“How could I not know the person who drew the most attention at tonight’s banquet? Besides, His Majesty the Emperor himself offered to arrange a match for you.”
“…Ah.”
The tension suddenly drained from his broad shoulders. He rubbed his furrowed brow.
“So that’s what you meant….”
After a long silence, Leviathan looked at Rosetta again.
“So, young lady, what is your name?”
“I am… Roselina Braum of the Braum Barony.”
Rosetta spoke her assumed identity. As she did, she glanced briefly toward Rubian.
“Braum?”
“It’s a family that has nearly fallen into ruin, so you likely haven’t heard of it.”
Rubian sat obediently at the base of the tree, gripping Kalid’s hand tightly.
Before Leviathan emerged from the lake, Rosetta had quickly instructed Rubian.
“Listen carefully, little one. I don’t know why you’re here in the first place, but for now, just go along with what I say. Understood?”
“Hiccup.”
“Rabbit, answer me. If you breathe even a single word about my true identity to that man….”
“No! I won’t! Lips sealed, eyes shut, ears closed!”
“Good.”
‘Would I have gone mad to tell him that my mother is an assassination mercenary?’
Rubian pouted her lips and watched the two of them carefully.
‘Looking at it now, she’s clearly hiding her identity and trying to seize another opportunity beside Father.’
Oh no. This is bad.
‘Mother is so capable that she’d probably be incredibly skilled at something like “concealing that the Baron’s daughter is a lethal assassin”!’
Where else could my genes have come from!
Sure enough, Rosetta had already concealed all her characteristic sharp presence, lowering her eyes meekly.
“…I see. But what were you doing in a place like this? And why did you suddenly rush at me?”
“I apologize once more for my rudeness.”
Rosetta bowed her head with a sorrowful expression.
“I was simply taking a solitary walk when suddenly some bandit-like men appeared and attacked you….”
Rubian’s eyes narrowed.
There it is. Even that slightly trembling voice from fear.
‘Perfect. Someone as dull as Father would definitely fall for this completely….’
“They were trying to attack you with a Karad Ripersan 15cm reverse-blade dagger and a Toledo 9mm armor-piercing crossbow bolt, so without thinking I just….”
“…?”
‘Mom… you?’
Rubian’s pupils trembled uncontrollably.
‘Your mouth… really should have stayed shut, shouldn’t it?’
Your assassin identity is completely exposed now.
You seem to have no idea how to hide your true nature at all, do you?
Regardless, Rosetta simply looked up at Leviathan with an expression of utter helplessness.
“But are you truly alright? You fell into the lake because of me—what should I do? Still… I’m relieved.”
“…What do you mean. That I’m unharmed?”
“No. That you threw the Barzen dual-blade dagger, limited production 1497, at precisely a 120-degree angle….”
“….”
“Of course, it would have been better with more wrist snap, but it was such an accurate attack targeting the assassins’ vital points.”
Mooooom!
“The Duchess truly is… magnificent.”
“Kalid, stop admiring her!”
Rubian hissed fiercely.
‘This is terrible. Now that I think about it!’
Rosetta had spent her entire life inside the Thunder Wall. Except for the occasional missions that took her outside, she had never interacted with the outside world.
In other words….
‘She doesn’t even realize how strange that is!’
Absurdly detailed weapon discussion!
What do I do!
“Ah, I’m so startled I’m feeling dizzy.”
Yet her act of stumbling was truly magnificent. Leviathan was so entranced he even caught her arm.
“…Are you alright?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. Seeing those men suddenly collapse made my heart race so much.”
Rubian nodded vigorously, her head bobbing back and forth.
‘Right, yes. Perhaps it’s better to stop talking now and just pretend to be fragile instead….’
Rosetta pointed at the fallen assassins with trembling fingers.
“I’m so frightened by them. Could you please restrain them?”
“Well…”
“For your reference, I’d recommend binding them securely with braided rope at least 12mm in diameter. They absolutely won’t escape. Would you like me to teach you the method?”
“….”
Hmm.
Rubian smiled brightly.
‘Farewell, everyone.’
It seems I must make my exit due to this birth-related issue.
If my life were woven into a novel, it would somehow amount to roughly 274 chapters, and from this moment on, it shall be as though it never happened….
But then it happened.
A soft, awkward cough echoed through the air.
Following the sound, I saw Leviathan with his head turned to the side, his hand covering one corner of his mouth.
But what was this?
His ears… were red?
“A young lady who would teach such things… you are the first.”
“….”
“Please….”
Blink, blink.
Rubian’s eyelids fluttered.
‘What on earth….’
What has captured his interest like this?
* * *
“It’s embarrassing, but the Braum Barony is terribly impoverished, so I had to take on whatever work I could find.”
“Since the longest job I held was at a weapon shop, I must have picked up these habits without realizing it. If I’ve been rude, I sincerely apologize.”
Rosetta smoothed over the situation that way.
‘I must be mad.’
She secretly slapped her thighs repeatedly.
Before coming here, she thought she had hastily learned the etiquette, hobbies, and conversational arts of the nobility.
But habits were a terrifying thing.
‘And above all….’
Strangely, in front of this man, she kept revealing her true self honestly.
To be precise, her guard kept dropping.
It was truly a peculiar matter.
‘Ah, I’m mad. I must be careful.’
Before long, they had arrived at the retreat where the Zebert Duchy was staying.
“Young Master! Are you alright?”
The Reception Room door burst open, and Adolf came rushing over with an anxious expression.
Upon hearing that Leviathan had been attacked, the Butler rushed in only to find the interior in complete disarray, plunging him further into confusion.
“What in the world is happening here… Who is that lady, and more importantly, who are these children…?”
Lick, lick.
The girl and boy who had been licking ice cream lifted their heads.
“Well. One’s a perverted brat obsessed with my pants buttons, and the other’s a menial brat obsessed with errands.”
“Pardon? A pervert and a laborer?”
Adolf pressed the bridge of his nose beneath his monocle.
Looking closely, the boy was indeed the one they’d taken in at the Duke’s Mansion.
“That woman is… well, the daughter of our maid.”
Rosetta stepped forward as if to smooth things over.
“Since she’s our only maid, she’s practically family… I’ve been treating the girl like a younger sister, and it seems she secretly followed us here. I apologize for the commotion.”
“U… I’m sorry. I deeply regret it….”
Rubian raised both hands up high. For a moment, Leviathan wondered if she was asking to be held.
“Anyway, it seems the identity verification is roughly complete. Take the children and put them to bed.”
“Understood… Ah, what should we do about those who attacked? The knights seem to have locked them in the Basement. Will you interrogate them personally?”
Leviathan, now changed into dry clothes, roughly toweled off the water dripping from his hair.
“Leave it to Father.”
“But….”
“He gets excited when he’s interrogating someone. He’ll probably enjoy it.”
At a glance, they appeared to be small-time thugs trying to take advantage of the Duke’s heir.
“Very well. Then….”
“Oh, and send for a Physician on your way out.”
“Are you injured, sir?”
Adolf asked in alarm.
“Not me.”
Leviathan clicked his tongue briefly, then abruptly rose from his seat.
He then approached Rosetta, who had been standing quietly before the fireplace, and grasped her wrist.
“Ugh.”
A small whimper escaped her.
“I don’t understand how you can endure this without uttering a single word of pain.”
Her ring finger and pinky finger, bent at an unnatural angle, were visible.
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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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