The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 303

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

Side Story, Chapter 29
* * *
Leviathan moved forward at a measured pace.
‘Father seemed to be watching me from the shadows. What was that about?’
It was right after I had sensed Ballock’s subtle presence and left my seat. I was now heading toward the Upper Hunting Ground.
“Young Master.”
At that moment, a familiar voice reached my ears.
Crown Prince Dietrian Babylon approached on horseback.
The attendants who had been following him came to a halt, and he fixed his gaze upon me.
“Are you truly going to the Upper Hunting Ground alone? There’s no guarantee she’ll appear,”
“There is. To me.”
My voice, piercing through the sound of rain, was chillingly low.
“You seem quite at leisure to concern yourself with such matters. And today is supposed to be an important day, isn’t it?”
Dietrian exhaled a long sigh.
Those violet eyes had lost their luster. I had grown accustomed to that appearance of something fundamentally broken.
“…Be careful. There won’t be many to protect you today.”
“Who’s worrying about whom?”
The Crown Prince was planning to orchestrate the Emperor’s downfall today.
The Emperor’s tyranny had reached its zenith. It could no longer be tolerated.
“Is it really true that the Emperor has been employing illegal assassins?”
“Yes. He took in abandoned children…”
I wiped my face as if suppressing something within.
“It appears he forced them through rigorous training before deploying them on illegal missions.”
“…I see. So the Emperor used them to eliminate his political enemies.”
When Rosetta disappeared, I did not remain idle.
The resolve to honestly unravel the enigma that was her could only be fulfilled while she was by my side.
I immediately began investigating everything about her, starting with the Braum Barony.
And when I discovered Baron Braum reduced to slavery in an illegal gambling den, I finally learned the truth.
“I, I had accumulated gambling debts… and needed something to sell from the house.”
“…So you brought back the child you had once abandoned? To sell to the Mercenary Company?”
“She was a bastard with a maid’s blood, so she wasn’t worth much! Besides, her mother was already dead anyway. For her, it was a job, yes! I had found her employment!”
“…Ha.”
“B, but, my lord. Ah, how much would you pay for this information?”
What happened after that, I scarcely remembered. Only that I was consumed by a crimson rage and swung my blade.
“So, did you find the Mercenary Company’s headquarters?”
“No.”
I answered in a subdued voice.
I had searched through the entire Empire, including Biltain, but found no trace of the Mercenary Company anywhere.
“…Hmm. Have they already fled?”
“I will find them regardless.”
Leviathan spoke with a bitter, spiteful tone.
“So, Your Majesty. Keep your promise. I will personally bring you the Emperor’s shameful secrets, and the mercenaries who belonged to that organization….”
“Understood, understood. Except for the Commander and the masterminds who actively participated in luring the children, I’ll have everyone quietly processed as dead.”
“….”
“So you’ll need to handle the aftermath of the mercenaries yourself from here on. Understood?”
“Of course.”
“Well, don’t worry about the Mercenary Company’s whereabouts either. I’ll soon have a chance to have a lengthy conversation with my Father Emperor, who will be taking to his sickbed… I’ll ask him about it respectfully then.”
Dietrian whispered discreetly.
Leviathan barely managed to compose his emotions and faced him.
“Don’t worry. The long night will soon end.”
My old friend was gazing at me with unwavering eyes.
Beneath that gentle countenance lay hidden an insatiable hunger for power. A face both solid and cruel—one that would sacrifice anything for its ambitions.
Dietrian, older than me, had long since married and fathered two sons, yet even his wife and children held little meaning for him.
Like a young icicle sharpened to a point. Could anyone ever dull that blade?
‘…Soon, a storm of blood will sweep through the Imperial Palace too.’
Most of the Emperor’s retainers would be purged.
Dietrian might very well kill his brother first. The Second Prince, for instance.
‘Come to think of it, I heard the Second Prince recently fathered a son.’
A son born from a dancer he had forcibly taken, so the child’s existence was kept in the strictest secrecy. They said it was to preserve the Second Prince’s already plummeting reputation.
‘Surely they won’t implicate a newborn.’
But the child would leave the Imperial Palace and live the rest of his life as though he never existed. What was his name again? Did he even have one to begin with?
Well, it didn’t matter either way.
Children held little meaning for me as well.
Right now, only one thing mattered—the woman with pink hair.
“When we meet again, it will be difficult to converse so freely. You’ll be in such lofty heights.”
Leviathan grasped the reins of a horse tethered nearby, concluding the conversation.
Then Dietrian laughed aloud, “Ha ha.”
“What are you talking about?”
“…?”
“Come up quickly and assist me. Stop playing around behind Father.”
“Your Majesty, the imperial flag has risen. The signal flare will soon ignite.”
The Adjutant approached. As Dietrian passed by Leviathan, he whispered mischievously.
“Receive your ducal title quickly. I think Zebert in my era would benefit from a more taciturn image.”
The current family head is rather loud, after all, isn’t he?
“Let’s do this with elegance, with elegance.”
Unaware that the birth of the most tumultuous Zebert Duchy in history was imminent, Dietrian cracked his reins.
“Let’s go!”
Now it was time to write his future.
* * *
Advanced Hunting Grounds.
‘What?’
The trailing speck of dust that was Rubian gnawed at her lips anxiously.
It had been a full hour since she spotted Leviathan entering the Advanced Hunting Grounds and followed in his footsteps.
“Why aren’t you dodging?!”
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
The earth trembled violently once.
As if sweeping away a blanket, a colossal demonic beast thrust its massive form upward, pushing the ground away.
Roooaaarrr!
A tingling surge of mana pressed down upon my entire body.
The problem was….
Leviathan standing before it remained perfectly still.
‘Father! Dad! Mom! Are you sleeping? You’re always dozing off at the Training Ground, and now you’re doing it here too?!’
He hadn’t even drawn his sword.
‘No, I think I know what you’re trying to do…! But it’s still dangerous!’
This hunting ground was classified as an Advanced Hunting Ground the higher one climbed toward the mountain peak. Of course, there was no one in those Advanced Hunting Grounds.
It was raining, and all the key figures were moving systematically under Dietrian’s command. Likely, even Zebert Duke Ballock was in the same situation.
‘Since Kalid said the purpose of this hunt festival wasn’t about hunting demonic beasts anyway.’
Rubian swallowed hard, gazing up at the ferocious demonic beast.
The beast stared down at Leviathan, as if trying to gauge his strength.
“Rubian.”
Then Kalid spoke.
“Something feels off about the surroundings. We should probably retreat….”
“No.”
Rubian shook her head firmly.
“She’ll appear soon.”
“Who?”
“Mother!”
It should be around now.
‘There must be a reason I warped to this point in time!’
I was traveling through the past of these two people.
So logically, Rosetta had to be present in this hunting ground for it to make sense.
“I think I even know what Father wants.”
Why he’d been wandering through dangerous places like hunting grounds and battlefields all this time.
Why he was roaming about with that look of someone hoping to be attacked.
‘He’s waiting for Mother to show up and kill him! How obvious!’
Deliberately choosing locations perfect for assassination.
‘Just so he could meet her again somehow.’
Hoping to be found no matter what.
I’m right, aren’t I!
‘Hey, status window! System!’
Rubian felt an inexplicable surge of emotion and cried out internally.
Soon a message window appeared before her eyes, as if the genre had been mistaken…
Wow… you really **hit the core** of it.
Huh?
Your analysis is precise.
You **warped** to the exact moment when you could revise the diary’s ‘final lie’. So the situation you aimed for will unfold soon.
The fact that you’re not stepping forward right now—you’re doing that perfectly.
‘Why did this suddenly become so repulsive?’
It was truly nauseating.
It seemed the system had undergone some upgrades as the warp error was corrected.
‘Is this right?’
Why has such a momentous upheaval suddenly arrived?
The fact that you’re hiding well behind a **tree** right now means you have considerable skill in **concealing things**.
You’re perfect as you are right now. If you’re curious about your remaining warp time, just tell me anytime!
‘Remaining warp time?’
Even ignoring all the nonsense before, she couldn’t ignore that last sentence.
‘Tell me right now!’
Time Warp Termination
Remaining Time: □□□■■
“What! Only two bars left! You should’ve mentioned the battery dying first… ugh!”
“Shh. We’ll be discovered.”
Kalid, startled, gently covered Rubian’s mouth.
Rubian removed his hand and whispered urgently.
“We don’t have much time left. We need to hurry.”
Roooaarrr!
At that moment, the beast, having assessed its opponent’s strength, charged toward Leviathan.
Kalid tapped his leg anxiously.
“Rubian, you’re really going to be born if we just stay still like this, right? I’m starting to feel like I need to decide the direction of my future life….”
That was when it happened.
Crackle, crackle-crackle-crackle.
The massive beast suddenly froze, and a vertical fissure began spreading from the crown of its head.
“…!”
Boom!
The monster’s body collapsed in a single strike.
Crimson blood scattered in all directions.
Tap, tap.
Footsteps followed.
It was then that a wild gleam flickered in Leviathan’s violet eyes.
Whoosh—
Pink hair soaked in blood and rain swayed heavily. The woman’s eyes, as she roughly cast aside her mask, were colorless.
Ah.
His Adam’s apple bobbed heavily.

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