The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 42

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

Chapter 42
Ch.5
‘She really overdid it.’
Kalid shook his head, a disapproving sound escaping him naturally.
“Huff, huff. Water… water please…”
Seeing the pale face sprawled before me only made it worse.
“Tsk, honestly. What was she thinking?”
Rubian, lying beneath the cloak of some knight named Leon, was breathing heavily. When I offered the water jug sitting nearby, she accepted it as though it were sacred water.
“Breathe and drink.”
“Th-thank you.”
“Why do you have to overextend yourself? You couldn’t even complete one full lap properly.”
“I know, I…”
She must have gotten overconfident lately.
Rubian muttered to herself as she gulped down the water.
Kalid stood with his hand on his hip, looking down at her from above.
Thin silver hair swaying listlessly in the gentle breeze.
Whoever the fool was who touched it had cut it absurdly short.
‘Sigh.’
Kalid deliberately swallowed his curse. Long lashes draped over her transparent, clear eyes drew his gaze.
And yet she was still beautiful like this.
‘A boy? Those northerners must all be out of their minds.’
Really,
it was ridiculous.
‘The Mage King’s seventh daughter.’
Kalid watched Rubian wipe away her sweat and recalled her true identity anew.
‘A princess, no less.’
Another hollow laugh escaped him.
‘A princess of mages dressed as a boy, receiving knight training in a place like this, huh.’
Of course, I knew Rubian’s circumstances were different from those of an ordinary princess.
‘She seems to have almost forgotten her own royal status.’
Honestly, since I had never lived in the Mage Kingdom, I couldn’t clearly understand how the ‘children of the king’ were treated there, but…
Rubian had told me this much.
“The Mage King… he arbitrarily takes children with excellent magical power and makes them his own. There are many ‘children of the king’ in the palace.”
“…”
“So I’m less his child and more like a weapon he carefully honed. Not the kind of princess you’re probably imagining.”
Now that I thought about it, when did it start?
I felt the atmosphere around Rubian had changed greatly from when we first met. Of course, seeing her more vibrant and brighter than before was pleasant.
“So I don’t want to be treated like a princess.”
Yet these moments when she occasionally showed that self-deprecating expression felt strangely too mature.
Kalid felt an unbearable sense of unease wash over him.
“…Still, you really do seem like a princess to me.”
So I couldn’t help but add to it without hesitation.
“At least to me, you are.”
Bright and warm, and therefore incomparably noble—a true princess.
If that weren’t the case, I would have no way to explain this overwhelming desire to protect you….
Someone once told me that this feeling was similar to the loyalty that knights who follow a princess possess.
Indeed, and so. Once I understood that, the title “Master” flowed out quite naturally.
‘What in the world is someone like that doing in a place like this.’
Whether it was anger or confusion, my insides burned black with the weight of it.
It seemed that in this entire world, only Rubian herself was unaware of how special she truly was.
Was it merely a matter of status?
From what I understand, Rubian is also a mage of tremendous skill. Surely it’s because of all that complex knowledge crammed into that small head of hers.
To already possess the greatest power and yet crawl about here like the weakest of all….
‘Good grief.’
It was so absurd that I didn’t even know where to begin pointing it out.
“Hah, I think I can move now….”
Rubian, who had been sprawled out flat, slowly pushed herself up. Kalid quickly moved to stand behind her.
“That’s what you get for running too hard.”
“I was having fun….”
Rubian leaned against my shin as if it were a pillar, tilting her head back with a bright smile. The sight of that face sent a strange, faint dizziness through me.
“Runt! Where’s our little runt!”
Just then, a bull came charging through, kicking up clouds of dust in the distance.
“Grandfather’s made an invigorating drink! Eat it at once!”
Kalid let out a laugh.
Zebert Grandfather was fussing about, feeding Rubian a drink with bubbles rising up through it.
‘Well, she’s certainly being treated like royalty here.’
Fawning over someone who barely reaches his waist.
“Tsk, where’s Borbel!”
“W-we don’t need to call a doctor….”
“Run, Pax! Didn’t he collapse?”
“Pax didn’t collapse—he’s just exhausted and discouraged….”
I’d heard some things about Zebert Grandfather. Before Leviathan, that old man was said to be the strongest on the entire Continent.
‘They say he couldn’t even wait for the fuse to light and just threw it barehanded to make it explode….’
His eccentric personality had buried his true abilities.
Then Void Zebert approached, wiping Rubian’s forehead with a white handkerchief.
“Rubian, what are you trying to do? You couldn’t even complete one lap around the Training Ground.”
His hands moved busily even as he grumbled, never pausing. It seemed he’d been like this in the Dining Hall too.
Rubian bristled.
“I did two laps around the Mini Training Grounds!”
“That’s not even a quarter of a quarter of the size!”
“Ow, don’t hit the bones! That hurts!”
“What? Where exactly am I supposed to hit you then….”
The two bickered back and forth.
Kalid gazed down at Rubian’s round head from an angle.
Rubian never fought with anyone. He always wore that expression of indifference toward everything.
I had always hated that about him. He looked like someone perpetually prepared to leave at any moment.
In the end, it wasn’t entirely wrong—he had abandoned me and departed.
‘Come to think of it.’
It seemed the only time he showed any real reaction was when something involved Leviathan Zebert.
Had Rubian always wanted to come here?
“His Grace has arrived!”
And there he was—my grand entrance.
All this fuss over a mere exhaustion from running around the Training Grounds….
‘I’m ridiculous too, but.’
These people were being far too theatrical about it.
“Rubian.”
Leviathan Zebert appeared drenched in the scent of ink. His mere presence exuded considerable pressure. The knights stiffened visibly.
The alpha of beasts that had sauntered in without warning.
His attire looked more like something you’d see in a Mercenary Company than on a nobleman. Kalid knew all too well that such a person was the most dangerous.
‘That gaze… it’s quite lethal.’
Purple eyes swept across the surroundings in an instant. At the sharp, piercing gleam that flashed past, Kalid clicked his tongue in exasperation.
“Uncle!”
Rubian reached out without hesitation. In a heartbeat, the duke softened his expression and lifted him into a natural embrace.
“You hate anything difficult, yet why are you being so dramatic?”
“Right, what’s with that?”
“Look at your face. Pale as a ghost. Not cute at all.”
“I know!”
“What do you know.”
A soft touch brushed against Rubian’s nose, brimming with affection.
Kalid watched the scene quietly.
‘There’s no treasure quite like this.’
My precious little one.
So that’s why. The reason you’re here.
The Mage King and all that… you simply love this place.
Kalid found himself thinking it would be better if that were the case.
‘But it does make me a bit jealous.’
That you’re finding another pillar to lean on.
He tapped the legs supporting Rubian against the ground.
‘Still… it’s been a while since I’ve seen you smile.’
A princess’s knight must know his place.
The young boy stepped back, his expression turning slightly bitter.
That night.
After finishing his training, Kalid turned away just as he was about to enter the Knight Barracks, pausing briefly in contemplation.
He was heading toward the Main Fortress.
The brief conversation with Rubian earlier that day weighed on his mind.
“The number of tracking mages has increased.”
Kalid relayed the kingdom’s recent movements that he had gathered to Rubian.
“Don’t worry. It seems they’re still searching the Southern Region. The Empire’s territory is so vast that it will take them time.”
“But if they suddenly advance to the Northern Region, that would be a serious problem…”
“Well, strangely enough, the Babylon Imperial Court seems uncooperative too, and our misdirection is still working well for now.”
“Misdirection? Are you talking about your animal friends?”
“…Yeah, something like that.”
He had subtly manipulated the traces of escape so that the tracking mages could not easily follow Rubian’s movements. It was only a temporary measure, of course, but it was optimal for buying time.
‘Yet she still looked anxious despite what I said.’
The boy hesitated as he carefully pushed open the bedroom door with a soft creak.
“…What brings you here at this hour?”
There was a visitor in Rubian’s room.

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