The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 7

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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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Chapter 7
* * *
Wait, hold on.
What in the world is happening here?
“Stop it already.”
I was crouched at the edge of the road, clutching my aching stomach as I opened my eyes wide.
Had he finally grown tired of me?
It wasn’t him.
The one who cut me off, radiating a chill so palpable it seemed to freeze the very air….
The blue-haired knight standing beside him. Leon, his adjutant.
“Your Excellency hasn’t slept in days.”
Stern eyes fixed upon me.
On the carriage journey from the Capital to the Northern Region.
I was suffering terribly from carriage sickness.
Unable to endure the nausea from the unfamiliar carriage, I had bolted out for the third time. There was no way I could board it again.
“Sir… can’t I ride a horse instead?”
I had asked if I could ride a horse with him rather than take the carriage.
‘But he hasn’t slept because of me?’
Now that I thought about it, the dark circles under his eyes and his rough complexion…. Ah, it’s because of me.
I realized it too late.
While my body was ailing, my sleep schedule had been terribly irregular.
Yet at every moment, he remained by my side. Even when he left, it was only for the briefest of moments.
‘Because I disliked being attended to by others….’
A man of ducal standing had taken it upon himself to care for me. Without tending to his own needs.
“We’ve already stopped the carriage three times, and at this rate, we won’t make it in time….”
“Leon.”
He growled low.
“Where did you learn to speak without discretion?”
“My apologies, Your Excellency. However.”
“That’s enough. Step aside.”
“Ah, wait! Just a moment!”
Unable to bear the increasingly tense atmosphere, I hastily raised my hand.
“What.”
“The blue-haired gentleman is right! You really do need some rest.”
I wriggled in his arms, trying to escape from his embrace.
Huh? Why won’t this work? Normally I could jump right out with just a little movement.
“I don’t need rest.”
“Yes, you do. You’re exhausted!”
“Exhausted?”
He let out a scoff through his nose.
Yes, I understand. I understand. Of course, the continent’s greatest Sword Master must possess inexhaustible stamina and an unbreakable body and all that!
Regardless, quality sleep and proper meals are the foundation of a decent human life!
“Stop being stubborn and get some rest in the carriage. I’ll… Sir Leon!”
“…Me?”
“Yes! I want to go with you, Uncle. Give me a ride!”
“…What?”
For the first time, confusion flickered across the upright knight’s face.
“Ruby, just let me—”
Uncle’s arm tensed, but I firmly shook my head in refusal.
“There we go—the tired person sleeps inside, and the one who feels cooped up travels outside!”
I had reached a conclusion that made everyone happy.
* * *
“Ah, I feel alive.”
I breathed in the fresh air deeply from atop the horse, exposed to the open sky on all sides.
Of course, that happiness was remarkably short-lived.
‘Ugh… so hard… so uncomfortable.’
I shifted my body this way and that in front of the rigid knight, but I couldn’t find a comfortable position to save my life.
‘When I rode with Uncle, it was so comfortable.’
Comfortable didn’t even begin to describe it—I had fallen fast asleep.
But the discomfort wasn’t mine alone; Sir Leon also twisted and turned restlessly.
“…Is this right?”
A short sigh escaped from above my head.
“Is there somewhere uncomfortable for you?”
Everywhere from head to toe!
But I smiled and shook my head.
I didn’t have the audacity to complain about such rough riding conditions.
And…
The truth was, I wanted Sir Leon to think well of me.
‘Leviathan’s aide.’
Having read the original work, I knew better than anyone that his loyalty was genuine.
A comrade who shared life and death. A faithful retainer who would leap into the fires of hell itself for his lord.
Perhaps that’s why I didn’t mind if Sir Leon was a bit cold toward me. In truth, we were nothing more than fellow guardians of Leviathan.
“Why did you insist on following His Excellency?”
A deep voice continued from behind.
“Well… because it was you who picked me up.”
“If you’re hoping to become a foster child of the duchy and live comfortably, you’d better wake up from that dream.”
What kind of thing is he saying to a child like that?
Though, I’m not entirely a child anymore…
“Zebert is not the paradise you imagine it to be.”
A strict adherent to principle, cold and ruthless to the point of being called merciless—Sir Leon was the very epitome of knighthood itself.
One could tell just by looking at his uniform—not a single wrinkle, every crease perfectly sharp and defined.
‘Completely the opposite of that old man.’
The hero snoring away behind him had lost several Imperial medals, let alone his military uniform.
“Is the Northern Region really that harsh?”
“The Zebert Duchy was established by subjugating the land of magical beasts. It’s a place where those creatures constantly invade, desperate to reclaim their former habitat.”
“….”
“It means they’re at war year-round.”
I understood. Reading the original work, I’d thought it was a fitting background for the protagonist of a story titled 【A Sword Planted Upon Ruins】.
For reference, dark magical beasts are monsters created by dark mages, while magical beasts are monsters that arise naturally in the wild.
‘Magical beasts and dark magical beasts both.’
Suddenly imagining how difficult these ten years must have been for that old man, my mood darkened considerably.
“Say, Sir Leon.”
I deliberately pushed the thought aside and refocused on the conversation.
I felt his gaze bearing down on me from above.
“Do you wish I would leave?”
“Because a small and weak child like you would struggle to survive in such a place.”
If I read subtle kindness in those words, would I be overestimating him?
“I’ve heard that same thing plenty from that reckless old man earlier.”
“To speak so disrespectfully of His Excellency….”
“It won’t be a problem. Don’t worry.”
I spoke while staring straight ahead.
The endless Cliff stretched on as if it had no end.
But I knew. Someday this path would end, and so would everything else.
Humans were no different. With finite lifespans, only death awaited at the end.
But if I wanted to meet even a somewhat human-like end… was that too much to ask?
Not as a sacrifice to the Second War sparked by the resurrected dark mage.
‘Since I’ve survived this far anyway.’
Leviathan, Sir Leon, and I.
“Of course, I won’t let harm come to the master you serve either.”
“You….”
Taut tendons suddenly bulged across the back of Sir Leon’s hand gripping the reins.
That was the moment.
“Ugh.”
Sir Leon, who had been fine just moments before, suddenly wrapped his arms around his own shoulders and groaned.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“It’s… nothing.”
His arms were trembling violently for something that was supposedly nothing.
‘Could it be….’
I quickly raised my hand.
“This won’t do. I’m getting down! Hey! I’m dismounting right now!”
“Stop making a fuss and be quiet….”
Leon broke into a cold sweat as he tried to restrain me. What was this man thinking? What had he done to get himself into this state?
“What’s going on?”
The brief commotion caused the carriage to halt, and the man jumped out.
“Sir, Leon is hurt!”
“What?”
“His shoulder, the right one!”
The man naturally shifted me into his arms and frowned as he looked at Leon.
“Leon, hasn’t your wound fully healed?”
“No, sir. I’m fine.”
A brief silence fell at his deliberately composed voice. Soon the man exhaled a long sigh and brought the entire procession to a halt.
“Set up the Barracks. We’ll rest here.”
“General! I’m truly fine! We don’t have time to spare…!”
Leon acted as though some grave catastrophe had occurred.
The way he clenched his teeth seemed strangely anxious. Seeing that expression, my lips moved of their own accord.
“Sir Leon, you know what?”
“….”
“The war is over.”
Our eyes met. Only then did I hastily gather back the words I’d carelessly let slip.
“What I mean is… there’s no need to rush while enduring pain, is there? We’re not heading into battle, we’re….”
“….”
“Going home.”
Well, I suppose it’s someone else’s home for me….
In that instant, as if by magic, all the tension drained from Leon’s body.
“I see.”
The man, who had been listening quietly, stroked the top of my head.
“Furthermore, Leon, a soldier concealing his condition from his superior is a violation of military law.”
“That is….”
Leon, who had been fidgeting with the reins, bit his lip and lowered his head.
“…I apologize. My judgment was lacking.”
He obediently dismounted.
“Rest now.”
The man gave his broad back a couple of reassuring pats.
While Leon reflected on his actions, our nimble Zebert knights swiftly erected the Barracks.
I sat quietly on Leviathan’s thigh, watching the scene unfold.
“Huh?”
In that moment, something strange caught my eye.
“Ruby, what are you staring at so intently….”
“Oh!”
I crouched down in the corner of the Campsite.
The grass swaying in the breeze was something I hadn’t seen in far too long.
‘This is definitely Abelita Herb!’
A delicate pink flower peeked shyly through the gaps between jagged leaves. The soft azure aura enveloping it was the mana the plant itself emanated.
‘This is excellent for bruises and pain relief.’
I reached out toward the herb. I already knew the proper harvesting technique.
In that instant, my hand was suddenly knocked away.

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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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