The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 86

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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 86
“….”
“Kalid? What are you doing? What’s wrong?”
Rubian tilted her head in confusion.
“Hello?”
The girl dashed over and waved her palm frantically in front of the young boy’s eyes.
Kalid had been frozen for so long that he seemed on the verge of weathering away entirely.
When Rubian shook his shoulder, his grayish-blue eyes barely moved, fumbling across her face.
“Oh.”
The moment Kalid’s eyes reflected her image, Rubian finally understood why he had gone rigid.
‘So I really am strange! He’s completely frozen too!’
The child pressed her lips together and took a step backward. Both cheeks puffed out slightly.
“…You can laugh if you want.”
“…Cry?”
“No, why would you cry?”
“I don’t know, I just feel like crying….”
Kalid buried his face in both hands. Rubian’s eyes widened—she had never heard him say he wanted to cry before.
“What?! Who’s been bothering you? Who is it!”
“You…seem to be.”
“Huh?”
“When I look at you, my heart feels like it’s being squeezed so hard….”
Before he could finish, Kalid clutched his left chest and collapsed to the ground.
“Kalid!”
Rubian gasped and sat down across from him.
“…Am I breathing right now?”
“Yes! You’re breathing really well! So if you just hold onto your senses, it should be fine!”
“That’s impossible….”
“Mom, my friend is broken!”
In the end, it was a cry for help.
As Rubian turned around, Rosetta, who had been watching from behind while stifling her laughter, let out a soft cough. Ahem, ahem.
“Hmm. It’s more severe than I expected.”
As she approached, Kalid lifted his trembling eyes. Rosetta leaned close to the boy’s ear and whispered playfully.
“Rubian is absolutely adorable, isn’t she? Right, Kalid?”
Kalid flushed all the way to the crown of his head.
“D… D.”
A lethal dose. Complete knockout.
“Ka-a-a-alid! Did you just say ‘death’? You just said ‘death’, didn’t you?”
Rubian circled around the hunched-over Kalid with both arms raised high, like a colt with its tail on fire.
“My friend is in mortal danger! What do I do?!”
Suddenly, the door burst wide open.
“You’re late. Why isn’t everyone coming down….”
Leviathan and the other men of the Sickerman household streamed in noisily.
Rubian turned her head sharply, as if she’d been waiting for this moment.
“Father! Grandfather! Older brothers! My friend won’t move!”
“Rubian, you….”
“….”
“….”
“What! Again! Why!”
“Ah, my heart.”
Perhaps it was from that moment onward.
That the members of the Zebert Duchy began complaining of inexplicable chest pains….
* * *
Ipson Church boasted a scale just as grand and magnificent as the great cathedral in the Capital. All the large and small events overseen by the Northern Region took place here.
From morning onward, ornate carriages lined up outside Ipson Church. They were the carriages of nobility who had arrived from across the entire Empire.
The great hall was packed with people.
Their interest was singular.
“Is it true that the Zebert Duchy will attend today’s New Leaf Festival prayer service?”
A noblewoman whispered, her fan concealing her lips.
The front row of seats in the straight-lined chapel sat empty. They had journeyed all the way to the distant Northern Region to see those who would occupy those seats of honor.
“How many years has it been….”
A nobleman replied, stroking his mustache.
“I hear the Duke himself will attend, and even the Old Master.”
“Is that so? What on earth is the occasion?”
“From what I’ve heard… they’ve apparently adopted a new child.”
Another noblewoman, her curiosity piqued, interjected.
“Really?”
“Yes. The rumor is that the child is from the Southern Region, but the bloodline is uncertain.”
Oh dear, oh dear.
Soft sighs escaped from various corners.
“Perhaps the Duchy meant to demonstrate their compassion as a magnanimous house? But it seems they may have been overly ambitious….”
“Exactly. At least Liam and Void have collateral blood running through them. What could that child possibly have to offer.”
The whispers grew louder.
Then, a Marquess’s wife sitting quietly in the second row with her eyes closed turned around with a gentle smile.
“Everyone, such commotion is unseemly in a chapel.”
“Ah, forgive us. Lady Everly….”
The Marquess’s wife, smiling enchantingly, turned back, but then seemed to recall something and added.
“From what I’ve heard, that child….”
Her ornate fan slightly concealed her lips.
“Is said to be extremely small and frail. I wonder if such a child could possibly survive within that austere Zebert Duchy.”
Ah, indeed.
Understanding dawned across the faces of the assembled crowd.
Surviving the harsh Northern Region was no trivial feat—most were grateful simply to hear the cries of magical beasts and flee. And now, with ‘that’ Grandfather and ‘that’ Duke, the stakes felt impossibly high.
“I merely pray that today, the Duke of Zebert spares himself from great embarrassment.”
The Duchess, having spoken with such grace, turned her head once more and clasped her hands in prayer.
Even if the child had somehow adapted to the harsh Northern Region, she was surely unfamiliar with the intricacies of noble society.
‘Heavens, let us hope this overwhelming attention doesn’t reduce her to tears.’
Oh, Goddess, watch over us.
The Duchess’s crimson lips curved upward in a subtle smile.
In that moment, a commotion erupted from the church’s main entrance.
Shortly after, the Gatekeeper, his voice booming with ceremony, cried out:
“The Duke of Zebert arrives!”
As if on cue, every head in the chapel swiveled, and the heavy doors of the sanctuary creaked open slowly.
“….”
A rush of fresh air swept through the interior.
Silhouetted against the brilliant sunlight, the Duke appeared momentarily as a colossal shadow.
Thud, thud.
As his measured footsteps echoed across the marble floor, the chandelier’s light finally revealed the man’s true form.
“….”
“That’s….”
The Duke, cradling something pristine and white in his arms.
No, wait.
That wasn’t a doll, but rather….
“Wow, there are so many people here. I think we’re late.”
A small child.
The child hesitated slightly and nestled into the Duke’s arms. When he playfully swung his arm, she glared at him sharply and clung even tighter.
“Put me down.”
“Not unless you stop hiding.”
“But… are there always this many people?”
“I haven’t been here in so long, I’m not sure myself.”
His indifferent reply drifted through the chapel.
The more the Duke conversed with the child, the softer his piercing gaze became.
Who is that… ? What is this gentleness?
The thought echoed through every mind fixed upon the Duke of Zebert.
“Duke, why are you like that? You can’t just do only what you want.”
“And you can’t keep leaving out vegetables you dislike. You did the same this morning.”
“But I’m a child, so it’s fine.”
“That’s precisely why it’s not fine.”
“Ugh, you’re always teasing me!”
The voices of the two echoed softly through the vast chapel.
The Duke, his expression stern, gently poked the child’s cheek.
“I told you not to make those whining sounds at your father.”
“Whimper.”
“That’s cute, so it passes.”
A face beaming with satisfaction.
Who exactly are you?
People stared at the father and daughter heading toward the front pews of the chapel with vacant expressions.
‘But… why did the Duchess cover her face?’
The Duchess, her nose and mouth concealed beneath pale blue fabric, possessed an air of mystery and an undeniable allure because of it.
Was it some political statement in her attire? An intentional provocation to draw attention and curiosity?
Crash.
In that instant, half the chapel door flew away. The swirling thoughts scattered like clouds before a tempest.
“My, Father. Your punch has grown even more powerful.”
“This much is nothing.”
Ballock strode forward with confident steps. The elderly man, who had supposedly secluded himself for years due to injury, appeared far more vigorous than before, save for the silver streaking his hair.
“What are you gawking at? Act as though you’ve never seen a door broken before.”
That temperament of his was equally…
“There we go. Surprised, aren’t you, Gatekeeper?”
The Duchess fitted the broken door back into place with a bright laugh. The Gatekeeper, his jaw hanging slack in shock, could only blink.
“Ah. You’re grateful I lightened your workload? Don’t mention it.”
The flower of high society, concealing her thorns, whispered sweetly before gliding away with delicate steps.
“Little one, Grandfather’s here! The carriage was so slow I nearly got sick. Come now, enough of that. You haven’t even finished braiding half your beard, have you?”
Ballock rushed to the front row and reached toward Rubian, but Leviathan swiftly pulled her to his other side.
Of course, they were not the only ones.
“Rubian! Why haven’t you read my diary? I gave you the key!”
The second prince, arriving in magnificent attire.
“Little fairy of the house, my tome of demons has no lock. Just as the divine exists, it is always open to you…”
The first prince, who had also finished dressing and entered.
“Wow, Liam. What does that mean? That’s kind of cool.”
“I know. They said it was some kind of serious illness…”
“Doesn’t it feel like something’s missing in the middle?”
People ceased their attempts at judgment.
The chapel, once silent, erupted into chaos in an instant.
Whether the formidable reputation of the Duchy—said to make even birds fall from the sky—stemmed from their overwhelming authority or simply from the deafening noise that seemed to pierce the heavens, confusion began to settle in.
“Everyone…”
A small voice, fading like a whisper, emerged.
It was the youngest of the household, who had been burying her face in her hands since earlier.
The trembling child, unable to endure any longer, let out a cry.
“This is a public place! You need to be quiet! Hush!”
Silence.
As if by magic, the noise stopped abruptly.

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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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