Youngest 057
by CristaeLeviathan sat with his arms crossed, a grave furrow between his brows.
Each night, like a promise, the voice of one he ached for returned to his mind.
“Levi! Don’t you notice anything different about me?”
It was one of the questions he most dreaded in all the world—right up there with his greatest fears. And no wonder: even when his girlfriend’s long hair had been cut short, he’d utterly failed to notice.
“I just thought… it was tied up as usual.”
That was the best excuse he could come up with.
Later, when Rosetta realized how amusing his clueless reactions were, she started changing things on purpose just to tease him—but Leviathan, of course, never caught on.
‘Why am I reminded of that now?’
He was unsure how to handle the mounting sense of crisis threatening to spill over in him.
For some reason, he remembered the cigarettes he’d quit.
“I’ll be off now.”
The count finished tidying up and made a hasty exit.
Leviathan, deep in thought, turned to Adolf, who had been standing quietly to the side.
“Still no word from Vorbel?”
“No.”
Seeing Leviathan’s dissatisfied frown, Adolf added,
“Don’t worry. I’ve given orders for any letter from Eosia to be delivered here at once.”
Leviathan nodded, idly turning his half-empty teacup.
“This is strange… I feel scared, for some reason.”
Adolf could hardly believe his ears. Never before had he heard Leviathan admit to fear.
Though his face remained composed, he asked,
“Of what, sir?”
“Just… when I look at that child, I get this inexplicable anxiety.”
That clumsy effort to call him ‘Dad’ was as moving as it was endearing.
But did he truly deserve to hear himself called father?
One day, Rubian had simply appeared and stayed by his side.
To him, it was a stroke of fortune like no other, and because of that, he feared she might vanish as suddenly as she had come, like a passing wind.
‘If I really were your father… would I feel this way?’
Leviathan had never felt the weight of his own inadequacy so keenly. Perhaps, he thought, parenthood was nothing less than time spent enduring repeated anxiety and self-reflection.
“All right, if I tie it like this… ta-da!”
Sortie was a marvel of ingenuity.
“Oh.”
I gave a brief murmur of admiration as I looked at the neat knot she had tied for me.
Since our first meeting in the drawing room, we had grown quite close.
Almost every day, the young lady visited the Count and the ducal estate.
The Zevert residence in Ipsen was always bustling with people.
The Mister’s schedule was so tightly packed with noble visitors that those reluctant to make the hazardous trip to Zelox instead flocked here.
Today was one of the busiest days of all.
“Lady Olson!”
Sortie rose from the bench and waved toward the garden entrance. I turned to see another girl in a lavish dress hurrying toward us.
“What, Olson?”
Next to me, Void paused in swinging his wooden sword at a shrub.
“You know her?”
“Yeah. She’s loud and a nuisance. Girls…”
“Hey, that’s mean. You should be kind to your friends.”
Void just snorted, tapping his wooden sword.
Sortie scampered over to greet the new arrival.
“How have you been? It’s been so long!”
“Yes, Titi, hello. And… Lord Zevert…”
The daughter of Count Olson ventured a shy greeting. A faint blush tinged her face as she glanced at Void.
“Hello. It’s been a while. …I just couldn’t wait until the academy opened again.”
“I… I never asked you to wait!”
Void, as always, stamped his foot in protest.
‘What is this? Could this be… that cliché?!’
Heart pounding with anticipation, I watched the bashful currents flow between the boy and girl.
Lady Olson approached with her hands behind her back, smiling.
“Do you remember what I said before the holidays?”
Gasp! What did she say before the holidays?
She stepped closer, still smiling gently. From behind her back, she produced— not a bouquet of confession—
—but a stiff demerit notebook.
“You broke the garden fence with that wooden sword, didn’t you? That’s five demerit points! Five!”
“What, you came to dock points?! So being the student council president is everything, is it?”
“A Lord of Zevert running away from demerits… how cowardly!”
“Argh! We’re not compatible! Not compatible at all!”
Void writhed in distress and scampered away.
“Phew, that was satisfying.”
Lady Olson dusted off her hands, turning away.
She approached Sortie with a proud smile.
“So, Titi, what are you up to here?”
“Oh! I was playing with Rubian.”
“Rubian…?”
Our eyes met. I couldn’t help but admire her.
‘Wow, two incredibly pretty girls…’
Lady Olson, with her long, wavy, honey-colored hair, and Lady Titi, her sky-blue hair in twin braids—dressed in finery and fragrant, the epitome of noble daughters.
‘They must have gone to the hot springs together.’
I was lost in random thoughts when Lady Olson approached and offered her hand.
“My father told me about you. I’m Olivia Olson of Count Olson’s family.”
So this was the student council president. She was every bit as competent-looking as I’d imagined.
I took her hand lightly.
“Yes, hello. I’m Rubian.”
“Hm. Not very much like a Zevert…”
Huh? What does that mean?
As I debated whether it was a compliment or an insult, Sortie leapt in.
“Right? She’s so round and small and soft, isn’t she?”
“Yes. Zevert’s new hope. A revolutionary development.”
I felt strangely as though I’d become a symbol of a new era.
“To think someone like you would become Void’s younger sibling… my deepest sympathies.”
“Ha ha.”
Olivia tilted her head with sincere regret.
Void, what on earth are you doing at the academy…?
“Hm? Liv, aren’t your condolences a little too casual?”
“Titi, let’s hope you can enroll at our academy as soon as possible.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll give you proper schooling. Of course, you’ll have to be a model student and follow all of our academy rules.”
“You really must like the academy.”
“It’s a marvelous place, filled with rules and demerits.”
Olivia smiled as she patted Sortie’s head.
“By the way, what a lovely bonnet. Is it new?”
“Yes, my mother bought it for me.”
“I bought a ribbon for the new term. All standardized—color and design, by the book.”
“Oh! Is it from the Harzen Boutique?”
“From Molib. Even Young Master Bolden goes there.”
“Wow, the one with such a keen fashion sense? I was there just recently myself…”
My vision spun as I listened to the volley of conversation between the two young ladies.
‘Somehow…’
There was no way to get a word in!
Now that I thought about it, it had been ages since I’d chatted with girls my own age.
“This could be a long conversation. Shall we go have some cake? I heard Jake’s Tea Salon just opened in Ipsen.”
“Wow! I’d love that!”
I started quietly slipping away.
“Hm? Lady Rubian, where are you going? I’d gladly take you, even if Void isn’t your cup of tea.”
“Hehe. I’m going to play with Void… I want to practice with the wooden sword, too…”
I made my excuses, turning away, and Sortie grabbed my sleeve.
“Ah, you haven’t finished showing me the knot yet!”
“Next time!”
Leaving the two girls blankly watching me, I left the garden.
I really didn’t feel like I belonged there…
I’d thought maybe living at the ducal estate had made me more of a normal kid after all.
I was wrong! The road to normalcy was much longer and rougher than I’d expected!
Back in my room, I sat quietly, practicing my knot-tying.
‘If I set a tiny barrier stone here, I could use it as a sword decoration, right?’
A proud smile came to my lips.
I planned to craft a small, portable ornament from the barrier stone on my windowsill.
It wouldn’t have the full power of a magical device, but, as it was a charged magestone, it would probably help in an emergency at least once.
‘Once the Verdant Festival ends, Dad will go out on the spring subjugation.’
Honestly, I wanted to go along, but of course there was no way he’d allow it. So this was all I could do.
“It’s still rough. More practice, again and again!”
The guests who had filled the mansion had now all ebbed away. Was Dad still buried under a mountain of paperwork?
“Poor man. Even on holiday, he has to work.”
Pitiful. Truly pitiful.
With a short sigh, I heard a knock, knock at the door.