Youngest 157
by CristaeEpisode 157
My lips moved soundlessly, but no words would come out.
“Zevert Duke…”
The Second, who held me like a hostage, growled.
“Let go of that hand.”
My father’s violet eyes flickered low. It was a terrifying expression I had never seen before.
A dark, black aura surged out, a murderous intent so intense it stung my skin.
Sensing danger instinctively, the high-ranking magical beast charged forward, breathing fire.
“Dad…!”
But before I could even finish my cry—
Boom.
“Hah…”
The massive creature’s body fell to the ground in two pieces.
A beast that would be hard to handle even for a whole unit of troops was felled before it could even breathe fire properly.
With just a single unsheathing of my father’s sword.
Step, step.
He continued forward.
“I told you to let go… That’s the second time I’ve said it.”
Somehow, his eyes seemed just a little out of focus, fixed only on the hand the Second used to hold me.
But though he had just sliced through a magical beast, he did not attack hastily.
‘He can’t move easily because I’m being held hostage.’
If this kept up, the Mage King might attack my father first.
I didn’t want that!
I struggled to get out of the Second’s grip.
“Let go. Let me go!”
Just as I was about to gather my magic to strike his hand away again—
Whoosh!
Something fast and sharp whistled through the air.
Thud!
“Gugh!”
The Second’s grip suddenly slackened.
Because of that, my body rolled across the ground, but with so many fallen leaves, the impact was minimal.
I quickly lifted my head.
An arrow pierced his slender shoulder.
‘That arrow shaft… Could it be—!’
“Huff…”
A little distance away, pink hair fluttered, and harsh breaths came loudly.
“Right now, my husband told you to let go of our daughter.”
Rosetta smiled coldly, drawing the bowstring taut once more.
“Why won’t you listen the first time? So rude…”
Another arrow cut through the air.
“…!”
Before I could even register where the arrow was aimed, someone grabbed me tightly.
“Hah.”
My father had flown like lightning. His large frame all but collapsed to the ground as he hurriedly pulled me into his arms.
“Thank god…”
His suppressed voice broke off in choked fragments.
“Thank god…”
Clutching his collar, I squeezed my eyes shut.
A rain of arrows fell.
The Second desperately cast defensive magic, but he was utterly overwhelmed.
“What a piece of trash…”
A slender back stepped forward to shield my father and me.
Even from behind, Rosetta’s ragged breaths and tense shoulders radiated fury.
“M-mom…!”
“Rubian. Are you hurt anywhere?”
Rosetta glanced back and smiled gently.
I sat on the ground, nestled in my father’s embrace, staring in a daze.
“N-no, but, Mom, how did you… No, when…”
“Your eyes are huge. So cute.”
“…”
“I came to give you a surprise, Rubian, but I was the one who got surprised instead. Anyway, don’t worry now.”
She turned her head back, fixing her eyes forward.
“Because Mom’s going to… get rid of that.”
“Huh?”
A large hand briefly covered my ears, so I missed what she said in the middle…
At that moment, the Second, who’d been lying flat on the ground, rose again.
“…Ha, you’ve really lost your minds.”
Blood dripped steadily from his limp shoulders.
“Mom? Dad? Do you really think that child could be just any ordinary kid?”
His greasy gaze darted to me.
In that instant, a chill ran down my spine like ice.
The Second gave a mocking smile.
“That one.”
“No…!”
“Is a mage.”
I even forgot to breathe.
“Family, the truth is… I’m a mage.”
This was a phrase I had practiced countless times.
When they discovered I was a girl,
I promised myself that I’d reveal the rest of my secret with my own mouth.
As soon as I escaped the Crest…
As soon as I shook off the tracker mage…
“But I’m different from the mages who brought misfortune on House Zevert!”
I planned to say it with dignity.
Nervous, but as composed as possible.
“Look. There’s not a single mark on my body. It’s proof I’ve distanced myself from that world.”
So please, don’t be unsettled by me. Don’t recall my dark past. Don’t be sad…
But now—
‘Why… Why can’t anything ever go as I wish…?’
Where did it all go wrong?
How did it end up like this?
All I’d tried to do was take care of the things I could.
‘The Crest, the trackers!’
If not that… what should I have done?
Once again, I faced an unavoidable reality.
I pressed my two trembling hands together.
Raising my leaden head, I looked up at my father’s profile.
His mouth was set in a hard, grim line, his eyes wide, fierce, and fixed straight ahead.
A low, black aura crawled from his shoulders like a shimmering haze.
My father was truly enraged.
“Do you really think you can handle that child?”
The Second grinned maniacally, delighted by my shell-shocked expression.
“She’s a seed of misfortune. A mage—just the kind you detest and loathe! Do you know how cunning she’s been up to now…!”
“Stop it!”
I couldn’t bear it anymore and shouted.
“Rubian.”
“Please… Stop.”
I rubbed my eyes roughly with my fists, smearing them with warm tears.
“Who are you to say that…?”
Did I not even get the chance to speak for myself?
“Who are you…?”
Each time tears leaked out, I scrubbed them away. When my eyelids turned red and swollen, my father muttered something and gently pressed my hands down.
A sudden wave of frustration and unbearable anxiety crashed over me.
Maybe… maybe it wasn’t too late. Even now, I couldn’t let this opportunity slip by.
“D-dad.”
I hurriedly wiped my tears and grabbed his collar.
His face, looking down at me, was strangely twisted in pain.
“I know it’s late, but the truth is, I…!”
My breath was a tangled mess.
Reality had turned out nothing like I’d imagined.
I wasn’t dignified, nor able to hide my trembling.
That I hadn’t purposely kept this hidden.
That I had planned to tell everything once I achieved my goal—how could I explain that without being misunderstood?
“So, I’m… from the Mage Kingdom, no—I’m a mage…!”
“Rubian.”
Once again, I was wrapped in a warm embrace.
Pat, pat.
As my back was gently rubbed, tears I had tried to hold back fell in droplet after droplet.
“Wait… There’s something I have to say… Something I must say, just once…”
“Yes. I’ll listen to anything you want. So calm down.”
He spoke in a soothing, gentle voice. My father pulled back slightly, gazing at me softly.
“I’ve always told you, haven’t I? In our family, you can do whatever you want.”
“…”
“That hasn’t changed.”
He carefully wiped the tears from my cheeks.
“Ruby, say what you want to say. Not what you feel you have to.”
I lifted my trembling eyes.
“The thing I want to say… to you, Dad… is that it?”
Drip. Drip.
Tears fell onto my clothes.
What I wanted to say. That was…
“Dad…”
My voice, half-choked with sobs, spilled out—ragged and disordered. In the brief instant our eyes met, my father seemed to sense my next words, and pulled me into a tight embrace.
Clinging to his sturdy neck like a lifeline, I wept.
“I’m scared…”
So please—
“Help me…”
It was a phrase I had held back for so long.
“Someone, please… help me.”
Maybe, ever since the battlefield, I’d always wanted to cry out like that.
I’m scared. It’s hard.
Someone, anyone, help me.
But… who?
This was my second life. Enduring everything alone was natural, and I had gotten used to it.
To protect myself was always my own job. That fact had been etched in my bones since my previous life.
But still…
If I’d asked for help sooner, could something have changed?
If I removed the Crest—
If I shook off the trackers…
Just, without hiding behind any conditions or accomplishments;
Because it was hard and difficult, I could have said, “Help me.”
Because it was scary and painful, I could have asked someone to hold my hand.
If I’d clung to someone like that—would that have been okay?
“…Of course, Ruby.”
A low voice answered me.
“Dad will help you with everything.”
Clench. The sound of a sword being gripped was chilling.
My father handed me to my mother and rose slowly.
A savage aura rippled from his immense, mountain-like back.