Youngest 192

192
“Wow, you’re really big. I mean—”

Rubian murmured, tugging at the oversized jacket.

“It feels like I’m wearing Dad’s. But why did you come?”

She sat on the large sofa and asked. Kal pulled over a blanket and wrapped it around her before finally allowing himself to breathe.

“I didn’t think you’d be asleep.”

“Ah… I’m busy.”

Rubian glanced toward the table.

It was cluttered with formulas and all manner of books. It didn’t look as if she had any intention of sleeping at all.

When did this start?

When did she begin spending these long nights alone, like this…?

As he realized, Kal felt a wave of dizziness.

“This is why you get nosebleeds.”

He spoke.

“It’s not that. I’m really busy…”

“What’s forcing you to push yourself this hard?”

Khalid waited patiently.

Rubian fiddled with her fingers for a long moment, hesitating before finally speaking up.

“Actually… I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Okay.”

Kal found himself wanting to kneel down in front of Rubian and take her hands in his.

“So… I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Sir Delmon died. You remember him? The mister you fought during the recruitment test…”

“I know.”

“Experiencing someone’s death has made me anxious.”

Rubian spoke bravely.

“The Mage Kingdom is beginning to move. So I want to gather the epitaph formulas and go defeat the Mage King as quickly as possible, but it’s not going well…”

Why am I so slow and clumsy? Rubian chided herself.

“If the formula you brought isn’t the answer, then I’m going to visit the memorial in Zelox. If that doesn’t work, however overwhelming it feels, I’ll just have to start over from the beginning. I don’t know if I’ll do any better, but that seems better than doing nothing…”

“Wait, Rubian.”

Kal interrupted, and Rubian frowned.

“Why? I’m talking—”

“Why are you crying?”

“I’m not—”

But as Rubian blinked, a tear dropped from her eye.

With her white hand, she touched her cheek, confused.

“Oh?”

Unable to restrain himself any longer, Khalid lowered himself in front of Rubian, who sat on the sofa.

“What are you so worried about?”

Once again, Rubian fell silent for a long time.

“…You know, Kal.”

Her voice came out hoarse.

“I went to the funeral.”

“I know. I heard.”

“The stone coffin was so cold and big. Delmon was lying inside… Seeing that, it just made it hard to breathe.”

The coffin had been filled with special anti-decay magic tools, prepared by Leviathan himself.

It was the Babylonian way to preserve a body intact for as long as possible.

Even so—

“A corpse… is a corpse. No one who dies looks just like they’re sleeping. It looked like a wax figure made to resemble someone I once knew. It was so unfamiliar and frightening…”

Rubian raised her head. Thick tears fell.

“What if that happens to Dad?”

“Ruby.”

“What if Mom ends up lying there? Or you? My brothers, Grandpa…”

“Rubian, calm down.”

“Because of me.”

Rubian vigorously wiped the flowing tears with her palms and the backs of her hands.

“If coming here after Dad means he’s suffering for my sake, putting himself through hardship he didn’t have to…”

All the fears she’d been piling up burst out at once, like a broken dam.

As Rubian unburdened all she had held back, she wept bitterly.

Khalid, with nothing else he could do, hesitantly rose and gently embraced her.

“If I just went to the Mage King, wouldn’t that be easiest? If I did, maybe Sir Delmon wouldn’t have died.”

All the guilt she’d tried to hide emerged.

“I can’t tell Dad or Mom. I know they’d just worry… But, Kal.”

“Ruby.”

“I’m scared. I used to be afraid because I had nothing to hold. Now I’m afraid because I have too much. That’s what scares me.”

Her small, hot body heaved in his arms, shedding endless tears.

Khalid gently patted her back.

How much time passed like that?

“Are you done crying?”

Kal offered her a handkerchief. Rubian blew her nose loudly and rubbed her face into it.

“Mmh. I feel better.”

Her eyes and nose were red and swollen.

With genuine sympathy, Khalid looked at her small face and then handed her some cold water.

“So…”

He waited while Rubian drank, then took back the empty cup and spoke.

“Do you need feedback on every sentence?”

“You think you’re a red-pen teacher or something…?”

What did that mean?

As he pondered, Rubian replied in a muffled voice, after a pause.

“…No.”

Hnnng.

She sniffled hard again.

“I know… it’s not my fault.”

She just hadn’t had an opportunity to unravel the black, tangled knots inside her.

Saying all the things that had been floating around in her head made her feel lighter. After pouring out all those tears, it was as if the dark feelings had washed away.

“Even if I hadn’t been here, Dad would’ve stood against Mage Kingdom because of the child soldier problem, and the result would’ve been the same.”

With Mage Kingdom as the enemy, this situation wasn’t something that could be said to be entirely Rubian’s fault.

“That’s right.”

Khalid gently swept Rubian’s hair back and spoke softly.

“What happened, had to happen. None of it is your fault.”

“Yeah…”

“As for Sir Delmon, it’s a shame, but it wasn’t because of you. He died trying to save people, as he believed was right. To think it was your fault might actually be an insult to him.”

“You’re right.”

Rubian took a deep breath.

At some point, the two of them were pressed close together. She drew away, letting out a short laugh.

“Now that I’ve said it out loud, I feel better. It was all stuffed in here, making me miserable.”

She rubbed her sternum in circles.

“Thank you, Kal.”

Her small voice continued. Khalid, smiling faintly, then put on a serious face and gently scolded her.

“Now you’ll sleep, right? This wasn’t your fault. You don’t need to keep working so hard as if atoning for it.”

“…I will. My eyes are sore from crying, anyway.”

Seeing her smiling so brightly, Khalid’s mouth felt suddenly dry. With a little sigh, Rubian straightened up and busied herself clearing the table.

Left with an empty sense of loss, Khalid looked down at his hands, then froze.

‘Come to think of it…’

Wasn’t this the first time?

Touch, not for the sake of mana.

As the realization dawned, unfamiliar sensations rushed in like a wave.

‘She was warm.’

Soft and gentle—and now that he thought about it, she smelled incredibly sweet.

Unconsciously, he licked his lower lip. Eyes only, he followed Rubian’s movements as she bustled near the fireplace.

The low flicker of flames.

Fire seemed to have settled inside him, and Kal found himself thinking, without realizing it—

‘A little more…’

Couldn’t he touch her again?

Not just hands… something different…

Suddenly, he shot to his feet.

“I—I’ll go now.”

“What? Hey! Your jacket—!”

With a slam, he darted out and closed the door, cutting off Rubian’s clear voice.

“Hell,”

Leaning against the door, Kal let out a rough breath.

Despite the cold air, his blood raged hot through his body.

---

The next evening.

On the festival’s final day, a fireworks display was planned using magical fireworks devices.

Father had given me permission to go see them with Khalid! Hooray!

‘Dad’s eyes looked so haggard after dealing with the king…’

Poor Dad.

I’ll cheer him up later.

As we walked through the crowded streets, fireworks were already bursting in the distance.

“Fireworks!”

People rushed toward the square, and Kal turned to shield me as I was nearly swept away by the throng.

“So many people. Be careful.”

That broad shadow wrapped around me.

The touch of his hand on my back, gently drawing me close, left me breathless.

‘Yesterday, too…’

Yesterday he’d held me like that.

Thump, thump, thump.

Something was racing—it was my heart.

‘Thanks to him, I slept well last night.’

Maybe it was nothing to some people, but the anxiety had been weighing subtly, relentlessly on me.

Letting it all out and having a good cry in front of Khalid made me feel so much lighter.

Maybe that was what I’d needed—a chance to be honest about how I felt.

“Want to head toward the square?”

Khalid asked in a languid voice. As I looked up into his sleepy eyes, I nodded as if in a trance.

“So crowded, huh?”

“It must be because it’s the final night.”

“Ohh…”

Together, we walked amidst the noisy crowd. After a while, I found myself gently biting my lower lip.

‘The backs of our hands…’

It seemed like they kept brushing.

I wiggled my fingers self-consciously, tickled by the sensation, when—

“…Ruby, mana.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you need mana?”

His voice was slightly husky as he asked.

‘I got it yesterday…’

But for some reason, I didn’t want to say that. Or maybe coming out into such a crowd had made me tired?

“I do—”

“You need it.”

Before I could finish, he grabbed my hand.

‘…But nothing’s happening?’

Just as I thought that, a soft, gentle blue mana began wafting in—like some kind of buffer.

“Don’t say you don’t need it.”

“I was going to say I did.”

“Oh…”

For once, Khalid looked a bit flustered.

He turned his head awkwardly, and his earlobes were tinged red. I relaxed, smiling at the rare boyish look.

‘…Even his neck is all red.’

Bang! Bang!

Was it just the glow of the fireworks?

‘If I bit him, would strawberry juice come out?’

I giggled to myself.

But then I froze.

“Thing is, I wanted to bite your father,”

Why was Mom’s voice… surfacing now?

“Raaawr! And then I realized, it was love.”