Youngest 208
by Cristae208
“By that logic… it seems the one I have is genuine, doesn’t it?”
With a slightly strange expression, Rubian said this.
“Because… to tell the truth, I tried a little test.”
“Oh, did you?”
“Yes. I tested it with someone who absolutely couldn’t be related by blood…”
“…”
“I’m sure of it.”
The princess stated it firmly.
So firmly, in fact, that Severena found herself doubting her own conclusions.
‘Did the king… bring several completed versions? Did they get mixed up?’
Severena gave a brief groan and took a sip of her drink.
‘…No, that can’t be. There was only one completed vial.’
Moreover, Severena had purposely put the final product in a glass bottle with the distinctive clicking cap. That was her own way of distinguishing it against tampering.
“Well, in any case… you gave it to me, so I’ll take it.”
With those words, the princess retrieved the potion Severena had handed her.
Her expression looked a little confused, but she hurried out onto the balcony so quickly that Severena couldn’t stop her.
‘Just who did she test it on?’
The question lingered, but Severena decided not to involve herself any further.
‘Well, I’ve handed over the real potion, so she’ll do as she sees fit.’
“Let’s go, Nova.”
Having drained her wineglass in the hall, Severena turned decisively away.
“You’re not going to stay for the ball? It’s supposed to be spectacular.”
“I’m busy. I have to clean up the king’s mess.”
“Aw.”
Unaware of the irreversible ripple she had sent across the tranquil lake, the princess left the banquet hall with a bright face.
Warm light bathed the hall; gentle music filled the air.
Noble guests, faces alight with pleasure, watched as the Duke Zevert and his daughter glided across the dance floor.
“They are such a lovely pair.”
The duke’s face, once as cold and harsh as the northern wind, now dripped with gentleness as sweet as honey.
It was an expression no one would have imagined before.
Eight years had passed since the end of the ten-year Human–Dark Beast War that shook the continent.
The hero finally seemed at peace within the shelter he had built for himself.
“The young lady dances so beautifully. She still looks so youthful, though.”
“I’ve heard rumor that, because she developed so slowly as a child, even the ducal household sometimes miscalculated her age.”
“My, is that so? …But isn’t the family’s box rather noisy?”
Attention began to shift toward the section where the Zevert family was gathered.
“Ah, the old lord looks as if he’s burning up.”
“The duchess seems to be warming up for something, too.”
“Why are the young gentlemen padding their feet? Is there to be a martial contest?”
“And… do families usually all take turns dancing one after another?”
At this pointed question, the nobles fell briefly silent.
“Well… There are always some families that are a bit… eccentric.”
As always, the Zevert family was the very pinnacle of such eccentricity.
The music surged toward its climax.
Meanwhile, Leviathan stared hard at the round curve of Rubian’s forehead.
“Turn around.”
At his words, Rubian spun.
‘See?’
There was something wrong, here.
Her dance flowed like water. Not a single movement was out of place.
‘She doesn’t even step on my foot once.’
Rubian was dancing far too well.
“Are you… feeling ill?”
“Huh?”
Leviathan leaned low to whisper in her ear. Rubian, who had been absentminded, finally showed a flicker in her eyes.
“If not, then you’re hiding something from me.”
“No… I’m not?”
The answer came instantly.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Rubian, chewing her lip, looked up at him cautiously.
“Dad,”
“Yes?”
“Could we talk… a bit later—”
“Sure.”
“—No, no, never mind. Whoa!”
Their steps tangled and Leviathan deftly lifted Rubian to set her back on the floor. A soft gasp of amazement rippled from the surrounding onlookers.
Inwardly, Leviathan clicked his tongue. It had been ages since he’d picked his daughter up, and she felt so light he could hardly believe she’d changed since childhood.
‘How can she still feel so tiny?’
There was no way he could just settle her on his knee and feed her meat or cake anymore.
These thoughts left Leviathan oddly melancholic.
“Dad, are you glad I’m your daughter?”
After a long pause, Rubian asked this.
“Of course.”
“More than…?”
Her words were drowned out by the music.
“What was that?” Leviathan asked a beat late, and Rubian just shook her head with a smile.
“It’s nothing. You know, Dad—”
The girl squeezed the hem of his garment tight.
Just like the first time they’d met. Her face tinged with urgency.
“The best thing I ever did was use everything I had to escape that battlefield and come to you.”
Rubian pressed her round head against his chest.
“Thank you for bringing me home. And thank you for raising me until I turned eighteen. I mean it.”
Those bright blue eyes looked up at him.
For a moment, Leviathan was at a loss for words.
When they first met in that ruined village, he’d felt much the same looking into those eyes—a sense of loss, as if his heart had dropped.
Now, however, he understood.
It was not loss, but an irresistible surge of affection. An unconscious greeting to a precious presence.
There had been fear, excitement, anticipation—the knowledge that this child, who had come upon him like a storm, might someday overturn his whole life.
A tangle of all those emotions.
“I’m grateful too, my daughter.”
Leviathan pressed a kiss to Rubian’s forehead.
“Happy birthday, my jewel.”
And that was why he thought he must have misheard her.
“Dad, are you glad I’m your daughter?”
“Of course.”
“More than… the child from the mausoleum?”
He didn’t believe for a moment that Rubian, who had just thanked him, would suddenly bring up such a thing.
His gaze darkened, heavy as lead.
“You’re grinning wide after that dance, but what’s with your face?”
The emperor had approached and addressed him.
Leviathan kept his eyes fixed ahead as he sipped the red wine. Rubian, meanwhile, was now holding hands with Rosetta and dancing warmly across the floor.
“I’m wrestling with something.”
“Wrestling?”
Whether or not to keep pressing.
Rubian was hiding something from him. But when it came down to it, it wasn’t unusual for a grown daughter to have a few secrets of her own.
Of course, a parent’s dearest wish would be for a child to have nothing to hide—but he knew.
That was only his own hope and selfishness.
A child was not private property.
“By the way, Duke, is all well at home?”
“…”
Leviathan cast a guarded glance at the emperor.
The intent behind the snake-like remark was obvious.
‘He must know Ruby sent that letter at dawn.’
He’d probably pieced together Rubian’s identity and learned that the fugitive mage was imprisoned at the estate, and was fishing for information.
“As you see.”
Leviathan nodded toward the center of the hall with feigned calm.
Rubian was now being spun around the floor in Balok’s hands like a paper doll.
“If there were anything to report, I would have brought it to you. As for the rest, I’ll handle it—so you needn’t worry yourself.”
The emperor let out a deep sigh.
He knew well that Leviathan was excessively defensive when it came to the princess or any matters regarding the Mage Kingdom.
“I have no intention of using the princess’s identity for my own ends.”
“Do you, now?”
Leviathan twisted his lips into a smile.
“What insolence. You really do see me as some heartless monster, Duke.”
Violet eyes met the emperor’s gaze, sharp and frosted with coldness.
“Isn’t that so?”
“…”
The emperor was momentarily struck speechless.
At that instant, he saw Licht standing at the entrance on the far side of the hall, just behind the duke.
And that was the reason Duke Zevert would never truly trust the emperor.
The emperor gave a rueful smile.
“Yes, I suppose you’d have reason to think so. Very well. Then allow me to put it this way: the princess approached me, offering a bargain to protect herself and the Zevert household. I accepted that proposal. And as an emperor, I am a man who keeps the promises I make.”
He knew.
That was why he had not obstructed Rubian.
The emperor had judged that protecting Rubian served his own interests. That was enough.
“So now, Duke, cooperate with me as well. Soon, an expedition will set out for the Mage Kingdom. I believe you understand what that means better than anyone.”
Leviathan did not answer. But his silence spoke well enough in reply to the venture.
After a long pause, the emperor’s face wore a trace of regret as he spoke.
“And Duke—”
“…”
“It may sound strange coming from me… but even someone like myself can change. Just as you have.”
His eyes looked worn, weathered by time.
Leviathan regarded him impassively and lifted his cup to his lips.
The banquet went on.
Balok, sweeping across the floor with gusto, said something mischievous into Rubian’s ear—no doubt teasing his granddaughter again. Rubian blustered crossly, then suddenly burst into giggles.
‘Still… I’ll have to ask her again, just to be sure.’
An unpleasant tension fluttered in his chest. The blood cooled as it ran to his head, and every nerve stood alert, like an animal sensing danger.
He recognized the feeling. The onset of trouble, that hard-to-shake sign of impending disaster.
He was just lifting a fresh glass, frowning deeply, when—