Youngest 021
by CristaeEpisode 21
“Void!”
I barged straight into Void’s room.
“Wah! You scared me!”
Void was sitting at his desk, scribbling something.
“H-huh?”
Void hastily covered his notebook. A diary… or perhaps—
“Do you have a map in here?”
“A map?”
“Yeah!”
“Of course I do, but…”
Void rummaged through his shelves and soon produced a map of the territory. It was covered with markings for shops, amenities, lodgings, and more.
“Wow, thanks!”
“But why do you need a map?”
“Ah, the old duke said we’d be going out together tomorrow. I wanted to study up in advance.”
“Grand…father? Did you meet Grandfather?”
Void turned his head with a creak, like a broken machine.
“You look pale. What’s wrong?”
“Grandfather is… he’s a bit…”
“What? He seemed a little rough—no, rather, energetic, but—”
“He took Liam and me to the northern mountain in the middle of the night to train us…”
Aaaah. Void slumped over his desk, looking like someone revisited by a nightmare.
What could have happened on that mountain…?
Best not to ask. Some boxes should remain closed.
“Anyway, be careful.”
Void offered the advice with unusual earnestness, then turned back to his books.
“If you’re going to look at the map, just sit there. I’m not done studying yet…”
“But what were you writing so intently a moment ago?”
“Earlier? Ah, my diary.”
Void answered seriously.
I couldn’t help laughing. A diary! I thought all he ever plotted was card games!
“A diary? You’re more diligent than you look, Void.”
“…Don’t even think about peeking.”
Of course, being told not to only made me more curious.
As I edged closer, Void hugged his diary to his chest with both arms.
“But I think I saw my name—‘Ruby’—written on the page. What did you write?”
“Ah, I said don’t look!”
“Just tell me what you wrote!”
“I’m not telling you!”
“You wrote something bad!”
“No! I didn’t!”
“You did!”
“I didn’t… Fine, I did!”
“Wow. I’m going to read it, no matter what.”
Back and forth we bickered.
Evening deepened.
In the end, I never got a look at that diary.
I’ll have to try again next time…
“Ah, so soft.”
Late at night.
I dove into bed after a fresh bath. A clean body, a clean bed—perfect!
Hazel chuckled as she drew the curtains.
“You shouldn’t stay up so late.”
“Okay!”
“If you need anything, just pull the cord.”
“Got it! Good night, Hazel.”
“Eee…”
Unable to resist, Hazel hugged me tight. Hehe. A little awkward, but warm.
“You’re going out tomorrow, right? I’ll pack you a snack.”
“Thanks!”
Hazel left the room with a smile.
I lay down on sheets that smelled of sunlight and scanned the map.
After a while—
The firmly closed door creaked open.
“…What, why aren’t you asleep?”
Mister froze in mid-step, halfway into the room, then straightened his back.
He carried the same scent of spices that lingered in Void’s room; he must have stopped there first.
A father who comes home at dawn to check on the children—what a picture.
“I heard you said your stomach hurt?”
“Huh?”
“I was told you stayed in your room all day.”
Mister shut the door with a sharp click and walked over.
Ah, right. I had.
“Judging by your face, that’s not it.”
The bed dipped heavily as he sat down on one end.
“So, you’re upset then.”
He smoothed my forehead, grinning.
His loosely unbuttoned shirt still held the coolness of the outside air.
“Did someone bother you? Tell me.”
“No one really… Ah.”
Oops.
Suddenly I remembered what happened with the old duke. Now that I thought about it, I’d run out and that was that.
In truth, what was really bothering me was the news from Khalid about the Mage Kingdom, but I could hardly say that.
Instead, I brought up a decoy worry.
“Does the old duke dislike me?”
“Ah. Of course—a father.”
“If he keeps opposing me staying here, what do I do? Will you send me away?”
“Perhaps I should seal off the passage to the Northern Annex altogether.”
“Stop joking around.”
I playfully smacked Mister’s arm.
He brushed away the hair that clung to my forehead. His hand was rough and calloused.
“I told you, didn’t I? No one can force you to do anything you don’t want.”
“…”
“Do whatever you want. If you want to stay, stay.”
It was strange. Whenever Mister spoke like this, I found myself at a loss for words.
My toes kept twitching… My chest tickled to the point that I nearly sneezed.
I liked it when Mister spoke to me like this.
Gruff and blunt, yet with the care of someone handling something precious—it made my heart glow warmly.
But at the same time…
‘Somehow, I feel guilty.’
I was a liar.
I hadn’t told Mister a single truth.
If my secret were ever revealed… Would he still say these things to me?
The feeling in my chest now pricked, rather than tickled.
Leviathan listened to the servants’ reports as soon as he returned from the northern outpost.
Most of it was about Void and Rubian.
He peeked in on the sleeping Void, then went straight to Rubian’s room. He was uneasy about leaving her alone all day with that cantankerous old man.
Of course, Rubian was guarded by several capable maid mercenaries, and Sir Morris, the old duke’s aide, was no pushover.
In any case.
“What are you doing up? Why aren’t you asleep?”
He expected her to be in bed, but found Rubian sprawled atop it instead.
Clear eyes gazed at him.
And soon, a bright, welcoming smile bloomed.
‘She looks all right.’
He’d worried after hearing she’d rushed upstairs and holed up for some time that afternoon.
But he couldn’t let his guard down. Rubian was well practiced at hiding her feelings.
“Does the old duke dislike me? If he keeps wanting me gone, what do I do? Will you send me away?”
As expected, that old man.
Leviathan clenched his fist unnoticed.
Earlier, he’d seen the look on the old man’s face—smitten by Rubian already—yet still putting on a hard front.
That steel-willed stubbornness was the reason his first impression with Void and Liam had been so poor, souring their relationship even now…
‘Not that I should talk.’
Damn it. This is why home education is so important.
Leviathan brushed Rubian’s forehead as she looked up at him. Her warmth radiated to his fingers.
Her blue eyes wavered uncertainly, and it stoked his anxiety.
“I told you, didn’t I? No one can force you to do anything you don’t want. Do as you wish. If you want to stay, you can. If you wish to lea—”
He stopped there, biting his tongue on the words that almost escaped.
If she wanted to leave…
Would he let her?
…He supposed he would, if it was what Rubian truly wanted.
“….”
And yet, strangely, he couldn’t bring himself to say it outright.
If that soft, silvery hair that met his fingers were to vanish before his eyes—
He felt as though his heart had dropped to his feet with a heavy thud.
Whenever he looked at Rubian, impatience crept in.
It was like gazing at a mirage.
He kept fearing she’d suddenly leave him and disappear somewhere.
It was strange, really. She was the child who insisted on sticking close, following him all the way to the North.
“Mister?”
Her clear voice snapped him back to reality.
“Are you all right?”
She’d pushed herself halfway up, looking at him worriedly.