Youngest 028
by Cristae28화
Ch.4
‘Humming…?’
Morris Lilton, former vice-captain of the Zevert Knights and now the butler of the Northern Annex, frowned at several days of the old lord’s odd behavior.
“Heh heh hmm.”
Because Balok Zevert—the very same who could make even crows drop from the sky by sheer force of spirit—was humming a tune since morning.
Good heavens, he’s even wiggling his hips.
‘Strangely, his leg seems to have gotten better.’
Morris quietly set down the tea on the table.
‘Was it really Lady Rubian’s ointment that worked?’
If so, that was nothing short of remarkable.
“Your Excellency, what are you doing? So early in the morning.”
“Mm. Making new designs.”
His voice sounded, somehow, uncharacteristically gentle.
“Designs? Are you making a new sword?”
“That’s right. I should give each little rascal a present.”
Second rascal, and the youngest rascal~
Balok’s humming reached its peak.
“Ah, yes.”
The Zeverts are a knightly family. It was a common thing for the head of a family to gift a sword to a child.
“I’ll even engrave names into the hilts… Hm?”
Balok’s hand, which had been gliding along without pause, suddenly halted.
“What’s the matter?”
“Come to think of it, the youngest rascal…”
A deep crease formed between his brows. The pen was stuck at “Rubian.”
“Did she take the Zevert name?”
Balok stormed off straight to his son’s office.
“The adoption isn’t finalized yet.”
Boom. Behind Balok, it was as if thunder and lightning had crashed down.
“What…was that…?”
His huge body swayed as if it might fall.
“Rubian’s not going to stay here for good?”
“No. Adoption’s not an easy thing, you know. Ruby’s wishes matter too… Are you alright?”
“I am not alright!”
Balok bellowed.
Leviathan pinched the bridge of his nose, looking tired. He’d explained it all in his letter when taking the child from the capital.
‘He only hears what he wants to hear, as always.’
With a sigh, Leviathan set aside the documents he’d been reading.
“The thought of losing that little thing… Ah, I need a moment.”
Balok, pressing a hand to his nose, looked up at the ceiling. Leviathan was at a loss.
“Since when did you welcome Rubian so much? At first, you were frantic trying to throw her out.”
“I don’t remember that!”
Sure you don’t.
“Do you realize how adorable she is?! When she comes running all the way down the hall shouting, ‘Grandpa!’—ten years of indigestion just melt away…”
“You never have indigestion.”
“You are a truly world-class ingrate with your mouth.”
The old man grumbled, sinking onto the nearest sofa.
“Rose will be back soon, won’t she?”
Leviathan glanced at the letter from his wife atop his desk.
“Yes. She should arrive in about two weeks.”
She was traveling with Liam, and she’d written not to rush, considering Rose’s condition.
But yes, in two weeks they should arrive. The thought of seeing his wife again after so long made his hands tingle for some reason.
Balok released a long sigh.
“When Rose is back, talk it over with her. Properly! Carefully! And speak with Rubian too. Hm?!”
“Of course I will.”
Leviathan answered emphatically, but Balok still looked unsatisfied.
“Do not, under any circumstances, let that child go. Do you understand? Absolutely not!”
“That isn’t something I can force, no matter what. Father, you’re always putting Ruby on edge. Always loitering about near her…”
“Loitering?!”
Just then, there was a small knock.
The old man, who had been raging, stood up reflexively.
“Ah, it’s time.”
“Time?”
“My little rascal needs to put my patch on my knee.”
Balok, freshly animated, hurried out of the office. Left alone, Leviathan shook his head in disbelief.
Really, he’s impossible.
And Rubian, she certainly appeases that cantankerous old man with skill.
Leviathan turned back to his paperwork.
But something felt off. Not a single line of the densely written text would register in his mind.
Clatter—a pen dropped from his fingers.
His keen eyes stared into empty space.
“…She comes running, calling him Grandpa?”
The imagined scene…
Why does my stomach turn at the thought?
“Hoo.”
Satisfied, I wiped my forehead.
Between lunch and dinner was my free time. I used it to infuse mana into the magic stones.
Hazel was busy helping out in the estate at this hour, and Void was tied up with swordsmanship lessons. Mister, well, is never not busy.
‘Grandpa… He seems to be especially busy these days, too.’
Making new weapon schematics, or something like that.
At any rate, for once, I had peace—a rare time with no one to bother me, so I could work on refining the magic stones.
The activated stones pulsed with transparent mana.
Of course, those who couldn’t read mana wouldn’t see it.
‘Now I just need to mount this into a proper device.’
This stone was called a ‘barrier stone,’ and since I’d activated its powers with my own mana, naturally it could manifest some degree of barrier effect on its own.
But that was a one-dimensional effect—nothing more than a raw ingredient.
It’s like the difference between an ingredient and a finished dish.
An ingredient can be eaten as it is, but when processed with the right recipe, it becomes tastier and more effective.
‘What I want is a powerful shield to protect this place for a long, long time. Something that alerts me to intruders and can stave them off, at least temporarily.’
I turned to face the mirror.
Using Wizeria’s wisdom, frantic red light whirled in my eyes.
Thankfully, this place—Zelox—was a land imbued with mana.
So if I linked the ambient mana and the energy inherent in the barrier stone to a magic circle, the spell would maintain itself even without me constantly feeding it mana.
Unless something happened to the castle walls or the device itself.
‘I’ve already designed the magic circle.’
The problem was…
“It’s hard to choose what tool or location to embed this stone into.”
I stared at the purple stones on the floor, sinking deep into thought.
“Hmm. If only I could at least scout out the perimeter…”
Maybe I’d get a hint by checking the walls.
‘But it’d be odd for me to suddenly start inspecting the castle’s defenses…’
I buried my face in the sofa, fretting.
Knock, knock.
Just then, a knock sounded.
“Ruby.”
It was Mister.
“J-just a moment!”
I leapt up and tidied away the stones. No one would realize what they were—just fancy rocks—but still, just in case.
‘Ah, my eyes—’
The red light was fading to pale pink. Blink, blink. Why won’t it disappear faster?
“Ruby?”
Mister called again from outside.
Once my eyes had fully turned blue again, I opened the door.
“What were you doing, taking so long to open… Wait, your eyes are red.”
Huh? No way!
“What were you focusing on so hard that your eyes got bloodshot?”
“I guess I was reading too much.”
Phew, that startled me.
What Mister meant was that my eyes were bloodshot. I was pricked by my own conscience for nothing.
“So, what’s up?”
I munched on a plain butter cookie as I asked.
Mister, as always, had brought a heap of sweet desserts and was dispatching them personally.
“Do I need a reason to have snacks with you?”
He looked straight at me.
Huh? Somehow he seemed a bit… prickly.
No, not prickly—more like…
‘Sulky?’
I shook my head in disbelief.
Why would Mister ever sulk like a child?
“It’s not that I’m complaining. Well, it is your house. You can do as you please.”
“…Ruby.”
“Yes?”
He faced me with an extremely annoyed expression, staring intently before letting out a long sigh.
“No—it’s just, have you really been reading all day?”
His dark violet eyes swept the room. Some books were scattered near the window.
They were from the estate’s library.
I couldn’t process magic stones all day—if I used too much mana, my condition would go downhill.
This wasn’t Arcadia. Two or three stones a day was my limit.
After I finished with those, I idly flipped through the books I’d borrowed.
Mister asked suddenly.
“Ruby. Do you want to study?”
“Study?”
“Shall I get you a tutor?”
“Uh…”
“If there’s anything you want to do, let me know.”
Something I want to do?
I looked at the half-eaten cookie. Bits of nut gave a rich, toasted flavor in my mouth.
‘What is it that I want?’
I’d never really thought about it before.
‘Ah!’
Suddenly, it came to me.
Of course, I knew very well what it was I wanted to do.