Youngest 043
by CristaeEpisode 43
The duke sat askew on the large bed, gently patting and comforting the whimpering child in his arms.
“…How.”
It was a brief question, but Leviathan seemed to understand it well enough.
“Whenever she seems oddly listless in the evening, it always ends up like this.”
A heavy, deep sigh escaped him. In that brief moment, the duke looked as though he had aged several years, utterly fatigued.
“Khalid.”
His voice was cracked with exhaustion. He pulled the quilt tighter around Rubian.
“Did Ruby do this often in Eosia too?”
“…”
It happened often enough on the battlefield. Each time, Khalid would take Rubian’s hand and pour his magic into her.
Worried that her body’s weariness might be making her dream nightmares.
It didn’t have much effect, but it was all he could do; so he kept giving her magic, over and over.
“If you know anything, tell me. Only then can I help.”
“It seems she suffers when she’s anxious. That’s all I really know.”
A deeper shadow fell over the duke’s face.
“What on earth could she be anxious about…”
His large hand tenderly stroked her face.
Rubian’s color seemed to improve little by little. Soon, the groaning child drifted into peaceful sleep.
“How did Ruby… live in Eosia?”
At the quietly continued question, Khalid fell silent for a moment. He and Rubian had agreed on what to say for these situations.
“She lived an ordinary life. It wasn’t a life of abundance, but she had ordinary parents and lived among ordinary neighbors.”
“…An ordinary life, you say.”
Violet eyes stared searchingly into his own.
That gaze was so intense that Khalid almost turned away.
“I see.”
Leviathan gave a slow nod.
“…Duke. May I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you care for Ruby?”
He immediately felt the question was almost meaningless. He had seen the evidence of it all day with his own eyes.
“And why do you ask?”
The duke carefully laid the sleeping Rubian down and sat on a nearby sofa. It seemed he intended to spend the night here.
“I was just curious whether, no matter what happened, you could protect Ruby.”
“That sounds as if you expect something to happen.”
His voice was languid. Khalid did not avoid the gaze that seemed to pierce through him.
He had met more adults than peers during his days as a mercenary. He knew dozens of ways to sidestep a situation.
“She’s my friend. I just worry a lot, that’s all.”
“If you couldn’t speak, I’d be more at peace.”
Leviathan turned his head and looked at the sleeping Rubian.
“Yes. No matter what happens, I’ll protect Ruby.”
With that, the duke tossed something with a casual flick.
“So you—”
It was a small box full of brightly colored candies.
“Whenever you have something to say to me, come by—whether it’s about Ruby, or about yourself.”
Khalid blinked slowly.
“Is this a job request or something?”
“A request? What—”
Leviathan stopped, wrinkling his brow. He must have recalled Khalid’s mercenary background.
“Not a job, just a favor. Kid.”
“…”
Khalid gripped the box of candy.
What’s the difference between a favor and a job request, anyway? And he even gave me a reward right away.
“…Right. Sure.”
He answered with an ambiguous look.
Leaning back and staring at the ceiling for a moment, Leviathan twisted one corner of his mouth.
“But, you know—I don’t have many friends, so maybe I don’t get it, but do friends normally show up somewhere like this just to see each other?”
“She’s my one and only, most precious friend in the world.”
One and only… most precious…?
The duke mulled over the response, his expression turning a shade sour. Khalid snickered.
“Oh, that’s right. You said you didn’t have any friends.”
“…”
“Then I guess you wouldn’t know. How this feels.”
“Man, this kid is really cheeky.”
Stung, Leviathan balled up a candy wrapper he’d been chewing on and threw it.
Of course, it didn’t even come close to Khalid’s feet and just landed on the floor.
Khalid strode over and set the box of candy atop Rubian’s manastone window frame, fussing with the contents.
“Apple, chocolate, cherry… There’s no strawberry.”
“…”
“She likes strawberry best. Be sure to bring that next time.”
Leviathan gave a short laugh through his nose.
“Thought I wouldn’t notice, did you? Of course I set aside all the strawberry ones for Rubian.”
Ah.
The cheeky boy just lifted his chin with feigned indifference.
“Then what about milk flavor?”
“…”
Damn it. That means a trip to the shop tomorrow.
It was a sparkling, sunny afternoon.
As usual, it was dessert time. Mister slid a cold juice toward me. For some reason, the table next to it was overflowing with strawberry and milk-flavored candies.
“Why is the juice this color…?”
“I blended it with green vegetables.”
Hazel answered before I even asked.
“Borvel says it’s good for your health if you drink it like this.”
He added firmly—lately, the only thing that seemed to matter to him was making sure I ate healthy snacks.
‘Looks like something a troll chewed up and spat out…’
I stared at the thick, cloudy green liquid. As I hesitated, Mister gave it another nudge toward me.
“Go on.”
“It just doesn’t look appealing, visually.”
But with so many eyes watching, I couldn’t just refuse to drink it.
I figured I’d gulp it down and wash it away with some candy. With that in mind, I cautiously touched it to the tip of my tongue.
“Oh?”
“Tastes better than you thought, right?”
A burst of sweet apple flavor spread through my mouth—there was barely any bitterness from the vegetables! The taste was nothing like the appearance.
I eagerly stuck in my straw and began to drink in earnest.
“Ruby, I heard you wanted to study with Borvel?”
“Ah, yes!”
Yesterday evening, Mister’s personal physician had offered to teach me herbology and healing arts. I’d instantly agreed.
“I’m going to get smarter!”
I already had a basic knowledge of herbology and healing. So, these lessons were really just for show.
‘When I make something later, I can always say I learned it in class!’
There were limits to what I could claim as just being from Eosia, so this was a necessary, if tedious, step.
“Don’t push yourself too hard. And don’t forget your afternoon snack.”
“Well, sometimes if I’m busy, I might—”
“Don’t forget.”
What was that desperation?
Puzzled, I nodded without much choice.
Somewhere far outside the window, I heard Void’s voice carrying in. From the sounds of wooden swords clashing, he seemed to be practicing hard with Grandpa.
I listened to it like music as I drank my milk.
“And… there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask.”
Mister set down his teacup and leaned in. His expression grew a bit grave.
“Yes?”
“Liam and Rosetta will be back next week.”
“Oh…”
At last.
“Which means you’ll finally meet the whole family.”
Leviathan Mister, uncharacteristically, seemed to be choosing his words carefully.
“…How is it? Living at my house. Are you satisfied?”
What’s this, some kind of customer satisfaction survey?
I spread out my hand.
“Of course I am! Five stars!”
“…Only five?”
“It’s out of five.”
“Oh.”
He swallowed nervously, clasping his hands together.
“Then, Ruby. Do you want to keep living with me?”
“I already am.”
“I mean—do you really want to become the youngest member of our family?”
At that moment, the air seemed to grow strangely still.
Sensing an odd tension, I glanced around—Hazel and the other servants quickly averted their eyes, coughing awkwardly.
“Of course, you can decide after you meet Rosetta and Liam.”
“I…”
I slowly lowered my eyelids.