Youngest 065
by CristaeEpisode 65
“Ow, my back. The undergrowth is so thick, this shortcut won’t be usable anymore.”
The sudden presence was announced with an unexpected tumble; it was a woman dressed in blue Eastern-style robes.
“Hehe. I bet you never imagined I’d beat you home by taking the hot spring route, did you?”
I froze like a statue. Of course, I was shocked that there was an unknown shortcut here—but more than that—
‘That voice…’
The gentle tone was achingly familiar to my ears.
Brushing off her clothes, the woman swept up her long, flowing hair and squealed.
“Oh, I can’t wait to see Levi’s face all twisted up with frustration!”
Did she catch me cleaning up the Ipsen criminal? Surely by now she’s figured out about the beast, too?
Unfathomable words stormed through my mind. Entranced, I found myself mumbling.
“Ms…Gravekeeper?”
That familiar chestnut-brown hair.
Yes, it had to be her…
Only then did the woman seem to sense my presence, turning around slowly as her hand reached for the bow slung across her back.
“Eek.”
Without warning, plip, plip. Thin drops of rain began to fall.
“Hm?”
The moment her blue eyes met mine, her hand froze, halfway to drawing her bow.
She blinked several times, then her eyes widened.
“Huh? Huuuh? You’re the child I met at the memorial garden, aren’t you?”
The seconds our eyes met felt like about three—no, three thousand—years.
“Why are you here?”
“Why are you here, Ms. Gravekeeper?”
Our words overlapped simultaneously.
“What?”
“Huh?”
“…What?”
“…Huh?”
…What is this situation?
Then, something odd caught my eye.
With each drop of drizzle, Ms. Gravekeeper’s hair… started to melt away, little by little.
Her luscious chocolate-colored hair was peeling away like a shell…
‘A… dye job?’
Her hair was rapidly returning to its natural color.
The mottled patches that appeared…
Were a vivid pink.
“Ah, damn, the color’s coming out. Moisture always gets to it.”
A woman who knows a secret shortcut to the Zevert hot springs.
A beautiful woman with pink hair.
‘Come to think of it…’
Only now, much too late, did I recall—there wasn’t a single family portrait in the Zevert household.
So I could never have known.
“Rosetta… Zevert?”
That I had already met her once before.
“Yes. So, you know who I am?”
“Y-you’re not Ms. Gravekeeper?”
“Sorry. I had my reasons at the time.”
I jumped to my feet. Dizzy, I swayed, and Rosetta darted forward and caught me at once.
“Oh dear, careful now, little lady. Are you all right? But more importantly, will you finally tell me your name? I totally forgot to ask last time, oops.”
…What?
I glanced down, half-dazed. The cloth I clung to like a lifeline was still wrapped around me, armor-like.
“Up you go, you’ll slip if you’re not careful.”
Rosetta lifted me out of the bath and set me in the shade, away from the rain.
“Hurry and get dressed.”
“Uh, um, did you just say…?”
“I said to get dressed, didn’t I?”
“Before that…”
“You’ll slip!”
As I stood there dumbfounded, Rosetta looked helpless, letting out a small sigh.
“Don’t tell me it’s because I called myself your sister? I really hate being called ‘ma’am,’ you know. I’m forever eighteen at heart.”
Rosetta handed me dry clothes as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She seemed about to dress me herself, so I scurried behind a tree.
“Shy, are we? What’s the big deal? We’re both girls.”
As I dressed mechanically, my gaze sought out the shortcut—a purely instinctive response.
“So? Did you come all the way to Ipsen with your father? That’s odd. He hardly ever brings you to other towns.”
All her words sounded muffled and distant, as if submerged. My breathing was ragged, my head spinning.
“Ah, wait, did you perhaps become friends with that child called Ruby? Is that why you’re here?”
“……”
“Hmm. That’s strange. My sweetheart is awfully quiet today, wh—”
…at?
That final syllable was a long time in coming.
From behind the tree, our eyes met repeatedly as she beamed cheerfully. Slowly, her expression hardened.
“Little one.”
As if sensing something, Rosetta tightened her grip on my shoulder.
“What’s your name?”
I couldn’t see myself in a mirror, but I could feel my eyes trembling at her question.
‘Hide your face… your expression first… make up a story…’
Do you really think that will work?
At that moment, reality crashed over me like a receding tide.
“No way.”
No.
“You’re not… Rubian, are you?”
No!
Where such strength came from, I’ll never know.
The instant I heard those words, I shook off Rosetta’s hand and bolted.
Her urgent voice faded quickly behind me.
I ran—I tumbled—I may have used magic, I can’t be sure.
“Trying to sneak in like a rat, hiding your true identity!”
No. No. It isn’t like that!
“This is the worst kind of offense, Father! She took advantage of our trust!”
If I could just set up a barrier… once everything’s ready… Then I’d have told them—
“Exactly.”
Somewhere, something shattered.
The shell I’d worked so hard to form had begun to crack.
This isn’t good.
“Ugh…”
You can’t just run from your problems, Rubian!
“I know. I know, I know…!”
I crouched in a corner of the alley, doodling on the ground.
Even then, I found myself absurdly grateful I hadn’t fled stark naked.
No, really, I might as well be. Right now, I felt completely and utterly exposed.
“You idiot! What were you thinking? You stupid, stupid idiot!”
I banged my head against the wall.
How did I not notice? She was a suspicious gravekeeper from the start!
I’m going insane. And I just ran off like that.
That was basically admitting I was a girl with my whole body.
“What are you going to do now?”
I should’ve denied it, insisted otherwise… but I panicked like a fool…
But there was not a shadow of doubt in Rosetta’s eyes. Had I denied it, she might have tried to check my body herself.
“Augh.”
Stop digging yourself deeper. Go handle it maturely…
“I don’t know. What do I do?”
I was in complete panic.
I’d always planned to confess all my secrets someday. But certainly not now, not like this!
“What am I supposed to do first…?”
Just then—pop—a surge of powerful magic burned my earlobe.
“Huh?”
At last, I realized where that crackling sound had been coming from.
“That’s right, Karl!”
Oh no, I left him behind, too!
By now, Karl was surely searching for me.
Ever since I’d disappeared suddenly at Canalran Gorge, he’d been quick to worry when I vanished.
A complete disaster. Perfect chaos.
‘What do I do, what do I do?’
Nervously, I chewed my fingertips.
To confess a lie on your own, as opposed to being caught in one—there’s a world of difference.
“Um, people hate lies, don’t they?”
“For the most part, yes?”
Exactly. People hate lies.
Even Mister, who acts so easygoing but has a strangely upright streak, wouldn’t be an exception.
And I’d made my pitiful confession to none other than Rosetta Zevert.
“What do I do, what do I do…”
Knowing full well that deceiving them was wrong, I still kept silent… Now I might be found guilty of betrayal.
‘Should I run away with Karl?’
With a heavy heart, I forced myself to raise my limp arms.
Should I just leave Ipsen behind altogether?
‘But what about the original story?’
What about Mister?
What about this ending?
Everything was a jumbled mess.
‘Maybe… I should’ve just supported from afar.’
Like on the battlefield before. Secretly, from the shadows.
Regret was quickly followed by fear.
It was an affection I’d always thought didn’t belong to me in the first place, but the thought of losing it—ridiculous as it was—terrified me.
I sat huddled in the dark alley. The black box in my mind rattled back and forth.
‘I don’t want to go back.’
Burying my head in my arms, I asked myself—
Back where?
‘The orphanage…’
Back to that battlefield where I fought only to survive…
Maybe it would’ve been better never to know what this felt like.
Like a child who’s let go of all her colorful balloons, I sobbed weakly, lost and sorrowful.
‘Greedy…’
It’s true. I should never have wanted things like balloons.
Sniffling, I banged my forehead against the wall again.
Even through that static, the noise in my ear grew louder and louder. I realized I needed to contact Karl and raised a hand to my earlobe.
And at that moment—
On the far side of the alley, my eye caught a familiar silhouette.
‘…Huh?’
Through my tear-filled vision, I blinked slowly.
‘Is that… Olivia and Titi?’
The noble girls walked by, each carrying a head-sized ball of cotton candy. Judging by their plain clothes, they must’ve sneaked out for some fun.
Automatically, I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand and glanced around their vicinity.
‘Why… without any guards… So dangerous…’
Suddenly, I leapt to my feet.
“Gasp!”
I had caught sight of another shadow quietly trailing behind the two girls.
Kidnapper!
That fierce, two-syllable word flashed through my mind.