Youngest 073
by CristaeEpisode 73
I slowly opened my eyes.
The first thing I saw was… a head of fluffy pink hair, as soft as cotton candy.
“Hello there.”
Rosetta smiled as she greeted me.
I barely moved my eyelids, burying my nose in the bedding as I mumbled back.
“Hello…”
Wow, this is real.
It felt as if I’d been wandering in dreams for a long time.
Too bad that dream was a rotten nightmare.
‘Tch. It’s rare for me to see my past life in a dream.’
Maybe it was because my body had grown weak. The worst memories were the ones to surface first. They were so dreadful, it really made me vow never to fall ill again.
‘But at the end… that memory…’
Whether by misfortune or luck, dreaming of my past life had let me catch glimpses of the original story I’d been missing.
I bit the inside of my lips, careful not to show it. The memories that had resurfaced were still so vivid.
“Let’s see…”
Lost in thought, I felt a cool hand come to rest on my forehead.
“Mm, your fever’s all gone.”
At the sound of her gentle voice and as her eyes curled with kindness, the dream scattered at once.
A soft, radiant smile. I gazed at that gentle, spring-flower face in a daze.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
“No, not at all…”
“That’s good.”
I rolled my eyes, searching the room.
My bedroom at the Ipson Zevert Ducal Estate.
All around, I saw a small brazier, wet cloths, and scattered medicinal herbs.
‘Come to think of it…’
I swallowed dryly.
‘My secret’s out, isn’t it.’
“…”
“…”
At that moment, Rosetta and I locked eyes mid-air.
Not a tomb keeper, nor a mischievous playmate, but the Duchess herself—a noblewoman whose poise matched her reputation.
After a short struggle, I spoke up.
“Um…”
“Yes?”
As if by fate, we spoke at the same time.
“Yes?”
“Hm?”
Rosetta smiled, her brows quirking slightly.
“Would you like to go first?”
I nodded and asked quietly,
“A-where’s Dad?”
“Cleaning up. His Majesty the Emperor has arrived, you see.”
Gasp—the Emperor?
“B-but why is Dad handling things?”
“He insisted on punishing the culprits personally.”
I almost asked why, but closed my mouth.
Why else? It was because of me.
Perhaps reading my hesitation, Rosetta gave a small smile, moving hair from my damp forehead with her cool hand—it felt soothing.
“Blood for blood.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s an old Zevert family motto.”
…What kind of villainous family motto was that?
“Not exactly charming, is it?”
For once, Rosetta said something completely normal.
“They should have specified what kind of blood. Arterial or venous? Whether it’s just enough for anemia or enough to cost a life, or…”
“Oh, I think you’re right.”
“About what?”
“Zevert people…”
Muttering, I trailed off. Rosetta looked at me both quizzically and with a satisfied air.
‘Maybe the Duchess is truly the scariest person here…’
She seemed skilled at disguise, and I had the odd feeling she’d be very handy with a bow…
Swallowing what I really wanted to say, I ducked back under the blankets.
“Ow.”
As I moved a little too forcefully, pain shot through my wrists. Pushing up my sleeves, I found them swathed in white bandages.
‘Ah, right. I got tied too tightly with the ropes…’
Rosetta gave me a sweet smile.
“Hmm, I’ll just have their hands chopped off and sent back then.”
“…”
Duchess is terrifying…
As I tried to wriggle upright, Rosetta helped me, then sat at my bedside and gently stroked my bandaged wrist.
“Rubian, I’m sorry.”
Her voice was careful, almost hesitant.
“Huh? Why?”
“For not revealing my true identity at the memorial. It must have frightened you terribly.”
Her gentle voice rode the air to my ears. I shook my head quickly.
“I… I’m all right. I got to eat something delicious then… And my muteness was cured… And, well, I was hiding a secret too.”
I’d been utterly shocked when we met at the open-air bath.
Rosetta gently patted my hair. After a brief pause, she began very tentatively.
“Rubian, may I ask… why you didn’t tell anyone you were a girl?”
“…”
Her sky-blue eyes watched me closely.
The face reflected in those eyes looked so frightened and anxious. Rosetta smiled reassuringly, as if to calm me.
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
“I…”
“Hmm?”
Chewing on the inside of my lips, I squeezed my eyes shut and blurted,
“I thought… if I said I was a girl, I’d be abandoned!”
“…”
The door slammed open.
My head jerked up at the noise.
A man, all but filling the doorway, released a long sigh. With a tray in one hand, the Duke closed the door himself and strode over.
“How could you even think that…”
The words slipped out half as a sigh, his voice full of pain. I stared in a daze at my father’s damp black hair.
‘I took it for granted he wouldn’t be home.’
He must have just bathed—water droplets clung to his hair.
Rosetta rose and surveyed my father from head to toe, speaking in a low whisper.
“…The blood.”
“I washed it off.”
Their quiet conversation was meant for each other, not for my ears.
“Ruby.”
Dad set the soup on the table and touched my forehead first, then he and Rosetta set chairs beside me.
“You didn’t hide your gender because of me, did you?”
His tone was edged with something like anger.
“No, not exactly because of you…”
“Because of my past… you worried I wouldn’t accept you?”
I fidgeted with my fingers, choosing my words. Dad let out another long sigh.
“Bingo.”
The edge of the bed dipped as he sat down.
Those violet eyes looked straight into mine, now up close.
“Ruby, let me make one thing clear—you’re mistaken.”
“…”
“No matter what, I’d never abandon you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or a girl, or what kind of past you have.”
I stopped fidgeting after that.
“You, as you are, are more than enough already… Haa.”
“…”
“That I’m only telling you this now makes me feel like the world’s biggest fool.”
He’d said as much in the cave. That whoever I was didn’t matter at all. That I was still his precious little one…
“Sniff…”
Suddenly, my eyes burned again. Dad gently pulled me into his arms.
“…Sorry, Ruby. Sorry I didn’t know until now.”
I’d always thought I’d have to beg for forgiveness when my secret was discovered.
But the apology came from them—not me.
Sorry I didn’t know. Sorry for making you tremble in fear alone. Sorry I didn’t give you reassurance sooner.
In his words, I felt a deep love and a solid sense of security—something unimaginable in my past life.
“Every word was so true, I have nothing to add.”
Rosetta, watching, shrugged her shoulders lightly.
“When did my husband get so eloquent?”
I climbed onto Dad’s knee, sniffled, and rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand. Rosetta took out a soft handkerchief and wiped my face.
“Sniff, was he not like this before?”
“A wind-up doll had more emotion. Creak, creak, click, click.”
“…Rose.”
Dad’s brow furrowed in embarrassment.
“I wasn’t that bad.”
But his objection sounded uncertain.
“Waaah. I want a wind-up doll.”
For some reason, fresh tears welled up. I burst out, babbling like a child.
Dad was a bit flustered, Rosetta hurried to fetch me some water.
Perhaps—
Perhaps I’d always wanted to cry like this.
To be able to throw a pointless tantrum and have someone gently wipe my messy face—I must have always longed for that.
“My daughter’s become a real crybaby.”
Dad didn’t leave me alone. He didn’t look at me with disgust.
“My daughter…”
I sipped the warm water, working to calm my hiccuping sobs.
“You’ll let me be your daughter?”
“Hah, and what would you have done if I hadn’t?”
He gave a helpless laugh, cupping my cheek and shaking it lightly.
“Why on earth didn’t I realize sooner? There was more than one thing out of place…”
His usually stiff shoulders drooped.
“I really am a fool…”
This muttered confession hit my ears squarely.
I thumped Dad’s shoulders in protest.
“Don’t insult my dad…”
Rosetta laughed briefly at the sight, then joined in, crinkling her nose.
“That’s right! Don’t insult my husband!”
Under the double onslaught, Dad drew a sigh that could almost have been laughter.
“Yes, I’m the criminal.”
Seeing him so flustered made me smile, even through my tears.
The smile I’d been holding back finally burst free, and suddenly the lump inside me was gone.
And in its place, something new began to grow.
What sprouted gently, like a fragile bud, was the love that would now steadily flourish.
After eating soup and taking medicine in bed, drowsiness swept over me again.
Dad and Rosetta each kissed my forehead in turn and urged me to rest.
‘They really do feel like Mom and Dad…’
I touched my forehead, which was still warm from their affection.
Staring up at the ceiling, my thoughts drifted—naturally, to my dream.
The mood as sweet as cotton candy dissolved all at once.
“…It was a mage.”
Not a magical beast.
In the original story, Leviathan Zevert was killed by a mage.
On a dark night, beneath the faded moonlight.