Youngest 100

Episode 100

“Little fairy.”

It was Liam.

“Ah, brother…”

“You look pale as spoiled cream. Come here.”

I dangled from Liam. He had taken a pendant but simply slipped it into my pocket.

Clinging to his back, I squeezed my eyes shut.

When my body trembled slightly, Liam let out a short sigh and patted my legs gently.

“Fairy, what’s that on your wrist?”

Looking down at the arm I’d wrapped around his neck, Liam asked.

When I moved one arm, it jingled softly.

“Khalid’s bracelet…”

“Why do you have that?”

“I borrowed it for a bit.”

A bracelet that suppresses magic.

It was a sort of high-capacity magic restraining device that could, if not completely, at least partially restrain the enormous amount of magic power inside Khalid.

The Mage Kingdom only used a standard type of restraining device—a choker worn at the neck.

Anyone could tell, “I’m wearing a restraining device.” So “the Fourth” would never have guessed that I was wearing one.

Besides, that standard model couldn’t match the power of this bracelet; it wouldn’t perfectly suppress my own pure magic. He’d know that.

‘A treasure is truly a treasure. The power is impressive. I only wore one, and it drained all the magic from my body…’

I felt completely depleted. Honestly, I’d felt that way since sitting at the banquet table.

[ Rubian, the Babylon Emperor has permitted the tracking mage. He might use a magic-sensing tool. What should we do? ]

Asha was there when the Emperor granted the tracking mage entry. As soon as she left the scene, she wrote to me.

I had more or less anticipated it during my tea time with the Emperor, so I acted quickly.

“Please, give me that!”

I’d learned from earlier experiments that Khalid’s bracelet worked for me, too.

So I’d kept one of Khalid’s bracelets with me throughout the festival.

All that remained was deciding the right time to use it.

‘If the Emperor was concerned about the festival mood, he’d surely wait until the Green Festival was over… meaning he’d permit the search during this banquet.’

That was my guess.

Of course, running into the mage in the maze garden had been unexpected. There was no way I could have put on the bracelet in advance.

But just as I’d predicted, the mage only probed lightly before withdrawing. His real target was today, when all the children would be gathered.

‘I must have been the most suspicious, but he’d want to check the others as well.’

So, as soon as I entered the banquet hall, I secretly fastened the bracelet beneath the table.

The only issue was Khalid, who also possessed magic. But as expected, the mage had no interest in boys his own age. They weren’t even within the parameters of the search.

‘No matter how you disguise yourself, you can’t change your build.’

No amount of upheaval would give me Khalid’s physique.

‘His eye color is different, and it showed that I had no magic, so there could be no further suspicion.’

These were facts “the Fourth” had checked with his own eyes.

This really was hide-and-seek.

Once a place has been checked and nothing’s found, people rarely return.

In that sense, it seemed I had succeeded in taking the first step.

‘But… the “Fourth” really is that mage from the original story.’

I closed my eyes and calmly organized my thoughts.

My heart pounded.

Was the body size similar to the mage in my dream?

It had all been such a blur, I couldn’t recall exactly.

‘But I’m sure about the crest’s location.’

The branch of the World Tree glimpsed beneath his sleeve.

Such coincidences were rare.

Besides, “the Fourth” was one of the mages who served the Mage King with utmost loyalty.

So, that line in my dream about “the price for defying our king” could very well have come from the Fourth.

‘But still…’

How would he come to attack Father?

At present, there was no connection between the “Fourth” and Father. The order from the Mage King must have been simply to find me.

“Ahh, my head’s spinning.”

My mind whirled. Information overload.

Ah. I should take off the bracelet…

But even moving my fingers felt difficult.

“My little… Rubian…?”

Liam’s voice wavered, growing distant.

All strength drained from my body. Fighting the leaden weight of my eyelids, I managed a faint whisper.

“M’fwe p’aje… Po’…”

“…”

“Brother! What’s wrong with Rubi?!”

“She seems a bit drunk. What’s going on?”

Pfffff.

I gave a long sigh. No, I’m fine, perfectly fine…

But even my tongue felt numb, and I couldn’t say another word.

Just then—

“The bracelet.”

Fwoosh!

Strength surged back into my body!

“I’ll take it now.”

“Ah!”

I jerked upright.

“Careful, fairy.”

Fully revived from my melted-chocolate state, I braced a hand on Liam’s back and, now clear-eyed, surveyed my surroundings.

Khalid, fastening the bracelet onto his own wrist, gazed straight at me.

“Are you all right? You seem suddenly back to normal.”

Void, who had come over at some point, studied my expression.

“Yep! Breathing the fresh air perked me right up!”

I patted my cheeks briskly.

As for that mage’s real identity, I’d need to think about it a bit more!

Liam, wanting me to rest longer, gripped me even tighter.

Then I locked eyes with Khalid, who was quietly watching from nearby.

‘It all turned out fine, right?’

‘Thanks to you!’

No need for words; we understood each other perfectly.

Well… there were still unresolved issues.

Of course, Khalid couldn’t read my thoughts. With a broad grin, the boy tapped his finger against my pinky.

It felt like magic power filled my whole body!

Tingling, sparkling!

Meanwhile, the red-haired mage stalked down the corridor in an irritable stride. When he spotted the silver-haired child, he’d been sure—This is it.

“But not her?”

The image of the brightly glowing mage tool came to mind. He’d checked error rates beforehand, so the result had to be correct.

“…But it was a mistake?”

He stopped, grinding his teeth.

Something felt off, but he couldn’t dig deeper. The knights who’d been following him from earlier were getting on his nerves.

‘Imperial knights, or Zevert’s people.’

Tsk. Whatever the case, he couldn’t move recklessly now.

He drew a small magic paper from his robes. Channeling magic through his fingertips, he drew letters in the air, imprinting them onto the paper.

‘…Must report first.’

Northern search results.

Target whereabouts unknown.

Primary search subject: Rubian Zevert.

Low probability of target match.

---

“Your Highness?”

Leviathan turned around. He was braced on the Emperor’s desk with both arms.

Licht, who’d burst in suddenly, was gasping for breath.

“Huff… Zevert… sir.”

“Licht, what is it? You look so troubled.”

The Emperor frowned at the prince’s unusual expression. Leviathan, who’d just finished complaining about the mage, did the same.

“What’s happened?”

“Ruby, Rubian…”

The duke’s face changed at once; he rushed to Licht’s side. Licht caught his breath, then spoke.

“Is something happening to Rubian?”

“Rubian is, in truth… No, perhaps…”

Just then—

“Your Majesty.”

A steward approached briskly.

He was a steward from the banquet where the children had gathered.

“The kingdom’s mage has finished his search.”

“What?”

It was Licht who cried out in surprise. The steward bowed politely to him and continued.

“It seems he concluded that the mage he was searching for was not present. He said there were no children with magic in the hall.”

“Tsk, of course.”

The Emperor nodded matter-of-factly. With a brief dismissal, the steward withdrew quickly.

“See? Duke. I told you, there’d be no trouble.”

“That doesn’t mean I accept it. That you’d allow a mage into my north.”

“All right, all right. Next time, I’ll be sure to inform you in advance, Your Grace.”

Even against the Emperor’s weary capitulation, Leviathan remained grim.

“And now… Fourth Prince.”

Those violet eyes fixed directly on Licht. Licht flinched and stepped backward.

A deep, resonant voice pressed in, heavy and suffocating.

“What is happening to my daughter?”