Youngest 119
by CristaeEpisode 119
“They say he’s the Fourth Prince?”
“Oh.”
Come to think of it, he did ask if he could write to me.
I paused, my hand reaching for the letter.
“But… what is…?”
How extravagant is this?!
Gold embossing was just the start—when I tore open the envelope, a pleasant fragrance wafted out. As I unfolded the slightly creased paper, it released a symphony of floral scents…
It was, in every sense, spring itself.
Hello, Rubian. It’s Licht.
Are you doing well?
I’m embarrassed by how shabby this stationery is.
Have my Imperial language skills failed me?
The standards of royalty truly are something else.
The Academy term is about to start here. I’m moving up to the middle school division, but I’m not sure yet if I’ll register for the fall semester. Father always prefers that I take classes at the Imperial Palace.
By the way… will you be coming to the fall camp, Rubian?
Your answer is important, as it might determine whether I enroll next semester. Please be sure to write back.
No matter what, I hope we can meet soon.
To be honest, I’m a little worried you’ll forget about me.
- Licht (12 years old, blond, met in the capital and in Ipsen)
The last line, pressed down hard as if written with special care, caught my eye. I cocked my head.
“Why would I forget? He’ll soon be the Crown Prince.”
Isn’t he underestimating himself a bit…?
Besides, I’ve never once forgotten the original story.
After a brief deliberation, I pulled a sheet of paper from a drawer.
Hello, Licht!
Thanks for letting me know.
I’m not sure yet about the fall camp.
Well, then… good luck!
- Rubian
PS. There hasn’t been a single moment I’ve forgotten you. I doubt there ever will be…
“Is this too short?”
I tilted my chin, nibbling the end of my pen.
‘Come to think of it, this is my first time having a penpal.’
But nothing else came to mind to write.
“I really must have no talent for this sort of thing…”
Wondering if I should start keeping a diary like Void does, I slipped the letter into its envelope.
I asked Hazel to send it for me, then finished my milk.
A short time later, the door quietly opened again.
“Sweetheart, what are you up to?”
My face brightened instantly.
That voice!
“Mom…!”
But I couldn’t finish my sentence.
“Who are you?”
Her pink hair was gone, replaced by a woman with jet-black locks…
“How could you say, ‘Who are you?’ That’s mean!”
Mom gave a mischievous smile and gently kneaded my cheeks.
“Mom’s cotton-candy hair is gone…”
“How does it look? Don’t you like it?”
I shook my head energetically.
Though Mom’s hair, elegantly coiled up, made her seem a little unfamiliar, she was astonishingly beautiful! It was a totally different feel from the cotton-candy version of Mom!
“You look just like Dad. So pretty!”
“Ahaha. As expected of my daughter.”
“Are you planning another game of hide-and-seek?”
“No, nothing like that. Just needed a change!”
“Oh…”
Still, with her track record, I couldn’t quite trust her.
Maybe Mom wanted to get up to mischief too, now that Dad wasn’t around…
I decided to watch her like a hawk, sharp and vigilant.
“So? How about going out to play with me?”
“Wow, an outing!”
If I’m to keep an eye on her, I need to stick close by!
It’s definitely not because I’m excited!
“By the way, Ruby, I’ve heard you’ve been stopping by the magic stone shop a lot lately?”
As she dressed me in my outing clothes, Mom asked the question.
Wearing a yellow dress with a large collar and a white-billed bonnet covering my hair, I replied,
“Yes. I was just bored…”
“I see. And what about Cal? Haven’t you been playing with him these days?”
“…”
At the mere mention of ‘Cal,’ my bottom lip jutted out involuntarily.
“You look like a little yellow duck.”
“Cal…”
Mom pressed my puffed-out cheek.
In her blue eyes, I was the very image of someone sulking.
At dawn, after installing the last of the sentry bells—
He’d left, leaving behind only that single brief note.
‘Really. Would it have killed you to write a longer one, like Licht?’
Did he have nothing else to say?
Or really, he could’ve just come and said goodbye in person!
For some reason, I felt irritated, hurt, and just a bit betrayed.
I pouted, grumbling inwardly.
“He abandoned me! Coldly! Curtly! So heartlessly!”
“Oh my.”
When he comes back, I won’t even talk to him!
‘Though, it’s not like I ever really did…’
He always had a side like that.
He acted like we were the closest of friends, but when it really mattered, he’d draw a firm line between us.
Strange, isn’t it.
I already knew it, but still.
“Mom! Today I’m going to eat fifteen cotton candies! And thirty glasses of strawberry soda! I’m going wild!”
“Oh my. I do think my fierce daughter is adorable, but that’s not going to happen.”
His coldness has left me feeling so hurt lately!
Cal stood on the edge of the cliff.
A desolate, cracked landscape filled his vision. With an expressionless face, the boy stared at the barren earth, then turned away.
“What’s with you? I thought you were looking sharper ever since Zevert, but you’re just the same?”
Allen, a mercenary from the band, gave him a rough nudge on the shoulder. Cal brushed off the place his hand had touched and continued walking.
“Oh, you little brat.”
Cal wore the same battered cloak he’d had when he came north. With the sword in his hand, he was the very image of a wandering mercenary.
‘Maybe the others have been a bit rough on him?’
Understandable, I guess. With that insolent attitude, no wonder people might bully him.
Allen snickered, trailing at the boy’s heels.
“Hey, just come back to the band. You really are a born mercenary, you know?”
“Did you look into what I asked?”
He spat out the fruit seed he’d been chewing.
“Who do you think you’re talking to?”
“I said: Did you find anything?”
“Ugh. What’s the point of telling you? I did look into it, but it’s not exactly an easy thing. Isn’t this something even your princess couldn’t figure out?”
A cold wind blew.
Northeastern edge of the continent. Here, it was always the bitter season of winter.
Allen grumbled, buttoning his collar up tighter.
“Why would you ask a regular guy like me about erasing a Mage’s Crest…?”
A way to remove the crest, as Rubian had mentioned.
He’d tossed the task of looking for similar cases to Allen, but to be honest, he hadn’t expected much.
‘I’ll have to look into it myself.’
Frankly, if Allen found out something Rubian didn’t know, it would bother him for a different reason altogether.
Just then, Allen squinted at him and asked,
“By the way… is our princess doing well?”
Our…?
Khalid’s eyebrows shot up.
“Watch what you say.”
“What—what part of what I said needs watching? Look, I may have been 100% forced into this, but still, I’m one of the people protecting the princess—behind the scenes, at least. So shouldn’t I at least get to meet her once?”
Cal sneered coldly.
“You’ll never see her, so don’t think about it. Don’t bring her up. Actually, just—”
“…”
“Keep your mouth shut.”
“This little punk… then don’t ask me for anything, either!”
At this childish argument, Khalid turned on his heel and strode off.
The jagged mountain range was perilously steep.
Out of all the possible routes, they’d picked the hardest climb. There was no special reason—it was simply the shortest way to the summit.
As Cal walked, he wondered,
‘Did she see the note, I wonder?’
He’d told her he was leaving, so she’d read it and probably brushed it off as nothing.
After all, Ruby was always busy, and people swarmed around her all the time, so soon, as usual…
“…”
He felt unexpectedly downcast.
He’d left only a note, gritting his teeth so he wouldn’t waver at the thought of seeing her face—yet, the idea that Ruby would be unfazed by his absence…
“Huff, huff. Hey. Wait for me—”
Allen stumbled uphill behind him, gasping for breath.
“You’re getting more childish by the minute.”
“What! I’m childish?! How?”
Cal kept walking, face impassive, ignoring the volley of insults thrown his way.
The cave was unchanged.
Just below the desolate mountain’s summit, somewhere along a sheer cliff.
“Man, what is this place.”
Allen shuddered, a grimace on his face. The chill here was unusually intense.
“…A prison? What’s with these bars?”
Clang, clang.
A little ways into the cave, thick, sturdy iron bars were set in a dense row from floor to ceiling.
Cal opened the door and stepped into the cell.
Since leaving this place with Rubian, he hadn’t returned once until now.
“Hey, hey. Don’t go in there. It’s way too dark… I’m seriously getting goosebumps. What if a magical beast pops out? You’ll protect me, right?”
“Just be quiet.”
The echo in here was enough to make him dizzy.
Cal shifted his magic slightly. The basic spell he’d learned from Rubian… A blue glow popped to life and clung to the wall.
The cave brightened a little.
“Oh…”
Only then did Allen look slightly reassured.
Cal inspected the cave slowly.
‘Nothing in particular… nothing stands out.’
Skrrrch.
At that moment, his foot brushed against an old shackle.
“What’s that, it’s so rusted. Someone must have been locked up here?”
Allen casually examined the shackle, then froze solid.
“Hey… these shackles. They look ancient—don’t tell me, there are bones… a skull… in here?”
“I had no idea you were scared of corpses.”
“Bones and corpses are totally different!”
How exactly?
Khalid was about to ask, then fell silent.
‘They do look ancient…’
Allen’s words lingered in his mind.
Come to think of it, the shackles and chains were excessively worn, as though they were relics from a distant age…
The boy’s gray-blue eyes darkened.
So I really…
‘The price for tampering with a human soul is severe.’
Maybe I had committed a forbidden act.
Maybe I’d spent countless ages here, paying for that sin.
‘Then what am I, really?’