Youngest 160
by CristaeEpisode 160
Ch. 17
“….”
I awoke beneath the bright sunlight.
Blinking, blinking.
A strange ceiling came into view.
What’s this? Where am I?
Ah, the Duke’s residence in the capital….
‘Oh.’
Into my dazed mind, memories surged over me like the tide.
Yesterday… Yesterday, truly, something incredible happened!
‘I confessed everything.’
The fact I’m a mage—my entire past!
‘Life really never goes as planned….’
Once again, I was struck by that simple truth.
Last night, the adults listened to my story with remarkable calm.
‘I thought it would take forever.’
My time of confession was, honestly, almost disappointingly brief. Having laid it all down, it felt as if none of it had amounted to much to begin with.
When everything was told, Father, Mother, and Grandfather hugged me tightly.
Their embrace was so warm, my tension melted and I fell easily into sleep.
“Phew, well, whatever the case, I do feel better now.”
Stretching, I shot up from bed—and at that moment.
“Did you sleep well?”
Startled by the sudden voice, my shoulders jumped.
At last I noticed, at the foot of my bed,
a round head stood out.
“Khal…?”
“Now that I’ve seen you awake, I’m leaving.”
The boy dusted himself off and stood up.
“…You didn’t actually see me wake up, though?”
He had his back to me.
“….”
Khalid’s continued silence seemed odd, prompting me to throw off the blanket and bounce upright.
Slipping on my slippers, I dashed over, and Khalid glanced at me sideways.
Huh?
His eyes…
“Hey! You’re all puffy!”
When I pointed to his reddened eyelids, Khal turned away entirely.
Of course, even puffed up like a goldfish, he was kind of cute!
“Why are you like this? Don’t tell me you cried—”
“I didn’t cry. I just didn’t sleep, that’s all,” Khalid said in a very terse tone.
“…So you admit you’re puffy?”
“….”
He pressed his lips together in silence again.
“But why did you cry?”
“I said I didn’t.”
It was a cold reply.
“Hey… At least warn me before you go all frosty like that…”
I circled a finger in little patterns on his back. I had a vague idea why he was sulking so much.
“Are you mad at me?”
“I’m not sulking… I’m actually mad.”
Wow, this is a first.
Khal’s never been angry with me before.
“Why didn’t you call me?”
He spun around, staring at me reproachfully.
“…You know why. I didn’t want the Mage King to find out about you.”
This was not up for debate.
If the same situation happened again, I’d choose the same thing every time.
“The thought of you being dragged back to the kingdom in my place—I couldn’t stand it.”
Khalid, forced to bear the crest, turned into the Mage King’s puppet? Just imagining it was horrible.
As the second had shown—losing control, the crest overriding reason—I was all the more determined.
“How… how weak do you think I am?”
Khalid turned away again.
“Hey. That’s not it at all…”
I drew another picture on his back.
‘Cheer. Up.’
Maybe even a little word…
“….”
Eventually, Khalid looked back at me. In his eyes, resentment and indignation were overflowing.
“You have no idea how lost and anxious I felt…”
“There, there. Sorry for making you worry.”
I gently tapped his head. He bit his lip, but lowered his head just a little.
“Never do that again.”
“Mmkay, I promise!”
“…Now you’re just flat-out lying.”
“Heh.”
With a sharp snap, Khalid undid one of the bracelets from his arm.
One ring among several.
“Hey, what are you doing? You’re not supposed to—”
“I’m going to grow stronger—strong enough to control my own power, with or without this bracelet.”
As he spoke, he placed a ring into my hand.
“When the time comes, even if I say I’m going to cut down the Mage King, you won’t try to stop me.”
“What? I feel like I definitely would try to stop you…”
Just as I ignored his words, Khalid ignored mine.
“I’m going to give all these bracelets back to you, no matter what.”
Hmm, right.
‘That’ll take forever, though…’
But I was a good friend—I wasn’t about to bring up harsh facts and rain on his parade.
Besides, seeing him full of fire, determined to get stronger, made him look a bit like an eager little kid. It was cute in its own way.
Well, his face was still as cold and stiff as ever, but still.
“Okay. You can do it!”
I cheered him on, balling my fists with enthusiasm. Khalid’s lips parted, but then he turned his head away again.
The tip of his ear, catching the morning sunlight, tinged pink.
Khalid walked down the corridor of the knights’ building.
‘Gotta hurry to training.’
He felt urgent.
Not having been able to do anything at the Academy had been truly galling. Mulling it over all night had even brought him—just a little—to tears.
‘Come to think of it… I told her I’m a mage.’
He recalled the brief conversation with Rubian.
She’d said she’d confessed all her secrets last night.
“Yeah, you did well.”
“But I didn’t say anything about your identity. That’s your secret, not mine. Still, the adults might have guessed it…”
“I don’t care if they figured it out.”
“….”
“They’re not going to use that as a reason to chase me away, are they?”
“Of course not!”
“Then that’s all I need.”
He meant it.
Whether his identity was revealed or not—as long as he wasn’t kicked out of here.
This was the closest place to Rubian, and besides, he liked the training here more than anywhere else.
Khalid opened the door carelessly—then froze.
“Wow, why is this room so empty?”
“…Your Grace?”
Sitting in his room as if it belonged to him was the Duke of Zevert.
Khalid quietly closed the door and entered.
“What brings you here?”
His attire was casual and loosely fitted, yet he still had something about him that made people tense.
Leviathan was seated on the bed, tossing an apple and catching it, glancing at the boy.
“You knew Ruby’s secret, didn’t you? From the beginning.”
He got straight to the point.
Khalid saw no reason to elaborate and simply nodded.
‘Is he going to blame me? For not telling him?’
Suddenly he recalled a memory from long ago—the box of candy the Duke had given him.
And though he hadn’t mentioned it to Rubian, he’d read in Allen’s letter that Allen had met the Duke.
It was possible, Khalid thought, that the Duke had gotten hold of that letter, too.
The Leviathan Zevert he knew wasn’t a careless man.
He might even have intercepted and redirected the carrier pigeon along the way.
‘If he realized something because of that…’
Khalid clenched his fist slightly.
Maybe this was an interrogation.
As he steeled himself, bracing for a grilling—
“Thank you.”
Leviathan spoke, bluntly.
“Sir?”
“I said thank you. Why look at me like that?”
A large hand suddenly ruffled his hair.
“If you’ve guarded Ruby’s secret so well, it means my daughter’s chosen a trustworthy friend.”
Unable to hide his awkwardness, Khalid shrank away a little.
The Duke gazed down at his now-empty hand and let out a soft laugh.
“So, as always—”
“I’ll continue to keep it.”
At Khalid’s sudden declaration, the man tilted his head.
“Rubian. I couldn’t do much yesterday, but I’ll work hard and become strong enough to protect her by her side.”
Khalid fiddled with his bracelet out of habit. Leviathan watched this in silence.
“So, I’ll train hard to become even stronger—”
“That’s not what I mean, you cheeky brat.”
A sharp flick landed on Khalid’s forehead.
Surprised, Khalid rubbed his brow as Leviathan let out a brief sigh.
“There’s nothing to protect. Just keep the promise not to sneak into my daughter’s room again, you little rascal.”
“….”
“Protecting her is my job. Obviously, that goes for you too, since you live in my house.”
Khalid was deeply bewildered. No adult had ever told him they’d protect him.
“Frankly, there are questions I want to ask you… But kids like you, if you don’t want to talk, you likely won’t tell me a thing.”
“….”
“So I’ll let you be for now. But as always, if there’s ever something you want to say, just come find me. All right?”
Khal fell into a pensive silence.
If he didn’t have to confess his identity right away, and didn’t need to force himself to act as Rubian’s watchdog—
“…Then, what should I be doing here?”
At that, a soft smile tugged at the Duke’s lips.
“How old are you?”
“Twelve, sir.”
“At twelve, I went out monster hunting alone.”
What the heck? Khalid cocked his head.
“It was hell. An accident left all the knights who came with me dead, and I wandered the beast’s lair alone for a month.”
“….”
“At first I waited by the corpses, hoping to be rescued, but no one came. Days were cold and I was hungry. Rifling through the dead’s pockets, I made up my mind.”
“…To get out of there?”
“Nope. To destroy every monster habitat in the area.”
“….”
Ah, I see. Been that impressive since birth, have you?
Khalid grumbled to himself inwardly.