Youngest 183
by CristaeEpisode 183
“The Kasalia procession turned toward a village near the border? Not the main gate?”
As I hurriedly packed my things, I jerked my head up.
“Yes. It seems the princess suddenly said she wanted to see the village festival.”
Pushing my bag aside and sitting before the mirror, Hazel gathered my hair up and wound it deftly as she spoke.
“Festival?”
“You know, that modest winter festival they hold near the Babylon border village.”
“Ah…”
The maid’s expression in the mirror sharpened a little.
“The princess really must be whimsical. No matter how loose their schedule is, isn’t this awfully capricious?”
Instead of replying, I just blinked quietly.
So that’s what the princess is like.
But more importantly…
“A festival and young men and women…”
What is this?
Could this be that event that makes emotions blossom out of nowhere?
“Miss, what did you just say?”
“…Nothing!”
I quickly shook my head and finished dressing.
Turning from the mirror, I locked eyes with a woman wearing a sulky expression.
Ahem. This functional outfit I haven’t worn in so long!
“Our adorable little knight!”
“Whoa.”
Hazel pulled me into a tight hug. Honestly, it seems I’ll never escape being treated like a child in this house…
“Just say the last three syllables, please.”
“Adorable?”
“I said the LAST three!”
I struggled and barely wriggled free. Hazel laughed softly.
“There, now. Wear your hood well. Don’t let anyone find out you’re a noble lady, all right?”
“Yep.”
That’s right. I was disguised as a lower-ranking knight whose gender and identity were deliberately ambiguous.
That was the condition for my father to permit this outing.
Gripped by a strange sense of urgency after hearing Allen’s words, I went straight to Father and said I’d accompany the Kasalia escort unit.
After all, the support squad would be made up of members from our own order, and we were merely traveling from the capital to the Babylon border. There shouldn’t be any real danger.
“I permit it, but keep your identity hidden. If you move as a noble lady, you’ll naturally draw attention and get caught up in trouble. Before you even meet Khalid, you’d probably have to appear before the king.”
“No way, I hate that.”
Keeping my identity secret—now that was my area of expertise.
“But why do you need to check the monument formula so urgently? Is something bothering you that much? You can’t even wait a few days?”
“…Th-there’s, um, something.”
“…”
I just couldn’t bring myself to admit it was because of the princess and Khalid…
Of course, I also needed another full day of rest due to my condition.
Anyway, so here I am today!
With my hair perfectly pinned up and decorative arrows slung across my back, I marched out briskly.
As I left the mansion and saw the far-off preparations of the procession, I couldn’t help but grow a bit excited.
‘Going to see Kal!’
After two years, finally!
‘Will he be surprised?’
I pictured Khalid’s face as I last saw him.
“…”
Odd.
I can only vividly recall when he was little—the memory gets hazy…
Now that I think about it, he was so busy by the time he left to find the monument that I hardly saw him at all.
‘Ah, that’s right. That made me so mad back then.’
And then he vanished, leaving me only a single note!
‘Fine. Next time I see him, I’m kicking him right in the shins.’
I laughed to myself and ran toward the distant elegant form of my beloved steed. My white mare, adopted a year ago!
“Oh my, Arherkalberrominia the Third!”
Whinnying gently, the graceful horse blinked long lashes and stamped her hoof with dignity.
“As I’ve told you over and over, shorten that name. Sometimes it embarrasses your father.”
“Gasp.”
Father, seeing me off, scolded lightly.
“And why do you call a horse with no pedigree ‘the Third’?”
“Why not? It sounds grand.”
Father made a wry face as he stroked my mare.
“Arherber… What?”
Alas, no one has ever managed to remember my lovely horse’s name at once.
Will Khalid be able to?
The procession moved swiftly.
‘Hmm, the new acceleration magical tool works really well!’
Thanks to the magical device embedded in my horse’s horseshoes, the scenery whisked by at an incredible pace. I myself, securely atop the horse, remained perfectly calm.
By habit, I felt around in my coat and checked the sheet of paper imbued with blue mana.
‘Why can’t I get through to the second one?’
The “second one” who, after being possessed by the Mage King at the academy, had barely survived.
Up until a few years ago, I’d occasionally communicated with this magical item, but now, no matter how many messages I sent, there was never a reply.
‘When the mana stored in the paper runs out, it’s over, so I can’t waste it, either.’
A short sigh escaped me.
‘Well, there could be all sorts of reasons contact isn’t coming.’
Shaking my head, I slipped the paper back into my coat.
Before I knew it, the procession had left the Babylonian capital and entered the gorge leading to the border villages.
‘But…’
As the cold wind swept through the gorge, I was suddenly swept by embarrassment.
‘…Maybe chasing after like this was a bit much.’
A sudden spell of self-awareness.
It wasn’t as though Khalid was going to marry the princess right away—maybe I was acting too impulsively.
‘But is Khalid even interested in things like dating or marriage?’
Back then, the only things that interested him were swords and squirrels.
‘But he was always so popular at the academy.’
Khalid transferred in as an upperclassman, so we didn’t attend together for long.
And yet I witnessed him being confessed to so many times.
“Khalid, I’ve liked you for so long!”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Lina, from your class for two years.”
“…?”
See? Just off the top of my head.
“K-Kal. Could we meet by the dormitory after class?”
“No dueling on campus.”
“…”
So many times, honestly…
I’d watch girl after girl trying to cling to Kal, and eventually, curiosity got the better of me.
“Hey. Do you have someone you like?”
“…”
“Why are you staring like that?”
“Ruby.”
“Huh?”
“Are those cookies good? Give me a bite.”
“Here— Oh, why are you eating it straight from my hand?!”
“Tastes good.”
He always dodged the question that way, so I never knew what Khalid was thinking.
‘If he ever does fall for someone…’
I glanced at the blue sky and wondered.
‘…I guess I should cheer for him?’
After all, we’ve been close friends since childhood, having shared both joy and hardship.
Yet, to my surprise, as soon as I thought that, both hands fell slack on the reins.
Cheer…
‘Cheer?’
Me? Why…?
‘…I really don’t want to.’
At that moment, a familiar scolding voice issued from the rider galloping beside me.
“Ruby, I told you to hold the reins properly. Where did you learn to ride like that?”
I turned my head slowly to look at him.
“…? On a horse, obviously. With my body.”
“Amazing, truly.”
“But there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask…”
“What?”
“Why are you even coming along, Dad? Weren’t you just going to let me go alone?”
And wasn’t it you who warned me that revealing my identity would be a headache?
The Duke, mounted on a black steed emblazoned with the Zevert crest, straightened his back and looked quickly away.
“Well, I wanted to see Khalid, too.”
“You saw him on the front lines just recently.”
“That was a while back.”
“…It hasn’t been more than a few months, has it?”
Dad kept his eyes stubbornly ahead, but then let out a low, self-deprecating laugh.
“Ruby. Do a few months feel short to you? If you didn’t see me for months at a time, wouldn’t you miss me?”
“Of course not!”
“There, you see?”
Wait, were they really that devoted to each other?
So devoted that one would rush to meet the other at a word?
I looked around at the senior knights riding nearby, but all just shrugged without comment.
Dad nonchalantly rode closer and pulled my hood down lower.
‘Maybe it’s because he raised him?’
It would make sense.
Dad had trained Khalid since he was a child.
Suddenly, a thought struck me.
“Dad… I have a question.”
“Yes?”
“What would you do if Khalid ever got a girlfriend?”
Just then, Dad, who’d been watching me carefully, replied after a moment’s pause.
“…What?”
“Dad, you need to keep a proper grip on the reins.”
“He’s going to have a girlfriend… Who…?”
“Well, how should I know?”
It’s his private life, after all. I couldn’t just tell him everything. Besides, it wasn’t certain yet.
So I merely hinted at what Allen had said.
“She’s probably around my age.”
“…”
“Is she pretty? She’d have to be, right?”
“…”
“And Kal’s always hovering around, protecting her, that kind of feeling?”
It made sense, since he was acting as a guard for now.
I didn’t say anything beyond that, but I heard Dad’s molars grinding together.
“…I’ll kill her.”
“What?”
“No, no, no. I meant I’ll stop him.”
Didn’t you just say you’d kill her?
“That dog-boned— I mean, that bag of bones—no, that’s not it, this damned—huh?”
“Dad, are you all right?”
Oh no.
Dad’s broken!