Youngest 184
by Cristae184
No, but seriously—how could my dad call Khalid’s future girlfriend a dog-bone?
“In any case, absolutely not. I… strongly oppose it.”
Not just oppose, but strongly oppose—what does that even mean?
“Khalid has to become the greatest knight in the world. To do that, romance? Absolutely forbidden.”
“But Dad, you’re a great knight, and you still fell in love and got married.”
“I’m your father. That’s different.”
“What kind of logic is that…”
“It’s fine for me, but not for him. Ruby, no. Absolutely not. Understand? Not yet, not ever.”
“Why tell me? Go complain to him!”
Dad turned away, covering his mouth with a sickly expression. He muttered something, but the wind drowned it out.
‘Hmm. So Dad would also be upset if Khalid got a girlfriend.’
Upset enough to break down like that.
The bonds you build living together are never insignificant.
‘Guess it wasn’t strange that I didn’t want to cheer him on, after all.’
With a sly grin, I gripped the reins tight. A small flick, and my sleek white mare broke into a brisker trot.
“Yeah, to hell with romance!”
I’d almost forgotten, but the original story—this was a grim tale of war, not dreams and hopes!
“Like Dad said, just train and become the strongest in the world instead!”
Sorry, childhood friend, that’s just how it is!
Hm.
Watching his daughter ride ahead, Leviathan smiled gently.
Now that his mind had cleared, he was glad he’d come along.
A true knight must always detect and respond swiftly to looming crises.
‘Alright. I’ll keep that Khalid brat glued to my hip.’
On the other side, Ruby.
If things went that way, the two of them would be separated by an unbreakable wall, destined never to face each other, endlessly running parallel…
“Your Grace, your aura is unusually strong—has something happened…?”
At his adjutant’s words, Leviathan looked up with weary eyes.
After a moment of silence, he let out a long sigh.
“…No, I was just picturing something a bit pathetic.”
“Pardon?”
Grunting, he ran a rough hand through his hair.
He knew that a parent’s job was to let go when the time was right, and Ruby wasn’t a ten-year-old anymore.
But still, the thought of ‘letting her go’ sent his heart plummeting.
“Are there any signs of magical beasts along this route?”
He changed the subject.
“None, sir. If anything had happened, the vanguard would have notified us. No need to worry.”
“Good.”
“To be honest, Your Grace, there was no need for you to come. The escort’s numbers are sufficient, and Sir Leon could have protected the lady well enough.”
“Ah.”
He paused, glancing ahead. There was Ruby’s profile—her eyes sparkling as she took in the world around her.
With her long hair pinned up as part of her disguise, from afar she looked every inch the mischievous young knight.
“She’s holding herself back right now.”
“Excuse me?”
“She doesn’t even realize she’s overexerting. Someone needs to pace her.”
Leviathan couldn’t help but worry about Ruby—her recent nosebleed was a concern.
It was as if something had her heart blocked up and she was pushing her body too hard. Yet she wouldn’t open up to him or Rosetta, leaving him no choice but to find another way.
‘This sudden urgency about the monument formula is just an excuse, I’m sure… She’s always chattered about everything to Khalid since she was little, so maybe it’s because of that.’
Childish behavior is one thing.
But if it was something Ruby needed, even if it pained him, he’d endure it.
Just then, Ruby turned to wave enthusiastically from up ahead.
“Hey! Look, a signpost at the fork!”
“Oh, our precious youngest.”
Nearby knights chuckled. “We’ll go check it out!” they called, spurring ahead.
Leviathan was about to quicken his pace as well, then suddenly—
A sense of déjà vu made him hesitate.
A pale face under a deeply drawn hood.
‘…She wore the priest’s hood the same way, didn’t she.’
Drawn low over her face. That woman from his dreams.
With eyes swirling red.
The nightmare where a mysterious woman killed him. Leviathan suffered from that inexplicable dream all too often.
The troubling part was, the woman in the dream, more and more…
‘Ruby…’
She was starting to look just like Rubian.
‘No, not that.’
Was Rubian growing to resemble that woman in the dream?
“…”
Shaking his head briskly, Leviathan urged his horse forward. The gait quickened—clop, clop—yet his mind was calm.
‘In that case, it’s not a nightmare.’
It wasn’t a dream of losing his daughter.
After all, being slain by a woman who resembled his daughter—how could that ever be a nightmare to him?
“Wow, a festival!”
My eyes grew round.
The border village was small, but that added a charming coziness. Simple decorations everywhere made for a lively festive air.
As soon as we arrived, Dad went to visit the king at the local noble’s estate.
Naturally, since I hadn’t come as a noble lady, the time was mine!
‘Where’s Kal?’
Word was, he’d gone to see the village with the princess…
I hoisted my decorative bow and wandered the street. It had taken real effort to dissuade the senior knights from following me as my escort.
‘Not a child anymore, and my identity’s well hidden.’
Strolling a festival in a small village—I could easily handle this alone.
‘And with the village this small, I’ll probably run into them as I walk around…’
Besides, the princess was said to be a striking beauty, so spotting her should be easy.
“Hey there, wandering knight! How about some delicious jam?”
“Oh…”
“Wandering knight,” was it? I must look quite the lone wolf.
As I was picking out jars of jam to give as souvenirs to my family—
“…Hmm?”
A group caught my eye.
Off in the distance, near the end of the festival street.
‘The princess.’
On instinct, I ducked behind a large display.
Even at a glance, the beauty radiant in the crowd, laughing over crafts at a stall, drew the eye. Two knights stood nearby as her escort.
I immediately recognized the embroidery on the edge of their cloaks.
It was from the supply issue for this expedition.
‘Which means Kal is there!’
“Darn, I can’t see clearly.”
Their backs were all I could see—everyone had their hoods pulled low, cleverly shielded by stall decorations…
Just then,
The princess picked up an art piece and held it out to someone standing nearby.
“…!”
My eyes widened.
For just an instant, beneath the man’s hood, I caught a flash of dark-blue hair as he leaned toward her.
‘Kal!’
Was it him? Or not?
“Dad said he was about this tall…”
Oh no! I think it really is him!
Because just now, that knight was about the same height as the princess.
Though she seemed rather tall for a woman, still—this has to be him…
‘Khalid…’
A sting prickled at the tip of my nose.
It had been a full two years, after all.
‘Wait? But compared to two years ago, he seems a bit shorter… And… Has he gotten a little frail from all the hardships?’
I shook my head hard.
‘No, it’s just that the people around me are so big. That’s what’s normal. Anyway, I’m so, so happy to see him. There’s no room to feel awkward over his changed appearance.’
Sniffling a little, I let myself drift in sentiment.
Concentrating, I could even sense Khalid’s mana, clear as day, among the cluster near the princess.
“Sigh. It’s been so long since I felt this mana… Wait, but!”
Narrowing my eyes to spy from afar, I was suddenly overcome with irritation.
‘Why does that man keep getting in the way of our Kal!’
I can’t see!
For a while now, one of the princess’s bodyguards—a massive, wall-like man—kept station in the middle of the street, always blocking my view of Khalid!
From the back alone, he radiated such intimidation.
Even cloaked, his solid bulk made him seem capable of crushing anyone nearby by presence alone.
With that kind of build, he could probably do the work of a hundred ordinary guards on his own…
‘Wait. What am I talking about?’
Why was my attention drifting there?
I shook my head.
‘Hmm, so when should I go say hello?’
I’d planned to watch from a distance, then approach at just the right moment, as if by chance.
But I was so overwhelmed with happiness that such plans felt pointless. I decided to throw caution aside and move in to reveal myself right away.
“Uh…”
But my movements froze.