Youngest 189
by CristaeEpisode 189
By the time we finished our conversation and left the café, it was late afternoon.
Sevelena dashed off toward the square, eager to see more of the festival. Kal and I exchanged brief glances and followed after her.
An arm-wrestling competition was in full swing in the square.
“……”
Amidst the hulking competitors, the foreign princess boldly threw down her gauntlet. And then…
“Oh my, this is so much fun!”
“Urgh!”
Thud.
She won.
“The prize money’s not bad!”
“Urgh!”
Thud.
She kept winning.
“Really? Over and over?”
“Urgh!”
Thud.
She won so much that the organizers, unable to stand it any longer, ended up chasing her off…
“Ah, please leave. We do not welcome unbeatable champions. Haven’t you read the instructions over there?”
The man gestured toward the information tent, where a piece of paper fluttered in the wind.
[In order to protect participants’ mental health, registration is strictly prohibited for the following:
- Heroes and invincible champions
- Meteoric newcomers
- (Though it’s unlikely) Mages]
‘Oh. So Dad, Kal, and I are all banned from entering?’
Sevelena thumped her chest with a huff.
“Excuse me, but I am neither a hero, a rising rookie knight, nor a mage.”
“Well, whatever the case, you’re not allowed! You’re killing the spirit of the event, seriously.”
“What? Not very sporting, are you.”
Tsk. In the end, the princess clicked her tongue and stepped heavily down from the podium. Even so, her bags overflowed with gold coins.
“Your Highness, you’re incredibly strong.”
I was genuinely impressed.
Sevelena beamed with pride.
“If you want to survive in the forest, you need to be strong. That’s true for everything, really!”
“Oooh… So you’re the hardworking type…”
Her bronzed skin glowed in the light of the blazing sunset.
“Have you ever built a house from logs, my lady? Ever woven a raft? Shaped a spear shaft? Dressed a wild boar?”
“Wow, that’s amazing. Is that how you got so strong?”
“That’s right.”
Sevelena let out a confident laugh.
A wild, athletic beauty…
To be honest, she was just my type.
“Look! They’re putting on a play over there! Come on, Nova!”
With gusto, Sevelena ran off toward the opposite side. The knight called Nova, trailing behind with a mound of gold coins, scampered after her in distress.
“She’s really got some energy, that princess.”
Watching the two vanish in the distance, I murmured absentmindedly.
Kal, ever vigilant, quietly asked,
“What do you think?”
“The princess?”
“Yeah.”
I walked in the direction Sevelena had gone, smiling slightly.
“Hm, I feel like she’s still hiding something.”
“Hiding something?”
“Probably. There’s this lingering sense of unease. Her goal isn’t entirely clear to me.”
She claims she’s helping me because of the request from the ‘second.’
Is that truly all there is to it?
If that were the case, she could have sent a letter anonymously, or dispatched someone else.
Wouldn’t that be safer?
Why did she have to come all the way to Babylon to meet me herself?
‘Of course, I don’t doubt the princess’s desperation to prevent the resurrection of dark magic. She also lost her childhood to dark beasts, after all.’
Kal tilted his head slightly.
“So you think the princess is an enemy?”
“I don’t think it’s that simple.”
I hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
“Did you notice how the princess got the king’s title wrong several times while we were talking?”
“Title? Now that you mention it…”
Just then, a loaded wagon rattled by. Kal pressed me deeper onto the inside of the road and muttered,
“I don’t think she’s ever called him ‘Father’ properly.”
“Right. If, after finally finding your father, he turns out to be a disappointment—it makes sense.”
So the princess hadn’t been lying completely. Kasalia’s king probably really was secretly supporting the Mage Kingdom.
“As they say, it’s hard to fake subconscious behaviors.”
I knew well myself how difficult it was to control those little slips of address.
“Let’s just keep an eye on her for today.”
I glanced at Khalid.
“Maybe it’s for the best you became her escort. Sticking close and watching wouldn’t look out of place…”
My voice trailed off.
Huh?
“I mean, if you stay close to watch over her…”
Huh?
“From up close… Hm?”
Why can’t I seem to finish that sentence?
“Ruby?”
Kal couldn’t stand it any longer and spoke up.
“So, you’re telling me… you want me to watch the princess?”
I froze in my tracks.
“What? Are you hungry?”
Khalid asked nonchalantly. We were near a stall selling festival food, the mouthwatering aroma wafting over us, but oddly, my appetite had vanished.
‘What is this feeling…?’
I quietly clenched my fist.
As the silence dragged on, Khalid turned fully toward me, staring down.
“Judging from your face… I must’ve messed up again.”
“That’s not true.”
“Come on, you’re grinding your teeth right now.”
Saying it was bad for my teeth, Kal bought me a stick of grilled, seasoned chicken from a nearby vendor.
‘Honestly, the princess is attractive enough to drive people crazy with desire. She has the kind of allure that makes you want to steal glances even when she’s just standing there. If you’re serving as her escort… you’d feel it even more, right?’
Those eyes? Absolutely striking.
She looked taller than Hazel, with a sharply defined jaw and sun-kissed skin, her magnetic presence overflowing and forming a veritable ocean.
‘A mature beauty…’
I wanted to be like that, too…
“But Ruby. I have something I’m curious about.”
Just as I was lost in my tangled emotions, Khalid handed me a spicy skewer with his other hand and asked,
“Who told you that earlier?”
“Hm?”
Told me what?
“That bit you said before, ‘As they say, it’s hard to fake subconscious behaviors.’”
“Wow, your memory is something else.”
“It sounded a lot like something you heard from someone.”
“Oh, that was obviously…”
I swallowed a bite of skewer and replied.
“Licht. Who else around me would say something like that? He pays attention to every little gesture, apparently.”
How does he even live like that?
He truly seemed fated for the throne, no matter how you looked at him.
“You two… seem pretty close these days.”
“I guess so?”
Kal lowered his gaze to the ground, lips pressed into a thin line, and fell silent for a moment.
“…It’s not fair.”
“What did you say?”
“It pisses me off.”
“What?”
He was grinding his teeth so hard, it was hard to make out his words.
I frowned and held out the other skewer I was holding.
“Here. Whatever it is, you should eat one, too.”
With an oddly aggrieved expression, Kal took the skewer.
“It’s tasty, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“Careful, it’s spicy. That’ll heat you up.”
“…”
Munch, munch. Munch, munch.
In silence, we chewed our way down the street.
“Over here, here!”
Sevelena waved enthusiastically.
Kal sighed quietly and glanced to the side.
Under her cloak, Rubian’s eyes sparkled. Her once-round cheeks were looking a little slimmer, though he wasn’t sure if it was because she was losing her baby fat as she grew.
After guiding Rubian safely through the crowd to a good spot, Sevelena declared, as if she’d been waiting for this,
“They’re putting on a play about Babylon’s ancient mythology. Do you know it?”
“Yes, more or less.”
“It’s the story of the war between the goddess and the first Mage King. The Mage King—well, in ancient terms, the Dragon God—cursed the goddess, and she fled. While escaping, she met the first Emperor of Babylon.”
“Ah…”
Rubian replied brightly.
“They’ll be changing that theory soon.”
“Really? They will?”
“It wasn’t a war story at all—actually, it was a love story. One of our Academy professors just unearthed a new ancient text…”
“Oh my, oh my.”
“They did fight, but they loved each other too, apparently. It’s pretty much a tragic romance…”
“Oh my, oh my, oh my!”
The two of them chattered excitedly.
‘So much for keeping her guard up…’
By the look on her face, one might have thought she’d already fallen for the princess.
‘Is she really that beautiful?’
That’s what Rubian had been unconsciously mumbling as she walked over.
Kal knew that, ever since she was little, Rubian would find pictures of women just like Sevelena in book illustrations and carefully paste them into her diary.
So… that must be what Rubian wished to become.
‘Sure, she’s got a nice face, good features.’
Kal regarded Sevelena.
Her limbs moved well enough for him to declare her perfectly functional.
But no matter how he looked at it, the person he found prettier was…
“Khal. Do I have something on my face?”
“…No.”
Rubian, after all.