Youngest 271

Episode 271

‘What is this?’

Looking back, I saw only a group of men sitting by the window, chattering noisily.

It seemed like there were also some people dining alone in the vicinity.

But on this spring day, someone out there with a robe pulled over their head, face buried in a newspaper… Something about that struck me as vaguely sinister, so I hurriedly averted my eyes.

Didn’t want to accidentally meet their gaze.

Sevelena squeezed and stretched my cheek.

“Well, Lady. How can hugging, kissing, and making a fuss over how pretty or handsome you are count as friendship? If that’s what friends are, then I haven’t got any.”

“That’s how businesslike an interaction it is, Sevelena! You have no idea!”

Once again, my words spilled out in a burst. When the table behind us stirred again, I quickly lowered my voice.

“…And every time I tried to confess, he ran away.”

“No, that can’t be… Hm?”

At that moment, the princess, who had been gazing quietly behind me, narrowed her eyes. Then she broke into a mischievous smile.

“Oh?”

“What? What is it?”

“It’s nothing. But you know, there are quite a lot of young people here, aren’t there?”

“Oh. That’s because I heard a lot of students from the Southern Mariad Academy have come to see the graduation ceremony and academic festival.”

At Titi’s explanation, she stood up with a scraping sound.

Immediately, the young men who’d been anxiously trying to strike up a conversation with her flinched.

“Shall we try to expand our networks a little?”

---

What is going on? What are they doing?

Kal jittered his leg nervously.

When he saw Sevelena, excitedly pushing two tables together, he grew even more tense.

Muscular young men with bronzed skin sat shyly on the other side.

They seemed to be students from the Southern Mariad Academy.

‘Why are they joining tables?’

They were having fun on their own, so why all of a sudden!

‘Why—why, for heaven’s sake!’

He’d completed the battle in a frenzy and returned days ahead of schedule.

Of course, the other soldiers were probably still crossing ravines and mountain passes, but so what? He was a mage.

‘I pushed myself to use up all my mana to get here quickly.’

When he reached the house, the only one there was Leviathan, looking bored.

“Ruby? She went out somewhere.”

“Sigh, where to…”

“More importantly, Kal, looks like you’ll be a marquis soon. Land, estate, city house… Why are you suddenly advancing so quickly?”

“There’s something I have to do.”

“…”

Leviathan looked at him steadily and said,

“You’re a thief.”

Catch the thief.

Kal dashed away, deftly avoiding the duke and his household who came after him.

After slipping out of the mansion, he took care of a few things and then set out in earnest to look for Rubian. That’s when he ran into Sir Leon, her guard.

Naturally, he stayed close behind Rubian instead of Leon.

‘I was planning to wait for the right moment before approaching.’

But seeing Rubian laughing and spending time with her friends after such a long while, he didn’t want to interrupt.

Moreover—

“No, it’s all because of the mana!”

“That’s how businesslike an interaction it is, Sevelena! You have no idea!”

‘What… what does that even mean?’

As he tried to mull over the meaning, he lost his timing to step in.

“Uh, excuse me, sir. The table’s been shaking so much you keep dropping cutlery…”

The owner came over, grumbling. Kal quietly handed over a gold coin. The owner told him to go ahead and drop all he liked, and even brought over the whole cutlery case.

‘Sigh.’

And now, what is that?

Kal gritted his teeth again.

By now, Rubian’s table had placed additional orders and even added the bills together, turning the place into a proper social scene for young men and women. Unfortunately, from here, only the back of Rubian’s head was visible.

“Excuse me, sir. There’s a complaint from another table—they say the atmosphere is too fierce and they’re scared…”

The owner approached again, and Kal simply threw over his money pouch.

“Right! The scary one should leave. Absolutely, sir. Enjoy your meal!”

The tables around Khalid were instantly cleared. Thanks to that, he could hear the conversation from the other table clearly.

“Hahaha! Then shall we introduce ourselves first? Since sharing personal information at a first meeting might offend the ladies, let’s each use a pseudonym!”

One of the bronzed young men said with a hearty laugh.

He was objectively good-looking, but Kal, blinded by jealousy, inwardly scoffed, wondering how he was any different from a squid.

“Sounds good!”

When Sortie clapped her hands, the guy sitting across from her spoke up.

“Ah, at Mariad, when we introduce ourselves in gatherings like this, there’s a custom to do it cutely and charmingly! It’s a kind of appeal! What do you say?”

“Oh, that sounds fun.”

What? Cute? Charming…?

They’re going to make Rubian do that?

‘Are they crazy?’

“Then~ let’s start with the silver-haired lady~”

“Oh really, what’s all this nonsense.”

From where Khalid sat, he couldn’t see Rubian’s face at all.

Still, he knew. Even just breathing, she was darling. If she actually tried to be cute, it would spell disaster!

Rubian introduced herself in time with a simple rhythm. Clap, clap.

“Queen Ruby.”

“Uh, are you in a bad mood?”

“What? Why? What? Must I always be cute? Huh?”

“She’s scary… She’s like a thug…”

Of course, none of that could be heard. People only heard what they wanted to hear and saw what they wanted to see.

‘Adorably cute… like a rabbit…’

Did she just do a V-sign with her fingers?

‘And she’s showing that off to those guys?’

“Hah…”

His throat dry, he gulped down water. Noticing him, Sevelena stuck out her tongue playfully.

‘Still not going to act? Show them the textbook case of a man going mad with jealousy! Make a dramatic entrance, grab her wrist, take her out, and confess right there!’

That’s what she meant, but dense Kal didn’t get it.

‘I’m so annoyed.’

Haaaa. He let out a long sigh. Suddenly, all the fatigue came crashing down at once.

‘But really… she can’t feel mana at all now. Or even sense it.’

Honestly, it should’ve been Rubian, not Sevelena, who noticed his presence first.

‘In the past, Ruby, you could sense me even from far away.’

Now, even in the same room, she didn’t know he was there.

For the first time, it truly hit him that Rubian had become someone who couldn’t use magic at all. And naturally, magical communication between them was impossible.

Every time Kal noticed how much weaker Rubian had become than before, his heart was raked with pain as though slashed by a knife. It made him ache with sorrow and regret.

So he sat there, chin in hand, gazing vacantly at the back of Rubian’s head.

He told himself that as long as she was having a good time, that was enough.

‘If I confess…’

What will you say?

When they first kissed.

Truthfully, Khalid had thought he could happily live the rest of his life with Rubian, their lips joined forever.

It had been sheer bliss.

But that was his arrogance.

After returning to the north, kissing her day after day, his meager patience had quickly reached its limit. Now, he was tormented by an overwhelming desire, not just to have her lips, but all of her.

Each time that desire surged up, he would hastily retreat, desperate not to let it show…

But now, even that had reached its limit.

‘To have Rubian completely, I needed to be a man worthy of her. That’s why I needed the title.’

Was that just arrogance?

Maybe what he truly needed wasn’t a title, but Rubian’s heart.

‘Yes. I thought there was a chance Ruby might like me, even a little. But—’

“No, it’s all because of the mana!”

“That’s how businesslike an interaction it is, Sevelena! You have no idea!”

Khalid drew a snail on the rounded table. A symbol of missteps.

‘Ah, so the reason she always begged for kisses was really just because of my mana.’

Should he really confess, then?

‘What was it that Rubian wanted with me?’

While his thoughts spun endlessly, the owner cleaning the nearby table shouted.

“Ugh! Who would taste something this delicious and just leave it!”

“…”

Why did those words stab him right in the heart?

“If you’re just going to throw it away, why order it in the first place!”

“Ah, damn it…”

Suddenly, epiphany struck Khalid like lightning.

‘Once she absorbed my mana and her core was complete…’

Maybe she was planning to toss him aside.

“Was I just… not tasty enough?”

Not good enough to make her want more?

But after kissing her, when he’d seen Rubian’s face go slack with dazed pleasure, enough to make anyone watching blush… he’d thought she was satisfied.

Maybe not.

Maybe, just as she’d said, it really was all for the mana.

Kal buried his face in his hands. He felt as miserable as that discarded food waste.

‘Ah, should I not have ordered the ring before coming here?’

Khalid Riorc.

Not human, and yet, he’d lived for a very long time—without a single shred of experience in romance.

Rubian Zevert.

She’d lived three lives—past, present, and modern, and yet, she too had no experience in romance.

Their collaboration was truly extraordinary.

And more than that.

They were both, by nature, terribly…

No further explanation is necessary.