13 - The Youngest is Hiding a Lot
13
"Your Excellency?"
"No, it's nothing."
He scratched the back of his head roughly.
'Could it be.'
She's just a child who grew up in a remote village. She probably hasn't been exposed to imperial clocks much.
'Am I still wandering the battlefield?'
A self-deprecating smile flickered across his relaxed face. It was a fleeting moment, unnoticed by anyone.
\ \ \
I was flustered.
"W-What is it?"
Brawny maid unnies suddenly appeared with sharp objects. How could I not be flustered?
"What else? We're just going to tidy up your messy hair."
Hazel said with a gentle smile.
Her muscle-packed arms twitched every time she snapped the scissors.
Wow, a tofu-like face with a not-so-tofu body...
"You're going to cut my hair?"
The words popped out before I knew it. As I pulled my hair back as if to hide it, the maid unnies' eyebrows drooped.
"Oh, Rubian-nim. You'll hurt your scalp."
Hazel treated me like a piece of straw that would fly away if she blew on it.
"Your back hair is all crooked, and your bangs are too long, aren't they uncomfortable? I saw them keep falling down when you were eating earlier."
"Umm..."
The reason my back hair was in this state was because I ran into a Dark Creature that used flames. It was burnt black and matted, so I just cut it roughly, and it ended up like this.
"You don't like it?"
"It's not that I don't like it, but..."
I somehow didn't feel like it.
'That's strange. I've never cared about my hair before.'
I sat on the edge of the bed and pondered for a moment before answering hesitantly. Hazel waited patiently, making eye contact with me.
I felt sorry to keep her waiting.
"Um... Okay."
Hazel's face brightened instantly.
"Shall we go this way, then?"
"Yes!"
Before I knew it, a large, fluffy chair was prepared.
By the window where bright sunlight streamed in. I sat still with my hands neatly folded, and a soft cloth was draped over my shoulders.
"Huh? Rubian-nim, are you hot?"
Hazel asked as she tied the knot behind my neck.
"No?"
"But why are you sweating so much?"
She sounded puzzled.
'Oh, really?'
I wiped the back of my neck with my hand. Damp sweat came off.
'Am I hot?'
I feel rather cold though.
I tilted my head with a puzzled expression. The maid unnies had a brief discussion about whether to open the window for me or not.
"Rubian! I told you to come to my room to play cards... What's this?"
At that moment, Void appeared through the open doorway.
His eyes quickly scanned the room. When his eyes met mine, Void frowned slightly.
"What are you doing?"
"Ah, Young Master."
"Hazel!"
The boy who had run over glared fiercely at Hazel.
"Why are you bothering my sibling!"
"Yes? Bothering? Young Master, I'm just trimming Rubian-nim's hair..."
"Liar!"
What? What's wrong with him? I blankly stared at Void, who stood in front of me.
At the same time, there was a knock, knock on the door. Dozens of gazes shifted.
"I wondered what all the commotion was about..."
"Lord."
"A bunch of people crammed into a tiny room. It's like a marketplace."
It was the owner of this house, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.
"Father!"
Void quickly ran towards Uncle. Uncle looked down at his son and frowned slightly.
"Void, why are you here at this hour..."
"Rubian is scared!"
"What?"
Gazes collided in the air.
I blinked with a bewildered expression.
Void turned around and pointed at me.
To be exact, at Hazel, who was standing behind me.
"The scissors, I mean."
"..."
Oh... Was that it?
An awkward atmosphere filled the room.
The most flustered was, of course, Hazel, who was standing behind me.
"R-Rubian-nim. Were you scared of the scissors? Is that why you were sweating?"
Hazel quickly removed the scissors from her hand.
Then, she approached me and lowered herself. Her face, looking up at me, was tearful.
"What should I do? And I didn't even know..."
"No, I didn't know either..."
I shook my head and replied awkwardly.
'Come to think of it, I was nervous.'
A stranger was standing behind me with something sharp.
Even though Hazel wasn't a bad person, I must have been a little scared.
Maybe that's why I didn't feel like getting my hair cut.
"Get rid of it."
Uncle, who had approached in an instant, ordered with a scary face. His voice and expression were extremely cold.
"Y-Yes."
The maid unnies moved hastily.
"Oh, it's okay... It's just for a moment anyway."
"I'm sorry, Rubian-nim. I should have been more attentive... I startled you."
Hazel apologized repeatedly. I sat on the large chair, fidgeting with my fingertips.
I felt like I had become a spoiled child.
"It's really okay. Really. I'm not sweating anymore."
"Ruby."
Then, a large hand fell on the top of my head. When I turned my head, a pair of deep purple eyes were staring straight at me.
"You don't have to do something you don't like."
"B-But..."
"No one can force you to, not even me."
I didn't know what to say. I just nodded with a dazed expression.
"Cut your hair later. What's uncomfortable?"
"It keeps poking my eyes."
"Don't pull it back then."
Someone who had been listening quietly muttered.
"It would be nice to have a hairpin..."
Then, Hazel quickly stepped forward.
"I'll go out and buy one right away!"
"Wait."
Uncle opened his mouth towards her retreating figure.
"...In the east room."
"Yes?"
"There might be something useful. Look and bring it."
"...Lord."
It was Butler Adolf who called Leviathan Uncle, standing quietly behind him.
However, Uncle didn't seem to care.
"Adolf, give me the key."
"...Yes."
In a subtle atmosphere, Hazel and Adolf, who had pressed their lips tightly, disappeared.
'What's in the east room?'
I pondered whether there was a setting in the original story that I had missed. Nothing really comes to mind...
Then, Void, who had been standing quietly, came over and pressed my cheek. His sparkling purple eyes were filled with concern.
"Are you okay? Your face is like flour dough."
Come to think of it, Void was the first to notice. My condition that even I didn't know.
"Oh... I'm okay."
Does he have a surprisingly sharp side?
Anyway, thank you...
"Thank you."
Void snorted as if it was nothing.
Uncle, who had been watching me and Void quietly, opened his mouth as if he had suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, Void."
"Yes, Father!"
"What about your swordsmanship training?"
"Huh?"
"Training."
A moment of silence. Void began to back away slowly.
"Riiight now..."
"Now?"
"I'm going!"
Ssaeng, the child who was caught skipping ran away, creating a gust of wind. It was like lightning.
"..."
Uncle, who had been following Void's disappearing figure with his eyes, scratched his eyebrow.
"I just asked, why is he running away?"
"Didn't you threaten him with your eyes?"
If you ask with that dirty look and lower your voice, anyone would be scared.
"Ah, I forgot to relax my expression."
Uncle scratched one eyebrow as if he was troubled.
"It's difficult."
It was a voice that seemed to be filled with anguish.
\ \ \
"Haa..."
Hazel, a maid of the Jebert Duchy, was depressed.
'I didn't know because you looked like you were okay.'
Her face, as she pondered over what had happened a little while ago, was filled with dark clouds. Her footsteps, walking down the hallway, had no energy at all.
'You idiot.'
I tried to be thorough, but it ended up like this.
Suddenly, she remembered what the master had said when he gathered the servants.
"Don't touch their body without permission, and don't talk about their past carelessly. They don't like it."
Hazel's eyebrows drooped even more sadly.
'I wonder if something bad happened.'
I heard that they were rescued from a village ruined by Dark Creatures.
They were so small and thin. How hard must it have been?
'I have to do better.'
Hazel sniffed, inhaling her stuffy nose.
"I was honestly surprised that Your Excellency mentioned this room."
The maid who was walking next to her said.
In her hand, she held an old but unrusted key.
"Your Excellency must cherish Rubian-nim a lot."
"It's understandable. They're so lovely. It's so blissful when they make eye contact with me and greet me in the morning!"
"I heard from Lord Leon that they gave gifts to all the knights on the way to the north. Homemade ointment."
"Oh my goodness. They're even resourceful."
"Right?"
Hazel recalled Rubian's sparkling eyes and mysterious silver hair.
Soft-looking cream-colored skin and round, cute features, small hands and feet that were constantly moving busily...
"Surely, when they grow up, they'll be a beautiful..."
Hmm? Hazel chose her words without realizing it.
"A wonderful...? A dignified man...?"
It somehow doesn't quite fit.
But she couldn't quite figure out what was wrong.
