4 - The Youngest is Hiding a Lot
Episode 4
\ \ *
The director of the Imperial Rieta Orphanage, Mrs. Yuris, widened her eyes.
“Your Excellency?”
It was because of Leviathan Zebert, who had suddenly appeared in disarray. He was also Mrs. Yuris’s classmate from her academy days.
“What on earth is going on?”
It was the first time she had seen Leviathan looking so flustered.
His neat uniform was crumpled, and his black hair was soaked with rainwater.
How hard had he run that even the great knight was panting?
“You heard about the robbery?”
Leviathan strode into the orphanage lobby, looking around. His violet eyes shook violently.
“Ah, you heard?”
“What exactly happened?”
“There was a robbery. It seems they were after the donations, but they must have been clumsy because they spilled everything in the backyard.”
“The children? I heard rumors that they were hurt.”
“The children were just startled and fell, but they’re fine. No one was injured.”
It seemed the news had been a bit exaggerated.
“……”
Leviathan let out a long breath.
Only then did he realize that he hadn’t been breathing properly. His narrowed vision finally cleared.
Yuris with a flustered face.
The children who ran away as soon as they spotted him.
“The one I brought yesterday…”
His voice was hoarse.
“The child I brought?”
“Ah, Rubian, you mean.”
Leviathan blinked blankly.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t even asked the child’s name.
“Rubian…”
He quietly spoke the name.
It seemed fitting, yet strangely unfitting.
“Yes, where is Rubian?”
“He suddenly said he had a stomachache and went to the bathroom. Now that I think about it, why isn’t he back yet? We need to do the Magic Power Measurement.”
“…Magic Power Measurement?”
“It’s an order from the Imperial Family. Something about catching an escaped magician.”
Leviathan’s brow furrowed noticeably.
That damn Emperor. He was already taking care of it, yet he had to test him.
“Everyone who crossed the border is a target. You said you found him near the border when you brought him in, right?”
Leviathan clicked his tongue.
“Anyway, bring the child.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Because of the robbery, the security knights were rummaging around everywhere. Their fierce appearance, holding blue swords, somehow made his heart burn.
The environment… is a bit concerning.
‘Now that I look closely, the orphanage seems quite shabby.’
It was strange.
This Imperial Orphanage was made by completely renovating an entire noble’s mansion.
But when he looked closely, everything seemed lacking.
“Mrs. Yuris.”
Then, a boy approached.
Bright Blonde hair, turquoise eyes.
Leviathan’s chin tilted slightly.
“Ah, Your Highness the Prince. Did you have a good look around the facilities?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, it was very helpful. I think I can solve the homework my Imperial Father gave me.”
The boy smiled gently and replied politely.
“Oh? Duke Jebert.”
“What brings Your Highness here?”
He was the youngest prince of Bamilron.
Licht Bamilron. He couldn’t understand why that noble blood was in such a place.
No, before that… how could a robbery happen with a prince present?
‘This place is worse than a shanty.’
What have I done?
Leviathan’s brow furrowed even deeper.
“I was asked to give my opinion on the new orphanage to be built in the south.”
“By whom?”
“My Imperial Father.”
“Report him.”
“Pardon?”
“Child exploitation.”
Licht scratched his fair cheek and smiled awkwardly. The surrounding air melted away. His dazzlingly beautiful face resembled the Emperor the most.
The prince, who had just turned 12, seemed to be growing a little slower than his peers. However, his gaze was as fierce as any other royal…
Leviathan felt bitter.
‘Are you already throwing him into the succession war, Ditrian?’
He cursed the Emperor, whose blood was blue to the bone, in his heart.
“I’m fine. I volunteered myself. Ah, I heard there was a commotion… Teacher.”
The prince looked at Yuris again.
“I haven’t seen the child with the silver hair since earlier.”
“Hmm? Isn’t he in the bathroom?”
“Nowhere.”
The boy shook his head.
Leviathan’s hand clenched tightly.
Nowhere?
Then where on earth?
“Since there was a disturbing incident, shouldn’t we search properly?”
“Since it’s such a large place, it would be better to get help from the knights.”
“Yes… That child seems anxious, so I’m worried.”
Leviathan, who was about to run out, stopped abruptly.
“He seemed anxious?”
“Yes? Yes.”
Why?
Leviathan felt something inside him collapsing.
The face of the child, who smiled brightly even after going through a rough time in the forest, came to mind.
He thought that such a brave child would be fine here too.
‘Was I wrong?’
Leviathan’s hands were numb. Suddenly, he remembered the voice saying that crying wouldn’t solve anything.
Ah.
That was a face accustomed to enduring.
“He sighed so loudly. He barely ate anything either…”
The prince’s smooth face drooped sadly.
“Your Excellency?”
“Search outside the mansion!”
Leviathan jumped up.
He had a bad feeling.
The prince was a child with a developed sense of perception. If such a prince had been searching and couldn’t find him…
‘That means he’s not here anymore.’
Leviathan ran to his horse. He grabbed the reins and leaped onto the horse.
By now, it was pouring rain outside.
Rumble. The sky, roaring roughly, was very unsettling.
People were startled and stepped back at the sudden appearance of the horse. Raindrops struck his cheeks like blades.
Winter was not over yet.
Where on earth could he have gone in this weather?
A child accustomed to enduring. A child who smiled while hiding his trembling hands.
He knew it.
“Thanks to you, it’s peaceful.”
So.
That peaceful place was this capital.
Not the harsh and rough north, where he had to train with swords every day.
“Damn it.”
That’s how it is. A child accustomed to enduring was like a flower blooming in the shade. Such things need to be cherished with love and care to bloom.
They need to be cared for with pure affection by people who are kinder and gentler than himself, who smells of blood, before they can finally stick their heads out of the shadows.
“Uncle, can’t you take me with you?”
But if that was the only thing you didn’t endure.
Leviathan regretted it belatedly.
‘If it was going to be like this.’
He should have taken him.
If he had kept him by his side and protected him, this wouldn’t have happened.
‘Damn it, why do I keep making mistakes?’
Go die, Leviathan Zebert.
He sincerely blamed himself.
Clatter! Clatter!
The horse rampaged through the capital like crazy. He raised his senses to the limit to detect the child’s presence.
‘If something went wrong.’
Suddenly, their first meeting came to mind.
The child who was rummaging through the corpse’s pockets.
He admitted it. Leviathan was seeing his own childhood in that figure.
“Goddamn it!”
Leviathan, who was searching the dark alley, couldn’t bear his impatience and exploded his sword energy.
Crash! A group of knights ran towards the collapsing wall.
“What’s going on… Your Excellency?”
It was the Zeberth Knights, who had been wandering around.
His adjutant, Leon, hurriedly approached.
“What are you doing here…”
“Find the child.”
Leviathan said in a deeply subdued voice.
“Pardon? A child…?”
“A boy with silver hair and blue eyes.”
The knights looked bewildered.
He thought for a moment and added.
“His name is Rubian.”
He roughly wiped the rain from his face. He should have at least asked his name directly.
“Find Rubian.”
“Ye, yes, I understand.”
The knights scattered.
Leviathan also raised the reins again without hesitation. Just as he was about to strike down.
“…Uncle?”
A thin voice pierced through the heavy rain.
As he creaked his head around, he saw a familiar silhouette walking out of the alley right next to him.
“You…”
Leviathan’s eyes widened.
