42 - The Youngest is Hiding a Lot
Chapter 425
‘He overdid it.’
Cal shook his head. A disapproving sound escaped him involuntarily.
“Huff, huff. Water… Water, please…”
Even more so when he saw the pale face lying before him.
“Tsk, seriously. What is he trying to do?”
Rubian, lying on the cloak of the knight named Leon, was breathing heavily. When he handed over the water bottle that was placed nearby, she received it like holy water.
“Breathe and drink water.”
“Th, thank you.”
“Why did you overdo it? You couldn’t even finish one lap properly.”
“That’s what I’m saying…”
I guess I got too confident lately.
Rubian muttered and gulped down the water.
Cal stood with his hands on his hips, looking down at her.
Thin silver hair swaying weakly in the breeze.
Some crazy bastard touched it, cutting it ridiculously short.
‘Hoo.’
Cal swallowed his curse with difficulty. Long eyelashes cast a shadow over her clear, transparent eyes, drawing his attention.
Even with that look, she’s still pretty.
‘A boy? The northerners must be out of their minds.’
Seriously,
It was a ridiculous sight.
‘The seventh daughter of the Magic King.’
Cal looked at Rubian wiping away sweat and recalled her identity anew.
‘A princess.’
Another sigh escaped him.
‘The princess of the Archmage Kingdom is here, disguised as a boy, receiving knight training.’
Of course, he knew that Rubian’s circumstances were different from those of a typical princess.
‘She seems to have almost forgotten her status as a princess herself.’
Honestly, he had never lived in the Archmage Kingdom, so he couldn’t know exactly how the ‘children of the king’ were treated…
However, Rubian had said.
“The Magic King… arbitrarily takes children with excellent magical power and makes them his own. There are many ‘children of the king’ in the royal palace.”
“……”
“So, I’m more like a weapon he painstakingly polished than his child. Not like the princess you’re thinking of.”
Come to think of it, when did it start?
Cal thought that Rubian was very different from when he first met her. Of course, it was good to see her more lively and cheerful than before.
“So, I don’t like being treated like a princess.”
But the self-deprecating look she occasionally showed was strangely too mature.
Cal felt unbearably anxious.
“…But I think you are a princess.”
That’s why he couldn’t help but add hastily.
“At least to me.”
A bright, warm, and therefore supremely noble princess.
Otherwise, there would be no way to explain this precious feeling of wanting to protect her…
Someone said that this feeling was generally similar to the loyalty of knights who followed a princess.
Indeed, that’s why. Once he realized it, the title of master came out very naturally.
‘What is someone like that doing in a place like this?’
His insides burned black with something he couldn’t tell whether it was anger or bitterness.
It seemed that Rubian herself was the only one in the world who didn’t know how special she was.
Was it just her status?
As far as he knew, Rubian was also a powerful magician. It must be because of the complex knowledge in that small head.
She already has the strongest power, yet she’s rolling around on the floor here like the weakest…
‘I can’t believe this.’
It was so absurd that he didn’t even know where to start pointing it out.
“Hah, I feel a little better…”
Rubian, who had been lying sprawled out, slowly got up. Cal quickly went behind Rubian.
“You shouldn’t have run so hard.”
“I got excited…”
Rubian, leaning against his shin, tilted her head back and smiled brightly. Seeing that face made him feel a little dizzy.
“You little snot! Where’s our youngest little snot!”
Just then, a bull charged in, kicking up dust in the distance.
“Grandpa has made an Invigorating Drink! Hurry up and drink it!”
Cal laughed.
Old Duke Jebert was fussing over Rubian, feeding her a drink with bubbles rising from it.
‘Well, she’s definitely being treated like a princess here.’
To be so flustered by a kid who barely reaches his waist.
“Tsk, is Borbel here yet?!”
“I, it’s not to the point of calling a doctor…”
“Didn’t she collapse while running?!”
“She didn’t collapse, she just gave up because she was tired…”
He had heard about Old Duke Jebert. Before Leviathan Zebert, that old man was said to be the best in the continent.
‘He couldn’t even wait for the fuse to light on the cannonballs, so he threw them with his bare hands and blew them up…’
He was the type whose skills were buried because of his terrible personality.
Then, Void Zebert approached. Wiping Rubian’s forehead with a white handkerchief.
“Ruby, what are you really going to do? You can’t even finish one lap around the Training ground.”
Even as he grumbled, his busy hands didn’t stop. He seemed to be like that even in the dining hall.
Rubian bristled.
“I can run two laps around the Mini Training Ground!”
“That’s less than half of half of half of half!”
“Ugh, don’t hit me where it hurts when I’m sick!”
“Seriously, where would I even hit you…”
The two bickered.
Cal looked down at the back of Rubian’s round head.
Rubian didn’t fight with anyone. She always had a face that said she didn’t care about anything.
He always hated that. It was like she was always ready to leave.
In the end, she abandoned him and left, so it wasn’t entirely wrong.
‘Come to think of it.’
It seemed that the only time she showed any reaction was when it came to Leviathan Zebert.
Did Ruby always want to come here?
“The Duke has arrived!”
In the end, it was his appearance.
Just because she was tired from running around the Training ground…
‘Seriously, not just me.’
You guys are being too much.
“Ruby.”
Leviathan Zebert appeared with ink all over him. His presence alone was overwhelming. The knights stiffened.
The leader of the beasts who appeared leisurely.
He was dressed in a loose outfit that looked more like something you’d see in a mercenary group than among nobles. Cal knew very well that people like that were the most dangerous.
‘That look… is terrifying.’
Purple eyes scanned the surroundings in an instant. Cal clicked his tongue, seemingly disgusted by the sharp glint that flashed for a moment.
“Uncle!”
Rubian reached out her hand without hesitation. The Duke instantly softened his expression and naturally picked her up.
“You hate hard work, so why did you overdo it like this?”
“I don’t know.”
“Look at your face. It’s so pale. Not cute at all.”
“I know!”
“What do you know?”
The touch that brushed the tip of Rubian’s nose was full of affection.
Cal quietly watched the scene.
‘There’s no treasure like her.’
Cherish her, my baby.
Is that why? The reason you’re here.
Magic King or whatever… you just like this place.
Cal blankly thought that he wished it was something like that.
‘But I’m a little jealous.’
That you have another pillar to lean on.
He kicked the leg that was supporting Rubian on the ground.
‘But well… it’s been a while since I’ve seen her smile.’
A knight of the princess must know his place.
The slightly bitter boy stepped back.
That night.
Cal, who was about to enter the knights’ quarters after training, hesitated for a moment and turned his steps.
It was towards the main castle.
It was because he was bothered by the conversation he had with Rubian during the day.
“The number of Tracking Wizard has increased.”
Cal told Rubian about the movements of the kingdom that he had grasped so far.
“Don’t worry. It seems they’re still searching the south. The empire is so vast that it will take some time.”
“It would be a disaster if they suddenly came to the north…”
“Well, the Vamillon imperial family seems to be uncooperative in a strange way, and it seems that the disruption is still working well, so it’s okay.”
“Disruption? Are you talking about your animal friends?”
“…Well, yeah.”
He cleverly manipulated the traces of escape so that the Tracking Wizards could not easily track Rubian’s whereabouts. Of course, it was a temporary measure, but it was the best way to buy time.
‘Even though I said that, she still looked uneasy.’
Creak, the boy who was carefully pushing open the bedroom door stopped.
“…What are you doing here at this hour?”
It was because there was already a guest in Rubian’s room.
