43 - The Youngest is Hiding a Lot
Chapter 43
The Duke sat askew on the large bed, cradling a whimpering child in his arms and patting her gently.
"...How could this be?"
It was a short question, but Leviathan seemed to understand it well enough.
"She's strangely listless in the evening, and then she always ends up like this."
A heavy, deep sigh escaped him. The Duke looked utterly exhausted, as if he had aged several years in that short span of time.
"Khalid."
His voice was terribly hoarse. He pulled the blanket up over Rubian.
"Did Ruby often do this in Iosia too?"
"......"
She often did on the battlefield. Each time, Cal would hold Rubian's hand and infuse her with mana.
In case she was having nightmares because her body was weary.
It didn't have much of an effect. But it was all he could do, so Khalid transmitted mana, and transmitted it again.
"Tell me if you know anything. I need to know how to help."
"It seems she suffers when she's feeling insecure. I don't know the details well either."
An even deeper shadow fell over the Duke's face.
"What on earth is she so insecure about..."
A large hand carefully stroked her face.
Rubian's complexion seemed to improve little by little. The whimpering child eventually fell into a peaceful sleep.
"How... how did Ruby live in Iosia?"
At the low, continuous question, Cal paused for a moment. He and Rubian had agreed on what to say in preparation for times like this.
"She lived a normal life. It wasn't a life of abundance, but she lived with normal parents, among normal neighbors."
"...She lived normally."
Purple eyes stared intently at him.
The gaze was so intense that Cal almost turned away.
"I see."
Leviathan nodded after a pause.
"...Duke. May I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Do you cherish Ruby?"
Even as he asked, he thought it was a somewhat pointless question. The way he had been acting all day was already the answer.
"Why do you ask?"
The Duke carefully laid the sleeping Rubian down and sat on a nearby sofa. It seemed he intended to spend the night here.
"I'm wondering if you can protect Ruby no matter what happens."
"It sounds as if something is about to happen."
A languid voice flowed out. Khalid did not avoid the eyes that seemed to pierce through him.
Having lived as a mercenary, he had met more adults than people his own age. He knew more than a hundred ways to get out of a situation.
"Because she's my friend. I tend to worry a lot."
"If you could only keep your mouth shut."
Leviathan turned his head to gaze at the sleeping Rubian.
"Yes. No matter what happens, I will protect Ruby."
With those words, the Duke tossed something.
"So you."
It was a small box filled with colorful candies.
"Come to Uncle anytime you have something to say. Whether it's about Ruby or about you."
Khalid blinked slowly.
"I don't know if it's a request or what."
"A request? What do you mean."
Leviathan stopped speaking and frowned. He had remembered that Khalid had lived as a mercenary.
"Not a request, a favor. You brat."
"......"
Khalid gripped the candy box.
What's the difference between a favor and a request? Besides, he already gave me compensation.
"...Yes, well."
He replied with an ambiguous expression.
Leviathan, who had leaned back against the backrest and stared into space for a moment, slightly furrowed one eye.
"But Uncle doesn't have many friends, so I don't really know, but do people usually come all the way here to find a friend?"
"Because she's a one-of-a-kind, precious friend."
One-of-a-kind...? Precious...?
A look of discomfort spread across the Duke's face as he mulled over the answer. Khalid chuckled.
"Ah. You said you didn't have any friends."
"......"
"Then I guess you wouldn't know. What this feeling is like."
"Oh, this is really cheeky."
Leviathan, flustered, crumpled up the candy wrapper he had been eating and threw it.
Of course, it didn't even reach Khalid's feet and fell to the floor.
Cal walked over to Rubian's Magic Stone Window Frame and placed the candy box on it. He meticulously rummaged through the contents.
"Apple, chocolate, cherry... There's no strawberry."
"......"
"She likes strawberry the most, so please make sure to include it next time."
Leviathan snorted.
"Look at this guy. Of course, I gave all the strawberry flavor to Rubian."
Ah.
The cheeky boy simply tilted his chin up nonchalantly.
"Then what about milk flavor?"
"......"
Damn it, I'm going to the store tomorrow.
\ \ *
A sparkling, sunny afternoon.
The familiar dessert time had arrived. Uncle pushed a cold juice towards me. Next to it were strawberry and milk-flavored candies, for some reason.
"The juice color is...?"
"It's because it's blended with green vegetables."
Hazel answered before I could even ask.
"Borbel said it's good for you if you eat it like this."
Uncle, who added that firmly, was acting like feeding me healthy snacks was his greatest mission these days.
'It looks like troll vomit...'
I stared at the thick, murky greenish liquid. When I slightly averted my gaze, Uncle pushed it back towards me.
"Drink up."
"It looks too unappetizing."
But with so many eyes watching, I couldn't help but drink it.
I'll swallow it down and eat candy. Thinking that, I tentatively touched it to the tip of my tongue.
"Huh?"
"It's better than you thought, right?"
The sweet apple scent spread quickly, and I could barely taste the bitter vegetables! It was completely the opposite of how it looked!
I plugged in the straw and started sucking it down in earnest.
"Ruby, you said you'd study with Borbel?"
"Ah, yeah!"
It was last night that the Duchy Castle's chief physician Uncle had come and said he would teach me herbalism and healing magic. I naturally said I would.
"I'm going to get smart!"
I had a rough knowledge of herbalism and healing magic. So this class was just a smokescreen.
'Later, even if I make something out of the blue, I can make the excuse that I learned it in class!'
There was a limit to passing myself off as someone from Iosia, so it was a bit of a hassle, but it was an essential process.
"Don't overdo it. Don't forget afternoon snack time."
"Well, sometimes I might forget if I'm busy..."
"Don't forget."
What was this desperation?
I was puzzled, but I couldn't help but nod.
From far away outside the window, Void's voice could be heard. The sound of Wooden swords clashing, thwack, thwack, continued, as he was diligently training with Grandfather.
I listened to the sound like music as I drank my milk.
"And... there's something I've been wanting to ask you."
Uncle put down his teacup and leaned forward. He looked a little serious for some reason.
"Yeah?"
"Rosetta and Liam will be back next week."
"Oh..."
Finally.
"That means you'll be meeting my whole family."
Leviathan Uncle was uncharacteristically choosing his words carefully.
"...How is it? Living in Uncle's house. Are you satisfied?"
What was this? This service satisfaction survey-like talk.
I spread one hand wide open.
"Of course I'm satisfied! Five stars!"
"...Only five stars?"
"That's the maximum."
"Ah."
Uncle swallowed hard once and clasped his hands together.
"Then Ruby. Do you want to keep living with Uncle?"
"I am, aren't I?"
"I mean, do you really want to become the youngest in our family?"
At that moment, the surrounding air froze in a strange way.
Turning my head at the unknown sense of unease, I saw Hazel and the other servants quickly clearing their throats and averting their gazes.
"Of course, you can decide after you meet Rosetta and Liam."
"I..."
I slowly moved my eyelids.
