The Youngest Hides a Lot of Things [Novel] Chapter 4

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 4

Chapter Title: The Youngest is Hiding a Lot

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The director of the Imperial Lieta Orphanage, Madam Yuris, widened her eyes in surprise.

"Your Excellency?"

It was because of Leviathan Jebert, who had appeared so suddenly in a disheveled state. He was also her classmate from the academy days.

"What in the world happened?"

This was the first time she had seen Leviathan looking so urgent.

His pristine uniform was terribly wrinkled, and his black hair was soaked through with rainwater.

He must have run at full speed, as even that great knight was panting for breath.

"A thief broke in?"

Leviathan strode into the orphanage lobby and scanned the surroundings. His purple eyes shook fiercely.

"Ah, you've heard?"

"What exactly happened?"

"A thief did break in. They seemed to be after the donations, but they were so sloppy they spilled everything in the back garden and left."

"The children? I heard rumors some were hurt."

"Some of the startled kids fell and cried, 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 he hadn't even been breathing properly. His narrowed field of vision finally widened belatedly.

Yuris's flustered face.

The children who spotted him and scampered away.

"The one I brought yesterday......"

His throat tightened.

"The child I brought?"

"Ah, Rubian."

Leviathan blinked blankly.

Come to think of it, he hadn't even asked the child's name.

"Rubian......"

He quietly tried saying the name.

It suited somehow, yet strangely didn't quite fit.

"Right, where's Rubian?"

"Said their stomach suddenly hurt and went to the bathroom. Now that you mention it, why haven't they come back? We need to do the mana measurement."

"......Mana measurement?"

"It's an order from the imperial family. Something about catching a runaway mage."

Leviathan's brow furrowed visibly.

Damn that emperor. He was handling it himself but had tested him for no reason.

"Everyone who crossed the border is a suspect. You said you found that child near the border, right?"

Leviathan clicked his tongue.

"Anyway, bring the child here."

"Yes, understood."

Due to the break-in, Public Security Knights were poking around everywhere. The menacing sight of them gripping their blue swords made her stomach churn somehow.

The environment...... wasn't great.

'Now that I look closely, the orphanage seems pretty shabby.'

It was strange.

This Imperial Orphanage had been made by remodeling an entire noble estate.

Yet when he looked intently, everything from one to ten seemed lacking.

"Madam Yuris."

At that moment, a boy approached.

Bright golden hair, turquoise eyes.

Leviathan's chin tilted slightly.

"Ah, Your Highness. Have you seen the facilities?"

"Yes. Thanks to you, it was very helpful. I think I can solve the homework Father gave me well."

The child smiled softly and responded politely.

"Hm? Duke Jebert."

"What brings Your Highness here?"

He was the youngest prince of Babylon.

Licht Babylon. It was baffling why such noble blood was in a place like this.

No, before that...... A thief broke in even with a prince here?

'It's worse than a slum.'

What have I done.

Leviathan's brow furrowed even deeper.

"Father told me to give my opinion on the new orphanage to be built in the south."

"Who?"

"Father."

"Report it."

"Pardon?"

"Child exploitation."

Licht scratched his pale cheek and smiled awkwardly. The surrounding air melted away naturally. His dazzlingly beautiful face resembled the emperor's the most.

The prince, who had just turned twelve, seemed a bit slow in growth compared to his peers. However, that gaze was as fierce as any imperial......

Leviathan felt conflicted.

'Already throwing him into the successor war, Dietrian?'

He inwardly cursed the emperor, whose blood ran blue to the bone.

"I'm fine. I volunteered for it anyway. Ah, more than that, I heard there was a commotion...... Teacher."

The prince looked at Yuris again.

"I haven't seen the silver-haired child since earlier."

"Hm? Not in the bathroom?"

"Anywhere."

The child shook his head firmly.

Leviathan's hand clenched tightly.

Gone?

Then where the hell...

"With all the scary things happening, maybe we should search properly."

"It's such a big place, better to get help from the knights."

"Yes. ......That child looked so uneasy, I'm worried."

Leviathan, about to dash off, halted abruptly.

"Looked uneasy?"

"Yes? Yes."

Why?

Leviathan felt something inside him crumbling.

He recalled the child's face, grinning innocently after going through hell in the forest.

He thought such a spirited child would do well here.

'Was I wrong?'

Leviathan's hand went numb. Suddenly, he remembered the voice saying crying wouldn't solve anything.

Ah.

That was the face of someone used to enduring.

"They were sighing so deeply. Barely ate anything......"

The prince's smooth face tilted sullenly.

"Your Excellency?"

"Search outside the estate!"

Leviathan slammed his foot down.

An ominous foreboding gripped him.

The prince had keen senses. If even he had searched and found nothing...

'It means the child is no longer here.'

Leviathan ran to the stable, grabbed the reins, and vaulted onto the horse.

By now, a downpour was falling outside.

Rumble. The sky roared fiercely, heightening his unease.

People startled by the suddenly charging horse jumped back. Raindrops slashed his cheeks like blades.

Winter hadn't ended yet.

In weather like this, where could the child have gone?

A child used to enduring. Hiding trembling hands behind a smile.

He had known.

"Thanks to you, it's peaceful."

So.

That place full of peace was this capital.

Not the harsh, rough north where one trained with swords daily.

"Damn it."

That's how it was. A child used to enduring was like a flower blooming in the shadows. Such things needed love and care to blossom.

With gentler, kinder people than his blood-scented self. Only with pure affection would they poke their heads out from the shadows.

"Can't Uncle take me with him?"

But if those were the only words the child didn't endure.

Leviathan regretted it belatedly.

'If it was going to end like this.'

He should have taken the child.

If he had kept them by his side and protected them, this wouldn't have happened.

'Damn it, why do I keep messing up.'

Go die, Leviathan Jebert.

He sincerely berated himself.

Clop clop!

The horse tore through the capital madly. He heightened his senses to the limit, searching for the child's presence.

'If something's wrong.'

Suddenly, their first meeting flashed in his mind.

The child rummaging through a corpse's pockets.

He admitted it. Leviathan had seen his own childhood in that scene.

"Damn it all!"

Boom! Unable to contain his impatience while searching a dark alley, Leviathan exploded his sword aura.

A group of knights rushed over as the wall crumbled.

"What happened...... Your Excellency?"

They were Jebert Knights patrolling nearby.

His adjutant, Leon, hurried over.

"What are you doing here......"

"Find the child."

Leviathan said in a deeply sunken voice.

"Pardon? Child......?"

"A boy with silver hair and blue eyes."

The knights looked baffled.

He thought for a moment and added,

"Name's Rubian."

He roughly wiped the rainwater from his face. At the very least, he should have asked the name himself.

"Find Rubian."

"U-Understood."

The knights scattered.

Leviathan, without hesitation, raised his reins again. Just as he was about to spur forward.

"......Uncle?"

A thin voice pierced through the pounding rain.

He creakily turned his head, and a familiar silhouette emerged from the alley right beside him.

"You......"

Leviathan's eyes widened greatly.