The Youngest Hides a Lot of Things [Novel] Chapter 65

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 65

Chapter Title: The Youngest Hides a Lot

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"Ack! My butt. The bushes are too thick; this shortcut's no good anymore."

The one who announced her presence with a sudden butt-first landing was a woman in light blue traveler's robes.

"Hehe. You never imagined I'd come home first via the hot springs path, did you?"

I froze like a statue. I was surprised there was an unknown shortcut here, of course, but more than that...

'This voice...'

It was a soft voice that was terribly familiar to my ears.

The woman brushed off her clothes and stood, tying up her long, flowing hair in a flash as she squealed.

"Oh no! Levi's twisted-up face from the potion is gonna be sooo exciting!"

Did she find out I cleaned up the Ipson criminals? She probably figured out about the magic beasts by now, right?

Her incomprehensible words came at me like a storm. I muttered, entranced.

"Gr... Gravekeeper-nim?"

That familiar chestnut hair.

Yes, it was her...?

Only then did the woman notice someone else and slowly turn around, reaching for the bow on her back.

"Eek."

Suddenly, plip, plip. Thin raindrops began to fall.

"Huh?"

The moment our eyes—her blue ones and mine—met, the Gravekeeper froze mid-draw on her bow.

She blinked a few times, then her eyes widened.

"Huh? Huh? You're that kid I met at the Memorial Garden."

It felt like three seconds passed after our eyes met—or maybe three thousand years.

"Why are you here?"

"Why are you here, Gravekeeper-nim?"

Our words overlapped perfectly.

"Pardon?"

"Huh?"

"...Pardon?"

"...Huh?"

...What was this situation?

Then, something odd caught my eye.

In the thin rain, the Gravekeeper's hair... was starting to melt away, bit by bit.

The luscious chocolate curls were peeling off like a shell...

'Dye...?'

Her hair was rapidly returning to its original color.

And the color peeking through in patches was...

A vivid pink.

"Ah, darn. The rain's washing it out. So vulnerable to moisture."

The woman who knew the hidden shortcut to the Jebert Private Hot Springs.

The beautiful woman with pink hair.

'Come to think of it...'

I belatedly remembered that the Jebert family didn't have even a single family portrait.

That's why I hadn't known.

"Rosetta... Jebert?"

That I'd met her before.

"Yeah. You know me?"

"Y-You're not the Gravekeeper-nim?"

"Sorry. I had my reasons back then."

I shot to my feet. Dizziness hit me, and I staggered—Rosetta was there in an instant to steady me.

"Whoa, little lady. Careful. Oh, right—mind telling your big sis your name? I forgot to ask back then."

...What?

I looked down, entranced. The cloth I clutched like a lifeline was still wrapped around me like iron armor.

"Stand up straight. It's slippery."

Rosetta lifted me out of the bath and set me down in the shade away from the rain.

"Get dressed quick."

"U-Um, just now, what did you...?"

"I said get dressed."

"Before that...?"

"Slippery?"

I stood there dazed, and Rosetta groaned with a troubled look.

"You're not hung up on 'big sis,' are you? She hates being called auntie. Her heart's still eighteen."

Rosetta naturally held out dry clothes. She looked ready to dress me herself, so I darted behind a tree.

"Such a shy one? What's wrong with girl talk."

As I mechanically dressed, my eyes instinctively scanned for an escape route. Pure reflex.

"So? Did you come to Ipson with Dad? Weird. He rarely brings outsiders this far."

All her words sounded muffled, like I'd stuffed my ears with wet cotton. My breathing was ragged, my head spinning.

"Oh, wait—you're friends with that Rubian girl? Is that why you're here together?"

"......"

"Hmm. Weird. Why's our little cutie so quiet today...?"

...?

The final syllable came awfully late.

The face that had been smiling brightly while peering around for me from behind the tree slowly hardened.

"Little one."

Rosetta gripped my shoulders tighter, as if sensing something.

"What's your name?"

I couldn't see a mirror, but I knew my eyes shook wildly at the question.

'First, expression... hide my expression... make an excuse...'

You think that'll work?

In that instant, reality crashed over me like an ebbing tide.

"No way."

No.

"You're not Rubian, are you?"

No!

I don't know where the strength came from.

The moment she said it, I shook off Rosetta's hands and bolted in a panic.

Her urgent calls faded into the distance.

I couldn't tell if I was running, tumbling, or using magic.

"Sneaking in like a rat, hiding your identity!"

No. No, that's not it!

"This seems the worst crime, Father! She abused our trust!"

If I just make the barrier... once everything's ready... that's when I'd tell you...

"Exactly."

A rupture echoed from somewhere.

The sound of cracks forming in the tightly packed lump I'd been holding inside.

This is bad.

"Eeeeng..."

Running won't fix it, Rubian!

"I know. I know, but...!"

I huddled in an alley corner, doodling on the ground.

Even amid the panic, I was glad I hadn't run off naked.

No, actually, I might as well be naked now. It felt like I'd been stripped completely!

"Idiot? Are you an idiot, self! You moron!"

I banged my head against the wall, thump thump.

Why didn't I notice? Looking back, the Gravekeeper was super suspicious!

I'm going crazy. And then I just bolt?

That was as good as admitting with my whole body that I was a girl.

"What good does running do?"

I should've denied it... Stupidly let fear take over first...

But Rosetta's eyes held no doubt. If I'd denied it, she might've checked my body herself.

"Uwaaa."

Stop digging. Go back and handle it maturely...

"I don't know. What do I do?"

I was in full panic mode.

I'd planned to confess all my secrets someday. But not like this, not at this timing!

"What should I do first...?"

At that moment, a pop—strong mana scorched my earlobe.

"Huh?"

Only then did I realize what the crackling noise had been.

"Right, Cal!"

What do I do? I ditched him and ran!

He's probably looking for me right now.

Ever since I vanished on him unilaterally in the Canalran Gorge, he's hated when I suddenly disappear.

Total disaster. Perfect chaos.

'What do I do? How?'

I anxiously bit my nails.

Confessing a lie myself versus getting caught forcibly—worlds apart.

"People hate lies, right?"

"Generally, yeah?"

Just like that. People hate lies.

Uncle might seem laid-back and loose, but he's got a straight-laced side. No exception.

And the one I'd complained to was Rosetta Jebert.

"Seriously, what do I do...?"

I knew lying was wrong but kept my mouth shut the whole time... Might add insult to injury.

'Run away with Cal?'

I lifted my limp arms again.

Just leave Ipson like this?

'What about the original story?'

Uncle?

This ending?

Everything was a jumbled mess.

'Maybe I should've just helped from the shadows.'

Like on that battlefield. Secretly.

Regret brought fear crashing in.

The affection I'd thought wasn't mine to begin with—now that I faced losing it, it terrified me ridiculously.

I huddled in the dark alley. The black box in my heart rattled.

'I don't want to go back.'

I buried my head and asked myself.

Where to?

'The orphanage...'

To that desperate battlefield of survival...

I wish I hadn't known this feeling.

I sobbed like a child who'd let go of a colorful balloon clutched in both hands. Miserable and lost.

'Greedy...'

Yeah. Shouldn't have been greedy for balloons.

Waaah. I banged my forehead again, thump thump.

Amid it all, the static grew louder. Deciding to contact Cal first, I touched my earlobe.

And that moment.

A familiar silhouette entered my view from the alley's end.

'...Huh?'

I blinked my teary eyes slowly.

'Isn't that... Olivia and Titi?'

Ladies walking with cotton candy as big as their heads. Dressed as commoners, probably sneaking out.

I rubbed my eyes roughly with my sleeve and instinctively scanned around.

'Why no escorts... so dangerous...'

At that instant, my body sprang up on its own.

"Gasp!"

Because I'd spotted another shadow quietly tailing them.

Kidnapping!

The stark two syllables flashed through my mind.