“What?”
“What do you mean, what.”
“……Hell?”
“It’s my territory.”
Uncle Leviathan gave my forehead a light poke.
I stared blankly down at the vast land stretching out before me.
The desolate northern wind sent my short hair fluttering softly.
“There’s nothing but rocks?”
“I told you.”
A gloomy dust cloud tumbled along.
Uncle’s territory, filled with ashen stone walls… honestly, it looked like the ruins of a fallen kingdom.
Of course, that was a bit rude to the people who lived here, but….
Crimson-tinged stone mountains surrounded us like a fortress, and from them came ominous beastly cries.
The black stretch of canyon looked exactly like a black hole—once you stepped in, you’d never get out.
“Somehow the weather feels colder, too.”
“This is relatively warm. In the dead of winter, snow piles up to your height.”
“Ugh. No way.”
“Button up tight.”
Uncle chuckled and pulled the hood of his cloak over my head.
“You made ointment again yesterday?”
“Ointment? Yeah!”
I’d picked every Abelita herb I saw on the way here.
I used them to upgrade the knights’ ointments one by one, and they were quite well received!
“How on earth did you figure out that weed was an Abelita herb?”
Uncle asked, narrowing his eyes.
I fumbled unnecessarily with my small handbag, avoiding his gaze.
“My mother was a healer in Iosia.”
“…….”
Uncle stiffened.
“So I just picked up a few pharmaceutical methods over her shoulder. And I read a lot of herb books too….”
“You used something you learned by watching?”
I glanced around nervously as the air grew heavy.
“……Why? Did I do something wrong?”
Iosia was a small nation with advanced medicine and pharmacology.
If you were from there, you’d naturally pick up things here and there from a young age, so this much shouldn’t be strange, right?
“Unexpectedly….”
Uncle crossed his arms and lifted his chin. For some reason, his cheeks seemed to twitch.
“You might be a genius.”
“Huh?”
“This complicates things.”
His face was genuinely fraught with serious concern.
It was the face of a parent agonizing after discovering their child was a prodigy… but why him?
And what was with “unexpectedly”?
What on earth did he take me for!
“Anyway, you little—!”
He added a snide remark.
I spun my fist like a windmill and punished Uncle’s solid leg.
“Your massages are top-class too. Our smart little rascal.”
Uncle, for some reason looking immensely proud (but why?), lifted me up in a flash.
At the same time, a familiar horse drew near.
“Your Grace.”
It was Count Leon. Fortunately, he seemed to have fully recovered from his injuries; the movement of his shoulders looked no different from before.
“Count Leon, Uncle!”
I reached out happily.
Count Leon seemed to hesitate briefly but greeted me slightly with a nod.
‘Still a stiff expression, though.’
I know. Count Leon just isn’t good at expressing himself!
He didn’t threaten me to go back anymore, either.
“Your Grace, excuse me for a moment.”
Count Leon spoke honestly and approached me.
“Hmm?”
A white fur muffler fell into my arms with a soft thud.
“Wow, what is this? It’s so soft!”
“You go to all sorts of trouble, Leon.”
Uncle cocked an eyebrow and wrapped it around me. In an instant, my breath was completely cut off.
Control your strength! Uncle! Control your strength!
I exhaled sharply over the white fur and poked my head out.
“Thank you, Count Leon, Uncle!”
It seemed a bit much as repayment for the ointment.
Well, refusing a gift would be even ruder!
Count Leon looked down at me without a single change in expression. He turned his horse’s head and spoke as if in passing.
“Not uncle….”
“Hmm?”
“Call me Senior.”
“……What?”
“Gasp! For Count Leon to permit that title!”
The knight uncles watching from the side exclaimed in astonishment.
What was that? What did that title mean?
“You’ve set foot in the north, the land of knights, so joining our Jeberth Knight Order is the natural next step.”
“…….”
“I’ll wait for you in the order. Let me welcome you in advance as our youngest knight.”
But I’m a mage?
Regardless, Count Leon, his cloak flapping, leisurely disappeared toward the setting sun….
Is this a movie or what?
I turned to Uncle Leviathan with a shocked face.
“Is that how it is?”
“Well… more or less?”
In truth, it was just his way of saying he’d train my stamina… but I didn’t understand what he meant back then.
My face fell as if the world were collapsing.
No, I said I wanted to become the youngest of *that* household.
Not the youngest of those dark-clad knight uncles!
* * *
We arrived in Zelrox, the northern city where the Jeberth Ducal Castle was located.
The moment we passed the city gates, what we saw were houses made of solid stone.
From afar it had looked desolate, but the atmosphere was surprisingly lively.
“Wow!”
The people welcoming the returning knights were bright-faced as well.
I was still shy and hiding in Uncle Leviathan’s cloak, but I could keenly feel the people’s excitement.
“My lord, then we shall take our leave here.”
The Jeberth Ducal Castle sat like a fortress on a slightly elevated hill.
Before reaching the main castle, Count Leon and the other knights bowed respectfully.
“Yes, you’ve worked hard.”
As soon as their superior gave permission, the knights moved in perfect unison. I poked my head out and waved.
“Goodbye, Senior. And Seniors.”
Having shared joys and sorrows for several weeks, I felt a bit reluctant to part.
“Come visit if you’re bored.”
“Come visit even if you’re not bored!”
Other knight uncles I had grown close to in the meantime waved at me.
“Um, by the way… do your family members know I’m coming?”
“I suppose they know?”
It was somehow an unconvincing answer.
I looked at the main castle entrance drawing closer and recalled Leviathan Jeberth’s family relationships.
‘First, Old Duke Jeberth.’
Vallok Jeberth. The previous Duke Jeberth and Leviathan’s father.
‘He wasn’t particularly important in the original story.’
He had been an outstanding soldier but was injured in battle and discharged.
After that, he spent the rest of his days quietly in the territory—that was the extent of his description.
‘As for others in the castle….’
Probably Leviathan’s second son, Void Jeberth. Since the eldest was said to be in the south with the Duchess.
“My lord, you have returned.”
Countless servants were lined up before the castle.
From the butler to attendants, maids, and servants.
Their faces were flushed with excitement at welcoming their master back after a long time.
‘Northerners… are all burly, aren’t they.’
Among them, what stood out most were the maid sisters boasting formidable physiques.
They all looked easily over 170cm.
So this is what it takes to survive!
As expected of Jeberth, where the strong devour the weak. Truly fitting for the master of a territory built by slaying demonic beasts….
“You’ve had a hard journey.”
“Yes. You’ve all worked hard as well.”
“Um, if I may, is that child…?”
Countless burning gazes fixed upon me.
Startled by the sudden attention, I buried my head back into Uncle’s embrace.
I felt like prey that had accidentally rolled into a carnivore’s den….
‘No, don’t cower!’
I stamped the seal!
I slowly turned my head and faced forward.
“I-I’m Rubian.”
Uncle said, “Oh? Polite speech,” and ruffled my hair.
“Young Lady Rubian….”
The maid sisters smiled brightly and seemed to whisper among themselves.
“So small… So fluffy….”
“She seems much smaller than when Lord Void first arrived.”
Then, a maid with reddish-brown hair standing at the very front approached.
“Young Lady Rubian, hello?”
“Yep.”
“Young Lady Rubian, how old are you this year? Six?”
With Uncle’s help, I was getting down from the horse. Suspended in mid-air, I flared up.
“I’m eight!”
When I shouted, the maid sister exclaimed, “Oh my,” and opened her eyes wide.
Uncle Leviathan chuckled and set me on the ground.
“Be careful. You’ll get eaten alive.”
She’s eight.
What? Eight?
Really? Is that possible?
Whispering spread like waves.
Their reaction was exactly the same as Uncle’s when he first heard my age!
“……By the way, how old are you?”
Before departing for the north, Uncle had asked out of the blue.
“Really? You’re asking me that now?”
“I’m asking now, that’s all.”
“I’m… eight.”
“…….”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You weren’t… six?”
“Are you crazy?!”
In truth, this body was ten years old. But now that information about the fugitive mage was known, hiding my identity more thoroughly meant lying about my age as well.
I was on the smaller side for my age, so lying about my age shouldn’t be a problem.
Even so, lowering it by two years pricked my conscience, but six?!
Why not just say I was born yesterday?
I straightened my back and puffed out my chest as much as possible.
Standing firmly on the ground, the height difference became even more pronounced.
I felt like a tiny creature surrounded by massive rock mountains… Ugh, somehow it was humiliating.
That was when, from far away, some kind of fur ball came tumbling toward us.
“Fa-ther-!”
The fur ball stretched out like a flying squirrel and landed perfectly before us.
“Void.”
“It’s been a while!”
A child with glossy black hair shone with moist eyes. His plump cheeks were nicely flushed.
‘Then as expected.’
The identity of the fur ball was the second son of this house, Void Jeberth.
“How was the capital? What about the victory ceremony?”
‘He was a child adopted from a collateral branch, wasn’t he.’
I recalled the book’s contents saying he lost his parents to war when he was young.
He had a uniquely bright personality, and perhaps because he received abundant love from Leviathan and Rosetta after being adopted, he was a carefree boy.
…Though he seemed a bit big for his age.
Of course, even he looked like a yapping puppy before Mount Tai-like Leviathan.
“You’ve grown a lot in that time. Have you been well?”
“Yes! I didn’t skip sword training, didn’t leave food, and my studies….”
At that moment, my eyes met Void’s.
Flinched—the child’s pupils trembled violently.
“Who is she…?”
Void stared at me with wary eyes.
“Say hello. You’ll be staying together for the time being.”
“…….”
Void hitched up his fur clothes once and approached me. And the first thing he said was:
“I’m eleven.”
“…?”
I tilted my head.
“So?”
“Not ‘so.’ How about you?”
“I’m eight.”
At that, a subtle sense of victory settled on Void’s young face.
“Finally, beneath me…!”
Huh?
“Welcome, youngest.”
Didn’t he just say “beneath me”?