Ch. 4
‘Humming…?’
Morris Lilton, former vice commander of the Zebert Knights and current steward of the annex, frowned at the old lord’s erratic behavior that had continued for several days.
“Hmm-hmm-hmm.”
After all, the famed Balrog Zebert—said to make even birds fall with his spirit—had been humming to himself since morning.
My word, even wiggling his hips along to the tune.
‘It seems his leg condition has strangely improved.’
Morris quietly set the tea down on the table.
‘Could it be that Lady Rubian’s ointment truly was effective?’
If so, wasn’t that genuinely incredible?
“Your Grace, what are you doing? Since morning.”
“Mmhmm. I’m drawing up new blueprints.”
His voice even seemed somehow kinder.
“Blueprints? Are you forging new swords?”
“Yes. I must gift one to each of my little rascals.”
My second little rascal and my youngest little rascal~
The Balrog’s humming reached its peak.
“Ah, yes.”
The Zeberts were a knightly house. It was common for the elders of a house to present swords to their children.
“I’ll engrave their names on the hilts as well…. Hmm?”
The Balrog’s hand, which had been moving without a moment’s pause, suddenly stopped.
“Is something the matter?”
“Come to think of it, my youngest little rascal….”
A deep furrow formed between his brows. The pen had stopped precisely at the letters spelling *Rubian*.
“Did she take the Zebert name?”
The Balrog barged into his son’s office then and there.
“The family registration is not yet complete.”
*Crash!* It felt as though thunder and lightning had struck behind the Balrog.
“Wha… what…?”
His massive frame staggered absurdly.
“Wasn’t Rubian staying here this whole time?”
“Yes. Adoption is no simple matter. Ruby’s own wishes matter as well…. Are you alright?”
“I am NOT alright!”
The Balrog roared.
Leviathan pinched the bridge of his nose, his expression weary. He had written about this in such detail in his letter when he brought the child back from the capital.
‘You only read what you wanted to again, I see.’
Sighing, he set down the document he had been reading.
“Th-that little one, gone just like that…. Ah, give me a moment.”
The Balrog pinched the bridge of his nose and looked up at the ceiling. Leviathan was utterly dumbfounded.
“Since when did you welcome Rubian so warmly? You were the one who had been frantic because you couldn’t drive her out at first.”
“I don’t remember!”
Ah, yes. As if he would remember.
“Do you know how cute that child is?! When she comes running down the hallway shouting ‘Grandpa!’ my ten-year-old chronic indigestion vanishes in an instant….”
“You don’t even have indigestion.”
“Your tongue is truly masterful at being unfilial.”
The old man added stubbornly before plopping down onto a nearby sofa.
“Rose will be back soon, won’t she?”
Leviathan glanced at his wife’s letter on his desk.
“Yes. About two weeks remain.”
She was with Liam as well, and considering Rose’s physical condition, he had replied telling her not to rush.
Even so, she should arrive in two weeks. When he thought of seeing his wife’s face after so long, his hands tingled for no reason.
The Balrog let out a long sigh. “Phew.”
“Discuss it thoroughly with Rose when she returns. Properly! Thoroughly! Speak with Rubian about it too, understand?!”
“Of course I will.”
Leviathan spoke firmly, yet the Balrog still looked far from satisfied.
“You absolutely must not let that child go. Do you understand? Absolutely not!”
“That isn’t something I can manage by forcing it. You’re the one who needs to stop riling Ruby up, Father. Always loitering around her like that….”
“Loitering?!”
Just then, a small knock sounded.
The old man, who had been flying into a fiery rage, jolted upright as if by reflex.
“Ah, it’s time.”
“Time?”
“Time for my little rascal to put a patch on my knee.”
The Balrog swiftly left the office with an excited face. Left alone, Leviathan shook his head back and forth.
He really does take the cake.
Ruby, too—she certainly knew how to win over that crazy old codger’s favor.
Leviathan lowered his gaze to the documents again.
But it was strange. Not a single densely written letter registered in his eyes.
The pen dropped from his hand with a soft tap.
Sharp eyes quietly stared into the empty air.
“…She comes running while calling me Grandpa?”
Imagining that sight—
Why does it feel like my stomach is turning over?
* * *
“Whew.”
I wiped my brow with a proud face.
After lunch and before dinner was my free time. I used this window to infuse mana into my magic stones.
Hazel was busy helping with the mansion work around this hour, and Void was occupied with sword lessons. As for Uncle, well, he was never not busy.
‘The Old Duke… Grandpa seems busy these days too.’
Something about drawing new weapon blueprints.
In any case, with no one around to bother me for once, I could process the magic stones in peace.
Transparent mana rippled through the activated magic stones.
Of course, those who couldn’t read mana wouldn’t be able to see it.
‘I need to embed these into suitable tools.’
Since this stone was called a ‘Barrier Stone,’ and since I had activated its power with my own mana—
Naturally, the stone itself could exert a certain degree of barrier effect.
But that was merely a one-dimensional effect.
Like the difference between raw ingredients and a cooked dish, perhaps.
Ingredients could be eaten as they were, yet once processed with a proper recipe, they yielded far superior taste and efficacy—it was the same principle.
‘What I want is a powerful protective barrier that will guard this place for a very long time. One that can sense when an intruder arrives and temporarily hold them back.’
I turned my head to look in the mirror.
When I invoked the Wisdom of Wijeria, a fierce red light stormed within my pupils.
Fortunately, this land of Zellox was rich in mana.
So, if I combined the ambient mana in the air with the barrier stone’s own mana and linked them to a magic circle, the barrier field should maintain itself without me constantly feeding it mana.
So long as no major change befell the castle walls or the arcane tools themselves.
‘I’ve already drawn the magic circles.’
The problem was….
“It’s unclear what tools to use and where exactly to plant these magic stones.”
I stared at the purple stones scattered on the floor, lost in thought.
“Mmm. If I could at least look around the area once….”
If I inspected the castle walls, couldn’t I find some kind of hint?
‘But it would be a bit much to suddenly say I want to inspect the castle’s defenses….’
I buried my face in the sofa and agonized.
Knock, knock.
Just then, a knock sounded.
“Ruby.”
It was Uncle.
“J-just a moment!”
I sprang up and quickly tucked away the magic stones. They would probably look like ordinary rocks anyway, but just in case.
‘Ah, my pupils.’
The red light was fading to a pale pink. Blink, blink. Ah, why won’t it disappear faster?!
“Ruby?”
Uncle called for me again from outside.
I confirmed my pupils had returned to blue and opened the door.
“What were you doing that the door was… Your eyes are red.”
Huh? No way!
* * *
“What have you been concentrating on so hard that your eyes are all bloodshot?”
“I guess I was reading too intensely.”
Whew, that was close.
I swallowed a sigh inwardly.
What Uncle meant was that the veins in my eyes were showing. I felt strangely guilty for no reason.
“But what brings you here?”
I asked, taking a crunchy bite of a savory butter cookie.
Today as well, Uncle had brought plenty of rich desserts and was making quick work of them himself.
“Do I need a reason to eat snacks with you?”
Uncle lifted his eyes sharply.
Huh? Somehow he feels prickly.
No, rather than prickly….
‘Does he feel sulky?’
I shook my head vigorously.
Why would Uncle act like a sulky child?
“No, it’s not that…. But this is your house, so you should do as you please.”
“…Uncle.”
“Hmm?”
An expression steeped in displeasure turned toward me. Uncle, who had been staring intently at me, soon let out a long sigh.
“Forget it. More importantly, have you been reading books all day?”
Deep purple pupils swept slowly across my room. Near the window, several books lay scattered on the floor.
They were ones I had borrowed from the Ducal Castle library.
I couldn’t process magic stones all day. Using too much mana made me feel unwell.
This wasn’t Arcadia. Two or three stones a day was my limit here.
After finishing that, I had been flipping through the borrowed books to kill time.
Uncle suddenly asked,
“Ruby. Do you want to study?”
“Study?”
“Shall I get you a tutor?”
“Uh….”
“If there’s something you want to do, tell me.”
Something I want to do?
I stared at the half-eaten cookie. Nuts were embedded throughout, leaving a fragrant savory taste in my mouth.
‘What do I want to do?’
I had never thought about it seriously.
‘Ah!’
It suddenly came to me.
What I wanted was already decided.