Chapter 27
Had Hazel told him?
“Your footsteps. The sound of your heels on the floor was different. It seemed like you were dragging one leg slightly…”
“……”
“And earlier in the village, when you avoided that carriage, you staggered to the right.”
Swish, swish. The child’s hands wrapped the cloth around his knee with surprising skill.
“So I thought maybe your leg was hurting.”
Ah… Morris let out a sigh without realizing it.
“If you keep holding it in, it only hurts more.”
“……”
“Wow, your knee is really hot.”
The child pressed a finger gently against it and frowned.
Fanning it lightly with her hands, Rubian eventually crouched lower on the bed.
Then she gathered her lips and softly blew onto Balrok’s knee.
As if trying to cool the heat, her gentle breath touched his wound.
Morris bit the inside of his cheek hard.
Could it be that even Balrok’s frozen heart might melt under that small, warm breath?
‘I can see your lips trembling, Your Excellency.’
He watched Balrok’s face shifting in the darkness.
In all the decades Morris had served him, he had only seen Balrok cry twice.
Once, when his wife passed away.
And once more, when his granddaughter was stillborn.
Those events had left wounds on everyone.
His son had collapsed, his daughter-in-law had lost her health. Then the dark creatures invaded. Balrok had wanted to fight in place of his broken son.
But his body wouldn’t obey him.
This useless body.
Balrok’s bitter habit of saying that had begun back then.
“I made it really big, but it’s still not enough…”
The cloth was just slightly too small to fully wrap Balrok’s large legs.
Rubian looked dissatisfied as she compared her tiny hands to his massive frame.
Then a small mutter slipped out.
“I wish I were strong like this too.”
“……”
Balrok, unable to hold back any longer, slowly lifted his head. With half-open eyes, he stared at the back of the child’s head.
His gaze was calm—and it lingered for a long time.
A few days passed.
I was spending fairly peaceful days.
‘Hmm, no one around, right?’
I checked inside the room and outside the door.
All clear.
I went to one corner of the room and took out a purple magic stone. The individually wrapped stones sat neatly in an elegant box.
‘Good.’
I moved my magic and grasped the stone.
Light seeped into the purple gem, flared brightly for a moment, then faded.
The power of the barrier stone had been activated.
Now I just needed to embed this into the right tool…
Creating a magical device was far more complicated than simply activating the stone.
‘I also need space to deploy a magic circle.’
There would probably be flashes of light and gusts of wind, so doing it in my bedroom was impossible.
‘Well, I’ll worry about that later.’
For now, processing this mountain of magic stones comes first!
‘But still…’
Thud thud thud!
Angry footsteps approached rapidly.
And then—knock, knock.
I let out a short sigh, hurriedly gathered up the magic stones, and arranged them neatly on the windowsill.
Now it just looks like I’m a magic-stone enthusiast…
“At least they don’t break the door down anymore.”
Should I count that as a blessing?
“Eat up!”
I stared blankly at the pile of snacks stacked in front of me.
“What is all this?”
Why was I dragged all the way to the dining room and sitting on the old duke’s knee?
“Can’t you tell? They’re all things you like.”
Strawberry milk, strawberry cake, strawberry cream bread, strawberry pudding, strawberry candy, strawberry… strawberries everywhere.
I felt like I was about to suffer strawberry overload. I looked up at him with an exhausted face.
Somehow, a strawberry tart had already ended up in my hand.
Wait—when did I grab this?!
“Oh my, you’re eating well.”
As I took a bite in a daze, the old duke grinned in satisfaction.
“Um… why are you doing this to me…?”
“If you eat it all, will you look after my knees again?”
Ah. So this was a bribe.
His eyes curved slyly.
“Will you blow on them again all ticklish like that?”
“Eek!”
I clapped my hands over my ears.
Blow on them?!
Even when the tart I dropped dirtied his feet, he just laughed heartily.
“Stop teasing me!”
“You adorable little brat!”
I had never imagined he’d been awake that night.
‘I only did it to hide the fact that I used healing magic!’
I had only placed a finger on his knee and gently sent in a tiny bit of magic.
Just enough to ease the pain, without being obvious.
I’d blown on it to cover up the sensation of magic entering his body!
“Ow ow, my knee hurts again. Won’t our genius little pharmacist take a look?”
“…You jerk!”
I felt like I’d given him ammunition to tease me forever.
I pounded his shoulder furiously. Of course, his rock-hard body didn’t budge at all.
“Give me back my ointment patch!”
“Absolutely not! Taking back something you gave is bad manners.”
“Then let me go! And I’m done eating strawberries! I’m busy!”
“That’s even more unacceptable!”
Ughhh. He rubbed his prickly beard all over my cheek.
So annoying!
Honestly, it was easier when he used to threaten to kick me out.
Was the ointment really that good? Enough to turn that grumpy old man into this doting fool?
“Ouch! It stings, Your Excellency!”
“What do you mean, ‘Your Excellency’? So cold!”
“Huh?”
“Am I your subordinate? Just call me Grandfather!”
Since when were we close enough for that?!
But I couldn’t take the beard attack anymore.
“Okay, okay! Grandfather!”
“Bwahahaha!”
His booming laughter filled the room.
“Now eat up! If you want to be strong like your grandpa, you’ve got to eat plenty!”
“Ugh…”
“…What on earth is going on here?”
Uncle Leviathan froze as he entered the dining room.
“Looks like it’s started again, Father. I’m busy today, so I’ll eat separately…”
Boyd fled immediately with a fed-up expression.
Yes. At some point, the old duke—no, Grandfather—had started joining our meals regularly.
I reached out desperately toward Uncle.
“Help… help me…!”
Please save me! I feel like I’m going to suffocate under this strawberry-obsessed grandfather’s beard!
An island in the middle of the sea.
The kingdom of mages, Arcadia.
“Ah… my seventh. My child.”
In a place filled endlessly with white pillars, a man in pure white priestly robes wept mournfully.
Around the throne where he sat were people dressed in similar white garments.
“My King.”
“She has left my arms again… left me again…”
His voice was drenched in sorrow.
After sobbing for a while, the king—his long white hair tied back—slowly rose.
The beautiful man, who radiated sensitivity, lifted a dry expression as if he had never cried.
“But at least it’s fortunate, isn’t it? This time, she left in a physical body.”
“……”
“A body always leaves traces.”
Yes… that’s right.
The king nodded to himself, a long smile forming on his smooth lips.
“It’s fine. We’ll find her soon. As long as she remains in this world… children are bound to rebel as they grow, after all.”
With a flick of his pale fingers—
Masked shadows rose from the floor.
“Dispatch more tracking mages across the continent. Bring my child back at all costs.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“To summon the great Black Mage once more, that child’s power is essential… absolutely essential…”
The king’s eyes glowed coldly.
After a brief pause, he added,
“She is clever and will be hiding everything about herself. Do not discriminate by age or gender. Search the entire continent as if hunting rats.”
“As you command.”
Once more, the king whispered for his child.
Ah, my beloved one.
I long to see again that noble silver-thread hair and blood-red eyes…
The great mage who inherited the Wisdom of Wizeria, the jewel I stole away…
Find my seventh—no matter what.
