The youngest is hiding a lot of things.

Chapter 28

‘Humming…?’

Morris Lylton—former vice-commander of the Zebert Knights and current butler of the annex—frowned at the strange behavior the old duke had been showing for several days now.

“Hm-hm-hmm.”

Because Balrok Zebert, the man rumored to be able to knock birds out of the sky with sheer spirit alone, was humming to himself from early in the morning.

Good grief—he was even wiggling his hips.

‘His legs… somehow seem to be in better condition lately.’

Morris quietly placed a teacup on the table.

‘Could it really be that Lord Rubian’s ointment worked?’

If that were true, it would be nothing short of remarkable.

“Your Excellency, what are you doing so early in the morning?”

“Mm? I’m making new blueprints.”

Even his voice seemed strangely softer than usual.

“Blueprints? Are you planning to forge a new sword?”

“That’s right. I need to give one to each of the little brats.”

The second little brat and the youngest little brat~

Balrok’s humming reached its peak.

“I… see.”

The Zeberts were a knightly family. It was common for the family head to gift swords to children.

“I’ll engrave their names on the hilts too… Hm?”

Balrok’s hand, which had been moving smoothly, suddenly froze.

“Is something the matter?”

“Come to think of it… the youngest brat…”

A deep crease formed between his brows. His pen had stopped exactly on the name Rubian.

“Has he officially received the Zebert surname yet?”

Balrok immediately stormed into his son’s office.

“The registration hasn’t been completed yet.”

Crash—bang! It felt almost as if thunder and lightning struck behind Balrok.

“What… did you say…?”

His huge body swayed awkwardly.

“Rubian isn’t staying here permanently?”

“No. Adoption isn’t something that can be done easily. Rubi’s wishes matter too… Are you all right?”

“No, I am NOT all right!”

Balrok shouted.

Leviathan pressed his fingers to his temple with a tired expression. He had clearly written all this in the letter when bringing the child from the capital.

‘He really only reads what he wants to read.’

With a sigh, he set aside the papers he’d been reviewing.

“Just thinking that the little one might disappear… Ah, give me a moment.”

Balrok pinched the bridge of his nose and looked up at the ceiling. Leviathan stared at him in disbelief.

“Since when did you care so much about Rubian? At first you were desperate to kick him out.”

“I don’t remember any of that!”

Right. Of course you don’t.

“Do you even know how adorable that child is?! When he runs down the hallway shouting ‘Grandfather!’ it feels like ten years’ worth of indigestion just vanishes…!”

“You don’t even get indigestion.”

“Your insolence is truly top-tier.”

Grumbling, the old man plopped down onto a nearby sofa.

“Rose will be back soon, right?”

Leviathan glanced at the letter from his wife on the desk.

“Yes. About two weeks from now.”

She was traveling with Liam, and considering her health, he had told her not to rush.

Still, she would arrive in two weeks. Thinking of seeing his wife again after so long made his hands tingle slightly.

Balrok let out a long sigh.

“When Rose returns, discuss it properly with her. And make sure—absolutely make sure—you talk it over with Rubian too, understand?!”

“Of course I will.”

Leviathan answered firmly, but Balrok still looked uneasy.

“Don’t you dare let that child go. Understood? Absolutely not!”

“That’s not something I can force. And you should stop provoking Rubi so much yourself. Always hovering around him…”

“Hovering?!”

Just then, a small knock sounded at the door.

The old man, who had been raging like fire, jumped to his feet as if by reflex.

“Ah, it’s time.”

“Time?”

“Time for my little brat to put patches on my knees.”

Balrok hurried out of the office with a bright expression. Left alone, Leviathan shook his head.

He really does all sorts of things.

And Rubi too—somehow manages to humor that grumpy old man.

Leviathan lowered his eyes back to his papers.

But something strange happened. The tiny lines of text refused to register.

Thud. The pen fell from his hand.

His sharp gaze stared blankly into space.

“…Running toward him calling him ‘Grandfather’?”

Just imagining it.

Why did it make his stomach twist?

“Phew.”

I wiped my forehead with a satisfied smile.

From after lunch until dinner was my free time. I used that time to infuse magic into magic stones.

Hazel was busy with mansion duties, Boyd was occupied with sword lessons, and Uncle was always busy with something.

‘Even the old duke… Grandfather seems busy these days.’

Something about making new weapon blueprints.

Anyway, with no one around to bother me, I could calmly process the magic stones.

Activated magic stones shimmered with transparent energy.

Of course, people who couldn’t sense magic wouldn’t see it.

‘Now I just need to embed these into proper tools.’

Since these were called “barrier stones,” and I had activated them with my own magic…

They could produce a basic barrier effect on their own.

But that was only a simple, one-dimensional result.

Like the difference between raw ingredients and a finished dish.

Ingredients can be eaten as they are, but when prepared properly, they become far more effective.

‘What I want is a powerful shield that can protect this place for a long time. Something that can detect intruders and even block them temporarily.’

I turned to look in the mirror.

Using the Wisdom of Wizeria, fierce red light swirled inside my eyes.

Thankfully, Zelox was a land rich in magic.

So if I combined the ambient magic with the power inside the barrier stones and linked them to a magic circle, the barrier would be maintained without me constantly supplying power.

As long as nothing major happened to the walls or the magical device itself.

‘I’ve already designed the magic circle.’

The problem was…

“Choosing where and how to place these stones is tricky.”

I stared at the purple stones on the floor.

“Hmm. If only I could inspect the area once…”

Maybe examining the castle walls would give me a clue?

‘But suddenly volunteering to check the castle’s defenses would be suspicious…’

I buried my face into the sofa and groaned.

Knock knock.

Just then, someone knocked.

“Rubi.”

It was Uncle.

“J-just a moment!”

I jumped up and quickly organized the stones. They probably just looked like ordinary rocks, but still.

‘Ah, my eyes.’

The red glow was fading to pale pink. Blink, blink. Come on, hurry up!

“Rubi?”

Uncle called again.

I waited until my eyes returned to blue, then opened the door.

“What were you doing with the door closed—… your eyes are red.”

Huh? No way!

“What were you so focused on that your eyes are all bloodshot?”

“I must have read too much.”

Phew. That scared me.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

He just meant my eyes were strained.

“So what’s up?”

I asked while munching on a butter cookie.

As usual, Uncle had brought piles of sweets and was eating them himself.

“Do I need a reason to have snacks with you?”

He looked at me sharply.

Huh? That felt a bit… prickly.

No, not prickly exactly…

‘More like… sulking?’

I shook my head.

Why would Uncle be sulking?

“No, I just meant… well, it’s your house. You can do whatever you want.”

“…Uncle.”

“Yeah?”

His irritated expression turned toward me, then softened with a long sigh.

“Never mind. By the way, were you reading all day?”

His deep violet eyes scanned my room. A few library books lay scattered on the floor.

I couldn’t process magic stones all day. Using too much magic made me feel unwell.

This wasn’t Arcadia. Two or three stones a day were my limit.

After finishing that, I’d flip through books to pass the time.

Then Uncle suddenly asked,

“Rubi. Do you want to study?”

“Study?”

“Should I hire you a tutor?”

“Uh…”

“If there’s something you want to do, just tell me.”

Something I want to do?

I stared at the half-eaten cookie.

‘What do I want?’

I’d never seriously thought about it.

‘Ah!’

Suddenly, it came to me.

What I wanted was already obvious.