Chapter 30
“Ahem, ahem!”
Senior Oburon cleared his throat awkwardly before clapping his hands together with a stern expression.
“Alright! Today’s training ends here!”
He really was a good adjutant—always covering for his superior’s embarrassing moments.
I watched Senior Oburon’s back as he walked away, then headed toward the shade of a tree at one side of the training ground.
“Hey, mister. Why are you sleeping here?”
Snore, snore. A dazzlingly handsome man, fast asleep.
“Wake up!”
When I shook him, he cracked one eye open. Scattered around him were documents he’d apparently been looking over.
“Ah, I was working.”
“Liar. You were totally sleeping.”
No matter what I said, he just stretched lazily and sat up straight.
“Done playing around?”
“I wasn’t playing!”
Do you have any idea how hard that training was?
“Why are you doing paperwork here anyway? You have a perfectly good office.”
“Can’t see well from there.”
“…?”
“Let’s go get some snacks.”
The man suddenly scooped me up into his arms.
Thanks to eating well and training hard, I’d gotten quite a bit heavier than before. I thought I’d grown taller too (Boyd had looked at me doubtfully), but he still lifted me effortlessly.
‘Maybe the northern climate really suits me?’
I felt like I was getting stronger day by day.
“Oh, right! I’m going on a tour of the castle walls tomorrow!”
“Is that really something to be so excited about?”
“Of course it is! I’ve always wanted to go!”
His smooth stride came to an abrupt halt. Our eyes met—those violet eyes staring straight at me.
“If you wanted to go, why didn’t you say anything?”
“Huh?”
“Since when have you wanted to? If you’d told me, I would’ve taken you anytime.”
I pressed my lips together and blinked.
“Really?”
“Ruby, I told you.”
He spoke with a sigh and brushed back my messy hair.
“If there’s something you want, or something you want to do, don’t hesitate—just tell me.”
“But I didn’t want to bother you…”
And besides, I’d already thought of a way to do it myself, so asking for help felt unnecessary.
“Why would your request ever be a bother to me—”
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
His lowered gaze fixed on me.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…In Iosia.”
“…….”
“When you lived in Iosia… were you like that too?”
I closed my mouth. He hesitated for a long time before adding quietly,
“With your… parents, I mean.”
“Ah… no.”
I awkwardly avoided his eyes.
Ah, I’m getting better and better at lying.
My chest prickled painfully again.
But it wasn’t entirely a lie.
My parents… or rather, the king—I’d never once asked him for anything.
‘There was nothing I wanted there anyway.’
And he’d never cared what I wanted either. Not even when I was very young…
‘Huh?’
Suddenly, a strange sense of discomfort washed over me.
‘Come to think of it… what was it like when I was really little?’
My brows furrowed on their own. My body stiffened.
When I was little? Really little?
“Ruby?”
For some reason, my memories didn’t feel smooth.
I could recall individual scenes, but the connections between them felt strangely awkward. As if someone had forcibly stitched together pieces of my memory.
“Rubian!”
“Huh?!”
I snapped my head up. His flustered face filled my vision.
“Don’t think about it. I’m sorry.”
He suddenly pulled me into a tight hug. I peeked over his sturdy shoulder, blinking.
“Huh?”
What had I even been thinking about just now?
“I made you remember something bad. That was my fault. I’m sorry.”
No, it wasn’t. It wasn’t your fault at all…
But for some reason, I didn’t have the energy to argue. So I simply buried my face against his shoulder.
His large, warm hand gently rubbed my back.
For some reason, it felt nostalgic.
The next day, as promised, I went on the tour of the castle walls.
“Wow! So cool!”
The gray stone wall stretched endlessly. It was so thick that even the claws of most monsters probably couldn’t scratch it.
“Don’t run around too much. It’s dangerous.”
The strong wind blew my cloak hood right off.
Senior Oburon, standing behind me, reached out and put it back over my head.
‘Oh?’
As I looked up at him, a tower suddenly caught my eye. Several such towers were built at regular intervals along the wall.
“What’s the bell at the top of that tower for?”
“The bell on the watchtower? It’s rung when monsters attack or something happens at the wall.”
“Oh! Like an emergency alarm!”
“Alarm? Well… yes, it’s for emergencies.”
Senior Oburon nodded.
“Are they all along the wall?”
“Yeah. You never know where something might happen.”
I see.
I stroked my chin and grinned.
‘Found it.’
The perfect place to plant barrier stones. And the perfect tool!
If I embedded magic stones into those bells, I could spread a barrier field along the entire wall.
And not just that.
‘If an intruder touches the barrier, the bell could automatically ring to alert everyone!’
If I connected it to my magic power, I’d be the first to know as well.
Just then, a hand suddenly slipped under my knees.
“Tsk tsk, you sure take interest in the strangest things!”
It was the old man—Grandfather—lifting me up. He’d been trailing after me all morning and had even joined the wall tour in the end.
“Waaah!”
As my view rose higher, the blue sky felt even closer. The wind up here felt even fresher.
I asked as he carried me along the wall.
“Grandpa, why did you come along anyway?”
“Hmph! I came to straighten out discipline on the walls for the first time in a while!”
He stuck out his lips stubbornly.
“Oh… I see.”
“Tch. I thought you’d put on some weight lately, but overnight you turned into a little bean again.”
He glanced at me and muttered in dissatisfaction.
‘The mister said the same thing this morning.’
Last night, he and Boyd had slept in my room again.
At this point, it was obvious.
‘I think I must have sleepwalking.’
Otherwise, why would they watch over me all night?
A sudden sense of danger washed over me.
Nothing strange had happened, so they probably hadn’t touched me or anything, but still…
‘Wait—what if I talk nonsense in my sleep?!’
Goosebumps ran down my arms.
Right at that moment—
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The bell in the watchtower began ringing wildly.
The sharp sound pierced my ears and I clapped my hands over them.
“Sir Oburon! We’re under attack! A swarm of monsters!”
“Tch. We just cleared them out a few days ago. Thought we’d have some peace for a while.”
A subordinate came running from afar. Senior Oburon’s expression hardened as he rested a hand on his sword.
“How many?”
“Thirty grizzlies—no, forty!”
“Tch. Duke Balrok.”
“I know.”
Grandfather’s eyes turned sharp in an instant.
The tense, hardened atmosphere made me shrink slightly.
“No need to be afraid. They’re just small fry.”
He tightened my cloak around me as he spoke.
“Yes.”
I wasn’t really scared. After all, I knew Grandfather and the knights were incredibly strong.
The presence of monsters was getting closer.
I could feel their magic, but I didn’t show it.
“Send out the defense knights. Has the main castle been informed?”
“A messenger has already gone.”
“Good.”
A quiet tension filled the air.
But even that seemed routine here—no one panicked or hesitated.
Everyone moved with practiced precision.
“Ah, this would be a good chance to test the new arrowheads, Your Grace,” Senior Oburon suggested.
Grandfather nodded as he headed toward the stairs leading down from the wall.
“Good. Test them and report back.”
“Yes, sir! Then please escort Rubian somewhere safe.”
“Alright, alright.”
“Prepare the archery unit. Make sure the monsters don’t scatter—”
Senior Oburon’s voice faded as he gave orders to the younger knights.
Grandfather held me tightly and started down the stairs.
The moment he took a single step—
BOOM!
A massive explosion shook the world.
“No way!”
I snapped my head up.
The monsters’ presence had vanished?
“Child! Don’t look up!”
Grandfather’s rough hand pressed firmly against the back of my head. I could see gray smoke rising beyond the wall—but nothing more.
He let out an angry roar.
“What happened?! An explosion? Do you have any idea who’s here right now?!”
“Your Grace! Vice-Commander!”
Someone came running frantically.
“What in the world is going on?”
“Th-that is…”
The adjutant, gasping for breath, reported quickly.
“They say the monsters were suddenly wiped out!”
“What?”
Just as I thought.
“Someone appeared out of nowhere and annihilated them all…”
“Who on earth?”
“Th-that’s…”
At that moment, Grandfather’s aura turned ice cold. The overwhelming presence unique to a warrior who had surpassed human limits began leaking out.
“An enemy? Don’t tell me… a mage?”
Hostility filled his voice.
“I’m not sure. But…”
The adjutant added urgently.
“It looked like… a boy!”
This time, I couldn’t stop myself from looking up.
