~Chapter 28~
Ch. 4
‘Humming…?’
Morris Lilton, former vice-captain of the Jebert Knights and now steward of the annex, frowned at the old duke’s strange behavior over the past few days.
“Hm hm hm~.”
Balok Jebert, the man said to scare birds right out of the sky, was humming early in the morning.
Even wiggling his hips a little.
‘His leg seems to be in better condition somehow.’
Morris quietly set the tea down on the table.
‘Was Ruby-an’s ointment really that effective?’
If so, that would be truly amazing.
“Your Grace, what are you doing this early in the morning?”
“Mm. Making a new blueprint.”
Even his voice somehow sounded gentler.
“A blueprint? Are you making a new sword?”
“Yes. I’m going to give one to each of the little brats.”
The second brat and the youngest brat~
Balok’s humming reached its peak.
“Ah, I see.”
The Jeberts were a knightly family. It was common for an elder to give a sword to a child.
“I’ll even engrave their names on the handles… Hm?”
His hand, which had been moving smoothly, suddenly stopped.
“What’s wrong?”
“Come to think of it, the youngest brat…”
A deep crease formed between his brows. The pen stopped at the name “Ruby-an.”
“Did she ever receive the Jebert surname?”
Balok barged straight into his son’s office.
“She hasn’t been registered yet.”
Crash—! It almost felt like thunder and lightning crashed behind him.
“Wha…at…?”
His huge body swayed ridiculously.
“Wasn’t Ruby-an going to stay here for good?”
“No. Adoption isn’t a simple matter. Ruby’s own wishes are important too… Are you all right?”
“I’m not all right!”
Balok shouted.
Leviathan rubbed his brow with a tired face. He had written about it in the letter when bringing the child from the capital.
‘He only reads what he wants to read.’
With a sigh, he put down the document he’d been reading.
“Just thinking about that little one disappearing… Ah, give me a moment.”
Balok pressed the bridge of his nose and looked up at the ceiling. Leviathan was speechless.
“Since when have you welcomed Ruby-an so much? At first, you couldn’t wait to throw her out.”
“I don’t remember!”
Right, of course he didn’t.
“Do you know how cute she is?! When she runs from the end of the hallway shouting ‘Grandpa!’ all the stress I’ve been carrying for ten years just melts away—”
“You don’t even have stress.”
“You’re a master of disrespect, you know that?”
The old man added stubbornly and plopped down on the nearby sofa.
“Rose will be back soon, right?”
Leviathan glanced at the letter from his wife on the desk.
“Yes. About two weeks left.”
She was traveling with Liam, and he had replied telling her not to rush for the sake of her health.
Still, she should arrive in two weeks. Thinking about seeing his wife again after so long, Leviathan’s hands itched.
Balok let out a long sigh.
“When Rose returns, talk it over well. Really well! And explain it nicely to Ruby-an, understand?!”
“Of course I will.”
Leviathan spoke firmly, but Balok still looked unsatisfied.
“You must never lose that child. Never, understand?!”
“That’s not something I can force. And you need to stop hovering around Ruby. You’re always loitering—”
“Loitering?!”
At that moment, there was a soft knock on the door.
The old man, who had been roaring with anger, immediately jumped to his feet.
“Ah, time’s up.”
“Time?”
“It’s time for my little brat to put a patch on my knee.”
Balok, looking excited, quickly left the office. Leviathan, left alone, shook his head.
Really unbelievable.
And Ruby—she sure knew how to handle that cranky old man.
Leviathan lowered his gaze back to his paperwork.
But something strange happened. The tiny letters on the page wouldn’t enter his head at all.
The pen slipped from his hand.
His sharp eyes stared into empty space.
“…She comes running, calling him ‘Grandpa’?”
Just imagining it—
Why did it make his stomach twist?
“Phew.”
I wiped my forehead with a satisfied smile.
After lunch and before dinner was my free time. I used it to put magic into the magic stones.
Hazel was busy helping with the mansion work at this hour, Boyd was busy with sword lessons, and Uncle… well, he was always busy.
‘The old duke… Grandpa seems busy these days too.’
He was making blueprints for a new weapon or something.
Anyway, for once there was no one bothering me, so I could process the stones in peace.
The activated magic stones shimmered with transparent magic.
Of course, those who couldn’t sense magic wouldn’t see it.
‘I need to embed this in a proper tool.’
Since the stone was called a “barrier stone,” and I had activated it with my own magic—
It could already produce a basic barrier effect by itself.
But that was only a one-dimensional effect.
Like the difference between raw ingredients and a cooked dish. Ingredients could be eaten as they were, but when prepared with the right recipe, they became far tastier and more effective.
‘What I want is a strong shield that will protect this place for a long time. Something that will detect intruders and block them, at least temporarily.’
I turned toward the mirror.
When I used Wizeria’s Wisdom, a fierce red light swirled in my eyes.
Fortunately, Zerrox was land rich in magic.
If I combined the magic in the air with the barrier stone’s own magic and linked it to the magic circle, the barrier would maintain itself without me constantly adding power—
As long as nothing major happened to the walls or the magic device itself.
‘I’ve already made the magic circle.’
The problem was…
“I don’t have the right tool or place to set the stone.”
I stared at the purple stones on the floor.
“Hm. If I could at least take a look around the area…”
If I could inspect the walls, I might get some hints.
‘But suddenly saying I want to check the castle’s defenses would be suspicious…’
I buried my face in the sofa, thinking hard.
Knock knock.
“Ruby.”
It was Uncle.
“J-just a moment!”
I jumped up and quickly put the stones away. They’d just look like rocks to anyone else, but still—
‘Ah, my eyes.’
The red light was fading to pale pink. Blink, blink. Ugh, why won’t it fade faster?!
“Ruby?”
Uncle called again from outside.
I made sure my eyes were fully blue before opening the door.
“What are you doing with the door closed…? Your eyes are red.”
Huh? Liar!
“What were you concentrating on to get your eyes all bloodshot?”
“I must have been reading too much.”
Phew, that scared me.
He meant there were red veins in my eyes. I felt guilty for nothing.
“So, what’s up?”
I crunched on a plain butter cookie as I asked.
He, as usual, had brought a bunch of sweet desserts and was taking care of them himself.
“Do I need a reason to have snacks with you?”
He suddenly looked straight at me.
Huh? For some reason, it felt… sharp.
No, not sharp exactly…
‘More like sulky?’
I shook my head.
Why would Uncle sulk like a little kid?
“Well, not really… I mean, it’s your house. You can do what you want.”
“…Uncle.”
“Yeah?”
With a twisted expression, he stared at me for a moment, then let out a long sigh.
“Never mind. Have you been reading all day?”
His deep violet eyes scanned my room. A few books lay scattered near the window.
They were ones I’d borrowed from the castle library.
I couldn’t process magic stones all day. Using too much magic would wear me out.
This wasn’t Arcadia, after all. Two or three stones a day was my limit.
After that, I’d flip through the books I’d borrowed to pass the time.
Uncle suddenly asked:
“Ruby, do you want to study?”
“Study?”
“Should I hire 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 in my hand. The nuts made it taste extra rich.
‘What do I want to do?’
I’d never seriously thought about it.
‘Ah!’
It came to me in a flash.
Of course, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
