TYHL 66

~Chapter 66~

‘Uncle said… the culprits were already caught!’

Were there stragglers left behind?

‘No!’

The moment I saw the black shadow reaching for the two girls, my body moved on instinct.

At the same time, a hand suddenly grabbed me from behind.

“Rubian? It really is you. I kept calling—where are you running off to?”

It was Licht.

“Licht! Liv and Titi! Over there!”

“Huh?”

I pointed frantically down the street. Seeing my pale face, Licht’s brows knitted in realization.

I was a mage. Licht was just a young boy.

The difference in strength was obvious.

And if my guess was right… the one tailing the young ladies was a mage too!

“I’ll chase! You call for backup!”

“Rubian!”

I ran until my lungs burned. If I hadn’t been training my stamina all this time, I would’ve never made it.

I arrived at a maze-like alley—yet strangely, not a single trace of presence remained.

Wait. Hold on.

I steadied myself on my knees, catching my breath, when a strange tension pressed around me.

‘The flow of mana!’

In the still, quiet alley, I felt power surge violently upward.

The instant I realized, glowing blue magic circles rose on both sides of the walls.

“Binding magic tools…”

My eyes widened at the familiar energy. Black shadows slithered out, wrapping my body tight.

From the end of the alley, a figure in a dark hooded robe stepped forward. He raised a round magical device toward me.

Detecting mana?

‘OOOOO:-)’

Boing! Ding-dong-dang! Correct answer!

“Wow, correct.”

The man’s lips curved into a long smile.

“But really, couldn’t you have picked a calmer sound effect?”

“You…”

Recognizing who he was, I glared hard. At that moment, hooked ropes shot out from both sides.

“Grab her!”

Someone blocked my path, and darkness swallowed my sight.

A sharp, stinging smell hit my nose—before I could even resist, my consciousness slipped away.

Beeeeep—an endless ringing filled my ears.

Mixed with it were panicked, scattered screams.

That was the last thing I remembered.

“This… this can’t be.”

Left alone at the hot spring, Rosetta Jebert came back to her senses only after a long while.

“No way!”

She frantically searched the spot where the child had disappeared.

A boy, they’d said. A pretty boy, sure, but still a boy!

She remembered Leviathan’s reply to her letter, when she had asked if the child was a girl.

Yes, he had clearly written: a boy.

Rosetta hurried back to the mansion. She didn’t even remember how she got there.

“Madam?”

Adolf appeared as soon as she stepped onto the lobby floor. Seeing her drenched from the rain, the butler frowned deeply.

“You’re soaked through…”

“Adolf! Quick, tell me Rubian’s features—what does she look like? Cute, lovely—no, not like that!”

She grabbed his shoulders tightly and pressed him.

Startled by his mistress’s sudden intensity, Adolf hesitated, then spoke.

“Pale silver hair, sapphire-colored eyes. But why do you ask all of a sudden?”

“Ah…”

Rosetta staggered. Adolf rushed to catch her, but she braced against the wall and stopped him with her hand.

“The truth is… I lied to a friend.”

Her memories tangled in chaos.

She had been careless. She had believed the claim that Rubian was a boy without question. She had never even imagined that the child at the cemetery could be Rubian herself.

“I don’t want her to hate me…”

“What have I done…”

Her pained groan sounded almost despairing. Adolf instinctively realized something was terribly wrong.

“Madam, what happened? Did something happen to Lady Rubian?”

Rosetta lifted her head sharply, her face cold. Water dripped from her hair, streaked half-brown, half-pink.

“Leviathan. Where is my husband?”

At that moment, Leviathan Jebert was surveying the streets of Ipsun.

Welcoming Rosetta like this was nothing unusual. Truthfully, it was more for his own enjoyment than hers.

His wife was always unpredictable.

And noble duties, outside of battlefields, often meant being stuck in the castle drowning in paperwork.

Rosetta was the only one who understood that—and urged him to take breaks in her own eccentric ways.

‘Come to think of it, this is the first time she came out like this.’

Leviathan glanced around casually.

Rain was falling steadily now. Looking at the gray sky, he thought it was time to end this game of hide-and-seek.

Then—

“My lord!”

Leon ran up in haste.

“Urgent news from Count Camellan.”

“Urgent news?”

Leon’s face twisted in distaste.

“Some of the criminals handed over to the Camellan knights… have escaped.”

“What?”

Leviathan pressed his forehead with a sigh.

“They never cease to disappoint.”

What kind of sloppy work was this?

He cursed under his breath and yanked his reins.

“Send knights out again. Void, you can return now.”

His voice was heavy with resignation.

Void, who had been rummaging near a trash bin, tilted his head.

“Huh? But mother—”

“The game’s over.”

“…Oh. Okay.”

Piiiii—

Just then, through the drizzle, a messenger pigeon swooped into Leviathan’s sight.

“From Zelox, my lord.”

A strange chill ran down his neck. Was this that heavy silence before a storm?

“Eugene.”

“Yes, sir.”

Piiit! A knight blew his whistle, and a hawk responded, diving swiftly.

“From Borbel, my lord.”

“Bring it.”

Leviathan was about to open the rolled letter when Void cried out in alarm.

“Father!”

At the same time—swish!—a sound split the air. Leviathan jerked his reins, pulling back fast.

Thunk! An arrow buried itself deep into the ground where he had just been.

“….”

Instinctively, his eyes scanned the arrow’s markings. He turned his head toward the source—and saw it.

High on the town’s tower, familiar pink hair whipped in the rain.

“Rose?”

“Mother!” Void waved his arms excitedly.

“Why is my wife up there, of all places…”

Still, his rigid shoulders loosened slightly. Just seeing that soft pink hair stirred his heart.

But Rosetta only propped one leg on the railing and drew a hidden folding arrow from her thigh.

She aimed the sharp tip right at the center of her own forehead.

So, something had provoked her again.

“Leviathan, you filthy, rotten, useless—!”

Her thunderous scream carried far across the town. The raw curse left Ipsun’s citizens gaping, while Leon, used to it by now, calmly covered Void’s ears.

“Yes. I missed you too, enough to curse at.”

Leviathan stretched his arms wide, inviting her down.

“What did you do to Rubian?!”

“…?”

What?

Leviathan’s face stiffened as he slowly lowered his arms. Then the letter in his hand rustled, reminding him of its presence.

He carefully unfolded it and read.

“……”

As expected, it was a reply from Eocia. But then—

“What the hell is this nonsense?”