TYHL 21

~Chapter 21~

“Void hyung!”

I barged straight into Void’s room.

“Whoa! You scared me!”

Void was sitting at his desk, scribbling something down.

“Uh, huh?”

He hurried to cover his notebook. Was it… a diary? More importantly—

“Do you have a map here?”

“A map?”

“Yeah!”

“Of course I do, but…”

Void searched his bookshelf and easily pulled out a map of the territory. Shops, facilities, and inns were all marked.

“Wow, thanks!”

“But why a map?”

“Ah, the Grand Duke said we’re going out together tomorrow. I want to study in advance.”

“Gran…dfather? You met Grandfather?”

Void’s head turned stiffly, like a broken machine.

“You look pale. Why?”

“Grandfather is… well…”

“What? He’s a bit rough—no, energetic, I’d say.”

“He took me and Liam hyung to the northern mountains in the middle of the night to ‘train’ us…”

Ahhh.

Void collapsed onto his desk like someone recalling a nightmare.

What exactly did they do in the northern mountains…?

It felt like a box I shouldn’t open, so I decided not to ask.

“Anyway, be careful.”

Void, uncharacteristically serious, gave advice, then opened his books again.

“If you’re going to look at the map, sit there. I’m not done studying yet…”

“But what were you writing so intently earlier?”

“Earlier? Oh, my diary.”

He answered seriously.

I burst out laughing. A diary? I thought all he did was think about card games!

“A diary? You’re such a diligent type, huh.”

“…Don’t even think about peeking.”

When someone tells you not to, you want to do it even more.

As I crept closer, Void hugged his diary to his chest.

“I think I saw the name ‘Ruby’ written in it. What did you write?”

“Hey, don’t look!”

“Just tell me what you wrote!”

“I’m not telling you!”

“You insulted me, didn’t you!”

“No! …Okay, I did!”

“Wow. I’m definitely going to see it.”

Bickering back and forth—

The evening deepened.

In the end, I didn’t manage to steal a peek at the diary. I’ll try again another time…

“Ahh, so soft.”

Late at night.

After a nice wash, I dove into bed. A clean body, a clean bed—perfect!

Hazel chuckled and pulled the curtains closed.

“Don’t stay up too late, alright?”

“Okay!”

“If you need anything, just tug the cord.”

“Got it! Good night, Hazel.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Unable to resist, Hazel hugged me tightly. Hehe. A bit awkward, but warm.

“You’re going out tomorrow, right? I’ll prepare some snacks.”

“Thanks!”

Hazel smiled and left the room.

I lay down on the sun-scented blankets and studied the map for a while.

Then—

The firmly closed door slowly opened.

“…What, why aren’t you asleep?”

Uncle froze mid-step, straightening from his attempt to sneak in quietly.

He smelled faintly of the same fragrance from Void’s room. So he must have gone there first.

A father checking on the children after returning late at night, huh.

“I heard you said you had a stomachache?”

“Huh?”

“They said you stayed locked in your room all day.”

He closed the door with a click and walked straight over.

Ah, right.

“From your expression, I guess not.”

The bed sank heavily on one side.

“Then you must be upset.”

He brushed my forehead with his hand, smiling faintly.

His loosely unbuttoned shirt carried the cool air from outside.

“Did someone bully you? Tell me.”

“No one… oh.”

Gasp.

I suddenly remembered what happened with the Grand Duke. Come to think of it… I just ran away and left it at that.

Of course, what really bothered me was the news Khalid brought about the Magic Kingdom, but I couldn’t say that.

Instead, I pulled out a decoy worry.

“Does the Grand Duke dislike me?”

“So it was Father after all.”

“If he keeps opposing me staying here, what will I do? Will he throw me out?”

“I guess I’ll just have to remove the passage to the northern annex.”

“Stop joking.”

I smacked his arm.

He brushed the hair off my forehead, his hand rough with calluses.

“I told you, no one can force you to do something you don’t want to. Do as you want. If you want to stay, then stay.”

It was strange—when he said things like this, I was always at a loss for words.

My toes twitched, and my chest felt ticklish, like I might sneeze.

I liked it when he said this.

Even if he was blunt and rough, there was a warmth in the way he treated something precious, and it made my heart swell warmly.

But at the same time…

‘I feel guilty.’

I was a liar.

I hadn’t told him a single truth.

If my secret came out… would he still say the same thing to me?

The ticklish feeling turned into a sting.

Leviathan returned from the northern outpost and immediately received reports from the servants.

Most of it was about Void and Rubian.

He took one look at sleeping Void, then went straight to Rubian’s room. He didn’t like leaving her alone with that cranky old man while he was away.

Of course, Rubian was guarded by capable maid-bodyguards, and the Grand Duke’s aide, Sir Morris, was no pushover either.

Still.

“What, why aren’t you asleep?”

He’d expected her to be asleep, but she was rolling around in bed.

Clear eyes met his, quickly filling with delight.

‘Looks fine.’

He’d worried since she suddenly ran to her room earlier and didn’t come out.

But he couldn’t relax—Rubian was good at hiding her feelings.

“Does the Grand Duke dislike me? If he keeps opposing me staying here, what will I do? Will he throw me out?”

That old man, as expected.

Leviathan clenched his fist subtly.

From what he’d seen earlier, the old man already seemed taken with Rubian, yet he still had to put up a fight.

Because of that stubbornness, he’d made a bad first impression on Void and Liam too, and their relationship was still sour…

‘Not that I can talk.’

Damn it. This is why upbringing is important.

Leviathan brushed Rubian’s forehead, feeling her warm temperature.

Her blue eyes wavered slightly with unease. It irritated him.

“I told you, no one can force you to do something you don’t want to. Do as you want. If you want to stay, then stay. If you want to lea—”

He stopped mid-sentence. Words that almost slipped out.

If she wanted to leave…

Would it be fine for her to go?

…Well, yes.

If that was what Rubian wanted.

“…”

But for some reason, he couldn’t say it aloud.

If those soft, silver hairs under his fingertips disappeared from sight…

It felt like his heart would drop straight to his toes.

He felt anxious whenever he looked at her.

Like watching a mirage.

Like she might suddenly abandon him and vanish somewhere.

Strange. She’d insisted on sticking to him and had followed him all the way to the north.

“Uncle?”

Her clear voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“Are you okay?”

The child had half-sat up, looking at him with concern.