TYHL 152

~Chapter 152~

And strangely, Dad didn’t look like he was in a good mood…

As I walked down the corridor, I glanced up at his serious face.

Did something happen on his business trip?

I thought about it, but nothing came to mind. I didn’t even really know what kind of trip it was.

We headed for the lounge on the upper floor of the building where the banquet was held.

Because the presentation ran for quite a while, it seemed every family had been assigned a room.

Clack.

When the big door shut behind us, it felt as if we’d stepped into a completely different world, far removed from the noisy banquet hall.

Silence and stillness filled the room.

Dad is… not himself today.

I watched as Dad lit the lamp and quietly sat on the sofa.

If I talk to him, he seems normal enough. But whenever we’re just sitting here, there’s a weird sense of discomfort. Is it just my imagination?

“Oh, by the way, I got you a present while I was out,” Dad said as the room brightened.

“Huh? A present?”

“Chubby macarons.”

“Chubby macarons? Really?”

“You know them?”

My eyes widened a little.

I’d heard about them from Sortier, who knew all the best dessert places.

“Yeah! They’re supposed to be super famous!”

“…So it wasn’t a mistake, then.”

“What do you mean? More importantly, where is it?”

“Over there, near my coat…”

He pointed to a small dressing room off to the side.

I jumped up at once.

“I’ll go get it!”

“No, let me—”

“I stepped all over your feet, so you should rest!”

It was the least I could do!

I rushed into the dressing room. It was obvious which coat was Dad’s—huge and heavy, weighed down with decorations.

There was a big box under the coat, as if it had fallen from its hanger.

A pink box tied with a blue ribbon.

Even with my short dessert career, I could tell at a glance.

That was a box of chubby macarons!

I quickly reached for the jacket. It was heavier than I expected.

“Geez. Is it just because he’s so big? Why is this coat so huge and heavy…”

Finally, I yanked it with all my strength.

Was that a mistake?

Something flew out of the jacket pocket. And then—

Crash!

“…Huh?”

With a sharp, ringing sound, something I recognized shattered to pieces.

Leviathan pressed his face into both hands with a sigh.

His hands trembled slightly.

Calm down. Don’t show it.

Rubian was an observant child.

He didn’t want to make her withdraw, like in the carriage before, weighed down by his worries.

And today was her presentation—the first time they’d met in ten days.

She’s so happy…

He wanted to ask her so many things, but forced himself to wait.

I’ll ask after everything’s over. When the presentation’s done. Then, little by little…

Maybe I’m just confused. Outwardly, she’s so different, and the age is…

He recalled the profile of the runaway mage, as if reciting a prayer.

Red eyes. A mage with immense power, about ten years old.

Once, that was the strongest reason not to connect Rubian and the runaway mage in his mind.

But… is gender really the only thing Rubian’s hiding from me?

The moment that thought occurred, everything turned upside down.

“…Damn it.”

Leviathan ground his teeth. His heart felt scorched and hollow, like ashes choking his insides.

Don’t let it show.

Maybe it’s nothing.

If I talk to Rubian, maybe I’ll get a different answer.

That sliver of hope was all that kept him holding on to his sanity.

It was as if he were staring into a distant black storm.

And then—

Crash!

At the sound of something shattering, Leviathan shot to his feet.

He rushed into the dressing room.

“Rubian!”

“Uh… Dad, I’m sorry…”

There she was, sitting awkwardly in the middle of the small room, looking up at him.

When he saw the shards of clear glass scattered around her, his heart sank.

“Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

“I—I’m okay, but… this… the glass bottle…”

She stammered, pointing at the floor.

Leviathan hurriedly moved her out of the way, to a spot without glass.

The macaron boxes had collapsed, their ribbons untied, their contents spilled everywhere.

“Are you cut? Anywhere?”

“No, I’m not. I just pulled your jacket too hard… I never imagined there’d be a glass bottle…”

She mumbled, sneaking glances at the glass shards.

A glass bottle tied with a blue ribbon.

It was something that had helped Leviathan during the war.

He’d forgotten it was in his inner pocket.

“I’m sorry…”

Rubian shuffled, apologizing.

“Don’t apologize. As long as you’re not hurt, it’s fine.”

“O-okay. But this glass bottle…”

“It was mine, but it’s all right.”

Leviathan clumsily swept up the shards with his foot, tidying up.

He’d never been able to throw that bottle away, for some reason.

But now that it was broken, he didn’t even know why he’d clung to it so long.

Instead, the thought that Rubian could have been hurt because of it chilled his blood.

But… where did the ribbon go?

The blue ribbon that had been tied around the bottle.

He looked around and saw blue ribbons scattered under Rubian’s feet, mixed with the macarons’ ribbon.

“Rubian, the blue ribbon under there…”

He started to speak, then fell silent.

She won’t know what I’m talking about if I say it like that.

Just as he moved to correct himself—

“Oh, this one?”

Rubian picked up the exact blue ribbon that had been tied to the glass bottle and handed it over.

No hesitation at all.

As if…

“….”

As if she knew exactly what she was picking up.

As if she’d known from the beginning that this ribbon had been tied around the broken glass bottle…

Of course, maybe she just noticed it as the bottle broke.

But still… that ribbon…

Beep—

A ringing sounded in his ears.

He couldn’t say a word.

“Dad…?”

When Leviathan didn’t answer, Rubian hesitated, stepping toward him.

Beep beep beep—!

A short trumpet blast sounded from outside, and a professor’s bright voice rang out.

“Now, let’s begin the final tea party! Camp participants, please gather in the lakeside garden!”

“Ah, I’d better go!”

She turned quickly.

“Dad, sorry about the bottle! I’ll call the maid for you, so just change your shoes and hurry over!”

He could only watch her hurriedly running off.

Left alone, Leviathan looked down at the pathetic ribbon left in his hand.

The reason he’d tried to rephrase his question wasn’t anything else.

The ribbons around Rubian were all blue.

“What is this? Oh dear. There’s blood on the ribbon…”

“Looks like quite a lot splattered.”

Most children wouldn’t have picked up a bloodstained ribbon out of a pile of blue ribbons.

“…Rubian.”

His fist clenched tight.

“This…”

He could do nothing but fall to his knees.

“How can you call this blue…?”

A ribbon stained with blood.

It had long since lost its original blue color, dyed a dark, bloody violet.

His head dropped helplessly. Before the raw reality, a pained groan escaped him.

The storm that hit was immense, overwhelming, and cruel enough to change everything.

Rubian had been in that war.

His child.

Right in the middle of that hell.

Helping him in secret all along.