TYHL 193

~Chapter 193~

No, no, no.
It wasn’t exactly a roar!
It was just… just…

“Uh, rawr?”

“What was that?”

“Huh? No, it’s nothing…!”

I swallowed down my confusion. Suddenly, the feeling of Khalid’s hand in mine was overwhelming.

‘Oh, Mom…’

I felt like I was spiraling, spinning endlessly downward.

What am I supposed to do?

‘Right now…’

Maybe I was on the edge of falling for real.

—

The next day.

The procession set out again.

The Cassalian royals and their Zebert escort quickly left the border town behind and arrived in the capital, Bamiless.

Thanks to the acceleration magic device Dad brought, the trip went fast.

A couple of monsters popped up from underground, but with Khalid and the knights leading the charge, there was no real trouble.

“Thanks to you, we’ve arrived safely!”

In front of the imperial palace,
the Cassalian King shouted to Dad from the head of the long procession.

He was a small, round man, almost potato-shaped in my mind.

“I won’t forget this hospitality!”

“Think nothing of it.”

Dad replied coolly, eyebrows and lips giving away his total lack of interest.

‘Yeah, he definitely doesn’t want to chat with this guy.’

I figured the King must have annoyed him at last night’s dinner.

“Sevelena! Why are you just standing there? Thank the Duke properly!”

“Thank you for keeping us safe. I’m deeply grateful, Your Grace.”

Sevelena lifted her head with flawless poise. For a moment, our eyes met.

“If anything happens, I’ll let you know. And if you ever need help, please contact me anytime.”

As we rode, Sevelena leaned close and whispered that to me.

Her words were as lovely and secret as a dawn rose, but honestly—
even if the Magic Kingdom attacked, I doubted I’d need her help.

—

That evening, there was a grand celebration.

Khalid was officially recognized for his work clearing out the western canyon—the continent’s trouble spot and major monster lair—and was awarded the title of baron.

No land came with it, just a name and honor, but for a common-born knight it was a big deal, and word of Khalid’s promotion quickly swept through the palace and the capital.

Khalid himself, of course, looked as unmoved as ever.

Honestly, I was way more excited than he was.

I spent ages goofing around with my brothers, chanting “Sir Baron Khalid~” over and over, but he was so unbothered I lost interest after the third time.

“Sevelena! Presenting our Princess Sevelena!”

“Your Majesty, it’s an honor.”

At the reception, the Cassalian King spent the entire night blatantly parading Sevelena around.

He was desperate.

He’d already married off all his other daughters to foreign nobles; Bamilon was the last place he hadn’t managed to secure a connection.

“Ha! Isn’t my daughter beautiful? She sings well, her embroidery could use work, but she’s a fantastic cook. Any of the princes interested…?”

Sevelena smiled with all the shine of a perfectly polished gemstone.

‘She seemed so much livelier running around the festival…’

“If you want to survive in the forest, you have to get strong. But that’s true of everything!”

Maybe for Sevelena, the Cassalian palace was just another forest to survive in.

‘So maybe right now, she’s just gathering her strength… That’s why she came to find me?’

Whatever the case,
it seemed the King didn’t want a daughter—he wanted a product.

“I thought finding my real family would make me happy… Who am I supposed to choose? Blood ties, or the family that sheltered my soul?”

‘I used to wonder about my real family, too.’

When I was ten,
after academy camp,
I’d traded letters with “Second,” who’d run away past the empire’s borders. I remember asking:

< Do you remember what I was like before the war? I mean, when I was little… or about my birth parents? >

“Second” said she didn’t know, and I didn’t push it further.

Honestly, it’d be a lie to say I never wondered.
I sometimes thought about where I was born, how I ended up with the Magic King, and especially how I inherited Vigeria’s power.

‘Maybe the princess felt the same. Chasing her origins—
But after all the struggle to return to her birth parents, their worlds had become too different…’

“Ugh…”

I shook my head.

‘Maybe it’s better not to know your real parents.’

Seriously. If some weirdo popped up and said, ‘I’m your dad!’
I don’t think I could keep a straight face.

“Mmm.”

Some things really are better left unknown.

“Ruby, what are you doing out here?”

“Dad!”

“What’s going on?”

I was crouched near a statue outside the ballroom and ran to cling to Dad’s arm.

He just laughed and gently pinched my cheeks.

“What did you get into this time? The way your tongue is sticking out, I can tell you’ve been up to something.”

“Nothing! There were just too many people in the ballroom, so I escaped. It was exhausting, I mean—tiring!”

And honestly, I clung to Dad because I was suddenly overwhelmed with love for him.

‘He never tries to force anything on me or use me like the King—he just loves me, always.’

I felt a tidal wave of affection and wanted to show it off.

After a moment, I grinned and fluttered my eyes.

“Hey, guess what my favorite bread in the world is?”

Dad smirked and replied,

“Dad bread.”

“…”

…What?

“Who told you that? Was it Brother Void? Or Brother Liam?!”

The mental image of my huge, dark-haired brothers saying “Dad bread?” made me shudder.

Sorry, guys. But it’s true.

Dad nudged my forehead.

“What are you talking about? That’s from ages ago—it was all the rage at the Dad Club.”

I scratched my head awkwardly.

“Yeah, I guess that is kind of an old joke. Seriously, that club comes up with the weirdest stuff…”

And then I froze.

‘Wait. It was popular?’

I’d never actually said it to him.

‘Does that mean… my dad…’

I looked up, studying his crooked smile.

“It was huge back then, maybe ten years ago. Those guys would brag about it all the time.”

“But we haven’t even known each other ten years. Wait, so…”

“Enough.”

“Wait—was Dad just behind on the trend because I never did it? Is that it…?”

I frowned in sympathy.

‘I had no idea that was even a thing…’

“It’s fine. I’m not the type to get jealous over that.”

But he was jealous.

“Not bothered at all.”

So bothered.

“Daaaad. Then why are you walking so fast? Is it because you’re remembering your lonely past and trying to hide it?”

I laughed and hurried after him.

“Dad bread!”

I clung to his arm, and he glanced back, then looked away, hiding his grin.

“The best bread in the world? Of course, Ruby’s Dad bread!”

His smile got a little wider.

“Dad-bread-bread-bread.”

“Okay, okay, Ruby.”

Dad finally gave in, ruffling my hair and squeezing my hand tight.

This warmth, this familiar feeling—
This is where I belong. Right next to Dad, where there’s nothing but love. I don’t need anything else.

“What? Want to keep going? Go tell the club, let it all out! Dad-bread-bread—”

“Okay, sure! …Just two thousand more times, then I’ll stop.”

“What?!”

Just how long have you been waiting for this?

Ch. 20

Southern Bamilon. An abandoned harbor.

“State your identity.”

Under the pale moonlight, the sword of the blue‑haired knight, Leon Schjerk, gleamed cold and sharp.

“P‑please, spare us!”

The men slammed their foreheads to the ground, begging in broken, crushed voices.

Their faces were bruised and swollen, their clothes filthy beyond saving. Behind them, along the dark shoreline, a half‑wrecked boat lay scattered in pieces.

“W‑we escaped from the Magic Kingdom at the risk of our lives!”

“Escaped?”

“Th‑that place is… hell. A place no human can survive anymore! So please—please, just spare our lives! I beg you!”

There was no need to hear more.

Leon raised his sword without hesitation.

Screams ripped through the air. The men writhed in chaos.

And then—

Thud.

From the arms of a man who had been silent the entire time, trembling uncontrollably, something slipped free and fell to the ground.

“…This is?”

The moonlight broke through the clouds at just the right moment, and Leon froze.

‘Rubian…?’

From a loosened bundle spilled an old, worn portrait.

The girl in it was Rubian.

Much younger than he remembered.

No more than three or four years old—a baby Rubian.

Leon slowly brought the blade to the man’s throat.

“Who… are you?”

A sudden sense of an approaching storm crawled up his spine.

“What is all of this?”

The man lifted his head, tears streaming down his face.