The Beloved Youngest Daughter of a Noble Family - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Mysterious Boy

[Translation By Divinity]

“Eek, you startled me!!”

“Kya!”

Startled by the sudden voice of the unfamiliar boy, I lost my footing.

I almost tripped over a protruding stone, but the boy behind me quickly caught my waist.

“Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”

What? When did my invisibility magic wear off?

‘This is a disaster.’

I must have been too focused on picking the flowers.

As I thought this and looked up, a beautiful boy with sparkling platinum hair was staring at me intently, then smiled gently.

“I seem to have startled you quite a bit. I’m sorry.”

Surprised once again, in a different way, I opened my mouth in awe.

‘Wow, he’s such a pretty boy.’

He looked about twelve years old in human age. Elegant platinum hair with a hint of blonde and gentle purple eyes. His distinct features and noble appearance, reflecting a kind and gentle nature, radiated charm even though he was still a boy.

As I stood there dumbfounded, the boy tilted his head and asked,

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?”

“…I’m not hurt.”

I couldn’t bring myself to say that his face was too dazzling to look at directly!

As I was trying to avert my gaze, the boy stepped closer and suddenly lifted me into his arms.

“W-What! Put me down!”

“The ground is unstable here. It’s dangerous. Let’s go somewhere safe first.”

Suddenly being held in a princess carry, my face flushed red as I struggled, flailing my arms and legs.

But the boy didn’t seem to have any intention of letting me down.

“It’s dangerous to move too much, little one.”

Being called “little one” by someone who looked younger than me…

A sense of humiliation and defiance welled up inside me, but outwardly, I was just a three-year-old child.

When I was finally back on solid ground, I puffed up my cheeks. The boy knelt down, meeting my eye level.

“It’s unusual to see a young child like you alone in a place like this. What were you doing here?”

“…Just looking at the lake?”

“Hmm, not because you wanted this?”

The boy smiled softly and pointed somewhere with his outstretched hand. At his fingertip was a beautiful purple flower swaying in the wind.

“You were trying to pick that flower, weren’t you? Shall I get it for you?”

“No, it’s okay. I can do it myself.”

“But it would be a shame for such a cute little lady’s clothes to get dirty.”

‘Who’s he calling little again!’

Just as I was about to retort, I looked down at myself and gasped in horror. My almost-new shoes and socks, and the hem of my skirt, were covered in mud.

‘Eek, it’s dirty. How am I going to explain this when I get back?’

I had been so focused that I hadn’t even noticed how dirty my clothes had gotten.

‘And these were the new shoes Sione-nim bought for me…’

‘Ugh.’

As I pouted, looking at the cluster of purple flowers, the boy gently stroked my cheek.

“You were trying so hard on your own. You did well. Let me help you now.”

“…Really?”

“Of course. Just wait here for a moment, okay?”

Before I could respond, the boy swiftly descended to the lakeshore.

A moment later, he returned with an armful of flowers.

“You wanted these, didn’t you, little one?”

“…Yes.”

The vibrant purple flowers, the same color as his gentle eyes, captivated my gaze.

They were so beautiful that I felt a bit embarrassed to look directly at them.

‘His clothes got dirty too.’

His expensive-looking white pants and shoes were now stained with mud. It was no wonder they were dirty, considering he had gone into the mud twice because of me.

“Ahem, thank you for your help. I’ll compensate you for your dirty clothes later.”

“Compensation… People usually say thank you in situations like this.”

The boy leaned towards me, as if expecting a response, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

‘How can I say something so cheesy!’

Living in the Rose Palace, I had become more accustomed to expressing my emotions, but that was only limited to a few close people, like Sione.

It was still difficult for me to show my true feelings to a boy I had just met, no matter how kind he had been.

‘But I need to practice…’

Exchanging simple, sincere feelings like gratitude and apology.

While it might be a simple phrase for some, it required a lot of practice for me.

After hesitating for a while, I fidgeted with my skirt and managed to utter the first word, “Th-thank you…”

“Hmm? What was that? I couldn’t hear you clearly.”

The boy even pretended to cup his ear, urging me on. Mustering all my courage, I shouted at the top of my lungs, “…Thank you!!”

There, are you satisfied now?!

I lowered my head, my face burning with embarrassment. The boy approached and playfully ruffled my hair.

“Eek! What are you doing?! Do you want to die?!”

“Hehe, you’re just so cute. You remind me of my little sister.”

I glared at him murderously as I fixed my messy hair, but he just looked at me with a warm, affectionate smile.

“Where did such a cute little lady come from? Which family are you from?”

“You don’t need to know. Hmph.”

“You couldn’t have come this deep into the palace alone. Tell me your family name, and I’ll take you to where the adults are.”

Despite his gentle appearance, the boy seemed quite stubborn and unwilling to back down.

‘This is turning out to be more troublesome than I thought.’

I racked my brain for a good solution and suddenly had a brilliant idea to escape this situation.

‘That’s right, I have the power of “Control”!’

I had been so flustered by the sudden appearance of this stranger that I completely forgot about it.

I cleared my throat and shouted at the boy in a confident voice, “From now on, you will obey my every word!”

“…Huh?”

Oh no, this isn’t right.

Why is his reaction so lukewarm?!

Unlike the soldier and the maids, the boy just blinked at me in confusion.

I felt cold sweat trickling down my back as I shouted again, “O-Obey me!”

Flash!

Suddenly, a red glint flickered in the boy’s beautiful purple eyes.

He swayed slightly, as if feeling dizzy, but then his expression softened, returning to its usual gentleness.

“What are your orders, Master?”

Phew, it worked!

I let out a sigh of relief, patting my chest after succeeding on the second attempt.

‘Now that I think about it, my ankle hurts. Did I injure it?’

Now that the chaotic situation had calmed down a bit, I noticed a throbbing pain in my left ankle.

It seemed I had sprained it badly when I stumbled earlier, as it was visibly swollen.

“Ow, it hurts.”

“Oh dear, your ankle…”

The boy examined my ankle with a worried expression, then nodded as if he had made up his mind.

“Let me carry you on my back. I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

With an armful of flowers to carry and a sprained ankle, his offer was tempting, but I hesitated.

Although the security around the Rose Palace was somewhat lax due to Father’s prolonged absence, it was still risky to bring a stranger near the palace.

‘Should I use the invisibility magic on him too? I don’t think I can walk like this.’

As I pondered my options, clutching my increasingly painful ankle, a soldier spotted us and approached, saluting briefly.

“Isn’t that Cain-nim? Who is this child with you? It seems like she’s injured her leg…”

Fortunately, the soldier didn’t seem to recognize me. It was natural, as my appearance hadn’t been revealed to the outside world, but I lowered my head just in case he might notice.

‘Out of the frying pan, into the fire. What should I do?’

Should I just use my control magic on the soldier too?

Wait, but how many people can I control in a day?

I had only recently acquired the control ability and hadn’t even told Sione-nim about it yet, so I had no idea.

Moreover, I had already used quite a bit of mana today casting various spells.

I might end up collapsing from mana exhaustion again.

As I was lost in thought, calculating various possibilities in my head, the boy called Cain stepped in front of me, shielding me from the soldier’s view.

“She’s a distant relative. We were just on our way to see the doctor, so you don’t need to worry.”

“But if there’s anything I can do to help…”

“Even a mere soldier cannot wield the Lord’s sword carelessly. Attend to your duties.”

His voice was still young, befitting his early teens, but it carried an air of authority.

The soldier stepped back, saluted respectfully, and returned to his post.

From this exchange, I realized that this boy was no ordinary noble.

“Now, shall I carry you on my back? We should hurry before someone else sees us.”

“…Okay.”

Although this lake was somewhat secluded, it was still close to the main palace, where people frequently came and went.

Having no other choice, I silently accepted his offer and climbed onto his back.

“Where should I take you? Could you please tell me the direction, Master?”

Why did the title “Master,” which should feel natural, sound a bit awkward to me?

I dismissed the thought and pointed towards a secluded path leading to the Rose Palace.

“That way. The one with no people, if possible.”

“It seems you’d rather not be seen. Allow me to use a bit of magic.”

With a rustling sound, a transparent veil seemed to envelop us, and we both vanished from sight.

It was high-level invisibility magic.

‘Wow, that’s amazing. I can’t see anything at all!’

It was only natural that the effectiveness of magic varied depending on the user’s proficiency. In that sense, the boy’s magic was far more advanced than mine.

Unlike my spell, which left faint afterimages with every movement, his was near perfect.

‘I need to practice harder.’

I made a firm resolution and enjoyed the scenery comfortably until we arrived near the Rose Palace. Unlike my cautious departure, the return was a breeze.

“We’re here. You can put me down now.”

“As you command.”

Although my ankle still ached, I couldn’t bring an outsider any further into the palace.

I cleared my throat, trying not to put too much weight on my throbbing ankle.

“Thanks for your help. You can go back now.”

“It’s a shame we have to part ways so soon.”

“You have to forget everything that happened today. It’s a secret that you even saw me.”

“That might be a bit difficult. I’d hate to forget about you, Master.”

Wait, wasn’t the control magic supposed to ensure absolute obedience? Why was he resisting?

‘Argh, what’s going on?!’

As I racked my brain in confusion, the boy suddenly knelt on one knee, took my hand, and gently kissed the back of it.

“So please don’t forget about me either, Master. Or rather, I should call you Princess now.”

“What?!”

I looked down at the boy, who was smiling brightly, with an incredulous expression.

And in that moment, it all clicked.

This beautiful and cunning boy hadn’t fallen for my control magic at all.

“Y-You… You trickster! You knew all along, didn’t you?! That’s not fair!”

My face and ears flushed crimson as I pounded on his shoulders.

But how much could my little fists hurt?

I had no idea what he did for a living, but his body was so firm that my punches only made my own hands ache.

“I apologize. I didn’t mean to deceive you.”

“Then you should have told me from the beginning!!”

“I’m reflecting on my actions, so please forgive me.”

I couldn’t detect any hint of remorse in his playful grin.

Unlike me, who was flustered, the boy seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this situation.

‘Just who is this guy?’

But there was a more pressing issue.

If word got out that I had secretly left the Rose Palace, it could turn into a major incident.

Disobeying the Lord’s orders wouldn’t end with a simple apology.

‘But I don’t think he helped me with the intention of causing trouble.’

He had cast the invisibility spell and even lied to the soldier, calling me his distant relative. It didn’t seem like he would carelessly spread the truth.

“Hey… You won’t tell anyone you saw me, right?”

“No. It doesn’t seem like it would end well for anyone.”

“Then let’s make a pinky promise!”

I held out my pinky finger towards the boy.

After all, you can’t always trust people’s words.

Even if we couldn’t draw up a formal contract, this would at least give me some peace of mind.

“Haha, what a cute way to seal a promise.”

“Hurry up and do it.”

We linked pinky fingers and pressed our thumbs together, and the boy let out a soft laugh.

Annoyed by his amusement, I puffed up my cheeks and asked grumpily,

“But seriously, who are you? You’re not just some ordinary kid, are you?”

“Well, what do you think I am, Princess?”

This cheeky little guy was good at dodging questions.

“Forget it. Never mind.”

I gave up and shook my head, and the boy stood up with a grin.

“Your ankle should be fine now. You can walk back on your own, right?”

I looked down at my ankle, which had healed perfectly as if it had never been injured, and chuckled inwardly.

It seemed the real reason he knelt down and kissed my hand was to secretly cast a healing spell.

‘He could have healed it earlier, but he waited on purpose…?’

Not only that, but my dirty clothes and shoes were now spotless, as if they had been freshly laundered.

It seemed he had concealed his power, fearing I would leave on my own if my ankle was healed and my clothes were clean.

‘Wow, this guy is a real sly fox.’

I had underestimated him, thinking he was just a harmless pretty boy with a cheerful smile.

He might look innocent on the outside, but he was clearly cunning and manipulative.

“It seems time has flown by. I must be on my way now.”

“Hey, you should apologize for tricking me earlier! And for sayin’ you’d repay the favor!” I protested, pouting.

“You can forget about such trivial acts of kindness, my lovely princess,” he replied with a gentle smile.

The boy then bowed politely, revealing his name.

“My name is Cain. We must part ways today, but I do hope to see you again soon.”

“That won’t happen!”

“Is that so? We shall see.”

Leaving behind these enigmatic words, the boy vanished at a speed that defied comprehension. It was as if he had blinked out of existence.

“Seriously, what’s with that guy…”

What a strange afternoon it had been.

Clutching the bouquet of flowers for Sione, I stuck out my tongue at the spot where Cain had disappeared, vowing to bury the events of the day deep within my memory.