The Youngest Member Filming a Parenting Show is Adorable - Chapter 113
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【113】
Red hair fluttered before my eyes.
To be precise, it was more of a reddish hue—
The boy vanished behind a neatly trimmed hedge!
‘Where is he going?’
Without thinking, I found myself chasing after the unfamiliar boy.
Because, honestly, I had no choice.
‘There’s a truly enormous rhinoceros beetle clinging to his back.’
And he doesn’t even seem to notice!
‘It’s nearly the size of both my palms combined. I want to catch it! Everyone will be so happy if I bring it back.’
Iliad loved catching insects. Naiad had a hobby of raising the ones he caught.
Even John, being so familiar with the forest, quite enjoyed large insects.
Of course, Elzen showed no interest, and Mikard, despite his imposing frame, called every insect a bug and despised them—though watching him shriek in terror was rather entertaining.
So I crept after him stealthily.
When he turned right, I turned right.
When he veered left, I veered left.
After wandering like this for some time, we reached a dead end.
‘Now’s my chance!’
I dashed forward at full speed.
To snatch the rhinoceros beetle!
“Who are you?”
But at the last moment, I stumbled.
The nameless boy had suddenly spun around and dodged away from me.
“Why are you following me? Do you have a death wish?”
The boy with wavy red hair glared at me menacingly.
My attention was so fixed on the rhinoceros beetle that I didn’t answer, simply spinning back around to pursue it across his back.
“How dare you! You ignore my question? Are you a spy?”
“What kind of spy shows up so openly? Besides, just stay still for a moment. It’ll only take a second!”
“You ugly thing. Do you know who I am, speaking to me so disrespectfully?”
The boy’s expression darkened as he dodged away again.
All the while, the enormous rhinoceros beetle clung stubbornly to his back with the hooks on its legs.
But wait.
‘Did he just call me ugly?!’
* * *
The Empire of Barateum has two empresses.
The Late Empress, Gisela Marcella Baratheum.
The current Empress, Ipert Sinclair Baratheum.
Two winters ago, the Late Empress, who had long suffered from illness, finally passed away, and Ipert, who had lived as a countess until then, ascended to the vacant throne.
Ipert has one son, who was appointed as the First Prince: Teharion Mephisto Baratheum.
Having met the Emperor early and borne his son as his lover, he was already nineteen this year and had come of age.
The Crown Prince, on the other hand, was the child of the Late Empress.
Maximilian August Barateom.
That was his name.
The wavy crimson hair he inherited from his departed mother was Maximilian’s sole source of pride.
“Sigh.”
But that pride of his… was all he possessed.
Everything else left him wanting.
His pallid appearance, bearing none of his father’s commanding presence, nor his voice, which still carried the unmistakable timbre of youth.
Even the latent ability he’d once been praised for awakening early proved, upon closer inspection, utterly unremarkable.
Not abysmal, perhaps, yet far from exceptional.
A power far too meager to support his lofty pride and arrogance.
Yes, truthfully, Maximilian despised himself for being neither genius nor prodigy.
His pride prevented him from admitting it aloud.
‘At this rate, I’ll be overshadowed by my brother. One day, he’ll devour me.’
To maintain his position as Crown Prince, he had to demonstrate something extraordinary at this friendly competition.
But how?
He was no accomplished Flame Spirit Master. Nor had he been born with a Flame Divine Beast.
Suffocating under the weight of his anxieties, he sought relief through a walk.
Disgusted by both the deaf-eared attendant and the perpetually worried maidservant, he ventured to a place where no one could find him—and before long, he found himself far from the Crown Prince Palace, having wandered all the way to the Guest Palace.
“I’m not a failure. Father said I was the cutest and prettiest in the whole world.”
“What business is it of mine who your father is?”
The Pink-haired Girl he encountered in his foul mood proved the perfect outlet for his frustration.
“You shouldn’t speak to someone else’s father that way. Your manners are atrocious, aren’t they?”
But what was this?
The foolish-looking girl didn’t even recognize him.
Within the Imperial Palace, a boy with crimson hair and scarlet eyes could only be one person.
The Crown Prince, Maximilian.
“How insolent. You’re the one who lacks proper education. Do you have any idea who I am?”
“Why would I?”
“What?”
“See? You don’t like hearing it either, do you?”
Hah.
This plump rabbit of a girl wouldn’t stop running her mouth.
She planted her hands on her hips and lectured him, leaving him utterly bewildered.
“What are you, anyway?”
“Huh?”
And what was with this boundless confidence of hers?
Maximilian’s displeasure was written plainly across his face as he scowled.
“Hey, bell-jingler.”
“My name’s not bell-jingler. I’m a red cat!”
“A cat? You’re calling me a cat?”
“You’re still meowing—meow, meow—right now.”
Nothing I say seems to get through to her.
Maximilian, who had been clutching the back of his neck moments before, deliberated.
Should I reveal my status here and make her kneel, or should I humiliate her later at the banquet instead?
‘The latter is better. I’ll give her a proper scolding in front of everyone.’
Only when she sees her parents cowering will she come to her senses.
“How old are you?”
“Fourteen.”
“What? Don’t lie! How could you possibly be fourteen?”
“I’m not lying.”
Her height was smaller than that, and her frame was naturally diminutive.
By anyone’s assessment, she was eight years old, or at most nine if being generous. She should be around the same age as me.
So what was this nonsense about being fourteen?
‘This nameless noble dares to disrespect me.’
Maximilian’s face flushed red as his blood boiled, and he muttered through gritted teeth.
“Know this—you will pay dearly for daring to lie before me.”
There was no Imperial Palace attendant following her, nor any siblings accompanying her.
She must be someone not particularly acknowledged by her household.
Probably an unremarkable child.
‘But if she’s an Awakener, then why is she looking me straight in the eye and talking back?’
Could she really be fourteen?
Ah, forget it.
I was already troubled enough without taxing my mind further.
“Now get out of here, you little squirt. I want to be alone.”
Everything within the Imperial Palace, down to a single blade of grass, belongs to the Royal Family.
So whether this was the garden attached to the Guest Palace or anywhere else, dismissing her with a wave of my hand was entirely ‘acceptable.’
“But hey. Cat—are you easily scared?”
“You’re still calling me a cat?”
“I asked if you’re easily scared.”
An unbecoming nickname for the Crown Prince of the great Barateom.
I should scold her more about that, but somehow I couldn’t.
Maximilian flinched for a moment at the clear, piercing gaze directed at me.
‘What is that look in her eyes?’
But I couldn’t admit to being easily scared here.
How could I let my pride be wounded like that?
“I’m not easily scared. I’m fearless. Ghosts don’t even frighten me.”
“Really? That’s unfortunate.”
“…What’s unfortunate about that?”
Though I asked, the little squirt with the bell didn’t answer back.
I simply rolled my eyes as if pondering something.
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Nothing?”
Pitter-patter.
That annoyingly pink hair fluttered in the breeze. As the Child passed by me with hands clasped behind their back, a swarm of Jellyfish suddenly materialized around them and began drifting lazily through the air.
And that brat—
turned back slightly and tossed out a single remark.
“You’ve got a huge rhinoceros beetle stuck to your back!”
“…!”
“Really, really big? If you leave it, it’ll crawl up to your head or burrow into your clothes!”
“What?!”
Kyaaaah!
Maximilian despised insects.
Truly, deeply despised them.
“Get it off me right now! Remove it!”
“Don’t want to.”
“How dare you! That’s an imperial command! Remove it at once!!”
“Only His Majesty the Emperor can issue imperial commands. Are you planning treason?”
That! That one!
That little brat! That peanut! That failure!
Never backing down a single word!
Maximilian writhed desperately, straining with all his might to brush it off.
But since he refused to touch it with his bare hands, it was all for nothing.
“Will you help me?”
“Right now!”
“Hmm, then… try saying ‘please help me.'”
The Girl, who had been watching him intently, broke into a radiant smile and raised her index finger.
“Please. Help. Me. Now. Then I’ll remove it for you.”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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