Youngest on Top - Chapter 130

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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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Chapter 130

Zabelina’s face twisted in fury.

“What kind of nonsense is this?!”
“You lost, didn’t you? Do they teach you in Haruanus to wash your mouth out after losing a bet?”
“How dare you, a mere Artemia, speak of Haruanus so carelessly?”
“They say you can judge adults by watching children’s behavior. So cheating is Haruanus’s way of doing things?”

Saelika tilted her head innocently, blinking her wide eyes.
That only infuriated her more.

“You little brat with barely a drop of blood spilled!”
“Ah, so you cheated the Princess as well?”
“…!”
“I never thought you could be this petty and vulgar.”

Saelika lowered her voice and let out a soft laugh.

‘What is this girl?!’

Saelika looked like a harmless, docile little creature.
The kind of face that would burst into tears at the slightest scare.

But that despicable smile—what was that?
And yet—.

‘It suits her.’

It was a face that seemed to have worn such a contemptible expression for thousands of years.
That was when it happened.

“Oh my?”

At the voice from behind, Zabelina spun around in alarm.
The Princess’s closest attendants, the Young Ladies, were approaching.

“Please, everyone, just listen to what I have to say…!”

Zabelina called out to the Young Ladies, her face flushed with anger.
Given that she had spent considerable effort cultivating these relationships over a long period, they would naturally take her side.
Above all, the nobility despised insubordination.

But then.

“Zabelina, what are you doing right now?”
“Surely you’re not raising your voice at a child?”

‘…What?’

Only then did Zabelina realize that she appeared to be oppressing Saelika.

‘This cunning girl knew people would come!’

“That’s not it! This child is—.”
“I’ve heard that you’re quite talented, Zabelina, but….”
“Raising your voice at such a young child doesn’t look good at all.”

The Young Ladies passed by Zabelina and approached Saelika.
And they spoke to her kindly.

“Sacred Maiden Saelika? We saw each other at the salon last time, but we didn’t get a chance to greet each other properly. I’m Ansina of House Desiol.”
“I’m Sorien of House Teramin.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sacred Maiden. I’m from House Rivolt….”

‘Good heavens! They’re all Young Ladies from prestigious houses!’

Saelika’s eyes trembled with joy.

‘They came to check on the Princess’s mood, just as I thought!’

I knew it would be like this.
Once her anger had subsided somewhat, they would naturally come calling!

These were Young Ladies of considerable standing in society—the kind the enraged Princess would keep close.

“That must have been frightening?”
“Yes, it was….”

Saelika bowed her head deeply, quickly dabbing the corners of her eyes with her saliva.
In an instant, a tearful expression was complete.

Enrik: You wouldn’t have….
Enrik: When you came to me with that tearful face asking me to let you get some fresh air outside…?
Enrik: That wasn’t tears—it was spit!

‘Enrik, tears and saliva aren’t fundamentally that different.’

Kailros: That’s a fair point.
Kailros: They’re both precious byproducts of our youngest.
Enrik: ….

Zabelina stared at Saelika with an expression of disbelief.
Those glistening eyes were utterly repulsive.

“Everyone, don’t be fooled. Do you know what that disgusting creature just said?!”
“….”
“She told me to get lost! And she did it leaning on one leg, and then she even laughed wickedly afterward—”
“Enough!”

The young ladies who had been comforting Saelika turned to Zabelina with cold eyes.

“We don’t wish to be disappointed in you anymore, Zabelina.”
“Don’t be fooled? Is this really a situation where you should be saying such things?”
“Who is truly being despicable here?”

The young ladies gently took Saelika’s hand.

“Come, Saelika.”
“Let’s go to our private lounge and help you calm down a bit.”
“We have plenty of sweet desserts there, you know?”

Zabelina’s fists clenched tightly.

‘The Desiol House’s private lounge! I spent over half a year earning my way in there!’

And this little brat just walks in without doing anything?
Can even the Princess and the young ladies turn their backs so easily in an instant?

The young ladies passed by Zabelina without so much as a glance.
Only Saelika spared her a look.

‘My things. Have them ready. Understood?’

—she said, her eyes blazing with intensity.

Taking advantage of this situation to demand more was frankly absurd.
Moreover, everything Saelika had requested were treasures of the highest caliber.

Zabelina, whose eyes had been sparking with fury, faltered.

‘…But how did she even know our temple possessed such things?’

* * *

“Aren’t those the young ladies attending the Princess? I thought it was taking longer than expected, so I wondered if something had happened….”

The Toramillen Hall.
Ilay asked me a question.

The young ladies had comforted me in the lounge before escorting me all the way to the hall.
Not long after, they excused themselves.
They were probably heading back to the Princess.

Thanks to that, even more people lingered around me than before.

“Popularity? It’s not that I’m special—they’re just reading the atmosphere of how things are unfolding.”

Even if still minors, these were young ladies of considerable standing in high society.
They didn’t move on mere sympathy without thought.

“Of course that’s part of it. But my thoughts are a bit different?”
“…?”

Ilay looked at me and chuckled softly.
Since he seemed unwilling to elaborate, I surveyed my surroundings.

‘…Shuri didn’t come today.’

“Who are you looking for?”
“Oh, it’s just that the Crown Prince doesn’t seem to be here.”
“I heard he doesn’t usually show his face at banquets or social gatherings anyway.”
“Right, so I thought we wouldn’t run into him at all in the imperial palace.”

I never imagined he would appear at the Princess’s salon.

‘…But why did he come to the Princess’s salon in the first place?’

“He’s the one who told me to compete before the Emperor, yet he doesn’t even show up himself. Truly unpredictable.”
“Are you disappointed?”
“No? I’m relieved.”
“…You’ve been mentioning the Crown Prince rather casually for a while now, haven’t you?”
“Huh?”
“Even now.”
“Did…I?”

Ilay has sharp instincts.

‘And every time I meet with Shuri, Ilay is somehow involved.’

I was able to sneak into the Papuka black market thanks to Ilay’s assistance.
The next time, I ran into him while going out to heal Teodor.

If he found out what happened between me and Shuri, all hell would break loose.
Especially if he learned that I nearly died during the seal…

Ilay’s help was essential whenever I moved about without the adults knowing.

“Well, even if he’s the Crown Prince of the Empire, it doesn’t really mean much to me. You know about my past life, right?”
“Is that all?”
“What else could there be?”
“Hmm…”

Fortunately, it seemed like he was letting it go.
It was half true, anyway.

‘…If I hadn’t been cursed like this, I wouldn’t have had any reason to pay attention to Shuri.’

No, that’s not it.

‘If he had treated me the same as everyone else even before my regression, I wouldn’t have….’

Unbidden, the image of Shuri from not long ago surfaced in my mind.
A curse grown worse, a seal grown weaker.
Just as there was no point in mending paper already torn, there were limits to what repairs could accomplish.

‘…Still, now that I can use Kailros’s power, couldn’t I seal the curse further?’

“No.”
“What?”

It felt as though my thoughts had been read, and I turned to look at Ilay with a guilty start.

“Whatever it is, no. Don’t involve yourself with that Crown Prince.”
“But I didn’t say I was going to do anything….”
“I can tell just by looking at your face. How long have we lived together?”
“…Creating a debt with the Crown Prince could be a good strategy.”
“There are safer methods. Besides, the atmosphere isn’t bad right now, is it?”

Ilay’s point was reasonable.
I pouted my lips.

“You seem to dislike the Crown Prince in a peculiar way. You’ve only seen him once, at my coronation.”
“There’s something unsettling about him. There’s a reason everyone fears the Crown Prince.”
“But you don’t usually care about such things.”
“That’s true, I don’t care about those things. But I do care about other things.”

Ilay stared directly at my face.

I shrugged my shoulders.
Ilay had always disliked far more things than he liked.
He was quite particular, despite his gentle appearance.

“What about Randel?”
“The Emperor summoned him for a private audience.”
“…!”

Throughout all this time, the Emperor had never once met with Randel privately.
Even as Temple Priests from other temples were having their private audiences.

“He summoned us here in this banquet hall, with everyone watching?”
“Yes.”
“The situation has completely changed. We’ve been nothing but extras until now.”
“He never invited us before, and yet he’s shown us surprisingly little interest.”
“That’s why I thought the Emperor was using us to stoke competition between temples.”

From Octagon’s perspective, Artemia was nothing but an inconvenient thorn.
While instilling vigilance, he had private audiences with everyone except Artemia, appeasing the other temples.
So they would compete with each other and grasp the Emperor’s hand more firmly.

“Ilay, why did the Emperor stoke this competition? It must be related to what he wants.”
“I don’t know what the Emperor wants. But if we fulfill his wishes, we can obtain what we desire.”
“Right. The Emperor gave us his vote, but that only matters once the voting begins.”

It was a fair point.
All the Emperor had promised was his single vote.
Nothing else was confirmed.

“The Emperor will never reveal what he wants first.”
“But Father will figure it out!”

As we spoke, the first part of the banquet ended.
As minors, it was time for us to withdraw.

“Father must still be with the Emperor.”

That’s our father for you.
I could see people loitering near the private chamber, pretending otherwise.
Especially the Haruanus Priest.

“Let’s head back early for tomorrow.”

Ilay pulled my hand along.
The banquet would continue throughout the weekend, and tomorrow was certainly more important.
The problem the Emperor would present to the Sacred Maiden would be revealed tomorrow.

* * *

I entered the room with Ilay and pulled out the brooch.

“You really love it. Does that brooch mean that much to you?”
“Yes, this alone is worth everything I’ve gained by ascending to the temple.”
“What do you mean?”

I was just about to activate the brooch.
Knock, knock—a sound at the door.

The visitors were Dolores, the Sacred Maiden of Preytsha, and Petrea, a novice priest.

“You were amazing today, Saelika!”
“That’s right. You were so beautiful, so strong, so bold…!”
“Ah, yes….”

Dolores and Petrea spent a long time chattering about how magnificent I had been at the banquet and how ridiculous Zabelina had been.

‘What is this?’

This was the first time another Sacred Maiden had come to discuss the trivial details of the day after a banquet ended, so I was bewildered.
Why did they really come?

“Hehe, I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s banquet too. If I’m with you, Saelika, temple life will be so much fun.”
“I really wanted to see you because I knew this would happen.”
“But it seems like you’re getting close to the other young ladies—that won’t do! You have to be closest to me! I recognized your worth from the very beginning!”

Dolores suddenly embraced me.
A familiar scent emanated from her.
If I had to describe it… like our Elders?

‘Aren’t all Sacred Maidens rivals?’

Beyond that, she was so similar to Preytsha that something felt off.
Of course, Preytsha has never once harmed me.

But isn’t that precisely why I should be suspicious!
My brothers mistreated me, so there’s no reason why some unrelated deity would favor me.

“Oh, that’s right—I just remembered since there’s a banquet tomorrow.”

Dolores whispered while still holding me in her embrace.

“I obtained information about a diplomatic issue with the Bennizer Kingdom.”
“The Bennizer Kingdom?”
“Yes, the Bennizer Kingdom is famous for Kaston, isn’t it?”

Kaston.
It’s a rare material absolutely necessary for mana circuits.
And forty percent of the continent’s reserves are buried in the Bennizer Kingdom.

“It seems the Bennizer Kingdom made unreasonable demands again under the condition of Kaston trade. So there are rumors that they’re raising issues related to it.”

I gazed quietly at Dolores.

“What’s wrong, Saelika?”
“This is information you gathered by utilizing various connections at the banquet today.”
“That’s right?”
“That must be the result of the Preytsha Temple’s long efforts.”
“….”
“But why are you telling me so easily?”
“Saelika, when you spoke boldly at the banquet, you seemed quite mature in your own way.”
“….”
“You’re still just a child, aren’t you? A child!”

Dolores rubbed my cheeks vigorously.

“I have goodwill toward you, Saelika. So I want to treat you well, you see?”
“….”
“It’s goodwill I’ve built up unilaterally even before we met, so I understand if you find it strange.”
“….”
“And honestly, the other Sacred Maidens would have figured this out too. I don’t like that you alone are left at the starting line.”
“….”
“So if my sincerity reaches you, and you come to have even a little goodwill toward me—.”

Dolores, who was always so proactive, hesitated in an uncharacteristic way.

“Would you call me… older sister?”

* * *

Dolores and Petrea vanished as swiftly as they had appeared.

“What do you think, Ilay?”
“Not much. Do we really need to be friendly with other temples?”

His response was characteristically blunt.
Ilay’s expression seemed distinctly sullen.

‘Now that I think about it, while the girls were cozying up to each other, Ilay was completely left out.’

Just then, a knock sounded at the door as it opened slightly.

“Sae, are you awake?”
“Father!”

I had deliberately waited for Randel without preparing myself too much.

“You met privately with the Emperor? You’ve been talking all this time?”
“Yes.”

I clung to Randel’s arm.

“So? What does the Emperor want? You found out, didn’t you, Father?”
“Yes, the Emperor seems to….”
“…?”
“Want war.”
“…!”
“War, you say?”

Ilay furrowed his brow as he asked.

“Of course, he didn’t say it outright. But that’s the impression I received.”
“If you’ve made that judgment, Father, then it must be correct.”
“War, then….”

Both Randel’s and Ilay’s expressions grew grave.
As for me—.

“That worked out perfectly!”

I clapped my hands together with a bright smile.
The two men looked at me with bewildered expressions.

Enrik: Good grief…
Kailros: Hmm, it is a sound solution, I must admit.
Kailros: Of course, it’s my brother’s idea. Not some Emperor’s notion.
Enrik: What do you mean a sound solution!
Enrik: That fool is about to cause trouble again!

* * *

The next day.
As the banquet reached its peak, the Emperor posed a question to the Sacred Maidens.
Dolores had been right.

“How do you think we should improve our relations with the Kingdom of Bennaizer?”

The Sacred Maidens each offered different answers.
Concrete solutions with supporting arguments and follow-up measures to boot.
You could tell even while fighting seventeen against one that this wasn’t a question they’d just heard for the first time.

“It seems we have international relations experts among us.”

The Emperor stroked his chin as he listened to the Sacred Maidens’ responses.
Then he turned to me.

“And what does Artemia’s Sacred Maiden think?”
“Well, naturally—.”

I stepped forward confidently.

“We should crush them!”
“?!???!?!”

A moment of silence fell over the banquet hall.

“What in the—.”
“I heard she was supposed to be defeated, but did I hear that correctly?”
“No matter what, how could the Sacred Maiden act like that….”

Everyone was flustered.

“It would be nice to hear the rest of what she has to say.”

The nobles froze at the Princess’s words.
Grizelda Princess was taking Saelika’s side?

Everyone had expected the Princess to cast out Zabelina.
But that didn’t mean Saelika would look good in their eyes.

‘But why?’

The nobles, who had been observing the situation in silence, flinched.

‘Your Majesty?!’

They all noticed the unusual glint in the Emperor’s eyes.

—————
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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