Youngest on Top - Chapter 133

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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 133

“What are you talking about?”

Zabelina immediately denied it, lifting her head.
But the moment her eyes met his gaze—

“…!”

It felt as though ice water had been poured over my heart.
Every hair on my body stood on end, and goosebumps erupted across my skin.

‘H-h-how….’

Could human eyes hold such a thing?

My body trembled violently.
Since awakening as the Sacred Maiden, I had lived without knowing fear.
But now—

“P-p-please….”

Zabelina found herself begging for her life without even realizing it.
I couldn’t understand why.
Those were the only words that would come out.

“I don’t like it when others touch what’s mine.”
“I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry….”

I’m going to die!
Zabelina shrank back as far as she could.

But Shuri simply passed by her with an indifferent gaze.

Until the sound of his footsteps completely faded away, Zabelina remained frozen in place.
Only after a long while did Zabelina collapse where she stood.
All strength drained from my body, and I couldn’t possibly stand.

‘A… a monster…!’

How had I been treating such a creature so casually all this time?
I couldn’t understand how I’d ever felt excitement in the presence of such a being.

* * *

I had no idea how I’d returned to my room from the Banquet Hall.

“Next time, it would be wonderful if both Sacred Maidens combined your strength. It would be of great benefit to the Empire.”

The Emperor’s words, spoken with a smile, echoed in my mind.

Combine my strength with Amelia’s?
Because it would help the Empire and its people?

The sensation of my power—my sacred energy—draining away rapidly was still vivid in my memory.
That terrible agony.

“Do you have any idea how much Amelia suffers? You just have to provide your sacred energy!”

“Sae.”

“It’s about helping people! Yet you whine over a little pain like this?!”
“You should be grateful that Amelia even uses your pathetic power!”

“I don’t want to… I…”
“Sae…!”

I lifted my head in surprise at the firm embrace that suddenly wrapped around me.

“…Father.”

Randel was looking down at me with eyes full of concern.
Ilay stood beside him.
People I had never seen before, never met, in my life before the regression.

“Are you alright?”
“…I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine, yet you say you—”
“—am fine. I really am.”

It wasn’t a lie.
It was the truth.

“Because Father is right here beside me.”

I held Randel tightly in my arms.
As I breathed in deeply, the anxiety that had gripped my heart began to settle.

‘Father’s scent.’

Randel quietly embraced me and patted my back gently.
Though he must have been startled by my sudden anxiety, Randel asked nothing.

I loved that about him.
In the Heavenly Realm and before my regression, I always had to explain my circumstances.
And no one ever believed me.

But Randel asks no explanations of me.
He simply holds me up.

‘I must be strong to protect Randel!’

The other temples were watching for any chance to claim Randel.
I had to be strong so they couldn’t.

“Don’t you need to attend the meeting with the nobles?”
“I don’t have to go.”
“You should go. I’ll handle my own matters!”

Randel gazed at my face for a long moment, then nodded.

“Very well, I’ll attend to my duties too. Ilay, I entrust Sae to your care.”
“Understood.”

Randel planted a quick kiss on my forehead and left the room.
Embarrassed, I was rubbing my forehead when Ilay poured tea for me.

“There’s no need to be afraid.”
“When did I say I was afraid?”
“I’m here this time, aren’t I?”
….
“You said it yourself. That before the regression, I was an incredibly powerful leader of the underworld.”
“Yeah.”

Looking at Ilay now, it seemed like the underworld had nothing to do with him whatsoever.
The believers had given Ilay the nickname “Saint of Blessings.”
Just looking at him was supposedly a blessing to the eyes.

“So why worry when someone like me is by your side?”

The Saint of Blessings smiled radiantly as he spoke.

“If you don’t like Amelia or whatever—just pickle her.”

…Huh?

“Pickle… what?”
“Pickle her, I said.”

Plop, plop.
Ilay added sugar to my tea with a sweet smile.

“Then your life will become as sweet as this tea.”
….

What kind of place was Earth anyway?
A place where you could pickle the Sacred Maiden if you didn’t like her?!

Well, the tea Ilay gave me was certainly sweet.
As I sipped the sweet tea, my energy definitely returned.

“Before my regression, Amelia didn’t receive a revelation during this period. More precisely, she couldn’t receive one.”
“So the revelation could be fake?”
“Looking at the Emperor’s actions, the revelation’s contents must be related to Demon proliferation.”

Demon proliferation was also something different from before my regression.

“Hmm, can such a direct revelation really descend upon a Sacred Maiden whose power is still weak?”

Ilay’s question was valid.

Enrik: It’s impossible unless you resort to shortcuts.
Kailros: Right, and the Heavenly Realm is currently enforcing strict regulations to restore its compromised security.
Kailros: Normal procedures for delivering revelations have been suspended.

‘Security compromised? What happened?’

Could Demons have invaded?!

Kailros: What happened is this.
Kailros: My younger brother wanted to meet me and overcame those grueling trials to ascend here, and other angels are jealously acting petty about it.
Kailros: Well, they can’t help but be jealous. There won’t be another bond like mine and my brother’s.
Enrik: …You mean enemies, right?
Kailros: Are you jealous too?

‘Ah, right. I broke through the gate.’

The intruder wasn’t a Demon—it was me.

“So, you’re trying to expose that the revelation is fake?”

Ilay asked me.
I grinned wickedly.

* * *

Parmanasus Temple.
Upon receiving the report, Beatrix’s crimson lips curved into a smile.

“The Sacred Maiden of Artemisia stood out most in the Emperor’s trial?”
“Yes, as expected.”
“Still, I thought Zabelina would cause more trouble. Given her personality, she should have been more reckless. Or did she try and fail?”
“Things went awry from the moment Artemisia exposed that statue as a fake.”
“Yes, she lost her backing from the Princess in an instant, so Zabelina had no choice but to hesitate.”
“Hmm, I didn’t think she was the type to hold back. If anything, I’d expect the opposite.”

Beatrix extended her hand.
A pure white bird flew in from beyond the window and perched upon it.

“A revelation?”
“Everyone is suspicious. The nobles simply accept it, but the temples….”
“Right. Of course they’d be suspicious. The more one understands revelations, the more doubtful they become.”

Beatrix smiled with satisfaction.

“I do hope they’ll soon proclaim it a lie. I’ve scattered the bait of ‘fake’ far and wide.”
“Yes, and the moment everyone condemns it—.”
“The revelation will become reality.”

The bird chirped in Beatrix’s palm.
A hand with crimson nails tenderly stroked the bird’s head as if it were adorable.
And then.

Crack!
A cruel grip twisted the tiny bird’s neck like a noose.

“Do sing your hearts out before you all come crashing down.”

Beatrix laughed silently.
She slowly opened her hand.

“For my dear Amelia.”

The bird, which would chirp and fly no more, plummeted downward.
To the ground below.

* * *

“What? I’m not going to reveal it.”

At my words, Ilay’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You’re not going to reveal it? Why?”
“Well… because Parmanace is pathetic?”
“What?”
“Do you have any idea how annoying those angels are?”

Just thinking about it made my blood boil.

“They came to the dueling grounds saying we should settle things fairly and honorably, so I went out with my head held high. But it turned out to be a trap!”
“…”
“And then they deny ever sending the dueling grounds! The dueling grounds disappeared too! In the end, I got blamed for recklessly barging in and causing a commotion!”
“…What exactly were you doing in the Heavenly Realm?”

Ilay looked at me with bewildered eyes.

“The Temple Priests there are just the same. Every single one of them is despicable—.”
“Alright, alright.”

Something sweet melted on my tongue—chocolate.
Ilay grinned widely.

“Tastes good, doesn’t it?”
“…Yeah.”

The taste of the mortal world instantly soothed my anger.

Ilay spoke.

“It might be better not to rush into revealing it. The Emperor wouldn’t be pleased if the truth came out that it was fake.”
“Ah, right.”

The Emperor had made the situation far too grand.
He’d even staged a scenario using Demons, threatening the nobles with what he called a “real situation.”

But what if the revelation turned out to be fake?
The nobles would have every reason to rise up in rebellion.

“So Sae, what do you want to do?”
“There’s no need to get swept up in this. We can play on the board we’ve created ourselves.”

Not climbing onto a board that Parmanace might have created.

“A board we created ourselves… You’re right. The Kaston Trade Charter will certainly be a solid foundation for us.”

The Kaston Trade Charter.
It was a gift from the Emperor, satisfied with my answer.

“The reason I posed this problem was to find someone to lighten my burden.”
“….”
“Saelika, I’m entrusting you with the Kaston trade exchange with the Bennaise Kingdom.”
“B-but Your Majesty! That’s far too heavy a burden for a young Sacred Maiden to bear—.”
“Among all of you, was there anyone who properly responded to today’s situation?”
“Kaston trade and demon subjugation are clearly different domains!”
“Where did I hear Saelika’s answer regarding relations with the Bennaise Kingdom?”
“….”
“Only Saelika saw through my problem and provided the answer—no, even more than that!”

Ilay spoke.

“At first, I thought the Emperor had lost his mind, but seeing how things are unfolding, I have to admit it’s impressive.”
“Why?”
“There are many nobles who want the Kaston Trade Charter. Yet he’s letting Artemisia, a temple with no political connections to the system, seize control of it.”
“Normally, there would be far more resistance. But given the circumstances…”
“The one who created those circumstances… it would be absurd by Earth standards, but the fundamental knowledge here is completely different.”
“Ilay, honestly, even here it’s insane.”
“…For you of all people to call it insane, the Emperor really does seem like a madman.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“….”

Ilay smiled sweetly.
I quietly unclenched my fist.
The kind angel let it slide.

“Anyway, things worked out well for us.”

The Artemisia Temple had no foundation in the system whatsoline>
Building from the ground up must have required considerable hardship.
They must have gone through quite a lot of hardship to lay the foundation from the ground up.

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“Hehe, I heard Zabelina didn’t receive a single one. Is that why she returned to the temple?”

[UNTRANSLATED LINE 321]
Retreating immediately when circumstances turn unfavorable and waiting for an opportunity—that’s the way of the nobility.

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“So, Saelika, who will you choose as your partner?”
“My partner?”

[UNTRANSLATED LINE 334]
That was to forge connections with influential families through the partnership.

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[UNTRANSLATED LINE 339]
With all that chaos at the banquet, would I have had time to chat and laugh with peers my age?

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“My goodness? Why is that a problem?”
“What? To become partners, I need to know the other person first, don’t I?”
“You’ll get to know them soon enough.”

[UNTRANSLATED LINE 347]
I couldn’t understand what Dolores was saying.

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“We’re staying in the outer palace district of the Imperial Palace, aren’t we?”
“…?”
“It means nobles have free access to the area.”
“But that doesn’t mean you can just grab any young man on the street and ask him to be your partner.”
“A sudden coincidence could happen, and you might become acquainted.”

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What kind of coincidence would be so perfectly timed?

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“Starting today—no, right now, coincidences will be overflowing, I’m sure?”
“…Yes.”
“Just wait and see. There will definitely be a young man who drops his handkerchief in front of Saelika during a stroll.”
“…Mm.”
“Or perhaps a man who suddenly feels dizzy and collapses into Saelika’s arms.”
“….”

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I tried not to argue.

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“Or perhaps a young man who sprinkles water, thinking she’s a flower.”

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Dolores….
Was she a romance fanatic?
.
.
.

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“You picked up my handkerchief for me… Do you understand the meaning woven into this handkerchief, Sacred Maiden?”
“Ugh, I’m terribly sorry. I have a severe sun allergy, you see… You’re truly kind, Sacred Maiden.”

[UNTRANSLATED LINE 391]

—————
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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