Youngest on Top - Chapter 136

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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 136

The three young men trembled all over their bodies just from being looked at.

“No escort is necessary, Your Highness.”
“We’ll, we’ll find our own way out.”
“We wish for your swift recovery, Crown Prince.”

The young men hurriedly bowed and left their seats.
Saelika was bewildered watching them leave without even looking back.

‘Could he really be upset just because I wouldn’t give him a discount?’

As she looked toward the door, Shuri, whom she had been supporting, stumbled again.
Saelika was startled and pulled him close to her body.

“Please, sit down.”

Shuri looked down at the small crown of her head supporting him.
She held his body firmly, carefully moving step by step as if deeply concerned about something.

‘…Just a moment ago, she was suspicious of me.’

Of course, that had been the reasonable and wise approach.
It would have been foolish to lower all her guard so quickly just because he said he was in pain.
Even thinking this way, Shuri did not brush away Saelika’s hand.

“Let me take a look.”

After seating Shuri on the sofa, Saelika sat beside him and carefully examined his body.

“Hmm, he looks fine on the surface, but…”

But one could never be sure.
Because of the curse, Shuri was essentially in a state no different from a corpse in Saelika’s eyes.
So it was difficult to gauge his condition unless she directly confirmed any external injuries.

‘If someone of Shuri’s caliber can’t even walk properly and needs to rest, it must be incredibly serious.’

What were the others doing to let things reach this state?

“Doesn’t the Imperial Palace have both physicians and Priests?”
“Plenty of them.”
“If His Highness merely mentioned feeling slightly unwell, they would come running. So why—.”

Could it be that they were avoiding him because of the curse?
The realization left Saelika speechless.

Though he held the title of Crown Prince, Shuri rarely appeared at official ceremonies.
There had to be a reason why he moved about outside with his retainers while concealing his identity.
It made no sense from the start that someone of the Crown Prince’s station would be cursed.

‘Shuri….’

I could vividly imagine how he must have lived in this vast Imperial Palace.
Enduring the curse alone would have been agonizing enough.
Even his family and home had failed to become a refuge for him.

And just then, Shuri’s retainers, who had entered the room, witnessed the scene.

‘She’s misunderstanding.’
‘She’s completely misunderstanding.’
‘I’ve never seen anyone look at our master with such pitying eyes.’

How could anyone dare to look upon Shuri with pity?

‘What if the master thinks she’s mocking him?’

The men glanced cautiously at Shuri.

Sure enough, he looked displeased.
Yet somehow, he also seemed oddly composed about it.

‘…What is this?’

Saelika asked with concern.

“You said you were injured by a monster. Would it be alright if I examined your wound?”
“No.”

The refusal came swift and absolute.

‘Of course—Shuri’s body bears the marks of curses.’

He wouldn’t show that to just anyone.
Ricardo had only been able to see it because he knew nothing of the truth.

‘And now I’ve even proven I can seal curses.’

In fact, Shuri hadn’t wanted to show him even then.

‘If I had been in Ricardo’s form… But nothing is as suspicious as Ricardo appearing in the Imperial Palace.’

The men watched Saelika lost in thought, their eyes glistening with sympathy.
The angelic beauty of this child, seemingly weighed down by concern, stirred something in these rough men’s hearts.

‘There’s no need to be upset, little Sacred Maiden!’
‘He probably just has no wounds to show!’
‘He’s faking it, definitely faking it!’

Saelika gripped Shuri’s collar firmly.

“I still need to examine the wound to heal it.”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. You were injured helping me, and if we leave it untreated and it gets infected, it could become serious.”

Her capable hands moved to undress him, and Shuri was startled.

“Stop—.”
“Patients must remain still!”
“This is too forceful…”

Laying hands on the Crown Prince so brazenly.
No—setting that aside, no one wanted to touch Shuri.
Because of an instinctive revulsion.

Only one person—everyone except Ricardo.

A memory that had sunk to the depths surfaced.
There had been a child who grabbed at my collar so stubbornly and pestered me like this.

“You—.”

Shuri’s eyes took in Saelika.
Saelika lifted her gaze to meet his.

In that instant, Shuri’s breath caught.

“——Sacred Maiden.”

A smile bloomed at the corners of Shuri’s lips.
It was the same kind and captivating smile he’d worn when he saw Saelika at the coronation ceremony.
The momentary disturbance vanished as if it had never been.

“You’re quite eager, aren’t you?”

Shuri took Saelika’s hand and spoke.
Only then did Saelika realize she had nearly pinned him against the sofa.
And on top of that, she was trying to remove his clothes….

“I, this was—!”

Whoosh!
Saelika hastily withdrew her hands from Shuri.
It was merely a medical treatment to care for a stubborn, uncooperative patient!

“I understand your feelings well, Sacred Maiden.”
“What feelings!”
“But we haven’t even exchanged more than a few words yet.”
“I was just treating my patient!”

Shuri gazed at the flustered Saelika and found himself smiling without realizing it.
Only the corners of his mouth softened, yet the thorns had vanished from his eyes.

Saelika froze.
That smile was one the Crown Prince had never once bestowed upon Artemisia’s Sacred Maiden.

It was the face Shuri had shown Ricardo for but a fleeting moment.
A smile that vanished in the blink of an eye.

Shuri had already returned to his usual expression.
He spoke.

“I heard you received an invitation from Grizelda.”
“I did.”
“Isn’t it a party that requires a partner? …Have you decided who you’ll attend with?”

Saelika let out a deep sigh.

“That’s the problem. I was originally planning to broach the subject with those young men who visited earlier….”
“Those fellows?”
“All three of them are perfectly fine, aren’t they?”

All three were sons of prominent families.
They would certainly be helpful.

“It seems the Sacred Maiden has a serious problem with visual perception.”
“My eyesight is perfectly fine.”
“Yet you think those fellows are acceptable?”
“…?”

Was he saying she lacked discernment because they were the type to seek discounts?

“But aside from them, I don’t know any other young men.”

At those words, Shuri looked at Saelika.

“Well, you see.”
“Yes?”
“I’m here.”

Saelika stared at Shuri with an incredulous expression.

Asking the Crown Prince, with whom I had no particular connection, to suddenly become my partner.
Requesting partnership from the Young Men with whom I’d exchanged names and established some familiarity.
Naturally, the latter had better prospects, didn’t it?

“If the Sacred Maiden finds it difficult, I could accompany you as well.”
“But Your Highness is unwell, aren’t you? How can you attend a party while injured…?”
“It’s not quite that severe.”
“You can barely walk and need to rest?”
“…”

Shuri fell silent.
Saelika’s eyes narrowed.

‘Could it be
that he enjoys parties? I heard he rarely attends.’

Then sudden realization struck her.

‘Could it be that he’s being ostracized because of the curse? That he doesn’t receive invitations? How pitiful!’

Shuri sensed that Saelika’s gaze upon him had taken on a peculiar quality that made him uncomfortable.
It felt as though she were harboring some tremendous misunderstanding…

After a moment of silence, Shuri spoke.

“If word spreads that the Crown Prince is ill, it would be problematic. It’s better to attend the party and demonstrate that he remains in good health.”
“…But those people were shouting about it so loudly.”
“That’s precisely why we need to suppress the rumors.”

It was a valid point.

‘Advancing to the center with the Crown Prince as my first partner…’

Honestly, as long as Shuri didn’t discover my true identity, things couldn’t be better.

‘…It seems he doesn’t know I’m Ricardo.’

When I think about it, Shuri has only seen Ricardo twice in all these years.
Once at the coronation ceremony in his true form, and a few chance encounters at the Imperial Palace this time—that’s all.
This is the first time I’ve had such a lengthy conversation with him.

‘Besides, I’ve grown considerably since then….’

Under these circumstances, it would have been strange if my identity hadn’t been discovered.
Above all, Shuri was treating Saelika with considerable courtesy.

‘If he’d known I was Ricardo, he would have grabbed me by the throat on the spot.’

“I’d be honored, Your Highness, if you would be my partner.”

At Saelika’s words, Shuri rose and extended his hand respectfully.

“Then I look forward to working with you, my lady.”
“Likewise.”

Saelika gently placed her hand in his.
That was when it happened.

“What brings the Crown Prince to this place?”

A cold voice froze the room.
Saelika turned her head in surprise.

“I-Ilay….”

Saelika reflexively tried to withdraw her hand, but Shuri held it firmly.
Shuri looked at Ilay and curved his lips into a crooked smile.

“My lady was simply showing me kindness.”
“My lady?”
“She’s my partner.”
“…!”

Ilay’s pupils trembled.
Shuri bowed his head and briefly pressed his lips to the back of Saelika’s hand before pulling away.

“Then, my lady, I shall come to collect you that day.”

Before Saelika could even respond, Shuri rose from his seat.

Left behind, Saelika felt cold sweat trickling down her back.
As expected.

“Partner? It seems quite a lot has happened in just the brief time you were away communicating.”

Ilay smiled like a blooming flower.

* * *

Shuri’s retainers followed their master, nudging each other.

‘No matter how I think about it, our master doesn’t seem interested in that little Sacred Maiden, does he?’
‘Our master interested in someone else? How is that even possible?’
‘Interest, if you can call it that, is probably just wondering whether to kill her now or tomorrow, right?’
‘But looking at his actions, something is definitely strange….’

That much was true.
He feigned illness to draw her attention, and he wouldn’t let other young men near her.
And on top of that, he even secured the position of partner.

It was the kind of behavior a normal young man would show toward a girl he was interested in.
Then again, Shuri was certainly old enough to experience first love.

‘Could spring have come even for our master…?’

At that thought, the men shuddered.

‘Terrifying!’
‘Chilling!’
‘Could the revelation he received from Parmanace be the apocalypse?!’

“Um, Master.”

The trembling men cautiously approached Shuri.

“That, the little Sacred Maiden. Is there perhaps a reason you’re approaching us like this…? Ahem, I mean, approaching us?”
“Approaching? I haven’t made any moves from my side.”
“Pardon? But just now—.”
“You all suddenly made a fuss about me being ill, so I simply played along. Why did you do something I never asked you to do in the first place?”
“….”

‘That’s quite the performance for someone claiming they didn’t approach!’
‘And why did you come all the way here again in the first place!’

But the men kept their mouths firmly shut.
Shuri was terrified.

“Then, about becoming partners—.”
“That young woman is suspicious in many ways. I need to keep a close watch on her.”

Shuri’s eyes, as always, remained cold as he spoke.
It was an answer that made perfect sense to everyone.

“Ah, so that’s it, then?”

The men felt relieved.
Phew, the world wouldn’t end after all!

Meanwhile, Shuri recalled the moment right after leaving Saelika’s room.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

At the sound of that voice calling out, I turned around to see that young woman rushing toward me.
It was an odd feeling.
That she would chase after me and approach me like this.

“This is normally expensive. They don’t do it easily. The waiting list is completely full.”

The young woman spoke without catching her breath, taking another step closer.
And then—

Smack.

Soft lips touched my forehead.
It was but a fleeting moment.

By the time I realized what had happened, the young woman had already stepped back.

“It’s a simplified blessing. To truly bless you, I’d need holy water and an altar, and there’s much to prepare.”
“….”
“Since you said you were hurt because of me. So I’m doing this just this once as something special.”

With only those words, she scurried back the way she had come.

Shuri gently touched my forehead.
The sensation was incredibly soft and delicate.
It felt as though the touch still lingered.

‘…How presumptuous.’

I couldn’t help but feel indignant at how she approached without permission, so brazenly.
Especially because she reminded me of someone.

“…Do you think that fellow could be a woman?”

The men immediately understood whom I was referring to.

“What?! Ricardo, sir?”
“Ha! That fellow was the one who wanted to strip naked and jump into the stream with you, sir!”
“If she were a woman, that would be absolutely impossible!”

Of course, Ricardo had never actually suggested stripping naked and jumping into the stream together.
When Shuri had told him to remove his clothes, the men had simply misunderstood it as how they were bonding through friendship.

Shuri nodded.

“Yes, if that fellow were a woman.”
“….”
“And if she met me again but didn’t reveal it and pretended not to know me.”

My gaze turned toward where Saelika was.
It was a gaze that wavered darkly.

“They’re toying with me completely.”

At the lowered tone of his voice, the men flinched.
It was obvious that anyone who dared toy with their master would be left without a bone to pick.
Even if it were Ricardo.
No—especially if it were Ricardo.

Shuri turned his body away.
He halted mid-step as he walked with cold precision.

‘…Don’t tell me this “blessing” means kissing everyone on the forehead?’

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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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