Youngest on Top - Chapter 139

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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 139

* * *

“…Why are Admiral Ekellan and the Crown Prince coming along with Sae?”

A coldly measured voice cut through the air.
Randel’s emerald eyes gleamed with an icy chill.

“Well, perhaps it’s because my apple is so fond of me?”
“You didn’t even pay your respects to His Majesty the Emperor before rushing off to the social gathering.”
“His Majesty wouldn’t want to see me at this hour anyway. He’s only interested in my victory.”
“I’m merely reminding you of basic courtesy.”
“I’m too preoccupied with my apple to concern myself with anyone else.”

Sparks flew between Randel and Admiral Ekellan.
In the midst of it all, Demian took my hand.

“Let’s ignore them and go inside. I have something to show Saelika—”
“Where exactly are you taking Sae in secret, Your Highness?”

Snap.
A delicate hand seized Demian’s wrist.

“Like a rat.”

Ilay added the words with a smile.
An utterly frigid smile.

“How insolent. Did a mere priest just call me a rat?”
“It was merely a comparison of your actions. If Your Highness hadn’t behaved like a rat, this wouldn’t have been necessary, would it?”
“You have quite the talent for spouting nonsense with a straight face.”

A chilling pressure emanated from Demian.
Ilay refused to yield, matching his intensity.

‘Can’t these people ever just meet normally?’

There’s not a single person with common sense here, not one!
I was terrified someone in the imperial palace might see this.
I glanced around and spotted a young girl watching me from beyond a pillar.
It was Dolores.

“Are you alright?”

Puff, puff.
Dolores, her face etched with concern, asked me with only the shape of her lips.

I was moved.
Such a sensible reaction!
After seeing nothing but beasts who snarl and bare their fangs with ominous intent the moment we meet, I’ve finally encountered an actual person!

“Sister Dolores!”
“W-wait, Lady Saelika!”

I rushed toward her, and Dolores rushed toward me in turn.
Her face was flushed red.

“Did you just call me sister?!”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to—I was just so happy….”

To have met someone with common sense.
Dolores had mentioned before that she’d been waiting for me to call her sister every time we met.

“Oh my goodness—I’m so happy! To think I’ve gained such a lovely, adorable, and wonderful younger sister.”

Dolores rubbed her cheek against mine repeatedly, then linked her arm through mine.

“I heard something extraordinary happened at Empress Maxina’s social gathering? Tell me about it.”
“Of course.”

I nodded and followed Dolores into her room.
I could feel the Four Men’s gazes trailing after my back, but I ignored them.

* * *

“What is that?”

Admiral Ekellan muttered in an unpleasant voice.
Demian’s eyes narrowed.

“I remember her. She’s the Sacred Maiden of Preytsha.”
“Why is some Sacred Maiden from another temple taking my apple?”
“Ever since she first came to the imperial palace, she’s been showering Sae with all sorts of affection.”

At Ilay’s words, displeasure flickered across the faces of the three men.

“Temples and their Sacred Maidens are untrustworthy creatures. Of course, except for our apple and our temple.”
“How long have they known each other and she’s already calling her ‘sister’?”
“And at tonight’s banquet, the Crown Prince will dance and steal Saelika away as his partner.”
“Dance with the Crown Prince?”
“As if being a partner isn’t enough….”

The four men fell silent simultaneously.

They had maintained a certain balance (?) by seeing each other’s faces for years.
But then a stone (Dolores) suddenly rolled in, trying to dislodge the embedded one.
Some reckless brigand (Shuri) was pecking at the apple.

“…It seems this isn’t the time for us to compete among ourselves.”
“First, we need to kick away the rolling stone.”
“The most important thing is preventing that brigand from laying a hand on my daughter.”
“No objections.”

Beneath the moonlight, the four men steeled their resolve.

* * *

The next day.
I tilted my head in confusion.

‘What’s this? Why is everything so peaceful?’

I gazed at Randel, Ilay, Admiral Ekellan, and Demian with a somewhat bewildered expression.
Usually, when Admiral Ekellan and Demian visited the temple, they would bicker for days before finally settling down.
But now….

“Come now, have an apple. Say ‘ah’ for me.”

Admiral Ekellan sliced the steak for me,

“Sae, I told you not to be picky with your food.”

Ilay placed broccoli into my mouth.

“Once you finish all your broccoli, I’ll give you pudding. I’ve already asked the palace staff to prepare it.”

Randel spoke with a gentle smile,

“Shall we eat the pudding on the terrace? The weather is lovely today.”

Demian nodded in agreement and made the suggestion.

‘…What is going on?’

Normally they would quarrel with each other, saying “Let’s do this with me,” “No, let’s do that with me instead.”

Demian held an orange drink to my lips as he spoke.

“By the way, I heard you call Preytsha’s Sacred Maiden ‘sister.'”
“Oh, it just happened that way.”
“…If you wish, you may call me something different.”
“…?”

Demian cut his steak without looking at me. His movements were quite elegant.
Though I noticed the tips of his ears seemed slightly flushed.

“…Lord Demian?”
“Don’t.”
“Oh! Did you perhaps receive a promotion to Duke?”

Had I been thoughtlessly calling him “Your Grace” all this time?
Yet the way Demian looked at me seemed strange.

‘Why does he look at me like I’m someone completely oblivious?’

“Come now, apologize.”

Admiral Ekellan tapped my cheek lightly.

“Between us, ‘Admiral Ekellan’ is far too stiff, don’t you think? And so long. How much time have we spent together?”
“Well, not really….”
“Why don’t you call me Uncle? Or Father works too. Father would be best!”

Whoosh.
A knife flew from Randel’s hand, grazing Admiral Ekellan’s face before embedding itself in the wall.

“Ah, my apologies. My hand slipped.”
“…How does a hand slip and lodge a knife into a wall?”

Randel didn’t respond, simply offering me a gentle smile.

“Our daughter, once you’ve finished eating, shall we have pudding with Father?”
“Yes, I’d like that.”

I rose quickly.
It was rare for the four of us to gather peacefully—I couldn’t let this moment be ruined.

We stepped out onto the terrace and ate pudding while I listened to accounts of the expedition.

“I never expected you to return in just half a year. I’d heard you wouldn’t be back until next year at the earliest.”
“I couldn’t bear to leave you for so long. I made every effort to return as quickly as possible. Demian worked quite hard as well.”
“…There wasn’t much effort required, really.”

Demian spoke while tapping his sword lightly.
Demian had returned with distinguished service and, being in the outer palace, was permitted to wear his blade.

“This one listens quite well now, you see.”

Demian’s sword was familiar to my eyes.
It was a cursed blade.
The very cursed sword that Zaphrez, Demian’s former aide, had given him to control him.

Originally, I’d intended to seal it away immediately, finding it distasteful—.

“But this sword is strong. Isn’t it?”
“Only Gonzanim is dangerous.”
“…I need to traverse the battlefield. It’s the duty of the Grand Duke’s house. I need strength.”

Demian’s hand covered the top of my head.

“To return quickly.”

Indeed, Demian had no time to waste on the battlefield.
To find his sister.

“But Gonzanim must not.”
“I will overcome the Demon Sword.”

Demian’s resolve was firm.
In the end, instead of stopping him, I made a proposal.

“Then I will help you with Gonzanim. I will cleanse the Demon Sword.”
“….”
“I like Gonzanim! If you must, then no!”

Demian’s blue eyes trembled faintly.

“…You.”

I raised my hands.
Sacred golden light gathered in both my hands.
And—.

Clang!

I struck the sword.

“What, what are you—.”
“The Demon Sword won’t listen! If you strike it, it will listen!”
“No, it’s not that simple—.”
“If you keep striking it, it will listen well!”

Clang! Clang clang!

‘Hmm, thinking about it again, that really was an exquisite purification ritual.’

Enrik: Exquisite, my foot.
Enrik: Who gave the Demon Sword to someone and made it obey!
Kailros: Don’t criticize what my younger brother does.
Enrik: No, you were the angel who complained the most when we were in the Celestial Realm!

Of course, normal Demon Sword purification isn’t done that way.
But there’s no method more effective than forcibly injecting sacred power like this.
Strong impact! Direct contact!

‘I really do have a sharp mind.’

Enrik: You just think clearly because your body is in good shape.

In any case, the Demon Sword, now infused with abundant sacred power, had purified much of its ominous aura and had become similar to the Ego Sword.

“Shall I take a look after all this time? Since it’s consumed so much blood, it might need purification again—.”

Screech, screech!
The blade of the Demon Sword trembled frantically, emitting an ominous sound.
But strangely, it didn’t seem to be threatening me not to touch it—.

“It’s scared.”
“…It’s kind of pitiful, isn’t it? Why is it so afraid of you?”

At Ilay’s question, I felt wronged.

“What did I even do…. Anyone watching would think I’m a thug.”
“….”
“….”
“…Why does everyone look at me like that?”

In any case, seeing it so frightened, I didn’t need to worry about its condition.

‘Demian is controlling the Demon Sword well.’

Perhaps because he had passed through a period of mental instability.
Demian was remarkably overwhelming the Demon Sword.

“Is there any new information from Decarfel Temple?”
“Clean. There’s nowhere connected to Decarfel Temple.”

The temple emblem I found in Zaphrez’s room.
It was the emblem of Decarfel Temple.

Decarfel Temple is a small temple with no real influence to speak of.
A temple like that tried to plant a spy in the Grand Duke’s household and manipulate the succession through a cursed sword?

‘It doesn’t make sense.’

Admiral Ekellan and Demian both agreed with my assessment.
So we continued investigating further, but nothing came up.

‘The mastermind is definitely Parmanace.’

But there was no evidence whatsoever.
Even when we investigated Zaphrez’s movements, only his contact with Decarfel Temple was revealed.

‘Zaphrez was certainly meticulous.’

Or perhaps Parmanace was the one being meticulous.

“So, our apologies—we’re sending an envoy to the Kingdom of Bennaizer to rescue Kaston?”
“Yes, His Majesty entrusted me with diplomatic authority.”

Demian furrowed his brow.

“The Kingdom of Bennaizer? Isn’t that in the southwest?”
“That’s right.”

Admiral Ekellan and Demian exchanged glances.

“There’s currently….”
“We won’t meet.”
“That’s true. It’s not even within the Empire, it’s a foreign nation.”
“Right, surely not.”

I tilted my head in confusion.

“Why?”
“It’s nothing.”

Demian cut the conversation short.
Before I could ask further, Admiral Ekellan changed the subject.

“Speaking of which, I heard that if this Caston trade succeeds, there’s talk of inviting Acastel to an apology.”
“Acastel?”

Acastel.
It was a salon composed of prominent figures renowned even in the central social circles.
Though called a salon, it was no different from an officially recognized institution, having received various authorities directly delegated by the Empress.
For example—.

“Acastel has the authority to open a vote on Temple branch establishments.”

They preside over the vote on whether the Temple should establish branches in the capital.

“An invitation is absolutely necessary.”
“Yes, no matter how many people become favorable toward Artemisia, without opening a vote, it’s meaningless.”
“The other temples will surely work to block it.”
“If Artemisia, having won the Emperor’s favor, establishes a branch in the capital, their own influence will diminish.”

I nodded at the words of Randel, Admiral Ekellan, and Demian.

“But if we can receive an invitation—.”
“Artemisia Temple will be able to establish a capital branch.”

Ilay received my words.

Artemisia Temple could grow one step further.
I clasped my hands together.

‘Artemia, I will surely revitalize your temple once more.’

I hadn’t been of much help when I was in the Celestial Realm.

‘This time, I will definitely be of service to Artemia.’

* * *

The delegation heading to the Bennizer Kingdom was small in number.

“Didn’t the Artemisia Temple receive exclusive trading rights? Of course, the Artemisia Temple should organize the delegation on its own.”
“Wouldn’t additional support from others be unfair?”
“Let’s see the skills of the Sacred Maiden of Artemisia, whom His Majesty praised so highly. We’re placing our trust in her, aren’t we?”

Such arguments had been made.
The other temples were surely hoping the Artemisia Temple would fail.
Naturally, I had anticipated this much.

But then.

“This is a forbidden area. What are you doing in here?”

Something unexpected happened.

A young man pointed his sword at me.
He was an extraordinarily handsome young man.

“Oh… I was just passing through.”
“Just passing through.”

The young man let out a soft laugh.

“So you accidentally took a wrong turn, accidentally drifted all the way here, and just happened to meet me?”
“The details are a bit different, but the general picture isn’t far off.”
“Everyone says the same thing.”
“…”
“Do you want to become my concubine too?”

What?
A concubine?
From a barely-grown young man like this!

—————
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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