Youngest on Top - Chapter 143

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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 143

“Preitsha.”
“What?”
“It was Preitsha’s divine power. I’m certain of it.”
“….”

Preitsha is Dolores’s temple.
But Preitsha was behind this…?

My heart sank heavily.

“Saelika!”

Dolores’s face, radiant with an unguarded smile, flashed before my eyes.

“There’s something odd about it.”
“…?”
“It’s definitely Preitsha’s divine power. And it felt quite potent too—as if a sacred relic had been used.”
“….”
“But there’s something subtly off about it.”
“Off…?”
“It feels different from Dolores and Petrea’s divine power—something foreign to it.”
“….”
“It’s just a feeling, so I can’t pinpoint it exactly. The distance was so great that I might have sensed it wrong—.”
“No.”

I shook my head firmly.

“Ilay couldn’t have sensed it wrong.”
“Sae.”
“I trust you.”

Ilay smiled and gently bumped his forehead against mine.

“That’s right. My Sacred Maiden amplified me, so there’s no way I could have sensed it wrong.”
“Exactly, exactly. We’re the ultimate combination.”

We both let out a soft chuckle at the same time.
Then we began to ponder together.

“I used the sacred object, but I sensed something foreign about it.”
“It felt like I’d forced open a lock with a key that didn’t quite fit.”

Using a sacred object is, in simple terms, much like opening a lock with a key.
Artemisia’s sacred object opens with the key of Artemisia’s divine power.
Preitsha’s sacred object opens with the key of Preitsha’s divine power.

“If the key didn’t fit… does that mean it felt like the divine power of a different god?”
“But the lock opened without any issues, so it must have been the correct key after all. What I actually sensed was Preitsha’s divine power.”

Ilay continued speaking.

“In the first place, it’s impossible to use a sacred object with a different divine power.”
“…Normally, yes.”
“What?”

There is a way to use a sacred object even with different divine power.

‘When it’s a superior divine power.’

Just as I had used Parmanace’s sacred object to escape the Orphanage.
And there was another case—.

“If you momentarily change the nature of divine power, it becomes possible.”
“What? That’s impossible.”

Ilay shook his head.

“A Sacred Maiden can change the nature of divine power. But that’s a permanent change. Preitsha’s divine power would become Artemisia’s divine power forever.”
“…”
“There’d be no reason for me to sense something foreign.”
“Right, but what if you could change it momentarily, just for an instant? Only enough to deceive the sacred object?”
“…Is that even possible?”
“Normally, it’s impossible.”

But I had experienced it firsthand.
The technique to momentarily claim another temple’s divine power as my own.
They had turned me—one who possessed Artemisia’s divine power—into a battery for the Sacred Maiden of Parmanace.

“Sae.”

Ilay pressed his hand against my forehead.

“Are you alright? Your face has gone pale.”
“…Parmanace.”
“Hm?”
“If it’s Parmanace, it’s possible.”

At my whispered words, Ilay’s expression hardened.
Intelligent as he was, he immediately grasped what I had recalled and why I believed it possible.

Ilay cupped my cheeks and met my gaze.
His usually composed face twisted into something fierce.

“I won’t let those bastards get away with this.”
“Ilay.”
“Never.”

His golden eyes, always so gentle, flickered with savage intensity.
With a soft sound, I leaned my forehead against Ilay’s shoulder.

* * *

“How bothersome, these chess pieces acting up.”

The moment the reflection in the mirror vanished, a clicking sound of disapproval echoed through the air.
The man seated before the mirror smiled.

“Still, it’s quite convenient. They’re so dull and foolish that we can use them and discard them without consequence.”
“That much is true.”
“At this rate, the Bennizer Kingdom will fall into our hands with ease.”

The Baltelo Temple is already in name only.
The young Sacred Maiden Nelije struggles alone, yet she is merely being exploited.

“I’d love to see the expression on her face when she realizes her own efforts are actually destroying the Temple.”
“How cruel of you.”
“Hehe, but what’s truly unfortunate is this.”
“…?”
“That I won’t get to see the face of the child Kaiser treasures so dearly.”
“You mean the Sacred Maiden of Artemisia?”
“She’s even cuter in person than in photographs.”

Red lips curved into a pleased smile.

“I’m really curious what that lovely face will look like when it contorts.”
“…”
“It’s truly a shame.”

The woman rose from her seat and walked toward the wall with sharp, deliberate steps.

“Now I won’t be able to see that face at all.”
“You could always look at a corpse’s face.”
“How pitiful—the Artemisia Temple has already lost the Sacred Maiden it barely obtained.”

Before the wall where she stopped hung a portrait of Kaiser.

“Hehe, I suppose I should comfort Kaiser for losing his daughter.”

Red nails dragged across Kaiser’s neck in the portrait.
The red streak looked exactly like flowing blood.

* * *

The next morning, at breakfast.
Randel grinned widely as he fed me a sausage.

“Sweetheart, next time you need to go somewhere, come with Dad, won’t you?”
“With Dad?”
“Yes, just with Dad—no one else. Isn’t that peaceful?”

Randel was delighted at the prospect of more intimate moments together.
Ilay shook his head in disapproval.
But that happiness wouldn’t last long.

“Saelika.”

Prince Ryubik appeared right after I finished breakfast.

“…You seem to be visiting my daughter quite frequently.”
“It’s only natural that I see Elah often.”
“And does my daughter consent to this… Elah arrangement?”
“Our hearts already understand each other, so consent is a given.”

Randel’s eyes grew cold and sharp.
I grabbed Randel’s arm.

“By ‘hearts understanding each other,’ you mean the agreement regarding the Caston trade, right, Father? Isn’t that so, Your Highness?”
“…Well, that’s not entirely wrong.”
“Your Highness, please refrain from making statements that could be misunderstood.”
“I don’t recall saying anything particularly misleading.”

When I shot him a sharp glare, Ryubik conceded by raising both hands in surrender.
Randel asked Ryubik.

“So why did you come by this morning?”
“Father, it’s only natural that we see each other frequently until the trade negotiations are finalized.”
“Then perhaps I should join—”
“Father, you need to attend the meeting. We must keep the Queen in the dark.”
“I see…”

Randel nodded reluctantly, and I faltered.
It wasn’t just anyone—seeing Randel look dejected was something I couldn’t simply overlook.
I quietly grasped the hem of Randel’s garment.

“If Father would prefer, we can all stay together.”
“No. I cannot interfere with my daughter’s affairs.”

Randel smiled softly and stroked my head.

“You haven’t forgotten what Father asked of you last night, have you?”
“No, sir!”

At my spirited response, Randel’s smile deepened.

“Why is some fool spouting such nonsense?”
“Get out! How dare you defile the ears of a Sacred Maiden! Do you not fear God’s judgment?”
“If some fool dares to lay a hand on our Sae?”
“Break their arms and kick them between the legs! Then beat them until they can never recover!”
“Yes. There’s no need to warn or reason with them. Show them your strength through action alone.”

Randel smiled warmly and gently.
Then he lifted his eyes and looked at Ryubik.

“Never forget that Father is always behind our Sae.”
“Yes!”

As Randel left the room, Ilay whispered in my ear.

“Don’t you think Randel is starting to resemble Kaiser more and more?”
“What are you talking about? Didn’t you see how tenderly Father Randel was smiling just now?”
“…He was smiling tenderly while telling someone to castrate them.”

Ryubik chuckled and interjected.

“You don’t think that fool was referring to me, do you?”
“We’ll have to see.”
“That’s frightening.”
“Let’s sit down for now.”

Ryubik took his seat.

“So, the Artemisia Temple will subjugate the Dantalian Desert?”
“Yes, the scale of the monsters in the Dantalian Desert is—.”

Knock, knock.
At that moment, there came a knock on the door.

“Hello, Saelika. Oh, Prince Ryubik is here too.”
“Nelije.”

Nelije asked with a cautious demeanor.

“You’re discussing the subjugation of the Dantalian Desert, aren’t you? Would it be alright if I shared my thoughts as well?”
“I heard the Balotelo Temple hasn’t undertaken any subjugation efforts thus far.”
“Yes, that’s correct. I couldn’t even imagine it. If it were to end in failure, it would only inflict great damage upon the kingdom….”
“….”
“As expected of the Empire’s Sacred Maiden. Making such a bold decision.”

Nelije spoke with a face full of concern.

“But I’m worried. What if Artemisia’s subjugation attempt ends in failure?”
“Thank you for your concern. But there’s no way it will fail.”
“At the very least, wouldn’t it be better to survey the desert yourself before making a decision?”

Ryubik furrowed his brow.

“That can wait until after military support arrives from Artemisia.”
“That will be too late. What if, after the subjugation force arrives, we decide it won’t work? The contamination will only grow worse.”
“But our current manpower—.”
“Alright.”

At my words, Ryubik shook his head.

“The desert is dangerous.”

Then Nelije quickly spoke up.

“It will be fine. We’re only surveying the outskirts of the desert. We’re not going to subjugate it right now anyway, are we?”

Nelije’s reasoning was sound.
It made sense to survey the desert beforehand and then discuss the feasibility of subjugation, just as she said.

‘If Ryubik hadn’t agreed immediately, I would have suggested the same thing.’

But.
She contacted her backer yesterday and came here today to take me to the desert….
My eyes met Ilay’s.

‘It’s a trap.’
‘It’s a trap.’

Without needing to speak, we both arrived at the same conclusion.

‘We should make good use of this.’

I smiled subtly.

“When shall we depart for the Dantalian Desert?”

* * *

At the entrance to the Dantalian Desert.
Though monsters infested the deeper regions, the desert’s entrance remained tranquil.
There were no dangers—it was safe.

Yet Nelije suppressed her unease and surveyed her surroundings.
If she had been ordered to bring Saelika to the Dantalian Desert, something was certainly about to happen.

‘…What if Prince Ryubik gets caught up in this?’

That would be a serious problem.
The Queen would seize this opportunity to strike down the Baltelo Temple as well.

‘It’s fine. Nothing will go wrong anyway. My godfather said so himself.’

According to Frederick’s investigation, the opponent was indeed the Preitsha Temple.

“Why exactly are you bringing Saelika to the desert?”
“Simple. To prove the incompetence of Artemisia’s Sacred Maiden. To demonstrate that the Artemisia Temple cannot subjugate monsters.”
“Then negotiations with Prince Ryubik will fall through. But how will you demonstrate this incompetence? Surely you don’t mean to have monsters attack Saelika—?”
“Of course not. If Artemisia’s Sacred Maiden goes, Prince Ryubik will accompany her.”
“Ah… The Preitsha side wouldn’t want the Prince to be harmed either.”
“Besides, you’ll be going with her. Our Sacred Maiden will face no danger whatsoever. I’ve secured that promise.”

‘Yes, it’s fine.’

If the Artemisia Temple truly lacked the ability to subjugate monsters, revealing it quickly would benefit everyone.
Especially Saelika.

‘…Above all, to save the High Priest.’

Nelije steeled herself with resolve.
That was when Ilay spoke.

“The contamination is quite severe.”
“You can see that from here?”

Nelije asked in astonishment.
No matter how much she looked around, she couldn’t spot any contaminated areas.
Meanwhile, Saelika responded as if it were obvious.

“If we continue like this, monsters will be appearing at the borders. We should subjugate them quickly, Your Highness.”

Ryubik’s expression grew grave.

“I’ll need to speak with the Queen about this. To tell her this isn’t the time for us to fight. Though I’m not sure if she’ll care.”
“….”
“Let’s return quickly.”

That was when it happened.

Thrummmm—thrummm.
The ground beneath their feet began to tremble. The sand undulated like waves.

“A monster?!”

With that cry, a monster burst from the sand dune with its jaws wide open.
A colossal serpent so massive that a single lash of its tail sent the earth rippling and heaving.
Hundreds of crimson eyes gleamed between the scales of its body.

“This… this can’t be real. Why is it here…”

Nelije was dumbfounded.
The entrance had definitely been safe.
Preytsha had said he wouldn’t attack using monsters.
So why—.

Nelije’s body went rigid as she came face to face with hundreds of serpent eyes.
The monster had immediately identified the easiest prey.

Nelije stared at the monster charging toward me, her mouth agape.
Venom dripped steadily from the fangs that gleamed black in the light.
They were fangs larger than her own body.

The moment they made contact, death would be certain.
Yet Nelije couldn’t move an inch.

‘I’m… dying—’

Crack!

In that instant.
A golden fist struck the serpent’s jaw with tremendous force.
Nelije watched without even blinking.

Golden hair rippled against the sky.
The small child landed lightly upon the sand as if dancing.

“Ah, what was it that Nelije said before?”

The child turned to face Nelije.
With a slightly mischievous expression.

“You said that unlike me, who wastes time on politics and rank disputes, you’re already overwhelmed just with training?”

Nelije stared at the child’s face, unable to speak.
She couldn’t tear her gaze from those clear blue eyes.
The child smiled brightly.

“It seems you’ve been training quite diligently, haven’t 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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