Youngest on Top - Chapter 149

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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 149

“See? Nelije did an excellent job, didn’t she?”
“I suppose so.”

Ilay nodded, though his expression remained displeased.
Everyone wore similar looks of discontent.
They all believed Nelije had put me in danger.

“Installing a surveillance artifact in the temple—and in a place where the High Priests reside, no less—is absolutely not an easy task.”

This was possible in the first place because of Hephastos.
The surveillance artifact he created during his meeting with Molloresta.
Since it was an improved artifact, it could bypass the existing security system without being detected if we exploited a small gap.
And—.

“Without Nelije, this operation would have absolutely failed.”

We needed someone to create that small gap in the security system.
Nelije, the Sacred Maiden of Ballotel.
And her godmother, a High Priest.
This operation succeeded thanks to the cooperation of these two.

“…I understand.”
“So you won’t scold Nelije, right? If Father Kaiser scolds her, she might faint on the spot.”
“I won’t do anything my daughter dislikes.”

Kaiser pressed down firmly on my head.

“But the mastermind who put you in danger deserves punishment.”

Kaiser’s gaze turned cold as he stared at the image.
It was precisely when Frederick succeeded in establishing the connection.
A voice flowed from within the hazy mirror.

[What’s going on? I told you to refrain from contacting me first.]
[This is no time to be selective about such things!]
[….]
[Nelije has returned alive! And now people inside the temple are starting to suspect me!]
[What about Saelika?]
[Is that really important right now?! If I get caught—]
[Saelika.]

Frederick flinched at the lowered voice.

[…I couldn’t find her. Nelije said she got separated because of the quicksand. Since we haven’t found her until now, it’s probably….]
[I see.]

The other voice became flat.
A voice devoid of interest.
Frederick erupted indignantly.

[A problem has emerged! The priests are investigating me!]
[So?]
[So…?]
[Isn’t it natural to be prepared for danger when you betray? You should handle that much on your own.]

Frederick let out a hollow laugh.

[Now that you’ve achieved what you wanted, you’re going to abandon me?]
[Does it sound like I’m abandoning you when I say to handle it yourself? Or do you lack the ability to solve this alone?]
[You think I’ll die alone?! I’ll expose everything Parmanase ordered me to do!]
[….]
[How you didn’t stop at killing the Sacred Maiden Artemia, but even killed the Sacred Maiden of Valotelo to swallow the Bennaizer Kingdom!]
[….]
[What happens then? Your true nature—all the filthy deeds you’ve committed while pretending to be noble—will be exposed.]

‘Perfect!’

I clenched my fists.

‘It’s as good as a confession from an accomplice and an internal whistleblowing.’

I had suspected that both Gawain and Zaphrez were connected to Parmanase.
But it was only suspicion.
There was no physical evidence.

But finally, I had caught the tail of the Parmanase Temple!

Randel grasped my fist that I had clenched tightly and spoke.

“Sae, it’s time for our appointment.”

I stood up from my seat with a light heart.

“Well, this is when I shine. I’ll be back soon.”
“No.”
“…?”
“Let’s go together.”

At Randel’s words, I hesitated, and Kaiser spoke.

“I will be by your side. By my daughter’s side.”
“And I must be by my Sacred Maiden’s side.”

Even Ilay.
I looked at the three of them and shrugged my shoulders.

“Fine. Let’s go together then.”

I answered casually and took the lead.
But my heart was beating strangely—thump, thump, thump.

An emotion that felt like anxiety, awkwardness, or perhaps joy gently touched my heart.

‘…They must have worried about me a lot.’

Whenever I disappeared and reappeared like this, I was always scolded.
No matter what I said, no one listened.
Everyone said I had caused trouble again.

‘…That’s strange.’

For some reason, I felt a tightness in my chest, so I pressed firmly around my heart.

* * *

The palace of the Queen of Bennaizer.
The Queen set down her teacup on the saucer and smiled.

“In many ways, Sacred Maiden, you do surprise me.”
“Do I?”
“I was shocked when you disappeared in the desert, but to think you’d return alive like this. And in such perfect condition, no less.”
“I thought I gave Your Majesty sufficient hints. We made a promise, didn’t we? To grant each other what we desired.”

At her answer delivered with a bright smile, the Queen raised one eyebrow.

“So all of this was… the Sacred Maiden’s plan?”
“What else could it be?”

Saelika shrugged lightly.
The Queen’s gaze examined the child carefully.

Saelika was far too composed and at ease.
Above all, she didn’t appear to have suffered in the desert at all.

‘…Rather, it seems as though she rested comfortably.’

If that were the case, there could be only one conclusion.

‘Yes, she must have separated from the group and hidden away in some safe house she’d prepared beforehand.’

The moment the Queen’s eyes narrowed, Saelika opened her mouth.

“Even though Habid has become Crown Prince, Prince Ryubik’s influence remains steadfast.”
“…”
“Of course, it’s diminished considerably from before. His retainers have been cut away, and he’s gradually withdrawn from state affairs.”
“…”
“But he still wields tremendous influence.”

Accurate.
Wasn’t that precisely why the Queen was troubled?

“He’s like a weed that keeps growing back no matter how many times you trample it.”
“If the weed won’t die even when trampled, then it must be burned.”
“…!”
“To incinerate every last sprout, don’t you think a performance of this scale is necessary?”

A glimmer of something new flickered in the Queen’s eyes.

“Indeed.”

All of this was entirely Ryubik’s fault.
Taking Saelika to the desert.
Saelika disappearing in that desert.
Even the inability to find her despite deploying so many search personnel and resources.

“An enormous international incident has occurred. One that our kingdom cannot handle internally.”

The prince’s blunder had cost them the representative of the Empire’s delegation.
Naturally, Bennaizer had to take responsibility to the Empire.
Moreover, this was more than sufficient grounds for war!

‘And she even summoned Kaiser the Sacred Knight. Using the prince’s mistake—the disappearance—as a pretext.’

The Queen’s gaze turned toward Kaiser.
The man sitting with such casual composure before a queen of a nation was beautiful, as if sculpted by the gods themselves.
And simultaneously, dangerous.
Instinct issued a warning.
Do not meet that man’s eyes.

‘The rumors weren’t exaggerated after all.’

A legendary man who possessed the military might of an entire legion by himself.
Summoning this man to the kingdom was—.

‘A clear show of force.’

The kingdom’s high officials, Prince Ryubik’s retainers, even the common people would all feel the pressure.
Because no one knew what Kaiser might do, having lost the Sacred Maiden.
And all those accusations would be directed at Prince Ryubik.

“Remarkable, truly remarkable!”

Clap, clap. The Queen applauded with admiration.

“To plan all of this and execute it flawlessly without a single wasted step.”
“You are too kind, Your Majesty.”
“I thought Prince Ryubik was cunning enough that it would take considerable time, but to employ such a method…”
“Does this demonstrate my sincerity toward Your Majesty?”
“Of course it does.”

Saelika smiled softly.

“Then Your Majesty must take the first step this time.”
“…First step, you say.”
“After all, the authority over Caston’s trade belongs to Prince Ryubik.”

The Queen studied Saelika’s face carefully.
Saelika remained utterly composed.
She gazed back at the Queen with the same unwavering eyes as before.

“Very well. I shall mobilize my trusted ministers at first light.”

In the end, the Queen nodded her assent.

“Congratulations, Sacred Maiden. The Caston that the Empire demanded—it is now yours.”

* * *

After Saelika departed.
The Queen’s attendant maid approached and asked carefully.

“Are you certain, Your Majesty? Even if you yield Caston first?”
“Saelika came to the kingdom for the first time. The Artemis Temple did as well.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Yet in this short span of time, she prepared a perfect safe house and vanished—evading even Ryubik’s watchful eyes.”
“…!”
“Do you understand what this means?”

The capital to procure such a secure safe house.
Information control powerful enough to blind even the landlord’s eyes.
The ability to turn people completely to her side in a place with no prior connections!

“…She’s far more formidable than I expected.”
“Indeed. I was surprised when the Sacred Maiden of the crumbling Artemia Temple came as the delegation’s representative.”
“There must have been good reason for it.”
“It’s not just the child. Did you see the Temple Priests who came with her?”
“Kaiser the Sacred Knight is truly remarkable. Just looking at him creates such suffocating pressure….”
“It’s not just Kaiser.”

The Queen recalled the two other people sitting beside Saelika.

“Randel and Ilay…if I remember correctly. They’re no ordinary figures either.”
“Certainly….”
“Did you hear that child say ‘sincerity’ earlier?”
“Yes.”
“That was a message. If you want to join hands with me, show me that same level of ‘sincerity.'”
“….”
“I have no choice but to offer it if I want to join hands with that formidable child.”

.
.

At that same moment, Saelika was,

“The Queen seems to have completely misunderstood, doesn’t she?”

She laughed brightly and tapped Ilay’s arm.
In the safe house that Ryubik had prepared.

“Yeah, she was looking at you like you’re some mastermind lurking behind the scenes.”
“The truth is I just got lost and wandered around before getting kidnapped.”

Ah, what a fortunate kidnapping it turned out to be!
Saelika was smiling with satisfaction when it happened.
Suddenly, the temperature around them plummeted.

“…Kidnapped?”

A low, sinister voice flowed from Kaiser’s lips.
Saelika turned to Randel with a pleading gaze.
Randel asked gently.

“Didn’t you say earlier that you simply wandered around, discovered an oasis, rested a bit, and then summoned Alkiers?”

Randel was also wrong.
Saelika looked toward Ilay.

“I’m curious too. What’s going on?”
“….”

The three men drew closer to Saelika.

“Just who is this bastard who kidnapped my daughter? And such an unusual method of suicide at that.”
“Now, it’s alright. Tell father the truth. If it’s hard to say, just give me the name.”
“I never knew Sae was hiding things from me. This is shocking. So what’s the name?”

Under the pressure of the three men, Saelika’s eyes darted about frantically.

“I-I’m sorry.”

She clasped her hands together, but the three men did not back down.
In the end, she had no choice but to confess everything truthfully.
Only after extracting a firm promise that they would not harm the kidnapper.

“Ah. So that’s how it was.”
“Now I understand.”

Kaiser and Randel, having heard the full story, nodded as if they had grasped something.
Kaiser suddenly rose from his seat and approached the window.
He pulled a flower from the vase and hurled it out the window.
The delicate flower cut through the empty air as sharply as a blade.

“Why did you do that, all of a sudden?”

Kaiser answered Saelika’s question.

“It’s nothing much. There’s been a bug chasing me around since earlier.”
“A bug?”

Saelika tilted her head in confusion.
Having nearly exhausted her sacred power summoning Alkiers, Saelika sensed nothing.

* * *

“You’ve been caught, haven’t you, Mr. Bug?”
“Seems like it, bug.”

Mikhail laughed brightly, holding a flower.
Bathed in the cascading moonlight, shining alongside the flower,
he looked as beautiful as a boy from mythology, one blessed by the gods’ love.
Yet Barensya’s expression darkened considerably.

“What’s there to be so pleased about? If that had hit, you’d have a hole through your head.”
“I’m grateful he didn’t try to kill me.”
“From my perspective, it appeared that Kaiser was quite intent on killing you, sir.”
“Hmm, I once thought it would be entertaining if Kaiser came to kill me. Unfortunately, he showed no interest in me.”
“Kaiser has never taken interest in anything, after all.”

Kaiser possessed nothing dear to him, nor anything he despised.
There existed nothing that could set his heart ablaze with vengeance.
Even if one were to stab Kaiser with a blade, he would not come rushing at them with murderous intent.

“But that Kaiser is like this now. The apple truly doesn’t fall far from the tree. After Father and that bastard, now Kaiser too.”

Barensya flinched.

‘Surely he’s not planning to harm Saelika to provoke Kaiser, is he?’

It was absurd by any reasonable standard, but with Mikhail, anything was possible.

“Young master, you mustn’t do that to Kaiser. If he decides to kill you, you’ll die instantly, won’t you?”
“I know. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
“….”

Barensya stared at Mikhail with an exasperated expression.

“But I’ve abandoned that idea now.”

Fortunately, Mikhail wasn’t looking at Barensya.
His violet eyes were fixed solely on one child.

“Because something far more entertaining has come along.”

Barensya silently prayed for Saelika’s fate.
Of all people, she had to catch the eye of this monster.

“Still, I never expected to dispose of my kidnapping victim in such a manner. The Queen fell for it completely.”
“Indeed, sir.”
“She seemed hot-headed, but it appears she has quite the mind for strategy?”
“Being hot-headed doesn’t mean one lacks intelligence.”
“Her sharp mind must come from me.”
“….”

Barensya regarded Mikhail with an expression of utter disgust.
Fortunately, this time too, Mikhail wasn’t looking at him.

“Well, you are certainly peculiar in many ways. Even in how you treat me.”

Saelika showed barely any reaction upon seeing the half-beast beastman.
She couldn’t possibly be unaware of the rumors that his animal instincts override his human reason, driving him to devour humans.

‘…That wasn’t an act. She truly wasn’t bothered at all.’

It was only natural for Saelika to react this way, given that she too was of a different race.
Though she had been reborn as a human, her identity as an angel remained far stronger.

To Barensya, who didn’t know this, she simply seemed fascinating.
And he wasn’t alone in this assessment.
All the other beastmen who had encountered Saelika in Mikhail’s presence shared the same impression.

* * *

The next morning.
As soon as the sun rose, Ryubik, who had been searching the desert, was summoned back to the palace by the ministers.
And from their reaction, he understood.

‘He’s already persuaded the Queen?!’

She was a remarkable girl in many ways.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————