Youngest on Top - Chapter 151

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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 151

In that moment when everything had ended and peace settled over us.
It was a statement that fell like a bomb.

Enrik: How dare you—what did you just call our youngest? A what? A King?
Enrik: This child is already hastening his own demise!
Enrik: Should I strike him down with divine lightning right now? Or a meteor? Huh? Should I drop a meteor on him?!
Kailros: That’s exactly the problem, Enrik.
Enrik: What?
Kailros: Your shallow thinking—wanting to rain down lightning or meteors the moment something displeases you.
Enrik: Huh? So you just let it slide after hearing such words?
Kailros: Who said I’d let it slide?
Kailros: If he dies instantly from a meteor strike, he won’t even realize he corrupted the ears of my beloved sibling. He’ll go to his grave ignorant.
Kailros: Slowly, through suffering, he must learn it in his very bones. That he dared to look down on someone when he doesn’t even know his place.
Enrik: Wow….
Enrik: No wonder they call you Gechaban. Your personality is truly vile.

Kaiser and Randel’s situation was not much different.
Randel was restraining Kaiser, who had his hand on his sword hilt.

“Hold back. You can’t. Don’t bite—I mean, don’t kill him. You can’t kill him.”
“Why not? He’s not worth living.”
“I agree, but if he dies, his last words will be ‘become my queen.'”
“…!”
“Gentle Sae will remember it forever.”
“Indeed…. For once, you’ve spoken wisdom, Randel.”
“And for once, your heart aligned with mine, Kaiser.”

Ilay watched the two of them with clouded eyes.

‘These are the ones called Artemisia’s greatest priests….’

Yet Ilay’s own gaze had turned equally cold and sharp.
Concealing that coldness beneath a practiced smile, Ilay approached Saelika.

But Saelika herself—.

“Puhahahaha!”

Clear laughter rang out.
After laughing for a while, Saelika spoke with a smile still lingering on her face.

“Ah, this reminds me of when Teo was little.”
“Teo never spoke so carelessly like that.”

Ilay, who had approached beside her, interjected.
Saelika nodded in agreement.

“That’s right, Teo wouldn’t.”
“Who is Teo?”
“Someone I know.”

Habid looked at Saelika with displeasure.

“Is he more handsome than me?”
“What?”
“Does he have more money than me?”
“….”
“Is his status higher than mine? Is he perhaps a Crown Prince or something?”
“Why are you asking such things?”
“Hmph, so none of it is true then. A fellow who’s not more handsome than me, has no money, and has lower status.”

Habid lifted his chin arrogantly.

“He can’t even compare to me, can he?”
“That’s right. There’s no comparison. Our Teo and someone like you—.”

Saelika hastily stopped Ilay.
Then she spoke to Habid.

“Yes, yes, you’re superior. There, satisfied?”
“Then will you become my Queen—.”
“Well, the Queen’s position… if you keep growing big and strong drinking your milk, I’ll think about it.”

By that time, Habid wouldn’t properly remember Saelika anyway.
Childhood memories fade away easily, after all.

“What is this? You’re past the age of needing milk.”

At his gruff words, Saelika laughed softly and stroked Habid’s hair.
I thought he’d immediately brush her hand away given his arrogant nature.
But Habid silently accepted her touch.
The child’s ears had turned red.

“Really, whose younger brother is he acting like.”

Ryubik interjected with a hollow laugh, shaking his head.

“Whose younger brother? The Crown Prince’s younger brother, of course.”
“Yes… my younger brother.”

His voice was slow and soft.

“…Thank you for telling me.”

At his whispered words, Saelika smiled.
She thought perhaps the bond between brothers could be mended after all.
Ryubik had never truly hated Habid in the first place.

That was when it happened.

“Saelika, you wench…!”

The enraged Queen approached Saelika.
Her gleaming eyes looked ready to cause trouble.

In that instant, both princes stepped forward to shield Saelika.
As if protecting her.

The Queen looked at Habid with an expression of betrayal.

“How dare the Crown Prince stand in my way? Did you not see how I was just made a laughingstock by his schemes?”
“If the Queen Mother had not sought to harm the Crown Prince from the beginning, none of this would have happened.”
“Everything I did was for the Crown Prince.”
“No. You did it for yourself, Your Majesty.”
“What?”
“I have never wished to become Crown Prince. Even after becoming one, I found no joy in it. I simply—.”
“Do not speak so weakly!”

At the Queen’s sharp rebuke, Habid flinched.
Saelika opened her mouth quietly.

“The Crown Prince was weak only until yesterday.”
“What?”
“Today, His Highness Habid was more resolute and stronger than ever before.”
“…!”
“Just now, even.”
“How dare you, wench!”

The Queen raised her hand sharply.
Ryubik, witnessing this, muttered at the last moment.

“Will you continue? There are still journalists present.”
“….”
“I instructed them not to report speculative articles, but I did not prevent them from reporting what actually occurred and what they witnessed.”

The Queen glared at Ryubik with a piercing gaze, then lowered her hand.

“I will not forget what happened today.”

The Queen cast one final glare at Saelika before turning sharply and departing.
Saelika shrugged her shoulders.

‘It’s exactly what those other angels who used to beat me every day would say.’

At that moment, Ryubik took Saelika’s hand.

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”

Ryubik laughed pleasantly at the bewildered look in Saelika’s eyes.

“You don’t look like you need me to protect you.”
“I was worried you might have short-term amnesia and forgotten what happened in the desert.”
“You’re strong, that’s true. But I still want to protect you.”
“….”
“How can I ever thank you? I don’t know what would have happened without you.”
“Then do well by me.”
“You never let a word go to waste. Of course I’ll treat you well. You’re my Elah, after all.”

Ryubik chuckled softly before asking in a serious tone.

“You said you’d leave tonight? It would be nice if you could at least enjoy a celebration banquet or a farewell feast in honor of the accord.”
“I’ve been away from the Empire for too long.”

Ryubik understood what Saelika meant.

‘She’s been absent from the Empire too long… She’s planning to move covertly and strike when they least expect it.’

To plan the next phase immediately after just concluding the Caston trade matter.
She was truly remarkable.

“Then this is our last farewell. I’ll be waiting for the day we meet again. It seems it won’t be long.”
“That won’t happen.”

Ilay laughed and brushed Ryubik aside.
Saelika shrugged her shoulders.

“Before that, I have one request.”

* * *

King Bennayser’s bedchamber.
The Queen stood with a coldly hardened expression, looking down at her husband lying in bed.
The King appeared peaceful, lost in deep slumber.

“…I tried.”

No answer came in return.

“I didn’t want to kill you with my own hands.”

The Queen brushed her husband’s cheek with a steady hand.

“But now there’s no other choice.”

The Queen whispered softly as she withdrew a thin needle from her bosom.

“There will be no pain. You’ll simply drift into sleep, slowly and naturally.”

The Queen brought the needle’s tip to the King’s neck.

“May you rest in peace for eternity, Your Majesty.”

It was the moment she was about to plunge the needle into the Emperor’s throat.
The Queen froze.
Her trembling eyes darted toward the King’s face.
And she realized it.
The King’s eyes were open.

“…!”

Shocked, the Queen stumbled backward.

“So it’s come to this.”
“Your, Your Majesty!”

King Bennayser rose from his bed.
His movements were vigorous, as though he had never been bedridden by illness at all.

“H-how is this…!”
“Who knows? A miracle? Or perhaps divine grace?”

The King’s gaze shifted from the Queen to something behind her.

“Which would be the more fitting explanation?”
“It is said to be the will of Artemia.”

At the voice that rang out, the Queen turned around.
Upon confirming who stood before her, she gasped sharply.

“How dare you…!”

Saelika smiled brightly.

“Ah, a house call medical service?”

Saelika’s late arrival at the banquet hall.
It wasn’t merely to time the perfect moment for a surprise gift to the Queen.
At that very moment, Saelika was healing King Bennayser.

‘I wasted so much time meeting those kidnappers in the desert. I need to make the remaining time count. The Bennayser Kingdom will become our Artemia’s territory anyway.’

“How on earth…! Balotello Temple could never heal it!”
“It sounds as though you were hoping His Majesty’s illness would never be cured.”
“…!”
“Then again, you just tried to kill your husband, so that’s only natural, isn’t it?”

The Queen clung to the King, her face drained of all color.

“Your
Majesty, Your Majesty, it’s a misunderstanding. I—.”
“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, we’ll know once we examine that poison.”

The Queen stared at the poison that had fallen to the floor with wavering eyes.
The King looked down at her with a cold gaze.

“Even if I ordered you dragged away this instant, you’d have nothing to say. The only reason I’m not having you arrested now is because of Habid. That child would bear the shame of his mother’s disgrace as well.”
“Don’t pretend to care now! If only Your Majesty had paid attention to that child instead of only favoring Ryubik from the start—.”
“Then did you take good care of that child? When you tormented him more than anyone!”
“I only wanted to give him everything. As his mother!”
“No, you wanted to have everything for yourself. Using your son to gain power!”
“…!”
“There’s nothing more to say.”

The King dismissed her and spoke toward the outside.

“Bring the Queen. Her condition is quite poor, so she won’t be able to leave the Queen’s chambers.”
“…!”
“Bring her at once!”
“Can’t I refuse this? Your Majesty, how could you—.”
“Unless you wish to advertise that you’re being dragged away and locked in the palace, it would be wise to leave quietly.”
“…!”
“People will be curious about why such a thing happened.”

The Queen bit her lips firmly, glaring at the King with reddened eyes.
But in the end, she closed her mouth and was dragged from the chamber by the Knights.

Click.
After the door closed, King Bennayser spoke to Saelika.

“I’ve shown you an unseemly sight.”
“Not at all.”
“Sit.”

The King gestured to a chair.
He remained silent for a while before finally speaking.

“…Was my illness caused by my wife?”
“As I mentioned before, it was not. It wasn’t poisoning or a curse—it was a genuine illness.”
“It’s ridiculous that I feel relieved by this. After all, my wife still tried to kill me.”

The King closed his eyes and rubbed his brow.
When he opened them again, he had composed all his emotions within himself.
With the complete face of a king, he spoke to Saelika.

“This is not something I should say to an envoy of the Empire, but you are a benefactor to Bennayser.”
“I am not an envoy of the Empire, but merely a faithful servant of Artemia, and I treated Your Majesty as such.”
“Artemia.”

The King murmured softly.

“Bennayser has always pursued a policy of maintaining small temples, to prevent the temples from threatening royal authority.”
“Because you pursued small temples, Nelije was unable to heal Your Majesty.”
“….”
“Because the divine power of Balotello does not reach the mortal realm.”

A god’s power varies depending on the temple’s influence, the number of believers, and the depth of their faith.
Balotello Temple was the kingdom’s only temple, yet it wielded no real influence whatsoever.
One could see this clearly from what Nelije said when I first met her, how she watched Ryubik’s expression carefully.

“And now, beyond our borders, monsters are swarming.”
“So this isn’t the time to suppress the temple and view it as a rival to royal authority?”
“Rather, many rulers join hands with temples and utilize them as a means of governance.”
….
“The Empire does this exceptionally well.”

King Bennayser regarded Saelika with an expressionless face.
Saelika received his gaze with a composed expression.
Soon, the king’s lips curved upward.

“I wish Bennayser had a powerful temple alongside it.”
….
“—Like the Artemisia Temple.”

Saelika smiled.
This was the moment the Artemisia Temple fully grasped the Bennayser Kingdom in its hands.

“The Artemisia Temple likewise eagerly awaits the day when Artemia’s grace shall be bestowed upon the kingdom.”
“It’s already been given. Isn’t she the kingdom’s benefactor? But—.”

King Bennayser asked with a serious expression.

“How old are they?”
“Pardon?”
“My sons. Both of them are at a suitable age, aren’t they?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Which of the two would be the better choice?”
“What do you mean by—”
“I’m not saying this because they’re my sons, but aren’t they quite handsome?”
….
“As you know, I have no daughters.”
“…Is that so?”
“I’ve always dreamed of bringing in a clever daughter-in-law like this.”

Saelika regarded King Bennayser with a reluctant expression.

“Both Your Highnesses aren’t even adults yet.”
“In Bennayser, they’re both old enough to be married.”
“….”
“Well then, what do you think? Hmm? Whichever way my future daughter-in-law desires—.”
“Who’s your daughter-in-law?!!”

In the end, Saelika couldn’t contain her temper and burst out shouting.

* * *

The moment I stepped out of the King’s chambers, Kaiser approached me.
His expression was rigid and tense.

“What’s wrong, Father?”
“Nothing, just… my mood suddenly turned foul.”
“…?”
“The moment you were in the chambers, my mood became unpleasant.”

I flinched and looked up at Kaiser.
Kaiser was a Holy Knight with exceptional sensitivity, but this too?

“W-what reason would there be for a bad mood! We only discussed matters concerning Artemisia Temple.”
“…Something feels off. What did King Bennayser say to you? Tell me in detail.”

Cold sweat trickled down my back.

‘Oh no, at this rate it won’t be the Queen who kills the King, it’ll be Father!’

I quickly changed the subject.

“B-but Father, how did you come to Bennayser Kingdom? The timing is perfect.”
“…!”
“Did you come after hearing I’d gone missing?”

I’d only meant to deflect, but Kaiser fell silent.
With an oddly guilty demeanor.

“…?”

What’s this?
Didn’t you come after hearing about the disappearance?
Then why are you here?

—————
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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