Youngest on Top - Chapter 165

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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 165

* * *

“What is this? A bug has attached itself to our apple.”
“Are you introducing yourself?”
“Ugh, apple! That guy called me a bug. Punish him for me!”

Mikhail clung tightly to Saelika’s back, hiding his body behind her.
But before the Sacred Maiden could even frown, someone else beat her to it.

“Stop acting so repulsive.”

Demian’s expression darkened, his gaze turning as disgusted as if he were looking at a parasite.

I found it amusing—Demian, whose face rarely changed, was making such a grimace.

Anyone watching would think Demian genuinely despised Mikhail.

But the truth was the opposite—he adored his younger brother more than anyone and wanted to grow closer to him.

And it wasn’t just about becoming close.
Whenever his brother seemed more affectionate with someone else, Demian would become sullen.
Though the Demon Sword’s influence made Demian somewhat reserved with his emotions, he was acting completely contrary to his true feelings.

It was probably embarrassment.

“Apple, did you like my gift? Is that why you wanted to play with me again today? I’m even more fun than—”
“Enough.”

Demian suddenly pulled Saelika away, separating her from Mikhail.

I thought to myself—shouldn’t he have pulled Mikhail away instead? Yet here he was, wanting to grow closer to his brother.

Demian drew Saelika protectively into his embrace, then whispered.

“That guy is dangerous.”
“You’re not boring and serious, are you? Saelika likes fun things like I do. Being with someone like that is boring. There’s nothing but irritation when we’re together—.”
“Mikhail, don’t be like that.”

Saelika quickly stopped Mikhail.

“Demian wants to become friends with you. But if you say being together is irritating and boring, how hurt do you think he’ll be?”

Demian looked down at Saelika with bewildered eyes.
Who wanted to become friends with whom?

“Despite how he appears, Demian thinks you’re cute.”
“Me?”

Demian questioned as if it were absurd, but Saelika ignored him.

‘I know Demian’s true feelings!’

He’s just denying it out of embarrassment on the surface.

“Honestly, who in this world would think you’re cute? Admiral Ekellan wouldn’t think you’re cute either, would he?”

‘She’s saying something rather harsh while pretending otherwise right now….’

But it was also an undeniable truth.

“That’s… true.”
“The moment you think someone’s cute, the game’s over, remember?”
“No, but I’ve never thought that guy was cute—.”
“You have plenty of times! You’re thinking he’s cute right now.”
“….”
“It’s not even objectively cute, and thinking someone like Mikhail is cute—that’s real love!”
“….”
“….”

The two brothers fell silent for a while at Saelika’s passionate argument.
They turned their heads and looked at each other.
For some reason, their gazes held a deep sense of kinship.

A perfect understanding reflected in their eyes!
An exchange of mutual recognition!
Heartwarming brotherly affection!

‘As expected, sincerity truly reaches the heart…!’

Saelika couldn’t hide her sense of satisfaction.
In this very moment.
The emotional rift that had divided the brothers was being completely bridged!

* * *

Empress Adelin’s Palace.
Adelin’s expression was grave.
A few days ago, she had heard from the palace attendants that Saelika had been kidnapped.

The kidnapper was as expected.
Mikhail Ekkelan.

“What did he do after kidnapping her?”
“He released a beast and had it attack, Your Majesty.”
“…And Saelika?”
“She is unharmed.”
“Kaiser the Sacred Knight and the Temple Priests, upon learning of the kidnapping, were already heading in that direction.”
“Thanks to their swift arrival, they were able to subdue the beast before any serious harm could occur.”
“I see.”

Adelin released a sigh of relief.

“The board hasn’t been overturned, then.”
“It appears Artemisia intends to let this matter pass quietly as well. There are no rumors that Prince Ekkelan kidnapped the Sacred Maiden.”
“This is the most critical time for Artemisia. It’s wise to avoid any unfavorable gossip.”

In truth, this time it hadn’t really been a kidnapping at all.
Yet there was not a single person in this room who knew that truth.

Adelin fell silent for a moment, lost in deep thought.

“Why would you say such a thing?”
“…Prince Ekkelan is far too great a variable. I’m certain this won’t end with just this one incident.”
“What do you mean by that—?”
“He will surely separate the adults and meet with Sacred Maiden Saelika alone.”
“Pardon?”
“Given his nature, this time he’ll do it brazenly in broad daylight, in a crowded place.”
“But, but logically speaking, why would he openly meet in a crowded place with someone he kidnapped and attacked…?”
“Yes, to successfully carry out an attack, one would naturally need to exploit the darkness.”
“No, Prince Ekkelan’s objective isn’t a simple attack.”
“…?”
“He intends to overturn the entire board!”

It was at that moment.
With a knock, an Attendant Maid rushed in urgently.

“Your Majesty! Prince Ekkelan has made contact with Sacred Maiden Saelika!”
“Where?”
“At Parmanace Park!”
“…!”

Her attendants gazed at Empress Adelin with startled eyes.
Parmanace Park—one of the places with the highest foot traffic in the entire empire!
Wasn’t this exactly as Empress Adelin had just predicted?

Yet Empress Adelin’s eyes only grew more troubled.

“Parmanace Park… the very land that was taken from Artemisia.”

He met Artemisia’s Sacred Maiden there.
The meaning of this fact was unmistakable.

“A clear provocation.”

If Saelika were to fall for the provocation in such a crowded place?
No, even if she managed to get through this time, what about next time?
Next came the subjugation of the Dantalian Desert.
The dangers were incalculable.

“The board could shatter if we’re not careful. We must prevent that.”
“Then….”
“What we need for subjugation is a high-performance artifact. Prepare a Phantom Orb.”
“…!”

Adelin’s attendants gasped at her command.

“A, a Phantom Orb? Something so precious….”
“Haven’t you already given so much to Artemisia? The Holy Painting of Bothiape is still being crafted….”
“Precisely.”

Adelin spoke with conviction.

“Until now, I’ve given all those things merely as the price of her seat. But if someone comes and tries to shatter the board before she even sits down, I can’t simply stand by and do nothing.”
“Your Majesty speaks wisely.”

Though they nodded in agreement, several attendants wore puzzled expressions.
It seemed she was taking measures to prevent the company from collapsing before recovering her investment….

‘Why do I keep feeling like we’re being played for fools?’

It even felt like she was volunteering to be the fool without the other party even asking….

‘No, that can’t be right. What kind of person is our Empress?’
‘She just correctly read Prince Ekkelan’s intentions, didn’t she?’
‘Right! There must be something we can’t see!’

No way our Empress could be a fool!

.
.

At the same moment, in Empress Maxina’s palace.

“You obtained what I asked for?”
“With great difficulty, yes.”

The attendant maid respectfully presented a velvet box.
Maxina nodded with a satisfied expression.

“What a beautiful ring.”
“But what’s truly important is that a divine beast dwells within it.”

A ring housing a divine beast, no less!
Maxina chuckled softly.

“If Artemisia gains one more divine beast, even Prince Ekkelan won’t be able to break through her defenses.”
“But do we really need to prepare something like this? Prince Ekkelan doesn’t even harbor any resentment toward Artemisia.”
“He’s Prince Ekkelan, though.”
“Ah….”

The attendant maids nodded in understanding.
Then, a young maid spoke up.

“Um, Your Majesty. To be honest, I still don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Why you’re investing so much effort into Artemisia.”

There were many other prestigious temples besides Artemisia.
And temples far more powerful than Artemisia maintained good relations with Maxina.
So why was she paying such close attention to Artemisia?

“Have you heard of the Eastern dragon?”
“Yes, I’ve heard it’s an auspicious divine beast, unlike ours.”
“If a dragon ascends before me, naturally I should ride upon it, shouldn’t I?”
“Ah…!”
“Artemisia will rise very high. It aligns with the times.”

The Emperor is attempting to restructure the power dynamics.
Isn’t that why he even brought monsters into the imperial palace to instill vigilance in the nobility?

“Saelika understands this well. That’s why she demands payment for boarding her back.”
“So free rides are not permitted.”
“Exactly. Isn’t it remarkable?”

Maxina smiled.

“Usually, they offer all sorts of tributes, begging for the chance to ascend to the heavens. Yet this one demands payment instead!”
“….”
“Actually, I find it rather appealing.”

Another maid spoke up.

“But it was unexpected that Parmanasus Temple would take a seat on the board.”
“Yes, Parmanasus Temple is the most powerful dragon among all, is it not? Yet they would help pass the vote.”

They had guided a competitor to become a dragon just like themselves.

“They believed Artemisia would grow to be that significant.”
“I don’t understand. Shouldn’t they crush her instead, like the other temples do?”
“That’s only what you do when the seedling is so fragile it breaks under a single kick.”
“…?”
“Think about it. What if we waste our strength fighting Artemisia and suffer a blow in the process?”
“In that gap, another temple could rise up and strike.”

Maxina nodded.

“Parmanasus intends to keep Artemisia beneath their wing and tame her.”
“A strategy of appeasement! Certainly, they have more composure than the other temples.”
“Or perhaps.”

Maxina’s eyes gleamed with insight.

“They might be planning to drop her to the ground before she fully ascends, preventing her from ever becoming a dragon.”

The easiest way to make her fall.
That would be to ride upon her back.

“…!”

The maids stared at Maxina with astonished eyes.
Indeed, Maxina did not hold such formidable power in this palace without reason.

‘I honestly thought both Parmanasus and Maxina were just fools.’

To think there was such depth to their schemes!

.
.

At that same moment.
The Emperor was receiving reports on everything happening within the Empress’s palace.

“Quick work. A Phantom Orb with a divine beast sealed within it, and a ring….”
“Prince Ekkelan is certainly an unpredictable bomb, Your Majesty. We’ve invested considerable effort to ensure he doesn’t detonate in our direction.”

Duke Makandor continued the conversation.
At the mention of Prince Ekkelan’s name, the Emperor’s fury erupted.

“He brought a demonic beast with him? Such reckless behavior! He nearly endangered the entire imperial system!”

Duke Makandor and the Attendant exchanged bewildered glances at the Emperor.

‘Isn’t that something Your Majesty has done as well?’
‘The Prince released one beast, but Your Majesty released dozens….’
‘And not even near the capital, but within the imperial palace itself.’

Of course, it had been a controlled situation.
But ultimately, wasn’t the result the same?

The Attendant cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke.

“Releasing a demonic beast isn’t necessarily such a heinous act, is it? After all, Sacred Maiden Saelika emerged unharmed. And Prince Ekkelan had no ill intentions—”
“Are you joking? Attacking with a demonic beast—how could that possibly be well-intentioned! There’s no way to justify it!”
“….”
“….”
“Why are you both looking at me like that?”
“…Our apologies, Your Majesty.”

An awkward silence filled the chamber for a moment.

The Attendant opened his mouth again, this time to defend Mikhail.
It wasn’t really for Mikhail’s sake, but for his master, the Emperor’s.
Honestly, how embarrassed would the Emperor be later when he realized what he’d done?

“But I heard that Prince Ekkelan obtained a feather of an angel and gifted it to the Sacred Maiden. Looking at that, surely his intentions couldn’t be—.”
“Yes, and he even purchased an enormous relic to transport the demon beast.”

The Emperor dismissed the Attendant’s words.

“You can’t assume that gifting something as precious as an angel’s feather means he has good intentions. This is Prince Ekkelan we’re talking about.”

The Attendant looked at the Emperor with dissatisfaction.

‘…By that logic, just because he attacked with a demon beast doesn’t mean his intentions are malicious either.’

“You said the Sacred Maiden and Prince Ekkelan are in the garden? Did you find out what they’re doing?”
“That is… they’re sharing cotton candy together, Your Majesty.”
“Cotton candy…?”

The Emperor’s eyes narrowed.

‘Has His Majesty finally realized something is amiss?’

The Attendant looked at the Emperor with hopeful eyes.
The Emperor spoke gravely.

“That is, without question….”
“A sign, Your Majesty.”
“Yes, a sign.”

Duke Makandor and the Emperor nodded in agreement.
The Attendant looked at the two men with bewilderment.

“A sign, you say?”
“The moment the Sacred Maiden meets with Prince Ekkelan, she knows that I—and the Empress—will take action.”

Duke Makandor nodded at the Emperor’s words.

“If she wants something as compensation for the meeting, she would give us a sign.”

Is that so?
The Attendant looked at the Emperor and Duke with uncertain eyes.

“But why would she insist on eating cotton candy specifically in Parmanace Park? Of all places, Parmanace Park?”
“She would not act without purpose in the territory that was taken from her.”
“Cotton candy… it dissolves the moment it touches water, leaving no trace behind.”
“It is unmistakable. She intends to erase every trace of Parmanace within this park. That is her message.”

‘What? That is her meaning?’

The Attendant was bewildered.
Since when had fluffy cotton candy become such a sinister and menacing threat!

Yet the Emperor and the Duke’s expressions remained grave.

“B-but it is cotton candy! It is merely a snack that any child can eat freely in a park!”
“That is precisely what makes Saelika remarkable.”
“Yes. Conveying a clear message through the most ordinary of objects—something most would never notice. That is no ordinary feat.”
“Haha! Others will simply think it is cute to see her eating cotton candy!”
“….”

The Attendant could not follow their conversation and fell silent.

‘Perhaps the others’ interpretation is correct?’

The Emperor turned to the Attendant and spoke.

“You do not believe it, I see. Would you wish to engage in the eccentric behavior of eating cotton candy in a park with ‘that Prince Ekkelan’?”
“…Ah!”
“Precisely. Even if one could eat cotton candy anywhere, doing so with ‘that Prince Ekkelan’ would be absolutely unthinkable.”

The Duke added his agreement.
Indeed, to the Attendant’s mind as well, leisurely sharing cotton candy with Prince Ekkelan in a park made no sense whatsoever.

“Now that we have received such an unmistakable signal, we must prepare accordingly.”

The Emperor smiled wickedly.

All doubts had been resolved.
Yet the Attendant still felt something was amiss.

‘…Is it not simply that Prince Ekkelan cherishes Sacred Maiden Saelika? Enough to share cotton candy together in such a peculiar manner.’

—————
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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