Youngest on Top - Chapter 183

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

Chapter 183

Black hair that seemed to gather the cold shadows of a shaded corner.
Eyes as blue and piercing as the Northern Sea.
Broad shoulders and long legs.
A face elegant yet cold, as if carved from glacial ice.
An overwhelming presence that emanated from merely sitting still.

I lowered my head a beat too late.

“I greet you, Duke Perardin Noishurael.”
“Sacred Maiden of Artemia.”

The Duke gave a slight nod.

‘But the Crown Prince?’

Had Shuri’s aura rubbed off on me?
That’s strange.
I could understand if a curse had transferred, but an aura?
How?

“What did that bastard Crown Prince do to you?”
“Did that dog Your Highness get close to Sae, or even—?”

Kaiser and Randel seized me by the shoulders, demanding answers.
Their expressions differed, but they were truly identical.

‘Does changing your words midsentence make it not an insult to the Crown Prince?’

As I stood there bewildered, the High Priest urgently gripped my shoulder.

“Did that son of a… grab my precious child?!”

…Now he wasn’t even bothering to change his words.
This was the moment I understood why the High Priest was the father figures’ guardian.

“I, I encountered a strange demon at the lake—.”
“A demon?!”
“Are you alright?”
“Let me see.”

The adults fussed over me, examining my body with concern.
I quickly showed off my biceps and triceps.

“I’m perfectly fine!”
“Let me see, let me see.”
“Just look at how solid our tiger’s muscles are—… *ahem*.”

Derrick, the battle priest who had been kneading my triceps, paused.

“H-hard as rock! Absolutely fierce! I could swing this around and smash everything!”
“….”
“I’ve never seen muscles this solid in my entire life!”

Stop it.
I’m about to cry.

“Anyway, the Crown Prince of Kaishurit helped me back then.”
“…That bas— His Highness?”
“Yes, thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince, I was able to safely eliminate the demon.”

In other words, don’t be too wary of him.
Making an enemy of the Crown Prince would do us no good.
But then….

“He’s got ulterior motives.”
“Leaving behind such an unpleasant aura like that.”
“I disliked him from the moment we were at the temple.”
“How dare he steal my daughter’s first dance….”

How long is this grudge going to last?

“B-but His Highness the Crown Prince has helped us so much. In high society too, and this time as well—if His Highness hadn’t been there….”

Their piercing stares made my voice falter.
Why were they looking at me like that?
My fathers called out to me with grave expressions.

“Sae.”
“Yes?”
“Your father, or the Crown Prince?”
“Huh?!”
“Why can’t you answer? That bas—ugh, you don’t prefer the Crown Prince more, do you?”
“Our Sae definitely likes his father better than that dog—ugh, way better than His Highness, right?”
“….”

I was too stunned to speak.
Seeing my silence, my fathers grew even more serious.

“Why aren’t you answering?”
“It seems like you’ve been corrupted by that bastard’s foul aura.”

Didn’t you just call him a bastard without even changing your words?
Besides, is Shuri’s power some kind of curse?
Corrupted?!

“Indeed. There’s no other explanation for it.”
“We must cleanse that filthy aura at once.”

My fathers pulled me into their embrace, insisting they needed to purify me.
I’d never seen Randel and Kaiser work together so perfectly before.
The other adults rushed toward me just the same.

“Smooch! Smooch!”
“Wait, Devon, why are you kissing while we’re cleansing the aura!”
“Tee-hee! My kisses are a cure-all!”
“Why are you indulging yourself here? Muah!”
“Now Mogen too!”

Someone save me.
I’d never seen such chaos before.

‘…Will Shuri track me down for this?’

The aura was so faint that it seemed impossible to track.
Only if I encountered them again and noticed the aura clinging to them would I be able to confirm they were the same person.

‘I’ll need to avoid Shuri for a while.’

The chaos of this situation would likely erase the aura anyway, but I couldn’t be too careful.
—That’s as far as my thoughts went.

“….”
“….”

My eyes met Perardin Noishurael Duke’s.
My cheeks were covered in kiss marks.

Whoosh!
My face burned as if it were on fire.
I’d completely forgotten about it while dealing with those ridiculous questions about whether he was my father or the Crown Prince.

“S-stop it!”
“Give me your cheek!”
“We’re in front of the Duke Perardin Noishurael!”

The Duke stared at me with an expressionless face, not even blinking.
Standing like this in front of someone who seemed to embody the glaciers of the North—this was truly—

‘Mortifying!’

The kiss demons were adults, so why was I the one feeling embarrassed?

* * *

As if wondering when I’d made such a fuss, the adults finally released me.
A dignified silence settled over the conference hall.
The priests seated around the room maintained composed expressions, their ecclesiastical dignity fully intact.

‘What’s the point of walking upright now?’

Perardin Noishurael Duke spoke to me.

“It seems you’re ready to have a conversation.”
“My apologies, Your Grace.”
“I once inquired at the Artemia Temple about my daughter’s whereabouts. At that time, I received only the answer that it was impossible to locate her through Artemia.”

His words stirred a memory from long ago.
When I had just arrived at the Artemia Temple.
I had seen a carriage bearing the crest of the Perardin Noishurael Duke’s house.

‘The Duke never returned after that. So that’s what the High Priest answered him back then.’

“Circumstances must be different now. A Sacred Maiden has appeared at Artemia, and its standing is incomparable to before.”
“You are too kind.”
“I merely speak the truth. I’ve heard what transpired within the temple.”

So he believed that now he could search for his daughter.
I bowed my head before the Duke could ask further.

“I apologize, Your Grace. I have no immediate means to ascertain the whereabouts of the Duke’s daughter.”

Those brilliant blue eyes fixed upon me with piercing intensity.

“Do you require financial compensation?”
“…!”
“I will provide whatever is needed for prayers to be offered and answers to be received. The cost is of no concern.”
“Your Grace.”
“I have no patience for wasted time.”

The Perardin Noishurael Duke spoke without expression, his face rigid as hardened wax.

“I have already wasted far too much time. Far too much…”
“…”
“Don’t dance around the subject with talk of the temple’s moral integrity. Simply state clearly what you want. Let us resolve this cleanly and swiftly.”

My face hardened into stone.

“Your words overstep, Your Grace.”
“Show respect toward the Sacred Maiden of Artemia.”

The adults protested.
Kaiser and Randel positioned themselves on either side of me, as if shielding me.

But the Duke didn’t even blink.

“Not saying you’ll look into it, or that you’ll try—but immediately declaring it impossible. Isn’t that a typical ploy to drive up the price?”

Perardin Noishurael Duke crossed his legs with casual indifference.

“I’ll pay whatever price you ask, without needing such tricks.”

An arrogance and haughtiness that trampled everything in the world beneath it.
The gaze of a sovereign who had never once stood beneath another from birth, who had only ever ruled—eyes that had never known submission.
Yet somehow, I—

‘…like a wounded beast.’

That was the thought that came to me.

“I was simply speaking the truth. And—.”

I lifted my gaze and met the Duke’s eyes directly.

“You haven’t said a word about Demian.”

The Duke’s eyebrow didn’t twitch even once.

“Don’t you know that Demian and I are quite close? You said you’ve heard everything that happened at the Temple. Everyone there knows about it.”
“….”
“Do you know that Mikhael visited the Temple? Do you know what he did while he was there?”
“….”
“No matter how much he’s been registered into the Ekkelan family, you’re still Mikhael’s biological father.”
“….”
“Why not listen to rumors about your own son instead of gossip about some Sacred Maiden from a temple with no real connections?”

Before I knew it, emotion had welled up inside me, and my words came out sharper than intended.
But it didn’t matter.

“I have also been concerned about the whereabouts of the Duke’s daughter for some time.”
“….”
“For the sake of Demian, Mikhael, and Admiral Ekellan.”
“….”
“Not because the Duke asked how much it would cost.”

I added it casually, but Perardin Noishurael Duke showed no reaction.
I had long since known that he was arrogant enough to disregard the words of others.
But did he lack even emotion?

“I have already made efforts to find the Duke’s daughter, and since I cannot locate her immediately at this time, I apologize.”
“…I was out of line.”

The Duke spoke as though he had not been out of line at all.
Having finished his business, he rose from his seat without delay.

“Since you do not wish to waste time, I trust no escort will be necessary.”

At the High Priest’s cold words, the Duke nodded.
Before leaving the conference hall, the Duke’s gaze lingered on me.

“You have grown considerably.”
“…?”

When I lifted my head in confusion, he had already moved far away.

Had he seen me before?
His words sounded as though he remembered me.
No matter how much I thought about it, I had never met Perardin Noishurael Duke.

* * *

Perardin Noishurael Duke immediately left the main temple building and boarded his carriage.
His Adjutant spoke.

“They say the authority of Sacred Maiden Artemia, backed by the Emperor and Empress, is formidable, yet she is utterly arrogant and presumptuous.”
“….”
“To dare question Your Grace directly with eyes wide open.”

Who would dare to question Perardin Noishurael Duke in such a manner?
Even the Duke’s two sons had never dared to do so.

“…So Demian purged Zaphrez, who was a viscount, and became entangled with Sacred Maiden Artemia, you said.”
“Yes, I reported as much before. It was quite some time ago, though.”

The Duke’s eyes narrowed.

“…Yet that connection has apparently persisted until now.”

Was Demian the sort of child to keep someone at his side?
He was a child incapable of maintaining normal relationships.
Just like Perardin Noishurael Duke himself, that child was twisted as well.

“I haven’t received any reports of Mikhael being connected to Sacred Maiden Artemia.”
“It wasn’t a public matter like purging a viscount….”

The Duke’s gaze turned toward his Adjutant.
The Adjutant did not dare meet those eyes and lowered his head.
He reported what he knew for certain.

“Young Master Mikhael and she appeared quite intimate in the temple. They even shared cotton candy together in the garden….”

Even as he spoke, the Adjutant was uncertain.
Mikhael and cotton candy.
Unless an irritated Mikhael had found it amusing and turned a person into cotton candy.

“I suspect they may have grown close thanks to Admiral Ekellan.”
“You don’t know the exact reason.”
“I will investigate further.”

The Adjutant bowed his head.
Perardin Noishurael Duke had never concerned himself with his sons’ personal relationships.
As members of the ducal house, he merely received brief reports on their conduct.
So the Adjutant had not given it much thought either.

A man without even affection for his own blood.
That was the Duke, as observed by his Adjutant over many years.
It was almost remarkable that he had been searching for the Duke’s daughter for so long.

“But looking at it this way, something does seem suspicious.”
“….”
“How did Sacred Maiden Artemia come to have connections with both Demian and Mikhael?”
“….”
“Neither of them are the type to keep people close. Especially Mikhael… Could this be an intentional approach?”

The Adjutant who had been speaking lifted his head.
Perardin Noishurael Duke gazed out the window, his expression grave as he fell into contemplation.

“Your Grace?”
“…I cannot comprehend it.”
“Yes, it does seem the two young masters somehow—.”
“Why would they do such a thing?”
“Pardon? Such a thing as…?”
“Bringing one’s lips to the cheek.”
“…?”

Did I hear that correctly just now?
For a moment, the Adjutant questioned his own hearing.
Perardin Noishurael Duke’s expression remained cold.

‘Hmm, I must have misheard after all.’

“The cheek seemed to stretch oddly.”

‘Should I see a doctor? This keeps happening.’

“Bringing one’s lips to it wouldn’t erase the aura.”

‘….’

Now he could no longer convince himself he had misheard.
The Adjutant asked carefully.

“…You, you mean… a kiss…?”
“Yes, that.”
“….”

The Adjutant was flabbergasted.
So all this time he’d been lost in thought without answering—

“Truly incomprehensible.”

Was it because of that pouty expression that bothered him?!

* * *

After Perardin Noishurael Duke departed.

“Youngest, from now on, don’t engage with the Duke even if he comes.”
“It seemed like he wouldn’t be coming back anyway?”

I felt a twinge of regret.
Perardin Noishurael Duke was the biggest catch that other temples desperately wanted to snare.
When I could have kept him hooked without letting go, I got irritated in that moment and acted petulant instead.

“No. His eyes suggested he’d be back.”
“The way he looked at our rabbit was anything but ordinary.”
“He gazed at our tiger with such intense desire.”

No, that couldn’t be right.
His eyes held nothing but disdain—as if to say, ‘What kind of arrogant nonsense is this?’
His gaze was so piercing I worried we’d all freeze solid on the spot.

The High Priest spoke.

“I knew Perardin Noishurael Duke had a foul temperament, but not to this degree. He had the mentality of a common thief.”

A thief’s mentality?
I agreed his personality was disagreeable.
But he never asked me to find his daughter for free.
Didn’t he say from the start that he’d pay handsomely?

“How dare he covet my daughter.”
“Our daughter is daddy’s daughter, isn’t she?”
“No, the Duke never coveted me, I’m telling you?”

The fathers gazed at me.

“Coveted her.”
“Completely.”

Good grief, you stubborn fools.
I looked at them with weary eyes.

If they were going to covet anything, it would be the Sacred Maiden’s abilities that could help find our daughter.
But this reaction from them right now….

‘They’re acting like she’s going to steal our daughter away.’

It made no sense.
I should at least hear their reasoning.

“Why do you think that?”
“A father’s intuition.”

Excuse me?

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