Youngest on Top - Chapter 196

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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 196

* * *

Saelika’s lips parted in a daze.
Ripples disturbed the clear blue eyes that were always serene and composed.

Kaishurit felt a peculiar satisfaction upon seeing that expression.
It was strange.
Most people wore such a face when they encountered him.
Yet it had never meant anything to Kaishurit.
Rather, he had only felt disgust.

But this young woman’s reaction was somehow—.

“Help me, Sacred Maiden,” he whispered, as if urging her on.

Saelika flinched, then leaned closer to him.
As if enchanted.
Her pale, delicate hands moved to untangle the rose bushes wound around his hand.
The problem was that Kaishurit was buried beneath the roses, not solid ground.

Thud!
The moment she put her weight down, she lost her balance in an instant.
Saelika’s body collapsed toward Kaishurit.

“…!”

His firm chest caught her soft, supple body with ease.
Between the suffocatingly rich fragrance of roses, a cold and bitter scent like a winter forest brushed past her.
Saelika inhaled sharply without realizing it.

“Sacred Maiden….”

A low voice whispered against my ear.
Hot breath rolled across my earlobe, scorching the tip of my ear.
Kaishurit lowered his hands, bound together by rose vines.
His crossed arms settled naturally(?) behind Saelika’s back.
In an instant, the two of them found themselves in an embrace atop the rose bushes.

“….”

Close enough to feel each other’s body heat completely.
Both their breaths caught.

Golden eyes gleaming with crimson and azure light gazed upon Saelika.
The dense lashes that hung above them were dizzying.
A beautiful face that defied even the word “perfect” filled her entire vision.

Kaishurit detected the faintest tremor beginning to bloom across Saelika’s face.
So subtle and fragile that it seemed it would vanish the moment she realized he’d noticed—
Yet now that he’d perceived it, it was undeniably, irrefutably real.

Watching it unfold, his throat grew strangely parched.
A savage impulse surged from deep within his belly—to expose every detail and push this young woman down right here.
Yet simultaneously, he wanted to silently observe the turmoil slowly, but unmistakably, blooming within her.

The moment his throat bobbed as the thirst consumed him.
The tremor blooming across Saelika’s face became vivid and clear.
Her blue eyes, fixed upon Kaishurit, trembled faintly.
Her rosy lips parted as if she could no longer contain her emotions.
Her voice spilled forth along with heated breath.

“Are you in your right mind….”

‘That’s right, all this staging was worth it… what?’

Kaishurit stared at Saelika’s face.
Had he misheard?

“…You seem to have lost your mind.”
“…?!??!”

Saelika was staring at me with a look of obvious disturbance—as if questioning whether I’d lost my mind.

* * *

I was utterly speechless.

‘Are the operations team out of their minds?!’

Did the censors approve this?

‘On a broadcast the entire nation is watching, how could they air something this provocative….’

I found myself looking down at Shuri, who was pinned beneath me(?), anew.
With his clothes torn away, lying in the vibrant rose bushes, Shuri was truly… provocative.

‘Yeah, he really is provocative.’

Dizzying, alluring, sexy—there was no other word for it but provocative.

‘If I weren’t accustomed to our Artemia’s flawless beauty, this would have certainly been a disaster.’

A situation requiring complete editing due to censorship might have occurred.
No, it might have required halting the mission itself rather than just editing.

‘No matter how much you want to grab attention, how could they broadcast such a provocative and sensational scene like this….’

I should have realized it when they issued that absurd fake mission to kill each other.

‘Shuri definitely would have said he absolutely hated this kind of insane direction. Yet they forced this shameless act upon someone who refused!’

It was obvious without even looking.
A powerful Sacred Maiden is born when people’s attention is captured.
At those words, Shuri must have semi-forcibly accepted this situation.

‘There’s no way Shuri would voluntarily do something like this out of madness. It’s not like he’s trying to seduce women.’

In any case, Shuri is subtly sincere, which is the problem.
But even so, this was really too much.
I raised(?) a child who was practically dying(?) when he was young.

‘Shuri is so abstemious and modest! He hates exposing his body like this!’

Shuri was reluctant to undress even in front of Ricardo, his peer and same-sex friend.
When he did undress, he only did so when they were alone together, without his retainers present.

‘…It’s because of the curse marks, though.’

Thinking about it, I couldn’t just sit idle like this.
The curse no longer covered his skin as visibly as it once did.
Just one area.
The curse’s pattern was inscribed only around his heart.
It was thanks to the final seal I had performed with Kailros’s power.

‘Still, there’s no way Shuri would be comfortable with this situation.’

I needed to resolve this hostage mission quickly.
I fidgeted and moved my body.
Shuri frowned, apparently uncomfortable.

“Bear with it a little longer, even if it’s uncomfortable. I’ll rescue you soon.”
“No, that’s fine, so please stop….”

Ah, his clothes were torn, so he was worried the curse marks around his heart might show.

“Don’t worry.”

I reassured Shuri and covered his chest with my body as I moved.

“Ugh….”

Shuri frowned and turned his head away from me.

‘He really is uncomfortable, isn’t he.’

I tried to untangle the rose vines quickly, but there were limits to what I could do.
Since we were on top of the rose bushes, my balance kept shifting with every movement.
On top of that, Shuri and I were pressed directly against each other face-to-face.
Moreover, with Shuri’s arms behind my back, I had to untangle the vines without even seeing them.

‘Who tied me up like this?’

This wasn’t tied—it was tangled.
It took a while before I finally freed myself from the vines.

“Done!”

At last, I was free.
As I pushed myself up, I noticed something odd about Shuri.

‘Why does his face look like that…’

He clenched his jaw so tightly that the tendons in his neck stood out, his gaze fixed elsewhere.
His earlobes and cheeks were flushed crimson.

“Are you alright?”

At my words, Shuri turned to look at me.
His gem-like eyes were filled with something that resembled resentment.

“…?”

But in that instant, the expression vanished without a trace.
In its place came a peculiar glint.
Something that resembled vengeance…

Shuri rose languidly from the rose bushes and approached me.

“Thank you for saving me, Sacred Maiden. I’m so glad you came.”

Long, elegant fingers brushed against my cheek and the nape of my neck.
Those fingers slipped across my pale skin and gently removed a rose petal caught in my hair.
Shuri smiled wickedly.

“I was truly frightened.”

The eyes gazing down at me were filled with regal arrogance.
A face strong, proud, and beautiful.
The inherent authority of a born ruler.

A man of such stature, who made no effort to conceal his presence and authority, speaking of fear like this….

“…Are you joking?”

Damn those operations headquarters bastards.
Even if the mission is a hostage situation, this is too much.

‘What kind of acting are they making the Crown Prince do?’

Shuri was truly impressive.
He performed the act of being afraid with a face that showed no fear whatsoever, and it wasn’t the least bit repulsive.
If anything, it was even more captivating.

‘You’ve grown well, Shuri. If it weren’t for me, we’d have really had another censored incident.’

For some reason, Shuri was looking at me with an incredulous expression.
I took off the jacket I was wearing and gave it to him.

“Wear this at least. The size won’t fit properly, but it’s better than nothing.”
“….”

Now that Shuri had the face of a proper man, his shoulders were far broader than mine and his chest much larger, so even draping the jacket was awkward.
Still, I made every effort to cover as much of his exposed body as possible.

“Let me see.”

I examined Shuri’s body.
I was bothered by the torn clothing, whether from the monster’s attack or the staging.

‘Surely they didn’t actually wound the Crown Prince’s body….’

“Did you actually wound the kid?!”

But that was indeed reality.
Seeing the wounds on Shuri’s body, I was genuinely furious.

‘When I become the High Priestess, I won’t let those operations headquarters bastards off easy.’

They undressed him, bound him, made him perform strange acts, and now they’ve wounded him too?!

* * *

A soft hand brushed against my wrist.
Warm energy seeped into my body alongside it.

“Those terrible people… no matter how important the viewership ratings are, they shouldn’t have wounded you like this…”

Saelika murmured as she examined the wound on Kaishurit’s wrist.
Kaishurit let out a hollow laugh.
What was so serious about a scratch from rose thorns?
But.

“….”

It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.
Most of these wounds were actually caused by Saelika herself as she fumbled about trying to untangle the vines.
The operations headquarters had removed all the thorns from every rose, just in case the Crown Prince might get hurt.
But it was Kaishurit himself who had deliberately replaced them all with roses that still had their thorns.

In any case, the rose that he thought had failed was now fulfilling its purpose in its own way.

After finishing the healing of my wrist, Saelika carefully examined me for any other wounds.
Her warm and gentle touch felt quite pleasant.

Then something entered Kaishurit’s field of vision.
His left hand moved at a speed invisible to the eye.

“…?”

Saelika, sensing something suspicious, turned to look behind her.
But there was nothing there.

“What’s wrong?”
“No, I just felt a presence from behind a moment ago… didn’t Your Highness sense it?”
“I sensed nothing.”
“Is that so?”

Saelika tilted her head in confusion.

‘That’s strange… Well, if Shuri couldn’t sense it, there probably wasn’t anything there.’

I tried to heighten my senses once more, but there was certainly no sign of anything.

‘Did I overreact?’

Saelika shrugged and refocused on examining Kaishurit’s body.
After that, I occasionally felt something, but whenever I turned around, there was nothing.

“…?”
“What’s wrong?”
“…It’s nothing.”

What is this? Strange.
By then, the wound inspection was complete.

‘Good.’

Saelika nodded and spoke to Kaishurit.

“I’ll escort you to a safe area, Your Highness. This vicinity is dangerous with monsters, so don’t stray from me—.”

Saelika stopped mid-sentence and stared at Kaishurit.
He asked as if wondering why she was looking at him that way.

“…? Didn’t you tell me not to stray from you?”
“…I didn’t tell you to hold me.”
“Ah.”

Kaishurit nodded, but he didn’t move his body.

“Your Highness.”
“Yes, Sacred Maiden.”
“You need to put me down.”
“Oh.”

Only then did Kaishurit set Saelika down.
Saelika regarded Kaishurit with a suspicious gaze, but soon accepted it.

‘Then again, when would Shuri have ever needed rescuing? If anything, it’d be the opposite.’

It seemed he must have carried someone in a princess hold when saving them.

‘…Though I equally can’t imagine Shuri saving anyone.’

Saelika paused.

‘Wait. If Shuri carried someone in a princess hold while saving them, that would actually look quite good.’

Saelika gazed at the Crown Prince.

‘Then should I carry Shuri in a princess hold?’

Honestly, Kaishurit would probably hate it immensely.
But.

‘If it’s for becoming a Grand Sacred Maiden and being of help to Artemia…!’

Saelika had made her resolve.

* * *

After the third mission concluded.

“Master.”

Kaishurit frowned at the sight of his retainer calling out to him.
His retainers were grinning from ear to ear, clearly amused about something.

“How does it feel to have been seduced instead of seducing?”
“Honestly, we were shocked. We never expected you to look someone in the face that closely and ask, ‘Are you in your right mind?'”
“Since she was so blatant about it, you got angry asking, ‘Is this a joke?'”
“Sacred Maiden Artemia truly is remarkable, isn’t she!”

Guffaw!
His retainers burst out laughing loudly.

“It seems Master truly dislikes her. The performance itself was captivating enough to make anyone fall for her at first glance.”
“How much must he dislike her to get so angry even when Master tried to charm her with his face?”
“How does it feel to be rejected by a woman for the first time in your life?”
“Nonsense.”

Kaishurit coldly dismissed his retainers’ words.

“But it’s not nonsense—he was joking about whether Master had lost his mind, and he said to Master— Ugh! Ugh ugh!”
“Shut your mouth already.”
“You have to know when to speak and when to stay silent. If you’re going to die, die alone!”

The other retainers covered the mouth of the one who couldn’t read the room.
Then they laughed nervously and rubbed their palms together toward Kaishurit.

“Ha ha, we were just joking. We failed to charm Sacred Maiden Artemia, but that doesn’t mean Master was charmed either, does it?”
“Yes, yes, that’s right. Master isn’t someone who would be swayed so easily.”
“You were executing a strategy to keep the Sacred Maiden close and monitor her, weren’t you?”
“You all seem to have plenty of free time. I see you have time to spout nonsense.”
“Oh, no!”
“We’re incredibly busy!”
“We’ll be going!”

At Kaishurit’s words, the retainers scattered in panic and rushed outside.
One of them reached toward Saelika’s jacket.

“Then I’ll send this jacket to the Sacred Maiden right away—.”

Crash!

“…?!”

The retainer’s eyes bulged as his wrist nearly flew off from reaching out like that.

“M-Master?”
“Don’t touch it. Get out.”
“Yes, yes!”

The retainers scrambled outside in a rush.
Once outside, the retainers whispered among themselves.

“Is the Master actually charmed by the Sacred Maiden? He won’t even let anyone touch his jacket?”
“Why would that be? He’s using the jacket to monitor the Sacred Maiden more closely.”
“But he was monitoring her because she resembled that Ricardo fellow, yet he hasn’t even searched for Ricardo in years now.”
“That doesn’t mean the Master actually has feelings for someone.”
“Right, true.”
“I see.”

The retainers nodded in agreement.
Though they often joked carelessly, they knew their master better than anyone else.
A man of ice and stone, devoid of human emotion—a cold-blooded being.

‘Even Ricardo, the only one he ever cared for, has been erased from his mind now.’

The Sacred Maiden of Artemia was clearly nothing more than a seedling of the Grand Priestess—something to be used and discarded.

* * *

A few days later, the broadcast date for the third mission.
Even after rescuing a special hostage, it was natural to worry about how the editing would turn out.
But I sat on the sofa with far more anxiety than usual.

‘I understand everyone’s paying attention to my broadcast. It’s all good. It’s good, but—.’

I looked around my surroundings.

‘Why are all these people here together?!’

Of all missions, it had to be the one where Shuri appeared!

—————
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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