Youngest on Top - Chapter 197

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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 197

“Protagonist, look at what I brought back from Akarakos Island. It’s incredibly sweet and delicious. I’m sure our Protagonist will love it.”

Admiral Ekellan held out a tropical fruit beside me as he spoke.
Immediately, Kaiser snatched his hand away.

“Why don’t you look after your own son instead? I’ll take care of my daughter.”
“Ah, it’s fine. My son will be coming here too.”
“What is this, some kind of group viewing hall? Get out of here right now.”
“Heh, are you really blocking someone’s entry in a temple? Is that allowed?”
“This is not an open area.”
“But I have permission to be here. The Protagonist granted it to me before.”
“Permission you bought with money and power.”
“Thank you for the compliment. That means I’m capable enough to win the Protagonist’s favor, doesn’t it?”

Crackle—!
Electricity sparked from the eyes of both Admiral Ekellan and Kaiser.

‘If they’re going to fight, couldn’t they do it without me in the middle?’

They got along so well in conversation—why did they have to sit me between them?

‘I should escape.’

It seemed like leaving and watching alone would be better in every way.
The moment I sprang up from my seat.

“Where are you going right now…!”

The door opened with Dmitri’s startled voice.
Mikhail grinned widely and winked.

“Heh, it’s more fun watching together.”
“It’s not fun.”
“Really? I find it entertaining. Then you all sit out. I only need the Protagonist anyway.”
“You think we’d hand over our youngest to someone like you?!”

It was absolute chaos.
Ilay, Dmitri, and Edmund blocked Mikhail with visible displeasure.
In that moment—.

“Saelika.”
“…Hello, Demian.”
“May I sit beside you?”

Demian, who had approached without warning, asked me with a cool expression.

“You, you coward—!!”
“Wow, I always thought my brother was boring, but underhanded too?”
“Stay away from our youngest!!”

As if they hadn’t been bickering moments before, Mikhail and my brothers united, shouting in protest.
Hmm, but was it really okay to speak so casually to a duke?
Demian didn’t seem to mind, though.

“Saelika.”

Demian called my name as if pressing for an answer.
The moment I opened my mouth.

“No matter how much I love my niece, I won’t compromise on this!”
“The seat beside my daughter belongs to me.”

Admiral Ekellan and Kaiser simultaneously grabbed me.

‘Wait, I was trying to say I wanted to sit alone….’

But the moment I tried to stand, the force pulling me grew stronger.

“I won’t let you take her!”
“Take her? She was never yours to begin with.”

At this rate, I’d be torn in half!

* * *

After overcoming various obstacles, the broadcast finally began.

‘I’m already exhausted before it even started….’

I missed Randel.

“What? Why isn’t the Protagonist appearing?”
“These operations people have no sense. Even if my daughter just ate for three hours straight, the viewership ratings would be better than this.”
“Oh? Kaiser, for once you’re saying something sensible?”
“I think it’d be more fun watching the Protagonist beat up monsters. She’d probably enjoy killing them all.”
“My daughter doesn’t have such violent tendencies.”
“….”
“….”
“….”

Why did everyone suddenly go quiet there?

The screen, which had been alternating between various seeds, finally showed the 7th Seed.

“As expected, the Protagonist wore the clothes I gave her. You wanted to brag to the whole world that it was the outfit Serge bought, didn’t you?”

Admiral Ekellan spoke with immense pride in his voice.

‘I appeared?’

I searched eagerly and found my figure in the corner, no bigger than a bean.
By the way, I was also wearing the hair ornament the Duke gave me.
If I didn’t, it meant I was picking a fight with the Duke’s household.

As the 7th Seed gradually appeared, I observed Manashell’s reaction.

-Finally the 7th Seed is showing up.
-Looks like they’re not pulling aggro on the 7th Seed this time. It’s showing up midway lolol
-We already saw the entire process with the other seeds so not really curious.
└Yeah the top rankers from the last mission will probably just split 1st and 2nd place anyway..

The starting point selection had already been shown multiple times for each seed, so people weren’t particularly interested.
Instead, people were focused on something else.

-When is that rose-bound man from the preview coming out?
└For real, I’m glued to the broadcast waiting to see the rose-bound man
-Does anyone know who the rose-bound man is? Even with the blur, he was handsome.
└Actually, he’s my husband.
└Your husband is tied up in my bed
└Ugh, you delusional people. There really are strange folks in this world. Right, honey? (watching my husband tied up in our rose garden)

There was far more discussion about the “rose-bound man” than about the actual broadcast content.

‘Well, that preview was no joke.’

The preview had ended with Shuri bound in roses, appearing with blur effects applied.
Meanwhile, the broadcast showed Shuellina yielding her turn to me.

-Shuellina really seems kind. She gave up her spot right away.
-Boring. I was hoping to see them scheming against each other.
-And when asked if Saelika agreed, she nodded right away lololol didn’t hesitate even a second lololol
└lololol she’s so honest and decisive it’s funny lololol
└lol;; isn’t that just lacking in character?
└? The person who entered first has priority anyway. They were joint first place, but Saelika was technically first.
└Ah lol yeah hehe;; your Sae must absolutely get first place hehe;; thanks to Shuellina yielding, she drew number 1 so she’ll get first again this time lol

At that moment.
I shouted on screen.

[Number 30!]

-Huh??
-What??????
-Did she really choose 30?????

Sacred Maiden Saelika truly chose number 30!

-Wait;; didn’t someone post that Saelika chose 30 last time?
-That rumor was true????
-But why really????

The stories of their earlier conflicts had all been buried.
Only questions were rapidly rising to the surface.
Unlike the confused reactions in the Mana Network, those around me nodded in understanding.

“As expected, our Protagonist is clever and brilliant.”
“Hmm, now that I think about it, my daughter used to watch the tactical strategies I devised from my lap when she was young.”
“Saelika, you remembered the monster combat situations we discussed before.”
“The Grand Duke only talked about it. We rolled around and fought together! You chose 30 thinking of those memories with us, right? Right?”
“…Didn’t you just call him the Grand Duke?”
“I said the Grand Duke, didn’t I? Right?”
“Yeah, I heard the Grand Duke too.”
“Grand Duke, you’re still in your prime, but what will you do if your hearing is already failing?”
“Shouldn’t you be going to recuperate somewhere with clear water and fresh air instead of staying here, Grand Duke?”
“You insolent…! How dare you speak of our brother!”

Demian looked at his younger brother with slightly surprised eyes.
He seemed a bit moved.

“Mikhail, you….”
“Sometimes I don’t understand what people are saying, but that’s because it’s boring!! Humans are just boring!!!”
“….”

A brief silence fell.
Ilay muttered softly.

“…It seems normal not to understand Prince Mikhail’s words. Wouldn’t it be dangerous if he actually got praised for being entertaining?”

Well, I agree.
But didn’t Ilay just subtly call him “the Prince” too?
Or not?

The atmosphere in the Mana Network I glimpsed was fine.

And yeah, 7th seed lol, can’t predict how it’ll turn out lolololol
I thought it was a boring reservation, but he pulled off another 7-seed run like thisㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Isn’t it Saelica who’s been hard carrying, not the 7 seed? lol
-Saelika is sincere! She abandoned her ranking for entertainment!!
-Saelika: I don’t care about advertising opportunities. The only thing I care about is entertainment!

‘In reality, I chose number thirty due to my distrust of the editorial department and operations headquarters. But it’s playing out as expected.’

The public’s reaction grew even more intense as the next scene unfolded.
The moment the Sacred Maidens who had chosen favorable early numbers moved forward, they encountered virtual monsters.

[What are we supposed to do if monsters are waiting at the starting point!]
[We must avoid combat at all costs! The hostages are in danger!]
[If we end it with one attack—]
[The moment we attack, the other monsters will enter combat! There are too many monsters!]

-What?????
-What? I thought the early numbers were a blessing, but it was a trap?
-Did Saelika know and choose number thirty?
└Wow, seriously
└Oh, I thought she was only thinking about the broadcast and wasn’t impressed, but now I’m interested. A Sacred Maiden really needs to have skill lol
└We’ll have to see whether she chose it knowingly or just to stand out.

Meanwhile, the virtual monsters, having determined that the hostages’ location had been discovered, began moving the hostages.

[No! The hostages…!]
[Don’t chase them! If you chase them, the hostages will be in danger!! Hide and move carefully!]

As the flustered Sacred Maidens floundered, the crystal screen turned black and subtitles appeared.

What of Sacred Maiden Saelika at that moment?

And the moment the subtitles disappeared, someone’s image appeared on the screen.
Not my image—.
It was Shuri, buried beneath rose vines!

-Huh?
-What is this?
-?????????
-Why is the Crown Prince here???!?!?

[Please save me, Sacred Maiden.]

Shuri spoke.
With both his hands bound above him by rose vines.

-Insane
-Why are you trying to seduce me?
-Does anyone know where the operations headquarters is? Go there right now and prostrate yourself if you have to.
└I’m going in all four directions first anyway.
-Thank you, thank you, thank you
-The Empire’s welfare system is insane. I’m applying for immigration to the Empire

‘No matter how many times I watch it, it’s truly breathtaking direction.’

But it was less than the real thing.
I could feel all the effects applied and the editing done with utmost effort.
Yet it still couldn’t fully capture Shuri’s true presence.

That’s when it happened.

Rumble—
A sound of the earth trembling came from somewhere.

“That bastard….”

Is this what a voice flowing from the depths of hell sounds like?
I felt like I was suffocating from the sinister aura.

‘This wasn’t the time to check the mana network response!’

I jumped to my feet.
And I delivered an absolutely brilliant performance.

“Ugh~ I’m so hungry~!! Let’s go out and eat something. Oh my, I’m absolutely starving?”

Just as I was about to turn off the viewing stone naturally.
I lost my balance on the screen and fell.
Into Shuri’s arms.

“….”
“….”
“….”

A tremendous silence pressed down upon the room for a moment.
And then—

Crack! Crash! Crackle!
An ominous sound erupted from somewhere.
The furnishings in the room trembled uneasily.
As if heralding some calamity.

“Hey, everyone calm down—.”

BOOM!!!!
The lounge exploded with a deafening roar.

“How dare you touch my Protagonist…!!”
“Ah, that’s crossing the line?”
“I’ve always heard that the Crown Prince’s misconduct knows no bounds.”
“That bastard dared to lay hands on our youngest, what? Our youngest, what? Our youngest….”
“How dare you, my daughter, on top of, on top of, on top of….”

Kaiser and my temple brothers couldn’t form coherent words.

‘Strictly speaking, I was the one who fell on top of Shuri….”

Shuri had been bound and lying down, and I simply tumbled over him.
But if I corrected them now, things would only get worse.

That was when it happened.
Shuri lowered his bound hands.
Because our bodies were pressed together, it created the image of him embracing me.

‘What do I do? Shuri probably just lowered his hands because holding them up was uncomfortable, but if they misunderstand….’

I glanced nervously around, but surprisingly, there was little reaction.
Even the furnishings that had been trembling and crackling moments before fell silent.
In the now-quiet lounge.
Kaiser spoke with a composed expression.

“I need to step out for a moment.”

With that, I picked up my sword.

‘Phew, it seems he’s regained his senses.’

Wait, a sword?!

“W-where are you going?!”
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Where are you going, I asked.”

Kaiser smiled and stroked my head.

“It’s nothing much. I’m just going to kill the Crown Prince real quick.”

Excuse me?
Treason?!

“That’s a splendid idea. Let’s do it together.”

Admiral Ekellan grinned wickedly as he approached Kaiser.
That wasn’t all.

“Heh, that sounds like it’d be incredibly fun.”
“Everything Mikhail finds amusing has been absolutely insane… but this time, I agree with him.”

What are you all saying?
That’s literally the most insane thing your brother has ever done!

“Wait.”

Edmund stopped Demian and Mikhail with the elegant and restrained demeanor befitting a high nobleman.

‘Thank goodness.’

I really didn’t raise my children wrong after all.
Dmitri spoke to the two with a stern expression.

“Let us join in! The crime of coveting our youngest must be paid for with death.”
“We need to show what happens when you lay a hand on someone else’s youngest.”

Even Roana chimed in from the side.
It was the first time my children had shown such favorable (?) attitudes toward Demian and Mikhail.
It was good that their relationship had improved.
But—

‘Why are they getting along while plotting treason?!’

I turned my gaze toward Ilay.
Ilay was my last hope.
Meeting my eyes, Ilay opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“Hmm, poison would be most reliable, but you should probably give it up, right?”
“…?”
“I want to beat him up a bit. Let’s just kill him by beating him to death instead.”

Good grief!

* * *

The Emperor’s Palace.
The Emperor set down his wine glass with a sharp clang.

“What did you just say?”

The Emperor fixed the other person with a hardened gaze.

“Perardin Noishurael Duke.”

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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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