Youngest on Top - Chapter 231

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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 231

I knew it all along.
I kept telling myself everything was fine, that it was nothing serious, and I desperately wanted to believe those words.

After all, I had found my nephew whom I’d lost for over a decade.
He cared so much about Saelika.
Even if I had to distance myself a little for now, it would be fine soon enough.

Whatever I couldn’t give to Saelika now, I would make up for it then with even greater kindness.
Saelika would understand.
That’s what I thought.

Even though I knew all along that she was being hurt.
I leaned on her tenderness and gentleness.

“I am….”

Admiral Ekellan lowered his head, his face contorted with anguish.
Sinews protruded from his clenched fists.

Then, Perardin Noishurael Duke stepped forward.

“Whatever blame you cast upon me, it is all deserved.”
“….”
“But please, just tell me if that child is safe.”
“….”
“I beg of you.”

Perardin Noishurael Duke bowed respectfully.

“…!”

Not only the Temple Priests who received that bow, but everyone in the stadium gasped in astonishment.

‘The P-Perardin Noishurael Duke is bowing?!’
‘The man who wouldn’t even bow before the Emperor…!’
‘He lowered his head like that just to know if Saelika is safe!’

Sirius Elder, who had been quietly observing Perardin Noishurael Duke, exhaled a short sigh.

“…For now, there is nothing wrong with her body.”

Light flickered in Perardin Noishurael Duke’s eyes.

“However, her sacred power wavelength is unstable in an unusual manner. Therefore, I intend to return to the temple and observe her condition.”
“…Thank you.”

It was a brief greeting, yet brimming with sincerity.
The priests, who had observed him for a moment, turned and departed from the stadium.

Perardin Noishurael Duke remained standing in place until Saelika, cradled in Kaiser’s arms, disappeared from view.
Only when Saelika’s figure had completely vanished from sight.

“What are you doing?”

A voice sharp and cutting as a blade lashed through the space like a whip.

“I distinctly told you to restrain her.”

At those words, the soldiers hastily moved into action.
Shuellina clung to the Duke with pitiful tears streaming down her face.

“F-Father…. Please, please listen to what I have to say.”
“I intend to listen regardless.”
“Then…!”
“Because I have much to say to you.”

Shuellina stiffened as her gaze met the Duke’s.
Eyes of ice-cold blue looked down upon her with a cruelty that was almost unbearable.

* * *

‘What in the world is this….’

I moved my hand.
At that, the incomplete-looking hand before my eyes twitched and writhed.

“Hehe, it seems our little one really does like it.”

The Duchess of Noishurael smiled warmly and placed a bracelet in my hand.
Seeing her, who had died so long ago, standing here so perfectly alive….

‘Time travel? Am I trapped in Reyarsha’s body from the past?’

This was my first experience with something like this, and I felt bewildered.

“Ekku.”

The sound came out like a curse.
I was calling for Enrik.
But there was no response.

“Karung! Anang!”

Neither Kailros nor Anakin answered.
Now that I thought about it, I didn’t have the sacred power I’d accumulated either.

‘Is it because this isn’t my body?’

In the meantime, the Duchess of Noishurael fastened the bracelet around my wrist.

“This bracelet will protect our little princess someday.”

The Duchess of Noishurael, breathing and moving with life, was far more beautiful than the portrait I’d seen.

‘…Well, let’s just observe for now.’

Without sacred power, with no immediate way to return, and unable to speak properly as an infant, I had no choice.

The Duchess carried me directly in her arms as she walked.
It was a beautiful winter forest.
Strangely, it wasn’t cold at all.

With her lithe, willowy frame, carrying the baby seemed effortless for her.
The Duchess spoke to me continuously in a warm and gentle voice.

‘How can such a person exist?’

The word “noblewoman” seemed to have been created for the Duchess.
Her bearing, her voice, her manner of speech.
Every single aspect overflowed with grace and elegance.

Her humming melody was like silk fluttering in the breeze.
It wrapped around me so warmly and gently.

A peaceful and warm afternoon.
Just as I was forgetting my own situation and my eyes were beginning to close.

“Y-Your Highness the Duchess!!”

The urgent cries of the Knights rang out.
The moment my eyes snapped open, what I saw was—

“…!”

A colossal monster the size of a house!

‘C-Could the Duchess have died just like that?!’

The instant that massive monster came crashing down upon us.

Whoooosh!

“Screeeeeech!!”

The colossal monster spun like a pinwheel and went flying.

“?!?!???!”
“My princess was trying to sleep, and you make such a pig-slaughtering noise.”

The Duchess, who had delivered an uppercut to the monster’s jaw, clicked her tongue with a tsk.
Her long skirt fluttered with perfect elegance, like a painting.

“A naughty monster needs to be disciplined.”

With those words, my body lifted effortlessly into the air.

‘A mage?’

My body was forcibly turned, so I couldn’t see the Duchess.
But.

Crack! Snap! Pop!
I couldn’t help but hear the tremendous sound of bones grinding.

She was a mage, but….

‘A physical mage, then.’

How much time had passed?

“Hehe, my dear little princess. Were you having fun flying around? My dear little princess loves to fly, doesn’t she?”

Blood was splattered all over her affectionate, gentle smile.
The leather gloves on the hand she extended to me were completely crimson.

‘…Those were probably white originally.’

“Oh my.”

The Duchess, noticing her hands, extended them toward her maid.
The maid casually handed her a handkerchief and fresh gloves.
Transformed back into an elegant noblewoman, the Duchess lifted me into her arms.
And she played with me, bouncing me up and down.

“Kyaa! Kyaa!”

I laughed as brightly as I could manage, clapping my hands enthusiastically.
Sweat dripped from my eyes.
I had no strength right now.
I was terrified.

“Madam.”
“Oh, you’ve arrived?”

The Duchess greeted the Duke with an air of refined elegance.
Perardin Noishurael Duke appeared to have hurried over upon hearing the news of a monster’s appearance.

“Hehe, do take a look at our youngest. She seems to be in quite a good mood today.”

The Duke, having examined me, blurted out his assessment.

“She’s far too small.”
“You say that every time you see her.”
“But truly, she is remarkably small. Demian and Mikhail were both considerably larger at this age.”

I looked up at the Duke with slightly widened eyes.
I hadn’t expected him to be so courteous to his wife, given his nature.

“Would you like to hold her?”

At those words, the Duke extended his hands toward me.
One could plainly see how incredibly nervous he was.

‘It’s not as though I’m a newborn, so why is he so tense? And it’s not even his first child—he has two older children already.’

“Be careful.”
“I understand.”

Perardin Noishurael Duke, having received me into his arms, held me snugly against his chest.

‘Hmm, this is actually better than I expected.’

That was when it happened.

“No, you can’t hold her like that!!”

At the sharp cry, I startled in surprise.
The one who was even more startled was Perardin Noishurael Duke.

“Are you trying to drop my daughter?! Hold her properly, Ardin!!”
“….”
“More gently! Support her neck completely! Our princess is uncomfortable!”
“Wahhh!”

My crying froze Perardin Noishurael Duke in place.
I hadn’t meant to cry, but my baby body wouldn’t obey me.
The Duchess took me from the Duke’s arms and held me instead.

“There, there. It’s alright, my precious princess.”

Smack, smack, smack.
Soft, delicate kisses like feathers descended upon my cheeks.

The Duke stared blankly at us.
Was it just my imagination, or did he look like a wet raccoon that had been washed?
I was beginning to understand why the Duke seemed so tense.

“Oh dear, our little princess was so frightened. Tears streaming down, weren’t they? Such beautiful eyes shedding tears like that? …Why did you have to hold her so roughly!!”
“…Didn’t you say that for the children’s emotional development, husband and wife should show mutual respect and admiration toward one another?”
“Ah.”

The Duchess paused briefly, then smiled with elegant grace.

“Why did you hold our lovely little princess like she was a sack of grain?”
“….”

Her words had only gotten harsher.
That’s when it happened.

“Mother, Father!”

A bright, youthful voice rang out.
Young Mikhail came running toward us at full speed.
Behind him, young Demian appeared.

“Mother, Father.”

Young Mikhail clung to the Duchess’s skirts.
His upturned face was so impossibly adorable.

“Mother! I found this here!”
“My, how precious.”

I stared at what Mikhail was holding with a somewhat bewildered expression.

‘Isn’t that a monster’s heart?’

It was a bit too grotesque to praise as cute.

“Do you think the little one would like it?”
“Well, since older brother gave it, wouldn’t she like it?”
“…It’s toxic, so the youngest can’t have it.”

Demian let out a short sigh and stopped Mikhail.
What exactly was happening in the North that monsters attacked the Duchess and young princes picked up monster hearts?

“Here.”

Demian pressed something into my hand.
It was a round, glimmering jewel.
Just like an eye candy…

‘Wait.’

Isn’t this a monster’s eye?!

“My, older brother gave you something nice. It’s warm, isn’t it?”

Well, it is warm, but…
This is a monster’s eye!
What on earth is the North doing?

Demian turned his head away with an expressionless face as if asking when he’d given it.
Thinking he’d given it some thought, I reached out toward him.

“Papa!”

Demian looked at me with surprised eyes.

“Did you just call me older brother…?”
“I’m the one you called, right? Yes? Yes?”
“No, you called me father.”

Three men rushed to ask me questions.
Mikhail cried out with a snort.

“Just you wait! I’ll give you something even better!”
“That’s beyond your means.”

While Mikhail and Demian bickered, Perardin Noishurael Duke was already rummaging through the mountains.
Wait, is it really okay for an adult to join in children’s games like that?

I felt a gaze upon me as I stared with a bewildered expression.
The Duchess of Noishurael smiled gracefully and whispered to me.

“Our princess likes the bracelet Mama gave her the best, doesn’t she? Doesn’t she?”
“….”

For some reason, cold sweat broke out on my back.
At the same time.

‘…So this is what the ducal household looked like in the past.’

It was a scene of peace that I could never have imagined now.
My chest ached as if someone had wrung my heart.

* * *

Time passed swiftly.
The fact that time changed every time I blinked contributed to it as well.
It was a warmth and happiness unprecedented in my life, so everything felt swift.

When we went south for rest, the Duchess would persuade the mermaids through gestures (?) to obtain shells and conch shells.

“As our princess grows, I’ll need to make new ones. To protect our little one.”
“Sister, please restrain yourself. Do you know how much of a commotion the mermaids cause after you leave?”
“But it suits your niece so well. A treasure of the sea.”
“…Well, that’s true. Should Uncle find more for you?”

When we all ate snacks together, the Duchess would break cookies in half.

“Our princess gets the biggest piece.”

The small corner piece went to the Duke and his two sons, and to me—he gave me the largest slice in the middle.

Perfect and beautiful, a lovely world.
This is not my past.
This is not my body.
So I must not think of it as mine.

‘I mustn’t dare to covet them as my family.’

But.

“Why is our princess in such a dark place?”
“Mother.”
“Mother understands. Dark places can feel cozy sometimes.”
“….”
“But this place is far too dark. When it’s gloomy, you shouldn’t stay in dark places.”

Every time, Mother would come find me.

“Lesha, come here. This is your place.”

Father would carry me on his shoulders so I could reach the brightest spot.

“Come on, hold onto me. You’ll be fine.”

Whenever I stumbled, Demian would always reach out his hand.

“Eat this without your brother knowing. Understood?”

Mikhail would slip sweet candy into my mouth.
It all felt like it was mine.
They all felt like my family.

But.
That perfect world, which seemed eternal, shattered in an instant.

The Duchess of Noishurael’s death.
That wound left the Perardin Noishurael Duke’s household in ruins.
Mikhail began to rebel, and Demian devoted himself entirely to sword training.
The Perardin Noishurael Duke himself… resembled a demon consumed by vengeance.

Then one day.
I was kidnapped.

“Ugh! How dare this tiny thing!”

Smack!
My head snapped back, and my vision swam.
But I clamped down hard on the kidnapper’s hand and refused to let go.

Yet there were limits to how much a child who could barely speak properly could resist.

‘No. Absolutely not.’

Even as I was struck so hard I could barely breathe, I held on desperately.

‘If Lesha disappears, everything will collapse.’

“What kind of child is this vicious?!”

Now I could understand.
What kind of hell those people must have lived in after Lesha vanished.
What they must have felt when they found her again, false though it was.

I’m not Lesha, but because of her, I’ve had such a wonderfully happy dream.
So.
The reason I came here was probably.

“Damn it! This crazy thing won’t even pass out!”

‘I won’t let it happen that way. Never—’

That was when.

Thump—

Something faint stirred within my body.
Tiny and weak, yet unmistakably present.
The power dwelling inside me.

Thump, thump!
The pulsing grew clearer in response, intensifying with each beat.
It was sacred power.

“Ahhh!”
“Ugh…!”

The sacred power radiating from me struck the kidnappers.
The one holding me released his grip.
I plummeted toward the ground before abruptly stopping mid-fall.

Huh?
That’s strange.

‘Why can I use sacred power?’

This isn’t even my body.
It shouldn’t have been.

‘…Wait?’

* * *

“Why won’t she wake up!”

Chaos surrounded Saelika.

—————
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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