Youngest on Top - Chapter 235

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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 235

* * *

“You found your family.”

Ilay’s words landed on my chest like a stone.
My lips remained frozen, unable to move.

That was when it happened.
The door opened with a knock.
I turned my head, feeling a wave of relief wash over me.

“Sae.”

The ones who entered were Randel and Kaiser.
But both of their expressions were rigid.

“What’s wrong?”
“…Perardin Noishurael Duke and Admiral Ekellan have arrived. Demian and Mikhael as well.”

Kaiser answered.
Randel, seeing my face, gently stroked my head with affection.

“You don’t have to meet them if you don’t want to, Sae.”
“But they’ve come all this way. If we don’t meet them, surely the temple will face disadvantages—”

Randel squeezed my hand firmly.
Meeting my eyes, he spoke calmly.

“You don’t need to worry about that. You know that already, don’t you?”
“…”
“There’s a more important issue at stake.”
“It’s not unimportant. The temple—”
“My daughter’s heart matters more than the temple.”

Kaiser cut off my words abruptly.
Randel nodded in agreement and spoke.

“Sae, you’ve never run away. No matter what problem arose, you always faced it head-on and broke through it.”
“….”
“…No matter what happens to your body.”

Those jade-green eyes swept across my body with painful intensity.
Randel must still be dwelling on the past.
He must still see that small version of me, huddled and burned by flames.

It was nothing, really.
And yet I’ve grown so much since then.

“If you want to run, then run. If you want to hide, then hide.”
“I’ll be here in front of you.”
“Dad….”

Randel and Kaiser pulled me into their embrace.
It was warm and comforting.
Like standing on solid ground beneath my feet.
I truly loved being held in these strong arms that wrapped around me.
And because of that.

“Yes, thank you!”

I lifted my head up sharply.
I could lift it.

“I need to meet them.”

Because I have fathers like these.

“This is something I must face head-on.”

Randel smiled bitterly.

“I knew you’d say that, Sae.”
“That’s the kind of child you are.”
“But if you get annoyed, don’t hold back—strike them in the solar plexus.”
“A full-force kick to the groin would work nicely too.”
“….”

I stared at the two of them with an incredulous expression.
Is it really appropriate to teach someone this?

“Well, it’s something you’re naturally good at anyway.”

Ilay shrugged as he spoke.

“Good at it? I’m a nonviolent pacifist. How much I love peace.”
“….”
“….”
“….”

I felt my face burning under the gaze of three people.
The chat window of the brothers appearing before me was even more chaotic.

“…I simply employ more efficient methods to achieve peace more quickly, that’s all.”

Ilay burst out laughing.

“Well, if our nonviolent pacifist friend here starts crying and complaining, I’ll lend you my shoulder.”

That was certainly reassuring to hear.

* * *

When I arrived at the reception hall, four people were already waiting.
I smoothed out my skirt and bent my knees in a curtsy.

“Good day, Your Grace, Admiral.”

I merely nodded to Demian and Mikhail.
This was because Perardin Noishurael Duke’s presence was overwhelming.
His face, far colder than usual, regarded me with stern severity.

“You’ve arrived. Then let us begin.”

My body tensed involuntarily under the pressure.
I swallowed hard.

“Fifteen years ago, on the 5th day of March in Imperial Year 1113. It was when I left the ducal castle for a military campaign. My daughter disappeared from my castle… Reyarsha vanished. I received word and returned immediately, but I was in a communication-dead zone, so the return itself was delayed. When I arrived, I received a report that the pursuit had failed. However, we discovered a powerful residue of divine power in the border regions of the duchy. Along with traces presumed to be from combat with the kidnappers. Based on this, I centered my investigation on the temple—”

My mouth fell open as the lengthy briefing continued.

“—and as a result of reinvestigating the orphanage where you spent time, we discovered that the highest-tier magic—brainwashing spells, memory manipulation spells, distortion magic—had been layered five times over…”
“No, no, no, no!”

Admiral Ekellan cut off the Duke’s words, flailing his arms.
The Duke frowned and looked at the Admiral.
The Admiral let out a sharp cry.

“You can’t do it that way!!!”
“See, that’s exactly why I left home.”

At Mikhail’s murmur, the Duke flinched.
His expression remained blank, but he seemed wounded by Mikhail’s unfilial remark.

“…What’s the problem?”
“What’s the problem, you ask…? Wow, I knew it was serious, but not to this extent.”
“Lesha— …Saelika is denying that I am her biological father.”

Huh?
I looked at the Duke in surprise.

“Last time, I said we should verify things properly first. Since the verification isn’t perfect either, we need to confirm everything we can. Shouldn’t we first establish the facts accurately and clearly, demonstrating that this is an absolute, unchangeable truth and a causal chain without contradiction?”
“…”
“That way, Saelika will at least accept the evidence and, after careful consideration, acknowledge that the biological relationship between us is an undeniable fact.”
“…”
“That’s how she’ll come to accept it.”
“…”

The room fell silent.
Demian nodded calmly and looked at the Duke with admiring eyes.
Seeing that, Admiral Ekellan spoke with an exasperated expression.

“No, absolutely not.”
“Then what should we do? Do you have a better method, you brat?”

At the Perardin Noishurael Duke’s question, Admiral Ekellan opened his mouth, then closed it again.
And he squeezed my hand tightly.

“I’m sorry, Saelika.”

The Admiral smiled as he always did.
Or rather, he tried to smile.
The moment his violet eyes met mine, his face contorted.
His lips, unable to form a smile, trembled faintly.

“…I’m sorry.”

It was a brief utterance.
Yet that strained voice revealed his heart, his emotions, his thoughts.
How relentlessly this endlessly composed, playful, and cunning man must have tormented himself.

It was the moment Admiral Ekellan brought his trembling hand to my cheek.

“Saelika.”

The Perardin Noishurael Duke called my name.
A callused hand, rough and hardened, gripped my shoulder firmly.
It was entirely different from the gentle, careful touch of Admiral Ekellan.

The eyes that gazed upon me were the same.
Completely different from the violet eyes that had glistened with sorrow.
His blue eyes burned with an intensity like roaring flames as they fixed upon me.

Soon the Duke’s lips parted.

“I’m sorry.”
“…”
“For leaving you behind and failing to recognize you. For taking so long to find you. For leaving you lonely.”
“…”
“For hurting you when I should have protected you, for causing you suffering, for making you endure pain you need never have known.”
“…”
“I’m sorry.”

The Perardin Noishurael Duke’s blue eyes wavered in the most peculiar way.
They resembled brilliant azure flames burning at their most intense, yet simultaneously appeared as though trapped within glacial ice, drained of all warmth.

As I gazed steadily into those eyes, the hand gripping my shoulder tightened with considerable force.

“That alone was insufficient, so I wounded you again. It matters not if you cannot forgive me. Even if you despise me, I—”
“Are you really my father?”

At my question, the Duke halted like a broken doll.
After a long moment, he slowly nodded his head.

“…Yes.”

His voice trembled like the surface of disturbed water.
Quivering breath.
A grip so tense the veins stood prominent, as though terrified of losing me.

The man who stood as immovable as a mountain now held his breath like a fragile creature at my words.
Yet he could not tear his gaze from me—

“Are you truly my father?”
“Yes.”

The Perardin Noishurael Duke embraced me.

“You are my daughter.”

Ah.

My chest felt as though seized by a cramp.
My heart lurched downward in an oddly violent manner.
Simultaneously, that hollow space seemed to flood with something.
Something impossibly warm and tender, yet tingling—a strange sensation altogether.

Without thinking, I placed my hand over my heart.
I had never felt anything like this before.
Yet I could understand it.
I was now—

“Saelika, Reyarsha. Whatever else you might be called.”

Perhaps.

“You are my daughter.”

That was what brought me joy.

“….”

Admiral Ekellan was wrong.
I didn’t want to hear an apology.
I simply wanted—

“I am your father. My daughter.”

Those words were enough.
Just those words alone.
Everything….

“Father.”
“…Yes.”

Perardin Noishurael Duke pulled me into a tight embrace.
His arms were so very firm.
The hands holding me were clumsy and uncertain.
Everything felt unfamiliar.

Yet it was the same.
Just as when he held me in the distant past.

“Ugh, sob….”

Tears came unexpectedly.
His hand patting my back was still clumsy.
I could feel the Duke’s restless uncertainty.
Like that distant past, when I had burst into tears in his arms.

“Waaaahhhhh!”

I couldn’t overcome the surging emotions and wept openly, my voice breaking.
Before long, my own shoulders began to grow damp with tears.

* * *

Sniff.
Mogen dabbed at his eyes with a rabbit handkerchief, poking gently at the corners.

“Damn it! Why is it raining!”

Dmitri roughly rubbed his eyes with his fists.

“It’s clear skies. What rain? Drop the tough act.”

Edmund regarded Dmitri with a look of contempt.
Yet Edmund’s own nose was bright red.

How could the temple people simply stand idle when Saelika was meeting with Perardin Noishurael Duke?

“If you hurt our precious little one again, we won’t let it slide!”
“We’ll tear everything apart!!”

Shouting like a gang of thugs, they all came rushing with fierce determination burning in their eyes.

At first,
“Who does she think she is claiming custody rights?!”
they raged wildly, but as they heard Saelika’s words, they gradually fell silent.
They understood what she was feeling.
They had shared everything together, and knowing it all, they couldn’t bring themselves to speak carelessly.

How much time had passed?
The firmly closed door cracked open slightly.
Everyone lifted their heads, their eyes fixed on the half-open door.

Saelika emerged hesitantly from inside.
Her nose was bright red.
Seeing her like this, the temple people felt their hearts melting with anguish.

‘Our precious youngest’s tears!!’
‘Our youngest’s tears are holy water!!’

“Um, there.”

Saelika hesitated in a way unlike herself.
The temple staff gazed at her with faces full of things they wanted to say.
They wanted to tell her to throw away those bastards who made her cry right now, but no one could open their mouth.
The High Priest stepped forward.

“Go and return.”
“…!”

Saelika looked at the High Priest with astonished eyes.
It was the face of someone wondering how he knew what she wanted to say.

“Go and return. We will wait for you.”
“…Yes!”

Saelika nodded vigorously and smiled.
At that peaceful smile, the High Priest’s expression softened.

There was much that displeased him, but this would suffice.
If Saelika could smile like this.

‘…Still, I must set things straight. No matter if he’s her biological father, if he makes our little rumble-boom cry again, I won’t let it slide!’
‘Father won’t let it slide!’
‘Uncle won’t let it slide!’
‘Older brother won’t let it slide!’
‘Older sister won’t let it slide!’

The High Priest and the priests, along with the clergy, burned quietly with resolve.

* * *

Perardin Noishurael Duke gazed at Saelika with eyes of disbelief.
Saelika, Reyarsha, his daughter was home.
It felt as though his house had finally become a home.

“Blink your eyes a little.”

Admiral Ekellan whispered from beside me.
Even hearing those words, I couldn’t blink.
I was afraid that if I closed my eyes, she would disappear.

“This place….”

Saelika looked around the room.
The nursery remained frozen in time, as if it had stopped long ago.

Saelika stood there for a long while, surveying every corner.
Her demeanor was starkly different from Shuellina’s.
Her eyes didn’t shine with emotion or wonder.
She didn’t run her hands over objects with longing.
She didn’t embrace the doll she once loved.
She simply—.

“Are you an idiot?”

Her eyes blazing red, she glared at the Duke.

“Why are you pathetically keeping something like this as it is?”
“Saelika.”
“How pitiful.”
“….”
“You’re an idiot. A real idiot.”
“….”
“I can’t even use this place now that I’ve returned. How much did you regret, ache, and grieve? Like an idiot.”
“….”

In this room, Saelika saw the Duke’s wounds.
She saw his hunched back.
She saw his aching heart.

Perardin Noishurael Duke closed his eyes tightly as he watched the weeping child.
He understood why his heart couldn’t accept it, no matter how much Shuellina proved it.
He understood why the doubt never faded.

‘Because you existed.’

If I had never seen you, if I had never known you.
I would have thought it was a daughter, that you were a daughter.

‘Because I already knew you.’

Because I had already seen you.
You took root deep within my heart without my knowing.

‘My heart has known since then that you are my daughter.’

Only because you existed.

—————
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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