Youngest on Top - Chapter 240

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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 240

They say when you’re too flustered, words fail you—and I was living proof of that right now.
After hesitating, I finally approached Shuri’s side.
Shuri lay with his eyes closed, like a sleeping princess in an enchanted forest.

“…Somehow, this really suits him.”

Unlike Ilay, who had delicate, pretty features, Shuri’s face was sharp and strong.
Yet his masculine features oddly complemented the flowers beautifully.
And below that, the firm, smooth….

“No, no, no, no.”

What was I looking at right now?
Startled, I quickly turned my head away.

“….”

Hmm, what color were those flowers again?
This absolutely wasn’t because I was curious about those bulging pectoral muscles and the sharply defined abdominal muscles.
I was just curious about the flowers on top of them.
The flowers aren’t at fault here, right?

I glanced at Shuri—no, the flowers!—I didn’t steal a look, I just looked at them normally.
Hmm.
So that’s the color.
Hmm.

“…Why is he really going around shirtless?”

I suppose his shirt must have torn, so he took it off.
But surely he would have had a spare shirt prepared.
So why didn’t he change into it… into something firm and smooth—no, wait!!

I bolted upright.

“I-I need to call someone to get him dressed right away!”
“Hm….”

As I hurried toward the door, a faint groan reached my ears.
Startled, I rushed back to Shuri’s side.

Shallow lines creased his well-formed forehead.
His face was slightly damp with perspiration.
The way he groaned as if enduring something felt somehow….

‘Get yourself together. I’ve seen Shuri shirtless countless times to seal the curse. There’s no reason to be flustered now….’

Since childhood, I had witnessed it many times to seal the curse.
There was no need to panic.
Compose yourself, me!

“There are no visible wounds…. Has the curse been aggravated?”

Yet the curse’s aura that had once ravaged his skin so brutally was nowhere to be seen.

‘My seal is still intact after all.’

Compared to when I first entered the banquet hall, when strange energy had poured out relentlessly, his condition was now stable.

‘Why was it so unstable just moments ago? Could it really be a psychological issue?’

That Shuri?
Before regression, he possessed such mental fortitude that he could endure the curse alone.

“What on earth could have happened….”

It seemed wise to carefully examine the seal and curse just in case.
The moment my hand touched the curse’s center—

“…!”

Suddenly, Shuri flinched and opened his eyes, pulling my hand away.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince?”
“….”

Despite being called, he turned away and pulled his body back.

“Why are you avoiding—.”

I stopped mid-sentence.

Shuri had just woken from my touch.
With his upper garment completely removed.
And my hand was—

‘Damn it! Of all places, right over his chest…!’

It looked exactly like I had assaulted a sleeping person!

“N-no, wait. This isn’t, I mean, what I’m trying to say—.”
“….”
“I absolutely did not assault Your Highness…. I was merely checking your condition, examining your state….”

I couldn’t mention the seal.

‘Shuri doesn’t know I’m Ricardo!’

Shuri stared at me blankly as I rambled incoherently.
Then he suddenly burst out laughing. “Pfft!”

“Your Highness?”
“I never expected the noble Sacred Maiden to molest someone while they slept.”
“M-molest?!”
“Come to think of it, you groped me quite thoroughly when I was bound before.”
“That was to save you!”
“Because that was broadcast across the entire continent, my marriage prospects have all vanished.”

Shuri sighed pitifully.
It was truly detestable.

“Do you like me that much?”
“…Huh?”
“How much do you like me to do something like this….”
“That’s absolutely not it?!”
“Then you don’t even like me, yet you just fumbled around, teased, and pounced on me?”
“…!!”

Shuri covered his bulging pectoral muscles with one hand.
Of course, it didn’t cover everything.

“Is it only my body that the Sacred Maiden desires?”

Ah….
Should I just hit him?

‘There are no witnesses, so if I just beat him unconscious and pretend I don’t know anything….’

It was a moment when my fist of justice was about to burst into flames.

“You’re quite spirited.”

At Shuri’s muttered words, I lifted my head.

“…?”
“It seems your condition has improved completely.”

I rubbed the back of my neck with a slightly awkward feeling.
His words sounded as if he had been worried about my condition.

‘I thought he didn’t care at all that I collapsed….’

Many people came to visit me while I was ill, but Shuri never came once.
But it wasn’t like that.
He had been thinking of me.

“Of course I’m fine. I easily overcome something like that. More importantly, let me check on Your Highness’s condition first—.”

Feeling awkward, I tried to change the subject, but Shuri avoided my hand.

“…?”
“…It’s better if you don’t touch me.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m cursed.”

Now of all times?

“Holy power and curses are opposites. Have you forgotten?”
“Of course not. That’s exactly why my holy power can weaken your curse.”
“Why haven’t you considered the opposite possibility?”
“…!”

The curse’s power could weaken me instead.
That’s what Shuri was saying.
Under normal circumstances it would be fine, but in my current state—weakened to the point of being unconscious for a fortnight—it was different.

‘Could it be that the reason he hasn’t visited me even once since I collapsed and woke up is….’

The reason he flinched and pulled away the moment my hand touched him—

‘Because he feared it would harm me.’

He was afraid that his presence would become poison in a situation where I needed to recover my holy power.

“….”

I recalled his face, eyes widening with a start.
His body hastily retreating.
The way he regarded himself as unclean, as if he were some kind of pathogen, just by being touched.

How could such a heart exist?
What must he be thinking when he hides and conceals himself, erasing his own presence for another’s sake?

“…Your Majesty is willful, doesn’t listen to others, treats people like strange perverts, and is incredibly stubborn—.”
“….”
“But you’re also incredibly kind.”

Shuri’s eyes wavered.

“And I’m strong.”

I grinned wickedly.

“No matter how powerful Your Majesty’s curse is, I’m stronger. So it doesn’t matter.”

I reached out my hand toward Shuri.
Shuri flinched, but this time he didn’t avoid my touch.
My fingertips slowly made contact with his body.
Of course, I was perfectly fine.

“Right?”

As I asked with a smirk, Shuri stared at me intently.
It was a gaze that was strangely profound.
For some reason, it was difficult to hold that gaze for long, so I turned my head away.

Shuri’s body heat was intense.
His heartbeat transmitted through the skin where we touched.

Why was that?
Suddenly, I recalled something the children had said once.

“The most hopeless unrequited love is having feelings for someone gay.”
“Dragging it out even though you know it can never be.”
“And beyond that, claiming to love someone while not even respecting their preferences.”

I tilted my head at what they all said in unison.

“Is that so? I don’t think unrequited love necessarily means disrespecting someone’s preferences…”

Enrik: The kids are right!

But even my brothers chimed in.

Kailros: Unwanted attention is just violence.

‘That’s not really the right thing to say here, is it?’

Anakin: What do you know anyway?
Anakin: You’ve never even had a crush, let alone been in a relationship.
Anakin: Lol

“…!”

I was frustrated and had nothing to say back.

That’s right.
I’ve lived for over a thousand years….
And not even once….

“Listen carefully, Honeybread. Preferences can’t be overcome. Even if the Sacred Maiden of Artemia keeps getting rejected and only harbors unrequited love, that would be defiling Artemia’s bread!”

“…! That, that can’t be!!”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t care about anything else, but I absolutely cannot defile Artemia’s bread!!”

At my words, the children and brothers became incredibly delighted.

‘…Why did that memory suddenly come to mind?’

I couldn’t understand it.

In any case, even when I examined him through divine power, Shuri’s condition seemed fine.

‘Still, it would be better to meet him in Ricardo’s form and reinforce the seal.’

I still didn’t know why Shuri’s mind was so unsettled.

Just as I was about to withdraw my hand from his body.
Shuri grasped my hand.

“Why did you summon the princes of foreign nations?”

At the sudden question, I tilted my head in confusion.

“Didn’t you already know that?”
“…To find a partner for the Sacred Maiden.”
“Exactly.”

For some reason, Shuri’s expression grew even darker.
Why was he like that?

“Didn’t you come because you wanted to interact with the Elves too?”
“Elves?”
“A partner to attend the Elves’ tea time with. You didn’t come hoping for that?”

Shuri, who had been watching me for a moment, let out a hollow laugh. “Ha.”

“No.”

His beautifully shaped lips curved up crookedly.

“I came to manage things because I was worried those idiots outside would get false hopes wondering what the Sacred Maiden and I are doing taking so long together.”
“That’s—”
“So don’t let other men get the wrong idea.”

Shuri pressed his cheek against my hand.
The gaze he turned up at me was fresh and clear.

“While you like me.”
“….”

Wow.
I marveled.

Was this the famous playboy tactic I’d only heard about?
No interest in women whatsoever, yet maintaining a harem like it was nothing.

‘Is Shuri a bad man?’

As I stared, Shuri furrowed his brow.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m impressed.”

Shuri’s frown deepened.
I shrugged my shoulders.

My certainty that Shuri preferred men wasn’t simply because the children had been chattering about it.
People I trusted—those who knew Shuri better than anyone—had told me so.

“Oh my, little Sacred Maiden! I hear you’re close with Ricardo?”
“Um, well… But when will you stop calling me little?”
“Hehehehe! Once you grow another two meters or so, we’ll stop calling you little! Anyway, please speak well of our master to that fellow, yes?”
“What does Ricardo like besides cookies and pudding and cake?”
“Ricardo doesn’t seem to dislike our master either. Has he said anything about our master?”
“…Wait. What are you all talking about?”

Shuri’s subordinates, of course!
Where could I find a more reliable source of information?

“Your Highness likes Ricardo, I hear.”

In that instant, Shuri paused and looked at me.
It was an expression I’d never seen before.
But the moment our eyes truly met, it vanished.
Like a mirage.

“Yeah.”

Shuri smiled at me.
I was reflected wholly in those beautiful eyes of three-colored light.

“I like him.”

…Huh?

“I said I like him.”

Wait?
Heat rose oddly to my face.
I averted my gaze and said something random.

“I, I see. So Your Highness likes Ricardo…”

Both my cheeks were suddenly grabbed.
Shuri turned my face toward him.

Our eyes met.
I couldn’t escape this time, just as before.
The flower between us bloomed profusely, releasing an even more intoxicating fragrance.

“I love you.”

Shuri spoke.
To me.

* * *

“This is the first time Kaishurit has looked pitiable.”
“I never thought he’d be erased from the list of romantic candidates.”
“After seducing us with all those seductive and despicable tricks, it’s a shame, truly a shame.”

Despite their words, Admiral Ekellan, Demian, and Mikhail’s lips were curled upward.
Perardin Noishurael Duke said nothing, but his good mood was evident.

That was when it happened.

“…What is this?”

Suddenly, a crack appeared in the Duke’s elegant brow.

“My mood just turned foul.”
“It’s not just foul, it’s worse than that.”
“I feel like a dog, sir.”
“Ugh, my stomach feels terrible.”

The four men looked at each other.

“Surely…!”

This was no time to be at ease.
Saelika had just gone to meet Kaishurit, hadn’t she!
Even if Saelika had no ulterior motives, that cunning fox knew no bounds in what he might attempt!

“Blast, how careless of me…!”

The four men burst from the room simultaneously.
As they rushed down the corridor with the urgency of arrows loosed from a bow, they encountered other men moving with equal haste.
The others spotted the four of them and hesitated.

“Randel, Kaiser.”
“Why has someone who wasn’t even invited shown up here?”
“This isn’t the time for such questions.”
“Fair enough.”

There was no need for explanation.
Randel and Kaiser nodded immediately.
They too felt the same sickening sensation.

Together they all raced down the corridor.
And they saw it.

Among the flowers, the fox spirit with his upper garment removed, caressing Saelika’s cheek.

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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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