Youngest on Top - Chapter 241

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 241

And a whispered voice.

“I like you.”

The six men, frozen by such a horrifying(?) sight, snapped back to attention at those words.

“W-what are you doing right now?!”
“Get away from my daughter this instant!!”
“This audacious fox…!”

Kwaaaaaang—!!
A sharply honed aura, fierce flames of mana, and powerful holy magic converged upon Kaishurit simultaneously.
However.

Boom!
A massive holy barrier materialized before them, blocking the assault.
The six men hastily twisted their attacks upon seeing the figure standing behind the barrier.

“Sae!”

Saelika was shielding Kaishurit, cradling him protectively.
Mikhail, who had hastily extinguished his flames in shock, rushed forward in alarm.

“That was close!”
“Why would you do something so reckless? What if the Crown Prince were injured?”
“…!”

Her words struck like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.

‘Is… is Sae really protecting that scoundrel?’
‘From us?!’
‘And she’s blaming us!’
‘Simply because that vixen might have been hurt!!’

Seeing them tremble in shock, Kaishurit’s lips curved into a subtle smile.
Then, as if to flaunt it, he leaned his body against Saelika.

“Ugh….”
“What’s wrong, Your Highness?”
“I’m feeling dizzy….”
“Is it from the wave?”

Saelika placed her hand on Kaishurit’s well-defined pectoral muscles to examine him.
The fathers and older brothers who witnessed this sight felt their eyes nearly roll back into their heads.

‘That cunning vixen is now resorting to seduction with her body…!’
‘Does she have no shame?! Even as the Crown Prince of the Empire, he should maintain his dignity!’
‘She’s willing to cast aside all propriety and clothing just to seduce the Protagonist!’
‘Well, come to think of it, she’s been seducing with her body all along. We should have recognized it from the start.’

It was an eternal regret that they hadn’t removed that cunning and audacious Shuri long ago.
Kaiser spoke through gritted teeth.

“There’s no need to examine him like that. He’s just being dramatic.”
“Dramatic, you say?”
“Sae, you know how strong the Crown Prince is. He wasn’t even attacked—there’s no way his body would be harmed by just a wave.”
“No, Father Randel. His Highness is quite fragile.”
“…What?”
“Fra…gile?”
“Of course His Highness is strong. But his durability isn’t good. He’s always getting injured, falling ill, and collapsing…. He’s so delicate and frail.”
“….”
“….”
“….”

Six pairs of eyes turned toward Kaishurit simultaneously.
His body, sculpted as perfectly as a statue, was so firm that even a blade seemed unable to pierce it.
And the power contained within it—what of that?

Yet fragile?
Delicate and frail?
Who exactly?

Yet Saelika seemed to genuinely believe this.
And there was indeed reason to support her claim.

‘That madman. Using a curse to seduce Sae instead.’
‘And it’s not even an ordinary curse. He’s truly insane.’
‘He’s completely unhinged.’

Yet Perardin Noishurael Duke showed no retreat, even to a lunatic.
I had only just found my daughter—I absolutely had to protect her.

“Then I shall handle the nursing myself. I cannot leave you alone with that reckless— Crown Prince Shuri.”
“Why not?”

Saelika tilted her head in confusion.
The Empire was not such a rigid society that it would condemn an unmarried man and woman for being alone together.

“Did I not just say something terrible to you that I could barely bring myself to utter?”

The Duke could not bring himself to say “I like you.”
Saelika offered a bitter smile.

“You did say something to me, but you said you liked someone else.”
“What?”
“Is that really true!”
“You really said you liked someone else?”
“Yes.”

Saelika nodded obediently.

‘What? That atmosphere just now was clearly….’

It was unsettling, but Saelika was not a child who would lie about such matters.
It must surely be the truth.
And yet….

‘Why is that cunning fox smiling so leisurely?’
‘And the Protagonist’s cheeks are flushed red like an apple…?’

There were more than a few things that bothered me.
But since she said she liked someone else, I had nothing to say.
I could only glare at the reckless Crown Prince Shuri with displeasure.

Kaishurit, receiving that gaze, whispered leisurely to Saelika.

“Sacred Maiden, I’m thirsty.”
“Oh, here’s some water.”

Saelika quickly offered him the water cup from the side table.
Kaishurit pretended to accept it, then suddenly went limp in his wrist.
Startled, Saelika gripped the cup firmly.

“This won’t do. Let me help you drink. Here, lean on me.”

Saelika had Kaishurit lean against her, then brought the cup to his lips.
That alone was enough to make the fathers and brothers feel as though their insides were burning, but it didn’t end there.
They had witnessed it.
Kaishurit’s gaze drifting toward Saelika’s lips!

‘Why is he looking at her lips while she’s giving him water! What was he hoping for?’
‘That bastard…!’

His intentions were far too impure and improper.
But if they let even a hint of their killing intent leak out, Saelika might chase them away, so they held back with all their might.

‘It seems this isn’t the time for us to fight among ourselves.’
‘Right. First, we need to protect our innocent daughter from that brigand’s hands.’

The fathers exchanged glances with one another.
It was the moment an unprecedented temporary alliance was formed.
Then it happened.

“But why did Randel and Kaiser come here?”
“…We ran into a friend on the way and just came along together.”
“That’s not what you promised. You said you wouldn’t come today if I wore the dress and hair ornament you picked out for me.”
“….”
“….”

The gazes of Perardin Noishurael Duke and Admiral Ekellan turned toward Randel and Kaiser.

‘So it was you two interfering that made her not wear the dress I gave her!’
‘I can’t believe I was about to form an alliance with these fools!’

Thus, the unprecedented alliance shattered the moment it was formed.

* * *

Inside the Grand Sacred Maiden Selection Operations Center.
A loud alarm blared as red warning signals began cascading endlessly across the panel.
Everyone stared at the panel in shock.

“This cannot be…! The barrier stone has shattered!”
“Calm yourself. This was inevitable once the calamity was foreseen.”
“But it’s happening much faster than anticipated!”

The Head of Department fell silent for a moment before asking.

“What about public interest levels?”
“Fortunately, they’ve skyrocketed this time.”
Following the false Perardin Noishurael Duke incident, the revelation that Sacred Maiden Saelika is the true duchess made a tremendous impact.”
“The Perardin Noishurael Duke story was already famous long before, after all…”
“And with foreign princes joining in, the flames burned even higher.”
“A scandal of the century is an all-time major event, after all.”

The Head of Department nodded.

“Sacred Maiden Saelika is certainly reaping the benefits.”
“At this rate, shouldn’t Sacred Maiden Saelika become the Grand Sacred Maiden, defying our initial predictions?”

Emily bit her lip at Philip’s words.
Ted whispered to her.

“Don’t worry. The barrier stone has shattered. Now the real trials begin. Only a true Sacred Maiden will survive. Not some chaff who merely drew attention through secret births and rumors.”
“…You’re right. And the one who achieved the greatest accomplishment in those real trials is our Amelia.”

During those years when Saelika had been in seclusion.
The Sacred Maiden who purified the most contaminated regions and saved the most people was Amelia.
Emily spoke with a much improved expression.

“Actually, this works out well. We should do our best to help Amelia demonstrate her greatest abilities.”
“…Yes, we should.”

Ted smiled.

* * *

The next day.
Artemian Temple Institutional Branch.
I was in the midst of putting the children through their paces.

“Sacred Maiden Saelika.”

Someone arrived from the Head of Department’s operations office.
To deliver a mission card.
The children rushed over to my side in a flurry.

“So they delivered the mission card first….”
“Does this mean it’s finally our turn to step forward?”

The children gazed at the mission card with tense expressions.
I opened the mission card without hesitation.

Whoosh!
A bright light erupted from the card, and an image materialized.

[You must have anticipated this the moment you received this card. Yes, that’s right, Sacred Maiden. The time has finally come to face the calamity. This is real combat!]

The announcer’s voice boomed out.

[Please, lead your priests and prevent the onset of this calamity!]

Summarizing the mission objectives, it was straightforward.

1. Barrier stones that had been containing the strange miasma shattered simultaneously.
2. Purify the affected areas.
3. Plant the World Tree branch we recovered from the previous mission into the broken barrier stones.

“They installed the barrier stones in the first place because it was a dangerous zone, but for them to shatter like this….”
“This won’t be easy.”

I turned to the children and asked.

“So you’re scared?”
“Of course not.”
“We can only prove our skills if it’s difficult, right?”
“Besides, compared to the training grounds, this would be heaven….”
“Yeah, just seeing the training ground floor makes my stomach churn now. I’ve rolled around on it so much.”

The children who had been so confident suddenly looked haggard.
Edmund spoke up.

“But deciding the results by vote? Why not just let the temple that plants the most branches win.”
“What matters most to the Sacred Maiden is the support of the people.”
“With me, Dmitri, participating, don’t worry about the vote! Everyone will vote for us when they see me!”
“Oh, you’re truly our leader!”

As the children chattered away, Ilay whispered to me.

“Amelia’s side will definitely make a move. She’s been the unshakeable number one in support ratings, but this mission threatens to change that.”
“I know.”
“There are several of Parmanase’s people planted in the operations department, so there’s a good chance they’ll tamper with the mission composition.”
“Well, Parmanase isn’t the only one who’s placed people.”

I chuckled softly and examined the envelope containing the mission cards.
Inside was a small note.
One that began with ‘To the Angel—’.

* * *

A few days later.
A departure ceremony was held at the stadium.

“A departure ceremony….”
“No way. We absolutely cannot send our Sae. What if she gets hurt in combat!!”
“We can’t let even a fingertip get injured!”
“…It seems like the monsters will be the ones getting crushed, not Sae getting hurt….”
“Well, that’s true, but….”
“Still, we can’t send her!!!”

The young girls holding placards cheering for Saelika fell silent mid-chatter.

“W-what is that?”
“Weren’t we supposed to go to our stadium? Why is there a different building….”
“Wait, the building is correct though…?”

The girls stared at the enormous structure(?) before them with bewildered expressions.
Images of Saelika were continuously displayed across the building.

Saelika battling the virtual monsters that had been broadcast.
Saelika assisting the other Sacred Maidens.
Saelika shyly waving her hand toward the people who had cheered for her.
Saelika eating a meal.
Saelika sticking out her tongue after eating something spicy.
Saelika looking delighted while eating dessert.
And….

“Oh? That’s the Duke.”
“The Duke and Sacred Maiden Saelika?”

Saelika spending intimate moments with Perardin Noishurael Duke.

“Demian and Mikhael appear too!”
“And Admiral Ekellan.”

A scene unfolded of them sharing a warm tea time in a beautiful garden.
Saelika, surrounded by the four men, smiled radiantly.
And then text appeared.

We support my daughter, my sister, my niece.
Father, brother, uncle—the most beautiful words in the world.
No matter who tries to interfere, family is a bond that can never be severed.

“….”
“….”
“….”

There was something subtly manic in the choice of words.
The girls stared blankly at the building constructed from crystal display stones.
A media façade like this.
I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.
This is probably the first of its kind in the entire world.

Passersby were equally overwhelmed, standing in stunned silence.
Boys wearing shirts with Amelia’s photograph on them let out snorts of derision.

“Pfft, hah! Showing off how rich you are? What kind of wasteful spending is this….”
“When I think about what they did for the fake one before, I figured they’d do even more this time….”
“Isn’t this going way too far? Saelika’s fathers never know when to stop.”

The girls’ eyes blazed with fury at the boys’ words.

“Going too far? If you’re jealous, just say you’re jealous.”
“What? Are you talking to us?”
“Oh my, did we strike a nerve?”
“Tsk tsk. You’re all just sore losers. Saelika’s only popular with girls anyway. Amelia’s the one who’s popular with boys.”
“That means Amelia’s not popular with girls!!”

Sparks flew between the boys and girls.
The girls turned away first with a sharp motion.

“Just wait! We’ll see whose cheering section has more people!”
“Hah, threats like that don’t scare us one bit.”

Before the opening ceremony even began, the fandoms were already igniting.

* * *

‘…Am I insane?’

I gazed at the crystal display board visible in the distance with an expression of utter disbelief.
Or should I even call it a display board?
They’d constructed a temporary building and surrounded its outer walls with crystal display screens.

“Indeed, you are the Perardin Noishurael Duke.”
“You show your affection for your daughter without reservation.”
“It’s on a completely different level from the fake one.”
“I heard the inside of the building is incredible too? The scale of the tribute is beyond imagination….”

The Sacred Maidens who had been chattering beside Shuellina last time now flocked to me.

“Like bats.”
“Last time they looked down on me saying I was lowborn.”

When Nelije and Dolores spoke up openly, the Sacred Maidens’ faces flushed crimson and they retreated.
I shrugged my shoulders.
I had no intention of criticizing them for such a sudden change in attitude.
They were doing it for their respective temples anyway.

Then, Amelia approached me.

“Congratulations, Saelika.”
“Amelia.”
“An overnight rise in status. It’s not even a novel that commoners read—I was truly shocked. I had no idea you were a daughter of the Noishurael house.”

Amelia smiled sweetly, but something felt different from usual.
Her eyes weren’t smiling—.

I stared at Amelia and asked.

“Why, are you upset?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————