Youngest on Top - Chapter 274

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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 274

* * *

The day of the banquet.
The Erillaus Altar.
Countless people attended to celebrate the birth of the Grand Sacred Maiden—members of the imperial family, great nobles, and prominent figures of society.
All were distinguished individuals, but among them stood a few particularly special beings.
The Dragon-kin and the Elves.

“You have no idea how long I’ve dreamed of this day.”

Princess Terese spoke to Saelika with an enraptured expression.

“I’ve wished and wished for Sae to become the Grand Sacred Maiden, but to actually attend the celebration banquet myself…!”
“Of course we had to invite you, Princess Terese.”
“Ahhhhh…!”

Princess Terese sighed and swayed slightly.
Tarasius, standing beside her, caught his weary-looking sister.
Saelika spoke to Tarasius.

“Thank you for helping during the Demon attack last time. I’m sure you didn’t want to meddle in external affairs.”
“We Dragon-kin do not meddle in external affairs… but the tea you served me at the Artemia Temple was so delicious.”

Tarasius chuckled.

“To taste that tea you offered once more, I had no choice but to lend a hand.”
“I had no idea my tea was worth so much. I’ll arrange another gathering for you sometime.”

Saelika smiled brightly.

‘My, my?’

Princess Terese pressed her lips together firmly to keep her gums from showing as she kept grinning.

‘Brother’s quite something, isn’t he? Making plans to meet separately so naturally!’

He’d always pretended to be dragged along by me, but he was quite the schemer.

‘Now that I think about it….’
‘

Princess Terese glanced around before asking.

“Sacred Maiden Saelika, where is your partner?”
“I’m not sure?”

Sacred Maiden Saelika tilted her head in confusion.

‘Now that my brother—’

Hehehehe,
It was then that Princess Terese let out a sinister chuckle.

“Shouldn’t we settle the prior agreement before making arrangements with the Dragon-kin?”

Nemus, King of the Elves who had approached without warning, bowed respectfully as he spoke to Sacred Maiden Saelika.
A refreshing forest scent wafted from him.

“Oh, that’s right.”
“Oh, that’s right?”

One of Nemus’s eyebrows rose.
To forget a meeting with him as casually as unwrapping candy.
Even the rulers of various nations were desperate to forge some connection with him.

“I was joking.”

Sacred Maiden Saelika broke into a bright smile.
Seeing that face, a gentle smile naturally bloomed across Nemus’s features as well.

“You certainly know how to pick things up and put them down.”
”
Can someone like you even be picked up and put down?
”

Nemus smiled without answering.

‘I can hear it. Too well, actually, which is the problem.’

“Your Highness Nemus, I was grateful that day too. Thanks to you, we were able to suppress the Demons effectively.”
“…I simply did what was necessary. I promised to stand with you, after all.”

There was something resonant in those words.
Saelika tilted her head in confusion, but Nemus offered no further explanation.

A warm, convivial atmosphere suffused the banquet hall.
Yet there was one person who did not belong to that mood.

‘Hmph, quite the spectacle.’

Beatrix gazed around while sipping her champagne.
The banquet hall was equipped with magical broadcast devices throughout.
Moreover, crystal screens displayed the broadcast like decorative fixtures.

On the largest crystal, Saelika’s face shone brightly, laughing among the Dragon-kin and Elves.
Beatrix let out a quiet chuckle.

‘I wonder how she’d feel, falling into ruin while being broadcast live not just to those here, but to the entire world.’

Though truthfully, Saelika’s feelings hardly mattered.
What mattered was—.

‘Our Amelia blooming brilliantly, nourished by your downfall.’

In that moment.
The warm atmosphere shattered instantly.

“H-How did you…?!”

Voices of shock echoed through the hall.
Beatrix turned her head, savoring her satisfaction.

‘Now it begins.’

But the commotion unfolded differently than Beatrix had anticipated.

“Is… is that really Prince Roiland?”

Not at all.

* * *

The Emperor was the most shocked of all.
He stared at his son with a rigid expression, seeing him for the first time in years.

‘I wondered if he might not recognize me, but that was needless worry.’

The Emperor recognized his son immediately.
His expression was peculiar.
Delighted, yet guilty, and simultaneously furious….
An expression that would not seem strange if he suddenly cried out, “Seize that man at once!”

Then Roiland stepped forward.

“Father.”
“…!”
“It has been a long time.”

The shockwave caused by Roiland’s words was tremendous.

“Father?”
“Could it be that His Majesty has a hidden child….”
“No, that cannot be.”
“It cannot?”
“Look at that face—it bears a striking resemblance to Princess Grizelda.”
“…!”

Shock swept across the faces of those gathered.
The great nobles knew that Prince Roiland had been undergoing special “recuperation.”

“Is it really him…?”
“H-how is he here…?!”
“I-is that really Prince Roiland?”
“No, but just now— didn’t he not speak….”
“Silence! Do you want to be executed!”

The commotion subsided.
Roiland spoke with a clear tone.

“I have come forward because I have something to tell you.”

Beatrix watched with a deflated expression.

‘So the prince abandoned by his father intends to publicly condemn him.’

It was fortunate timing, as the broadcast was being transmitted across the entire continent.
It was good that this would cast a shadow over the party for Sacred Maiden Saelika.
But this wasn’t the spectacle Beatrix had been waiting for.
The moment she turned her head with a loss of interest—

“The Parmanase Temple has placed a curse upon the direct imperial bloodline!”
“…!”
“…!”

A shock rippled through the banquet hall.
Beatrix slowly turned her head, her face frozen.
Prince Roiland was staring directly at her.

“It was that woman!”

All eyes turned toward Beatrix at once.
The glittering broadcast artifacts followed suit.

Beatrix’s crimson lips curved into a smile.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean.”
“I have been unable to speak for the past several years.”
“Y-Your Majesty!”

Roiland confessed his shameful secrets with a calm demeanor, and the people around him bowed their heads in bewilderment.
Yet the confession did not end there.

“Because I witnessed my mother… I witnessed my mother placing a curse upon the Crown Prince.”
“…!”
“…!”

The past of Roiland that Saelika had once glimpsed.
Kaishurit, who had pretended not to see Roiland.
And the shadow that had loomed before the young Kaishurit.

The master of that shadow was none other than the mother of Roiland and Grizelda!

It was a fact so shocking it bordered on horrifying.

“A… a curse upon the Crown Prince…?”
“And by Empress Seres at that?!”

Roiland’s confession continued.

Young Roiland had snuck in, intending to surprise his mother.
Instead, he witnessed the terrible crime she was committing.

His mother, who had cast a horrific curse upon his half-brother for his sake.
Yet even in such circumstances, his half-brother had shielded him.
The mother he had resented wasted away and died as the price of the curse.

It was too much for a child to bear.
So Roiland fell silent.

“My brother collapsed immediately after being cursed, but I saw it.”
“….”
“After the curse ended, a figure emerged from behind the hidden wall. That person was—.”

Roiland’s finger pointed to one person.

“The Temple Priest of Parmanase Temple, Beatrix!”
“This is slander!”

Beatrix cried out sharply at once.
But her mind was turbulent.

‘Roiland Prince was there at that time…?’

I had no idea.
Roiland Prince had lost his voice around that time, but I thought it was because of his mother’s death.
If I had known…

‘I would have killed him then!’

A murderous glint flashed across Beatrix’s pupils.
But it was only for an instant.

“Our Parmanase has always served the people! Why would I curse the Crown Prince? This is offensive and unjust.”

Her demeanor was utterly confident.
Saelika regarded Beatrix with an astounded expression.

‘In a sense, it is slander, though.’

A different meaning than Beatrix’s claim.

‘Shuri wasn’t cursed by Beatrix’s curse.’

To be precise, he was cursed.
But Shuri bore an even greater curse.
The curse Behemoth had placed as the price of their contract.
That curse was so ferocious it devoured not only Shuri’s mind and soul, but even other curses.

‘It’s not unreasonable for Beatrix, unaware of that fact, to think she had succeeded.’

Behemoth’s purpose was not to kill Shuri.
So when he was a weak newborn, the curse wasn’t strong enough to be visibly apparent.
As his body grew stronger, it gradually became more manifest.

‘Always just enough to not die, inflicting the worst suffering.’

Beatrix had mistaken the curse beginning to manifest for her own success.

The Nobles spoke with reluctant expressions.

“But… frankly, right now Amelia, the Sacred Maiden of Parmanase, is detained on charges of colluding with Demons.”
“Saying that the Parmanase Temple has always served faithfully won’t change anything…”
“Honestly, it’s unlikely Amelia acted alone in such a matter.”
“How can you cite a case that hasn’t even been properly judged yet? I’ve said this repeatedly—it’s a false accusation.”

The Emperor remained silent amid the clamor of the banquet hall.
He had said nothing since Roiland’s appearance.
Saelika gazed at the Emperor with a worried expression.

‘…The Emperor’s judgment is crucial here.’

Not knowing what Empress Seres had done.
Confining his shocked son in isolation.
It was all the Emperor’s shame.

‘To pursue Beatrix, he would have to acknowledge all of it.’

Would the Emperor truly admit it?
Soon, the Emperor’s lips parted.

“…Why would my son slander the Parmanase Temple?”
“…!”
“Beatrix, you said the Parmanase Temple had no reason to curse the Crown Prince. Then what of my son?”

The Emperor’s gaze pierced sharply toward Beatrix.

“Does my son have reason to slander the Parmanase Temple?”

Beatrix was taken aback.

‘I never expected the Emperor to acknowledge his own shame and take Roiland Prince’s side!’

Beatrix knew the Emperor’s nature well.
He usually laughed carelessly and threw around trivial jests, but one must not be deceived by that facade.
He was a ruthless and cruel sovereign who had conducted massive purges immediately upon his ascension.

“…The Prince would have no such reason, Your Majesty. However…”

Beatrix’s gaze shifted away from the Emperor, turning elsewhere.

“Is Princess Grizelda not different?”
“What?”
“Does anyone not know that Princess Grizelda cherishes Sacred Maiden Saelika?”
“Beatrix! First you insult the Crown Prince, and now the Princess as well? You must think before you speak!”

The Emperor spoke sharply, his face flushed with anger.
Saelika stepped forward.

“May I explain the reason Beatrix could not speak?”
“What?”

Beatrix let out a rueful laugh, but the Emperor nodded.

“Speak.”
“During the years I ceased public activities, I tracked the tainted energy spreading across the continent. That is when I encountered the heretical sect.”
“….”
“When monsters attacked a village, the heretical sect members did not touch a single person.”

The villagers at that time had cried out that they should have believed in the heretical sect instead of a useless temple that offered no aid.
Had I and Priest Artemia not saved the village, all of them would have fallen under the sect’s sway.

“Monsters selectively attacked people? That’s impossible. By nature, they are hostile to humans….”
“Yes, monsters are hostile to humans. But they did not attack the heretical sect members. What does this mean?”

I spoke with conviction.

“The monsters already knew from that moment. That those heretical sect members would become Demons!”
“…!”

A moment of silence.
Then a great uproar erupted, drowning out that silence entirely.

“Is that truly the case? The heretical sect members became Demons?!”
“Behind that heretical sect lies the Parmanase Temple.”
“…!”
“Parmanase has been creating Demons through the heretical sect!”

The Emperor’s gaze turned toward Beatrix.

“Is it true?”

Beatrix smiled with an enigmatic expression.

“It is true.”
“…!”

In that instant.
The crystal display screens adorning all four sides began crackling to life simultaneously.

“What, what is this?”
“Why all of a sudden….”

And what appeared were people fleeing from monsters.

“M-monsters?!”
“Monsters are attacking residential areas!”
“Look over there! What do we do…!”

A man carrying two children stumbled as the crowd surged forward.
Just as the monster’s sharp claws descended to slash through the man and children simultaneously.

Clang!
Someone blocked the monster’s path.

“A…Demon?”

It was indeed a Demon.
Such scenes unfolded in countless places.

“The Demons are saving people!”
“Why are the Demons….”

The people stared at the display screens with bewildered expressions.
Beatrix smiled with a knowing smirk.

‘It’s all thanks to you, Saelika.’

I had originally expected an urgent report about Monster attacks to arrive first.
But thanks to Crown Prince Roiland’s accusation, an even better stage had been created instead.

‘I’ve underestimated that thieving rat more than once, only to get blindsided. This should teach me a lesson.’

Though I had dismissed it as mere vanity, Saelika would never simply throw a party without purpose.
So she had prepared.

‘Even this is merely entertainment.’

Beatrix cried out.

“Humanity has evolved and progressed. But at some point, we stagnated. That’s why we’re helpless when facing Monsters.”

All eyes turned toward Beatrix.

“It’s because the Gods above are blocking it all. Why?”

Her crimson lips moved with cunning.

“Because humanity must remain weak.”
“…!”
“That’s absurd….”

The crowd murmured, but Beatrix continued unimpeded.

“If humanity is weak, they will rely on the Gods and pray.”
“….”
“They will offer vast fortunes to the temples and obey the temples’ commands!”

Silence filled the banquet hall.
Confusion was written across everyone’s faces.

“So?”

Saelika spoke with a cold expression.

“Are you saying we should become monsters?”
“Monsters, you say.”

Beatrix laughed.

“Does that look like a monster to you?”

The Demons filled the crystal display screen.
Helping people escape.
Standing against monsters to save people.

It was different from before, when they attacked people without reason.
The Demons were acting with clear intellect.
Like humans.

That was when it happened.

“Still the same, I see.”

A soft yet refreshing voice resonated through the banquet hall.
At the familiar voice, everyone’s gaze turned toward one place.

“If something doesn’t suit your fancy, you frame them regardless.”
“….”
“How long will you keep acting so despicably?”

It was Amelia.

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