Youngest on Top - Chapter 288

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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 288

The moment I saw that face, my heart lurched.
It was a face I had seen before.
On Perardin Noishurael Duke.

Back then, I didn’t understand why he wore such an expression.
But now I do.
An hour spent with Ardin’s Father had revealed the reason to me.

Because he cherished me.
Because I was precious to him.
Because he loved me.

So perhaps I was mistaken.
Perhaps I was overstepping with such presumptuous thoughts.

‘Could it be that Artemia also—.’

I clenched my fists tightly.
The moments I had just witnessed, the memories I had lost, gave me strength.
Most of all—

‘I don’t want to see Artemia wearing such a sorrowful expression.’

I gathered my courage.

“Ah, Father…?”

Contrary to my resolve, my voice trembled pitifully.
Yet my voice clearly reached Artemia.

…Because the sorrow vanished from her face.

* * *

Seeing Artemia’s expression, Saelika turned deathly pale.
She hastily prostrated herself and begged for forgiveness.

“I’m s-sorry. I wouldn’t dare—.”

Whoosh!
In that instant, warm and firm arms pulled Saelika into an embrace.
Saelika’s words died on her lips.

A gentle and tender fragrance enveloped Saelika.
The scent of Artemia.

“My daughter, always so brave and strong.”

The whisper touched her ear softly.
As Saelika carefully lifted her head, Artemia gazed down at her.
With eyes of profound tenderness.

“You are always greater than I.”
“….”
“Every time, you are the first to reach out your hand to me.”

Artemia gently brushed back a strand of Saelika’s hair with careful fingers.

“Even while fearing rejection, even while bracing yourself for heartache, you do it for me.”
“….”
“I wish you could be a little more selfish.”

Hearing such words for the first time in her life, Saelika blinked.

‘I’ve only ever been told I’m selfish.’

Her brothers said so, the other angels said so, the other gods said so.
What of the Temple family?
Even Dmitri himself had called her selfish more than once.

“But I think I’m already quite selfish enough?”
“You?”

Artemia looked at Saelika as though she were hearing the strangest thing.
Then, as if understanding, she nodded and spoke.

“Saelika is such a kind child, so that’s probably what she thinks.”
“….”

Saelika rarely felt a pang of conscience.
Soon, a calm and tender voice settled upon her ears.

“Thank you for calling me Father.”
“….”
“Thank you for acknowledging someone as flawed as me as your father.”

The whispered voice carried a hint of moisture within it.
Yet Artemia was smiling.

“I’m sorry. For leaving you alone all that time.”
“….”
“I’m inadequate, and I hurt you. I made you think such things….”

The image of Saelika, trembling and cowering like a frightened animal.
That image was still vivid in my mind.
To wear such an expression the moment she learned she was the daughter of a god.
Someone like me, she had said.

“Never again… never speak such words again.”
“But because of me, Artemia….”

Artemia had descended from the Creator’s seat of her own volition for the sake of order across all realms, becoming a god.
And having become a god, Artemia herself was equally bound by the application of that order.

By nature, gods have no children.
In other words, Saelika’s very existence as Artemia’s child had tarnished Artemia’s divine essence.

The greater problem was if Saelika’s existence became known.
Just as Parmanase had done, there would surely appear gods who sought to kill Saelika and steal her power.
If another god obtained that power, it would be fatal to Artemia.

‘In the end, I am nothing but Artemia’s weakness and flaw from birth….’

I understood why Asquiel had been so angry.
Asquiel must have wanted to say that the child should be unmade, reduced to nothing.

‘Even I think it would be better if someone like me didn’t exist—.’

“Did I not tell you?”

Artemia’s voice cut through Saelika’s thoughts.
When I lifted my head, eyes of the same azure blue as Saelika’s gazed steadily at me.

“You have always been my joy.”
“….”

Only then did Saelika grasp the true meaning of those words.
Despite all her flaws, Saelika was nothing but joy to Artemia.
Because she loved her.

Artemia cradled her daughter and lowered her voice.
As if sharing a secret.

“Saelika, the truth is, I did not descend from the Creator’s throne for the sake of this world’s order.”

It was true that I had staked my own soul to establish that order.
Yet the fundamental reason lay elsewhere.

“I was omniscient and omnipotent, yet I felt something was lacking within myself.”
“….”
“So I created so many things, hoping they would fill that void within me.”
“….”
“But as time passed, that emptiness only grew stronger. I decided to set myself aside and become a god, wondering if mingling with others might change things.”
“….”
“But it was not so.”

Artemia gently caressed her daughter’s cheek.

“It was because you were absent that I remained incomplete.”

It was a confession more poignant than any words could convey.
Saelika’s eyes trembled.

“My beloved daughter. You alone have made me whole.”

‘Oh.’

“So you are not my weakness or my flaw.”

‘How does Artemia always know what I’m thinking?’

“You are my everything.”

Hot tears streamed down my cheeks.
I tried to hold them back, but I couldn’t contain them.
Even when I opened my lips, the words wouldn’t come out properly.
Emotions burst forth before I could speak.

“Th-then I—.”

A childlike hiccup escaped me.
Saelika, her face a mess, sniffled as she asked.

“Is it… is it okay if I’m Artemia’s daughter? *hiccup*”

Large hands wiped away my tears.
Again and again.

“You have been my one and only daughter since the moment you were born.”

With tender yet resolute words.

* * *

Father and daughter spoke for a long time, bridging years of separation.

“It wasn’t confinement?!”

Saelika asked in surprise.
Artemia cooled her swollen eyes with divine essence as she spoke.

“I don’t understand why you thought it was confinement in the first place.”
“Well, it’s because I… had a bit of an accident? You could say. Somehow, by chance, I happened to break all the wings of Parmanase’s angels, shattered their teeth, and gave them nosebleeds…”

Even as Saelika spoke, her cheeks flushed a vivid crimson.
She felt embarrassed by what kind of coincidence could possibly produce such a result.
Yet Artemia simply nodded quietly.

“As you say, it was merely an accident that occurred by chance. Why would I punish you for such a thing?”
“…”
“Parmanase made quite a fuss back then. Children naturally grow through fighting, yet he turned away so quickly.”

A memory of Artemia from moments ago flashed through Saelika’s mind.

‘Wasn’t there a god who fell completely asleep because she scolded me?’

Moreover, it turned out the reason the Divine War had occurred was because the Demon Realm’s prince had proposed to Saelika.

“You remember when you scraped off all the hair on Parmanase’s statue, don’t you?”
“Y-you remembered that?!”

Saelika had a track record of turning all of Parmanase’s statues throughout the Heavenly Realm into bald ones.

“It seems he held onto that incident all this time. How petty.”

Artemia clicked her tongue and genuinely expressed her indignation.

“My daughter graced his statues with her superior aesthetic sense and resculpted them. He should be grateful instead of being so audacious toward my daughter!”
“…”

Saelika gazed at Artemia with wavering eyes.

‘Was Artemia always like this?’

Receiving Saelika’s gaze, Artemia cleared her throat and spoke in a dignified voice.

“In any case, sending you to the mortal realm was absolutely not a punishment.”
“Then what was it?”
“Parmanase’s very nature is disagreeable and gloomy—once suspicion takes root, he cannot easily shake it off.”

Artemia continued speaking, casually defaming Parmanase’s divine status.

“Your frequent clashes with Parmanase’s angels were his doing as well.”

It was Parmanase, suspicious of Saelika, who had his subordinate angels continue to provoke her.

“Of course, I wasn’t certain she was my daughter just because of the seal placed on her. But I thought that even if she weren’t my daughter, she would be something special.”

Parmanase was, after all, a high-ranking deity.
His intuition was sharp.

“So I sent you to the mortal realm.”
“To protect me from Parmanase’s grasp?”

Deities cannot directly intervene in the mortal realm.

“That too.”

Artemia continued speaking.

“But the greatest reason was to break the seal placed on you.”

The seal that Kaishurit, the founding Emperor, had cast by wagering his own divinity.
To break that seal and restore Saelika’s original power.

“Now that you’ve grown old enough to control your own strength, unlike when you were young.”
“My power….”

Saelika felt the immense power surging within her.
It was the power that had been welling up ever since her complete awakening at the Erilaus Altar.

Parmanase must have only then discovered Saelika’s true identity.

‘It wasn’t a punishment.’

I had always thought I was paying the price for my sins, being a worthless creature who only tarnished the name of the Sacred Maiden.
But it wasn’t.

Being born in the mortal realm was the Sacred Maiden’s arrangement for Saelika.
An arrangement to restore her daughter’s original position once she had matured.

The fact that no Sacred Maiden had appeared at the Artemisia Temple for two generations was all for that arrangement.
Because sacrifice was necessary to send such a powerful soul down to the mortal realm.

‘As the Sacred Maiden’s absence weakens the Church’s influence, Artemia’s power diminishes as well….’

If I had allowed Saelika to be born as a weaker human, there would have been no need for such measures.
But Artemia did not choose that path.
For Saelika’s sake.

“…It was when Shuellina, the Sacred Maiden of Perpidian, pretended to be me.”
“When that insignificant wretch dared to impersonate my daughter.”
“Ilay had asked what kind of god Perpidian was. Since Sacred Maidens usually resemble their god.”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t know what kind of god Perpidian was. Because he’s a quiet god who doesn’t appear often.”
“….”

Saelika lifted her head.

“Was that why Perpidian called me an arrogant and presumptuous mutation?”
“…You once tried to embrace me. When you were barely one year old.”

Artemia’s expression softened at the memory.
Unable to walk properly, her small wings fluttered each time she waddled forward.
Without Enrik’s support, she would have fallen countless times.

Yet Saelika did not give up and approached me.
With her stubby little arms spread wide open.

“And that bastard dared to spout such nonsense at that moment.”
“…I had no idea.”

Saelika glanced up slightly.
Pure white feathers peeked through the brush.

‘Does she think they won’t be seen.’

“I thought the Brothers hated me too. They always scolded me and never listened to what I said.”
“Hey! That’s…!”

Finally, with a rustling sound, an angel burst from the brush.
As expected, the hot-blooded Anakin emerged first.

“I did it for you! Do you know how terrifying it is when Asquiel gets angry?”
“That’s right, my beloved younger brother. Rather than getting scolded by someone as brutal as Asquiel, playing catch-me-if-you-can with me is a hundred, a thousand times better.”
“Honestly, the youngest never even got scolded by me! I was always the one being ordered around by her!”
“Besides, whenever we tried to pry for reasons, the child would clam up completely.”

Other brothers filed out behind Anakin.

“Well, we’re not ignorant of why you didn’t speak. It’s because you cursed at Artemia and us, right?”
“How did you…?!”
“It’s obvious, really.”

The brothers who shrugged their shoulders looked at me.

“Our actions may have been a bit rough….”
“It’s fine if you hate us. But don’t think we ever hated you.”
“We always cherished you.”
“Because you’re our precious youngest.”

It was true.
While Saelika wasn’t looking, her brothers had done many things for her.

Breaking the wings of other angels who mocked Saelika while they slept and tossing them away.
Destroying the divine statues of gods served by angels who cursed Saelika.
Capturing divine beasts of other gods to feed to Saelika.

Now Saelika understood.

“…But you know what.”

Saelika spoke after thinking it over.

“Why does it seem like my brothers caused more trouble than I did?”
“…!”

The brothers flinched.

“And why does everyone think that trouble was caused by me?”
“…!!”

I had long thought that there were many angels who stirred up trouble over things I hadn’t even done.
I believed their accusations were all fabricated excuses to find fault with me.
But as it turned out….

“Did my older brothers frame me for this?”
“Th, that’s not!”
“We didn’t frame you on purpose—they just misunderstood!”

My explanation fell on deaf ears.

“And on top of that, they even gave me the nickname ‘Angel of Blood’ on the mortal realm.”

Saelika’s gaze grew sharp and menacing.

Cold sweat dripped down the backs of my brothers.
Our youngest sister might actually be furious.
This was the greatest crisis since our birth.

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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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