Youngest on Top - Chapter 296

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

Chapter 296

But there was no way to escape this situation.
It was my fathers who first suggested waiting until later to marry.
If they changed their minds now, “I love Shuri” might become “I hate Dad.”

‘Anything but that—absolutely not that!’

My fathers clutched their hearts, suffering serious internal injuries from mere imagination.
Kaishurit smiled softly at them and offered a greeting.

“Thank you for your permission, Father-in-law.”
“Who said anything about permission!”
“You insolent wretch!”
“I’ll never hand my daughter over to a thief like you!”

Kaishurit tilted his head at my fathers’ outburst.

“But then, who should take the position of father-in-law?”
“…?!”
“…!”
“…!!”

My fathers, who had been united in their criticism of Kaishurit, faltered.

I knew this was Kaishurit’s cunning trick.
But there are moments in this world when you cannot retreat even knowing a scheme for what it is.
There are things you can never compromise on or abandon!

“I am my daughter’s father!”

Saelika watched my fathers’ solemn declaration with clouded eyes.

‘What’s with all this solemnity?’

By their momentum alone, it seemed as though they were marching to war prepared for death.
The Elders, sensing the tension flowing between the four men, hastily intervened.

“Randel, Kaiser! This is not the time for this!”
“I understand your feelings, but we have a different enemy to face!”
“That’s right, Father. Let’s capture that cunning fox first.”
“For once, my brother is right.”

Demian, Mikhail, and even Artemia’s priests joined in to stop the four men.
That was when it happened.
Kaishurit’s tongue moved with serpentine cunning.

“And who should sit in the family section?”
“…!”
“…!!”

Thud.
Everyone who had been trying to stop them froze as if struck by lightning.
A bomb had been dropped.

“Of course we should sit there!”
“Exactly! We’ve grown up like family with the youngest since childhood!”
“Like family? We are family.”
“Do you not understand the truth that blood runs thicker than water?”

Never had there been such complete chaos.
Saelika muttered with a displeased expression.

“Wait, didn’t you just say this wasn’t the time?”
“People must sometimes knowingly walk into their own traps! Even if it costs them their lives!”
“….”

At Edmund’s cry—the most aristocratic and dignified among the priests—Saelika found herself at a loss for words.

‘Over their lives, no less.’

Was this really the situation for such dramatics?
Yet everyone except Saelika was deadly serious.

Kaishurit whispered to Saelika as if things were going perfectly.

“Fortunately, no one is objecting to our engagement. Isn’t that wonderful?”

His smile was as refreshing as a summer breeze tickling the leaves of trees.
Saelika spoke with reluctant admiration.

“Shuri will truly become a formidable Emperor.”

His technique of grasping an opponent’s weakness and exploiting it was truly remarkable.
To turn them against each other in an instant and subtly secure what he desired—
A truly powerful Emperor must excel at political maneuvering.

“Of course. He’s my husband, after all.”

Shuri’s elongated eyes narrowed with amusement.
At his gentle eye-smile, Saelika pressed her lips firmly together.

Kaishurit certainly possessed a talent for political intrigue.

* * *

The Emperor—or rather, the now-former Emperor Renantulos—exclaimed with unbridled delight.

“We shall hold a wedding ceremony unprecedented in imperial history! The most magnificent, beautiful, and grand ceremony!!”

Though it wasn’t his own wedding, Renantulos was the most excited of all.
Duke Makandor spoke while moving chess pieces.

“Your Majesty, let us be precise. It is an engagement ceremony, not a wedding.”
“This ceremony shall be the magnificent achievement that crowns my reign!”
“How is hosting a wedding the final achievement of an Emperor?”

Duke Makandor spoke as though bewildered.

“If the former Emperor wastefully squanders the imperial treasury on an extravagant ceremony, the people will surely… well, perhaps they won’t criticize.”

The people loved Saelika far too much to condemn the former Emperor for lavishing resources on a grand wedding.
Should they hold a modest ceremony instead, the imperial family would face the opposite criticism.
They would accuse the palace of mistreating the great Saint who saved the world, denouncing them as a cruel in-law family.

“Future generations will curse your name.”
“No. They’ll sing praises of my final Achievement for ages to come! Successfully hosting our precious child’s wedding is worth that price.”
“Surely you haven’t forgotten this is also your son’s wedding? And it’s not a wedding but an engagement ceremony—.”
“And I’ll use my personal funds.”
“…!”

Duke Makandor, who had been moving chess pieces while responding halfheartedly, was genuinely shocked.
The former Emperor Renantulos himself—of all people—was saying he’d spend his personal funds!

Renantulos was, to be honest… a miser.
An extraordinarily stingy one at that.
One might have expected him to occasionally loosen his purse strings with a “why not!”, but such occasions never came.

There was only one time he’d attempted to do so, and that was during the Sacred Maiden Selection Tournament.
When the Noishurael Duke House, the Ekkelan Duke House, the White Pearl Merchant Guild, and the “Sisters Who Love Bread Association” all paid tribute to Saelika.

“Me too! I’ll make such a tribute as well!”
“Your Majesty, it is forbidden for the imperial family to pay tribute to a specific Sacred Maiden during the Selection Tournament. You of all people know that state funds cannot be used for a specific Sacred Maiden, so why—.”
“I’ll pay tribute with my personal funds!”
“…Pardon?”
“It’s my money. I’ll spend it however I wish. What’s the problem?”

At that time, Duke Makandor and the Attendant had broken into a cold sweat trying to stop Renantulos.

“Are you truly planning to use your personal funds?”
“They say a father-in-law’s duty is to love his daughter-in-law. For our precious child, what wouldn’t I spare?”

‘He’s truly a severe case.’

Duke Makandor marveled at this.

“Checkmate. Your Majesty has lost again.”

Marveling was one thing, but the game was another.
Renantulos’s face twisted in frustration.
Duke Makandor spoke casually.

“Well, Your Majesty, if you were to present me with a gift from your personal funds for my upcoming birthday, I could concede one move. Or rather, two moves—even three moves if you’d like….”
“Are you insane? Why would I give my precious money to a Duke? Just let it end with the Duke’s victory.”
“….”

Duke Makandor felt slightly wounded.
Still, there were years spent as the Emperor’s closest confidant.

* * *

Artemia Temple System Branch.

“What? The Former Emperor is stepping forward to preside over the betrothal ceremony?!”
“Whose betrothal ceremony is it that the Former Emperor is inserting himself into!”

Bang!
The Artemia Temple Priests slammed the table roughly.
With just a bit more force, the table would have cracked with a sharp sound.
Though their behavior was somewhat violent for those called priests, no one paid it any mind.

“Honestly, we’re dissatisfied with even holding a betrothal ceremony, but if we absolutely must—.”
“We should be the ones to preside over it!”
“That’s right!”

The priests stomped their feet and shouted.
The betrothal ceremony should naturally take place at the main temple of Artemia in the east.
The temple, where the Sacred Maiden’s important matters are presided over, is her sanctuary and home.

“Quiet.”

The High Priest, who had remained silent until then, raised his hand.
The excited priests fell silent all at once.

“Saelika grew up in this temple from the moment she could toddle—she is our Sacred Maiden, our family.”
“….”
“Therefore, presiding over this betrothal ceremony is naturally—.”

In the silence, receiving everyone’s gaze, the High Priest slowly opened his eyes.
Sharp killing intent gleamed in those piercing eyes.
The priests instinctively swallowed at the overwhelming charisma.

“—Let us swear it!”
“….”

A moment of silence fell.
And then.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”
“The High Priest speaks the truth!”
“No matter how grand the Imperial family may be, they cannot strip away our rightful claim!!”

Anyone watching would have mistaken the High Priest for delivering a war declaration.

‘Is our temple really going to be okay?’

Ilay stood alone amid the fervor of excitement, his thoughts growing increasingly uneasy.

.
.

Meanwhile, at the Perardin Noishurael Duke’s residence.
The atmosphere there was equally turbulent.

“The late Emperor and the Artemia Temple, no less.”
“Everyone acting as they please.”

The Perardin Noishurael Duke ground his teeth in frustration.
After all these years, the beloved daughter he had finally reclaimed stayed at home for merely a single day.

He wanted to cling to her and beg her to remain in the family’s embrace a little longer, yet he feared burdening her with such a request.
Once the Grand Priestess selection concluded, once the calamity was averted.
He endured, waiting for that distant future day after day.

“But an engagement…!”

The mere thought of her leaving the family entirely to build a new home felt as though his heart would tear asunder.
Yet even at the engagement ceremony, hyenas circled hungrily, eyeing the family’s rightful place.

“We are her blood family.”
“A bond of fate determined from birth, one that can never be severed.”

Perardin Noishurael Duke spoke with a stern expression in response to his two sons’ words.

“Do you understand? This is a wartime situation.”
“Yes, sir!”
“We mobilize the full military strength of both the Noishurael Duchy and the Ekkelan Duchy.”

A total mobilization order from the Duke and the Admiral!
It was a command rarely issued even during actual warfare.

“Ammak.”
“Jonmyeong.”
“Jeokwol.”
“We receive your command.”
“Seolpyo.”
“Please, give us your orders.”
“Heukjinjoo.”
“Yes, my lord.”

The forces of Noishurael and Ekkelan bowed their heads one after another, accepting the command.
Their eyes were more resolute than ever.

‘We cannot let them take away our youngest princess whom we haven’t even properly greeted yet!’

The Duke and Admiral nodded with satisfaction upon seeing that fierce determination in their eyes.
Now it was time to show the enemies hell—or rather, who Saelika’s fathers truly were.

Thus, the curtain rose on the ‘Betrothal Ceremony Abduction Incident’ that would even be recorded in history books.

* * *

“I’m torn. They all look so good on you.”

Shuri held jewels up to my face as he spoke.

“Should we just use them all?”
“If you hang jewels on like that, it’ll actually look tacky.”
“That’s someone else’s problem.”

Shuri grinned widely.

“You don’t matter. No matter how many jewels you wear, only your face captures my eyes.”
“….”

Goosebumps prickled across my arms in an instant.
It wasn’t because Shuri’s words were absurd.
It was absurd that I found myself feeling oddly pleased by such a cheesy line.

‘I’ve really gone too far.’

I grasped my flushed cheeks with my hands.
At this rate, Shuri would end up giving me all the treasures in the world.
I quickly changed the subject.

“But I was really shocked. Why did you propose at the coronation?”

Because of that, the newspapers and even the mana network had been filled with nothing but stories about our engagement since the coronation.
The coronation was Shuri’s first act as Emperor.
The most important day.

Yet my marriage had become a bigger issue than the new Emperor’s ascension….

“I couldn’t wait any longer.”
“….”
“I’ve wanted to do this for a very long time.”

Contrary to his playful words, Shuri’s body covered mine.
Strong arms wrapped around my waist.
Our eyes met at close range.

“What did you want to do?”
“Do you want to know?”

His lips drew closer.
Almost touching, yet not quite.

I raised my arms and wrapped them around Shuri’s neck.
A wonderful fragrance emanated from Shuri.
Feeling warm lips press against mine, I closed my eyes.

“Before the regression, you lived without even a name, stripped of your very existence.”

Shuri’s voice, which I had heard long ago, echoed in my mind once more.
His proposal at the coronation ceremony was probably….

“So this time, all you need is your own name.”

‘He even yielded that day to me and made me the protagonist.’

How much more would this man surrender to me?
Soon even such thoughts scattered away.
The burning, sticky sensation stirred away all the thoughts in my head.
I could no longer think of anything.
Nothing but the sensation Shuri gave me….

That was when it happened.

“Honeybun!”

A loud shout rang out, and the door to the living room burst open.
I shoved Shuri away forcefully.

“What? Where’s Honeybun? Taking a nap?”

Dmitri’s bewildered voice came from beyond the door.
If I didn’t come out, he looked ready to throw open the bedroom door.
I quickly pushed Shuri out the window.

‘This is the fifth floor, but…. Well, he’ll manage to survive on his own.’

I hurried out to the small living room.

“Honeybun!”

Dmitri’s face brightened the moment he saw me.
Then he tilted his head in confusion.

“Why is your face so red?”
“Huh? Mine?”
“Are you hurt somewhere?”

Seeing Dmitri’s innocent, worried expression made my conscience ache.

‘No, couples can kiss. It’s fine!’

I revived my deflated conscience.

“Does it hurt a lot? Enough that your sacred power can’t support you? I told you not to suffer alone when you’re in pain!”
“….”

My conscience didn’t just wilt—it shriveled up entirely.
I hastily changed the subject.

“But why did you come looking for me?”
“Oh, that’s….”

Dmitri hesitated before speaking.

“Beatrix is dead.”
“What…?!”

Beatrix dead?
It wouldn’t have been easy to die inside that spire—how did it happen?

“What about Amelia?”
“….”

Dmitri fell silent at my question.
The answer came from Ilay, who arrived moments later.

“She’s disappeared.”
“…!”

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