Youngest on Top - Chapter 64

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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 64

‘…What on earth is this?’

Admiral Ekellan, engaged in battle across seas where artillery shells erupted, was skilled at ignoring unnecessary noise.
He had heard all the loud clamor echoing through the hall since earlier, but paid it no mind whatsoever.

But surely.

‘All that shouting from before… was that really what I said to the little one?’

Admiral Ekellan snatched the dessert tray from the attendant’s hands.
Then he strode across the hall with purposeful steps.

‘It’s not my concern.’

No, why wouldn’t it be my concern?
It was my concern.
Very much so.

‘To make that little one plummet in an instant, I need to inflate her expectations even further, don’t I?’

In that case, this was precisely the moment to help her with utmost kindness.
Yes, all of this was for that purpose.

Tap.
Admiral Ekellan placed the new tray on the table.

“Miss, at such a growing age, you shouldn’t eat so little.”

Josephine, the young girl standing before Saelika, lifted her head to look at Admiral Ekellan.

‘What… what is this…’

A handsome man was attending to an orphan.
Yet he didn’t appear to be a servant at all.
An authority unique to a ruling family emanated from the man.

I was already flustered by how much nobility radiated from the orphan’s entire entourage.

‘And now she’s being called “miss.”‘

That orphan was not a noble lady like myself.
She was of the basest birth imaginable, with no proper bloodline to speak of.

Josephine twisted her face in contempt and spoke to everyone present.

“She’s deceiving you about her status. She’s an orphan. You’ve all been fooled, haven’t you?”
“What? You—to the—”
“Oh, did some kind-hearted noble perhaps adopt you? Even so, your lowborn origins don’t change.”

That was when it happened.

“Lowborn origins.”

Admiral Ekellan murmured softly, and his eyes slowly turned to regard Josephine.

“…!”

Josephine’s body shrank back without her realizing it.
She couldn’t understand why she was doing so.

Their eyes had merely met.
Yet her heart pounded wildly, and cold sweat trickled down the back of her neck.
It felt as though her entire body had been plunged into ice water in the depths of winter.

Just as Josephine, trembling, was about to collapse under the overwhelming pressure.

Admiral Ekellan’s eyes widened slightly as he tilted his head.

“Well, I don’t believe she’s an orphan, from what I understand.”

Her breathing opened up again.
Josephine couldn’t comprehend what had just happened to her.
It had only been a few seconds, yet….

“Ah, I knew it! So she was deceiving us. Josephine was right.”

Josephine’s friend nodded brightly.

“This child is an orphan, that’s right. You’ve misunderstood. Isn’t that so, Josephine?”
“Y-yes!”

Josephine nodded at her friend’s words and resolved to find her courage.
With all her friends watching, she couldn’t back down here.

And she had to reveal this person’s true nature to them.
To correct what was wrong.
That was a noble’s duty, after all.

‘How dare a lowborn orphan stand among the nobility.’

“You seem to be mistaken. Do you know how I know this child? From the Orphanage Festival—.”
“She is chosen by the divine, the Daughter of God.”
“…Pardon?”
“So she’s not an orphan. Isn’t that right, Priestess?”

A priestess?!
Josephine looked at Saelika in shock.

A member of the clergy outranked even herself, a mere minor noble lady.

Josephine was the second daughter of a provincial baron.
Naturally, she had never had any connection with high nobility.

But what of Saelika?
She likely hadn’t received full ordination yet, but she was a novice priestess affiliated with the Temple.
That alone made her someone a baron’s daughter couldn’t treat carelessly.

Josephine wiped cold sweat from her dress and stammered.

“B-but that doesn’t make sense. Her age doesn’t match… She’s far too young to be a novice priestess.”
“But there are always exceptions.”

No.
There couldn’t be an exception.

Like all children in the Orphanage, this child had always been my plaything.
A being who made me stand out.

Josephine did not stand out among the other noble young lords and ladies.
That’s why seeing orphans made her happy—it allowed her to confirm just how blessed she was.

But this child was chosen by God?
More blessed than me?

“That’s impossible! She’s clearly deceiving everyone right now! Does anyone know how cunning and scheming orphanage children are? How they try to extort money from people like us under the guise of pity—.”

Josephine’s shrill shrieking caused everyone around her to furrow their brows.
Moreover, the content itself was not something a child should be saying.

“What kind of things does her mother say for the child to speak like that?”
“Isn’t she just parroting her parents’ words?”

Everyone began whispering in hushed tones.

“At least she doesn’t have parents!”

Josephine shrieked loudly.

Admiral Ekellan chuckled softly and placed his hand on Saelika’s shoulder.
As if to show that he stood behind this child.

“Having no parents simply means new ones can appear.”

The Admiral spoke leisurely, lowering his gaze to meet Saelika’s eyes.

“For instance, myself.”

His beautifully shaped lips curved into a smile.
It was the hearty smile of a southern gentleman—as if brilliant sunlight reflected off a vast blue sea, shimmering with intensity.

* * *

Gerald was bewildered by the sudden summons.
The person who had called him was none other than Admiral Serge Ekellan.

‘Has something happened?’

Gerald swallowed hard.
No matter how I thought about it, there was only one reason the Admiral would summon me like this.

Saelika.

‘…But there’s no way the baby priestess would actually be after the Admiral’s daughter position.’

Saelika has an oddly strong attachment to the Artemisia Temple.
I heard she arrived much later than the other children and hasn’t been here for very long.

‘Surely she wouldn’t be dangling from the ship’s railing while still a baby.’

…Surely not.

The image of Saelika, bound tightly with rope, being transferred to the hands of wicked sailors and dangling from the ship’s railing, swirled vividly in my mind.

“Help me! Gerald!”
“Kahahaha, lower the rope!”

As Admiral Ekellan commanded with a demonic laugh, the rope suspending Saelika slowly extended downward.
Below the wailing Saelika, hungry sharks circled round and round.

‘This cannot be!’

Gerald squeezed his eyes shut and quickened his pace.
By the time he reached the Admiral, Gerald’s face had turned nearly ashen.

“You called for me, Admiral.”

The Admiral lay sprawled across the sofa in a languid pose, his shirt half-unbuttoned.
That seemingly defenseless appearance made him look even more like a beast of prey.
As though nothing in this world could threaten him.

Whoosh, snap.
Admiral Ekellan tossed a bright red apple high into the air and caught it with his hand, amusing himself with the juggling.

‘Here I am, imagining all sorts of things from a single summons, rushing over with my eyebrows flying.’

With a soft whirring sound, the Admiral rotated the apple in one hand and asked.

“What exactly is this?”

Gerald quickly recognized that the apple had been treated with healing magic.

“It’s an apple that has undergone preservation processing. Of course, since the apple is exposed to air, it may deteriorate after a long time, but….”
“That’s not what I was asking.”
“Of course, we intended to present this to you first, Admiral. We thought it would surely be beneficial to you.”
“Artemisia.”
“The Priesthood of Artemisia Temple applies the healing magic, so they are our supplier. In fact, the reason the Priest and his companions came that day was because we had concluded a contract to handle distribution.”

Admiral Ekellan appeared deeply displeased.
Gerald hastily added more words.

“Ah, rest assured, Admiral. We will handle all transactions with you directly. Needless to say, we will not share any customer information with Artemisia. Not even the smallest detail.”
“….”
“Furthermore, we will proceed with everything such that you and Artemisia have absolutely no connection whatsoever. You will have no need to ever face them, Admiral.”

Admiral Ekellan still said nothing.
Gerald now spoke with complete candor.

“If it troubles you, Admiral, I will absolutely ensure you never meet that child!”

A slight twitch.
Admiral Ekellan’s brow furrowed.

“Get out.”
“Pardon?”

But I’ve only been here less than five minutes?
I rode in the carriage for over thirty minutes to get here.

Admiral Ekellan simply watched Gerald, who made no move to leave.

A flicker.
Just one eyebrow twitched, yet goosebumps erupted across Gerald’s entire body, and he shot to his feet.

“Ah, yes. White Pearl Guild will always stand beside you like a neighbor, Admiral. So please call upon us whenever you have need. Your loyal servants!”

Thud-thud-thud!
Gerald retreated so swiftly that an afterimage lingered where he had stood.

Admiral Ekellan pushed himself upright on the bed.
Soon his face began to flush crimson.
Like an apple.

“For instance, a country?”

When I said that, I naturally expected the child to react somehow.

And react she did.

Her expression was as sour as if she’d bitten into vinegar.
A face that screamed ‘Ugh, what is this?’ in silent protest.

That’s when I realized something had gone terribly wrong.
Surely this child should be pleased, wanting to become my daughter?

Behind me, the Artemisia Temple priestesses whispered among themselves.

“What a strange person.”
“Shh, he’s the Admiral.”
“Why doesn’t Honey have parents? If she exists, she must have been born. How can he say she has no parents? I thought the Admiral was such a magnificent man.”
“That’s probably not what he meant.”
“I know what he meant. He’s trying to kidnap her, right? You have no parents. From now on, think of me as your parent, or something like that. Sounds like a kidnapper.”
“Hmph, could he be any more foolish?”
“What?”
“But then again, it’s not entirely wrong, is it?”

The silver-haired boy, Ilay, who spoke those final words with a faint smile, looked directly at me.
He was the same steadfast youth who had stood before me on the day we met at the White Pearl Guild.

Not just him, but the other children gazed at me with rather challenging eyes.
I had rarely received such a look, even from adults, so it was somewhat novel.

Especially the girl, who clutched Saelika tightly and raised her guard.

“It’s strange enough that you followed us all the way here! What good is a handsome face! You’re a kidnapper!”

Admiral Ekellan opened his mouth to make an excuse, then closed it again.

Well, it hardly mattered.
Whether these children were wary of him or not—what did it concern him?

But then.

“I’m not weak!”

Saelika clenched her tiny fists and shouted defiantly.

“I’m not weak enough to be kidnapped! I’ll beat down any kidnapper!”

The Admiral’s gaze fixed on the apple as red as Saelika’s cheeks.

‘Is it really not the case?’

Could she truly not be after my daughter’s position?
For the first time, such a doubt arose in him. Quite seriously, at that.

Just then, the Adjutant entered with a knock on the door.

“Admiral.”

His expression was grave.

“It truly hasn’t spoiled.”

The Adjutant showed the Admiral the box he had brought.
It was the box in which the Artemisia Temple had packed the food ingredients.

All the food inside remained perfectly intact and fresh.

“Ha. That little lady won the wager.”

The corners of Admiral Ekellan’s mouth slowly curved upward.

“Contact the Artemisia Temple.”
“Ah, but they mentioned that White Pearl Guild can handle distribution. Wouldn’t it be more convenient in every way to work with White Pearl, our existing trading partner?”

The Adjutant added carefully.

“Besides, Artemisia is a temple, not just a guild.”

He said this knowing that Admiral Ekellan typically disapproved of anything involving temples.

“Do I need to repeat myself?”
“…I’ll contact the Artemisia Temple right away.”

The Adjutant hurried out.
Admiral Ekellan rolled the apple in his hand absently.

If fresh provisions could be preserved long-term aboard ship, the quality of food rations itself would transform.
Quality provisions would elevate the efficiency and morale of the entire fleet.

That’s why he was in good spirits.
No other reason.

Bypassing the existing trading partner White Pearl to contact Artemisia was purely for efficiency’s sake.
Direct dealings with producers always meant fresher goods, lower prices, and greater reliability—what could be better?

It would benefit the fleet more.
That was all.

* * *

A few days later.
On the appointed day, Admiral Ekellan visited the Artemisia Temple.

“Welcome, Admiral.”

The Elder and the Priesthood greeted Admiral Ekellan.
Saelika was not among them.

‘Not that it matters.’

There’s no need for her to greet me like a daughter welcoming her father home.

I never expected such a thing.
Not at all.
Not ever.
Not once.

‘Damn it.’

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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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