I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

TL/Editor: Rungir

Schedule: none

Illustrations: none

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At the same time.

In front of 'Moonlight's Banquet,' a restaurant created by the information guild 'Moon's Eye' to conceal its identity.

Dozens of people, hidden in the darkness, emotionlessly observed the establishment.

They belonged to a group called Ennadima, meaning 'Hidden Spirits' in the fairy language, a shadow unit responsible for the hidden force of the Fifth Princess, true to their name.

"Inside?"

"All quiet. They don't seem to have noticed."

Elta, the captain of Ennadima, received this report from a subordinate who had just returned from scouting near the restaurant.

"Then we enter immediately."

With those words, a cold voice emanated from Elta, signaling no further need for waiting.

Simultaneously, the highly trained members of Ennadima began to advance towards the restaurant, blending into the darkness.

In their eyes, there was no hesitation or anxiety. They had confirmed several times that this place was the capital branch of the information guild, Moon's Eye.

Having completed their reconnaissance, the only thing left was to infiltrate as quickly as possible to eliminate the guild's branch without any unforeseen complications.

Crack!

Making minimal noise, Ennadima breached the restaurant door and entered. Inside, they found nothing but darkness and an empty dining hall.

However, Elta, undeterred, entered the kitchen and started tapping on the walls.

Soon after, thump!

A hollow sound echoed from a corner of the wall to his ears.

Crack!

Quickly signaling his subordinates with a glance, Elta lightly tore open the wall, revealing a narrow passage which they started to descend.

The members of Ennadima swiftly followed him.

After descending for some time, Elta, who had reached the underground base of Moon's Eye, showed a flicker of doubt.

"……?"

The cavern, just like the restaurant above, was completely empty.

'What's going on?'

He could understand the restaurant being empty; it wasn't operating hours, and having guards would only arouse suspicion.

But for this central location of Moon's Eye to be devoid of people was beyond comprehension.

"Captain, this is..."

Just as he was pondering, his subordinates looked at him with eyes full of confusion.

Hiss!

A sound reached their ears, reminiscent of a firecracker's fuse burning down.

Along with it, a pungent smell wafted by.

"This damn..."

Realizing the situation, Elta cursed and attempted to exit the cavern.

But it was already too late.

Boom!

An explosion erupted from the center of the cavern, engulfing them all in an instant.

The blast, not content with just that, started to obliterate every trace of Moonlight's Banquet and the underground cavern above it.

In an instant, nothing but rubble remained of the Moon's Eye branch.

"......"

Aileen coldly gazed down at the completely devastated branch from the rooftop of a nearby tall building.

---

---

The Agnes Royal Family Conference.

Also known as the Agnes Minor Conference, this was a meeting that only the direct bloodline of the imperial family could attend.

Thus, only those royals with succession rights could convene the meeting, and other members of the royal family were free to refuse participation.

"......"

However, in the small conference room of Baeksung Palace where the royal family meeting was being held, all members of the royal family, except Zion, had gathered since early morning.

All had responded to the meeting convened by Zion.

This showed, indirectly, how much Zion's status and presence in the royal court had risen compared to the past.

While it was not a pleasant situation for them, the expression of Princess Diana, sitting on one side of the round table, was surprisingly bright.

'By now, they must have been completely annihilated.'

Just a while ago, she had sent Ennadima, one of her shadow units, to Zion's intelligence organization, Moon's Eye.

She had thoroughly investigated several times before, and Ennadima's strength was among the best under her command, so there should be no variables.

She hadn't received any reports yet, as she entered the conference room at dawn, but it was clear that good news would follow as soon as the meeting concluded.

'Of course, it will be bad news for someone.'

Diana thought this and slightly smiled when,

"Utekan, it seems you've recently embraced the Light. You've made the right choice."

Prince Rubrious, sitting at the round table, spoke softly to Utekan.

"What? What do you mean?"

Utekan, with a complicated look, asked Rubrious.

His mind was already troubled enough with Zion Agnes, and now this unexpected comment.

"I saw a priestess who serves the Light entering your palace the other day. So I thought that, but is it not the case?"

Utekan's eyes flickered for a moment at that question.

He seemed to know which priestess was being referred to.

'When and how did he see?'

Of course, the comings and goings of a single priestess could be explained away.

But the problem was the look in Rubrious's eyes, which seemed sharp and probing, as if he knew something.

'Complications are arising.'

Utekan was pondering how to respond when,

Thud-

As if timed perfectly, the door to the small conference room opened, and Zion appeared.

All eyes, which had been focused on Rubrious and Utekan, now turned to Zion.

"Why are you so late?"

Diana, always sensitive about time, frowned slightly and asked Zion.

Her reaction was typical of her punctual nature.

However, soon after, her eyes curved as if smiling.

"I'm curious about the reason. Surely... did something happen last night that required you to clean up?"

A subtly joyous tone flowed from her lips.

Diana's expectant gaze was fixed on Zion's face, which she anticipated would soon contort.

However,

"I'm actually the one who's curious."

Contrary to her expectations, Zion's face didn't contort; instead, he was smiling just like her.

"I thought you would be busy dealing with the aftermath by now."

"What do you mean...?"

What was he talking about?

Diana's eyes trembled, sensing ominousness in his smile. Whenever Zion smiled like that, something beyond her expectations always happened.

And soon, her ominous feeling turned into reality.

"Your Highness Diana!"

A subordinate of Diana's entered the small conference room in a rush, calling her urgently. It was a time when only the royal family was allowed inside, but the subordinate's state seemed too urgent to care about such formalities. Or perhaps there was something urgent enough to risk it.

"What is it? I told you not to come in until the meeting was over."

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I had to inform you urgently, so I committed this rudeness."

With that, the subordinate, bowing deeply to the other royals, approached Diana and began whispering in her ear.

Her face started to contort rapidly.

Soon after, Diana's eyes began to flicker with confusion and rage.

"Zion, what on earth...!"

She spoke informally, not her usual respectful tone. It made sense, given her shadow unit and intelligence organization had been obliterated overnight.

"You should have thought, if you covet someone else's things, yours might be coveted too."

Zion smiled slyly at her and, as if he had no more business, turned and sat down at the round table.

"Let's start the meeting now."

As if his words were a signal, the chaotic atmosphere in the small conference room instantly settled down.

Along with it, the gazes of the royal family members converged once again on Zion.

"Sigh..."

For the moment, Diana had to proceed with the meeting, so she forcibly suppressed her anger and sat down.

Just a few months ago, such a scene would have been unthinkable.

Who would have imagined?

The once-secluded prince Zion, now so naturally dominating the control of the meeting.

'You seem deep in thought.'

Zion's gaze, surveying the royals seated at the round table, paused momentarily on Utekan, who looked troubled.

The death of Hanosral and the annihilation of the monsters in the Ascalon family.

Added to that, the bait Zion himself had scattered.

All these events had almost coincidentally overlapped, so it was understandable for Utekan to be troubled.

'Good posture.'

Zion hoped Utekan would delve deeper into his thoughts and contemplations.

That way, the bait he had thrown would gain more substance and grow in Utekan's imagination.

"Now, tell us why you convened this royal family meeting, Zion."

At that moment, Evelyn, who had been watching with inscrutable eyes, spoke to Zion.

"You must have guessed already."

Zion responded with a slight smile.

At this time, there could only be one reason to summon only the royal family members.

"You all know that the throne cannot remain vacant forever, right?"

Of course, they knew. The longer the throne remained vacant, the worse it was for the empire.

But knowing that and filling the throne were entirely different matters.

"Obviously. And I know that everyone here desires that position."

Rubrious spoke in his usual soft tone.

"And quite desperately. In my opinion, the throne will not be filled unless everyone but one of us dies."

It was a metaphorical expression of the intense longing for the throne held by those gathered here. Or, it could be a literal truth.

"Don't tell me... you've gathered us to say you'll take the throne and we should give up?"

Diana, having somewhat regained her composure, asked Zion.

Zion just smiled and shook his head. There was no reason to say something that would be utterly disregarded.

"I have a proposal for you."

"...A proposal?"

"A proposal that will allow you also to ascend to the throne."

"Ha."

Diana snorted at Zion's words.

"That sounds like you're saying if things continue this way, the throne will go to our youngest brother."

"Why? Doesn't it seem likely?"

"......"

She couldn't snort at Zion's languid voice anymore.

Not just Diana, but everyone present fell silent, unable to refute.

It seemed all too possible.

Of course, Zion was still at a disadvantage in terms of visible indicators like base support.

But Zion's languid eyes, as if he were looking down on everything, and the unbelievable achievements he had shown so far, were inflating a deep sense of unease in their hearts.

"Competition should be fair, shouldn't it? That's why I'm opening the stage for you to prove your worthiness as an emperor."

Just like he had proven his succession rights by subduing the Renegade Army.

Zion's eyes, as he spoke, were now curving as if he was enjoying the situation.

"...Well, it's about time to start the competition for the throne."

Evelyn nodded and spoke up.

"What is this proposal, Zion? If it involves killing or harming our siblings, I won't participate."

"Don't worry. It's nothing like that. Besides, it will benefit the empire, not harm it."

"Benefit the empire?"

At that question, Zion smirked and opened his mouth again.

"The Seven Calamities. Well, now they are the Six Calamities. The subjugation of these threats is exactly the proposal I'm making to you."

"......!"

A glint of interest sparked in the eyes of the royal family members at his words.

"The first to most perfectly subdue a calamity will gain an advantage in the upcoming competition for the throne. How about it? Isn't it a fair condition for you?"

Indeed, it was not a bad proposal.

Subduing the calamities was extremely difficult and complicated, but not impossible.

Their combined powers were more than sufficient.

Moreover, this seemed like the fairest competition possible.

The evaluation would not be by each other, but by the entire population of the empire.

"......"

The royals fell into silence again, as if pondering, but this silence was imbued with a sense of positive consideration.

'What is this...'

All except for Utekan.

For him, the elimination of the empire's troubles was not necessarily welcome.

But his opposition alone wouldn't change anything.

And showing opposition openly in this situation would be peculiar.

"Now, let's decide which calamity each of us will take on."

Reading their thoughts in the silence, Zion, needing no further responses, smiled and spoke.

Within his tranquil eyes, a wave-like surge of black aura was already undulating.