I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

TL/Editor: Rungir

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"Zion."

Once the national meeting had wrapped up, and as Zion made his way out of the conference room, his name floated through the air.

Turning to locate the voice, he found Evelyn Agnes making her way toward him.

"Can I have a moment of your time?"

Her words came out softer than they had during the meeting. At this, Zion nodded.

"Let's talk as we walk."

Evelyn matched Zion's stride.

A handful of knights trailed them at a respectful distance. Observing this, the nobles who were inching closer to Zion after the meeting withdrew. Clearly, Evelyn's aura was too formidable.

They proceeded in silence for a bit until they left the royal palace and the throng around them began to dissipate.

"I heard about your victory over the phantom army and your official acceptance as the heir. Quite an accomplishment."

Evelyn started.

"Honestly, I never saw you resolving one of the disasters. I even doubted your success in the succession ceremony.

But it seems I've misjudged you."

She turned to Zion, her gaze a mix of astonishment, pride, and worry.

Evelyn had been there when the phantom army had surfaced and had received firsthand reports about the incident from Ashen Lion Squad 5. This heightened her surprise.

The public credited Zion's success over the phantom army to the aid of the Ashen Lion Squad. But Evelyn knew better.

'Did Zion truly lack power until recently?'

'That's... the first beast I've ever seen since I was born.'

These were Captain Caron's words from Ashen Lion Squad 5, who had come back to the royal city, to Evelyn.

Though she wanted to question Zion about the incident, she held back. Now seen as a potential successor to the throne and, in all but name, an enemy, he wouldn't reveal his strength to her.

"You didn't summon me just to compliment me... What do you want to discuss?"

Zion questioned Evelyn.

Despite being acknowledged by Evelyn - regarded as one of the era's strongest figures and a likely next emperor - there was no joy in Zion's gaze.

It retained its usual indifferent gleam.

After a brief pause to collect her thoughts, Evelyn shut her eyes and then reopened them to ask,

"Why did you suggest moving the royal banquet up by a week during the meeting?"

"You're referring to the banquet being held a week earlier?"

"Yes. You should know that to host a royal banquet, you need power."

And that power couldn't be just any ordinary force. It had to be military might, like that of a knight's order.

"Zion, as far as I can tell, apart from a few knights guarding the Sleeping Palace, you don't have any backing. So why the rush for the banquet?"

Evelyn thought back.

She pictured Fourth Prince Utekan and Third Prince Enoch who had instantly agreed to Zion's proposal.

Given their extensive following, they must have welcomed the idea.

Maybe if Zion hadn't brought it up, one of them would have.

That's why Zion's action puzzled her.

"I needed to make it official."

"What? What are you..."

Evelyn's eyes clouded with confusion at Zion's words.

But Zion didn't elaborate on her question.

It wasn't time to discuss that yet.

"You're always a mystery. If you need knights for the banquet, I could assist."

"No, that won't be necessary."

Zion slightly shook his head.

Her proposition was generous, but he truly didn't need it.

Because the banquet wouldn't take place anyway.

Turning to Evelyn, Zion spoke with a steady voice.

"Instead, there's something I need you to know."

---

---

One of the five palaces encircling Baekseong Palace was Cheongseong Palace.

"What's his plan this time?"

The ruler of Cheongseong Palace, 5th Princess Diana, was pacing around her study, mumbling to herself.

Five days.

Five days had passed since the Agnes national meeting had concluded.

Yet there was no sign of activity from Zion's end during that time.

And that absence of movement was what unnerved her the most.

"I don't get why he suggested moving the banquet forward at the national meeting..."

If another royal like Utekan or Evelyn had proposed advancing the banquet, she would have easily accepted it.

But she was baffled by the fact that Zion, who lacked any significant backing, had made the suggestion.

What's more, he should be busy rallying forces given the banquet's moved-up date, but it was even more troubling that he seemed to be idle in the Sleeping Palace.

"Is he really planning to go solo at the banquet?"

An enigma.

Her eyes darkened with suspicion.

"Your Highness Diana, you have a visitor."

The attendant's voice echoed from outside the door.

"A visitor? Who is it?"

"It's Prince Zion Agnes."

"....!"

Diana's eyes widened momentarily.

"Let him in."

Despite her surprise, Diana calmly addressed the attendant and swiftly took a seat, adopting a relaxed posture with her legs crossed.

She saw no reason to reveal that she had been fretting and pacing her study over him.

Soon after.

Thud.

The study door creaked open, revealing Zion.

He looked the same as when she had seen him at the national meeting a few days ago, his demeanor still nonchalant yet somehow unnerving.

Diana was mystified by the radical shift in Zion's demeanor.

"If you're serving a drink, I'll take coffee. No sugar."

As soon as he seated himself, Zion made his request, causing Diana to regard him with a look of disbelief.

Nevertheless, she signaled to an attendant and turned her attention back to Zion.

"It's been quite some time since we've met like this, little brother, hasn't it?"

"Has it?"

Zion searched his memories.

He couldn't recall any instance of being alone with Diana, so any prior encounters must have been before he inhabited his current form.

"We aren't on familiar enough terms for idle chitchat, so let's cut to the chase. Why have you come?"

Following a fleeting glance into Zion's eyes, Diana questioned his purpose.

"I'm planning to strike at the third prince."

His tone was serene, as if discussing a leisurely evening stroll.

Caught off guard, Diana asked again.

"...Excuse me? You're planning to strike at the third prince? Do you mean Prince Enoch?"

"Yes."

Diana was struggling to grasp Zion's current line of thought.

While it was true that Zion had recently inflicted damage on Enoch by taking down Lergan Urschler, Enoch's right-hand man, that was a solitary blow.

It merely chipped away at the multitude of forces that Enoch commanded.

In contrast, Zion's faction consisted solely of himself and the woman with red eyes.

"You must realize that this sounds preposterous, don't you?"

"Hence, I'm here to lend it some credibility."

"...?"

Diana's eyes filled with confusion at Zion's composed words.

Meanwhile, Zion sipped the coffee brought by the attendant and slowly spoke.

"I seek your support. Only until I've dealt with Enoch."

"Huh..."

An incredulous sigh escaped Diana's lips.

"Hahaha!"

Then, a hearty laughter filled the room.

After her laughter subsided, she turned to look at Zion, who calmly set down his teacup.

Diana's eyes, icy enough to freeze anything they fell upon, sharply contrasted with her face still bearing traces of her recent laughter.

"If that was a jest, it was a good one, little brother."

"......"

"But if you're serious, explain to me why I, risking a full-scale war with a royal family member, should lend my strength to someone who lacks any significant power? What would I stand to gain from aiding you? And..."

Stars began to twirl in her eyes, radiating a luminous light.

"Why did you presume that I would lend you my power to begin with?"

One, two, three... the celestial stars multiplied and gleamed ever brighter.

"Little brother Zion. To make such a proposition, we should be on equal footing. You surely don't believe that we're on the same level, do you?"

A dramatic pause ensued.

In the face of Diana's fully unleashed celestial sea, the surrounding air grew dense and the space began to vibrate.

Such a display was fitting for the Agnes lineage, known as otherworldly behemoths.

Amidst the pressure that would likely render an average person unconscious, Zion voiced a question.

"I have a question."

Zion, holding Diana's gaze, marked a boundary.

A solitary black star gradually surfaced in Zion's eyes.

"Who dictates that level?"

With his question, the peculiar darkness that had been expanding throughout the room began to consume the radiant light from the celestial sea enveloping the area.

The pressure dissipated as though it had never been there.

"What...."

In the eyes of the 5th Princess, deep astonishment was apparent.

Zion's power did indeed exceed her expectations, but what truly stunned Diana were the black stars revolving in Zion's eyes.

It was a power she'd neither seen nor heard of in her lifetime.

Neither magic nor martial arts, not even like the celestial sea.

Something reminiscent of the celestial sea, yet far deeper, darker.

Diana felt a primal fear emanate from the black stars twirling in Zion's eyes.

'Am I... experiencing fear?'

In that moment, a story began to resurface in Diana's mind.

A tale associated with the power wielded by the first Emperor of the Agnes Empire, the Eternal Emperor, which she had glimpsed in one of the Imperial Palace's secret chambers long ago.

'Could it possibly be...'

Accompanying this, the memory of the Extinction Sword that Zion utilized to slay Lergan Urschler, the former leader of Icarus, flashed through her mind.

"There's no need for you to personally intervene. Just lend me your spirit army."

Zion spoke nonchalantly, as if the matter was a foregone conclusion.

Diana, who had been observing Zion with quavering eyes, exhaled a small sigh and withdrew her celestial sea.

"...I need to ask you something else. Why did you seek me out?"

The question flowed naturally from her lips.

"Because your disdain for Enoch runs deepest."

"Is that the sole reason?"

"And the secrets concealed beneath the Crimson Palace."

"...!"

"Isn't that sufficient?"

There was no need to lay out every single reason.

Zion knew.

At this point in time, Diana Agnes was already plotting against the third prince.

Indeed, in the chronicles, the fifth princess launches an assault on Enoch, who had left the Imperial City, during the royal family's mourning ceremony slated for the following month.

Of course, it wasn't a full-scale conflict instigated by her, and even that effort fell short.

The primary reason behind Diana's attempted assassination of Enoch wasn't detailed in the chronicles, but Zion suspected it was tied to the underground secrets of the Crimson Palace, Enoch's residence.

"... "

At Zion's words, Diana fell silent, as if lost in profound contemplation.

'Indeed, Enoch is the most irksome. His actions have become increasingly insolent of late, and I've been mulling over a suitable retribution. Additionally...'

The obliteration of one of Egrasia's elemental armies, the vague intelligence regarding the depths of the Crimson Palace, and a myriad of other things surged to the forefront of her mind. Her gaze began to crystallize, turning frostier.

Observing her focused in contemplation, Zion leisurely tilted his teacup.

After all, the outcome was predestined.

There would be no alterations, as he had already planted a seed for this eventuality in the past.

Not long after.

"...You've already formulated a plan to execute this, haven't you?"

Finally, a question signaling her acceptance flowed from the lips of the 5th Princess.

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