Youngest 204
by Cristae204
“Alright then, gather the maids and head to the dressing room! You have a banquet later, don’t you? Go and get yourself scrubbed and polished until you’re even more beautiful! Meanwhile, I need to clean the bedchamber!”
In the end, Licht was practically chased out of his room.
‘Perhaps I should tidy up a bit myself.’
Today was Rubian’s coming-of-age ceremony.
A party was to be held at the Imperial Palace, a special occasion.
The Emperor had even granted use of one of the palace’s grandest reception halls, the Sapphire Hall.
It made Licht nervous for no good reason.
Because…
‘I’m going to ask her for a dance at the ball.’
In the Babylon Empire there was a saying:
At a coming-of-age celebration, the first non-family member you share a dance with is highly likely to become your partner.
‘It never mattered to me before, but now…’
Licht touched his flushed neck. Even if it was mere superstition, he found himself desperately hoping this time.
‘I want to see her. Soon.’
He started walking a little faster.
He ought to at least try to do something about the mess of his hair.
Just then—
“What a rotten way to start the morning.”
He rounded a corner and came face-to-face with the First Prince.
‘Oh, wonderful.’
Licht smiled politely.
It really is a wretched morning.
“Good morning, brother.”
“Good morning, my foot!”
The First Prince kicked over a piece of decoration nearby. He seemed to be in a foul mood today.
Something crashed to the ground, but Licht’s smile didn’t waver.
He knew very well why the First Prince was upset.
‘He must have heard about the trouble at the gambling den.’
The First Prince, secretly involved in one illegal business after another. Licht had been quietly dismantling them from behind the scenes, and the gambling den was just the beginning.
‘At the right moment, all at once—’
Licht was waiting for the precise time to set everything off in a single, devastating blow that would deal the First Prince the harshest defeat.
Everything was about timing.
Until then, he had to play the gentle prince, hiding his claws and keeping all his cards close to his chest.
“Seems I’ve shown up at an inconvenient moment. My apologies.”
With a brief bow, Licht moved past.
“That little fox…”
The sound of grinding teeth behind him was like music to his ears.
A close aide hurried over when Licht appeared nearby. Licht spoke quietly.
“Give it a little time, then hit the fighting pit I mentioned before. Secure evidence that the First Prince has been smuggling slaves to raise funds. If anyone resists, kill them. Leave behind nothing that can’t be controlled.”
“Yes, sir.”
There was no trace of a smile in Licht’s cold teal eyes.
The position of Crown Prince…
It was almost within reach.
‘…Ah. So that’s what it is.’
Licht realized, all at once, why, staring into the mirror that morning, he’d been so dissatisfied.
Thinking back, it wasn’t anything unusual.
He had never once thought of himself as good enough.
But perhaps things would change if he became Crown Prince.
The seat he had prepared for, for so long.
If, by his own hand, he could finally seize something—
Then, perhaps everything would finally be all right. Perhaps even he himself would be somewhat more tolerable.
He had come all this way just to prove untrue the words “that useless Fourth Prince.” At first, it was to fill a sense of lack, but now, it had become something else.
He wanted to give, because he was whole.
If he could become complete, lacking nothing, then he would be able to bestow upon her only the very best that this Empire had to offer.
Licht scratched his cheek, embarrassed and a little sheepish at his own thoughts. Still, he did not think to deny them.
He adjusted his expression and strode on.
“By the way, I heard there was some commotion at the palace at dawn. What happened?”
“Ah, His Majesty summoned the King of Kasalia… Princess Sevelena…”
Now, there was only one step left.
“Looks like that Licht brat is stirring up more trouble,” the First Prince growled.
“And what’s with all this noise in the palace this morning?!”
His servant bowed his head deeply in apology.
“I-it’s because Lady Zevert’s coming-of-age ceremony is being held in the Sapphire Hall today…”
“Tch.”
Granting use of one of the Imperial reception halls to high-ranking nobles was nothing unusual. And this was for the youngest daughter of the Duke Zevert himself.
‘Ugh, how revolting.’
Lady Zevert was thoroughly annoying—her innocent face belied a strange talent for getting under people’s skin.
‘The Sapphire Hall, of all places. His Majesty must be completely taken in by that sly girl.’
Even royals were rarely given use of the ultra-luxurious Sapphire Hall.
“Sapphire Hall” was just a nickname.
That building, surrounded by a sapphire-blue lake, was famed for its dazzling, beautiful scenery. A past Empress had fallen so deeply under its spell that she’d made it her residence.
‘Wait, hold on. The Sapphire Hall?’
The First Prince’s eyes narrowed.
“Licht will be attending too, won’t he?”
“Yes, of course.”
A crooked smile played on the First Prince’s lips.
His businesses in ruins—whether that was truly Licht’s doing or not—
‘Time to find out.’
As for the young Lady…
‘If she gets caught in the middle, so be it.’
I was bored.
“How much longer are you going to fuss with my hair?”
How many rounds of oil? And why put cream on my face only to wipe it off?
“I even had a cucumber facial!”
“A cucumber facial? There weren’t any cucumbers left.”
I patted my gently rounded belly.
“They’re right here.”
“Did you do a cucumber facial on your internal organs?”
Hazel furrowed her brow deeply.
Hmm. At a loss for words, I went back to sitting still like a doll. The maids hurried about—the best thing I could do was stay out of their way.
‘This is so boring.’
Twisting and fidgeting, I let my gaze linger on the potion bottle resting on the vanity.
Suddenly, a suspicion crept up.
‘But… Is this really genuine? It’s not tampered with, is it?’
It left me uneasy, coming straight from the King of Kasalia’s pockets.
‘It looks exactly like the fake I made…’
I was twirling the vial in my hands when—
“Save me.”
Dad trudged in holding a stack of paperwork, face drawn and weary.
“Yikes. Another work avalanche.”
I obligingly made space for him on the sofa.
“At the pace I’m going, I need to review three documents per minute to make it to your birthday party. Is this normal?”
“What, are you running a kingdom behind my back?”
Dad cracked a wry smile.
“Ruby, this is the reality of adulthood. Still want to grow up?”
Disaster. My poor dad, the Duke, was completely jaded.
‘No wonder he hates His Majesty the Emperor.’
He could never set foot in the capital without getting buried under work.
“If you’re so busy, why not work in the study, instead of here?”
“Because I feel like it.”
His hands flicked briskly through papers.
Anyway, Dad roaming around the mansion like some kind of digital nomad was nothing new, so I just looked back at the mirror.
Then, my eyes drifted again to the potion.
‘Ah.’
A mischievous thought struck me.
“Daddy.”
“What?”
“How about we test whether this is real or not?”
Shake, shake.
I gave a playful smile and waggled the vial. Dad arched an eyebrow at me.
Of course, he knew all about how the potion ended up in my hands.
“Is verification really necessary?”
“Well, you never know.”
Also, I was bored.
“If there’s something wrong with this potion, your hair and mine will get all mixed up, right? Since we’re not actually blood related.”
“If it’s genuine, they won’t mix?”
“Exactly.”
At that, Dad considered for a moment.
“Then why do you say we’re not really related?”
“Huh?”
“Aren’t we truly father and daughter?”
“…”
“How much I cherish you—”
Mutter, mutter, mutter.
‘Oh no.’
Dad was sulking.
“Come on, it’s just a way of speaking! Actual blood! We are real, genuine, truly father and daughter! Happy now?”
With a harrumph, Dad slouched back into the chair. Good grief. He gets more childish by the day.
“Sorry, but I’m on edge right now. Having the man who might be your biological father under this roof…”
I see.
“So, are we doing this or not?”
He picked up the documents again, signed quickly, and stamped several—then, after a moment, spoke up in a measured voice.
His sharp violet eyes glanced over at me.
“If you’re that curious, go ahead and test it.”