I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

TL/Editor: raei

Status: ongoing

Illustrations: nonen/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Join the discord! Here

"Hero? And master of the world... what does that mean?"

The Crown Prince's voice filled with question as her gaze shifted between the silver-haired woman who had suddenly appeared and knelt, and Zion who looked down at her.

No answer came, but Wolhaun's mind had already begun piecing together Zion's identity from those words.

'Come to think of it... it was strange.'

His way of speaking that hadn't changed even after learning she was the Crown Prince.

And how that attitude didn't feel out of place at all.

'Master of the world...'

Only one being deserved such a title.

The master of the Agnes Empire - the Emperor.

But as far as she knew, the emperor's throne was currently empty.

'Then why call him this? Is it some kind of code between them? Unless... no way.'

As the Crown Prince carefully studied Zion's hair while considering one possibility-

Zion turned his head toward her.

Seeing Wolhaun start slightly, he quietly spoke:

"I'd like to talk with her alone."

"With me? ...Oh."

The Crown Prince quickly realized he meant Claire rather than herself and stepped aside with a slightly awkward expression.

After Wolhaun's presence completely faded-

"...I apologize for my disrespectful attitude until now."

Claire's voice flowed out, seemingly more composed than before.

"How did you figure it out?"

Zion asked Claire.

Though he had given her hints, those alone shouldn't have been enough to reach the answer so quickly.

She must have gotten information elsewhere.

"I briefly visited the 'Temple of Fate' before coming to the Beast Sea."

"The gods of fate aren't very tight-lipped, it seems."

Zion smiled slightly at this before speaking to the hero again.

"Aren't you skeptical? It should be hard to believe."

"No. Rather, everything made sense after learning you were the Eternal Emperor's reincarnation. All the achievements and deeds you've accomplished."

Everything Prince Zion had done since coming of age was literally impossible.

But after learning he was the Eternal Emperor's reincarnation, all those questions had been answered in Claire's mind.

Nothing was impossible before him.

Moreover, she now understood the power he had shown through Chronos's Five Questions when facing Pride at the border.

The only thing she couldn't understand was why he had hidden his power and identity as the "confined prince" until adulthood, but Claire figured he must have his reasons.

"Who else knows this?"

"Only me so far. Even if I told others, they wouldn't believe it."

"I see."

After briefly studying Claire's eyes, Zion spoke again.

"You look relieved."

The hero nodded.

"...I was confused at first."

Her lips slowly opened.

"I felt useless, and when I thought the gods didn't trust me, I even began doubting the regression itself."

The sense of purpose to save the world had grown hazy.

"But... as time passed and the more I thought about it, I felt more and more at ease. Just knowing you exist in the same time as me."

She had always felt backed into a corner.

The edge of a cliff where one wrong step would send her plunging into an endless abyss.

That had been Claire's actual situation, which led to constant anxiety and impatience.

She had more sleepless nights than not, and often dry heaved and vomited where others couldn't see.

The salvation of a world destined for destruction, and her companions' lives.

She had thought everything rested on her shoulders alone.

But after learning Prince Zion was the Eternal Emperor, that burden gradually lifted.

Moreover, Claire realized she had unconsciously begun relying on Prince Zion more and more as the burden disappeared.

"And I realized something else. That I could truly dedicate and pledge myself to serving you."

Eternal Emperor Aurelion Khan Agnes.

The only person to become myth while still living.

If she couldn't trust such a being, there was no one in this world she could trust.

'Though there is one worry...'

Claire shook her head slightly to dismiss the thought.

It wasn't her place to worry about that.

"You don't need to dedicate everything. Just follow my instructions well."

Zion answered with an indifferent expression before immediately changing the subject.

"That's enough about that. Let's get to the point. You know Moon King's Battle begins soon?"

"Yes, I do. However..."

"Go on."

Zion nodded as Claire seemed to hesitate.

"The upcoming Moon King's Battle is very likely a trap to lure us in."

"Why?"

"For Moon King's Battle to begin, the Crown Prince and most of the resistance leadership must enter enemy territory. The Beast King couldn't ask for a better opportunity."

A perfect chance to cut off the resistance's head.

"There are laws against harming each other during Moon King's Battle, but they won't be followed. Having already allied with demons, breaking one law wouldn't be strange..."

The hero stopped speaking there.

A strange smile had appeared on Zion's lips as he watched her.

"...Don't tell me you proposed Moon King's Battle knowing this would happen?"

Zion didn't answer, but Claire was certain he had known.

"I need you and your companions to do something in this Moon King's Battle."

"Participate in the proxy battle?"

"No."

Zion quietly shook his head.

Then from his lips came-

"Do you remember what the Beast King was after during this time?"

His voice had dropped even lower.

---

Inside a massive hall-

"Your Majesty, may I ask one thing?"

A tiger beast-kin quietly spoke while carefully watching the Beast King seated on the throne.

"Speak."

Despite their recent major defeat, Wolbyeokcheon's voice held a strange excitement.

Though puzzled by this, the tiger beast-kin continued:

"May I ask why you accepted Moon King's Battle?"

In his view, there was no need to accept the proposal.

Though they had taken massive damage from the recent defeat, an overwhelming difference in military power still existed between them and the rebels.

The war would naturally end if they simply crushed the rebels using that advantage as they had been doing.

There was no need to give them the opportunity of Moon King's Battle.

"Of course we'll win, but is there any need to even give them the possibility..."

Before the tiger beast-kin could finish-

"This Moon King's Battle. How many do you think will come from the rebel side?"

Wolbyeokcheon spoke while still wearing that strange smile beneath his mask.

"...At least several hundred?"

"Then how many of those would be rebel leadership?"

"...!"

The tiger beast-kin's eyes widened as he finally understood the Beast King's thinking.

"Moon King's Battle itself isn't important. What matters is that all the rebel leadership will gather here."

"B-but there are laws against harming enemies during Moon King's Battle..."

The tiger beast-kin couldn't finish.

The Beast King's eyes visible through his mask.

Those red eyes revealed he had never intended to follow the law in the first place.

"Laws only have meaning when backed by overwhelming power."

Laws without that were mere arrangements of words.

"I can hardly wait."

As he spoke these words, thick killing intent began filling Wolbyeokcheon's eyes.

---

Rabbit King Castle.

An island at the Beast Sea's very center that was itself one massive fortress.

As the Beast King's residence, its scale was second only to the Agnes Imperial Palace Complex in the entire empire.

Inside a massive training ground within this castle-

ROAR!

Tremendous cheers that made the air ripple filled the space.

The source of these cheers was the countless beast-kin surrounding the training ground.

Their numbers were beyond counting.

Their eyes shone with great anticipation for the upcoming Moon King's Battle.

As this proxy battle would determine the next Beast King, the participants' level would be beyond imagination. For these martial artists, the chance to witness such superhuman combat was an opportunity worth more than gold.

In the VIP seats prepared at one side of the training ground amid the endless cheers-

The Beast King Wolbyeokcheon and the elders sat.

"Haha, to think we must go this far against mere rebels."

"Indeed. I never imagined such a day would come."

"Well, let's think positively. In a way, this could be a shortcut to ending the war quickly."

Unlike the chatting elders, Wolbyeokcheon sat silently watching the resistance's area on the opposite side.

More precisely, his gaze was fixed on Crown Prince Wolhaun.

'You haven't changed at all.'

Though Moon King's Battle rules prevented early contact between competitors so he could only watch from afar, he could still tell.

His niece remained as weak as when she had fled leaving her dying father behind.

'You will never sit on the throne.'

As Wolbyeokcheon smiled coldly at the Crown Prince-

"Now we will begin Moon King's Battle!"

The MC's voice boomed out.

ROAR!

The martial artists' cheers grew even louder.

"This Moon King's Battle will be conducted as a proxy battle rather than direct combat, with five representatives from each side engaging in duels."

The MC's explanation continued amid the cheers.

"The duels will be one-on-one, and victorious representatives will face the next opponent without substitution."

Meaning the battles wouldn't end after one fight but continue until defeat.

Perhaps due to pressure from the audience wanting things to proceed quickly-

"...Now, the representatives from both sides will enter!"

The MC quickly finished his explanation and moved to the next phase.

Wolbyeokcheon's representatives began entering first.

"Th-that's Paryundo!"

"To think he'd participate... wasn't he usually uninterested in such things?"

"Look behind him! The Spear King is there too!"

"...This is insane! Absolutely insane!"

The audience's eyes filled with shock as they saw the lineup of representatives.

The Beast Sea was massive enough to cover a third of the empire's total area including sea territory, and consequently had countless powerful figures within it.

Among them were supreme masters considered nearly 'Seven Heavens' level within the Beast Sea, though not well known in the empire.

Several such supreme masters were among the representatives now entering.

'Still can't be careless.'

Wolbyeokcheon smiled inwardly at the martial artists' reactions.

Though Moon King's Battle wasn't his main focus, he had no intention of taking it lightly.

His plan was to crush them overwhelmingly and thoroughly, then take their lives afterward.

'Now what will you do, niece?'

As he thought this while watching the masked Wolhaun-

"...Truly all five are at an incredible level that leaves one speechless. I wonder if even one can be defeated. Now then, the Crown Prince's representatives will enter... huh?"

The MC paused while trying to introduce Wolhaun's representatives and looked at the paper with the list.

His eyes began filling with bewilderment.

After checking the list several times-

Finally, his voice filled with confusion and shock rang out:

"The Crown Prince has... just one representative."

And with those words-

Step.

An ominous footstep began echoing through the training ground.