I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

Chapter 114: Agnes Family Meeting (1)

TL/Editor: Rungir

Schedule: none

Illustrations: none

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"Master, I met that woman. The one named… Rain Dranir, was it?"

These were the words of Liushina, who had arrived at the Chimseong Palace before Zion.

"Was it near the outskirts of the capital? She appeared suddenly while I was dealing with the men of the Fourth Prince, charging at us?"

The witch spoke lightly, but her words greatly intrigued Zion.

"Tell me more."

According to the original chronicles, Rain Dranir shouldn't have been in the capital at this time.

She should have just finished her training, fueled by her anger towards Liushina, and was about to join the hero.

"She wasn't alone. There was a woman with silver hair with her. She seemed much stronger than before, hard to deal with without killing. I feigned a fight and then retreated. Is that alright?"

Normally, Liushina would never let go of someone who dared to confront her, but she remembered Zion's previous mention of Rain Dranir.

"Something about a hero's companion, right? You said they might be useful."

"Right. Well done."

A rare compliment from Zion made Liushina smile in delight.

Her smile was charming, but Zion, looking at his teacup, not her smile, thought to himself.

'A woman with silver hair…'

The likelihood of her being the hero was quite high.

In the chronicles, the hero of Frosimar had silver hair, a rare trait in the empire.

Especially if she was with Rain Dranir.

'Has the story changed again?'

He couldn't help but think so.

Just like Rain, the hero should not be in the capital at this time either.

Thinking about it, Zion's own intervention had significantly altered the original story, so it was natural that other developments would be affected too.

The problem was whether this change was for better or worse.

'Only time will tell.'

There wasn't much room for the situation to worsen.

The original storyline was almost the worst possible.

'No need to seek out the hero right away.'

It seemed better to just keep an eye on the situation for now.

Then,

"Your Highness Zion."

Thierry entered the study.

Zion turned his head towards him, sensing he had something to say.

"The movements of the Fifth Princess are strange. It seems she's targeting us."

"Targeting us?"

"When you were at the Ascalon house, we received information that the Fifth Princess was tracking the Moon's Eye. She might be planning some scheme related to that."

Thierry, always calm as if discussing a walk in the backyard, yet delivering information that was usually impossible to obtain, truly lived up to his reputation as the head of 'Eternal Shadow', the pinnacle of the empire's information network.

Zion once again thought that securing the 'Eternal Shadow' as his first move was the right decision.

There was no better way to create an absolute gap than having the upper hand in information.

“I did anticipate they would make a move around this time.”

“What will you do, Your Highness?”

At Thierry's question, Zion smirked slightly.

“Naturally, we must make our move as well.”

“Should I send forces to the Moon's Eye in advance?”

“No.”

Zion shook his head.

Even though not as formidable as the Eternal Shadow, the Moon's Eye was also one of the top intelligence organizations in the capital.

Therefore, they would be perfectly prepared for any attack.

Such a situation, Zion believed, could be handled without his intervention.

“We’ll strike at Diana’s side.”

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Zion relished the practice of this saying.

In fact, he enjoyed rooting out those who dared touch what was his.

‘This might be a good chance to pluck out some of Diana's spies.’

As if anticipating Zion's response,

“We have already located most of the intelligence organizations affiliated with the Fifth Princess in the capital.”

Thierry replied with a sly smile.

“Master, shall I go? No, I want to go!”

Liushina, standing beside them, chirped in eagerly.

She seemed to think that participating in this mission would give her more opportunities to kill.

“First, finish up with Utekan’s side.”

But Zion shook his head.

“There are others who will take care of this.”

The Twilight Sword Faction, received from the Ascalon family.

Zion intended to test their capabilities this time.

“Hmm, okay, Master. But next time you go somewhere, you must take me.”

Liushina complied readily.

Thierry watched her with a look of wonder.

He knew exactly who Liushina was.

Thus, it was always surprising to see how perfectly Zion controlled her.

“Right.”

Zion gave a brief reply to Liushina and then pushed thoughts of her aside in his mind.

Dealing with Diana seemed sufficient for now, and there were other matters that needed his attention.

‘It's time to start dealing with the calamities.’

Once called the Seven Calamities, now reduced to six by Zion, these were the highest level threats within the empire.

Each of these calamities was exceedingly difficult and tricky to handle, but so far, they had not significantly impacted the empire.

‘But that won’t be the case moving forward.’

The vacancy of the throne due to Urdios' death.

The ensuing chaos in the empire would deepen, and simultaneously, the calamities would grow more formidable.

Eventually, they would become one of the major factors weakening the empire's forces during the war with the demonics.

Therefore, Zion had planned to deal with all the calamities before that happened.

'There's also something to gain by handling the calamities.'

One of the keys for hunting down Utekan.

Of course, handling all six calamities by himself was impossible for Zion.

But he had others who could take care of the calamities on his behalf.

“There’s something you need to do.”

After finishing his thoughts, Zion spoke to Thierry.

A new plan was forming in Zion’s mind.

---

---

“All of them... all communications have been cut off?”

“...Yes.”

The demon in front of Utekan bowed deeper in response to his trembling voice.

Utekan was momentarily silent, disbelief filling his eyes at the current situation.

“That’s impossible…”

It was unimaginable.

Just a day before, all communications with the demons infiltrating the Ascalon family had been severed simultaneously.

It was information Utekan would not have known if he hadn't sent demons to the Ascalon family after sensing something ominous.

What exactly had happened?

It was beyond his comprehension.

“It was definitely after the call for the family head meeting that the communications were cut off.”

It was highly likely that the incident occurred where all the family members gathered in response to the summons.

And that incident was surely connected to Zion Agnes' visit to Ascalon.

There was no tangible evidence, but his conviction was strong.

There was no one else in the empire capable of doing such a thing to the demonics except Zion Agnes.

‘Did they all fall into a trap...?’

No, that couldn’t be.

It was impossible.

The number of monsters infiltrating Ascalon known to Utekan alone numbered in the hundreds.

And there were also a considerable number of high-ranking demons.

‘Even for him, distinguishing and dealing with all those monsters individually is impossible.’

Despite trying to convince himself, unease began to creep into Utekan’s heart.

It was similar to when Hanosral and his direct unit were defeated.

Then,

“Lord Utekan, we’ve just received information leaked from Ascalon.”

A newly arrived demon urgently spoke to Utekan.

“What? Tell me.”

“The Sword King Ludwig's summons was to eradicate all of our forces infiltrated into the family.”

Utekan’s expression didn’t change; he had already suspected as much.

But his face turned grave at the demon’s next words.

“And when everyone had gathered, Zion Agnes, who was there, distinguished the disguised monsters and immediately began their extermination!”

“...!”

The unease that had been rising in his heart turned into reality at that moment.

Of course, the information, being leaked from Ascalon, might not be entirely accurate.

But that was the only explanation that made everything fall into place.

“How… how did he distinguish them?”josei

Utekan asked with burning eyes.

“We couldn't obtain that information,” replied the demon, seemingly finding it difficult to meet Utekan's gaze.

Utekan's face, already stern, began to contort with frustration.

This was a grave matter.

No, calling it grave was an understatement; it was a crisis of monumental proportions.

The complete downfall of the monsters within the Ascalon family was just the tip of the iceberg.

‘If Zion Agnes truly has a way to distinguish hidden monsters...’

The entire demonic presence within the empire could be exposed.

It seemed the method wasn't perfected yet, since it hadn't been publicly disclosed, but it was only a matter of time.

‘We must stop it before it’s too late.’

---

---

The mask, engraved with a strange expression and relief patterns, was essentially the symbol of the Twilight Sword Faction.

It served to conceal one's face and instill fear in the opponent.

And the next moment, whoosh!

Lucas's form shot towards the art gallery at an incredible speed.

Following him, the members of the Twilight Sword Faction, all donning the same masks, began to converge.

Despite the numerous personnel moving simultaneously, not a single sound of footsteps was heard – a sight that was not just astonishing but also eerie.

Swoosh!

In an instant, Lucas and the Twilight Sword Faction cut down all the guards outside the gallery and entered the interior.

Then, whoosh! whoosh! whoosh!

One by one, the lights inside the gallery began to go out.