I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

Chapter 99: Heavenly Punishment (2)

TL/Editor: Rungir

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Illustrations: none

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"I failed."

The woman, looking at Utekan, had a faint sense of frustration on her face.

How many failures had it been by now?

"All the ones we sent died, and the area around them was in ruins. Of course, Zion Agnes wasn't there."

There's a saying that one shouldn't get used to failure.

The woman deeply agreed with that.

That's why she always considered all possible variables when planning something and poured more than enough ability into it.

Thanks to this, she rarely failed.

But when it came to matters involving Zion Agnes, nothing had been successful.

"What went wrong this time?"

Dozens of mid-level demons and two high-level ones.

Such a force could wipe out a small city overnight.

Even if Prince Zion had been in good health, it wouldn't have been easy to annihilate them completely.

There must have been some other variable.

"I don't know."

Utekan shook his head in response to her question.

The woman's eyes filled with curiosity as she observed his calm demeanor.

"What's this? You're calmer than I thought. I expected you to be furious."

Considering it was a golden opportunity, Utekan's face was too tranquil for someone who had even mobilized one of his direct units.

As if he hadn't failed.

Then, a low voice escaped from Utekan.

"Isn't it strange?"

"What is?"

"It's been too quiet since then."

It had been a week since the attack.

The original Zion Agnes would have acted by now.

He was not one to sit still after being attacked.

"That is indeed a bit strange."

The woman nodded in agreement.

"According to the information we've gathered, Zion Agnes hasn't left his bedroom for some time now. He's not even eating properly and is turning away all visitors."

"Could it be..."

Then,

"That's right. Zion Agnes might be in a serious condition now."

Hanosral, the King of Assassins, suddenly appeared and spoke.

His eyes, which used to be devoid of any emotion, were now flickering with cold anger.

Having failed to obtain the angel's blood in the Angeloshi territory and lost his direct subordinate, Kezarus, Hanosral's anger was even surpassing Utekan's.

"So, you mean... our guys were somehow annihilated, but Zion Agnes might also have suffered serious injuries and is now recuperating in Chimseong Palace?"

"It's not just recuperating. There's information that he's brought in a mysterious figure. His life might be in critical danger."

Hanosral nodded and replied to the woman's question.

"But it might not be the case. We can't move hastily."

Utekan spoke with subdued eyes.

Usually, with this level of information and circumstantial evidence, one would be confident, but the subject was Zion Agnes.

He was more meticulous and profound in strategy than anyone else, always exceeding their expectations with his actions.

Therefore, all of this could be a ruse.

They had already been deceived once.

"Then how will we be certain?"

This might be the biggest opportunity to kill Zion Agnes.

An opportunity that might not come again.

They needed to make a quick decision.

"Let's decide at the Grand Banquet, which is in two days."

Utekan answered the woman's question with a cold expression.

"Sigh..."

Maid Kali walked down the hallway of Chimseong Palace, letting out a small sigh.

The reason for her sigh was simple.

She had not seen Prince Zion at all recently.

Of course, her duties as a maid weren't hindered, but the problem was her other identity.

A spy planted in Chimseong Palace by the faction of the Fourth Prince.

That was Kali's true identity.

'I have nothing to report.'

For over a week, her reports had been nothing more than 'did not leave the bedroom today.'

Furthermore, access anywhere near the bedroom was restricted, leaving her with no way to gather information.

'I need to find another way... Huh?'

Just then, Kali caught sight of Sir Fredo, Prince Zion's loyal knight, talking to someone in a corner of the hallway.

She quickly pressed herself against the corner to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"...is there no improvement?"

"No. It's getting worse, in fact."

The person talking to Fredo was the white-haired woman who had been seen in Chimseong Palace for the past few days.

The only woman, aside from Fredo, allowed into Prince Zion's bedroom.

Kali didn't know her identity, but she guessed that their conversation was related to Prince Zion.

"If this continues, his life might even be in danger."

"Oh, no! Prince Zion..."

The woman's words followed by Fredo's sigh.

There was no need to hear more.

'Prince Zion is critically ill!'

This was explosive information that would cause a huge stir if it became known.

She had to report it.

Kali quietly backed away, minimizing any noise.

After she had completely disappeared, suddenly, the conversation between Fredo and the woman stopped.

The Agnes Grand Banquet.

The largest banquet among the empire's events, a major event for the royal family.

Essentially a gathering of the highest echelons of power guiding the Agnes Empire.

Therefore, the royals always attended this banquet.

In one corner of the grand banquet hall,

"......"

Priscilla sat at a table in the corner, looking over the banquet hall with a complex gaze.

Her presence here had one reason.

Her father, Gustav Bammel, had brought her along.

"Come and build connections with the children of other families."

Priscilla couldn't defy her father's words.

Especially since she was already in disfavor for discussing the annulment of her engagement with Prince Zion Agnes without consulting her family.

Of course, she regretted it now, but the annulment process was nearly complete.

'But... isn't Prince Zion coming?'

While other royals had already taken their places in the banquet hall, Prince Zion was noticeably absent.

This left the nobles supporting Prince Zion appearing somewhat lost in the hall, unlike those aligned with other royals.

"......"

Most of them, originally neutral or under the Third Prince Enoch, were casting anxious glances towards the entrance of the hall.

Then,

"Prince Zion is running late, it seems."

Groud Ozlima, the first heir of the Ozlima family, spoke beside the First Prince Rubrious.

"Could something have happened to him?"

As if waiting for this cue, a flood of conversations about Zion began.

"Exactly. He may not usually attend events, but the Grand Banquet is different..."

"Maybe he will come? He was the last to arrive at the last national council meeting, too."

"But considering it's already halfway through the banquet..."

It seemed like they had all been watching and waiting to discuss Zion.

In truth, they couldn't help it.

Since the funeral of the previous emperor, the interest in Prince Zion had soared more than ever.

Hence, all the nobles present were, knowingly or unknowingly, conscious of Zion, and this included the royals.

Then,

"I heard he's not well? It's not something I heard directly, though."

Princess Diana casually mentioned this, answering the questions of many.

"Ah, I also heard recently that Prince Zion hasn't been leaving Chimseong Palace..."

"I've heard that too. It's certainly odd considering now is the time he should be most active."

"He's also refusing all meetings with others. Could it be that Prince Zion is really..."

People, regardless of status, enjoy gossip.

They all knew the rumors about Prince Zion, but since they were negative, they hadn't spoken them aloud.

However, now that Princess Diana had mentioned it, there was no need to hold back.

'Come to think of it, I've been turned away from Chimseong Palace recently. Is Prince Zion really unwell?'

As Priscilla listened to the nobles' conversation, her face lit up with concern.

"Really worrying. If it's this serious, it might not just be a minor illness, but something much more grave..."

Diana muttered with a worried expression.

But those who knew Princess Diana well understood that she wasn't actually worried.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have brought up such a topic at the banquet.

In fact, Diana's eyes were covertly scanning the crowd, gauging their reactions to her words.

Then,

"Don't say such things, Diana. Zion will be fine. It's not right to speculate like that."

First Prince Rubrious interjected, having quietly listened.

Diana looked at him with a puzzled expression.

If it had been Evelyn who said this, she would have understood, but Rubrious had no apparent reason to defend Zion.

So she asked,

"Since when are you and Zion on such good terms?"

"It's not about being on good terms or not. Zion is our brother. It's natural for family to care for each other."

“Ha……”

Diana's face turned even more incredulous at Rubrious's response.

Considering he was her brother too, his actions were quite contradictory to hers.

"Ha ha, let's focus on the banquet now!"

Next to them, Fourth Prince Utekan laughed happily, trying to change the subject.

"There's no point in talking about someone who's not here."

But Utekan's attention, too, was heavily focused on Zion.

In fact, he was even more concerned than the others, just not outwardly so.

‘If he hasn’t arrived by now…’

Utekan glanced towards the entrance of the banquet hall, a subtle smile playing on his lips.

‘No doubt about it.’

His suspicion was turning into conviction.

Zion Agnes must have suffered a severe injury during the last attack and was now in critical condition.

He had already received reports to that effect from his spies in Chimseong Palace.

‘Now, how to use this opportunity.’

The banquet was no longer important to Utekan.

His mind was solely on planning Zion Agnes's demise.

‘First, I need to coordinate with the other Oma-ryeong…’

As he thought this, a flash of red glinted in Utekan's eyes.

Step.

A single footstep sounded.

Though very faint, it resounded clearly in the ears of everyone in the banquet hall.

“……!”

Simultaneously, heads turned almost hypnotically towards the familiar, ominous sound of the footsteps.

There he was.

The man entering the banquet hall with his usual languid gaze.

Zion Agnes.

Step, step.

Merely walking, yet everyone's eyes were fixed on him, unable to look away.

His gaze, gestures, and stride.

Every aspect radiated an alien yet overwhelming aura that seemed to weigh down and captivate the crowd.

‘Something has changed.’

Diana's eyes flickered as she watched him.

Her appearance hadn't changed at all, but she definitely felt it.

If before she sensed only eeriness in his stride, now there was something surpassing that.

Something that seemed impossible for any being of this world to possess.

And that very thing was making even Diana's body tremble.

Step.

Zion's steps stopped at the center of the banquet hall.

“…….”

With just his presence, Zion had taken control of the room, calmly surveying the people looking at him.

Fear, anger, confusion, joy.

Various emotions were displayed on the faces of the people, and at that moment, Zion's eyes fixed on Utekan, who was staring back at him with wide eyes.

Then,

"Were you waiting for me?"

A slow smile formed on Zion's lips.

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Enjoy the chappy! Hey it's Rungir! To explain in short, I am back after a long hiatus due to school. I recently entered a new program which was way more time consuming and the workload was absolutely massive and difficult to deal with. However, with the new changes to the translation process and just me being able to adjust to the workload now, I can now come back and translate once again. I apologize for the inconvenience i caused and for the lack of communication regarding the translations. While I may not be able to be as active as before, I look forward to being able to consistently drop chapters and hopefully pick up new novels for you guys once again.

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