I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel
Chapter 7

Ivelin Agnes I

“Prince Sion...” Priscilla muttered as she lay in bed, gazing at the intricately carved ceiling.

Sion Agnes.

He was the master of the Sunken Star Palace where she was currently staying, a pariah prince within the imperial family, and also her fiancé.

He was also her biggest interest in recent times.

Just a few days before coming to the palace, the only thing on her mind had been her determination to call off the engagement.

She’d actually been considering it for a long time, but the prince’s obvious and deep affection for her had made it difficult to broach the topic. She’d only recently made up her mind.

Even though she’d brought up the subject with some difficulty, Prince Sion had readily agreed to it. This empire couldn’t have too many men willing to readily accept such a decision from a woman like her—Priscilla Barmelle, of the influential House of Barmelle, a lady who was among the most beautiful and popular in high society.

And what’s more, it’s like he’s become a completely different man.

A transformation had come over him...and it had piqued Priscilla’s curiosity like nothing else.

Not that she had any intention of taking him back as her fiancé, of course. But it was more than enough of a reason to make her want to stay at the palace.

Then there was that inexplicable attack last night...

Priscilla shuddered at the thought of it. She hadn’t been expecting that at all. She’d even been forced to fight the assassins in her nightgown.

They had broken down her door, and because she’d been caught so unawares, she hadn’t been able to put up an adequate defense against their assault. She would have died if the prince hadn’t appeared at the last moment.

Enveloped in some kind of darkness, he’d fought off the attackers with extreme ease. A thrill had run through her as he’d moved about like a phantom, plucking out the hearts of each of the assassins.

After he’d felled all of them and revealed himself from the shroud of shadow, she’d felt relief—not shock or puzzlement.

Prince...Sion?

She remembered sinking to the floor and calling his name without realizing it. Though she had no better understanding of Sion’s mysterious powers than before, it was undeniable that gratitude was creeping into her heart.

I think I like the new Sion much better—

She caught herself and quickly shook her head.

What am I thinking? There’s a much more important matter to consider—what kind of lunatic organized an attack against the palace?!

The target was none other than the palace of Prince Sion, who was known to be living in pseudo-captivity. That was strange; their motives seemed impossible to understand, even given how much easier it was to attack the outskirts of the imperial castle.

Even more intriguing was the fact that Prince Sion had commanded that no news of the attack should spread beyond the palace walls.

It’s normal to alert the central palace to bolster defense, isn’t it?

She couldn’t fathom what Prince Sion was thinking. But one thing was for certain—considering his new personality, he wouldn’t let the matter drop without retaliation.

“Hmm?”

Priscilla noticed some noise outside the window and turned to look. Countless knights were arrayed outside the main entrance of the Sunken Star Palace. And these soldiers weren’t from this palace since the presence emanating from each one was incomparably powerful. They had to be elite knights, even among the already strong soldiers of the imperial castle...

Suddenly, she saw a single figure walk between the knights and approach the gate.

“That’s...” Priscilla whispered, her eyes widening with surprise.

* * *

Dark Celestial Essence.

Not even Sion himself knew much about the origins of this strange power.

All he knew was that he’d had an instinctive control over it since birth. Ever since, he’d put together his own system of knowledge about it.

Last night’s battle had allowed him to reach the first tier of mastery in that system.

While that’s all well and good...

That feat had increased the burden on his body, and that burden would only increase the more progress he made. At a certain point, it would be impossible to withstand it with Sion Agnes’s frail body.

Training would help, no doubt, but the baseline capacity of the body was despairingly low, so that was not a fundamentally effective solution.

I need a way to strengthen this body somehow.

Realigning his priorities, he stared at the knights standing outside the palace who were visible through the window. Dozens of them were there, and not one of them was distracted in the slightest.

Sion was going to meet the master of these knights.

“Prince Sion has arrived,” said an attendant in a polite voice. The door of the reception room opened, and Sion noticed a woman sitting in the seat of honor. She was staring at him.

She had slightly wavy gray hair that fell down to her chest—this color ran in the Agnes family. Her emerald eyes were stern and righteous, as if determined to right all wrongs. Her lips were tightly pursed, attesting to her obstinate character. And, speaking of intense training, her body was muscular.

This was Ivelin Agnes, Sion’s half-sister and one of the princesses of the Agnes Empire.

Does this prince know Ivelin Agnes? Sion wondered. He sat in front of the princess, who was staring at his face.

This Ivelin had been mentioned countless times in Chronicles of Plocimaar the’s Warrior. She was the closest person to a protagonist that the novel had, perhaps with the exception of the warrior.

She was referred to as the Lioness Princess and was monstrously strong despite only being in her early thirties—she was one of the strongest in the world.

In addition, Ivelin was the head of the most powerful factions in the imperial castle. With her unique charisma and characteristic fairness, she was one of the most likely candidates for the throne, especially since she had the complete support of the knights.

She was also the only person in the imperial family who had volunteered to join the warrior’s cause in the novel.

Or rather, tried to join.

She’d been killed before she could manage it.

“Do you feel all right?” Ivelin asked, looking at Sion. Her voice was quiet but potent.

“What do you mean?” Sion tossed back haughtily. It wasn’t a tone she was used to hearing from him. She raised her eyebrow but didn’t comment on it.

“I heard you were attacked last night.”

So in the end, the news spread anyway, Sion thought.

Ivelin’s worried eyes confirmed that she did indeed know of the attack. In truth, it would have been odd if she didn’t, considering her station. It had happened within the imperial castle, and even though Sion had commanded silence, he’d known it would only be a matter of time until the news leaked.

But it had traveled faster than he’d expected.

He didn’t think Ivelin had been behind the attack, however. She wasn’t the sort to plot behind people’s backs, and her weapons of choice were honesty and justice.

“I’m fine, as you can see,” Sion replied.

He’d changed.

Ivelin noticed this as Sion looked her in the eye while speaking.

Had the attack been such a shock to him?

Poor boy.

Compassion and pity filled her eyes.

He’d been banished to this palace since childhood and subjected to endless disdain only because he had been born with less talent than the others. And as if his life hadn’t been hard enough, it had now been threatened by assassins. It was no surprise that this incident had affected him.

“I’m glad to hear that. I will find out who was behind it soon enough and punish them. In addition, I’ll station the knights I brought with me here in the palace. You won’t need to worry anymore.”

Her offer was based purely on goodwill, but...

“That won’t be necessary.”

He refused.

Her eyes widened in surprise, but Sion was determined. Ivelin’s knights would only be a temporary remedy, and they would only lead to more eyes watching him.

“I have plenty of men guarding the palace. Why are you here?”

“After hearing the news...I was just worried. We may be half-siblings, but we are siblings all the same.” She sipped down some tea, then added, “You’ll be an adult soon. You must know that you’ll be required to participate in an ascendancy ritual, right?”

Sion’s gut told him that this was the real reason Ivelin was here.

The ascendancy ritual was required of all who were in the imperial family’s direct line of descent. It was a rite that allowed them to meet the most basic requirement to be a potential successor to the throne. Anyone who failed to pass this ritual could never ever hope to be considered for the throne.

In addition, those who passed would be given the privilege of entering the White Star Palace in the center of the imperial castle, which was separate from the outer palaces.

It would be the first step toward building one’s own political faction.

“You must waive the ceremony,” Ivelin insisted.

She was telling Sion to give it up.

In fact, she’d expected him to do this from the very start. Physical strength was required at the ritual, not charisma or control over other people.

It had always been tradition in the Agnes family to disallow the weak to ever become emperor, which meant immense importance was placed on personal strength.

As such, it would be tantamount to suicide for a weak man like Sion to take part in the ritual, and he was probably aware of this.

However, Sion’s response was not at all what Ivelin had been expecting.

“Why should I?” he asked. He gazed at her with quiet eyes that were reminiscent of a deathly still lake—so quiet, in fact, that they gave her chills.

“Are you telling me you really don’t know the reason?”

“Yes. Why should I?”

Worry and anger sparked within Ivelin’s eyes. Was he aware of his current position at all?

“Who knew you’d be so ignorant...” she said. “You will not manage to pass the ritual. You lack the power and the talent.” She could say this with certainty, having experienced the rite already.

Her voice was cold as she continued.

“You will flounder, unable to make it through even the first challenge. And even if you do manage to complete the ritual and gain access to the White Star Palace, what awaits you there will be far harder and more merciless than the ascendancy ritual itself. You won’t even last a week—no, a day—in that place.”

Was she trying to bear down on him with her power to get him to change his mind?

Her blistering words were accompanied by a massive outburst of energy that began to shake everything inside the reception room.

At the same time, six stars became clearly visible in her eyes.

This was Celestial Tide, a power granted only to those in the direct line of descent of the Agnes family. It placed them above all other living things in the world.

“Waive the ceremony,” she commanded again, her six stars showing that she’d reached the sixth tier of mastery. Ivelin’s power seemed overwhelming as it flooded not only the reception room but the entire palace.

“You know...” Sion began. He was smiling despite being surrounded by power that could make hardened knights crumble. In fact, he almost looked amused as he stared right into her eyes. “Let me ask you a question.”

Something slowly began to carve cracks in Ivelin’s intense energy.

“Who told you I was powerless?”

Sion’s eyes curved as he smiled, and a single dark star spun within them.