The Youngest Is Preventing the End of the World

Turning my head to find the direction of the gaze, I froze.

“Oh no, Lake was looking at me!

My little hand holding the candy, to be precise.

……Maybe Lake wanted a candy too?

“Lake, I’m sorry. I only got one candy…….”

rake replied to my apology, setting the box she was holding down on the table.

“No, I’m fine, sweetheart.”

No matter how much I say that, I can’t keep it to myself…….

He’s looking at that candy (my hand) like it’s adorable (?)!

“Do you want me to go over and ask for another one now? Or do you want me to give you half?”

I ask seriously, and for some reason, rake’s face contorts strangely.

And he hangs his head low.

“What’s wrong with him?

In a panic, I rush over to him.

“…Poof.”

Huh? Poop? Is that a laugh……?

Oh, no.

‘Rake is rumoured to be the most unsmiling knight in the family.’

There’s no way he was laughing.

It wasn’t even like there was anything particularly funny going on right now-.

“I’m, um, I’m really fine, so…. You don’t have to make that sad face, uh, and hold the candy so tightly…….”

“……I had a face like that!?”

Lies!

As I shouted that, I stopped looking around.

i look my face in the small mirror on one of the walls…….
“…….”

Droopy eyes. Pouting lips.

Sullen eyes.

The look of someone who’s afraid their candy is going to be taken away from them…, right?

“I don’t like candy, so you can have it all to yourself.”

rake said, a faint smile still on his face.

‘Ew. Embarrassing.’

I peeled off the candy and popped it into Ang’s mouth.

Oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh-.

I gently opened my closed eyes.

“……Yummy!”

What the hell?!

It smelled so strongly of strawberries, but it tasted slightly milky, so soft and sweet!

“Do you like it, young lady?”

“Yes!”

rake laughed again at my answer.

Hmm, that’s odd.

I thought to myself, “I thought I heard that Rake was not as funny as her elder brother, but she laughs well?

I guess you can’t trust rumours.

Munching on the candy, I glanced around the waiting room.

Portraits of all the emperors hang on the walls in the back.

The first was the stern face of the first emperor.

‘Hmm, a little handsome. Not as handsome as my brothers, though.

Next up was the dark face of the second emperor.

And then…….

And so my gaze travelled through each portrait, until finally it came to the last one.

“……ah.”

Black hair that seemed to colour the darkest night in the world.

Eyes as deep as the ocean, as blue as the sky.

Crisp, sharp features.

Unlike the other emperors, he was painted as a child.

I recognised him at a glance.

The real protagonist of this world.

The one who would save it, and the one who would destroy it.

“…….”

I turned round, feeling bittersweet.

‘That kid would later be mind-controlled by Lucifer and destroy the world.

Yeah.

That’s the ending of the original, which is to say, the future of the world in the first place.

An ending where the protagonist goes on a rampage and destroys the world in a dark scheme.

‘I remember everyone cursing at the novel.

‘What a shitty ending.

It’s depressing.

Did the author even think about making money, etc.

But something else bothered me more than the end of the world ending.

“…It must have been lonely.”

“What did you say, young lady?”

I muttered to myself, and she responded.

“Oh, rake.”

Yes, rake was there.

I hadn’t realised because he was so knightly (?).

I walked over to Rake, who was standing guard near the door.

“I wonder if the Emperor is feeling very lonely and forlorn.”

Linus became Emperor when he was my age.

With nothing but people who wanted to do him harm.

“The imperial castle is shiny and big and wonderful…. but the Emperor is alone.”

Not only is there no blood relation, but there are also cunning servants who want to bend the young emperor to their will.

‘Linus’ childhood was so lonely in the passing in the original story…….’

“Lady.”

Rake paused as I showed concern for the young emperor.

“…His Majesty is under the excellent care of the Grand Duke, so you shouldn’t worry.”

“…….”

Rake must know that the truth is not as he describes it.

I’m sure he’s just trying to sound nice to comfort me.

As proof, Rake’s expression was dark.

Knowing that, I still nodded.

“…Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

For now, I could only reply like this…….

“But if you’re still worried, perhaps you could be a friend to His Majesty the Emperor…….”

Huh? Wait.

“Friend?”

“Umm. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…”

“Oh, that’s a great idea!”

“It’s ……?”

Yes! Friend!

Why didn’t I think of that?

“The number one reason Linus fell for Lucifer was because of his distrust toward humans!

Linus grew up distrustful of people due to a childhood wound.

He thinks the world is dirty and ugly.

So when Lucifer tells him that he needs to fix the world, he stops…….

“Yes, I’ll be your friend, and I’ll give you delicious things to eat, and I’ll show you how pretty and good things are in the world!”

If you let them know from a young age that the world is a good place-.

I won’t fall for that bullshit about destroying the world we’ve already ruined and making a new one!

“Ah, young lady. What I said earlier was a mistake…….”

Rake was about to say something again.

Tick-tock-.

There was a knock on the door, and the closed door opened, the servant from earlier appeared again.

“You’ve been waiting a long time. Mr. Cartier. I will escort you to the real estate.”

Oh, already?

“Yes!”

I replied cheerfully, picking up the box Lake had set down.

“Well, then, Lake. I’ll be right back!”

“Well, miss, really, what I was talking about earlier was-.”

Quang-.

I heard Rake say something through the closing door.

“He means to say good-bye, I suppose!

I followed the servant from the behind.

After crossing the three turnes with my short legs (I’m only ten years old), I arrived at the door of the main palace.

“Her Royal Highness Diana of the Marquise de Cartier wishes to see Your Highness.”

The servant at the door loudly announced my arrival.

“I’m finally going to meet the real man-, but wait.

Everyone’s been talking about the Grand Duke of Judah, not the Emperor.

Even if the young emperor was a puppet emperor, I couldn’t help but notice how much they looked down on him.

‘Being ignored in a place like this is why Linus is so frustrated.’

I’ll have to befriend him and give him as much attention as I can.

While I was making up my mind.

The door to the main palace opened wide and-.

“……?”

I realized why the servants had called the Grand Duke, not the Emperor, to announce my visit.

“Emperor, can’t you see me?

It was not the Emperor, but the Grand Duke of Judah with his aides.

“His Majesty the Emperor is unable to attend this ceremony due to illness, but there is no need to worry because the Grand Duke is here today.”

Before I could say anything, the Grand Duke’s aide explained the situation.

Of course, I quickly realized it was a lie.

“You’re trying to take away all of the young emperor’s responsibilities and turn him into an incompetent adult.

How pathetic.

I glanced at the Grand Duke of Judah in front of me.

“You are the youngest of the Cartieres, I see.”

A handsome man, but with an uncomfortable air about him, said.

“Judah del Stein.”

That’s Grand Duke Judah.

The bad guy who consistently torments the protagonist …….

“Maybe he’s Lucifer.

Of course, Lucifer’s identity was never revealed in the original story, so we don’t know for sure.

Still, I had a pretty strong suspicion of Grand Duke Judas.

‘He’s the one who could most likely be a bad influence on the protagonist.

He stared at me for a while, just as I stared at him.

Then, after a moment.

“……The Marquis de Cartier’s youngest son has the intelligence of a former marquis in his eyes.”

What? It sounds like a compliment, but it’s not.

We all know that my biological father was a good fighter, but he wasn’t the bright
person.

In other words, it’s aristocratic bullshit. This.

“Well, if that’s how you’re going to come out, I’ve got an idea.

“Thank you. Greetings to Your Highness, the moon that lights up the night of the Empire.”

A gentle pull at the skirt of her dress.

The angle of the bow, not too deep, but not too shallow.

A soft voice and a gleam in my eyes.

‘I even threw the twist that you’re not the sun, i.e. the emperor, but only the moon, i.e. the second-in-command!’

That should be enough to make quite the impression on a first encounter with a potentially shadowy villain!

“……Hmm, he’s kind of cute because he doesn’t look like a former Marquis.”

Wait, what does that mean?

‘Kind of cute’?

Isn’t that like, “He’s got a lot of attitude for a kid, or something?

And you just said my eyes look like my father’s, and then you change your tune?

“By the way, why did you even mention the name of the moon……. Did Gabriel Cartier make you do that?”

No, Gabriel, why is your brother here?

That greeting was purely my idea!

“You are far more cunning than your rumors suggest, Gabriel Cartier.”

Said Archduke Judah, muttering to himself as if he didn’t think I’d hear him.

“Aye. Very well, young man. What is it that your brother has told you to tell me?”

“……I came to see you, not my brother, but myself!”

At my emphasized words, the Grand Duke of Judah’s eyes narrowed.

He soon nodded in approval.

“Very well, then state your case.”

Tsk, talking like an emperor when you’re not one.

I pouted my lips inside.

“If you’re asking for Sir Noah Cartier to be summoned quickly, I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

Huh? Why is my second brother, the one who defends our borders, suddenly mentioned here?