Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 108

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Is that really true? He told you to come again tomorrow?”
“Yes! The Marquis said to Dana, ‘You! If you don’t come tomorrow and taste the Marquis’s cake, you’ll be in for it!’ That’s what he said.”
After finishing dinner, I was having tea with the Duchess when Duke Elrad returned from work and joined us.
Diana recounted her visit to the Marquis’s Residence that day, mimicking him with exaggerated dignity, and Duke Elrad let out an amused chuckle.
“Even with age, his manner of speech remains unchanged.”
The Duke, who seemed lost in nostalgia, turned to me with a question.
“So you’re going to the Marquis’s Residence again tomorrow?”
“Yes… The Marquis said he injured his leg because of me, and he asked me to stay by his side while he receives treatment.”
“He really knows how to push his luck.”
As I fumbled for a response, the Duke clicked his tongue and frowned. Yet he added as if resigned to it.
“Once the graduation ceremony ends, you’ll be heading back to the Territory anyway, so endure it for a little while. Despite his complaints, he secretly grants whatever he’s asked for, so take this opportunity to obtain things you’ve wanted.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the Duke’s mischievous remark.
Moreover, I was surprised that the Duke understood the Marquis so accurately.
Marquis Diapel, to borrow the words of Rope—a senior member of Terenthium—was a “pushover” type with only a fierce appearance.
The Marquis, who had once criticized my clothing for quite some time, arrived days later with a bundle of garments and said:
“I found these. You can throw them away or keep them, as you wish.”
The designs were simple—commoner’s dresses, blouses, and trousers—but the fabric itself was of a quality rarely seen in markets. It was clear the clothes had been custom-made at a high-end clothing shop.
Another time, he scolded me for wandering about like a beggar every day, calling my frail body useless.
Foolishly, I asked him in surprise, “How did you know I was a beggar?”
Upon hearing those words, the Marquis’s face flushed in an instant, and he fled as if his tail were on fire.
The next day, I found myself holding five three-tiered lunch boxes prepared by the Marquis’s kitchen staff and meal vouchers from a famous restaurant.
Beyond that, the Marquis, who kept saying he’d “found these” and handing me precious items, behaved as though he were desperate to do something for me.
‘I had merely served as a conversation partner a few times as a cafe employee at a place he frequented.’
…Of course, that wasn’t the whole story.
In truth, the Marquis likely knew as well. How could a cafe housing the headquarters of the Empire’s largest and most secretive Information Guild be an ordinary establishment?
Especially someone like me, manning the counter, would naturally be assumed to be a guild member.
‘Though he probably didn’t think I was a top-tier informant…’
That was it. My meeting with Marquis Diapel had come about because he visited to entrust a commission to Terenthium.
One day, an elderly man in commoner’s clothes, leaning on a cane to compensate for his inconvenient leg—apparently trying to conceal his identity—entered the cafe.
I remembered the portraits of all the nobility within the Empire, so I recognized at a glance that he was the previous Marquis Diapel, who had recently returned to the Capital City.
As I expected, the Marquis entrusted a commission to find someone to the Master, and the results that came back shortly after were, unfortunately, not favorable.
Whether his heart was broken, the Marquis stumbled as he descended the staircase after hearing the results.
“Grandfather, are you alright?”
For some reason, I had been concerned about him since he first placed the commission, and fortunately, I was able to catch him before he fell.
Unlike his usual reputation for being stubborn, the Marquis looked at me with a dazed expression and said, “I’m fine, thank you.”
His appearance only deepened my concern. So I quickly guided him to a window table and served him warm tea and my favorite sweet cake.
“It tastes wonderful. I should come here often.”
I thought the Marquis’s words, spoken with his eyes closed as he savored the taste, were merely passing remarks.
Since the commission results had turned out poorly, I believed there was no reason for him to visit the Information Guild again.
However, the Marquis continued to visit the cafe afterward, and before long, he had become a regular.
“Grandfather! Aren’t you consuming too much sugar? I’m worried it might be bad for your health.”
“I’ve wanted to eat these things my whole life, and now I’m finally getting to enjoy them. Why are you scolding me? What pleasures does an old man have left?”
We both concealed our true identities and deeper intentions.
As I spent time with the Marquis this way, I found myself feeling—despite knowing it made no sense—as though we truly were grandfather and granddaughter.
It was a different emotion from what I felt toward the Guild executives I’d grown up alongside.
Perhaps because I’d called him “grandfather” so often back then, the word had stuck to my tongue, and I’d nearly slipped up several times today.
Though he didn’t point it out directly, the Marquis looked at me each time with an expression suggesting he had much to say.
Even Askart beside us flinched noticeably, making me even more self-conscious.
“I mustn’t make that mistake again starting tomorrow.”
I was steeling myself with this resolve, uncertain though it might prove, when—
“Why are you so quiet? Is something troubling you?”
The Duke called to the Duchess Elrad, who sat beside him merely fidgeting with her teacup.
She smiled faintly and spoke.
“The snow is falling unusually heavily. If the Capital City is like this, I can only imagine what the Duchy must be like. Lucio is departing at dawn today, and I’m worried about him.”
At her words, I turned my head to gaze out the Reception Room window.
Small, seemingly harmless white snowflakes swirled in the cold wind.
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“Sigh…”
For some reason, my mind was restless and sleep wouldn’t come.
It seemed like hours had passed since I’d lain down.
Eventually, I rose and turned on the lamp at the bedside table, then exhaled a deep sigh.
“Is there any way I could help the Marquis and Askart?”
Recently, as I’d been frequenting the Marquis’s Residence, a discomfort had lingered in my heart.
Previously, I hadn’t noticed because Marquis Diapel rarely showed his feelings, but Askart often suddenly revealed the wound of losing his younger brother even when we were together.
Seeing Askart like that troubled me, even as it bewildered me.
Yet there was nothing concrete I could actually do.
Suddenly, an old memory surfaced.
“Master. The guest who came today—that was the previous Marquis Diapel, wasn’t it?”
Instead of answering me, Master continued reading his documents.
Accustomed to his dismissal, I paid it no mind and chattered away while circling his desk.
“I heard he only recently arrived in the Capital City, yet he immediately sought out the Information Guild. He must be trying to find that lost Grand Duchess…”
“Lia. Did you perhaps hide your presence and eavesdrop?”
“What? No, I didn’t!”
I jumped in surprise.
While I occasionally got into fistfights with colleagues who provoked me, keeping them in line, I generally didn’t use my abilities within the Guild.
Moreover, I would never commit such a disloyal act as secretly hiding to listen while Master received a request.
Seeing my disappointed face, Master let out a shallow sigh and said, “I was just testing you,” then explained that, as I’d suspected, the Marquis had entrusted him with a request to find the lost Grand Duchess Bellus.
I’d been sulking for about a week and didn’t want to speak with Master, but hearing this, my feet somehow wouldn’t move away.
“That… who was assigned to take on the task?”
〈Expert.〉
Master’s immediate response left me speechless.
My specialty was gathering information while hidden, not finding missing people.
But feeling slightly dejected, I gazed down at my feet and spoke without thinking.
〈I hope there’s good news.〉
〈There won’t be.〉
At his swift reply, I lifted my head sharply.
Master explained with cold eyes.
〈I told the Marquis too, but the chances of finding the Grand Duchess are near zero. Still, since he insisted on it, I had no choice but to accept the commission.〉
Nearly twenty years had passed since the infant vanished like dust, and there wasn’t even the slightest trace.
Master spoke cynically, saying it was absurd to think she was still alive, and that even optimism at this point bordered on delusion. I had no words to refute him.
“…Even if I’ve returned to the past, nothing will change.”
Unless I had already found the Grand Duchess, unless I possessed that information beforehand.
Without information, I was sadly useless—merely an ordinary nine-year-old child.
It was when I felt a profound sadness at being unable to help the Marquis and Askart, who had been so kind to me.
“…?”
Hearing what sounded like commotion outside, I climbed down from my bed and peeked through the curtains to look out the window.
“They said they’d depart at dawn.”
I could see the mages already prepared to leave for the Duchy, the Lexion Knights, and carriages laden with winter provisions.
Lucio, standing at the front, inspected the departure preparations with his characteristic indifferent expression.
Watching him, I looked up at the sky.
The snow that had begun falling silently since evening continued, though it was merely drifting.
It didn’t appear to intensify into something fearsome within days.
However, the Capital City, unprepared for the heavy snowfall, found its teleportation zones temporarily disabled.
Of course, repairs would be swift, so Lucio, who would complete his territorial inspection and return, wouldn’t face any delays.
‘So the Duchess’s concerns were merely unfounded worries….’
Whoosh.
I startled and quickly drew the curtains shut, stepping away from the window.
My heart felt as though it had plummeted to my feet before bouncing back up.
Our eyes had met—Lucio’s and mine.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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