Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 11

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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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“How did you manage to smuggle out the evidence? How did you discover what those items were and what the Director was doing?”
“…I was assigned to clean the Director’s office, so I discovered it by chance. There were people who occasionally brought children to the Orphanage, and by listening to their conversations, I learned what happened to the children the Director took away.”
Duke Elrad fell silent for a long moment, studying Lia intently as if trying to discern her true intentions.
Lia swallowed hard at the thought of lying to the great Duke Elrad himself, yet she forced herself to appear confident. After all, the Director’s crimes and the evidence were not fabrications.
In that moment, the Duke’s lips parted once more.
“You seem to have rather troublesome habits.”
Lia flinched visibly.
Since joining the Information Guild, I had lived without feeling much guilt about eavesdropping on others’ conversations.
Being called out so unexpectedly made my face burn with embarrassment.
Yet in truth, the Duke held Lia in high regard.
The Director was hardly a proper guardian anyway, so there was no loyalty owed to him.
The girl seemed sharp-witted and clever, and with Diana—who was ordinarily quite reserved—following her, she appeared to be someone useful to have nearby.
Unaware of the Duke’s thoughts, Lia sighed inwardly.
‘He must be disappointed in me. Of course he is. I shouldn’t have let him take me in.’
After all, my life had always been this way. There was no reason to expect such kindness from others so easily.
Though my spirits had dimmed somewhat, I steeled myself once more, reminding myself of my purpose—to restore Jack to his rightful place—and lowered my head.
So Lia did not see it.
The faint smile playing across Duke Elrad’s lips.
* * *
On the way to the Duchy, Duke Elrad stopped at an Inn in a nearby village, as he had mentioned beforehand.
It was to properly bathe and feed Diana.
By the time they descended from the carriage, the sun was already setting in the distance.
“We should wash up first.”
After barely placating Diana’s whining about hunger, the Duke sent the two children ahead to their room, then ordered the knights to guard the door thoroughly. He summoned the innkeeper and arranged for temporary clothing and maidservants to bathe the children and attend to them.
Soon two maidservants, who appeared to be in their late teens, bowed their heads.
It was a small village, and they showed no signs of martial training, so there seemed to be little cause for concern.
Yet after the ordeal they had just endured, the Duke felt uneasy entrusting the children to strangers.
Deliberating, Duke Elrad summoned the only woman among those currently dispatched—someone he could trust without reservation.
“Your Grace, did you call for me?”
“Yes. Though it came somewhat late, I’m grateful you came all this way from the Grand Duchy, Countess Mareta. Please convey my regards to the Grand Duke.”
“You are too kind.”
Bianca Mareta continued with sincere warmth in her expression.
“I’m so relieved we found the Princess. If we hadn’t located her by today, the Grand Duke himself would have taken action.”
“His Highness would have?”
“Yes. Given the nature of the situation….”
As Bianca Mareta trailed off with an awkward laugh, Duke Elrad also closed his mouth with a stern expression.
A moment later, as if to change the mood, Bianca Mareta asked cheerfully.
“But why did you call for me? Surely you’re not sending me back without a proper meal before we even arrive at the Duchy?”
“Of course not. Once we return to the Castle, I’ll treat you to a grand banquet. Rather….”
Duke Elrad opened his mouth in a way that was quite unlike his usual demeanor.
Bianca Mareta held a lower rank than I did, yet she was a Grand Duchy noble and the proud captain of the Grand Duchy’s knights.
Knowing that she had come all the way to this remote corner of the Empire without any political agenda—purely out of goodwill—I made my request with utmost courtesy.
“While the children bathe, I would appreciate it if you could keep watch over them.”
“Pardon?”
Bianca’s expression flickered with momentary confusion, but her sharp instincts quickly grasped what concerned me.
Since she too believed the children’s safety was paramount, she nodded readily and added a question.
“If you’re truly worried, what if I cast a cleansing spell on the children?”
I shook my head at Bianca’s suggestion.
“They haven’t bathed in days. Even washing multiple times with water won’t remove all the grime. A cleansing spell won’t suffice in just one or two applications.”
At my words, Bianca nodded, recalling the children’s filthy condition.
She was an inspector and simultaneously an excellent mage, but that didn’t mean her mana reserves were limitless.
She had expended considerable mana searching for the Duke Elrad’s daughter beyond her expectations, and on top of that, she was somewhat exhausted from preventing mana runaway and casting magic outside her specialty.
“Then I’ll watch over the young lady and the child carefully. Come to think of it, this works out well. There’s something I wanted to confirm anyway….”
“Hmm?”
“It’s nothing, really.”
With a mysterious smile and a slight shrug, Bianca offered a light bow and headed toward the second floor where the children were staying, accompanied by the waiting maidservants.
* * *
Before bathing, the Duke sent up two cups of warm milk sweetened with honey to satisfy our hunger.
‘Plain milk would be a luxury, but milk with honey!’
I couldn’t believe such indulgence existed, so I clutched the cup tightly with both hands and drank the milk alongside Diana.
Then I suddenly noticed a round milk stain around Diana’s mouth.
“Dana, you have some on your mouth.”
As I carefully wiped her mouth with my sleeve, Diana giggled and said.
“You have some too!”
“Huh?”
Startled by her words, I touched my mouth and sure enough, milk came away on my fingers.
I quickly wiped my mouth, embarrassed that I hadn’t noticed the milk on my own face while pretending to be grown-up.
My body, young and frail despite my mature mind, still wouldn’t obey my will.
Sensing my embarrassment, Diana broke into a bright smile.
As I laughed along with her in my mortification, I suddenly heard footsteps approaching the door.
‘Is it Duke Elrad?’
The door opened just as I rose to vacate my seat.
“Oh….”
The person entering was not the Duke.
It was the woman I had seen when I jumped from the attic and barely opened my eyes after losing consciousness.
Following the woman with her hair tied high in a single knot, maidservants carrying a bathtub filled with warm bathwater also entered.
“Hello there, little ladies.”
The woman who greeted us with a cheerful voice remained unidentified.
‘She’s not from the Lexion Knights.’
The clothing barely visible beneath her black robe was not the blue uniform they wore, and I had never heard of female knights in the Lexion Knights before.
I glanced at Diana, wondering if she might recognize this woman, but her expression suggested she didn’t know her either.
Duke Elrad cherished his daughter dearly, so he must have sent someone he could trust completely to look after Diana.
I sensed a faint magical aura that made me wonder if she was a mage, but her commanding presence was unmistakably that of a knight, leaving me increasingly confused.
Yet strangely, I didn’t dislike her.
‘Rather….’
“Well then, who should wash up first? Whoever finishes fastest gets to eat first!”
“Food!”
Before the woman could even finish speaking, Diana stripped off her clothes and rushed toward the bathtub.
Watching her, the woman burst into laughter and gazed at me with affectionate eyes.
My heart inexplicably fluttered, and I looked away. This feeling was utterly strange and unfamiliar to me.
Fortunately, the sensation didn’t linger long, as my attention was quickly drawn elsewhere.
The moment Diana dove into the bathtub, the maidservants began working as if they’d been waiting, lathering her hair with foam and gently scrubbing her with soft sponges—what struck me most was how Diana accepted their touch without any hint of embarrassment.
Watching Diana enjoy her bath with innocent delight, flicking bubbles about, I realized anew that being accustomed to such attendants was truly the mark of nobility.
And moments later, when I saw Diana emerge from the murky bathwater, transformed into someone gleaming with silver hair and porcelain skin, I found myself catching my breath involuntarily.
“Dana, you’re really beautiful.”
It wasn’t as though I hadn’t known of House Elrad’s distinctive beauty, and I’d even seen Diana up close as she’d grown.
Yet her plump little arms and legs, her soft cheeks full of baby fat, and her utterly devastating cuteness and loveliness made my heart ache.
That was when it happened.
“Hehe, Lia is even prettier!”
At Diana’s sudden declaration, not only the maidservants but even the woman preparing her clothes turned to look at me.
Setting aside my filthy, grimy appearance, my split and damaged hair, my skeletal frame—and especially knowing how insignificant my presence became standing next to Diana—my face flushed crimson with embarrassment.
“Your name is… Lia?”
The woman asked in a slightly subdued voice.
I quickly nodded to hide my embarrassment, then watched Diana as she dried off and changed into fresh clothes.
Though it was a simple commoner’s dress that appeared to have been hastily procured, Diana carried herself like a princess touring the world, her noble bearing unmistakable.
“Big sister, hurry and wash up!”
And the little princess, unable to resist her hunger, bounced excitedly and dashed out of the room.
“…?”
I tilted my head in confusion.
The maidservants and the woman, whom I’d thought would finish tidying up and leave shortly, were simply staring at me.
I was hungry too, so I’d planned to rinse off quickly with the remaining bathwater and leave, but why were they just watching without letting me wash or go?
That was when the woman asked in a puzzled tone.
“Child, we’ve drawn fresh water, so come now and undress. The water will get cold.”
“Pardon?”
“We’re all waiting to wash you.”
“You’re going to wash me too?”
Unable to hide my bewilderment, I asked, and the woman’s expression suggested I’d asked something obvious.
“I can do it myself!”
My words sounded spirited, and the woman suddenly burst into laughter.
“Of course, of course. You’re grown now and can manage on your own just fine. But with help, you’d finish faster. And you must be quite hungry.”
My ears burned at his soothing, placating tone.
‘I’m not a child!’
…Even if my body is one!

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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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