Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 110

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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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No matter how much I tried to avoid looking in mirrors, I still needed to wash my face, comb my hair, and adjust my clothes for daily life.
I had merely pretended not to notice, telling myself that face wasn’t mine, but I couldn’t mistake what I’d seen my entire life.
Of course, even as I forced myself to appear confident, I looked diminished and small—nothing like the Grand Duchess, who carried an air of natural dignity even in stillness.
Our facial features and expressions were strikingly similar. And my hair color and eye color—something I’d never seen in anyone else—matched hers far too closely.
‘How on earth could this possibly be….’
“I-it’s a princess!”
Diana, standing beside me with eyes just as wide with shock, cried out.
Now that I thought about it, I did resemble the princess from the fairy tales Diana loved to read.
At Diana’s voice, the Grand Duchess—descending from the carriage with the Grand Duke’s escort—turned her gaze toward us.
The Grand Duchess narrowed her eyes and tilted her head elegantly to one side.
“You are….”
“The young lady of Duke Elrad, ma’am.”
Askart stepped forward with an explanation, perhaps worried the Grand Duchess might scold Diana for her rudeness.
The Grand Duchess blinked her wide eyes, her mouth still slightly open as she glanced at Diana, then nodded.
“I see. The eldest took after me too, and it seems the youngest has inherited quite a bit as well.”
She spoke with a cold, derisive laugh.
But it was only momentary—the Grand Duchess’s pale face grew clouded.
“Askart, you look well. Congratulations on your graduation.”
Askart paused briefly, then nodded silently and spoke.
“The Marquis is waiting for you in the Reception Room.”
“Very well. Let us go.”
The Grand Duchess turned with graceful poise.
Askart offered an awkward smile to Diana and me, then spoke to the Attendant beside him.
“See that the young lady of Duke Elrad and the child are safely escorted to the Duke’s Mansion by carriage.”
While the Attendant went to call the coachman, I remained transfixed, watching the Grand Duchess’s retreating figure grow distant.
Bianca, who had been following the Grand Duchess, turned back briefly and gestured to me, but I was too bewildered to return the gesture.
“Sister, sister.”
Diana tugged at my sleeve, calling to me urgently.
I released the breath I’d been holding and, with great effort, tore my gaze away. Diana was looking at me with an anxious expression.
“Why… why are you like this, Young Lady?”
Unable to hide the tremor in my voice, I asked. Diana quickly whispered near my ear.
“Sister, you look just like her! Is she your mother?”
“…!”
At words I never expected, my eyes widened.
Seeing my shocked expression, Diana was startled too and covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh!”
A moment later, the child slowly removed her hand and spoke with a troubled expression.
“Is this a secret too?”
* * *
“….”
The path to the Reception Room was silent.
Askart had grown accustomed to silence long ago, yet meeting his parents after such a prolonged absence stirred something deep within his chest—a resistance, an awkwardness that rose unbidden.
‘How did things become so precarious?’
Once, their household had been more harmonious and warm than any other.
But the moment his younger sister vanished after her birth, his father had thrown himself into searching for her, while his mother had wasted away with grief, and gradually, imperceptibly, fine cracks had begun to form in the bonds that once held the family so tightly together.
His chest felt hollow, as though a great void had opened within it.
Yet when he thought of his younger sister, whose very fate remained unknown, even this sorrow seemed like an indulgence.
“You’ve arrived.”
The Marquis, who had been waiting anxiously in the Reception Room, rose abruptly upon catching sight of the Grand Duchess.
“…Father.”
“Your complexion looks poor. The journey must have been arduous.”
“Yes, somewhat.”
“Well then. Now that I’ve seen your face, that’s enough. Go rest yourself. I’ve had your room prepared.”
Though she was the daughter he had longed to see, the Marquis found himself unable to speak and took a step backward.
The Grand Duchess nodded, as though lacking even the strength to answer.
Watching Grand Duke Bellus, her husband, offer a somewhat embarrassed bow in greeting and help his wife away, the Marquis felt a peculiar loneliness settle over him. It was as he turned away with a rueful click of his tongue that he noticed it.
His grandson stood rooted to the spot, motionless as stone.
“Askart, what are you doing? You’ve just reunited with your parents—why aren’t you following them?”
His words came out gruff, contrary to his true feelings, and Askart offered a faint smile in response.
“It’s just… they seem exhausted at the moment.”
“Hmm. And those children? I heard they arrived almost the moment your letter was sent. If they’re still here, I could have them brought in now—”
“I’ve already sent them back in the carriage.”
At Askart’s reply, the Marquis’s brow furrowed.
“Why such haste…?”
“It seemed Mother might find small children bothersome.”
But at those words, the Marquis found himself at a loss.
After a moment of silence, the Marquis turned away with an unnecessarily loud sound.
“There’s no other meaning to it! I simply boasted so much about the cake from the Marquis’s Residence, and I felt I hadn’t kept that promise, that’s all—ahem!”
Watching his retreating figure, from which regret and disappointment dripped like water, even the tactless Askart perceived the Marquis’s true heart and offered a faint smile.
But it was fleeting. Askart’s expression grew somber once more as he turned his gaze toward where his mother had disappeared.
He had thought that seeing his parents again after so long would bring joy and gladness…
But it was nothing like that at all.
* * *
“This is uncomfortable.”
The Grand Duchess, who had just lain down on the bed, spoke abruptly.
The Grand Duke and Bianca, along with the maidservants, exchanged bewildered glances as they asked.
“My lady, are you unwell? Shall I summon a physician at once—”
“No, my body is fine.”
“Then is the room uncomfortable, Your Highness?”
“I had instructed that your usual bedding be arranged, yet perhaps the change of location troubles you. I shall remedy it immediately—”
“That is not it either. Leave me now.”
Before the Maidservants’ fussing could escalate further, the Grand Duchess raised her hand to silence them.
Then she turned her gaze toward the Grand Duke and Bianca, who remained visibly anxious and restless.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes, madam.”
At the Grand Duchess’s call, the Grand Duke quickly sat on the bed and met her eyes.
“Speak.”
“Why don’t you go out and see for yourself?”
“Me? As well?”
“You should visit the Imperial Palace. News must have reached there by now.”
“There’s no need for you to concern yourself with such matters.”
“I find it troublesome.”
“Ah….”
Only then did the Grand Duke realize that the Grand Duchess was referring to me as the source of her discomfort, and his face flushed with embarrassment.
Unable to disturb the Grand Duchess’s rest while she lay in bed, he rose to his feet.
“Then please rest comfortably. I shall return shortly.”
As the Grand Duke quietly left the room, Bianca was about to follow with a respectful bow.
“Is that the child from before?”
“Pardon?”
The Grand Duchess, who had her eyes closed, slowly lifted her head and asked.
“The young Maidservant who was beside Duke Elrad’s daughter earlier. Is she the one you’ve been exchanging letters with?”
“Y-yes, madam.”
Bianca hadn’t particularly thought that she’d drawn the Grand Duchess’s attention toward Lia, who stood beside the Young Lady.
Caught off guard by the question, she nodded with some bewilderment.
“I had my suspicions, but she’s even smaller than I expected. How absurd! Where on earth would one find work for such a tiny child, yet Duke Elrad brings her in and puts her to labor!”
The Grand Duchess, speaking with some agitation, began to cough and clutched her chest.
Bianca, startled, quickly handed her a glass of water. After taking a few sips and barely catching her breath, the Grand Duchess spoke in a weakened voice.
“When I meet Duke Elrad, I shall have words with him. Do not worry.”
“Y-yes, madam.”
It seemed the Grand Duchess believed that Duke Elrad was committing the heinous act of exploiting a child.
But Bianca knew well that this was not the case.
The Lia she had reunited with was incomparably healthier and brighter than before.
Perhaps that was why her joy at seeing the child had become tinged with melancholy.
‘I had truly intended to bring her to the Grand Duchy this time.’
Moreover, she had not considered something in her eagerness.
How the Grand Duchess must feel upon suddenly encountering a girl around the Grand Duke’s daughter’s age.
‘Despite sponsoring countless children all these years, she has never actually met one face to face.’
Though she had feigned indifference before the child’s eyes, the way she spoke of it afterward made it abundantly clear that she was indeed concerned.
Then the Grand Duchess, as if she had said all she needed to say, closed her eyes once more and waved her hand dismissively.
Bianca watched her silently before quietly closing the door.
* * *
I stood before the full-length mirror.
Cotton candy pink hair and a pale, delicate face adorned with finely drawn features—every detail perfectly proportioned.
Among them, my large, round eyes gleamed like jewels, a deep rose pink that gazed directly back at me.
‘Is this really me?’
Confronting what I had denied for so long made my heart feel as though it might burst.
‘Now that I think about it, the way my eyes droop at the corners resembles Askart’s.’
I had always found his gentle gaze so captivating.
The possibility that I might share his features sent my heart trembling uncontrollably.
“Sister?”
At that moment, Diana appeared in the mirror’s reflection, tilting her head curiously.
She had remained quiet at my request, but for a child, even a brief wait had proven unbearably tedious.
“Young Lady.”
Having finally steeled my resolve, I knelt down to meet Diana’s eyes.
Gazing into her clear blue eyes like the surface of a still lake, I slowly opened my mouth.
“I have something I’d like to ask you. Please answer me honestly.”

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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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