Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 117

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

* * *
A few days later.
Learning that Bianca would visit the Duke’s Mansion this afternoon, I immediately feigned illness and asked the maidservants to look after Diana.
By now, Diana—who had been reluctant to leave my side out of concern—would have just arrived at the Training Grounds.
I could faintly hear Allen’s voice rising in protest, insisting I must attend, but there was no help for it.
Truthfully, how could I not wish to observe up close the swordsmanship and mana manipulation of Bianca, whom I had admired my entire life?
In the past, I would have infiltrated secretly rather than miss such an opportunity.
But now I had no choice but to lie and head to the Marquis’s Residence instead of the Training Grounds.
‘Today, I must confirm it.’
Ever since discovering the necklace I wore reflected in the mirror days ago, I had been unable to sleep through the night.
A simple blood-red bead necklace with no special ornaments, its form crude and unadorned.
Having worn it since time immemorial—so far back I could scarcely remember—I had always believed it might be a gift from my parents.
Thus, I had always kept it close to my body and treasured it dearly.
Except for the one time I had shown it to Diana by chance, I had never revealed it to another soul.
At the Orphanage, I had hidden it carefully beneath my clothes for fear the Director would discover it, and I had never taken it out before the other children or the Guild’s executives.
It was my way of protecting something precious, yet I came to regret it too late.
‘If this truly were a token that would lead me to my parents….’
I should have shown it to Marquis Diapel long ago.
But my hopes were dashed mercilessly.
The next day, to capture the Marquis’s attention, I deliberately displayed and fingered the necklace while observing his treatment, yet he said nothing.
It seemed he knew nothing whatsoever about the necklace.
Though somewhat disappointed, I did not abandon hope.
‘The Marquis has been guarding the Border Region all along and has visited the Grand Duchy only a handful of times, or so he said.’
So it was possible he knew nothing of the necklace.
Thus, I decided I must show it to the Grand Duke, the Grand Duchess, and Askart. Yet that proved far easier said than done.
Askart seemed to be occupied with the Grand Duke on some important matter, making him difficult to encounter, while the Grand Duchess, though watching me from afar, would turn away the moment I attempted to greet her.
Though my heart ached at the sight, I could endure it.
To be honest, my worry ran deeper still.
Unable to meet the Grand Duke or Grand Duchess, I cultivated friendships with the maidservants who had come from the Grand Duchy, hoping to glean any information about the Grand Duke’s daughter.
What I learned was that the Grand Duchess’s health was in a most perilous state.
She suffered not only from severe headaches and insomnia, but also struggled to swallow food properly, her strength so diminished that she grew breathless easily, and at times complained of a tingling sensation in her chest.
Hearing how much pain she endured, enough to break the hearts of those who witnessed it, I too felt a crushing despair.
The Duchess Elrad’s illness had been caused by poison, and thus an antidote provided a clear path to treatment.
But the Grand Duchess’s illness was not of the body—it was of the heart.
A sickness of the heart born from yearning for a daughter lost at birth.
And that illness would not heal until the daughter was found.
…
Suppressing the heaviness that threatened to overwhelm me, I clenched my fists tightly instead.
I too had longed for family my entire life.
For my own sake, and for the Grand Duchess’s sake, I wanted to settle this matter swiftly.
“Lia, you’re here already?”
“Good afternoon, Butler.”
As I passed through the gate and entered the Main Building with familiar ease, the Marquis’s Butler—who cherished me nearly as much as the Marquis himself—acknowledged my presence.
It seemed my reputation had improved considerably after arranging for the Marquis to receive treatment.
“By the way, Lia, your master received a summons from the Imperial Palace this morning and has gone there. I’m not certain when he’ll return.”
“Ah….”
The Butler’s expression turned apologetic, his face clouded with regret.
But I hadn’t come to see the Marquis today.
I clasped my hands together and spoke with earnest conviction.
“Butler, is the Grand Duke perhaps busy today as well?”
“The Grand Duke?”
“Yes. There’s something I absolutely must tell him.”
Though he might have deemed it presumptuous for a mere maidservant to make such a request, the Butler simply nodded without protest—perhaps because Askart treated me so kindly.
“Then let me go to the Separate Quarters and inform him. Wait here for a moment.”
“Yes.”
I nodded eagerly, watching the Butler’s retreating figure with anxious anticipation.
‘It would be wonderful if I could meet the Grand Duke as well.’
According to the rumors I’d heard, Askart was conducting some magical research with him in the Separate Quarters.
I was hoping they might summon me there.
Then a commotion erupted from inside.
“She was supposed to be resting in her bedroom—where on earth has she gone?”
“Could she have gone to the Elrad Duke’s Mansion? Marquess Mareta headed there just a moment ago.”
“Surely not—she had a headache and even took medicine.”
“Perhaps she went to see the Grand Duke. Let’s search the Marquis’s Residence more thoroughly first.”
“Then I’ll go check if any carriages have left.”
“…!”
Listening carefully, I realized the maidservants were searching for the Grand Duchess with worried voices.
My heart sank in an instant.
The thought that she might have collapsed somewhere spurred me into motion before I could even think.
I wasn’t even aware that I was wandering through the Marquis’s Residence without permission.
Searching frantically for the Grand Duchess, I came to a halt before the Greenhouse where Askart and I had taken tea together once before.
As I carefully opened the door and stepped inside, my shoulders tensed involuntarily.
In the Greenhouse of the Back Garden, filled with pink roses, the Grand Duchess lay half-asleep, her eyes closed, resting against a plush chair.
The sight of her breathing in shallow, irregular gasps somehow made it difficult for me to breathe.
Except for when I’d met the Marquis in the Reception Room not long ago, I’d never seen her this close.
‘Could someone truly this beautiful really be my mother?’
Though I found it hard to believe, my throat suddenly tightened and my eyes began to sting.
As I approached and she didn’t pull away, I felt my heart grow heavier.
“…Lia.”
The Grand Duchess, her eyes still closed and her brow furrowed, let out a soft moan.
My entire body went rigid.
“Adriana.”
The murmur that escaped like a sob stirred an emotion I couldn’t define.
“…Mother.”
Words I had never imagined could leave my lips tumbled out unbidden.
At the same moment, my vision blurred.
Tears threatened to spill over, but I held them back and instead gripped the Grand Duchess’s hand tightly.
I wanted to hold it so badly. I wanted to hold this hand again, truly.
“Adriana, my daughter….”
In that instant, the Grand Duchess’s limp hand gained strength, squeezing mine in return.
Startled, my heart swelled and I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘If only she would recognize me like this….’
I thought I could ask for nothing more.
“…How dare you lay hands on me. Release me at once.”
An icy voice descended from above my head.
My eyes flew open to find the Grand Duchess staring down at me with a face frosted over with coldness.
Her expression was like a mask devoid of all humanity, her gaze cutting and severe.
As I stood frozen, unable to release her hand, the Grand Duchess let out a scoff of exasperation and wrenched her hand away.
“What are you even doing here?”
“….”
“You’re not even a servant of the Marquis’s Residence, yet others have allowed you to come and go as you please? This won’t do. I must teach you a proper lesson. You there!”
Had my presence truly offended her so deeply?
As I watched the Grand Duchess summon a servant with an angry voice, the swelling in my chest gave way to an overwhelming tide of resentment and sorrow.
“…Please don’t.”
“What?”
“They’ve done nothing wrong. I came in of my own accord.”
“Then you deserve the punishment. No, I’m not your master, so I should speak to Duke Elrad instead. Tell him to properly discipline his servants.”
“Please… Please don’t do this. You can’t do this to me.”
I grasped at my spinning mind and spoke desperately.
The Grand Duchess let out a cold laugh and raised her voice.
“You truly are an arrogant child. You seem to think that because your father and Duke Elrad dote on you, you can do anything you please….”
“That’s not it!”
I cut off the Grand Duchess’s words, my chest heaving.
“It’s not that. Later, I’m afraid you’ll suffer greatly. That you’ll grieve and regret….”
“What could you possibly know about me?”
Despite my desperate plea, the Grand Duchess looked down at me with narrowed eyes and a chilling expression, and I felt my inadequacy keenly.
Consumed by sorrow and resentment, I spoke impulsively.
“Because I’m your daughter.”
“…What?”
“Because I’m Adriana.”
Before I could even finish speaking, the Grand Duchess’s face drained of all color.
“You… what on earth are you saying right now….”
Watching the Grand Duchess struggle for words, her breath caught in her throat, I hastily withdrew the necklace I had hidden away inside my clothes.
“This necklace. You don’t recognize it?”

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