Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 123

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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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“Kale, have you lost your mind?”
The Grand Duchess, who had cast aside all propriety and formality, cried out in alarm.
“My lady.”
“Surely you don’t actually believe what that child is saying?”
“Stella, please….”
“How can you believe her words without any evidence!”
“I’ll explain later. So please trust me….”
“No!”
At the Grand Duke’s words, the Grand Duchess shook her head, her expression twisted with terror.
“That can’t be. I would never fail to recognize my own child….”
I bit my lip hard. My chest felt torn and tattered, as though pierced by something sharp.
It was then.
“How amusing. The daughter you’ve been searching for walks right through that door, and yet you fail to recognize her before your very eyes.”
A young man draped in a worn gray robe entered through the door with unhurried grace.
At the same moment, a warm, gentle breeze swept across my entire body—warmer even than the fireplace burning in the reception room.
Though I had never visited this place before, the mysterious sensation that washed over me was like stepping into the Temple itself, and without thinking, the tension that had gripped my body melted away.
In that instant.
“Who are you? Reveal yourself.”
The brief tranquility shattered like an illusion as an eerie aura emanated from Duke Elrad.
Only then did my senses snap back to clarity as I saw the Duke had already drawn his sword, pointing it at the man.
Though the servants around the reception room had been dismissed, guards and knights still patrolled the Estate.
Yet this man had slipped past them all without a sound, infiltrating the Main Building and even reaching the reception room where formidable warriors like Duke Elrad and Bianca stood—he could be no ordinary person.
I too found myself watching him with guarded eyes.
* * *
“Lower your sword! He is someone I serve.”
Grand Duke Bellus stepped in front of Duke Elrad.
The Duke’s eyes narrowed, but seeing the situation unfold, he lowered his blade.
The Grand Duke immediately turned to address the young man.
“High Priest, what you just said—is this child truly….”
“I quit being High Priest ages ago, and you’re still calling me that? Honestly, you’re surprisingly dim-witted.”
The man, who appeared younger than the Grand Duke, clicked his tongue in disapproval.
But it was only brief; the man’s lips curved into a smile.
“After searching so desperately, you’ve finally found her. She is indeed the Grand Princess.”
“…!”
The man who had appeared so suddenly spoke words of shocking revelation as though it were nothing.
He turned his gaze and met Lia’s eyes.
“What a beautiful child you are. You bear a striking resemblance to your mother.”
“…Can you see my appearance?”
Lia stared at the man with disbelieving eyes.
“Yes. My eyes perceive it. More precisely, your soul. In all my long years, I have never witnessed a spirit so luminous as yours.”
Raezl, the man who answered Lia’s question, extended his hand toward her.
Lia hesitated for a moment before grasping his hand in return.
Then he murmured something softly, and white light poured forth from his body.
The radiance was so intense that everyone in the room reflexively shut their eyes.
Lia, likewise squeezing her eyes shut, felt a peculiar tingling sensation wash over her skin, causing her to shudder slightly.
After a moment, the scattered light dissipated, and as Lia slowly opened her eyes, she froze.
The Grand Duchess standing before her was trembling, her lips quivering.
Her already pallid complexion had turned even more ashen, her chest heaving violently, and thick tears streamed ceaselessly from her swollen, reddened eyes.
“Why are you…”
Before Lia could even finish speaking, the Grand Duchess stepped forward and reached out her hand.
But her withered hand could not quite bring itself to touch Lia, trembling instead before falling limply to her side.
Bewildered, Lia looked around desperately, her expression pleading for an explanation.
Yet the others merely stood frozen, their eyes fixed upon her.
“Why are you all looking at me like that…? What is happening?”
Lia alone remained oblivious to the transformation that had befallen her, asking in confusion.
But their reaction was entirely justified.
For now, Lia’s appearance was unmistakably that of the Grand Duchess’s daughter.
“Ah…!”
Yet even as they watched, her flowing pale pink hair began to gradually shift back to a soft brown from the tips downward. Her jewel-like deep pink eyes had long since transformed to brown.
“Cough.”
Raezl, still holding Lia’s hand, spat black blood onto the floor.
The blood spilled across the carpet immediately transformed into black smoke and dissipated into the air.
“Filthy demon. That illusion curse was wickedly thorough.”
Raezl, muttering that his sacred power could only sustain this revelation for a brief moment, had already lost his youthful appearance entirely, his form now that of an elderly man.
“This aged body finds it difficult to move about. Truly vexing.”
Though it was a sight that defied belief, it was of little consequence now that the truth of Lia’s words had been revealed.
“My child…”
The Grand Duke, unable to restrain himself any longer, embraced Lia.
The rapid, thundering heartbeat of the frightened child reverberated through his entire being.
She was truly alive. Overwhelmed by indescribable joy, the Grand Duke held her even more tightly.
How desperately I had longed to hold this child in my arms, even once.
I could not show even a hint of my anguish to my struggling wife and my lonely son.
“Adriana, my daughter.”
At the sound of that low voice calling her name, Lia burst into tears.
Simultaneously, relief flooded through her body, which had been fraught with worry and anxiety. From her chest to her fingertips and toes, the warmth spread rapidly.
“Sob, sob. Whimper…”
Despite her attempt to compose herself with maturity, her sobs erupted uncontrollably and loudly.
“It’s alright. Everything is alright now. Father is here…”
At the warmth of the hand patting her back, Lia clung to the Grand Duke’s neck like a spoiled child.
The Grand Duke, dressed in thick clothing, held the small, delicate child tenderly in his arms.
And he spoke to his pale-faced wife.
“My dear, it’s our Adriana. Come and see her.”
“I… I…”
At the Grand Duchess’s voice, I flinched without meaning to. I was afraid she would say something hurtful again.
Tears fell from the Grand Duchess’s eyes as she gazed upon the child’s small, rigid hands and shoulders.
Unable to approach the child, yet unable to tear her eyes away, the Grand Duchess began to weep softly.
I, who had been burying my face against the Grand Duke’s shoulder, slowly lifted my head.
The wounds she had inflicted still caused me great sorrow and a touch of resentment, yet her tears pained my heart far more deeply.
But I did not know what I could do to bring joy to my parents.
After a moment’s hesitation, I fidgeted with my fingers before slowly releasing my arms from around the Grand Duke’s neck. Then I reached out my hand toward the Grand Duchess.
“Please hold me.”
“…!”
The Grand Duchess froze, her eyes wide open.
Seeing her reaction, I felt a twinge of regret.
I had mustered my courage and tried to imitate Diana, but perhaps such childish affection simply didn’t suit me.
I had wanted to appear as lovely and endearing as Diana.
Just as my expression began to cloud over and I started to curl my fingers back, the Grand Duchess seized my hand as if afraid I might slip away.
“Do you hate me? That I… didn’t recognize you…?”
I felt some relief at the Grand Duchess’s voice, which was no longer sharp as it had been before, yet the profound sorrow that resonated beneath it made my young voice tremble with sadness.
“I do hate you.”
“…”
“For avoiding me, turning away, speaking coldly…”
“…”
“And for saying that someone like me… wasn’t your daughter…”
With each word I spoke, the Grand Duchess’s expression crumbled further.
My voice trembled with tears as I spoke haltingly.
Eventually, as the Grand Duchess’s grip on my hand began to loosen slowly, I continued.
“So please hold me. And tell me it wasn’t true. That even someone like me…”
“I’m sorry for hurting you. Mother is truly sorry.”
Seeing me unable to finish my words, the Grand Duchess could no longer restrain herself and pulled me into her embrace.
As she wept and apologized over and over, I too shed tears.
Witnessing this, Raezl clicked his tongue and spoke.
“Grand Duke, did I not tell you so? Perhaps the child might have lived without pink hair. Had you told your family sooner, this would never have happened.”
At this, the Grand Duke’s expression turned unexpectedly harsh.
“When did you ever say such a thing! You told me the child would surely not survive… and yet when I refused to give up, you spoke in passing of how if we only searched for pink hair, we might never find her at all. That is precisely why I even conceived of the mana verification method.”
The Grand Duke, who had been pouring out his resentment for some time, suddenly noticed that the Grand Duchess, who had been patting the child in her arms, was looking at him.
“Your Highness, you already knew?”
“No, that is not… I did consider the possibility, but… I apologize. I could not bring myself to speak of such things to you while you were in despair…”
As the Grand Duke faltered, the Duchess Elrad, who had been dabbing her tears with a handkerchief, stepped forward cautiously.
As the Grand Duke grew troubled, the Duchess Elrad, who had been dabbing away tears with a handkerchief, carefully stepped forward.
“Regardless, what a truly remarkable turn of events. Our Lia was a Grand Duchess all along. Isn’t that right, dear?”
Yet Duke Elrad merely stared back and forth between Lia and the Grand Duchess, his expression one of profound shock.
The Duchess Elrad, who had smiled while shaking her head slightly, glanced toward Bianca standing to one side.
Bianca, who had been weeping silently, now gazed upon the Grand Duke’s family embracing one another in the joy of reunion, her own face radiant with a blissful smile despite the tears streaming down her cheeks.
It was then that Bianca noticed the Duchess Elrad’s gaze and, feeling suddenly self-conscious, turned to speak to Askart standing beside her.
“Your Highness, you should go to her as well. You’ve missed your sister dearly, haven’t you?”
“….”
Askart gave no response.
Bianca, puzzled by his silence, tilted her head and placed a hand upon his shoulder when—
Thud!
Askart’s eyes closed gently, and he collapsed to the floor.
He had already lost consciousness while standing.

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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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