Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 150

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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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* * *
“Ah, Sister…?”
Diana called out to me, her expression dazed.
I’d worried for a moment, but fortunately, Diana looked exactly as she had in my memories from my past life.
Her hair was half-pinned up with the rest flowing naturally, and she wore an adorable peach-colored frilled dress—a creation by the Capital City’s most sought-after designer at the moment.
Seeing her like this again filled me with wonder, and my heart swelled with warmth.
‘It must be because I haven’t seen Diana in so long.’
I was about to scrunch my nose, feeling tears prick my eyes from the joy of it all, when I suddenly froze.
Something was wrong with Diana’s state.
“…Diana?”
“Is it really you? Are you really Sister Lia?”
Diana, her face crumpled as if in shock, asked in a trembling voice.
I felt my heart drop, and I quickly nodded.
“…How? I haven’t awakened yet….”
Then Diana’s tears began to fall in earnest.
“Because of me, Sister, you can’t go berserk again…. If Sister gets hurt….”
“It’s alright, Diana!”
I hurried over and grasped Diana’s shoulders.
Seeing her trembling body, I realized that Diana had suffered just as much as I had all this time.
“I won’t go berserk even when I’m by your side now. That’s why I came to see you.”
“Really…?”
“Of course. Do you think your sister would lie to you?”
Before I could finish speaking, Diana shook her head rapidly.
Then, with a bright smile suddenly blooming across her face, she threw her arms around me, crying “Sister!”
I too was so happy to see Diana again that I felt as though I were walking through a dream.
I stroked the head of Diana, who clung tightly to me, and gently tapped her cheek as I used to, and she leaned contentedly into my hand with a pleased expression.
“We haven’t seen each other in so long, yet you’re not awkward at all?”
I asked, suppressing a smile, and Diana whined “Not awkward!” while hugging me tightly.
Then she sniffled and spoke again.
“Sister, I missed you so much.”
“….”
“I was scared we’d never meet again….”
Compared to the last time we’d met, she had grown noticeably taller and had blossomed into a beautiful young lady, yet Diana nestled in my arms still felt like a five-year-old child.
“Stop! I came here to make your birthday happy, but now you’re crying.”
I said, patting her back, and Diana lifted her head abruptly.
“Did I get ugly from crying?”
“What? That could never be. Our Diana is the most beautiful and adorable even when she cries.”
I chuckled and held out the velvet box.
“Here, your real gift.”
“Another gift? I’m already satisfied just seeing you, Sister.”
Even as I said this, Diana opened the box with an excited expression on her face.
“Wow!”
Diana gasped in delight upon discovering the delicate rose-pink Rose Quartz bracelet.
“Diana, do you remember the bracelet I gave you before?”
I slipped the bracelet onto Diana’s wrist, noting how perfectly it complemented her dress.
“I promised I’d give you something better, didn’t I? This is a mana stone bracelet identical to that one.”
I had infused it with my own mana and even inscribed a special protective spell into it.
I’ll admit I’d hesitated briefly, wondering if such a gift was truly befitting a Saint, but a promise was a promise.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes! It’s so beautiful! I absolutely love it!”
Diana had been examining the bracelet with delight when she suddenly froze, her expression shifting to one of distress.
“Oh no, what do I do?”
“What’s wrong?”
“If I’d known you were coming, I wouldn’t have gone!”
“Huh?”
At my confused question, Diana startled and shook her head, then quickly changed the subject by linking her arm through mine.
“Never mind! Let’s go out now. Everyone will be so happy to see you. It’s a shame the Grand Duke isn’t here, but there’s nothing we can do about that.”
“The Grand Duke isn’t present?”
The mention caught my attention, and I asked in surprise. Diana gave me a knowing look.
“No, the Grand Duke isn’t here. Why?”
“It’s just… it’s your birthday…”
I trailed off awkwardly for some reason, and Diana simply shrugged.
“He left about a week ago as part of an envoy to the Liven Kingdom.”
“The Liven Kingdom?”
“Yes. We can talk about that later—let’s go now!”
Before I could dwell on it further, Diana urged me forward, but I quickly held her back.
“Wait, Diana! I only came to see your face for a moment.”
“What? Why?”
Diana looked startled and instinctively gripped my hand tightly.
I smiled and replied.
“Today is your day to shine.”
“But everyone wants to see you so much!”
Diana was about to call a maidservant, insisting she’d summon everyone to her room if necessary.
I quickly caught hold of the excited Diana.
“Diana, if everyone who should be in the Banquet Hall disappears, what will the guests do? Besides, we’ll all meet again in a few days, so please be patient.”
At my words, Diana’s eyes widened.
I chuckled and explained that I was currently sailing toward the Empire and had used a teleportation scroll to visit the Duke’s Mansion.
“Sister, you’re really coming to the Empire?”
“Yes. I’ve already informed the Imperial Palace that I’ll be attending the upcoming Foundation Day celebration.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner!”
Diana, pouting with disappointment, cried out.
I lightly tapped my puffed cheeks as I spoke.
“I kept it secret to surprise you today. Since the Imperial Palace is hosting a welcome banquet, let’s all meet up then.”
At my words, Diana’s mood brightened instantly, and she let out an excited squeal.
* * *
After the successful surprise.
I barely managed to persuade Diana to leave for the banquet hall.
Left alone like this, I did feel a pang of regret at not being able to meet the Duke and Duchess, along with others I hadn’t seen in so long.
But soon after arriving in the Empire, I would be staying at the Diapel Marquis Estate for a while, so there would be plenty of time to catch up.
‘Though there were certainly complications before I decided to go to the Empire.’
The day after Raezl and I cooperated.
My family, after much deliberation, gave me permission to go to the Empire.
In truth, while they were usually overprotective, they always granted my requests as long as I stayed within safe bounds—so it was as I expected.
What I hadn’t anticipated was what happened after that.
“No, Father must naturally remain in the Grand Duchy! Mother and I will go to the Empire.”
“What are you saying, Askart? Your mother and I are one! You must stay in Bellus and protect the Grand Duchy in my stead.”
Unlike Mother, who had decided early on to accompany me to the Empire, a fierce argument erupted between Father and Askart.
And the loser was….
“Lia, the Empire is different from the Grand Duchy—it gets chilly once autumn arrives, so be careful not to catch a cold, and never skip meals. Oh, and when you get to the Empire….”
I recalled Askart’s face, his eyes glistening as he fussed over me as if I were a three-year-old.
Though I’d practically forced him to stay in the Grand Duchy, Father was right that Askart would become the Grand Duke eventually, so it seemed wise for him to familiarize himself with his duties early.
“Well then, I suppose I should head back now.”
Since my mana reserves were virtually limitless, instant teleportation magic would be possible, but for the sake of my worried family, I retrieved the teleportation scroll I’d developed earlier.
“Hmm….”
Just as I was about to mark the coordinates of the docked ship, I hesitated.
“He left with the Liven Kingdom delegation. About a week ago.”
Diana’s words continued to echo in my ears. I couldn’t make sense of it at all.
‘Now that I think about it, the King of Liven died around this time. The newly crowned king was caught secretly preparing for war and is scheduled to be deposed soon.’
And in my past life, I had received a commission during this period and infiltrated Diana’s fourteenth birthday party as a maidservant.
The commission itself was quite straightforward.
It was simply that in Terenthium, I was the only skilled woman who could slip past the iron-clad security of the Elrad Duke’s Mansion and linger near Diana without raising suspicion.
As it happened, the Duke’s Estate was short on staff due to party preparations and was recruiting temporary workers, so I successfully completed that day’s mission under a false identity.
‘Back then, Lucio was definitely there….’
I’d even encountered him, so there was no way I could be mistaken. But why was it different this time?
“This is strange indeed.”
I furrowed my brow and pondered for a moment.
And having come this far, I decided I needed to verify it for certain.
* * *
After sending a message to my parents waiting on the ship that I would be a bit late.
I quietly left Diana’s room and entered the banquet hall, which was in full swing.
The first thing that caught my eye was Diana speaking animatedly to Duke Elrad and Duchess Elrad, her face flushed with excitement.
‘She’s probably talking about me.’
Watching the astonished expressions on the Duke and Duchess’s faces, I wanted to rush over and greet them immediately.
But the circumstances simply didn’t allow it.
“You there, what are you standing around for? Hurry up and take the tray.”
A maidservant, too busy to even properly look at my face, spoke hurriedly while gathering a tray.
“…Yes.”
I watched her disappear in a flurry, smiled awkwardly, and picked up a tray of champagne glasses from near the entrance.
Currently, I was disguised as a maidservant with nondescript brown hair through appearance magic, dressed in a maid’s uniform.
For some reason, memories of the past surfaced, and simultaneously, an absurd feeling washed over me.
In the past, due to powerful illusion magic, I had been forced to infiltrate as a maidservant by merely changing my hairstyle, but this time I was casting the magic myself to assume this form.
Suppressing my laughter, I quickly scanned the hall and discovered a man sitting alone in a corner, quietly drinking.
‘…Found him.’
Where had that old self-assured, arrogant demeanor gone?
Kenneth Petite was cowering, his eyes darting nervously around his surroundings.
Yes. The reason I had sneaked into the Banquet Hall to confirm was precisely Kenneth Petite.
Before coming to the Empire not long ago, while verifying whether the sacred relic was indeed in the Emperor’s treasury and reviewing the information about the Empire I had collected in the Grand Duchy, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
〈…The Petite Family is thriving?〉
Though it seemed they were no longer conducting trade business as vigorously as before, the Petite Family had not declined to the point where their lineage was erased from the nobility, as I had known from the past.
I couldn’t fathom why the future had changed so drastically.
‘I need to investigate more carefully….’
“Ah, I’m parched. You there!”
“…!”
The moment I took a step toward Kenneth, someone called me to a halt, and I froze in surprise.
A tall man, fanning himself with a hand fan as if asking why I hadn’t come sooner, raised his eyebrows at me.
His build was lean yet sturdy, with long, slender arms and legs.
Though the youthful softness had faded from his face, those golden eyes still gleamed with playfulness, and my lips tingled with an involuntary smile of recognition.

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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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