Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 151

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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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I wanted to greet him warmly right then and there, but I quickly suppressed my smile and approached.
Allen’s throat seemed parched—he picked up a champagne flute from the tray I was holding and drained it in one gulp.
The moment he reached for a second glass.
“Oh? Jack! Over here.”
Good heavens. One complication after another.
I had only meant to locate Kenneth Petite, yet here was Allen, and now Jack as well.
“My apologies for the delay.”
As I kept my head bowed, I was startled by a deep voice—one long past the tremors of adolescence.
Come to think of it, I had only ever glimpsed Jack from a distance in the past; I had never heard his voice this close before.
“Excuse me, Lord Allen. If it wouldn’t be too forward, might I request a dance?”
At that moment, a young lady with flushed cheeks approached us.
Allen, who seemed momentarily flustered by her shy request, soon nodded in agreement.
Watching Allen escort the young woman with such practiced ease left me momentarily dazed.
It was a far cry from the temperamental boy he had been in childhood.
‘So the rumors about his popularity are true, then.’
Diana’s letter suddenly came to mind—or rather, the part where she had chided him for becoming a philanderer.
My silent amusement was brief. I lifted my gaze without thinking toward Jack, who was reaching for a champagne flute from the tray.
‘Wow….’
Even as a child, he had grown noticeably from day to day.
Now, seeing Jack so tall that I had to crane my neck just to meet his eyes, admiration escaped me unbidden.
Whatever training he had undergone had transformed him—his shoulders were broad and powerful, his frame robust and well-built. His skin bore a becoming tan, his features were sharp and defined, and his face displayed perfect symmetry. Gone was any trace of the boy who had once been lean and frail compared to his peers.
Both Allen and Jack had grown into strikingly handsome men.
‘Strangely enough, I feel rather proud.’
Though I had nothing to do with their growth, I found myself oddly pleased.
As if sensing my gaze, Jack’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at me.
For a moment, I tensed.
“Are you not going to move?”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“I’m asking if you intend to stand there like that all evening.”
“Ah.”
His curt tone snapped me back to attention.
I quickly lowered my head and stepped back from Jack, my eyes darting swiftly toward Kenneth.
‘He’s gone!’
Kenneth Petite had vanished—he must have moved elsewhere in the interim.
I was turning to search the interior when—
“Wait.”
Jack caught my arm and spoke.
“Now that I think about it, your face seems unfamiliar….”
“I was hired temporarily for the Imperial Princess’s birthday celebration today. If you’ll excuse me!”
I replied without sincerity and quickly turned away.
I caught sight of Kenneth’s retreating figure as he left.
Following him out immediately, I noticed Kenneth standing and waiting for his carriage.
He had even brought an expensive gift, yet no one was paying him any attention—he was muttering to himself in frustration.
‘So the Petite Family hasn’t fallen after all.’
In that case, the sacred relic was likely in Count Petite’s Mansion rather than the Emperor’s treasury.
Confirming that Kenneth was leaving the Duke’s Mansion, I nodded to myself.
Though it was unfortunate that Kenneth’s family hadn’t collapsed, from my perspective of needing to find the sacred relic, breaking into the declining Petite Family’s estate would be far easier than infiltrating the Emperor’s treasury. So in the end, this was a favorable turn of events.
‘But something truly feels off.’
From the Petite Family’s continued prosperity to Lucio’s absence.
The changes from the past nagged at me like a splinter.
Perhaps because my thoughts had grown complicated.
Despite thinking I should return, my feet had already begun moving toward the Maze Garden of the Duke’s Mansion.
It had been the same in the past. After completing a commission, I had impulsively entered this place, wanting to catch my breath and see the Duke’s Mansion’s famous Maze Garden.
And while admiring the moon, I had happened to encounter Lucio.
“Now that I think about it….”
When I had infiltrated the Duke’s Mansion for my final mission, Lucio had definitely called my name.
Then wouldn’t he have known me even at this point, just a few months ago?
Thinking about it that way, something felt unclear.
When I encountered Lucio that day, he had stared at my face persistently, as if trying to confirm something.
Until I, flustered, apologized hastily and left.
Looking up at the sky, the same half-moon from that day was shining brightly.
But now, only I was here.
On Diana’s birthday in the past, was my arrival at the Elrad Duke’s Mansion truly coincidence?
My mind grew tangled.
* * *
A few days later, in the Liven Kingdom.
“I must refuse.”
At Lucio’s firm response, Serphin held her breath for a moment.
She gazed at the noble youth before her—perfect features and an air of noble dignity that enveloped his entire being.
Yes, she must have misheard him, momentarily captivated by his appearance.
“I believe I didn’t hear you correctly….”
“….”
“Or perhaps the Young Lord didn’t hear me correctly?”
Seeing the expressionless Lucio, Serphin, growing impatient, spoke again.
“Young Lord. If you become mine, House Elrad will be elevated to the Empire’s sole Grand Ducal House, and you will gain power incomparable to what you have now….”
“I heard correctly. I must refuse.”
And at his immediate response once more, Serphin’s expression filled with bewilderment.
She was, after all, proposing the position of Imperial Consort.
‘Yet how could he refuse so readily….’
Serphin could not believe it.
She had believed that Lucio, confident he would become Emperor, would naturally accept this proposal.
In truth, she had been leisurely waiting for Lucio to make the offer first, but Nicholas’s unexpected and fierce rise had made her anxious.
Though her pride stung at feeling rushed by a mere bastard, Serphin decided instead to seize this opportunity and extend her hand to Lucio first.
And she believed Lucio could never refuse her.
‘Yet why such a foolish answer…’
Anger flared for a moment, but Serphin imagined herself as the merciful Emperor who would lead the Empire, and decided to give him one more chance.
“Young Duke.”
“If you’ve finished what you wished to say, I shall take my leave.”
But Lucio rose from his seat without hesitation, showing no interest in her efforts.
Seeing him move toward the door without even asking permission was almost laughable.
“However.”
“…?”
Just then, Lucio, who had been standing with his hand on the doorknob as if about to leave, slowly turned back.
“Who said I don’t believe in love?”
Serphin was momentarily dazed by Lucio’s sudden words, then recalled what she had said moments before.
〈The Young Duke and I don’t believe in such things as love, so I believe we could have a most excellent marriage.〉
When Serphin blinked, still finding no fault with her own words, Lucio let out a small sigh.
“Your Imperial Highness seems to have forgotten what kind of marriage my parents had.”
Only then did what she had forgotten come rushing back to her.
Duke Elrad, who had risked his life in war to overthrow the incompetent previous Grand Duke, and returned as a hero.
He had rejected both the fierce opposition of his vassals and the Emperor’s matchmaking, choosing instead a woman of nearly common birth, a fallen noblewoman. She was now the Duchess Elrad.
It was ancient history, and since she had little interest, Serphin had overlooked this detail.
Or rather, she had thought it foolish.
Had the Duke accepted the Emperor’s matchmaking and taken a daughter of a noble house as his wife, he could have governed his house far more perfectly.
‘Moreover, he could have increased his influence in aristocratic society.’
Duke Elrad and the Young Duke Lucio were said to resemble each other in temperament as much as in appearance….
She had never expected Lucio to say such a thing, so Serphin felt somewhat taken aback.
Was he not always a cold and indifferent man?
“Your Imperial Highness. I do believe in love. I have for a very long time.”
Then, as if concerned Serphin might misunderstand, Lucio spoke clearly.
And with a refreshed expression, he immediately opened the door and left.
“…Ha”
It was only much later that Serphin exhaled something close to a hollow laugh.
It felt as though someone had struck her head hard.
Having never experienced such humiliation before, her expression froze coldly without her realizing it.
But.
“Do you think I would give up on you so easily?”
Lucio, with his captivating appearance, elegant social grace, ability, and perfect aristocratic bearing, was precisely the one suited to stand beside her.
She had never met anyone in her life whom she desired so intensely.
Serphin’s eyes gleamed sharply, burning with greed and rage.
* * *
“Young Grand Duke.”
The moment Lucio stepped outside, Nix, his aide who had been waiting, swiftly positioned himself at his side.
“What business did the Imperial Princess have with you?”
Lucio, who had been walking briskly down the long corridor, came to an abrupt halt and fixed Nix with a sharp gaze.
Nix hastily lowered his head.
Despite the separate palace being granted to the Empire’s delegation, he realized his eagerness had been premature—there could be ears listening anywhere.
Yet ever since arriving in the Liven Kingdom, the Imperial Princess, who seemed focused solely on negotiations, had summoned Lucio in secret, making curiosity inevitable.
Lucio, already aware that no one lingered nearby, exhaled a short sigh before speaking.
“A waste of time. She merely spouted nonsense. More importantly, what of the Fifth Prince?”
“Contact was successful. They said they would arrange a meeting soon.”
“I see.”
“However… there is something…”
As Lucio resumed his rapid pace, he furrowed his brow, as if asking what it could be.
“News has arrived from the Empire…”
“The Empire?”
“Yes, it is that…”
Nix hesitated, gauging Lucio’s reaction carefully.
‘It seems my lord does not know about this…’
No, he was almost certain of it. Had he known, he would never have come to the Liven Kingdom.
Though Nix was confident in this assessment, seeing Lucio’s darkening mood made it nearly impossible to speak.
But as the silence grew colder and more oppressive, Nix finally squeezed his eyes shut and forced out the words.
“Grand Duchess Bellus has visited the Empire, it is said.”

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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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