Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 153

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

It turned out that my Mother had originally trained with the sword for a long time, hoping to succeed my Grandfather in guarding the borders.
But because the Emperor pursued her relentlessly, like some obsessed stalker, the entire Empire nearly ran dry of its coffers.
During all this, there were even stories that the Emperor had mistaken Duke Elrad for my Mother’s lover and tormented him terribly.
In any case, my Mother fell in love with my Father as if by fate, and fled to Belus Duchy—not so much a romantic escape as a desperate one—while my Grandfather struggled greatly to begin grooming my Uncle, his youngest son, as the new heir.
‘No wonder Grandfather always spoke of wanting to retire early and indulge in desserts to his heart’s content. It did seem strange that he passed down his title so late.’
“Adriana, shall we descend now?”
At that moment, my Father, unable to fully soothe my Mother’s anger, extended his hand to me in her stead as she turned her head away sharply.
We had finally arrived at the Imperial Palace.
* * *
“Grand Duke Bellus, Grand Duchess Bellus, and Grand Duchess Bellus make their entrance!”
As the Attendant announced our arrival in a loud voice, the enormous golden doors swung wide open.
‘I’m not particularly nervous, as expected.’
If anything, my coming-of-age ceremony and debutante ball at the Grand Duke’s Castle had made me more anxious.
I walked slowly into the Banquet Hall with a composed expression, holding my Father’s and Mother’s hands.
Despite the sudden announcement of the banquet, the hall was packed with nobility.
Relentless gazes poured down upon me so intensely my skin prickled.
As if to scrutinize every inch of me, their eyes clung to me from head to toe with every step I took.
Yet I felt no fear.
Rather, it was I who knew their trivial habits and the secrets they wished to hide.
Besides, my attention was already fixed elsewhere.
‘Oh, our beautiful Dana!’
Diana, whose eyes met mine, broke into a radiant smile, her face brimming with affection and joy.
Naturally, I could see the people around Diana as well.
Duke Elrad with his eyes wide open and the Duchess Elrad with a handkerchief held to her lips.
And beside them, Allen, who seemed somehow vacant, and Jack, whose eyes didn’t blink once.
I wanted to immediately turn my direction and lead my Father and Mother toward them out of gladness, but I could not.
Unfortunately, there was someone else I had to greet first.
I walked lightly and stood before the Emperor and Empress, then bent my knees gracefully while holding the hem of my dress.
“I greet the sun and moon of the Laksten Empire.”
I was about to continue my greeting with flawless etiquette, without a single misstep.
“There’s no need to be so stiff about formalities!”
Suddenly the Emperor stopped me and commanded me to raise my head.
Bewildered, I lifted my gaze and met the eyes of the Emperor seated upon the dais.
The Emperor I saw for the first time was a man of imposing stature with deep crimson hair and black eyes, just like a portrait I had seen before.
I had thought his expression somewhat stern, but the face smiling at me emanated a surprisingly familiar warmth.
From his eyes, longing and wistfulness seemed to drip endlessly.
“Ah, truly, Young Lady Stella….”
“Mind your address, Your Majesty.”
My Father cut off the Emperor’s words with a curt reply.
I was startled and opened my eyes wide for a moment, but the Emperor merely said, “Hmm. Yes, as the Grand Duchess says,” while watching my Mother’s expression, yet he could not tear his gaze from me as he spoke.
“So the Grand Duchess’s name is Adriana, is it?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Even her voice is truly….”
The Emperor gazed off into the distance, lost in thought, oblivious to the eyes of those around him.
Startled by his unexpectedly intense reaction, I glanced nervously to the side, and the Empress, sensing my unease, offered me a gentle smile.
“The Grand Duchess bears a striking resemblance to the Grand Duchess Bellus. She’s absolutely lovely.”
“So Your Majesty thinks the same?!”
“I heard she had been recuperating for a long time due to her delicate constitution. I’m truly grateful that she’s made the journey all the way to the Capital City.”
“It’s as if I’m seeing the Grand Duchess Bellus in her youth—it’s truly astounding!”
Though the conversation between the Empress and Emperor felt somehow hollow, I managed to smile and respond.
“Yes, I’ve recovered enough to undertake long journeys now. Thank you for your concern.”
Upon hearing my words, the Emperor’s eyes lit up with delight.
“You’ve regained your health—how commendable and admirable! Very well, I shall bestow a reward upon you. What is it that you desire?”
“…Pardon?”
“Don’t be modest! I shall give you anything.”
The Emperor’s eyes gleamed as though he’d been waiting all along to present me with a gift.
“My treasury contains many precious items. Ah, now that I think of it, I possess a pink diamond tiara. I believe it would suit you beautifully. What do you say?”
“….”
I couldn’t bring myself to respond, merely staring at the Emperor with a lukewarm expression.
Noticing my tepid reaction, the Emperor continued.
“I also have a dress made from the scales of a legendary mermaid!”
“A necklace that was once the national treasure of a kingdom now lost to history!”
“A legendary treasure map depicting an island of riches!”
The Emperor seemed ready to recite the names of treasures all night long in his eagerness to give me something, and I was about to politely decline when my ears perked up at his next words.
“There are also relics from ancient times long past, though I’m uncertain if you’d take interest….”
‘Ancient relics!’
According to what Raezl had told me, the Emperor was as obsessed with ancient relics as he was with the color pink?
Though I was startled, seeing the Emperor waiting with bated breath for my response made it clear that his priorities were quite definite.
‘If the Petite Family had fallen as it did in the past, and the sacred artifact had come into the Emperor’s hands, couldn’t I have obtained it with merely a word without needing to raid the treasury…?’
Upon reaching that thought, I quickly shook my head internally.
After all, the Emperor didn’t even possess the sacred artifact I sought, and even if he did, I had no desire to ask for it.
Perhaps it was because I’d seen those pink-haired Imperial Princesses before. The Emperor simply felt unpleasant and uncomfortable to me.
‘Besides, I have a terrible premonition that accepting a gift so readily would lead to an enormous amount of trouble.’
With an inexplicable sense of foreboding, I decided it was time to make my refusal to the Emperor absolutely clear.
“Sigh.”
Suddenly, Mother let out a long, heavy sigh.
No matter how powerful the Belus Duchy was, such an action was disrespectful before the Empire’s Emperor.
It wouldn’t have been surprising if chaos erupted on the spot….
“Oh my, I’ve kept you standing far too long! Your legs must be aching! You there, bring a chair for the Grand Duchess at once!”
…The Emperor simply caused a commotion in an entirely different way.
* * *
‘Goodness, that was exhausting….’
After the Emperor’s lengthy parting words—inviting me to treat the Imperial Palace as my own home and to enjoy the upcoming Foundation Day celebration—I withdrew, biting back a silent laugh at the sheer intensity of his attention.
The banquet had only just begun, yet I felt completely drained.
‘If Mother hadn’t intervened midway, I would have been trapped by the Emperor’s side for the entire evening.’
I glanced sideways at my parents, who were seated in the chairs beside the Emperor and Empress, engaged in animated conversation.
I’d been worried about the Emperor’s rather obvious behavior, but fortunately, it seemed Mother and the Empress got along well enough, their expressions bright as they chatted.
“What? You won’t be staying at the palace? I’ve already ordered the Separate Palace to be prepared!”
The Emperor’s voice rang out loudly with disappointment at that moment.
While delegations from other kingdoms typically lodged at the Imperial Palace, the Bellus Grand Duchy had never done so before.
I’d assumed he would naturally expect us to stay at House Diapel, so I found his regret rather surprising.
The mere thought that the Emperor had probably filled the Separate Palace with pink wallpaper and pink furnishings sent an involuntary shiver down my spine, prompting me to quickly turn my head away.
In that instant, I felt the collective breath of those around me catch as they fixed their gazes upon me.
Eyes gleaming with the desire to speak to me, searching for an opening.
The stares of the unmarried male nobles in particular lingered with an intensity that bordered on excessive.
‘It seems the position of Grand Duke’s son-in-law is quite coveted.’
Indeed, forming a connection with me, the Grand Duchess of Belus Duchy, would bring considerable advantages.
This wasn’t something I’d only observed within the Empire, nor was it particularly surprising.
Ever since my debutante ball not long ago, letters of introduction and marriage proposals had been pouring into the Grand Duke’s Castle like a deluge.
Most came with sweet confessions accompanied by claims of love at first sight, but their true intentions were so transparent that I found myself utterly unmoved.
‘Of course, Father and Askart were indignant, while Mother simply laughed as though it were only natural.’
In any case, since I’d anticipated a similar reaction here in the Empire, I moved forward with composure, my gaze shifting deliberately.
And then, finally.
“Diana!”
“Sister…!”
Diana rushed toward me in a single breath and threw her arms around me.
* * *
Those who had been lingering nearby, hoping to speak with the Grand Duchess after her audience, drew in sharp breaths of surprise.
The Duke Elrad’s daughter had suddenly rushed toward the Grand Duchess and embraced her without hesitation.
‘Did these two have a prior acquaintance?’
The younger nobles, puzzled by the sight, soon recalled that Crown Prince Bellus and Lucio, the young Duke Elrad, were close friends, while the older nobility remembered the connection between the Grand Duchess and Duke Elrad himself.
Now that they thought about it, they vaguely recalled hearing rumors that the Grand Duchess of Belus and the Duke Elrad’s daughter exchanged letters.
It was likely that the Grand Duchy had arranged the connection for the sake of the frail Grand Duchess, but no one had imagined that two people who had never met face-to-face could appear so intimate.
‘Still, regardless of that, isn’t this far too impolite toward a foreign noblewoman, and one of such rank as a Grand Duchess at that….’
The young nobles of similar age who had hoped to catch the Grand Duchess’s eye, along with their parents, watched the two with expressions of displeasure.
In truth, touching someone’s body without permission was already a grave breach of etiquette, and to suddenly embrace her like this…
The thought crossed their minds that the surprised Grand Duchess might take offense.
All held their breath, their eyes gleaming with anticipation as they waited to see how the Grand Duchess would react.

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