Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 17

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

Being young was already a disadvantage, but with a frail body on top of that, I was utterly useless—I had no grounds to complain if I were cast out.
“Mmm…”
Just as I stood there at a loss, Diana stirred beside me and made a soft sound in her sleep.
Only then did Lia notice Diana’s presence, startled by the discovery.
The child had been asleep for who knew how long, completely swaddled in blankets and invisible beneath them.
Lia recalled the Duchess Elrad, who had fed her medicine each time she regained consciousness during her illness, and Diana sitting beside her—and her expression grew apologetic.
“I’m sorry, Dana. Because of me…”
I hadn’t even spent proper time with my newly found family.
Lia patted Diana’s back a few times before carefully descending from the bed and heading toward the bathroom attached to the room.
The servants had washed me and changed my clothes while I was ill, but I still felt uncomfortable and wanted to bathe.
When I turned the faucet of the enormous bathtub—large enough that Diana and I could splash around together and still have room to spare—hot, steaming water flowed out abundantly.
Moreover, when I went to undress, I realized I was wearing a fine quality dress that apparently belonged to Diana.
Faced with this unexpected generosity, Lia’s heart stirred with habitual unease and anxiety.
‘…This can’t possibly last.’
Diana may follow me closely now, but a four-year-old’s affections are fickle.
Soon enough, she would forget the memories we shared together, so I couldn’t rely solely on a child’s heart.
‘I never intended to stay here forever anyway.’
Lia forced herself to calm the turbulent thoughts in her mind, reminding herself of what needed to be done here, and removed the dress she was wearing.
* * *
“How is the child doing?”
“Her fever broke last night.”
The Duchess Elrad answered Duke Elrad’s question.
She set down a cup of coffee on one corner of the study desk, which was piled high with reports, and let out a weary sigh.
“She vomited everything she ate and was ill the entire time—I thought we were going through quite an ordeal.”
The Duke, seeing his wife’s haggard face as she spoke, gently patted the back of her hand.
However, he too had been occupied with matters related to the Orphanage since returning to the Duke’s Castle, only now finding a moment to breathe.
The Duke rubbed his brow and took a sip of coffee before asking.
“What is your impression of the child?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you think it would be alright to keep her by Diana’s side?”
“I haven’t known her long, but…she seems like a good child. Kind and gentle, and despite being ill, she didn’t complain even once.”
The Duchess Elrad recalled Lia, who had endured her pain silently without making a sound, suffering quietly within herself.
If it had been Allen or Diana, they would have wailed and shaken the castle.
Moreover, the shock from when she was caring for the child and changing her clothes still hadn’t faded.
Though the child was four years older than Diana, she had a similar build, so she hadn’t been unprepared for a thin frame—but seeing the actual body, the way her skin clung to her ribs, was far more heartbreaking than she had anticipated.
“I think I understand now why Countess Maretta takes notice of her.”
It was a well-known fact throughout the Empire that Bianca had been treated as a servant and abused by her family when she was young.
That’s why she had severed ties with her original family the moment she received her title and left the Empire without hesitation.
“She’s still just a child…I can’t imagine how frightened she must have been all this time.”
Still, the Duchess Elrad felt relieved that Tellin had cleanly removed her scars, speaking as though a great weight had been lifted.
“Now that I think about it, that is strange. Holy power doesn’t work, yet Tellin’s healing magic does.”
Though Tellin was the most capable chief mage in House Elrad, healing magic typically relied more on holy power to boost vitality than on mana.
At that, Duchess Elrad clapped her hands together and spoke.
“I was just thinking about that. We’ll need to investigate further, but Tellin mentioned that if someone possesses mana of extremely high purity, it might be incompatible with holy power.”
“Then that child’s body as well?”
Duchess Elrad nodded eagerly.
After healing the scars on her body, Tellin had examined her mana and exclaimed that an enormous amount of it seemed to be dormant within Lia’s body.
Duchess Elrad shuddered at the memory of having to forcibly remove him from the room, as he’d been on the verge of waking the unconscious child to conduct experiments right then and there.
She then turned to her husband, who had fallen silent as if lost in thought.
“I should go check on her now. I need to see if the child has woken up….”
At that, Duke Elrad raised one eyebrow and spoke.
“I don’t think that will be necessary.”
* * *
I carefully closed the door so as not to wake Diana, then made my way down the long corridor and stopped before the spiral staircase.
Where should I go to meet Duke Elrad?
‘The dining hall, since it’s morning? Or perhaps the Training Grounds where the Knight Order trains?’
As I pondered this, I encountered a servant and carefully asked which way would be best to meet the Duke.
I’d honestly expected them to show reluctance at a young child suddenly demanding an audience with the Duke.
Though they did seem somewhat surprised, they kindly directed me toward the Study.
Not only that, but they seemed to know my identity and even inquired after my health with concern, as if aware that I’d been ill.
Their kindness left me flustered, and my face flushed.
‘Probably when we arrived at the Castle, the way Diana rushed to me left an impression on everyone.’
Reasoning it out this way, I politely declined their offer to escort me so I wouldn’t become a nuisance, and after walking for quite some time, I finally stood before a heavy door.
As it was the Study of the Duke, master of the Castle, the center of the door bore the engraved silver wolf emblem that symbolized House Elrad.
Only then did it truly sink in that I had entered House Elrad.
After staring blankly at it for a while, I exhaled softly and was just about to knock when—
The door suddenly swung open, and I instinctively stepped back.
“Lia?”
I’d naturally assumed the Duke had opened the door.
But seeing an unexpected person, my eyes widened.
At that moment, Duchess Elrad cried out, her expression a complex tangle of worry and relief.
“You’re awake! But are you really well enough to be wandering around already?”
If you’d woken up, you should have pulled the bell cord to call a maid.
Did you wake up alone and get frightened?
I’m sorry—I should have been by your side.
The moment Duchess Elrad saw my face, she poured out her words in a rush, and for some reason, I felt like a child who truly needed to be protected.
‘I’d only just steeled my resolve moments ago.’
Not knowing what to do as my resolve kept wavering, I hesitated in my response.
“What brings you to seek me out?”
Then a heavy, deep voice descended from above my head.
I looked up in surprise and saw Duke Elrad sitting at his desk behind the Duchess.
My mind snapped to attention in an instant.
“I, I have something to tell you.”
“Something to say the moment you wake up? Come in then.”
“But I’ve only just woken up.”
The Duchess gently squeezed my shoulder as if asking whether this couldn’t wait until later, but Duke Elrad had already pushed aside the documents he’d been working on and risen from his seat.
The Duchess looked at me with worried eyes.
“Then hurry and tell him. I’ll be waiting in the room.”
“Sit.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Duchess ushered me into the Study and then stepped aside.
I sat on the reception sofa as Duke Elrad instructed.
As I hesitated over how to begin, it was Duke Elrad who spoke first.
“As it happens, I had something to tell you as well. This works out perfectly.”
I wondered what he could possibly want to discuss with me.
‘Could it be about my future here…?’
Though I felt the moment I’d been dreading had arrived, I regretted not bringing it up first as I looked toward him.
But what he said was entirely different from what I’d expected.
“Using the ledger from the Orphanage Director you provided, we were able to apprehend all the nobles and merchants involved in slave trafficking.”
Already?
I was so astonished I couldn’t even voice my question aloud.
Yet the expression of the one delivering this shocking news seemed remarkably composed.
“The evidence is conclusive, so they’ll face severe punishment shortly.”
Watching Duke Elrad speak as though he’d merely handled a trivial matter, I felt bewildered.
But then I remembered that he was one of only two dukes in the Empire and also served as Minister of Military Affairs—if Duke Elrad set his mind to something, there would be nothing beyond his reach.
‘Especially when it comes to apprehending criminals.’
Nodding inwardly in understanding, I recalled the reason for my visit here.
“By the way! Is Jack… my friend who was injured back then… is he alright?”
At my words, Duke Elrad furrowed his brow as if searching his memory, then nodded.
“I forgot to mention it. That child found collapsed at the Orphanage has safely regained consciousness. His physical condition has also recovered completely.”
I exhaled in genuine relief.
And I waited for what Duke Elrad would say next.
“…”
“…?”
But he said nothing more.
That was strange.
I could have sworn he’d mentioned wanting to speak separately with Jack, who had saved Diana, about whether he’d be willing to come to House Elrad.
As I simply stared at Duke Elrad, he said “Ah” as if remembering something anew.
“He asked about your wellbeing the moment he opened his eyes. You said you were fine.”
And as I watched Duke Elrad fall silent again, my face went slack with bewilderment.
“Jack will become an excellent knight!”
“A knight…?”
The Duke tilted his head, clearly caught off guard by such an abrupt statement.
Realizing my words lacked substance, I hastily continued.
“Jack is the tallest and strongest among all the children at the Orphanage. He trains without fail every single day, and even when the Director beats him, he endures longer than anyone else without shedding a tear….”
“….”
“If you just see him once, you’ll understand….”
Instead of answering, the Duke gazed at me intently with those serene blue eyes.
My courage faltering, I averted my gaze and began wondering how I could possibly persuade him further.
That was when it happened.
“Very well.”
A calm voice reached me from above my head.
I looked up in surprise and caught the Duke breaking into a soft smile.

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