Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 18

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

His smile was unfamiliar and startling, leaving me blinking in bewilderment, when the Duke suddenly asked a question.
“So what about you?”
“Pardon?”
“You’ve only talked about other people so far. I’m asking what you want to do.”
“…!”
The unexpected question caught me completely off guard.
‘Me? What do I want to do?’
Had anyone ever asked me such a thing before?
Until now, only I had ever cared about my own future.
“Well, I… I thought I’d serve beside Diana, as an attendant….”
I faltered mid-sentence.
Though I didn’t know much, I’d heard that a servant attending to a master so closely was considered an extraordinary honor.
As a lady’s maid, one would gain not only a career but also prestige and privileges.
Perhaps such a position was too grand for a mere orphan like me to even aspire to.
It was then.
“Count Mareta must have told you that you possess mana.”
As I hesitated, the Duke broached the subject first.
“The chief mage of House Elrad says your mana is remarkably pure and abundant in quantity. It seems that’s also why the healing magic was so effective.”
At his words, I finally understood why the scars on my body had vanished when I undressed to bathe.
I had meant to ask the Duchess about it when I returned.
“You may not fully understand at your age, but possessing mana means you have boundless potential. It would be wasteful for you to work as a maid. Especially given your circumstances, which are quite favorable.”
“….”
“However, mastering it alone would be difficult. You’ll need guidance.”
I immediately sensed what the Duke was about to propose.
“House Elrad has many accomplished mages. If you wish, you could become a mage yourself, or you could pursue other studies instead. I will sponsor you.”
In that moment, I felt I could finally begin to understand the Duke’s and Duchess’s actions, which had seemed so inexplicable until now.
‘Did the Duke bring me here from the start intending to sponsor me?’
Yet for commoners to be born with mana, while not common, wasn’t truly rare either.
It was rare only among commoners; for nobles, it was hardly remarkable.
‘Rather, receiving sponsorship from a great noble house like House Elrad would itself be difficult even for nobles.’
As I continued thinking, trying to find the reason, my head began to spin dizzily.
“What if… what if I refuse? Would I go back to the Orphanage like the other children?”
“What?”
“I… I just want to work as a maid.”
Barely managing to speak through my confusion, the Duke’s expression turned to one of incomprehension.
For a moment, disappointment seemed to flicker across his face.
‘Perhaps he thinks I’m too young to understand what opportunity I’m throwing away.’
But I understood it myself.
I knew how extraordinary an offer I was refusing.
Yet I had no choice but to decline.
‘To receive a noble’s patronage is to become bound to their house.’
The true purpose of noble patronage was to send promising individuals to the academy or provide other education, cultivating talent who would excel across various sectors of society—as artists, politicians, lawyers—and thereby securing their loyalty.
‘Of course, becoming part of House Elrad would be an opportunity that would never come again….’
But it conflicted with my plan to leave this place someday and live freely.
I no longer wanted to form deep bonds with others.
And I was terrified of foolishly opening my heart only to be betrayed again.
Most of all, my primary reason for entering House Elrad in the first place was to restore Jack’s position.
‘Of course, since I’m still young, I had intended to rely on them while I prepared to stand on my own….’
But now I couldn’t possibly accept their patronage.
“I can take good care of Miss Diana! I can serve her meals well, tidy her bedding, read to her…”
“….”
“I’m good at cleaning too. I did it every day at the Orphanage!”
Dusting, mopping, laundry—I earnestly insisted I could handle anything she asked of me.
After listening to my words with an expressionless face for some time, Duke Elrad finally spoke.
“Do as you see fit for now.”
His answer felt somewhat unsatisfying, but since I’d achieved what I wanted, I bowed respectfully and left the Study.
As the tension drained from my body, my legs felt unsteady.
My mind was also restless, and as I walked without watching where I was going, I hadn’t gone far before I heard a thud and tumbled to the floor.
Lifting my head to look up, I saw Allen standing there with an irritated expression.
“I’m so sorry! Young master… or, sir?”
Since I’d decided to become a maid in this household, I needed to change how I addressed people.
I was thinking I should call Diana “Miss” when I returned to her, but Allen, his brow deeply furrowed, asked me a question.
“Why were you coming from that direction?”
“Pardon?”
“Our father’s Study is down there. What were you doing coming out from there?”
As I stood there gaping, his expression turned incredulous.
“As if Diana and Mother weren’t enough…!”
Shouting thus, Allen had grabbed my shoulder roughly, but for some reason he suddenly startled and hastily withdrew his hand.
Surprised by his reaction, I looked to see what was wrong, and he seemed displeased by having touched me, staring at his own hand with a twisted expression.
“What kind of bones….”
“…?”
After scanning me from head to toe, Allen suddenly burst out loudly.
“Anyway, you—don’t think you can take advantage of Diana’s kindness and keep irritating me, or I won’t let it slide. Understand?”
The moment I nodded in agreement.
A loud gurgling sound erupted from my stomach, echoing through the Corridor.
Allen’s expression filled with bewilderment, and my face flushed crimson.
I’d been thinking of Allen as Diana’s younger brother, but to be humiliated like this!
* * *
Several days had already passed since my mortification before Allen.
Yet whenever I recalled that day, shame still washed over me.
I wished I could have just pretended not to notice.
But Allen was far too young to show such consideration.
Instead, he had loudly berated me for being embarrassed, declaring that House Elrad deserved no respect, and tried to forcibly drag me to the Dining Hall.
If I hadn’t encountered Diana and the Duchess Elrad coming to find me when they woke, I would have been subjected to relentless food torture.
I would have ended up vomiting and bedridden again.
No matter how much I disliked it, how could he be so cruel!
I reproached myself for underestimating Allen’s maturity, my body trembling with fear.
“Big sister, what’s wrong?”
“Hm? Oh, it’s nothing…”
I answered Diana’s question absently, then quickly shook my head.
“Miss, I told you not to call me big sister.”
“Huh?”
“Please call me Lia now, Miss.”
“Big sister, what is this?”
Diana completely ignored my words and innocently waved a chocolate cookie in front of me.
I narrowed my eyes at her.
Was she deliberately pretending not to understand? No, surely not.
Though something felt off, I succumbed to the chocolate cookie tempting my eyes and finally opened my mouth.
As I bit into the large cookie studded with chocolate, a sweet aroma bloomed across my palate.
Heavenly taste!
I could feel my expression melting without even looking.
In mere days, I had become completely accustomed to life in the Duke’s Castle.
Clean clothes, a warm room, a soft bed.
Three meals a day arrived without fail, each one delicious and abundant.
And such desserts on top of it all!
Most luxurious of all was the ability to soak in a large bathtub with endlessly hot water flowing from it—the greatest indulgence of my life.
I had completely forgotten the boundaries I’d drawn, telling myself I would eventually leave House Elrad and Diana, and had fully surrendered to comfort.
I quickly swallowed the cookie and spoke.
“Miss, it’s time for your afternoon nap.”
“Mmm. Big sister too…”
Diana, her eyes heavy with drowsiness, was led by my hand to brush her teeth and obediently lay down in bed.
Beneath the pink canopy, Diana looked just like a princess.
I tucked a cute teddy bear into her arms and patted her gently, and she soon fell asleep.
After confirming the child was fully asleep, I quietly slipped outside.
Normally I rarely left Diana’s side, but today was different.
Jack was arriving today!
I had already received advance notice from the Duchess Elrad and permission to go meet him.
I was truly grateful.
Though I had acted differently from my past life in hopes of undoing my mistakes, I had no desire to manipulate another person’s life arbitrarily.
I was genuinely relieved that Jack could live his original life in his rightful place.
Above all, the last time I’d seen Jack, he’d been unconscious, so I was eager to meet him now that he’d recovered.
My impatience quickened my pace considerably.
But as I descended the staircase and stepped outside, I froze in my tracks.
“Good afternoon, Young Master!”
I’d nearly collided with Allen again.
I exhaled in relief and looked up, only to find Allen regarding me with a puzzled expression.
“Why are you wandering about alone? Where’s Diana?”
“Miss Diana is resting during her afternoon nap.”
“And you?”
I tilted my head at Allen’s gruff tone.
Normally, Diana clung to me so insistently that I was forced to join her for tea time and meals alike—something he seemed to resent. Yet now he appeared displeased that we weren’t together.
“A friend has come to the Duke’s Estate today, so I was heading to meet them.”
“A friend?”
“Yes. Though I did receive permission first…”
I fidgeted nervously with my fingers, suddenly self-conscious, when Allen—who’d been staring at me intently—abruptly raised his hand.
Startled, I instinctively curled into myself, throwing both arms over my head.
It was a movement carved into my very bones—pure instinct.
Then, as the silence stretched uncomfortably, I belatedly realized my mistake and cautiously lowered my arms…
“What are you doing right now?”
My eyes met Allen’s, his face twisted into something frightening.

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