Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 182

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

“Then kiss me now.”
Lucio stiffened at my words, his body going rigid.
A strange thrill coursed through me at the thought that I’d managed to shake his composure, even if only for a moment.
“So what you’re saying is….”
“I’m accepting your feelings.”
But I too had lost my composure.
He spoke of waiting for me indefinitely, yet I feared that if I hesitated, I might lose him.
In this moment, neither the necklace around my neck nor demons themselves could stand in my way.
I refused to let my happiness slip through my fingers again.
‘I’ve already secured the sacred relic safely. Once Diana awakens, everything will work itself out.’
In my impatience, thinking such shameless thoughts, Lucio’s hand slowly cradled my cheek. My mind went completely blank.
‘Should I close my eyes now? How exactly does one kiss?’
Even living a second life, I remained ignorant of so many things.
I swallowed hard and closed my eyes, thinking to myself.
‘I really don’t want to die.’
I’d finally met the family I’d yearned for, and I’d escaped the anxiety of not belonging anywhere or the burden of needing to prove my worth.
Yet there was still so much I wanted to do.
‘Perhaps what I truly want is to experience it all with him.’
“…?”
But no matter how long I waited with my eyes closed, nothing happened.
Wondering if my timing was off, I cautiously opened one eye, only to find Lucio gazing at me while suppressing a smile.
I snapped back to awareness in an instant.
As I tried to squirm away, Lucio pressed his lips lightly against my forehead and pulled back.
“I’ll settle for this today.”
What? Settle for what? Why would he settle?
I covered my forehead with both hands and glared at Lucio indignantly.
He laughed softly as he lowered my hands.
“Stay cute like that. I’m already starting to regret holding back.”
“Hmph.”
“If I didn’t hold back, you’d definitely regret it then.”
“…But it’s my choice anyway, so what does it matter?”
Embarrassed, I snorted and pouted, and he stared at me intently.
“I don’t know why you suddenly changed your mind, but you said this afternoon that you had no time or intention for this. Remember?”
No matter how long a day had been, how could I forget that?
But hearing it from Lucio’s own lips made my embarrassment surge.
Trying to pretend I didn’t hear, I turned my head away, and he pulled me into a tight embrace.
“I don’t know why you’re so anxious, but you don’t need to be.”
“….”
“I’m afraid you’ll regret this.”
Hearing his words, I felt ashamed that my impatience had been exposed.
At the same time, wondering if I’d been acting too childish, I let my lips droop dejectedly, and Lucio laughed before changing the subject.
“By the way, did you notice you called my name earlier?”
…Did I?
Now that I thought about it, I’d called out his name in surprise when I saw him pierced by the blade.
“Won’t you call it again? Just once more.”
Lucio drew his face close with a subtle smile crinkling the corners of his eyes, and I swallowed hard without meaning to.
‘Is this what they call a beauty trap?’
I’d known he was handsome, but with those sharp, cool features smiling so sweetly, I couldn’t keep my wits about me.
Silken silver hair, soft as spun silk, tickled my forehead, and his breath transmitted vividly against my skin.
Feeling like our noses would touch if I moved even slightly, I deliberately averted my eyes and murmured as if to myself.
“Why do you keep asking me to call your name?”
It was truly baffling.
It was the same when I’d called Prince Nicholas’s name before, and even in times he wouldn’t remember….
“Hmm? Call it for me.”
Seeing Lucio persistently wheedling me to say his name, I felt a strange sensation.
‘It’s almost a little cute….’
Feeling oddly embarrassed, I cleared my throat and carefully opened my mouth.
“…Lucio.”
“Again.”
“Lucio.”
“Yes, Lia.”
At the reluctant utterance of his name, Lucio’s face broke into a happy smile. Then he slowly began to stroke my hair.
Watching his long fingers gently curl around my pink hair, my nape felt strangely ticklish and my toes curled.
‘But this person, isn’t his physical contact far too natural?’
This close posture where our breaths mingled, the hand around my waist, the fingers stroking my hair—
He seemed utterly unaware of how tender this moment appeared.
While I was this tense, seeing him alone appear so composed somehow irritated me.
“Aren’t we settling accounts?”
“…What?”
“The commission fee. You said you had questions to ask.”
“Sigh.”
At my blunt words, Lucio, who’d been bewildered, soon furrowed his brows.
“Do you really have to bring that up now?”
At the slightly resentful tone, I too wore a dumbfounded expression.
When I’d entrusted the commission to Darel today, Lucio had demanded information instead of a fee.
He’d said I could answer with whatever I knew, even if I didn’t know much, so I’d readily agreed.
With the conviction that transactions should be concluded quickly and cleanly, and recalling how seriously Lucio had spoken, I’d thought it might be something important.
“Why, can’t we do it now?”
When I asked bluntly, Lucio exhaled a shallow sigh before suddenly biting the bridge of my nose with a soft sound.
More startled than hurt, I cried out “Ow!” and grabbed my nose.
“What are you doing right now!”
“I’ve felt this for a while now, but why do you have such poor perception?”
“What, what did you say?”
“I go through all the trouble of calling you out, and you just say what you need to say and leave, completely ignoring whether my heart is breaking or not.”
He grumbled on without pause, as though he had accumulated quite a lot to say.
“I opened my heart with such difficulty, and I should have known from the moment you started jumping around asking for money.”
“…Huh?”
“There you go again, looking so innocent. This is when I realize you’re truly Askart’s sister. The mood was going so well, and then you talk about settling accounts. Did I somehow recognize at first glance that you’d rot my insides like this? Every time I see you, I feel resentful for no reason.”
As I blinked at his incomprehensible words, Lucio shook his head and suddenly planted a kiss on my cheek with a soft sound.
“But you’re so cute that there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“What, again!”
Is this man serious?
He ignored my request for a kiss, but now he’s planning to stamp his mark all over my face except my lips?
My thoughts must have shown clearly on my face, because Lucio lifted one corner of his mouth into a smirk.
“If I do it sincerely, you won’t be able to handle it.”
Then he pressed the back of my head firmly and made me lean my face against his solid chest again.
“Let’s sleep now. You must be exhausted.”
“But….”
“If you say one more word, I really will kiss you.”
“….”
At Lucio’s words, I quickly sealed my lips shut.
His hand moved slowly along my spine as though he had no intention of stopping at just a kiss, and I felt goosebumps rise involuntarily across my skin.
My pride stung at the soft laugh that escaped Lucio as he watched my silence, but soon as he began patting my back gently and steadily, my tension melted away again.
Wrapped in his warmth, I felt an inexplicable drowsiness settling over me.
‘But what woman in the world would fall asleep in a situation like this?’
I was indeed exhausted today, just as he said….
I let out a small scoff and muttered quietly.
“As if I really would….”
* * *
Lucio gazed at the sleeping Lia and found himself laughing despite himself.
It seemed like less than five minutes had passed since she grumbled about how she really wouldn’t.
Yet at some point, Lia’s eyes had gently closed, and she soon began nodding off.
Apart from her lack of perception, she was quite sensitive to subtle signs, so seeing her sleep so soundly was both endearing and heartbreaking.
Lucio carefully rose and laid Lia on the bed, then sat beside her.
It had been a long day for him as well, and the fatigue he’d been ignoring came rushing back.
In truth, ever since hearing the report that Lia had collapsed and the news that she would be visiting the Imperial Palace, Lucio had been unable to focus on anything.
It felt helpless that he couldn’t openly protect Lia against the sinister Emperor, and though he tried to think coolly that things were proceeding according to plan, the anxiety wouldn’t fade.
But what happened afterward in the Sword Tournament finals completely diminished all his worries.
Lucio already knew that the Demon Worshippers were the primary culprits behind Lia’s abduction.
That Diana was the reincarnation of the Holy Maiden was also only slightly surprising, as he had already thoroughly investigated the stories of the Holy Maiden War, demons, and those who followed them.
‘I thought I understood it well enough….’
But the moment Lucio actually laid eyes on a Demon Beast summoned by a demon, he felt a chill that defied description.
Simultaneously, he regretted not carrying a sword as he usually did.
Since childhood, controlling mana had been as natural to him as breathing. Manifesting an aura came just as easily.
Yet Lucio had concealed this fact.
Political calculation played a role, but more than that, wielding such power simply felt wrong to him for reasons he couldn’t quite explain.
However, when it came to protecting Lia and his family, he harbored no hesitation whatsoever—had Lia not unleashed her magic, he would have certainly revealed his strength.
But he hadn’t even been granted that opportunity. A dull ache throbbed behind his eyes.
Though his power paled in comparison to Lia’s, Lucio still believed it would have been better to expose my own abilities.
Because he could foresee exactly what would unfold afterward.
Amid all this, informing Lia that the Imperial Palace knights had fled the palace weighed heavily on him, yet now he found himself grateful that she had entrusted him with this task.
He’d long since abandoned any attempt to fathom what went on in that brilliant mind of hers, but at least having her move with his knowledge was far preferable to her acting alone without his awareness.
‘…Though I never expected her to come at me quite so fiercely.’
His original intention had been merely to observe from a distance, but when Lia suddenly appeared to panic and flee, he’d followed to reassure her.
Yet when he recalled how she’d instantly shifted into an offensive stance and driven him into a defensive position, laughter bubbled up within him.
Lucio glanced briefly at his flank—now unmarked and clean, bearing no trace of the sword wound—before gently caressing Lia’s cheek as she slept.
He’d meant to leave immediately, but the soft, delicate texture of her skin beneath his fingertips made it impossible for his hand to pull away.

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