Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 185

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

* * *
“Sister!”
The moment Diana saw Lia entering the Duke’s Mansion, she rushed forward without hesitation.
Up close, it seemed as though Lia’s face had grown gaunt in just a single day.
‘Of course… from battling those Demon Beasts yesterday…’
Diana’s throat tightened, and she bit her lip.
All this time, she had been repulsed by the sight of human souls in their ugliness.
But the Demon Beasts she had witnessed yesterday were incomparably more grotesque and horrifying than those souls.
When I found myself frozen in disbelief that I would have to face such creatures, Lia unexpectedly stepped forward and destroyed all the Demon Beasts herself, leaving me deeply shaken.
I felt a crushing sense of responsibility and guilt for postponing what should have been my duty, and I worried whether Lia might be disappointed in me for doing nothing.
But.
“Diana, were you very frightened yesterday?”
The moment Lia closed the door, she asked me a question of concern instead.
Diana hung her head low.
‘Why am I so weak?’
Once, I had dreamed of becoming a warrior who would protect my sister. Yet instead…
“Sister, I’m sorry.”
Unable to hold back, the words escaped like a sigh, and Lia tilted her head in confusion.
At that gesture, Diana’s emotions overwhelmed her, and she cried out.
“If I had only awakened, when those Demon Beasts appeared, I could have destroyed them all instead of you! Then you wouldn’t have suffered, and people wouldn’t have troubled you either…”
As she spoke, her apology deepened, and tears threatened to spill over at any moment.
When Diana pursed her lips to hold back her tears, Lia looked flustered and opened her mouth several times before finally finding her words.
“Diana, I’m fine. It wasn’t that difficult… And when else would I get to hear myself called a Saint, if not now?”
“But…”
“You’re being foolish. Why would you think such things? Diana, it’s enough for me that you weren’t hurt.”
Her eyes grew warm at the familiar, tender comfort.
Diana clamped her mouth shut with a gloomy expression, and Lia’s face darkened as well.
“Actually, Diana, I’m sorry too.”
“…What? Why?”
“Because… the Demon Beasts appeared because of me.”
“What? How is that your fault!”
Seeing Diana jump up in protest, Lia smiled bitterly.
“The demon is targeting me, after all. Yesterday, it was clearly trying to warn me of something.”
“Sister…”
“And.”
Lia shook her head with an anguished expression.
“Diana, you’re still so young… I hoped for your awakening while expecting you to fight the demon. Now it feels terribly selfish of me.”
Her voice trembled faintly.
In truth, even on the journey to the Duke’s Mansion, I had been filled with anticipation.
Wondering if Diana might awaken with the sacred relic I had brought back.
Yet when I saw Diana apologizing to me, my head rang with a dull thud.
While I lived a second life carrying memories of the past, Diana did not.
“My head must have been somewhere else.”
No matter how often Raezl repeated like a broken record that “once the Saint awakens,” I had burdened young Diana with such a heavy responsibility simply because she was the Saint’s reincarnation.
“I never even considered your position.”
I had only thought of her as my sole hope—the one who could restore my fractured soul and vanquish the demons.
I was burying my face in my hands, unable to lift my head, when—
“No! I want to awaken quickly too!”
Diana cried out, seeing Lia’s dejected form.
Truth be told, not long ago she would have avoided it if she could, but now Diana genuinely desired her awakening.
Yet Lia shook her head.
“You don’t need to carry unnecessary responsibility because of me.”
“That’s not it! I want to awaken quickly so I can protect you, my family—everyone!”
If only I could awaken the powerful sacred power sleeping within me and wield it freely, then I would no longer feel this self-loathing or guilt.
At the resolute gleam in Diana’s eyes, Lia, who had been momentarily at a loss for words, carefully revealed the purpose of today’s visit.
Diana asked in a bewildered voice.
“An object that might help with my awakening?”
“Yes. It’s a sacred relic believed to be a weapon used by the Saint in ancient times.”
Diana’s eyes widened at the mention of the very object Raezl had said would serve as a catalyst for awakening.
“Really? You found that sacred relic?”
Lia nodded and carefully produced what she had brought.
Lia smiled sheepishly at Diana’s surprise upon seeing the bundle wrapped in several layers.
It was Lia herself who had wrapped the sacred relic so meticulously.
Raezl believed the Demon Worshippers’ attack on the Temple and theft of the sacred relic was intended to eliminate something that could be a fatal weapon against demons.
He had warned her several times to be especially careful not to let them steal it again, as they might still be after the relic.
‘That’s why I was so tense yesterday too.’
I trembled at the thought of possibly encountering the Demon Worshippers.
“Let me try!”
Then Diana cried out with enthusiasm.
Seeing Diana unwrap the bundle and take the sacred relic in her hands, Lia slowly nodded.
* * *
A moment later.
Diana exhaled in exhaustion.
I too unclenched my fists, which I had been gripping so tightly my nails dug into my palms.
“Diana…”
I barely managed to call her name, suppressing the ache in my heart, when Diana wiped away the beads of sweat on her forehead and took another deep breath.
“Diana, stop now.”
“No, I can do more!”
“You’ve done enough.”
She had already tried several times, but each attempt had ended in failure.
Standing before the sacred relic with eager determination, Diana infused her divine power into it exactly as Raezl had taught her.
Yet neither Diana nor the thin, rectangular rod-shaped sacred relic showed any change whatsoever.
“It’s alright, Diana.”
I bit my lip and gently comforted the disappointed child by taking her hand.
But I couldn’t help feeling disappointed by the result myself.
I’d told her not to worry, that she bore no responsibility—yet when she showed such determination, I found myself hoping anyway.
‘But Raezl was almost certain this sacred relic would aid Diana’s awakening….’
I desperately hoped that wasn’t the case, yet a heavy dread settled in my chest at the thought that perhaps I would need to die again.
I forced myself to shake my head and spoke.
“It seems we’ll need Raezl to come after all.”
I’d already sent word yesterday about the demon beast’s appearance, but with the message having to pass through several intermediaries, I had no idea when he’d receive it.
Now that Raezl knew Terenthium’s network spread across the entire continent might be a collective of Demon Worshippers, he moved with extreme caution to avoid their eyes, and his visits to Elrad Duke’s Mansion were undertaken with the utmost discretion.
“Sister, is this really a sacred relic?”
Diana, unable to hide her disappointment, turned the sacred relic over in her hands as she asked.
“I’m not sure….”
If what Count Petie had been holding was a fake, that would be one thing, but I was certain this was genuine.
‘…Could there really be another ancient relic that looks so similar?’
As I stood there with a serious expression, lost in thought, Diana let out a deep sigh.
“If only the Demon Worshippers hadn’t raided the Temple and stolen all the sacred relics….”
I nodded in agreement with Diana’s words.
If that hadn’t happened, the Temple’s treasures wouldn’t have been scattered, and Raezl wouldn’t have had to wander aimlessly searching for sacred relics.
Then Diana, who had been clicking her tongue about why people had to lay their hands on others’ belongings, murmured something.
“Come to think of it, there was quite a commotion this morning—apparently there was a theft at the Imperial Treasury.”
“…What?”
“Huh?”
“Diana, what did you just say?”
I asked in startled surprise, and Diana answered with confusion.
“There was a theft at the Treasury, and people have been coming and going from the Imperial Palace since morning in quite a frenzy. Someone presented a treasure to His Majesty, and apparently someone stole it.”
“…!”
“Wait, shouldn’t they be calling the Imperial Knight Order Commander? Why are they looking for the Minister of Military Affairs?”
“Y-yes, that’s strange.”
“Anyway, the world is full of wicked people.”
“Cough, cough!”
Her words struck a nerve, and I choked.
“Diana, I was originally planning to return it to its rightful owner….”
I found myself rambling excuses without thinking, and Diana tilted her head in confusion.
Awkwardly closing my mouth at her expression, I tried to hide my embarrassment as I thought.
I’d need to learn more details, but it seemed Count Petie had presented some artifact to the Emperor, and His Majesty was furious that it had been stolen.
‘But I’m certain I switched it with a counterfeit.’
Regardless of my past life, Kenneth Petite—who had pursued me spouting nonsense—still irritated me.
However, I had no intention of putting Count Petie in a difficult position, especially after he’d surrendered such a precious artifact for his son’s sake.
So I’d meticulously crafted a counterfeit using both the sketch Raezl had shown me and my own memories from the past—so expertly done that no one would ever recognize it as fake.
‘Naturally, there’s no way anyone would discover it was a forgery, so there shouldn’t be any problems.’
Yet someone had stolen the very artifact I’d switched out.
‘Who on earth could have….’
In that instant, my eyes narrowed to slits.
* * *
At that same moment, within the Imperial Palace.
“Your Majesty, please calm yourself.”
“Calm myself? The Imperial Knight Order was attacked right here in the front courtyard of my own residence, and you expect me to remain composed? Is the Minister of Military Affairs truly so lacking in crisis awareness?”
….
Duke Elrad nearly let his expression slip into indifference as he watched the Emperor’s fury unfold.
In truth, he’d been barely suppressing his irritation at listening to the Emperor repeat the same grievances and rage since this morning.
He found himself silently sighing, wondering just how much longer this tedious situation would drag on.
The Attendant outside the door announced loudly:
“Your Majesty, Count Petie has arrived.”
“Show him in!”
As the doors opened, Count Petie—dragged to the palace without understanding why—bowed with a bewildered expression and spoke in a hesitant voice.
“Your Majesty, if you would simply release my son, that would be all I ask. Why have you summoned me as well…?”
“Count Petie. At dawn yesterday, an Imperial carriage departing from your residence came under attack.”
The Emperor, his voice dripping with venom, fixed a sharp gaze upon the Count and demanded:
“Have you told anyone that you presented an ancient artifact to me?”

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