Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 186

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“N-No, there isn’t!”
Count Petie, who had belatedly grasped the situation, jumped up, swearing he had never mentioned it to his wife or children.
However, the Emperor, who knew the Count’s tongue was notoriously loose, did not easily believe him.
At that moment, the Count hesitated and asked.
“C-Could it be that the item I offered was stolen in the attack?”
“….”
“No, how could such a precious thing!”
The Count stamped his feet in frustration.
“The person who sold me that item said it was a rare ancient relic without equal in this world! With what feelings did I offer it!”
The Count, oblivious to the Emperor’s ominous expression as he lamented the lost relic, suddenly fixed an anxious gaze upon him.
“Your Majesty, surely you will still release my son as promised….”
“Nonsense. I did not receive the item I was supposed to, so why should I?”
The Emperor cut off the Count’s words sharply, raising his eyebrows.
“More than that, seeing how well you know the value of that item, Count—could it be that you are the culprit?”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that….”
As the bewildered Count asked back stupidly, the Emperor burst into anger and shouted.
“You staged this whole thing because you found it too precious to offer to me, didn’t you!”
“N-No, that cannot be! My son’s life hangs in the balance, how could I….”
The Count appealed in an aggrieved voice that he possessed neither the knights nor private soldiers to attack the Imperial Knight Order, nor did he have the audacity to attempt such a thing.
But the Emperor merely scoffed, saying he could not know whether the Count had hired mercenaries.
The commander of the Imperial Knight Order, treated in an instant as less than a mere mercenary, bowed his head like a criminal.
The Emperor paid this no mind and pressed his unreasonable accusations.
Since reproaching the Imperial Knights responsible for the escort would be pointless—the item was already gone, and they did not even know who had taken it—he was redirecting his anger toward the convenient target of Count Petie.
‘He’s completely caught in the wrong situation.’
Nicholas, observing from the side, saw through the Emperor’s petty nature and shook his head inwardly.
Then his eyes met those of Duke Elrad, who stood across from him.
As he reflexively widened his eyes and nodded slightly, Duke Elrad pretended not to notice and turned his gaze away.
Though he was never particularly warm-natured, he could not be generous enough to acknowledge the Emperor’s son’s greeting in a situation where the Emperor was jumping about over a stolen ancient relic.
He knew far too well why the Emperor was collecting ancient relics.
Then the Emperor’s mouth opened again.
Nicholas stopped observing Duke Elrad’s expression and hastily turned his attention to listening.
Today as well, he was serving as Lucio’s eyes and ears more faithfully than anyone else.
* * *
I hurried back to the Marquis’s Residence and immediately contacted Lucio.
Though it was a time when he would normally be working, I needed to understand the details of what Diana had told me.
Fortunately, not long after sending the message, the communication stone’s light flickered.
And Bert, Lucio’s subordinate, came to the Marquis’s Residence.
〈My lord said he will come tonight to discuss the details. And….〉
Bert briefly conveyed what Lucio had instructed and quickly departed.
I summarized what Bert had told me on paper.
At dawn, a carriage departing from Count Petie’s Mansion was ambushed in front of the Imperial Palace by mysterious figures clad in black.
These assailants were skilled operatives with uncanny agility, easily subduing the Imperial Knights before plundering the contents of the carriage.
The Emperor’s fury over the incident—whether he reprimanded the Imperial Knight Order’s commander or vented his rage on Count Petie—mattered little to me.
I circled the word “assailants” repeatedly, stared at it for a long while, then burned the paper in the flames.
“As I suspected….”
Those assailants were undoubtedly Demon Worshippers.
And.
“Ha! So that’s why everyone else received assignments that day, and I was the only one left out.”
I was so dumbfounded my head felt numb.
The day I visited Count Petie’s Mansion in the past was when I, alone among the elite operatives, had failed to receive an assignment and was feeling dejected.
Everyone else was preparing for operations, yet I didn’t even know what my mission was supposed to be.
So with nothing to do anyway, I impulsively headed to the Count’s Estate, thinking perhaps watching Kenneth Petite’s downfall might lift my spirits.
The memory sent a chill down my spine.
‘If they had chosen Count Petie’s Mansion as the attack location instead of the Imperial Palace….’
I had considered the possibility of encountering them, but I had narrowly escaped by sheer luck. A sigh of relief escaped me involuntarily.
“Wait. If the same thing happened in the past….”
Did that mean the sacred relic had fallen into the hands of the Demon Worshippers back then?
Moreover.
“…I had no idea the incident occurred in front of the Imperial Palace.”
I had some awareness that Master was obscuring my sight and hearing, but to deceive someone so completely and seamlessly—I felt utterly foolish.
A hollow laugh escaped me, followed by a wave of self-reproach.
I shook my head urgently.
“It’s not my fault….”
The one who deceived me is the bad person.
So I’m not bad.
Each time my heart wavered, I repeated like an incantation the words Raezl used to tell me, and my mind seemed to settle slightly.
“At least that’s fortunate.”
Whether the sacred relic I found is genuine will only be confirmed when Raezl returns to verify it, but in any case, what they took was a counterfeit I created.
“So what remains now is….”
〈Do you happen to know anything about demonic artifacts?〉
〈…What exactly do you want to know?〉
〈How to break a contract mediated through a demonic artifact.〉
How on earth did Lucio come to know about demonic artifacts?
“And on top of that, breaking a contract….”
As I muttered gravely, I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.
I had long suspected that Lucio established the Information Guild for the sake of the imperial succession struggle.
But I had never deeply considered why he involved himself in the succession dispute, nor why he sought to make Nicholas Emperor.
Vaguely, I had simply assumed he would handle it competently.
Separate from my affection for Lucio, as the young Duke Elrad, he was a man of strong responsibility toward his house and family, someone trustworthy….
In that moment, my breath caught sharply as my wandering thoughts came to an abrupt halt.
Perhaps everything that comes to mind now is nothing but my baseless imagination.
But.
‘What if all of his actions are connected to the demon relics…?’
An ominous dread crept over me, and without thinking, I bit the edge of my fingernail.
I desperately hoped my imagination would remain nothing more than imagination.
That was my fervent prayer.
* * *
Late at night.
After finishing his duties at the Imperial Palace, Lucio stopped by Darel to quickly review the newly arrived S-rank intelligence, then entered the mansion district with slightly heavy steps.
Between Elrad Duke’s Mansion and Diapel Marquis Estate, Lucio paused and leaned his back against the tall stone wall.
The mansion district in the deep night when everyone slept was profoundly quiet.
“….”
Gazing at the Marquis’s Residence where Lia stayed, Lucio loosened the cravat that had been constricting his throat and exhaled slowly.
He was hesitating in an uncharacteristic way.
She would be waiting, since he had informed her of his visit beforehand.
If he simply went to her now, he could see the face he longed for as much as he wished.
Yet his hesitation stemmed from the fact that the conversation he needed to have with Lia from this point forward was far too heavy a matter for him.
But precisely because of that, Lucio moved without further hesitation.
It was when he arrived at the balcony connected to Lia’s room in one swift motion.
“You’ve arrived?”
As if she had already sensed his presence, the curtain was suddenly drawn back and the door connected to the room swung open before Lucio could even raise his hand to knock.
Lucio quietly gazed at Lia as she emerged from the doorway.
Her serene face illuminated by moonlight, her clear eyes gazing up at him—they felt strangely familiar.
Before he could delve into the cause of this déjà vu, Lia’s lips parted.
“You must be exhausted from working so late. It was difficult, wasn’t it?”
She seemed to think the reason he was gazing at her so absently was because he was tired.
Rather than deny it, Lucio stepped into the room as Lia led him. His face flushed slightly.
Lia was startled upon seeing Lucio’s reddened cheeks and asked urgently.
“Why does your face look like that? Are you still in pain? You must have overexerted yourself yesterday, didn’t you? Oh no! You’ve fallen ill from not getting proper rest. Should I give you medicine? Oh, I also have a potion that’s good for recovering stamina….”
As Lia turned her body to search for medicine, hopping anxiously, Lucio urgently grabbed her.
“I’m fine.”
“Fine? But your cheeks are red.”
“That’s….”
Lucio hesitated before answering, but unable to resist Lia’s puzzled gaze, he spoke.
“It’s because you’re saying to me exactly what the Duchess says to the Duke.”
“The Duchess to the Duke?”
Lia tilted her head, clearly not understanding what he meant.
Lucio let out a hollow laugh.
She stirred his insides like this, yet when he saw her innocent face that knew nothing of it, he felt slightly exasperated.
Lucio raised one corner of his mouth and spoke.
“You’re the one who’s been waiting up for me late into the night. That must be exhausting.”
“…?!”
“From now on, go to sleep first. I’ll….”
“Wait, hold on!”
Lia startled and stumbled backward, fluttering her hands.
“What are you even saying right now?”
Lucio tilted his head slightly and asked in a voice tinged with amusement.
“Should I use formal speech? The Grand Duke addresses the Grand Duchess formally, after all. Calling you ‘my lady’ doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”
At Lucio’s words, Lia suddenly realized she had been acting like a wife greeting her returning husband.
Her face flushed crimson—far more intensely than Lucio’s had been faintly flushed moments before.
Lia glared at Lucio with a huff, but seeing his delighted expression, she found herself unwilling to stay angry.
Finally, Lia exhaled a short sigh and spoke.
“Stop saying strange things and sit down. It’s getting late, so we should get straight to business, don’t you think?”

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