Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 189

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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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Lucio’s frown deepened before I could even finish speaking.
“Lia.”
“Is it because you don’t trust me? I’m incredibly strong. You saw it yourself in the finals. Honestly, if I really wanted to, what’s an Emperor? The entire Empire would be—”
“That’s not it.”
Lucio shook his head.
“There’s no way I don’t trust you. But… I’m still worried. Afraid you might get hurt.”
“…”
“And I’m scared. Scared I won’t be able to protect you.”
His sincerity resonated through those quietly added words.
Lucio, unwilling to show his distorted expression, raised his hand to cover his face.
I found his agitation unfamiliar yet endearing.
So after a moment’s hesitation, I gently removed his hand and pressed my lips briefly against his cheek before pulling away.
“…!”
He had been the one freely kissing my forehead and cheeks without restraint.
Yet when I took the initiative, Lucio froze in surprise, staring at me.
I suppressed a smile and spoke.
“I forgot to tell you something.”
“…What?”
Lucio blinked slowly, asking quietly.
“I love you too.”
“!”
“Probably far more than you imagine, and for much longer than you think.”
Lucio’s pupils trembled.
I thought he would have noticed when I said I’d accept his feelings yesterday, yet his reaction felt fresh and new.
I felt my cheeks flush as I continued shyly.
“I said I was afraid of regretting, didn’t I? I feel the same way. I’m terrified you might regret loving me. But I won’t have any regrets, so you shouldn’t either…”
“Not a single regret, even if I die.”
He cut off my words and pulled me into his embrace.
His heart against mine thundered rapidly, its rhythm transmitted through our contact.
Listening to the pounding heartbeat—no longer certain whose it was—I whispered my question.
“Then you’ll leave this to me now, won’t you?”
Lucio suddenly pulled me away from his embrace.
His expression looked so aggrieved that when I asked “Why?”, he sighed.
“If you ask me like that now, I can’t refuse. Since I was the one who suggested using feminine wiles, I can’t even call it underhanded.”
“Hehe.”
“…You won’t be putting yourself in danger, right?”
“Of course not!”
I raised my hand and slowly stroked his hair, both to reassure him and to satisfy my own desire.
His silver hair, far softer and more lustrous than I’d anticipated, whispered against my fingertips as it slipped through them.
Momentarily entranced by the sensation, I smiled and spoke.
“Really, you don’t need to worry. Just find me one jewel, and I’ll handle everything else.”
I spoke with deliberate confidence, and Lucio let out a soft, deflating laugh. Soon after, he pulled me into a tight embrace and whispered.
“Yes. I’ll trust you.”
* * *
Meanwhile, at the Elrad Duke’s Mansion.
“I told you to sleep first.”
Duke Elrad, who had only just returned to the mansion after indulging the Emperor’s temperament late into the evening, spoke to his wife.
The Duchess Elrad, seeing her husband’s weary face, smiled wryly and reached out to take his coat instead of answering, prompting the Duke to ask awkwardly.
“Where are the children?”
“They’re all asleep. Lucio sent word that he couldn’t come home because of work.”
“Tsk. Does the Foreign Ministry have no one but Lucio? Why is he working late every single day? Seeing my son’s face is like plucking a star from the sky.”
The Duchess Elrad chuckled at her husband’s words and replied.
“But haven’t you seen him more often since Lia arrived?”
“Hmm.”
Indeed, the Founding Festival ball was one thing, and the sword tournament finals as well.
There were times when he wouldn’t see his son’s face for over a month when things were busy, but compared to that, he had been seeing him quite frequently.
At that moment, the Duke’s expression, which had been nodding in agreement, suddenly darkened.
In truth, when he saw Lia arriving together with Lucio at the finals, he had been quite pleased.
But the moment a Demon Beast appeared unexpectedly and Lia wielded powerful magic, the Duke’s heart sank, and without thinking, he found himself looking toward the Emperor.
There seemed to be a peculiar glint in the Emperor’s eyes.
And as expected. The Emperor, who seemed to have abandoned his intention to pair Lia with Nicholas after giving up on Stella, began to take notice of Lia once more.
After hearing the Imperial Palace’s mage explain that she could not be compared to Grand Duke Bellus, who was called the Great Archmage, and that even the Empire’s prized Sword Masters would be no match for her, the Emperor wore a mysterious expression as he gauged when the Grand Duchess would leave the Empire and began formulating plans to summon her to the Imperial Palace.
Watching him covet Lia so openly burned with anguish.
‘If she’s beautiful in my eyes, she’ll be beautiful in others’ eyes too.’
Such an angelic, lovely child, and with such outstanding abilities at that!
But it had been nearly ten years since the Duke had come to regard Lia as both a daughter and a daughter-in-law. He could not let her be taken away like this.
‘Above all, Lucio’s feelings seem quite deep as well.’
The Duke had made up his mind firmly that if Lia would only say she favored Lucio, he would ensure the two never parted.
“By the way, Baron Bardo said he’s completed the medicine. Should I send it to the Marquis’s Residence tomorrow?”
At his wife’s words, the Duke shook his head.
“Rather than that, why don’t we invite them to dinner?”
“Oh, that would be lovely! I should prepare the foods Lia enjoyed eating when she was little.”
“Yes, and tell Lucio to make time as well.”
Though Allen would be away training and unable to attend, if the remaining family members gathered for a meal, it would somewhat resemble a formal meeting of families.
Thinking of the Grand Duchess trembling with anger, his lips curled up involuntarily.
The Duke, anticipating whether Lucio could handle this situation as brazenly as he had at the last ball, suddenly asked.
“By the way, does this medicine also require frequent use?”
“Yes. According to the Baron, the basic medicinal herb has an extremely bitter taste.”
“She’ll have another complaint then.”
〈You little brat! I was so good to you when you were young, so why do you keep giving me such bitter medicine!〉
No matter how many times I explained that medicine good for the body tastes bitter, I could still hear the Late Marquis Diapel’s indignant voice ringing in my ears—a man who enjoyed only sweet things.
The Duke, shaking his head in disapproval, let out a hollow laugh and muttered.
“What did I do so well for him to complain about…”
〈This, this foolish brat! Why didn’t you tell me from the start that he was male!〉
Suddenly, a memory from long ago surfaced.
Even though the Marquis rarely visited the Capital City, he had stubbornly believed that my daughter’s new friend was female, unaware that House Elrad had only one young lord. It wasn’t until much later that he discovered Dominic was male and jumped in shock.
The reason was that Stella had dressed him in women’s clothing at their first meeting.
Whether the Marquis understood his troublesome daughter’s nature or pitied the neglected child, I couldn’t say.
Whenever the Marquis came to the Capital City to see his children, he never failed to visit the Duke’s Mansion.
One day, the Marquis presented a sword that looked unmistakably like a masterwork blade and said:
〈If anyone asks, tell them I gave it to you! By the way, one more small child won’t even be noticed in the Training Grounds of House Diapel!〉
It seemed the Marquis had discovered that Dominic, wary of the Council of Elders, had no proper sword and was hesitant even to use the Duke’s Mansion’s Training Grounds.
〈Why aren’t you taking it! And why does this young one’s face look so haggard? Your eyes are completely dark!〉
The Marquis clicked his tongue and pressed the sword into Dominic’s hand, to which Dominic replied calmly:
〈I’m grateful for the sword. But my face is like this because Stella told me ghost stories yesterday and I couldn’t sleep.〉
〈Ahem, ahem! My daughter does have quite the way with words.〉
〈And she appeared in front of my bedroom window at night dressed as a ghost.〉
〈Her, her makeup skills are also impressive…〉
The flustered Marquis, his words trailing off, hastily pulled out food he had brought.
〈Stella asked me to give you this. She said you cry and go crazy over this food?〉
Dominic’s expression grew serious upon seeing the food the Marquis had produced.
Yes, I had cried eating that.
Not because it was delicious, but because it was far too spicy…
The vivid memory of that spiciness still lingered, so I hurriedly shook my head and brushed away the old recollection.
I later learned that Stella, who loved spicy food, had been sharing what she enjoyed in her own way.
But for me, it remained only a painful memory.
‘That’s right—no matter how good medicine is for the body, forcing someone to take something they dislike is harassment.’
Thinking seriously about this, I instructed my wife:
“Prepare something sweet to have with the medicine. Next time, tell Baron Bardo to reduce the medicinal herbs even if it means making it less bitter.”
* * *
Several days had already passed since the Founding Festival of the Empire ended.
Yet the world remained turbulent.
It was because of the appearance of Demon Beasts that everyone thought had vanished.
The streets overflowed with fanatics loudly proclaiming that demons would rise to this land again, soldiers arresting them, and anxious people disturbed by the ominous atmosphere.
Clara, watching this scene from outside her carriage window, roughly drew the curtains shut and squeezed her eyes closed.
‘Everything is a complete mess.’
Clara, whose stress had consisted only of her mother’s lack of dignity, the marriage prospects her father presented that didn’t meet his standards, and the reproaches of Lady Elrad, was only now finally realizing how peaceful and comfortable her life had been.
And it wasn’t simply because she was frightened or confused by what people shouted in the streets.
‘Adriana…!’
It was because the entire world was praising her.
People trembling with fear of Demon Beasts, demons, and calamities that could strike this land at any moment—they all, without exception, spoke Adriana’s name in the end.
They praised and praised again that Adriana alone could protect this world from demons and save it.
‘The Temple already announced she wasn’t a Saint, yet these fools persist!’
But Clara also knew that Adriana’s abilities were neither false nor lacking, regardless of such declarations.
Clara slowly raised her hand and touched her smooth right cheek.
The moment a Demon Beast appeared in the finals, the Late Marquis Diapel urgently drew his sword and protected Count Amber and his wife, as well as Clara.
But he could not stop the surging crowd desperate to flee, and Clara, panic-stricken and screaming, collided with someone while running and fell to the ground.
The impact of the fall was severe, but when Clara felt the sharp pain in her cheek and touched her right side, her hand froze. Blood stained her fingers.

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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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