Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 190

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

Clara’s shock-frozen mind snapped back to awareness the moment she spotted Adriana descending from the sky, raining fireballs down upon the demon beasts until every last one lay vanquished.
In that moment, even Clara could not deny that Adriana appeared as a savior.
And that was not all. With impossible healing magic, Adriana had instantly mended the wounds of every injured person.
Clara herself was no exception.
“…”
Clara slowly withdrew her hand from her cheek—soft, smooth, unmarred by any trace of scarring. Then she bit her nails fiercely.
The question that had muddled her mind for days resurfaced once more.
‘Why on earth did God bestow such extraordinary abilities upon Adriana?’
And the answer Clara had arrived at was this:
From the very beginning, Adriana and she shared different bloodlines.
The union of House Bellus, which had produced generations of exceptional mages, and House Diapel, counted among the finest martial families on the Continent.
The Grand Duke was the Continent’s one and only arch-mage, and the Grand Duchess was said to be a beautiful and talented knight. It was only natural that Adriana, born of such parents, would be outstanding.
‘That’s why Grandfather favors Adriana more. And Askart, and Uncle….’
Clara lamented her fate, drowning in endless resentment.
Her own parents possessed not a single exceptional quality.
How unfair that she should feel inferior over something she could not choose.
“Sigh. Get yourself together, Clara Amber.”
Then Clara shook her head and reminded herself of her purpose in visiting the Marquis’s Residence today.
‘I must win Adriana’s favor by any means necessary.’
In truth, the strategy had been decided from the start.
But because Adriana’s reputation had grown so lofty, she could no longer tarnish her past; instead of dragging her down, Clara had no choice but to grovel completely.
The very thought was humiliating, and her jaw clenched, but Clara steeled herself by recalling that if she could endure this brief shame, the rewards would be substantial.
Meanwhile, the carriage came to a halt.
“Welcome, Young Lady.”
Clara hesitated upon seeing the maidservant of the Marquis’s Residence greeting her warmly.
Thinking that the Diapel Marquis’s Residence was her maternal home just as it was Adriana’s, she had stubbornly chosen not to announce her visit in advance.
Yet even without prior notice, the maidservant should have recognized the coat of arms carved upon the carriage—so why had a mere servant come to greet her?
Under normal circumstances, she would have let it pass without comment, but in her heightened state of sensitivity, the words escaped her lips unbidden.
“Where is the Butler?”
“…Pardon? The Butler, you say?”
The maidservant, momentarily flustered, quickly replied.
“The Butler is currently attending to a guest who has come from the Imperial Palace.”
Clara’s eyes widened at the maidservant’s answer.
Had the Emperor sent another gift to Adriana through an attendant?
Last time, she had been fortunate enough to receive the attendant alongside Adriana as a guest, but now the situation was somewhat ambiguous.
“Is it the Marquis…or rather, Grandfather who has come? I think it would be best if I paid my respects to the elders first.”
Though the Imperial Palace’s visitor was most likely there because of Adriana, Clara asked with an innocent expression, pretending ignorance.
If the previous Marquis, the Grand Duke, or the Grand Duchess were with Adriana, it would be a perfect excuse to join them naturally.
Then the maidservant answered.
“The Master went to the Elrad Duke’s Mansion with the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess for a luncheon invitation. Currently, the Grand Duchess is receiving the Second Prince alone.”
In that moment, Clara’s heart began to race violently.
“Then I shall escort you to the Second Floor Reception Room. Please wait a moment while I inform the Grand Duchess of your arrival.”
Despite the Maidservant’s words, Clara remained rooted in place, lost in thought.
She could have easily mentioned that a member of the Imperial Family had arrived and asked the Maidservant to lead the way with just a few words.
But she hesitated. The reason was simple.
At their last meeting, she had hinted to Nicholas that Adriana disliked him.
Yet the fact that he had come all this way suggested that Adriana’s remarkable abilities had made him dismiss Clara’s concerns and worries entirely.
Unwilling to face Nicholas in such circumstances, Clara spoke to the Maidservant in a deliberately calm voice.
“Never mind. I know where the Second Floor Reception Room is.”
“Then I shall inform the Grand Duchess right away!”
Clara watched the Maidservant disappear quickly with a subdued gaze, then began to move forward.
It was just as she reached the second floor.
“…?”
From the guest room across the corridor from the Reception Room—a space that was usually empty—two Maidservants from the Bellus Duchy emerged carrying cleaning supplies.
Knowing that the Grand Duke shared the room that the Grand Duchess had used before her marriage, Clara naturally realized that Adriana was now the room’s occupant.
She found herself wondering just how lavishly her grandfather had decorated Adriana’s quarters.
But Clara quickly shook her head.
She recalled that her estrangement with Askart in childhood had begun because she had entered Adriana’s room.
This was a critical time.
To win Adriana’s favor and avoid her displeasure, she had to be cautious about even the smallest actions.
Clara deliberately tore her gaze away.
* * *
“Clara has come?”
At the Maidservant’s words, I glanced absently at Nicholas, who sat across from me.
“It seems I have indeed mistimed my visit.”
Nicholas spoke awkwardly.
Just moments ago, having received a dinner invitation from House Elrad for the weekend, I had finished my preparations and was about to depart when a messenger suddenly arrived from the Imperial Palace to announce Nicholas’s visit.
The Emperor, having repeatedly rejected my invitations to bestow a reward for my performance at the Tournament Grounds, had sent Nicholas without warning.
Only upon arriving at the Marquis’s Residence did Nicholas learn that I and my family had a prior engagement with House Elrad, and though it was not his fault, he apologized profusely and seemed deeply embarrassed.
Seeing his distress, I felt a pang of sympathy and told my grandfather and parents to go ahead to the Duke’s Mansion while I followed, as the Emperor’s purpose was surely to meet with both Nicholas and me, and I had things I wished to discuss with him as well.
We had only just begun our conversation when Clara’s visit arrived, and Nicholas now wore an expression of considerable awkwardness.
I quickly shook my head and spoke.
“Not at all. I had actually been meaning to ask His Majesty about entering the Imperial Palace soon, and I was about to relay that message through you.”
“Yes, that is so. But what brings this about…?”
“Well, it is that I have something I wish to present to His Majesty… I am terribly sorry, but would it be alright if I stepped away for a moment?”
As I prepared to broach the main subject, I asked Nicholas apologetically.
I simply could not concentrate on our conversation with Clara on my mind.
“Pardon? Perhaps I should simply take my leave….”
“No, I have not even offered you refreshment yet.”
“No, I haven’t even offered you tea yet.”
Sending Nicholas away in such a manner would be discourteous—not merely to a guest, but to the Imperial Family itself.
I apologized to Nicholas, promising I would return shortly, then hurried out of the reception room.
I was aware that I’d reacted somewhat oversensitively, but I couldn’t help myself.
The moment I heard that Clara had headed to the second floor reception room, my nerves sharpened—all because there was something important in my room at present.
‘She supposedly likes Nicholas. She must have heard he was visiting, so why didn’t she come to greet him?’
I should have asked Jane to guard the room.
Or I could have cast an access restriction spell on it, postponing the cleaning for another time.
‘Why now of all times….’
It wasn’t Nicholas who had poor timing—it was Clara.
If I had learned this news while still at the Duke’s Mansion, I would have been tormented by the constant worry that Clara might enter my room. With that thought, I ascended the staircase in one breath and paused briefly in the corridor between the reception room and my room.
‘That’s right, even Clara wouldn’t carelessly enter someone else’s room like she did when we were children….’
I stopped short.
In that moment, I sensed an unfamiliar presence in my room.
* * *
Perhaps the maidservants had left behind some cleaning supplies.
At the sound of the door opening, Clara hastily concealed herself beneath the desk, clamping her hand over her mouth and holding her breath.
‘Please… please.’
Please don’t notice me and just leave again.
Clara prayed desperately, over and over.
But.
“Come out.”
At Adriana’s voice, Clara squeezed her eyes shut.
It was not the soft, gentle tone from before—it was a voice burning with fury.
Her heart raced wildly like that of a criminal caught in the act.
Yet she was innocent.
She swore it—truly, she had only meant to look around the room briefly before leaving.
If only she hadn’t discovered the snow flower on the desk, the one Askart had treasured since childhood.
That snow flower, which Adriana had supposedly obtained with great difficulty, traveling to the ends of the Continent—it had originally been Askart’s possession.
When Clara had once barged into Askart’s room as a child and seen it, she had begged to view it just once, only to be firmly refused.
She had pestered him all night, wept, even enlisted her mother’s help in her stubbornness, yet she had never been allowed to see it up close.
Mesmerized by the snow flower, Clara had carelessly reached out and accidentally dropped the glass dome to the floor.
Fortunately, the powerful protective magic cast upon it meant the glass dome remained completely unscathed, without a single crack.
Exhaling in relief, Clara had tried to pick it up and place it back on the desk.
If only she hadn’t noticed the faint light seeping from the barely-open bottom drawer.
“Didn’t you hear me? Clara, come out this instant!”
Adriana’s voice rang out once more.
Not only had she confirmed there was an intruder, but she even knew her identity—there was no way to undo this situation.
Clara slowly rose from beneath the desk.
Though she had hidden in shock, if Adriana had rushed here despite leaving the Second Prince unattended, then surely she too was concerned about this object.
With that thought, Clara lifted her head defiantly.
“Adriana, I apologize for entering your room without permission.”
And with an apology I didn’t truly mean,
“But why do you have this item? Would you mind explaining it to me?”
I revealed what I’d been holding in my hand.

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