Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 191

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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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I caught my breath at the sight of the brilliant pink mana stone in Clara’s hands—no larger than a baby’s fist, yet radiating such luminous splendor.
I never imagined Clara would not only barge into my room uninvited but also rifle through my desk.
“Put that down immediately.”
I spoke sharply, my teeth clenched.
As if she understood the intentions behind my creation of it.
Seeing Clara demand an explanation with an expression devoid of any remorse, my fury burned from the tips of my hair to my toes.
“Just as I thought. This is from the Emperor’s Treasure Vault, isn’t it?”
Clara shook her head and spoke.
“I suspected as much, but… Adriana, how could you possibly lay hands on His Majesty’s belongings?”
“What?”
What on earth was she talking about?
“So you’re saying I stole that mana stone from the Emperor’s Treasure Vault?”
As I asked in disbelief, Clara nodded solemnly.
“I heard there was a theft at the Imperial Treasury not long ago.”
It was a distorted rumor.
When the Emperor—whose own sacred treasures had been stolen right before his residence—flew into a rage, he seized Count Petie and the Imperial Knight Order like a man catching rats, and in the process, rumors spread throughout the Capital City that the Emperor’s treasures had been stolen.
And somehow, this rumor had twisted into “there was a theft at the Imperial Treasury.”
But how in the world could anyone think I was the thief?
The fury that had surged within me evaporated in an instant at the sheer absurdity of it.
As I wore an expression of exasperation, Clara cried out.
“His Majesty said so himself! Mages lose their minds at the sight of mana stones. You… being a mage, you must have been tempted. I understand.”
“What exactly do you understand?”
“It’s fine, Adriana. I won’t tell anyone. Even if others don’t believe you, you can trust me.”
First she accused me of theft, and now she wanted me to trust her?
“I’m truly fed up with you, Clara.”
I exhaled a long sigh.
Not once or twice, but repeatedly watching her act duplicitously, consumed by inferiority and jealousy—I could bear it no longer.
I stepped forward and stared directly at Clara, then rang the bell on my desk loudly.
“Clara.”
Before she could even open her mouth in surprise, I spoke.
“I’ve been hesitating all this time. Wondering if it was truly acceptable to distance myself completely from you, despite being family. But you’ve just given me the answer.”
At the same moment, the Maidservants who had been summoned entered through the door.
I kept my gaze fixed on Clara as I spoke sharply.
“Tell the Second Prince on the first floor that I must go to the Imperial Palace at once. Tell His Majesty that I, Adriana Bellus, have been falsely accused of stealing the Emperor’s belongings in the Empire, and that His Majesty himself must settle this matter!”
Whether it was the icy tone of my voice or the weight of what it contained, I could feel the Maidservants drawing in sharp breaths of shock.
As one of the Maidservants quickly turned and left the room, Clara’s face went pale with panic.
“A-Adriana! Why… why are you making this such a big issue? If we just let it pass quietly as I suggested…”
Caught off guard by this reaction, Clara grabbed my arm desperately, but I shook her off lightly.
“Clara. You thought you’d caught me in a weakness, didn’t you? Stop pretending to care about me on the surface. It’s absolutely revolting.”
“What, what…?”
Clara’s eyes trembled as she stared at me.
I smiled more brightly than ever and spoke to her.
“Everything that’s about to unfold is of your own making, so if you must blame someone, blame yourself.”
* * *
The Imperial Palace erupted into chaos.
Word arrived that the Second Prince, who had gone to the Diapel Marquis Estate, was returning urgently with Grand Duchess Bellus.
Above all, when the Emperor heard that the Grand Duchess had come seeking him to redress her grievances, he hastily cancelled the meeting in progress and prepared to receive her.
And shortly after.
The Second Prince and Grand Duchess Bellus arrived at the Imperial Palace.
The Young Lady who descended from the carriage behind the Grand Duchess hesitated uncertainly, and the Grand Duchess gripped her arm firmly to prevent her escape.
The eyes of the palace attendants watching this scene grew sharp.
They instinctively grasped that this was the one who had compelled the Grand Duchess to make this journey to the Imperial Palace.
The piercing gazes directed at Clara continued all the way to the Audience Chamber, and her face, which had known nothing worse than the subtle power struggles of High Society, had turned deathly pale.
Clara attempted to collapse as if her legs had given way, but Adriana held her arm firmly, preventing it, and as fainting became impossible with so many eyes watching, she grew desperately anxious.
‘I never imagined she would march straight to the Imperial Palace like this…’
The Emperor himself was surprised to grant an audience so immediately, but Adriana’s actions were equally incomprehensible.
Clara could not even wipe the cold sweat from her brow as she wondered how things had come to this.
In the meantime, she had finally arrived at the Emperor’s Audience Chamber.
“Your Majesty! Please clear my name of this injustice.”
The moment Adriana saw the Emperor, she prostrated herself flat on the ground, and Clara, forced to kneel beside her, trembled uncontrollably.
The reality of the situation was beginning to sink in.
“Why, why are you doing this? Rise at once.”
The Emperor, paying no mind to Adriana’s omission of all formalities and courtesy, immediately rushed forward to help her to her feet.
But Adriana stubbornly shook her head.
“I cannot rise until my name is cleared, Your Majesty.”
“Your name? How dare anyone…!”
Only then did the Emperor, remembering the purpose of Adriana’s visit to the Imperial Palace, erupt in fury.
Clara could barely breathe. She was too terrified to speak.
But Adriana, undeterred despite orchestrating this momentous affair, spoke without hesitation.
“Your Majesty. My cousin Clara Amber has accused me of being a thief who stole from Your Majesty’s Treasury. I beseech you to uncover the truth and clear my name.”
“What, what did you say?”
The Emperor’s expression changed drastically, having been unaware that rumors of a theft in his own Treasury had spread throughout the Capital City.
Seeing the Emperor’s fury intensify, Clara felt a chill run down her spine.
If she continued to cower in silence, something truly catastrophic would befall her.
“It’s not a lie!”
Clara cried out urgently and crawled forward on her knees until she reached the Emperor, extending what she had been clutching tightly all this while.
“Here is the evidence! The mana stone Your Majesty’s that the Grand Duchess stole…!”
* * *
‘Perfect.’
I clenched my fist invisibly as I watched the Emperor flinch at the mana stone Clara presented.
I had originally planned to enter the Imperial Palace through Nicholas, but unexpectedly, things unfolded far more quickly.
‘I suppose I have Clara to thank for this.’
Though it pained me that her assistance was rooted in malicious slander.
Clara swiftly retrieved the mana stone and, observing the Emperor’s startled gaze as he examined it, wore an expression brimming with hope—as though the situation was about to turn in her favor.
But that hope was short-lived.
“This is not mine.”
“That… that cannot be…”
“Surely I can distinguish my own possessions. While remarkably similar, this is absolutely not my mana stone.”
I was as startled as Clara to hear the Emperor declare this with such certainty.
I had assumed it would be a misunderstanding quickly resolved once the original mana stone was verified in the Treasure Vault, but I never expected the Emperor to recognize the difference without even checking.
‘He said he treasured it dearly…’
How meticulously must he have cherished it over nearly a decade to distinguish it at a glance?
‘I specifically asked Lucio to procure a gemstone as similar as possible to the mana stone the Emperor had purchased.’
So thorough was Lucio that he obtained a stone mined from the same mine during the same period, even cut by the same craftsman.
The resemblance was so perfect that even I could barely tell them apart when I crafted the mana stone, so his recognition was nothing short of remarkable.
At that moment, the Emperor fixed me with an inquisitive gaze.
I responded as though I had been waiting for this very question.
“In truth, Your Majesty, after you showed me the mana stone, I made inquiries to find something similar. It was an item that circulated briefly in the Empire long ago, so it was not easy to locate, but fortune favored me.”
“Indeed. I have purchased several similar pieces myself, yet I could not obtain one of such superior quality and size.”
As he spoke, avarice gleamed unmistakably in the Emperor’s eyes as he gazed upon my mana stone.
Witnessing this, I feigned dejection and murmured softly.
“I was merely thinking how delighted Your Majesty would be to receive it, and yet… how did such a thing come to pass…”
“Hmm?”
“In truth, it was prepared as a gift for Your Majesty.”
“No, Grand Duchess—you mean to say this was for me? How could you harbor such thoughts!”
The Emperor’s expression shifted to one of profound emotion, more moved by the revelation that I had prepared something for him than by the joy of possessing the mana stone he had coveted.
Though an uncomfortable feeling stirred within me at his reaction, I steadied myself and smiled graciously.
“Since arriving in the Empire, Your Majesty’s kindness toward me far exceeds any gift I could offer.”
Nicholas, who had been observing the situation, quietly murmured beside me.
“You mentioned having something to present to His Majesty…”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, when the Grand Duchess visited the Marquis’s Residence earlier, she requested entry to the palace, saying she had something to give Your Majesty.”
Thanks to Nicholas’s timely interjection, the Emperor’s expression deepened further with emotion.
It was then.
“This… this cannot be…”
Clara, unable to believe the exchange unfolding before her, muttered in a pale, trembling voice.
Seizing the opportunity, I spoke without hesitation.
“Therefore, Your Majesty, I humbly beseech you to clear my name of this unjust accusation.”
“Have I not already declared it not to be mine? Is this proclamation insufficient?”
“Your Majesty, there are surely those who believe you spare me the truth out of your affection for me.”
I glanced at Clara beside me, as if to say that even she wore an expression of utter disbelief.
The Emperor’s complexion darkened at this.
“You dare suggest the Emperor’s words cannot be trusted?”
At his thunderous voice, Clara hastily bowed her head.
Yet Clara offered no excuse.
Whether she harbored genuine suspicion as I had suggested, or whether fear had sealed her lips, I could not say—but I lowered my head and spoke.
“Then permit me to visit the Imperial Treasury and verify it myself, Your Majesty. When all witness that your mana stone remains intact, my innocence shall be proclaimed before the world.”

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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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