Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 208

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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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The next day, at the Imperial Palace.
Nix, Lucio’s aide, entered his master’s study with a knock.
His lord, who ordinarily never rested even on weekends, had spent the entire previous day at leisure—forgoing visits to both the Foreign Ministry and the Guild’s headquarters.
It was all to secure the marriage approval of the Grand Duchess Bellus.
Nix and his colleagues, having long known of their lord’s clandestine relationship with the Grand Duchess, were elated at the prospect of finally seeing its fruition.
Though the Emperor had attempted to interfere midway and the Grand Duchess’s family was expected to resist, fortunately their lord had overcome the adversity with remarkable grace.
Yet the face of their lord, as he reviewed documents, appeared strangely darkened—hardly befitting a man who had successfully concluded his betrothal.
Tilting his head in bewilderment, Nix opened his mouth without the slightest inkling that Lucio was fretting over how long it would take before he could marry Lia.
“My lord, a maidservant from the Princess Palace arrived earlier.”
“The Princess Palace? What is the matter?”
“She said you would understand upon seeing her, and asked that you visit as soon as possible.”
Nix’s tone was laden with displeasure.
That Imperial Princess Serphin harbored dark intentions toward their lord was common knowledge to anyone in the know.
The rumors of the childhood betrothal between Duke Elrad and the Grand Duchess Bellus had already spread widely following the imperial banquet, so the Imperial Princess would certainly have heard the news.
Yet she, bearing the Emperor’s relentless nature in full measure, seemed determined to hear the matter directly from their lord.
‘How much hysteria will she display.’
Though she had suppressed her savage temperament in their lord’s presence until now, this time she might reveal her true nature.
Nix, trembling involuntarily, fervently hoped that Lucio would make an excuse and refrain from visiting the Princess Palace.
Of course, Lucio felt the same.
Though he had severed the bitter enmity between his father and the Emperor and laid down a heavy burden, that did not mean he had abandoned all obligation and responsibility.
He remained a talent of the Imperial Foreign Ministry and the heir to the Empire’s sole ducal house.
He could not dare defy the Imperial Princess’s command, so he had no choice but to comply.
Lucio organized the documents before him and rose from his seat, then promptly departed the Foreign Ministry building toward his destination.
“….”
Strangely, the path to the Princess Palace felt unusually quiet today.
Lucio, who had been exceptionally perceptive and intuitive since childhood, unconsciously fingered a small vial he kept in his breast pocket.
〈The Imperial Princess will have heard the rumors of our betrothal. She may harbor resentment and do something unpredictable, so you must always be careful. Do you understand?〉
Surely she wouldn’t resort to poison, but….
Lia, adding this caveat with an embarrassed wrinkle of her nose, had insisted he carry the small vial just in case.
It was none other than the antidote that had once saved his mother—a universal cure capable of neutralizing any poison.
Lucio felt that this small glass vial, and the woman who had entrusted it to him, were both far too precious for him.
Naturally, his earlier worry resumed.
If the time until his marriage to Lia stretched too long, others would inevitably appear around her harboring different intentions, regardless of her betrothed status.
Among them would be presumptuous upstarts, certainly, but there would undoubtedly be promising young nobles of Lia’s age as well.
‘…Like Jack Seidian.’
Suddenly, the image of Lia and Jack standing side by side like a single painting yesterday flashed through his mind, and Lucio’s brow furrowed.
Jack Seidian was an excellent knight—young, robust, and possessed of an honest disposition.
He even had discerning taste. He had recognized Lia’s virtue—her kindness, warmth, and brilliance—and had cherished her for a long time.
‘He must have confessed yesterday.’
Lia said nothing, but there was no way he could have failed to notice.
During this time, Lucio had seen Jack disappear into the dormitory several times, clutching the letter Lia had sent him close to his chest.
Honestly, he wanted to ask Lia right then and there what Jack had said to confess his love to her.
‘But I’m already older, and if I’m jealous too….’
No matter how kind Lia was, she would surely grow tired of him.
Lucio, uncharacteristically dejected, let out a deep sigh and looked ahead.
The Princess Palace was right before his eyes.
In truth, Lucio knew better than anyone just how cruel Serphin was.
He had been gathering evidence for Nicholas—evidence of how many palace servants died within the Princess Palace, of the extent of the Imperial Princess’s tyranny.
‘So I have no choice but to be careful….’
Recalling Lia’s warning once more, Lucio proceeded with heightened vigilance.
And as he finally stepped inside the palace, he unconsciously furrowed his brow.
Despite the bright daylight outside, the Princess Palace had thick curtains drawn to block out all sunlight, with only a few candles lit.
Moreover, the knights and maidservants had all vanished somewhere; only a single maidservant emerged to guide Lucio to the reception room.
The dark and silent corridor emanated an eerie and ominous atmosphere.
“You may enter.”
The maidservant, who had not even breathed audibly, spoke instead of opening the reception room door, bowing deeply.
Lucio gazed down at the maidservant for a moment before grasping the doorknob.
The moment he stepped inside, the door slammed shut behind him with a sharp bang.
Lucio flinched involuntarily.
He could no longer sense the presence of Bert, his limbs and shadow.
Without his command, such a mistake would never occur.
‘Unless he’s encountered a barrier he cannot break through with his own strength….’
“Young Duke, come and sit down.”
At that moment, a voice urging him forward came from where he stood before the door.
He could not afford to lose focus in the presence of the Imperial Princess, so Lucio moved and sat on the sofa.
And he looked at the Imperial Princess seated across from him.
Serphin was dressed as lavishly as always, yet something felt different from usual, perhaps because she wore a black dress adorned with black jewelry.
Lucio traced back when he had last seen the Imperial Princess and realized it had been at the finals of the Sword Tournament when the Demon Beasts appeared.
‘Her atmosphere seems to have changed somewhat in the time we haven’t seen each other….’
Her black eyes were colder than ever, and her red lips twisted in a strange manner.
Though her usual arrogance and irritability had always been evident on her face, had her expression ever been this sinister?
Lucio suddenly recalled what Diana had repeatedly said, wondering if this was the kind of unpleasant and wicked aura she had spoken of emanating from the Imperial Princess.
Of course, it made no sense for him, who possessed no divine power whatsoever, to sense such an aura, yet somehow he felt an ominous premonition.
“You’re soon to be engaged to the Grand Duchess Bellus, aren’t you?”
The Imperial Princess spoke in a voice that was neither angry nor agitated, but rather seemed almost delighted.
“After all, I even proposed to you directly myself.”
“….”
“I thought I should offer you my congratulations, so I called you here. Does that displease you?”
“…No. Thank you.”
“There’s no need for thanks.”
The Imperial Princess laughed at the formal greeting, then awkwardly shifted the conversation.
“Oh my, where is my mind? I haven’t even offered you tea. Here, I’ve brewed this specially for you, so please have some.”
At that, Lucio’s gaze fell upon the teacups on the table that had captured his attention since he sat on the sofa.
Two teacups placed bare without even a teapot. The tea in the cup before him in particular seemed to glow an unsettling crimson.
For a moment, he wondered if poison had been mixed in.
If that were the case, there would be no reason to hesitate.
He carried an antidote that Lia had given him, so if he simply drank that red liquid, he could accuse Serphin of attempting to poison the heir to House Elrad out of jealous rage.
Yes. The old version of himself would have drained that crimson liquid without hesitation.
But.
“Forgive me, but I’m not particularly thirsty.”
Lucio did not reach for the teacup.
Hadn’t he made a promise just yesterday?
That he would not cause Lia to shed tears because of him.
Even if he were to awaken unharmed, if he collapsed here, he would break that promise.
Lucio did not wish to worry Lia, and he had no desire to give her family—who were already reluctant about the marriage—ammunition by failing to keep the words he had spoken during his proposal.
“How dare you!”
The Imperial Princess, who had been smiling brilliantly, suddenly rose to her feet with a furious breath.
“Do I amuse you so greatly, Young Lord?”
“If you have finished what you wished to say, I shall take my leave.”
Lucio too felt the need to depart hastily and rose from his seat.
It was then.
The candles lit throughout the reception room suddenly flared and began to sway violently in unison.
And then, footsteps.
A man appeared from nowhere and walked forward slowly.
Lucio, who had sensed neither the man’s presence nor aura, clenched his fists in bewilderment and looked directly at the stranger’s face.
In that instant, Lucio’s expression twisted.
He was unmistakably the man Lia could not take her eyes off during the finals of the Sword Tournament.
Upon meeting him, something inexplicably twisted within Lucio’s chest, and his blood boiled.
Unable to contain his passion, Lucio impulsively drew the blade he had carried with him constantly since the tournament finals.
“How dare you, Young Lord—!”
The Imperial Princess cried out in alarm upon seeing the sword wreathed in brilliant azure aura, but Lucio’s gaze remained fixed solely on the man.
In truth, drawing a blade within the Imperial Palace itself, and moreover releasing aura—it was behavior the rational Lucio would never commit, yet he could not restrain himself.
The moment he met the man’s crimson eyes, the fury boiling up from the depths of his being became unbearable.
That such intense killing intent existed within him was itself shocking.
Yet even as the man gazed upon the aura coalescing on the silver blade, his eyes remained indifferent.
The man extended his hand toward Lucio.
As black mana flowed from the man’s hand and collided with Lucio’s azure aura, the air began to swirl violently.
However, the momentary stalemate soon tipped as the man’s mana surged and engulfed Lucio’s aura.
The mana, which had consumed all the azure aura coating the blade, now reached toward the hilt.
The moment the black mana touched Lucio’s hand that held it, it dissipated with a dull sound.
The black mana vanished without taking any form.
The man, whose eyebrows rose ever so slightly, only then noticed the protective magic enveloping Lucio’s entire body.
It was a mana signature he knew all too well.

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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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