Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 21

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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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After finishing a hearty breakfast, I made my way to the Training Grounds.
Diana, who normally insisted on following me everywhere, had been left in the care of another maid.
Separating the child who clung to me so desperately wasn’t easy, but once I promised to read her princess fairy tales when I returned and let her touch my hair as much as she wanted before bed, Diana nodded reluctantly, her lips pouting slightly.
Seeing the tears welling up in the child’s eyes weakened my resolve, but there was no helping it.
‘I’m going to personally look after these young brats right now.’
While time would eventually sort things out on their own, I wanted Jack to have an easier time, even if just for a single day.
Regardless of whether the Knight Order was originally his place, watching him suffer like this stirred an odd sense of responsibility in me for having brought him to the Duke’s Estate.
And upon arriving at the Training Grounds, I realized my timing was impeccable.
“You filthy wretch! Why are you touching our wooden swords without permission!”
“Lord Valery said so himself. You’re different from us who will become knights, even if you’re of the same stock!”
“That’s right. Who would take someone like you as a disciple? Well, unless it’s Taize, who used to work as a mercenary.”
“Haha! What’s with that look in your eyes! Are you actually thinking of fighting us?”
Five or six children surrounded Jack in a circle.
At a distance, there were other groups of children watching, but they showed no intention of stopping it.
I could roughly gauge what the situation was like within the Knight Order.
The children surrounding Jack all appeared well-fed and well-rested, each standing slightly taller than him with better builds.
Though Jack was gaunt from not eating properly, to my eyes he had always seemed the strongest in the Orphanage, yet here he looked nothing but frail and sickly.
“Jack!”
The moment I saw the largest child shove Jack to the ground, I bolted forward like an arrow.
Jack, sprawled on the floor, recognized me and his expression turned mortified.
“Why are you here again?”
“Because I knew this would happen!”
“What is this now? There’s another wretch like him?”
I felt the surrounding children’s eyes raking over me from head to toe.
“Bullying one person cowardly as a group? And you still think you deserve to become honorable knights?”
I was someone who clashed with Jade and other colleagues at the Guild almost daily. This was nothing to faze me.
When I spoke with a mocking tone and expression of disbelief, the children’s faces hardened as their sneering grins faded.
Technically, they were noble-born and I was a commoner, so there was a difference in status, but what of it?
“And what? Taize? Lord Seydian received his knighthood directly from the Duke himself and was granted both a title and a castle. Are you saying you’re disrespecting the Duke right now?”
I covered my mouth with my hand in feigned shock and widened my eyes, causing the children’s pupils to tremble violently.
“W-We didn’t mean it like that…!”
“That person was born a commoner anyway. He was a mercenary who killed anyone for money!”
“So what? Is there a law saying commoners or mercenaries can’t become knights?”
The children’s mouths snapped shut at my words.
Of course there wasn’t. No such law existed.
It was simply uncommon. Unlike nobles who could begin learning swordplay as a refined pursuit from childhood and study it deeply whenever they wished, commoners were never given the opportunity in the first place—they were too busy struggling to survive day to day.
Yet these children acted as though the very title of knight was the exclusive property of the nobility. It was absurd.
“Tch! You’re not even worth a single punch. If you want to be knights, you should become human first. Though honestly, you’ll never catch up to Jack’s heels anyway.”
As I clenched my fist and shook it menacingly, crushing the morale of these brats, I felt a surge of satisfaction.
“Hey, what are you doing right now…?”
Allen approached us with a bewildered expression on his face.
I quickly hid my fist behind my back.
It wasn’t that I was deliberately pretending to be well-behaved, but I thought it would be better to appear as a docile child if I wanted to stay beside Diana.
“Young Master! This girl insulted us, who will become knights of Lexion!”
“She said we can’t even match the heels of this commoner orphan.”
“She even said we’re not worth a single punch!”
The children who had been getting one-sidedly beaten by me rushed to Allen, thinking their savior had arrived, and began their complaints.
‘These fools still haven’t come to their senses.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly, lamenting their lack of education, when Allen narrowed his eyes and asked me a question.
“Is what they’re saying true?”
It was all true, and since I had nothing to feel guilty about, I nodded.
Then Allen’s expression, which had been one of disbelief, gradually grew more menacing.
“What’s so great about that brat? They’re not worth a single punch? Can you back up that claim?”
Allen looked ready to pit Jack and the others against me immediately.
I panicked and quickly extended my fist again, speaking hastily.
“Not Jack—I meant they’re not worth a single punch from me, Young Master.”
“…”
“…”
A whistle of wind.
Both the furious Allen and the children who had been so full of confidence fell silent in an instant.
“…What?”
After a long moment of silence, Allen asked in a dazed voice.
Following his gaze, I saw my small fist, which had fallen early like a chestnut burr.
“Ahem, ahem.”
Embarrassed at my own unnecessary bravado, I cleared my throat, when a brilliant idea suddenly occurred to me.
I hadn’t anticipated Allen’s involvement, but with his help, the plan I was about to execute would become much easier.
“Young Master, if I defeat these children, will you grant me one wish?”
As I stepped forward boldly, the children, momentarily shocked, raised their voices to Allen, demanding he let them spar with me.
The more I looked at them, the more hopeless they seemed. After all, they were facing a young girl who was visibly younger than them.
‘Not a shred of chivalry among them.’
Just then, Allen showed reluctance, saying, “That’s a bit…,” so I spoke provocatively.
“Lacking confidence? Don’t worry—I won’t ask for anything too difficult.”
“…Ha.”
Apparently finding my assumption that I would obviously win ridiculous, Allen let out a hollow laugh and pushed the smallest child among those rushing at me.
“Don’t hurt her.”
But I shook my head and pointed to the largest boy, the one who had pushed Jack.
“If I’m going to fight someone, I want to fight him.”
“Lia!”
Just then, Jack, who had been watching the situation unfold, grabbed me.
His pupils trembled violently, as if he hadn’t expected me to actually fight back.
“I should have—”
“No. I said it, so I’ll take responsibility for it.”
I pulled my hand away from Jack and approached the boy, who was already strutting about as though victory were assured.
“Will you fight bare-handed, or would you like to take a wooden sword?”
Seeing the bewildered boy promptly grab a wooden sword, I reached into the pocket of my apron and withdrew a small comb.
“What in the world is that—”
“It’s a comb for combing the young lady’s hair.”
I answered Allen’s incredulous question with a sly smile.
Diana was such a mischievous child that her carefully arranged hair would come undone within moments of play.
But since she adored beauty so much, it fell to me to keep her hair neatly groomed throughout the day.
“I’ll fight bare-handed, but if I do, it won’t look very impressive.”
With that, I twirled the comb once through the air.
It was diminutive in size, but it was perfect for me.
Though my physical strength had improved immensely since my days at the Orphanage, a wooden sword was far too large and heavy for my current frame.
Besides, this would do just fine.
‘It feels just like the short blade I used to wield.’
“You’re really going to fight with that?”
At Allen’s question, I noticed him pressing his forehead as if a headache were setting in, and I simply nodded.
Meanwhile, the children were clamoring for the match to begin at once.
“Both of you must stop the moment I tell you to. Understood?”
With Allen’s final warning, what was supposed to be a sparring match descended into an all-out brawl.
Whether it was because he aspired to be a knight or because he found me ridiculous, he made no preemptive strike—so I charged forward without hesitation, my feet pounding against the ground.
And I struck at his ankle first.
Though I deliberately targeted his weakest point, it became clear his lower body strength was remarkably poor.
His form crumbled in an instant, and the face I’d had to look up at moments before came crashing down to my level.
Watching his pupils dilate in shock, I pivoted swiftly, hardened my hand into a blade, and brought it down forcefully against his wrist.
Unable to mount any defense, he dropped the wooden sword without even managing to swing it properly once.
Finally, in one fluid motion—
The instant his hand touched the ground, I was on his back, gripping the back of his head and aiming the comb at his exposed throat, when a sharp sound seemed to pierce my ears.
It shouldn’t have been possible for a comb to make such a sound.
My special training with Master had not been in vain.
Though I lacked my former power, my small, light frame allowed me to move with remarkable speed and agility.
“…What…what just happened?”
Startled cries erupted from the children who had gathered in a circle to watch.
They seemed unable to properly comprehend what had unfolded before their eyes, shouting at one another in confusion about what had occurred.
I understood their bewilderment well enough.
In the blink of an eye, the larger boy had been brought down, and I was now straddling him with a threat to his throat.
Allen and Jack in particular were staring at me with expressions of disbelief.
‘This is what experience means, you little brats!’
I shrugged lightly and dismounted from the boy’s back, then gave the comb a gentle flourish through the air once more—a silent message that had this been a real blade, he would be dead. Satisfied, I tucked it carefully into my apron pocket.
‘I’ll need this later to brush Diana’s hair.’
After straightening my clothes, I turned to Allen with a radiant smile, though his expression had gone utterly vacant.
“I won, so you must keep your promise. My wish is….”

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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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