Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 218
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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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A slight grinding sound.
It seemed like I could hear the faint noise of teeth clenching.
I swallowed an inward chuckle and lifted my chin with amusement.
“A handsome, wealthy, young, and adorable man.”
At my response, Lucio’s eyelids, which had been wearing a gentle expression, trembled slightly.
“So who exactly?”
I wanted to tease him further at his uncharacteristic impatience, but I could feel Nix standing beside me growing increasingly flustered.
I eventually dropped the playful tone and spoke with a smile.
“I went out with Diana and Aiden.”
“Aiden, as in from House Fayrent?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
As I nodded in confirmation, Lucio let out a hollow laugh as if deflated.
But I remained confident.
By rank alone, Aiden was a minor noble just like Lucio, and he was a handsome young man with bronze skin and captivating violet eyes.
‘And he’s young and adorable to boot!’
Shamelessly convinced that nothing I said was a lie, I recalled the pleasant meal we’d just shared.
“Your Highness the Crown Princess, please try this as well!”
“Thank you, Minor Noble Aiden.”
“Please, don’t be so formal. Call me Aiden by my name! Since you’ll be becoming family with Diana, we’re practically family already…”
“Hey! What are you saying?”
“Oh my, is that so? Aiden, thank you.”
Wanting to lift Diana’s spirits—she seemed fine on the surface but had been quite melancholic lately—I had planned to dine out, and remembering that Aiden hadn’t seen Diana much recently, I sent him an invitation.
It seemed he was grateful, for after our reunion, Aiden’s cautious demeanor toward me had completely changed.
He was so affectionate, as if we’d returned to childhood, that Diana’s eyes widened and she sharply interrupted him several times.
The way Aiden teased her about being jealous and Diana bounced up protesting that it wasn’t funny was absolutely adorable!
Covering my mouth with one hand and giggling, I realized I had come to support this childhood friend couple with a much more at-ease heart than before.
The reason was, after all, that Jack didn’t like Diana, but rather…
“It seems the Crown Princess’s tastes…”
That’s when Lucio interrupted my thoughts.
“…are broader than one might expect.”
“Pardon? What did you say?”
“It’s nothing.”
As I tilted my head in confusion, I spoke with a slightly disappointed expression.
“Since it’s such a popular restaurant, I would have liked Allen to join us as well, but it seems he’s been quite busy because Jack took a vacation.”
I recalled Jack, who had never taken a single day off since joining the Knight Order, suddenly disappearing on leave, and Allen groaning that he was working himself to death.
Now that I’d heard news of Jack, I felt a pang of disappointment toward him for leaving without even a farewell or a single word.
But.
‘He probably needs time to sort out his feelings.’
I hoped he wasn’t suffering too much.
And when we met next time, I hoped we could treat each other comfortably again, just as before.
I turned my head while thinking this, and carefully observed Lucio’s expression.
By explicitly mentioning that I intended to bring Allen to Obli Restaurant, I was indirectly saying that I had no intention of going with Lucio.
It was childish, but I still harbored resentment toward Lucio for wanting to go there with Serphin.
“Now that I think about it… you mentioned that Knight Seidian is friends with the Crown Princess, didn’t you?”
However, what actually captured Lucio’s attention was Jack.
“The way you call him by his name suggests you’re quite close.”
Despite his calm tone, his gaze toward me seemed oddly sharp.
Feeling caught off guard, I realized that ever since my remark about “kissing a young, handsome, wealthy man,” Lucio seemed to be reacting sensitively to the men around me.
‘Though it could be my own overconfidence…’
Seeing Lucio care about me even while ensnared by the enchantment spell that made him fall for another woman, my heart inexplicably fluttered.
Unable to hide the smile spreading across my face, I asked Nix, who was cautiously observing from the middle.
“Are you very busy today as well?”
“No, ma’am. Since you’ve handled all the important matters, there isn’t much work.”
“That’s fortunate.”
“Yes. Actually, it’s more about the Imperial Princess that—”
“Nix.”
At that moment, Lucio, who had been listening to our conversation, cut off Nix’s words with a cold voice.
“How long has it been since you were reprimanded, and yet you still carelessly loosen your tongue?”
“My apologies.”
“Leave now.”
As the atmosphere abruptly turned frigid, Nix quickly bowed his head and left the Study.
Watching this with discomfort, I turned my head toward Lucio.
He stood from his seat as if nothing had happened and asked calmly.
“Even if you’ve eaten a hearty dessert, surely you can still have some tea?”
“…”
When I simply stared at him without answering, Lucio stood before me with an awkward expression.
“It’s truly nothing serious.”
“But it concerns the Imperial Princess. How can it be nothing serious?”
To my pointed question, Lucio only rolled his eyes as if troubled, showing no intention of answering.
Frustrated, I let out a deep sigh.
“Tell me. You said I could help you if you did.”
Over the past few days, despite the grave situation of being afflicted by a demon’s spell, we had spent an surprisingly peaceful time.
Thanks to Lucio taking immediate leave, I hadn’t encountered Serphin at the Imperial Palace, and he systematically ignored all her letters requesting to meet or visit the Duke’s Mansion.
However, the peaceful daily life without Serphin was merely superficial; in reality, nothing had been resolved.
Rather, it was festering deeper within.
〈At first, I didn’t notice it… but I keep feeling as though my thoughts are being cut off. There have been several instances where I can’t remember what I was thinking about just moments before.〉
It seemed there were moments when he would go blank even while conversing with me.
What Lucio confessed meant that this wasn’t a problem that could be solved simply by avoiding encounters with Serphin.
Most importantly, I initially thought such phenomena occurred when thinking about Serphin, but that wasn’t the case.
Lucio explained that when recalling Serphin, he didn’t experience this complete blackout, as if hitting a wall.
And after conducting multiple experiments.
〈It seems to happen whenever you think of me.〉
〈Yes. And not only that… memories of Crown Princess Bellus don’t seem to stay in my head and keep disappearing.〉
〈!〉
Lucio’s words were deeply shocking, but they were true.
‘I should have noticed it long ago when only I couldn’t remember.’
I had already told Lucio in great detail multiple times—how I met Diana as a child and came to House Elrad, how I met my parents and departed for the Duchy, and how I returned and reunited with him to become his lover.
However, while Lucio remembered my basic personal information, he treated everything else as if he were hearing it for the first time once time had passed.
In the end, there was only one conclusion I could draw.
Lucio had not only a bewitching spell that made him love Serphin, but also a spell that prevented him from remembering me.
While it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible if I thought that Serphin wanted to completely erase me from Lucio’s mind….
Still, I felt an odd sensation.
Something felt subtly off.
In any case, if there was an issue related to the Imperial Princess in this stalemate situation, I needed to know about it.
I calmly persuaded Lucio once more.
“Please tell me even if it’s nothing serious. Even trivial details can become clues to solving this, you know. Running the Information Guild, you wouldn’t not know that, right?”
Then Lucio paused at “Information Guild….” before nodding.
It seemed he had forgotten again that I knew about Darel.
“Then I’ll tell you. Actually, I had Bert tail the Imperial Princess. To monitor who she meets and what they discuss.”
“Did he find the contact?”
“Not exactly….”
After hearing what came next, I froze completely.
But fearing Lucio would find it strange, I hastily opened my mouth.
“So… the Imperial Princess visited a cafe in the Capital City?”
“Yes. And that place was somewhere I had long suspected to be the headquarters of the Information Guild Terenthium.”
I suppressed the urge to flinch and quickly clasped my hands together.
In the meantime, Lucio explained that when he first established Darel, he had modeled it after Terenthium, the greatest information guild on the Continent.
He particularly mentioned that since he lacked the resources to cultivate capable informants internally, he had scouted many informants from other guilds, but Terenthium’s informants never accepted his proposals, and he was deeply impressed by their exceptional sense of belonging.
For some reason, a bitter smile rose to my lips, and I tightened my clasped hands.
“I’m troubled by the fact that the Imperial Princess visited that place. Of course, one could think she simply visited an information guild, but in this situation, I can’t help but harbor suspicions.”
Perhaps Terenthium is an organization of Demon Worshippers masquerading as an information guild.
Lucio said this and explained that it wasn’t certain information, which was why he had been reluctant to tell me.
I nodded awkwardly and spoke.
“It really is uncertain information. I think it’s a bit of a stretch to assume Terenthium is an organization of Demon Worshippers just because the Imperial Princess visited.”
I was worried that Lucio might harbor suspicions and carelessly meddle with Terenthium, putting us in an even more difficult situation.
However, Lucio’s response to my worried lie was cold.
“I see. To be honest, I was quite shocked to hear that the Imperial Princess had become a Demon Worshipper. Even I, who investigated in many ways to find information about demonic relics, thought they had already disappeared long ago.”
“….”
“If they’ve been quietly building their forces for a long time, and if Terenthium really is an organization of Demon Worshippers in disguise, we cannot simply overlook it. Terenthium’s influence extends beyond the Empire to the entire Continent, so perhaps a true demonic war might… Your Highness?”
Then Lucio reached out his arm to me with a startled voice.
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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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