Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 22

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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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At last, the day of reckoning had arrived.
I stood in the back garden of the Duke’s Castle, a place rarely visited and left to languish in neglect.
It was the depths of winter in the Duchy, and the cold was unforgiving.
The gardeners devoted their attention solely to the Glass Greenhouse and the front gates, leaving this corner untouched by human hands—a portrait of nature in its raw, desolate state.
‘Yes, this place is perfect for what I need to do.’
Satisfied with the barren landscape, I knelt and gazed at the verdant green leaves that seemed so out of place against the frozen earth.
Though I hadn’t been at the Duke’s Estate for long, my physical condition had improved dramatically—a stark contrast to my time at the Orphanage, where every aspect of life had been so different.
Outwardly, my frame remained gaunt and skeletal, but I could walk without gasping for breath now, a far cry from my former self.
‘I’ve reached the point where I can begin mana training.’
Bianca had warned me against forcing my power before I grew stronger, citing the danger of runaway mana, but that advice applied only when I was a child ignorant of mana control.
Especially since I had once cultivated an Herb Field with Ted, a Guild executive, to practice mana control—infusing mana into the earth was second nature to me.
As I began channeling mana now, the power flowed through the plant roots, and the green leaves slowly began to spread their domain.
It was proof that I was wielding mana with efficiency.
I had worried about controlling the sudden influx of mana, but it seemed my concerns were unfounded.
“Once the flowers bloom, I’ll bring them to Diana.”
I felt a twinge of guilt leaving the child behind today.
Still, a few days ago she had spent the entire day braiding and unbraiding my hair, seeming so content that I was grateful she had agreed to play in her room today without complaint.
“Starting tomorrow, I’ll play with her every single day.”
The thought of my beloved Diana kindled my resolve.
Had it not been for Sid Valery, Diana and I would never have met, but the thought of what that child had endured through kidnapping was unbearable.
As I continued expanding the domain of green leaves, something caught my eye.
“Hm? Could it be…?”
“What are you?”
At that same moment, a voice came from behind me, accompanied by the sound of footsteps.
I had sensed his arrival long ago, so I turned calmly—only to furrow my brow.
‘That serpentine expression.’
His face had never impressed me at first meeting, but now that I knew the truth of his nature, it seemed all the more contemptible.
Yes. The wish I had asked Allen to grant was a private meeting with Sid Valery.
‘More precisely, to have the Vice-Captain brought here at a time and place of my choosing.’
Allen had been bewildered by such an odd request, but he had honored his promise nonetheless.
“Ha, don’t tell me you used the young master to lure me all the way out here?”
Only now, having reached the secluded Back Garden, did Sid Valery seem to grasp the situation, and he sneered at me.
“How cunning for a child. So you clung to the young lady without shame and followed her here. How pleasant it must be to manipulate a young lady to your liking and live in comfort. You should spend your entire life grateful to her.”
He spat at me in disgust and turned away as though he couldn’t bear my presence.
To this, I spoke in an exaggerated tone, directing my words at his retreating back.
“By your own logic, sir, I should be grateful to you instead, not to the young lady.”
“What?”
“If it weren’t for you, sir, how could I have ever met the young lady? Isn’t that right?”
“What do you mean by—”
“I heard everything. You deliberately lied to Seidia about your escort duties being reassigned.”
At my words, Sid Valery’s face hardened with a terrifying intensity.
The killing intent radiating from his body was sharp and piercing—perhaps befitting someone capable enough to rise to Vice-Captain of the Lexion Knights.
But I only raised my voice louder, letting it carry far and wide.
“Isn’t this going too far? Even if you wanted to drive Seidia away, how could you gamble with the safety of the young lady you serve?”
“Insane nonsense! You vulgar creature, you’re quite the liar.”
Sid Valery shouted in agitation.
Fear flickered through me as the threatening man approached, but I barely managed to steady myself.
‘Don’t be afraid. It’s fine.’
I already knew the fate of the Valery Count Family.
To act so recklessly without seeing even an inch ahead—how utterly foolish.
“You’re threatening me without evidence? Do you have a death wish?”
“So you’re saying everything I said is a lie?”
“Yes! And even if it were true, who would believe the words of you or that fool Taize!”
“Whether to believe it or not is for Duke Elrad to decide.”
At the mention of reporting to Duke Elrad, Sid Valery’s eyes finally went wild.
“You lowborn wretch! How dare you! Creatures like you should just grovel like insects and eat the scraps we throw you!”
“That’s enough, Valery!”
“M-Madam…!”
Just as Sid Valery grabbed my collar and lifted me, a woman’s voice cut through the air.
Sid Valery hastily threw me to the ground and stumbled backward.
“Th-This isn’t what you think it is!”
“Don’t bother with excuses.”
When Duke Elrad appeared moments later, Sid Valery’s face drained of all color.
“Lia, are you alright?”
The Duchess Elrad rushed to me, examining the scrapes on my arm from falling to the ground.
Faced with her worried expression, I deliberately averted my gaze.
After all, this had all been my plan.
“Madam, I saw something during my walk earlier. There were sprouts coming up in the Back Garden.”
“My, is that truly so? The ground should still be frozen solid.”
“Spring must be coming soon.”
Having mentioned this while eating dessert after breakfast, I was half-certain the Duchess would take the Duke for a walk there this afternoon.
The Duchess was sensitive to the cold, yet she made it a point to take the Duke out for his daily walk at a set time, since he rarely left his Study due to the accumulated Territory affairs he had to handle.
‘And since she showed interest in my words, she’d almost certainly come this way.’
Of course, it wouldn’t have mattered if things hadn’t gone as I planned.
I had genuinely intended to seek out the Duke myself.
And I was prepared to confess that I’d been blackmailed after learning his secrets, then finish off Sid Valery.
But without needing to perform that tedious act, both of them appeared.
“No, Your Grace! This is all… Taize! That wretch set a trap using this child to frame me!”
Sid Valery, who had been treating me with such arrogance moments before, suddenly fell to his knees and pleaded desperately with Duke Elrad.
The Duke’s gaze was utterly frigid.
Once the investigation began, his guilt would be laid bare for all to see, but I shouted loudly enough to dismantle the entire Valery Count Family, just in case something went wrong.
“If this is a trap, did Knight Seydian purchase the Perion Mine on someone else’s orders too? Knight Seydian wouldn’t even know how much the Lexion Knights’ budget is!”
“Y-yes, how did you know that!”
Sid Valery, who had been staring at me with wide eyes in shock at my words, quickly made a foolish sound and looked up at Duke Elrad.
The Duke’s expression was utterly dumbfounded.
* * *
Allen couldn’t properly process the situation unfolding before his eyes.
His body had gone rigid, and he could barely breathe.
From the very beginning, agreeing to grant Lia’s wish over that absurd bet made no sense.
Back then, he had thought Lia was young and didn’t understand much, so she was acting recklessly without fear.
Even though she hadn’t become an apprentice knight, she had stepped forward to challenge children who were much larger than her.
In truth, Allen had been both worried about Lia and irritated by her, hoping she would be frightened into submission.
But the small squirrel-like child had displayed movements that were remarkably swift, controlled, and fierce.
The other children might not have noticed, but Allen had seen it clearly.
‘At the end, I thought she was wielding a dagger instead of a comb.’
One with a razor-sharp edge at that.
Though he couldn’t trust his own eyes, the result was undeniable.
Allen, who had simply stayed quiet and agreed to grant her wish, found that he wasn’t displeased at all.
He had even begun to anticipate what wish she would make.
〈Please let me meet the Vice-Captain.〉
But Lia’s wish was something he never could have anticipated.
Though he couldn’t understand it, since he had already promised to grant it, Allen called his mentor aside as if he had something to say.
And he had only wanted to confirm what Lia was trying to do while hiding himself.
‘My mentor was the one who put Diana in danger….’
Unable to believe the words coming from Lia’s mouth and confused, his usually respected mentor suddenly took on the face of a strange demon and began shouting at Lia.
He had never shown such violent behavior to Allen, not even once.
His body trembled involuntarily, and his hands and feet grew cold.
His mind screamed at him to step forward and demand what this was about, but his body had gone rigid and he couldn’t move.
And then, his father and mother appeared just in time.
“I’ll take the child and leave. I don’t want to be in the same place as this man any longer.”
His mother looked coldly at Sid, who was on his knees begging his father, and helped the child up.
As his mother and Lia left the back garden, passing by his side, Allen instinctively curled up and hid.
And in that fleeting moment, Lia turned her head.
Allen, with his head bowed low, thought their eyes had met for a moment, but he shook his head inwardly.
He desperately hoped it was merely a mistake.

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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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