Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 233

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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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‘So this really isn’t the Demon Realm after all!’
I had to exert every effort to conceal my agitation.
But there was no way Master could have failed to notice my clenched fists and the moment I held my breath.
So before he could grow suspicious.
“If you’re going to release me anyway, why not just do it now?”
I deliberately swung my ankle to draw his attention to the shackles.
I made no effort to hide the grimace caused by the chafing wounds.
“There’s no need to go this far. It’s so suffocating. Moving is inconvenient.”
As I continued my unrelenting complaints, his crimson eyes gleamed with sharp insight, as though probing my true intentions.
Then he smirked.
“Lia, who do you think taught you everything from the beginning to the end?”
“….”
“I know your abilities better than anyone.”
He laughed as though he could see through everything about me, as if warning me not to entertain foolish thoughts.
I laughed inwardly as well.
At the thought of how the Demon’s arrogance would be his undoing.
“But… this really isn’t the Demon Realm?”
I asked carefully, concealing my true thoughts.
“Then where exactly is this place?”
I thought it was a sufficiently natural question given the current flow of conversation.
However.
“You’ve gotten better at playing dumb.”
Master tilted his head, studying my expression.
“You heard the details of the curse from the Great Sage, but didn’t you hear about the Black Forest?”
“….”
I had heard.
And quite some time ago at that.
That Master was a Demon.
It was not long after learning that my past life was Spleshia.
Raezl had explained to me in detail about the Black Forest—the only place where the Human World and the Demon Realm connected—and what transpired within it.
How the Demon Worshippers erected an altar beside the entrance to the Demon Realm, offering human mana to the Demon while using human souls as sacrifices to expand the entrance to the Demon Realm.
‘So I immediately understood that the night of the full moon was the day sacrifices were offered.’
But I wasn’t sure whether Master had discerned that I knew even that much.
I swallowed hard and spoke as though making an excuse.
“For a place called the Black Forest, the view outside the window was far too beautiful.”
And in that moment.
“…Is that so?”
I saw the corners of Master’s mouth lift slightly.
Upon seeing that expression, I couldn’t help but click my tongue.
With a smile of such evident pleasure gracing a face of beauty that transcended human bounds, even I, his sworn enemy, could not help but hesitate.
‘What kind of demon looks like that…?’
“Do you like it?”
“What? No?!”
I had been frowning in thought when Master’s question caught me off guard, and I burst out defensively.
Then he stiffened his expression and asked again.
“Didn’t you just say it was beautiful?”
“….”
Ah. He was talking about the Black Forest.
Embarrassed, I rolled my eyes and turned my head away.
My body felt far too heavy and sluggish—I wanted to rest.
But in this lavishly appointed room filled with precious things, the only place to sit was the bed.
Clack, clack.
Though it was unlikely he felt any guilt at all, I deliberately made my footsteps loud with each step toward the bed, then lay down with my back to him to signal I had no desire to continue our conversation.
Fortunately, Master chuckled softly and told me to eat the food Rope had brought on the trolley earlier, then closed the door gently behind him as he left.
Only then did my tension ease, and I settled my body comfortably.
Yet despite my relaxed posture, my mind raced furiously as I began to organize my thoughts.
‘This place is definitely the Black Forest.’
I had even been considering testing it myself, so I was deeply relieved that Master had confirmed it twice.
Especially, I found profound comfort in knowing that Rope had not lied to me.
Though I could no longer fully trust even my cherished memories from the past, I could only resent Master for making me this way.
Since I still felt more affection than betrayal toward Rope, I didn’t want to be disappointed in him.
‘In any case.’
Rope had said it was only recently evening outside.
That meant less than two hours had passed since I went to Terenchium Headquarters…
I bit my nails as I pondered.
‘Then by now, has Diana gone to the Temple?’
* * *
At that very moment.
A carriage bearing the emblem of the Temple entered through the gates of a pale cream-colored building that glowed with sacred radiance.
Diana descended from the carriage and followed the high priestess who had come to greet her into the solemn atmosphere of the Temple, where murals depicting the Holy War adorned the walls and sacred flames burned brightly in every corner.
And then.
“We greet the Saint.”
From the youngest novice priestesses to the eldest priests.
All those who had long awaited the Saint’s return knelt in unison at the sight of Diana.
In their deep bows flowed an overwhelming reverence that welled up from the depths of their hearts.
It was only natural.
Those who served in the Temple, which could not be swayed by worldly power or wealth, had the duty to offer their complete loyalty to the Saint chosen by the divine.
Then, as Diana carefully examined the condition of the priestesses and Holy Knights, thinking of the battle that would soon unfold, her brow furrowed.
“Surely they’re not planning to take even these young children?”
She asked upon seeing young boys and girls who appeared not yet to have reached puberty.
Though the apprentice priestesses were not much older than Diana, the High Priestess was just beginning to sputter in protest at such an absolute refusal when—
“There is no need for concern. Children thirteen and under will remain at the Temple in prayer, while the remaining apprentice priestesses will establish a barrier of holy power around the Black Forest and guard the sacred flame.”
Diana recognized Raezl’s voice and quickly turned her head.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
“…Sir Seydian?”
Jack, looking haggard as though his very soul had been drained away, was being supported by Holy Knights as he walked forward.
She had assumed he had gone far away on leave to nurse his heartbreak upon hearing of Lia and Lucio’s engagement—
She had no idea why he was here.
And moreover—
“Grand Duke Bellus, Princess Bi, Crown Prince Askart… and even the Previous Marquis. Why are all of you here…?”
She had specifically asked them to be kept safely at the Marquis’s Residence, yet Raezl had brought them to the Temple?
As Diana fixed Raezl with a cold stare, he rolled his eyes and feigned ignorance.
Instead, the Grand Duke spoke with earnest conviction.
“Crown Princess, I made a request of the High Priestess. We wish to accompany you in rescuing Adriana.”
Grand Duke Bellus was, of course, an exceptional mage, as was Crown Prince Askart.
Particularly since the Demon Beasts summoned by demons responded only to mana-based attacks, it seemed they believed the Magic Swordsmen Corps of Belus Duchy would prove invaluable.
But Diana shook her head and answered curtly.
“Grand Duke Bellus, those with high affinity for mana cannot maintain sound reason within the Black Forest.”
Lucio might prove useful precisely because, despite his mana affinity, he harbored a profound hatred of mana in his very core—
But knights who wielded aura and magic swordsmen, and especially mages who revered mana, lacked any resistance to its power and would only face greater danger.
However, it seemed Raezl had already explained this, for Askart spoke without hesitation.
“Then let us at least wait outside the Black Forest.”
Returning to the Marquis’s Residence would leave his heart equally unsettled regardless.
Faced with his resolute determination to remain outside and protect the apprentice priestesses, Diana reluctantly nodded.
The journey from here to the Black Forest would take considerable time, and she could not afford further argument.
“Very well. As a precaution, I will permit the Grand Duke, Crown Prince, and the Magic Swordsmen Corps to accompany us. However—”
Diana spoke with finality, brooking no further negotiation.
“The Grand Duchess and the Previous Marquis must return to the Marquis’s Residence.”
Though it might sound harsh, those two who could not wield aura were liabilities rather than assets in the current situation.
“Go to safety. I will rescue my sister without fail.”
Her stubborn expression, so impenetrable it seemed not even a needle could pierce it, bore such an uncanny resemblance to the taciturn Duke Elrad.
For a moment, the Grand Duchess and Previous Marquis were left speechless, unable to utter a word.
In the interim, the Grand Duke and Crown Prince began persuading the two to return to the Marquis’s Residence and await word there.
Though their hearts ached with reluctance, the Grand Duchess and Previous Marquis grimly nodded, accepting that returning was preferable to becoming a burden.
“I… I will go as well, Crown Princess.”
Jack, who had appeared half-conscious throughout, suddenly spoke.
Since locking eyes with the Demon, Jack had been engulfed in a bottomless despair, only regaining his senses through the holy power suffusing the Temple and the priestesses’ healing.
He could not grasp the exact situation, but Lia had vanished with a man who seemed dangerous.
And since Diana intended to rescue Lia, he wished to accompany her.
Diana hesitated briefly, but reasoned that since the Magic Swordsmen Corps would remain, one additional Sword Master outside the Black Forest would pose no problem.
Diana finally nodded and turned to rummage through the bag slung across her shoulder, pulling out something before raising her hand high.
In that instant, the air around them settled into a profound stillness.
Crack!
The weathered wooden fragment Diana held fractured with a sharp sound, and from within, a sublime divine radiance began to pour forth in brilliant luminescence.
Blaze!
The dazzling light that momentarily blinded everyone and flooded the Temple gradually coalesced, taking on a distinct and purposeful form.
And then.
“…!”
The seemingly worthless wooden piece transformed into the grip of a bow, and the luminous mass swiftly metamorphosed into a magnificent weapon.
Only then did the Priestess and Holy Knights realize that the ancient Saint’s weapon had been a bow all along, their eyes glistening with reverence and emotion.
As silent awe rippled through the gathering.
“Our objective is to seal the entrance to the Demon Realm and annihilate the Demon. But! We must not forget that the most crucial task is to rescue the Crown Princess Bellus from the Demon’s grasp.”
Diana, her powerful divine presence commanding everyone’s attention, declared with unwavering resolve.
“Then let us go—to the Black Forest!”

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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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