Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 240
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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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Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Boom!
“Saint, are you all right?”
Meanwhile, Diana had found herself in a far more dire situation than she had anticipated upon entering the Black Forest.
Having witnessed with her own eyes that Demon Beasts had reappeared in this land, she had certainly considered the possibility that the Demon had hidden them here.
But she had only imagined numbers comparable to those at the Sword Tournament finals, not this overwhelming horde.
In a forest already choked with darkness, having these shadowy creatures erupt in mad profusion tested not only her courage but her physical endurance to its limits.
And why did time itself seem to crawl so slowly?
Diana exhaled heavily, grinding her teeth as she reconsidered the Demon’s true intentions.
‘It must be true—after taking my sister to the Demon Realm, he planned to annihilate the Human World.’
Otherwise, he would never have concealed so many Demon Beasts in this forest.
Had she not entered this forest to confront them, they would have poured forth and attacked the humans.
…Just as they had in ancient times.
She was grateful she had made the wise decision to have Raezl guard the entrance as a precaution.
A Demon Beast that suddenly appeared from behind raised its massive foreleg and brought it crashing down upon the earth.
As the ground trembled and demonic energy erupted, Diana hastily erected a barrier of holy power, then immediately drew her bow and took her stance.
She needed no arrows.
The moment she drew the bowstring taut, the densely concentrated holy power transformed into the distinct shape of an arrow.
As her fingers released, the arrow streaked through the air along its trajectory and embedded itself directly in the Demon Beast’s skull.
The Priestess and priests engaged in scattered combat marveled for an instant at seeing the creature fall lifeless, but panic seized them again almost immediately.
Though Diana’s timely interventions eliminated the Demon Beasts, she could not suppress the growing unease in her heart.
She had heard that Raezl had been diligently training the Priestess Order and Holy Knights, yet their offensive power was woefully inadequate compared to the comrades she had fought alongside in ancient times—apparently due to their lack of real combat experience.
‘And their innate holy power seems rather limited as well.’
It appeared that only high-ranking Priestesses and Holy Knights possessed knowledge of Splecia, and that was likely the reason.
Holy power was a gift bestowed by the Divine, but it was a power obtained through prayers mourning Splecia’s death.
‘Most people here probably don’t know why the Demon kidnapped my sister.’
Since she, as the Saint, had issued the command to rescue the Crown Princess, most were simply following orders without understanding.
Diana could not hide her regret as she glanced down at her wrist.
The light that had been showing her direction moments ago had vanished, alarming her, but fortunately it now shone brilliantly and steadily toward her right.
Fighting Demon Beasts erupting from all directions had so thoroughly disoriented her sense of direction that she could no longer recall where she had been heading.
The thought that without this bracelet she might have been trapped in the forest battling only Demon Beasts, never reaching the entrance to the Demon Realm, sent a chill down her spine.
Seeing a Demon Beast emerge from atop a tree, Diana cried out sharply.
“Everyone, cover your ears!”
“Kyaaaaaaagh!”
The Demon Beast’s scream rang out so piercingly that it echoed through the forest, and blood streamed from the ears of those who had not covered them in time.
The creature’s cry had pierced through the holy barrier Diana had erected and damaged their eardrums.
Unable to continue fighting while covering their ears, she hastily erected a new barrier above, but Diana’s anxiety deepened.
She needed to conserve her strength for the final confrontation with the Demon, yet was it wise to expend it so freely like this?
Would she repeat the tragedy of old, failing to completely annihilate the Demon once more?
Resolving that she would prevent that outcome even at the cost of her own life, Diana drew her bow again and took her stance.
“Ugh!”
A shadow materialized from nowhere and slashed the Demon Beast’s throat with a sharp, clean stroke.
The man was drenched in blood—he’d clearly been culling Demon Beasts on his way here.
“…Duke Elrad (Minor)?”
The moment someone recognized that the man was the Saint’s older brother, a sharp sound split the air.
Boom!
Lucio kicked off the ground and launched himself skyward, driving his sword—wreathed in a deep blue aura—straight through the center of another Demon Beast’s forehead.
The creature didn’t even have time to scream before it collapsed backward.
Then, immediately after—Crash, crash, boom!
With that extraordinary reaction speed, he dispatched the surrounding Demon Beasts as well, leaving the Priestess and Holy Knights with their mouths agape in admiration.
Lucio’s movements were like those of a seasoned hunter—his senses honed razor-sharp from long experience against Demon Beasts.
The Saint had been hitting her targets with perfect accuracy every time she fired an arrow, yet even she wasn’t as swift as this. In fact, he was faster. The onlookers’ tongues nearly fell out of their mouths—until they suddenly froze.
“Does the Duke Elrad (Minor) possess holy power as well…?”
“You still say that after seeing that aura?”
An aura rooted in mana and demonic power could not coexist with holy power.
And Lucio’s sword unmistakably carried an aura.
The way he wielded it with such mastery meant he was undoubtedly an unrecognized Sword Master, which in turn suggested exceptional mana affinity.
“How is he so unscathed in the Black Forest….”
Crash, crash, crash, boom!
In that instant, house-sized Demon Beasts were swept away by Lucio’s blade in droves.
The Priestess and Holy Knights, who had been marveling continuously, now wore expressions of faint disgust.
Looking again, he didn’t seem quite so fine.
If these weren’t Demon Beasts they had to eliminate, the way he was butchering them would be nothing short of a massacre.
“He’s gone mad again.”
“…!”
The Priestess and Holy Knights were startled by Diana’s words, as if she had seen straight through their thoughts.
Because truly, the Duke Elrad (Minor)’s current state could only be described as madness.
Yet thanks to him, they finally had breathing room for the first time since entering the forest.
Lucio, the architect of this reprieve, turned his head toward them.
A chill.
Those cold, darkly sunken blue eyes sent a shiver down their spines.
It felt as though they were gazing into the depths of an abyssal sea.
“Tsk.”
Diana clicked her tongue at the sight, checked her bracelet, then gestured with her chin toward their direction.
Lucio immediately began moving, and Diana wore a bitter smile watching him go.
He’d recovered his memories—perhaps a bit too much of them.
She hadn’t given him the eye flower hoping for this kind of help, but the result was fortunate nonetheless.
With his exceptional resistance to demonic power, he could handle the Demon Beasts in her stead.
“It seems our path forward will be secured by a Demon Beast hunter, so let us move quickly.”
At Diana’s words, the Priestess and Holy Knights murmured, “A Demon Beast hunter?” in confusion, but Diana merely smiled and said nothing more.
Perhaps only the Demon and her understood the identity of the man who had surpassed them all.
The first Sword Master and Demon Beast hunter.
And… the master of the snow flowers.
But Diana had no intention of revealing that this legendary figure was Lucio.
She understood far too well the heart of a man who had quietly vanished without leaving his name behind, much like Splecia, whose name had been deliberately erased.
Just as Diana herself had remained only as the Saint, leaving no name in the annals of legend.
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“My lady, it is now time…”
“I understand, so please stop calling me that!”
As I snapped, my voice echoed throughout the bathroom.
The reverberations left my head spinning and a throbbing pain crept in.
Or perhaps it was simply from crying so much.
“Sigh…”
After Master had left the room moments before, I had collapsed onto the floor and wept bitterly.
My heart felt torn apart watching the ring vanish so meaninglessly before my eyes.
Though I had worn it for only a short time, it had been such a precious thing to me.
‘Even when Lucio was under a spell and showed affection toward Serphin, I never thought to remove it…’
Yet I could only watch helplessly as it was stolen away and crumbled to dust.
I was furious—not just at Master, but at myself as well, and I could not contain my rage.
By now, the shackle that had hung from my ankle, serving as a golden seal, would surely be released, and with the magic circle dissolved, escape was now possible.
I had actually been considering fleeing the room.
Suddenly Rope entered and began preparing the bath.
Only then did I remember this was not the time, and with reluctant steps, I sank into the tub.
Even so, my sorrowful and aching heart would not ease, and I wept for well over thirty minutes beneath the water.
“Crown Princess, you truly must emerge now.”
And so she urged me from outside to come out.
I had no intention of lingering further, so I rose and drew a deep breath.
Diana had entered the Forest.
Soon, I would see the end.
Steeling myself thus, I emerged—only to contort my face in dismay.
Until now, only Rope and Master had entered this room.
Yet today, besides Rope, three women awaited me.
All were people I recognized as informants for Terenthium.
The problem was… there were objects in the room I had never seen before.
Among them, a full-length mirror and a mannequin draped in a petticoat—the sort one might find in a Clothing Store—caught my eye.
The dress hanging on the mannequin, which bared the shoulders and collarbones, looked nothing like an ordinary gown.
Yes, anyone could see it was suited for a wedding…
“Allow us to assist you in dressing.”
As I exhaled in astonishment upon seeing the wedding dress, the women approached carefully and began to remove my robe.
I flinched and drew back for a moment, but I soon abandoned any thought of resistance.
Now that my body was free, I could have subdued all of them or simply fled.
But I instinctively understood that only by wearing this dress and following them could I reach the Altar where the entrance to the Demon Realm lay.
With the final confrontation mere moments away, what did clothing matter?
Besides, the moment Rope had called me the Demon’s companion, I had already anticipated something like this.
I resigned myself to it, closing my eyes without protest as the women dressed me in the gown and touched my hair.
They seemed bothered by my puffy, tear-stained eyes from crying in the bath, so they placed something cool over them.
And shortly after.
“It is complete.”
“You are truly beautiful.”
At their sincere words of admiration, I slowly opened my eyes.
In the mirror, I saw myself dressed in a pristine wedding gown, lavishly adorned with diamonds and platinum.
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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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