Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 261

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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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My reaction upon seeing the blue rose had been quite enthusiastic, so Lucio narrowed his brows slightly, apparently expecting a favorable answer.
“I see. Should I have just given you pink roses instead?”
Hearing the regret in his voice, I smiled and spoke with playful mischief.
“Pink roses aren’t my favorite flowers, though?”
“You said they were the first flowers you ever received as a gift. Weren’t those pink roses?”
Lucio’s eyes narrowed as he recalled me saying to Askart, “I’ve never received flowers as a gift before!” with excitement.
His gaze was suspicious—wondering if perhaps in my previous life, I had received flowers from someone else.
I found that expression quite fascinating to observe.
‘I used to think he was truly inscrutable….’
These days, I could read Lucio’s feelings just by looking at his face.
Perhaps it was because Lucio never hid his emotions from me at all.
“Are you perhaps talking about my previous life?”
The fact that he asked so directly, worried I might not catch on, spoke volumes.
Strangely, that realization brought me more joy than any compliment about being pretty or a painstakingly gathered bouquet.
As if feathers were tickling my chest, I bit my lip, and Lucio’s intensity grew stronger.
“Really? Just who was this man….”
“You shouldn’t ask ‘who was this man.'”
Startled by my objection, Lucio raised his eyebrows with a chilled expression.
He seemed displeased that I was contradicting him.
Yet his expression showed he was troubled, unable to easily guess the other person’s identity.
Watching him, I offered a subtle hint.
“You’ve seen them before too.”
“Me?”
Lucio furrowed his brows and tilted his head slightly.
Seeing him completely at a loss, I burst into laughter.
Among everyone I knew, Lucio was the most perceptive person.
Teasing him like this was incredibly enjoyable.
“What man, no, what kind of… No. Who gave it to you?”
After laughing so hard I nearly cried, I finally revealed the answer with lingering mirth in my eyes.
“Father and my Older Brother.”
“…What?”
“The ‘Snow Flower’ that Father and Older Brother obtained is my absolute favorite flower in the world.”
A miraculous flower that blooms only on the treacherous Snow Mountain at the End of the Continent.
Before I was even born, Father and Askart traveled to that distant place and picked it themselves for me—that flower was my most beloved.
‘Of course, I actually received it much later….’
The Snow Flower that had occupied a corner of my room in the Bellus Grand Duchy for so long was proof of how deeply I was loved.
So I wanted to insist, even if somewhat stubbornly, that it was the very first flower I received, and to claim it as my favorite.
Since Lucio had heard about the Snow Flower from Askart before, I thought he would understand my feelings perfectly.
But then.
“…Lucio?”
Upon hearing my answer, Lucio fell silent for a moment.
More than that, he seemed somewhat dazed.
“Your favorite flower is… snow flowers?”
“Yes. You’ve seen them before in my room.”
He had even been the one to recognize them first.
“Don’t you remember?”
I remembered nearly everything that had happened between Lucio and me, so I felt a little hurt that he didn’t seem to.
But then I reminded myself that everyone’s memory was different, so I shouldn’t be too upset.
“I remember. There’s no way I could forget that.”
Lucio spoke in a low, strained voice, as though his throat had tightened.
“But why does your expression look like that?”
“…What’s wrong with my expression?”
“Well…”
It was difficult to express in a single word.
He looked like he was smiling, yet also like he wanted to cry…
I couldn’t tell if he was happy or sad—so much so that my earlier confidence in reading Lucio’s emotions seemed laughable.
As I hesitated to answer, a sudden thought struck me, and I gasped.
“Are you upset because I didn’t say that the flower you gave me is my favorite?”
Heavens. At this very moment, as much as it pained me to admit it, I had to acknowledge my own lack of perception.
Here was a busy man who had gone through such trouble to obtain a flower for me, and I had chattered away about liking a different one instead…
Struck by the shock of my own thoughtlessness in disregarding his sincerity, I wore a dejected expression.
However, to make one excuse, my love for snow flowers wasn’t simply because Father and my Older Brother had given them to me.
‘When Askart first explained them to me, I thought the color combination reminded me of Diana…’
But after seeing the actual silver flower with its blue tint deepening toward the center, it was someone else who came to mind.
Someone cold, yet somehow lonely…
I glanced at the man before me, who resembled snow flowers so perfectly.
I wondered if I should confess right then that I had come to love snow flowers even more because they reminded me of Lucio.
But I hesitated, both from embarrassment and fear that he might misunderstand it as an apology.
That was when it happened.
“No.”
Lucio gently brushed my downturned lips as he spoke.
“It’s not that I’m upset. I’m just too happy.”
“Happy about what? I didn’t even say that the flower you gave me is my favorite.”
Oh no, I should have apologized first.
When Lucio tried to comfort me, a blunt remark slipped out instead.
“You don’t need to force yourself to match my mood.”
As I added this awkwardly, Lucio let out a sigh tinged with laughter.
“I mean it. I really do. The fact that you chose that flower as your favorite, of all things…”
Lucio’s voice as he spoke was filled with sincerity.
The expression that had been difficult to read was no different.
Now my heart was filled with pure joy, untainted by the complex emotions that had muddled it before.
This only deepened my confusion.
Father and my Older Brother had given me the snow flowers, so I couldn’t understand why Lucio seemed so pleased.
Then I paused, struck by a rather plausible theory, and cried out.
“Please don’t go to all that trouble trying to find snow flowers!”
* * *
Lia had repeatedly warned Lucio not to send his subordinates to the End of the Continent or venture to Snow Mountain himself in search of snow flowers.
It seemed he had rejoiced upon discovering what her favorite flower was.
After all, to Lia, the snow flowers were merely a tender gift from her Father and Older Brother.
She would never imagine Lucio had any hand in it, and thus could not fathom his joy either.
And yet.
“There you go again, smiling! You promised, didn’t you?”
“I understand. I won’t go searching for snow flowers.”
“And don’t send your subordinates either.”
“I won’t.”
Lucio could not suppress his laughter.
In truth, the snow flowers that had bloomed after his death were a miracle he had never sought.
He hoped the flowers bearing Spleshia’s name would continue to be revered for saving so many lives, but he believed no one would remember the flowers left behind by a Monster Hunter.
Yet he never imagined that flower would become something Lia—of all people—would need.
‘That you would treasure it most of all.’
Just as he had never revealed the truth of his past life, he had no intention of disclosing anything about the snow flowers, but the fact that something connected to his existence had proven even slightly helpful to Lia.
And the fact that he occupied even a small corner of her heart, for whatever reason—this brought Lucio immense joy.
Of course, Lia, oblivious to his feelings, could only frown at his constant smirking before changing the subject.
“But why did you suddenly decide to give flowers to my family?”
Was it something you thought of while preparing the blue roses?
At Lia’s innocent question, Lucio was suddenly struck by a painfully vivid memory.
“I’ve been thinking about it for quite some time.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I learned a great deal from watching Askart.”
“My Older Brother?”
“That’s right. You completely ignored me and only smiled brightly at Askart when he gave you flowers. So I resolved that next time, I absolutely had to give you flowers too.”
Now that I thought about it, I had learned so much from Askart.
Not just about giving flowers, but also about cultivating a gentle heart—surely I had learned that well enough.
If only I hadn’t behaved so poorly and had simply answered properly, I might have been invited to the Grand Duke’s Castle at least once.
As I recalled that bitter past, when I had offered so many bribes to Askart yet never received an invitation.
“Ah….”
Lia, blessed with a sharp memory, seemed to recall immediately which day he was referring to.
Lucio, a mischievous glint crossing his face, spoke with a dejected tone.
“It was the day Mother recovered and we met after so long.”
….
“Not only did he refuse to speak to me, but from that day on, he wouldn’t even meet my eyes. Every single day, he’d rush off to the Diapel Marquis Estate to spend time with Askart.”
In truth, it was blood that drew him there, but before I understood that, I was utterly exasperated thinking that young Lia had already fallen under the spell of a man’s appearance, just as Allen claimed.

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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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