Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 269

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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 secret place?”
“Yes! I found it when I was with the Beggar Gang, and it’s somewhere only I know about.”
…Probably.
Lia called out cheerfully, then added hesitantly.
It seemed she thought that Lucio, being an Academy graduate who had scaled the walls every night to manage Darel, might possibly know of it.
Lucio quickly opened his mouth.
“I’ve never been here before.”
It wasn’t a lie.
I had no idea such a place existed behind the Academy.
At Lucio’s words, Lia, regaining her confidence, laughed with a pleased hehe and lifted her chin.
“I thought so, right?”
Her delighted expression was absolutely endearing.
It was the moment Lucio was about to smile back at Lia.
“You’re the first person I’ve ever brought here.”
“What?”
He paused, looking around with fresh eyes.
From this vantage point with its unobstructed view, the Soiten District with the Academy and Gifted Academy spread out below in a single glance—it was undoubtedly a sight not everyone could witness.
The scenery was beautiful, certainly….
But the trees grew thick as if untouched by human hands, and there was no proper path to speak of.
Now, using magic, I had arrived in the blink of an eye, so it was effortless.
However, Lia in her previous life said she couldn’t use magic until she entered Terenthium.
‘Then… did that small body climb all the way up here alone?’
In that moment, Lucio’s heart sank, and he gazed at Lia with trembling eyes.
“Why… alone…?”
At Lucio’s question, feigned with composure, Lia, lost in memories, tilted her head.
And she laughed as if she’d received an absurd question.
“Because I found this place just to be alone?”
Her tone was light.
Yet Lucio could faintly sense the loneliness and sorrow hidden beneath those words.
When he went to meet the Beggar Gang children to find the missing Lia.
Lucio had immediately discerned that Lia didn’t truly fit in with that group.
‘Perhaps she simply wasn’t good at begging or something trivial like that.’
Of course, for young Lia, it would never have been a light matter….
The image of young Lia, unable to fit in with the group, swallowing hunger and loneliness, hiding from people’s eyes to find refuge, and finally climbing all the way up here where there was no path, appeared vividly before him.
Something hot rose up through his throat in a surge.
“From here, you can even see inside the Academy, and the students look just like tiny dolls! When the bell rings, they pour out of the buildings like a swarm and scatter everywhere, then move to another building—it was so incredibly fascinating….”
Lia, speaking of the past with an excited voice, suddenly looked at Lucio, who had fallen silent.
Lucio quickly swallowed his emotions and lifted the corners of his mouth.
“Wasn’t it difficult to climb up without magic?”
“Hmm, not really.”
“What if there were beasts lurking about? How reckless of you.”
“There weren’t any. If there had been, they would’ve caused problems beneath the Academy.”
“You didn’t spend the night here, did you?”
“…Pardon?”
Lia, who had answered every question without hesitation until now, faltered.
Noticing Lucio’s expression darken noticeably, she hastily waved her hand.
“That couldn’t possibly be true. It gets so cold once the sun sets…”
“…”
“I came back down well before that.”
Lucio smiled, but caught the evasive glance and recognized her lie immediately.
Suddenly, he recalled encountering Lia at the Fountain on his way back to the Dormitory after finishing Guild business.
‘I’d assumed she’d simply slipped away to make a wish…’
Perhaps she had dozed off here and descended as dawn broke.
The thought sent an icy chill through his chest, and his jaw clenched involuntarily.
Yet Lucio managed his expression carefully and nodded.
“Yes, you did well.”
He even offered praise he didn’t mean.
He knew Lia was reluctant to speak of her hardships.
Understanding the heart of one’s beloved was also the duty of a devoted partner.
As Lucio smiled gently while concealing his turmoil, Lia’s lips softened in relief.
In truth, Lia felt reassured.
Just as Lucio had guessed, she had spent more than one night here alone to escape the scorn and torment of the Beggar Gang children.
But she hadn’t spoken honestly about it.
This time, it wasn’t simply that she didn’t want pity.
‘I said I didn’t want to be hurt or sad.’
That I wanted to be happy in a warm and safe place.
Perhaps it was because those words had been spoken when, unable to control my emotions, I’d revealed myself as the Grand Duchess’s daughter and heard her cruel response, only to despair.
Or perhaps it was because someone who shouldn’t have been there at that time and hour had spoken those words without hiding their identity.
Because of Lucio’s words, etched upon my heart, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him how I’d dozed off alone in the cold and returned desolately.
Still feeling a bit guilty for my dishonesty, she tried to hastily change the subject, offering a selfish reason for coming to this secret hideout.
But then.
“Ahem.”
“…?”
“Ahem, ahem.”
Her lips simply wouldn’t part.
The reason was simple.
‘I’m too embarrassed!’
Hadn’t he said chocolate alone wasn’t enough? So I came to a place where no one could see us to do this comfortably.
…There was no way such words would come easily.
He’d brought up the subject first, yet somehow I’d become the one begging for a kiss, which bothered me slightly.
‘Usually he’s so perceptive!’
No matter how much I cleared my throat, Lucio remained completely oblivious to what I was trying to say, his eyes merely blinking.
Then.
“Thank you for bringing me here. It really is a wonderful place…?”
Even Lucio himself seemed uncertain, his words trailing upward in a question.
“Hmm….”
Yes. Rather than showing him the Secret Place I’d carefully prepared and watching him worry about her past, his praise was far more pleasant to hear.
‘But that’s not what I want right now!’
When I pressed my lips firmly shut and made it clear that wasn’t it, confusion flickered across Lucio’s face.
Unable to bear that expression any longer, I finally sighed and rummaged through my bag.
Then I pulled out chocolate and held it out with a sly smile.
“Fine then, just eat the chocolate.”
“…!”
Only then did Lucio’s eyes widen as he remembered why I’d brought him here.
What was wrong with his head? How could he have forgotten that?
With exactly that expression, Lucio alternated his gaze between the chocolate and my face, then quickly composed himself and spoke softly.
“Feed it to me yourself.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Can’t he see me waving it right in front of his face?
Experiencing for the first time what happens when one’s lover lacks perceptiveness, I spoke flatly.
I’d never thought I’d relate to Mother’s story about how Father’s obtuseness drove her to frustration during their courtship…
That was when.
Lucio pulled my hand and slipped the chocolate between my slightly parted lips.
I ended up eating the chocolate I’d meant to give him, my eyes widening in surprise.
Finding the sight adorable, Lucio chuckled softly in his throat and lowered his head, saying, “Like this.”
As if we’d been waiting for it, our lips met.
Until the sun that had warmed the Academy began to set.
Unable to even think of admiring the fantastical sunset before us, for quite some time.
* * *
Inside the carriage returning to the Marquis Residence.
“I clearly said I’d be late….”
I pouted and grumbled in discontent.
It was because I was so reluctant for the date to end.
Lucio felt the same way, so he smiled wryly and tried to console me.
“You said that, but I didn’t. I told them I’d return before it got too late, but if I stay for dinner too, all the effort of the bouquet I gave will be wasted and I’ll fall out of favor again.”
In fact, we were already considerably later than Lucio had anticipated.
Originally, he’d planned to take a walk around the Academy, apologize on behalf of my father from my previous life, stop by a nearby cafe to drink warm tea and chat leisurely, and leave once the sun began to set.
But unexpectedly, we’d visited my Secret Place, and then became so absorbed in kissing….
“Ahem.”
Lucio hastily cleared his throat and wiped his lips.
Yet I found it impossible to prevent my gaze from drifting toward Lia’s lips.
Those lips, tinged with the same rosy hue as her eyes, conjured the image of a succulent peach dangling before me.
As I recalled the exquisite sensation of our kisses—that electrifying pleasure that made it nearly impossible to maintain composure whenever our lips met naturally—my throat tightened involuntarily.
Lia seemed oblivious to my sinister intentions, her expression remaining stubbornly pouty.
Even her sullenness was endearing, so I glanced briefly out the window.
Calculating the remaining distance to the Marquis Residence, I was on the verge of lunging toward Lia when—

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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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