Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 278

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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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Of course, a life confined to the County Territory was hardly one to be desired.
She could no longer engage in social activities as before, and more than anything, the attitude of the servants toward her had subtly shifted.
They didn’t openly mock her, but neither did they regard her with the reverence and deference they once had.
No matter how much the Nanny insisted on Clara’s innocence, it had little effect.
In the midst of all this, Duke Elrad remarried his longtime mistress.
Yes, in this chaotic time when the Emperor had died and the Saint had emerged!
‘That wretched girl is the Saint? It’s absolutely ridiculous.’
Clara still couldn’t accept the fact that Diana, who had always treated her poorly, was the Saint.
It was more shocking than the fact that her father, who had been secretly carrying on an affair behind her mother’s back, immediately brought his mistress into the Marquis Residence right after the divorce.
She was engaged to Young Duke Elrad, the new Emperor’s closest confidant, and her future sister-in-law, whom she followed like an older sister, was the Saint.
She tried consciously not to think about Adriana, but the resentment and jealousy that kept welling up were unavoidable.
They were both granddaughters of Marquis Diapel—she couldn’t understand why their circumstances were so different.
Count Amber couldn’t bring himself to be as cold as he wished because his daughter was a granddaughter of House Diapel, but Clara, unaware of this, simply felt wronged.
She even harbored the carefree worry that perhaps her father might bring some unremarkable young man from an obscure family and marry her off to him as a live-in son-in-law.
But soon after hearing that her father’s mistress was pregnant, she understood.
‘He wants a real heir, not me!’
How could he be so cruel to her?
He fought loudly with her mother almost every day, yet he treated his mistress with the utmost care and tenderness, never raising his voice to her.
Disgusted by her father’s behavior, Clara locked her door from the inside.
Though she lived comfortably in her spacious, luxurious room, eating delicious meals at every sitting, Clara found herself unbearably pitiful every single day.
When her father never came to find her and didn’t offer even a word of comfort, she immediately sent a letter to the Imperial Palace.
From Clara’s perspective, it was perfectly logical and reasonable.
She hadn’t committed any grave sin, and after all, wasn’t this merely a trivial quarrel between cousins?
The Emperor had simply gotten involved in the middle, and because he favored one side, she had been unjustly punished!
She had framed Adriana for theft and spoken disrespectful words that defied the Imperial authority before the Emperor, yet Clara, thinking only of herself, believed that if Nicholas was a wise emperor, he would surely help her.
But as time passed with no reply, her anxiety grew.
She told herself that he simply hadn’t seen her letter yet due to the busy period before the coronation, yet she also wondered if she was being ignored.
‘Perhaps Young Duke Elrad’s influence reached him….’
How pitifully must Adriana have portrayed herself to her lover while slandering Clara?
And the foolish Young Duke, deceived by her, must have opposed Nicholas forgiving her.
While she was indulging in such delusions and feeling wronged, she received a letter from her mother.
Clara, who had scoffed at the suggestion of taking such a difficult path, found her resolve wavering as she read about the possibility of enjoying wealth and honor in the Liven Kingdom and starting anew.
Her mother had nothing to boast of except her connection to House Diapel.
Clara, as her daughter, knew better than anyone that her mother possessed no outstanding abilities.
So Clara pressed the Nanny, who had met her mother in person, for details.
〈You know, don’t you? Why is Mother so confident?〉
The Nanny, who had originally been the Former Countess’s maidservant from her birth family and had raised Clara like her own child, eventually couldn’t resist her stubbornness and revealed the truth.
That the Former Countess had stolen confidential information from House Diapel and sold it to an enemy nation.
Clara was certainly shocked by what her mother had done, but her reaction was almost positive.
She had already concluded that forgiveness from Nicholas was impossible in her fantasies, and had given up on any future in the Empire.
Desperation and sweet hope had completely paralyzed Clara’s reason.
‘Mother might be right—perhaps I can truly start anew!’
In her mind’s eye, she envisioned her mother receiving a title from the Deposed King once he reclaimed the throne, herself becoming his heir, and living again as an envied noblewoman—images blooming like clouds in her thoughts.
With tensions escalating to the point of war between the Empire and Liven Kingdom, she could expose the true nature of Saint Lady Elrad and Adriana without hesitation.
Having steeled her resolve, Clara declared her intention to leave immediately and arranged to make contact with representatives from Liven Kingdom at dawn that very day.
Slipping away from the Estate and Territory proved surprisingly simple.
Though the Emperor had imposed punishment, no one was specifically assigned to watch Clara.
Disguised as a maidservant, Clara crossed the border out of the County Territory, and with success seemingly within reach, her spirits began to soar.
Moreover.
‘Soon there will be chaos, won’t there?’
The thought of the Marquis Residence—which had basked in harmony while leaving her alone in misery—being turned upside down was so delicious that she almost regretted not being there to witness it firsthand.
This wasn’t merely because Clara had defied the Emperor’s orders and fled the house, nor simply because she was following her mother’s betrayal of the nation.
Before departing, Clara had left behind a letter—a spark that would ignite catastrophe.
The letter claimed that the child in her father’s mistress’s womb was not his, but rather the child of Daniel, the Deputy Butler of the Estate.
Of course, Clara herself didn’t know if it was true.
She had simply resented Daniel for always blocking her way whenever she tried to torment the mistress, saying such things shouldn’t be done, and had privately suspected what their relationship might be.
‘Daniel has the same brown hair as Father anyway. If the child born has brown hair too, things will become quite troublesome, won’t they?’
Of course, if her father paid a substantial donation to the Temple and underwent paternity verification, the matter would be settled, but until the truth was revealed, there would be tremendous upheaval.
‘Even if it turns out to be true, it will be difficult for them to return to how things were before.’
Ah, this was truly wonderful.
Clara covered her mouth with her hand, stifling the laughter that threatened to burst forth.
But it didn’t take long for that laughter to transform into tears.
The moment she reunited with her mother at a secluded Estate near Liven Kingdom, she was immediately bound and restrained.
“Titles and territories? Do you still not understand the situation? Why do you think I told you to bring your daughter? I already know she’s hidden in this Estate—hand over the strategic plans and tactical manuals immediately!”
The Deposed King of Liven, whom Clara had believed would be her reliable backer, pressed a sword to her throat and growled menacingly.
At those chilling words, Clara finally realized she had become a hostage, desperately hoping this was all a nightmare.
Then an even more dreamlike situation unfolded.
Suddenly, people in robes and knights burst through, and a fierce battle erupted.
Through the shouts and voices, Clara realized they were dispatched from both the Empire and the Riben Royal Family.
Huddled in despair as she observed the chaos, Clara’s mind suddenly seized upon a thought, and she cried out loudly.
“I’m not an accomplice! I was forcibly dragged here under duress, or rather, I actually came to stop my mother—ugh! Mmph?!”
But suddenly her throat felt blocked, and no words would come out.
As a panicked Clara struggled and looked around desperately.
“…!”
A face that should not have been here appeared before her.
‘Adriana? Why on earth are you here!’
* * *
Having silenced Clara’s rambling with a silence spell, I let my expression turn cold and sharp.
‘Duress? Trying to stop her?’
I was so exasperated I couldn’t even speak.
Upon hearing Bert’s report, she apparently packed her belongings with her own two hands and slipped out of the Marquis Residence!
Moreover, if it truly was a ruse and the Former Countess had even the slightest intention of stopping, Lucio would have already contacted either House Diapel or the Imperial Palace before confirming the facts with my Uncle.
Watching her now—not content with slipping away like a loach, but scheming with petty tricks—I found her contemptible, and it was infuriating to see she hadn’t reflected on her actions even once.
So I immediately raised my hand and silenced her mouth.
Clara, who had been glancing about in confusion, seemed startled when I deliberately pulled back the hood of my robe to show her my face, but I felt no real concern.
After all, the silencing spell I had cast on her before would prevent Clara from speaking of anything related to me.
Watching Clara being taken away by the Marquis’s knights, I carefully wrapped my robe around myself again to conceal my face and turned away.
There was a clear reason I had come all the way to the Liven Kingdom using the coordinates of the communication devices possessed by Darel’s informants.

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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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