Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 299

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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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What I couldn’t understand back then has now become something I accept as naturally as breathing.
Especially the way I couldn’t simply ignore Lia’s voice murmuring my name.
It was just a name, yet it came from someone I’d yearned for so desperately.
No matter how much I couldn’t remember my past life, it would have been impossible not to respond.
Even now, whenever Lia called my name, Lucio felt a strange sense of fulfillment, as if his hunger had been satisfied.
That wasn’t all. Even when I was so deeply buried in memories of the past, hearing Lia’s voice and seeing her face would calm my heart.
The lonely and solitary days had long since passed, and reuniting with Lia confirmed that my current reality was one of unparalleled happiness.
Therefore.
“I want to see her….”
Lucio found himself yearning to see Lia even more desperately.
Tilting his head back against the sofa, a sigh escaped his lips.
If he’d been working as usual, he would have picked up the communication device the moment he had a spare moment.
But even during this leisure time, he couldn’t go meet Lia.
Moreover, Lia had even threatened him not to interfere with her travels, so he couldn’t even contact her through the communication device.
“I wish I could at least hear her voice….”
Lucio, who had grown somewhat melancholy, took another sip of tea before setting it down and examining the books and documents laid out on the table.
Thinking he would be with Lia, he had already handled all the work from the Imperial Palace and House Elrad, as well as the Information Guild.
He checked again just in case, but there didn’t seem to be anything in particular that required his attention.
Since trying to sleep again would likely only bring bitter-tasting dreams, Lucio quickly tidied the table and left the Library.
* * *
Lucio’s steps led him to none other than the Diapel Marquis Residence.
Missing Lia and Diana, both families had decided to have dinner together at the Marquis Residence this evening.
Though the appointed time was still far off, Lucio deliberately arrived early.
Though it was two years in the future, after marriage, the family he would see most frequently and closely was none other than the Previous Marquis, so he intended to arrive early and earn some favor.
When he had resolved the Marquis House’s affairs last time, the Previous Marquis’s gaze had softened considerably, but it still wasn’t enough.
So he had deliberately stopped by the Kitchen to prepare sweet desserts before heading to the Marquis Residence.
“The Previous Marquis isn’t here?”
“Yes, Young Duke. He left the Estate about an hour ago, saying he would personally select a dessert to serve after tonight’s dinner.”
Lucio nodded at the Butler’s words.
It wasn’t unusual—the Previous Marquis was always enthusiastic about exploring dessert shops.
‘If I’d known, I could have come earlier and gone out with him.’
It would have been nice to visit Lueje, which is operated from Darel.
After all, they had a special menu called ‘Mint Chocolate Cake’ that couldn’t be found at other dessert specialty shops, and not just anyone could taste it.
Though Lia had frowned and said it was strange, it might appeal to the Previous Marquis, a connoisseur who had sampled all manner of desserts, with its fresh charm.
Having resolved to visit together next time, Lucio asked the Marquis Residence’s Butler.
“Did Askart accompany him?”
“No. The Grand Duke has been in the Separate Quarters since after breakfast.”
If he was in the Separate Quarters, he was probably either immersed in magical research or tinkering with magical tools.
“Then I’ll go visit the Separate Quarters as well.”
It felt wasteful to simply return as things were.
Anyway, he’d have to dine at the Marquis Residence eventually, and Askart was one of the people whose favor he needed to cultivate.
Declining the Butler’s offer to guide him, Lucio headed straight for the Separate Quarters.
“Askart!”
He knocked on Askart’s door several times and called his name, but received no response.
He must have been deeply absorbed in something again.
At first, I thought he might be conducting research, but faint sounds—voices and what sounded like music—were drifting from inside.
If it were a communication device, Askart’s voice should have been clearer.
Puzzled, Lucio suddenly recalled the magical artifact Askart had been clutching throughout the recent banquet.
In that instant, Lucio opened the door without hesitation.
“…!”
As if to prove Lucio’s intuition correct, Askart—who had been watching a large projection from a visual magical artifact—jumped in alarm at the sudden intrusion.
“Lucio…?”
Askart paused the projection and, noticing Lucio standing there completely entranced, looked bewildered before following his gaze and letting out a soft laugh.
Well, it was certainly surprising.
The image displayed on the magical artifact showed none other than Lia as she had been in her childhood in Bellus.
And she appeared far younger than when she first arrived at the Grand Duchy—no more than two or three years old!
“How….”
Had he only just come to his senses?
Lucio’s lips moved soundlessly, as though seeing it with his own eyes yet unable to believe it.
Having watched his childhood friend’s astonishment for the first time, Askart felt a surge of excitement and delight.
He spoke with a hint of smugness.
“Why does Lia look like a baby? I even wrote about it in a letter to you before.”
“…A letter?”
“That’s right!”
All this time, Lucio had been receiving gifts sent to Lia under Askart’s name and receiving letters with updates about her regularly.
Of course, he had also read the letters Lia herself had written to Diana.
So if something this remarkable had occurred, there was no way he could have forgotten it.
That was when it happened.
A story he had read lightly and passed over came back to him.
“Could it be that magical potion your father created…?”
The very one where the Grand Duke, unable to bear watching his daughter grow older day by day, had researched a magical potion to control physical age.
But then.
“Askart. Didn’t you say that potion failed?”
“That’s right! The effects only lasted two days. I had expected a week! And apparently she developed resistance—the next time it had no effect whatsoever.”
Askart added with a dejected expression, pouting his lips.
Above all, Lia had been so embarrassed about becoming a baby, and the Grand Duchess had urged the Grand Duke not to dwell on the past he’d already lost but to cherish the present, so his research was halted entirely.
But wasn’t it a success if she had truly reverted to her childhood, even if only for a few days?
‘To call that merely a failure….’
Even if Lia hadn’t told Diana about her embarrassment at becoming a baby, I never imagined Askart would have summarized the incident so briefly in his letter.
‘He should have filled ten pages describing how adorable and precious and lovely Lia was!’
Moreover.
“Don’t tell me you recorded that day with a video magic tool?”
How could he not mention something like that?
Lucio regarded Askart with a mixture of bewilderment and wounded feelings.
Of course, Askart remained entirely oblivious to Lucio’s disappointment, answering with a bright smile.
“Of course I did! Though the recording isn’t very long. It was early in the video magic tool’s development.”
He even went further, complaining as though he himself felt regretful.
Back then, the primary research focus at the Magic Tower in Bellus had been location-tracking magic, and only after finding Lia did they begin earnestly pursuing various recording spells—a missed opportunity he lamented.
“But I’ve continued developing it steadily, and now the recording capacity has increased significantly, and the mana stone efficiency has become incredibly good!”
“…That means you’ve been continuously recording Lia’s image all this time?”
“Of course!”
Since the Grand Duke had developed the magic tool specifically to capture Lia’s image in the first place, Askart answered as though it were obvious.
At those words, Lucio dragged both hands across his face.
The prospect of seeing Lia in moments he’d missed filled him with a joy so overwhelming it left him dizzy, yet the more he thought about it, the more he felt an odd sense of betrayal toward Askart for never mentioning the video magic tool at all.
Intellectually, he understood that Askart had no obligation to divulge every detail to him, yet having received quite lengthy letters all this while, the revelation struck him hard.
Though he recognized his own pettiness, Lucio couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret over the bribes he’d sent Askart alongside Lia’s gifts all this time, and he couldn’t restrain himself from asking.
“Askart, why on earth didn’t you write about this in your letters?”

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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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