Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 301

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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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Until that day, the Grand Duke Bellus had known only one stimulus—magical research—yet romance with his wife proved to be a thrill unlike anything he had ever experienced.
With Duke Elrad’s assistance, he had stolen secret dates beneath the Emperor’s watchful gaze, and ultimately made an impulsive decision he never thought himself capable of: eloping in the dead of night.
And the Grand Duke had never regretted a single moment of those days, despite his passive nature troubling him.
Not even when the House of Bellus suffered unjust treatment and oppression from the enraged Emperor multiple times, nor when he finally lost his daughter while eradicating Demon Worshippers under the Emperor’s command to secure independence.
He understood that without his wife, his life would have been meaningless, no matter how he was lauded as a great mage or reigned as master of the Grand Ducal House and the Magic Tower.
And now, though he had failed to eliminate the root cause, he had recovered his most precious daughter—he should be nothing but happy…
Yet having been caught harboring discontent, it was only natural that his wife found it absurd.
Unable to withstand the cold gaze of the Grand Duchess, the Grand Duke confessed with a gloomy expression.
“You are right, my lady.”
“Right?”
“Yes… In truth, my heart feels a bit heavy at the moment.”
At the Grand Duke’s candid admission, not only the Grand Duchess who had been pressing him, but Askart and Lia as well wore expressions of surprise.
While the Grand Duchess’s perceptiveness in detecting his subtle emotional shift was remarkable, the atmosphere had been warm just moments before, yet no one could pinpoint exactly when his mood had soured.
Feeling the family’s intense gaze demanding an explanation, the Grand Duke parted his reluctant lips.
“Adriana… she seems to be growing far too quickly.”
Just moments ago he had praised her growth as admirable, and now his heart had changed to feel only regret?
Interpreting the family’s gaping expressions thus, the Grand Duke felt a hint of shame, yet still spoke honestly.
“I know. I am far too greedy.”
The Grand Duke cried out, nearly choking on his words, that he had never realized he was such a covetous person.
“But… but at this rate, it won’t be long before I can no longer carry our daughter in my arms!”
Over these two years, carrying Lia through the Grand Duke’s Castle every day had become his most vital duty and the happiness of life he had never known before.
The Previous Marquis, who had passed his title to his son last year, overcame his terrible seasickness to visit the Duchy, and the Grand Duke visibly grew dejected each time, robbed of that joy.
Thus the Grand Duke’s plea carried profound sincerity.
“I have not even filled half of what I failed to give her while she was young…”
The Grand Duchess had once consoled him that since a miraculous opportunity had finally come, he could make up for everything he had missed going forward, yet whenever he closed his eyes to sleep, the lost years still felt unbearably precious.
It was a longing that remained unfulfilled, separate from the pride he felt watching Lia grow so splendidly.
But he had kept it bottled inside, never letting it show, until seeing Lia grow day by day stirred his emotions to overflow.
After pouring it all out, rather than feeling relieved, the Grand Duke suddenly feared how his wife and children would react to his words.
He would have preferred they scold him as greedy and foolish, but if they grew sad instead…
“Father, really!”
At that very moment, Askart laughed brightly, as if to ease the tension.
“That’s only natural. I too feel terribly sad when Lia pretends to be all grown up and says she won’t let me carry her anymore, or when she’s embarrassed to have me feed her.”
“You… you feel the same way, Askart?”
“Of course. Mother must feel it too, surely?”
Following Lia’s return, the Grand Duchess had moved all the items that had occupied the empty room to another chamber.
And from time to time, she would visit that room with Lia, spending quiet moments together admiring the clothes, tiny shoes, jewelry, and toys she had purchased while thinking of her daughter all those years.
That behavior too ultimately stemmed from regret over the time they could not share and had let slip away.
The Grand Duchess, belatedly realizing that she had told her husband not to harbor regret while she herself was thoroughly indulging in her own sorrow, felt embarrassed and cleared her throat awkwardly.
“So you were upset because our daughter is growing too quickly? I thought something serious had happened. In any case, you’re not being honest.”
“My lady…?”
The Grand Duke’s expression turned hollow as the merit he had accumulated through patience and consideration for his family vanished in an instant.
Yet in that very moment, a warm, small hand grasped his own.
“Father.”
It was Lia, her lips curving upward even as her face bore the strain of suppressed sorrow—exactly as the Grand Duke had feared.
His heart sank, and he quickly knelt, taking his daughter’s hand and meeting her gaze.
“I’m sorry, I…”
“No, I understand Father’s heart perfectly well.”
“Adriana.”
“Truth be told, it’s been two years since I came home, and when I open my eyes each morning, I sometimes wonder if it’s all a dream—so I pinch my cheeks to check.”
Lia confessed softly, as though sharing a secret.
“When I realize it’s real, I’m truly happy, but then I think greedily about how wonderful it would have been if I’d never been separated from Mother and Father in the first place, if I’d simply lived here all along… and that thought makes me feel regretful and sad. Just like Father!”
Her tone was cheerful, yet her voice carried a faint tremor of tears.
The Grand Duke’s eyelids quivered as he noticed tears glistening in her lovely pink eyes.
Before he could display his characteristic weeping father tendencies once more, Lia spoke urgently.
“In any case, since I feel the same way, please don’t apologize! And besides, I look just like Mother, don’t I? Even when I reach adulthood, I probably won’t grow very large. It seems I won’t grow as quickly as Father worries.”
This was, unknown to her family, a credible observation Lia had made by reflecting on her own growth into adulthood.
Yet the Grand Duke still shook his head with a melancholy expression.
“Your father doesn’t quite see it that way. When I look at our daughter’s records, the rate of growth is extraordinary. And you eat well and sleep soundly, so if you didn’t grow rapidly, that would be sad in its own way…”
How could this be? Was comforting one’s parents truly so difficult?
Lia, unaware that the Grand Duke, the Grand Duchess, and Askart were all watching her with playful expressions, spoke earnestly.
“Then should I eat only a little and go to bed late at night? That way, I’d definitely grow more slowly than I do now.”
At those words, the Grand Duke and Duchess, who had been waiting to hear what loving response Lia would offer next, and Askart all stifled gasps.
“D-don’t say such things, Young Lady!”
“That’s right! Lia, even if you grew as large as the trees in the Grand Duke’s Palace Garden by tomorrow, I would carry you about no matter what—so eat everything you wish to eat now, sleep as much as you desire!”
“But…?”
No matter how quickly one grows, how could she possibly become tree-sized by tomorrow? And if she did grow that large, how could he possibly carry her?
Lia, about to protest in bewilderment, faltered upon seeing the Grand Duke and Askart gazing at her with sorrowful expressions.
Soon after, Lia laughed awkwardly and cried out.
“N-no, I was joking!”
The naive father and daughter, taking her words at face value, brightened and placed their hands over their hearts in relief.
“Really? Phew, you got us!”
“Indeed. Father was truly startled, thinking you were serious.”
“Hehe…”
Anyone could see she was laughing to evade the situation, yet the foolish father and daughter laughed along with her.
The Grand Duchess, who had frowned for a moment before relaxing, observed her daughter quietly.
Perhaps it was the result of spending so long outside, reading the room carefully.
Lia was ordinarily remarkably oblivious, yet in moments like these, she was acutely sensitive to the negative emotions and atmosphere of those around her.
That alone pained the Grand Duchess’s heart, but what hurt even more was that Lia still seemed to forget how precious she truly was.
The Grand Duchess recalled the moment when Lia had asked, her voice breaking, whether she was a disappointment simply for being a daughter—and she spoke sternly.
“Adriana, don’t say such things even in jest. If I so much as imagine you skipping meals and tossing sleeplessly through the night, my heart will shatter into pieces.”
Lia, who had been smiling, suddenly wore a blank expression.
Only now did she realize she had spoken words that would grieve her family once more.

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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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