Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 33

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

“My face?”
“Ow!”
I was rubbing my jaw when Lia’s sudden question startled me out of my skin.
“You scared me half to death!”
“I-I’m so sorry.”
As Lia stepped back sheepishly, I froze.
Jack’s expression hardened as well.
“Don’t yell at my sister!”
Diana, of course, wasn’t about to let this slide.
“Ow, ow, ow, I get it! Dana, help me out here!”
Panicked as Diana sank her teeth into my hand, I desperately looked to Lia.
Only Lia could calm the wild filly that was Diana.
“That’s not my name!”
But rather than soothing her, my protest only fueled her fury further.
Lia, who had emerged in such high spirits to show off her maid outfit, felt her head throbbing.
The chaos only ended when Duke Elrad and Duchess Elrad finished their preparations and appeared.
* * *
‘Wow, he looks even more handsome today.’
I caught myself staring as the Duke emerged in a deep blue Knight Order uniform, my breath catching involuntarily.
At the castle, he typically dressed lightly while attending to his duties, but today, with plans to head straight to the Imperial Palace after arriving in the Capital City, the formal uniform lent him an even more impeccable air.
I’d seen the Duke dressed similarly once before—when he first came to the Orphanage—but then he’d seemed only terrifying.
Now, his sculpted features commanded my attention in an entirely different way.
‘It’s undeniable… they really do look so much alike.’
Blood runs true, after all.
Allen, with the same silver hair but the Duchess’s golden eyes, had the playful charm of a mischievous boy, while Diana, with the Duke’s blue eyes, possessed none of his coldness—instead radiating warmth and endearing affection.
That cool, piercing presence belonged only to the Duke and…
“Oh my, Lia! That maid outfit suits you wonderfully. You look absolutely adorable.”
The Duchess’s voice cut through, breaking the Duke’s commanding presence.
At her words, Diana finally noticed my appearance and, abandoning her relentless torment of Allen, rushed over to me.
“Sister’s so cute!”
Hearing the praise I’d secretly longed for, my cheeks flushed without my permission.
Strangely, the Duke’s brow twitched, his expression darkening noticeably.
“Let’s depart.”
At the Duke’s command, the servants quickly lined up, ready to see us off.
Watching the knights mount their horses and the coachman board the carriage, I hurried after Jack toward the plain carriage standing behind the ornate one.
“What are you doing?”
The Duke, about to mount his horse, called out to me.
“Yes?”
“Why are you heading that way?”
Confused by his question, I tilted my head.
“Um… I’m not supposed to ride in the carriage behind us?”
Like Jack, the young apprentice knights and physicians who weren’t yet accustomed to horseback riding were all boarding the larger carriage in the rear.
At that, Duke Elrad furrowed his brow and spoke.
“You’re coming with us.”
“Yes…? Hic!”
Startled by the Duke’s words, a hiccup escaped me.
The Elrad Duchy and the Capital City were quite far apart—it took several days even by carriage or horseback.
I knew this well from having walked for months with the orphanage children, begging along the way.
However, there was a revolutionary way to shorten that time: teleportation.
The problem was that the cost was astronomical, and even the wealthy House Elrad couldn’t afford to teleport everyone heading to the Capital City right now.
‘Besides, it’s not wartime, and there’s no need to rush.’
Only the direct line of House Elrad and the elite knights responsible for close protection would use teleportation, while the rest would travel to the Capital City by horse and carriage. I had assumed I would do the same.
Yet the Duke had just told me to board the carriage that would use teleportation.
‘Even if I’ve become wealthy, I wouldn’t suddenly spend such an enormous sum of money…’
“What on earth are you thinking about in that small head of yours?”
Sensing my hesitation, the Duke clicked his tongue and spoke.
“Diana will cry without you.”
“…”
“For days on end. Isn’t that right, Diana?”
“Mm-hmm!”
Though I didn’t fully understand the situation, Diana’s eyes had already grown teary at the mere thought of me boarding a different carriage. She grabbed my arm and looked up at me.
‘Oh no.’
When I saw Diana’s eyes like that, I couldn’t say anything.
It seemed the Duke was arranging for me to use teleportation for Diana’s sake, and his love for his daughter was truly remarkable—even extending to a maid like me.
Still feeling awkward, I glanced over at Allen.
No matter how much our relationship had improved, riding in the same carriage was another matter entirely.
‘And he was just angry with me too.’
Fortunately, Allen turned his head away with a sullen expression and said.
“Hmph! Since my sister likes her, I suppose I have no choice.”
…This from the same sister who had bitten and even pulled out his hair just moments before.
Shaking my head inwardly at the remarkable affection Duke Elrad and his family had for Diana, I carefully boarded the carriage.
* * *
“Lia, why are you staring at me like that?”
Apparently, I had been gazing intently without realizing it.
The Duchess Elrad touched her face and asked, so I replied shyly.
“You seem even more beautiful today, madam.”
“My.”
Like a flower bud bursting into bloom, the Duchess Elrad broke into a radiant laugh.
‘I was worried, but I’m relieved.’
The Duchess Elrad’s mood seemed good. In fact, she even appeared slightly excited and pleased.
Today, Duchess Elrad wore a small hat adorned with ribbons and a dress in brighter colors than usual.
Unlike the still-chilly Elrad Duchy, it was light attire suited to the spring weather of the Capital City.
Pleased to be heading to the warm Capital City that complemented her orange hair and golden eyes, she even hummed a cheerful tune.
Seeing her radiant expression, I recalled the resolve I had made last night.
‘I will protect the Duchess Elrad.’
Though I couldn’t pinpoint the exact cause of her illness, if malice from someone lay behind her death, I would never allow her to perish so meaninglessly.
‘Even though I’m young and weak now….’
Thanks to my time at the Information Guild, I knew plenty of secrets—the shameful weaknesses of nobles active in high society.
If anyone dared to harm the Duchess Elrad, I was prepared to use underhanded and cowardly tactics, exploiting their vulnerabilities, to protect her.
“Big sister, isn’t Dana pretty?”
“Pardon?”
“Isn’t Dana pretty?”
Diana, who had been clinging to the Duchess Elrad’s arm and gazing out the window, asked with sparkling, bright eyes.
“Of course you’re beautiful, Miss.”
“Hehe. Big sister is pretty too! The prettiest!”
The way her cheeks flushed rosy was so adorable I wanted to pinch them.
Clutching my chest, I suddenly realized how accustomed I’d become to Diana calling me pretty.
When I first heard it, my heart nearly broke, but now I could laugh it off.
“Hah!”
Of course, I still felt embarrassed in front of Allen and others.
“You’re quite handsome yourself, sir.”
I said this to Allen, who sat beside me, partly to lighten the mood.
Allen turned his head with a dismissive “Hmph, obviously,” but I caught the corners of his mouth twitching upward.
It seemed Allen really did enjoy being called handsome.
‘Rope’s words are never wrong, after all.’
Rope, an executive of Terenthium who taught me letters and numbers, was truly an intellectual woman.
With her salt-and-pepper hair pinned up and glasses perched on her nose, she always sat at her desk and offered me much advice.
‘For instance, that there’s no one in the world who dislikes praise.’
Deep down, I hoped to grow closer to Jade and my other colleagues through compliments, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t bring myself to praise those who resented me.
Still, it was quite an effective method when dealing with executives, the Master, and persuading people during missions.
‘Though it didn’t seem to work particularly well on the Master.’
That person was different from ordinary people in many ways, so let’s set him aside.
“Hey, failure.”
Allen whispered discreetly so Diana, now absorbed in watching the scenery outside, wouldn’t hear.
“There’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for a while.”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
“A person isn’t defined by their face alone.”
“…What?”
His unexpected words left me speechless.
I wondered if he was joking, but Allen’s expression was more serious than usual.
“I’m serious. Appearance isn’t everything, so remember that.”
“….”
It seemed like Allen’s words trailed off with an unspoken “hang in there,” but was that just my imagination?
He calls me plain-looking and then says something like that.
‘…Is he pretending to comfort me while actually mocking me?’
I furrowed my brow sharply.
* * *
“Please gather on this side.”
We entered the Elrad Duchy’s teleportation hub, one of the facilities managing teleportation across the entire Laksten Empire, and followed the Imperial Palace mages’ guidance toward the golden-hued magic circle.
I felt slightly nervous.
During my time as an informant, I’d heard colleagues mention using teleportation for missions a few times.
But I’d never been assigned a mission outside the Capital City, so this was my first teleportation experience.
What stood out most in this space was the massive, intricate magic circle on the floor.
The complex, interwoven patterns were so fascinating and beautiful that I couldn’t tear my eyes away.
Whether it was because I’d never studied magic circles like this before or because I’d recently developed new curiosities, a thirst for knowledge I didn’t know I possessed surged within me.
‘To instantaneously teleport across such a distance using mana rather than mana stones would require an enormous amount of magical power, wouldn’t it?’
If my concentration wavered even slightly, my limbs might separate from my body.
Yet somehow, an intense urge to try it welled up inside me.
That was when it happened.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————