Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 41

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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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Allen suddenly let out a sharp cry, slammed the door with a loud bang, and stormed out of the room.
I glanced at the door, worried the noise might wake Diana, only to find myself meeting the eyes of Duchess Elrad.
At her embarrassed smile, I awkwardly returned the gesture.
‘Raising a son is no easy task, it seems.’
With that thought, I bowed respectfully and left the Duchess’s chambers, clutching the letter I’d been holding close to my chest.
My heart swelled at the unexpected surprise of receiving such a letter.
* * *
Splash.
Waves crashed against the castle walls, shattering into white spray and foam.
The Grand Duke’s Castle of the Belus Duchy looked like a landscape painting brought to life, yet despite its beautiful exterior, its interior was quiet and melancholic.
Then, breaking the silence came hurried footsteps and a knock at the door.
“Commander!”
“Ah, Nick. Has a letter arrived for me?”
“No, sir. Nothing of the sort.”
Bianca Mareta, who had been gazing out the window from her seat in the Knight Commander’s Office, wore a disappointed expression at her adjutant Nick’s response.
She absently touched the hairpin she’d placed in her pocket.
She’d bought it on impulse, thinking that girl would look even more adorable if she pinned back her bangs to reveal her forehead.
As she set it on her desk, Nick tilted his head curiously.
“Are you waiting for a particular letter, Commander?”
“Well… it’s not so much waiting as it is constantly crossing my mind.”
“Gasp! Commander, could it be that you’ve found someone? No, wait—did that person give you this as a gift? Wow, the taste is really… it doesn’t seem like something children would use, and it’s quite nice, actually.”
“Quiet.”
Bianca Mareta frowned at Nick’s rambling and asked curtly.
“But why are you here?”
“Ah, word came from the capital that His Highness has awakened. It seems you should go ahead and prepare…”
At her adjutant’s trailing words, Bianca Mareta nodded heavily and rose from her seat.
* * *
Several days had passed since I received Bianca Mareta’s letter.
I was moved to tears by the fact that the sender was none other than Bianca Mareta herself—the first letter I’d ever received—and I immediately tried to write a reply that very day.
But now, days later, I’d hit an enormous wall…
That’s right. I was stuck on the greeting at the beginning of the letter.
At first, I’d thoughtlessly tried writing “Dear Bianca Mareta,” but that seemed too familiar.
On the other hand, “To Count Mareta” felt neither natural nor too stiff.
Moreover, beyond just the greeting, I hesitated over what to write before it, wanting to convey my admiration.
After much deliberation, I’d settled on: “To the most magnificent Knight Commander of the Belus Duchy, Count Bianca Mareta.”
Since she possessed such strong patriotism, including content about the duchy seemed like a rather good choice…
“Ugh, no way!”
Reconsidering it, I realized how absurd it sounded.
‘Why on earth did Master and the others teach me writing, martial arts, magic, and even how to cultivate medicinal herbs, but never how to reply to a letter?!’
I screamed internally and wracked my brain once more.
Even if Bianca held no expectations that I would write her an excellent letter, I wanted to send her the best reply I could manage.
“Sigh, I wish I had someone who could help me with this.”
The Duchess was far too busy, and Diana had only just begun learning her letters.
There was Allen as a last resort, but according to the Duchess, he neglected his studies and rarely read books at all, which worried her greatly.
“In that case, I’m better suited for it myself.”
Allen would jump through the roof if he heard me say that, but I had seen and read various things during my time at the Guild, so surely I was the better choice.
Yet despite finishing my cleaning early today and returning to my room to agonize over the task for quite some time, the stationery remained blank.
After releasing a heavy sigh, I glanced at the clock and quickly rose from my seat.
Diana’s final lesson today was an art class that ended relatively early.
So I had promised Diana that we would go on a picnic to the Estate Garden once her lesson finished.
‘I wonder if Allen might come too.’
I recalled the envious expression on Allen’s face when he heard that Diana and I were going on a picnic.
Though he had afternoon training, for some reason I had a strong feeling I would encounter Allen with high probability.
Lost in thought, I was walking absent-mindedly when—
“Sister!”
Diana came running toward me, her lesson apparently ending earlier than I expected.
“Young lady, don’t run! You’ll fall!”
“Kyaa!”
Ignoring my warning entirely, Diana threw herself into my arms.
The Gardener in the Garden and the passing maids all seemed captivated by the charming young lady’s appearance, regarding us both with envious eyes. I felt my shoulders lift with pride.
Then Diana wriggled free from my embrace and handed me something.
“Sister, sister, a present!”
I accepted it in surprise—it was the drawing paper she used during her lessons.
“Young lady, this is…!”
I covered my mouth and gazed at Diana.
At my reaction, the people nearby quietly approached and peeked at the drawing paper.
And as they examined the picture, question marks appeared one by one on their faces.
It seemed Diana’s crooked, uneven drawing was difficult to identify.
“…What is that pink blob?”
I even heard such a small voice.
But my eyes could see it clearly.
This pink, rosy thing was none other than…
“Young lady! You drew the princess, didn’t you?”
The princess from Diana’s favorite fairy tale book!
How could I not recognize it? I had read that book to her until my voice grew hoarse.
“Yes! That’s right!”
Delighted that I had recognized her drawing, Diana nodded with an excited expression and embraced me once more.
“Thank you, young lady. I’m so grateful you would give me this as a gift.”
“Hehe, because you’re my princess, sister!”
Diana’s joyful voice rang out brilliantly.
Only then did the people around us realize who was depicted in the painting, and they smiled contentedly.
“Young lady, you really do adore the princess.”
“Yes! I do!”
When an elderly Gardener posed the question, Diana answered spiritedly.
As the atmosphere grew softer at the sight of Diana’s innocent charm, it happened.
A stifled laugh erupted from somewhere.
“My, our young lady is quite generous indeed.”
As all eyes turned toward her, Sophie opened her mouth as if she had been waiting for this moment.
“Even at the salon, she spent the entire time praising how beautiful Lia is. All the other noble ladies were so curious about this maid.”
At the unexpected remark, my ears burned crimson.
A few days ago, when I asked Diana about her impressions from the salon, the child had smiled bashfully and said it was enjoyable.
I had felt both a twinge of disappointment and pride, but I never expected she would have spoken about me there as well.
“When a young lady as lovely as you say the princess is the most beautiful in the world, who wouldn’t have expectations? But I am a bit worried. The other young ladies who visit House Elrad might be quite shocked.”
“Pfft.”
At her exaggerated gesture of genuine concern, those around us chuckled.
Whenever Diana called me beautiful, I had felt somewhat embarrassed, but truthfully, I was delighted.
The people around us had also found it cute how Diana followed me, so I had never paid it much mind.
But being teased so openly brought a shame incomparable to when Allen called me incompetent.
‘…As if she’s particularly beautiful herself.’
Having little confidence in my own appearance, I had never spent my life evaluating and diminishing others’ looks, yet thorns suddenly pricked from within me.
Before I knew it, I was glaring at Sophie with a sullen expression, and Diana looked back and forth between us with a tilted head.
“What’s wrong?”
“It is nothing, young lady. I was merely admiring your generous and wise nature.”
“Dana is generous?”
“Of course.”
Sophie spoke warmly with a bright smile.
“Children your age typically prefer what is beautiful and refined, or so they say. But you value a person’s inner character over their outward appearance, and as one who serves you, I take great pride in that.”
“Hmm…”
Young Diana seemed not to fully understand Sophie’s meaning.
But I did.
I could not fail to sense the barb hidden within those honeyed words.
No matter how much higher the position of a nobleborn lady’s maid was compared to common servants, she was still ultimately a servant.
And what Sophie had just said was certainly not language befitting a mere servant to address a young lady.
I was about to scold her for such insolence toward my young lady.
“…You lot.”
The atmosphere instantly turned cold.
Allen stood there with a frightening expression—though I hadn’t noticed when he had arrived.
“Diana, why are you just standing there listening?”
“Huh?”
Diana, unfamiliar with Allen’s curt tone toward her, widened her eyes with a frightened expression and tilted her head in confusion.
“You’re mocking her right now, aren’t you? Saying Lia is pretty when she’s not even attractive.”
Allen swept his gaze across each of the servants who had laughed in agreement with Sophie’s words.
His eyes were chillingly cold and terrifying.
The playful demeanor he usually displayed had vanished without a trace.
I suddenly realized anew that he truly was Duke Elrad’s son.
Though his murderous aura wasn’t directed at me, my skin prickled from its intensity.
“That’s not true! Sister Lia is pretty!”
But Diana, who had only now realized that his praise wasn’t directed at her, seemed oblivious to such killing intent as she huffed indignantly.
“You, you, ugly thing!”
Diana was so angry that tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked ready to burst into sobs at any moment.
Allen comforted Diana by placing a hand on her shoulder while glaring at Sophie.
“How dare you mock a young lady? And you, a servant of House Elrad, doing so so publicly?”
“I, I, Young Master! That’s not what I meant. How could I ever disrespect the young lady…”
Sophie, trembling with fear, cast a resentful glance in my direction.

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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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