Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 46

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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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“Diana has already left. Won’t you go as well?”
At Lucio’s words, Nicholas wore an expression of bewilderment.
“Are you really telling me to leave?”
“If you stay much longer, people may begin to talk.”
“What! Of course they’ll think I’ve simply come to visit a close friend’s home.”
“I believe we’ve had quite enough conversation during the carriage ride here.”
Faced with that glacial expression—so cold not even a needle could slip through—Nicholas swallowed a hollow laugh and shook his head.
I’d momentarily forgotten how much more relaxed he appeared in front of his siblings.
Lucio was always like this.
* * *
I stared at my reflection in the mirror with vacant eyes. Still a face different from the portrait in my memory.
‘Who on earth are you?’
Who are you to be living inside the mirror I see?
‘Why… is it only visible to my eyes?’
If I were to describe the version of myself I see, others would surely call me delusional.
But I swear, from the very first moment I looked into a mirror at birth, I have always been this way.
Now, after shock and confusion had given way to resignation, confusion weighed heavier than sorrow.
“…I truly cannot fathom the reason.”
“Reason for what?”
Just then, Diana, who had been touching my hair, tilted her head curiously.
I smiled bitterly and looked at Diana before carefully broaching the subject.
“Miss, you mustn’t tell others that I’m beautiful, you understand?”
“Huh?”
Diana blinked at my words, then her eyes grew watery.
“Did big brother say something mean? Is that why you’re upset?”
“No, no. It’s not that…”
I hesitated with my words.
Because the truth was, I appeared beautiful only in Diana’s eyes.
To everyone else, I was utterly unremarkable.
And when you say such things, I feel so ashamed.
I couldn’t possibly say such a thing.
Young Diana wouldn’t properly understand, and it would sound as though I were blaming her—I didn’t want to say anything like that.
I pondered for a moment, then opened my mouth again.
“Actually, Miss, this is a secret between just the two of us.”
“A secret?”
“Yes. That I’m beautiful—no one else knows. Only you and I know, just the two of us.”
At my words, Diana’s eyes widened in surprise and her chest heaved with excitement.
“Only you and me know? Nobody else?”
My conscience pricked slightly at her innocent reaction, but I nodded.
“Yes. No one else knows. And this is a secret. What must we do with a secret?”
“I have to protect it!”
“That’s right. So you can’t tell anyone else about this, okay?”
“U… okay!”
Diana, who had been contemplating with her cheeks puffed out and her lips pouting, seemed to have made up her mind and cried out.
“I’ll keep the secret! Dana is a hero, so I have to protect the princess!”
“As expected, our young lady is the most wonderful in the world.”
“Hehe.”
Diana, who had been smiling brightly at my words, was just starting to touch my hair again when it happened.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Dinner is ready, Miss.”
The moment the maidservant finished speaking, Diana, who had been standing on a chair, jumped down to the floor.
The maidservant who entered through the open door quickly scanned the ornaments scattered in front of the vanity and the clothes I was wearing.
‘Come to think of it, this is the first time here.’
Unlike the frequent playtime at the Duke’s Castle, this was my first time playing with dolls since arriving in the Capital City.
The maidservant’s gaze, sharp enough to sting, continued until I entered the Dining Room.
“Father!”
Upon entering the Dining Room, Diana spotted Duke Elrad and rushed toward him in a single breath.
I also looked at the Duke with surprised eyes.
“You’ll fall if you’re not careful.”
Despite his gruff tone, Duke Elrad skillfully caught Diana and lifted her onto his lap.
Since coming to the Capital City, he’d always been busy and difficult to see, so it felt oddly welcoming to see him now.
Surprised by the emotion I felt, I looked around the table and found that Allen and Lucio, as well as Duchess Elrad, were all seated.
‘I heard Duchess Elrad had a reception this evening.’
It seemed both Duke Elrad and Duchess Elrad had returned early because of Lucio’s homecoming.
“Now the whole family is finally gathered in one place.”
Duchess Elrad smiled softly.
“Lucio, welcome home. You’ll be returning to the Academy soon, but rest well for these few days.”
Her tone was filled with love and affection for her son.
However, Lucio merely gave a slight nod without any particular response.
At his cold reaction, Duchess Elrad laughed awkwardly.
It was then that I sensed the subtle distance between the two.
“Lucio, move over there to the side.”
“…Yes?”
Duke Elrad’s command came so suddenly that Lucio’s voice carried rare confusion.
“Lia, come here and sit down quickly.”
Moreover, at his call to me, who had been standing at a distance, I too was taken aback.
Duke Elrad sat at the head of the table, with Duchess Elrad and Allen on his left, and Lucio on his right.
Diana’s seat was next to Lucio.
“Diana will eat sitting on my lap. And Lia, you should be next to Diana.”
At Duke Elrad’s words, both Duchess Elrad and I glanced at the Head Maidservant simultaneously.
Under normal circumstances, I would have objected outright.
‘So this is how it works in House Elrad—the Duke’s word is law.’
The Head Maidservant simply observed the situation with an expressionless face.
‘Hmm. Still, it’s rare for the family to dine together like this….’
No matter how I thought about it, this didn’t seem like a place for me.
Yet the Duchess Elrad seemed delighted that the Head Maidservant hadn’t intervened, and Allen appeared unbothered as well.
Only Lucio blinked in slight surprise, glancing between Diana and me before rising from his seat.
“I’ll move the dishes for you.”
Perhaps because it was the Duke’s command, the Head Maidservant began moving the dishes herself.
At the same time, another Kitchen Maid moved my plate from where it had been placed farther away, and while I’d expected her to cast sharp glances as she usually did, she showed no interest in me whatsoever.
She wasn’t alone. All the maids standing by the walls in the distance, waiting to serve, pretended not to notice while stealing glances at Lucio.
Seeing their undisguised excitement and longing in their eyes, I suppressed a laugh within myself.
‘Well, he does have a face that naturally draws the eye.’
Even when we dined at the Duke’s Castle before, the maids would gaze at Duke Elrad as if enchanted.
Despite their cold expressions and an air so cool it was almost eerie, both of them possessed truly beautiful features.
‘Still, Diana is my favorite.’
Among all those with silver hair and blue eyes, Diana was undoubtedly the most endearing.
As I gazed at Diana with a contented expression, I suddenly felt a gaze upon me.
“…?”
“Didn’t you just turn nine recently?”
“Pardon?”
“Why haven’t you grown at all?”
The Duke lifted Diana lightly and set her down, then spoke again.
“Diana seems to have grown quite a bit.”
“Huff!”
The Duke gently pinched the pouting Diana’s cheek and asked the Duchess Elrad.
“Are you feeding her properly?”
“I’ve been busy lately and haven’t been able to look after her meals as often. Besides, she eats so little that she doesn’t seem to be growing much.”
The Duchess Elrad spoke with a slightly dejected expression.
Only then did I understand what they were discussing, and I lowered my gaze in embarrassment. That’s when I noticed my wrists—thin and bony.
I’d thought I’d gained weight since leaving the Orphanage, but I was still painfully thin.
In fact, unlike Diana, my cheeks weren’t pleasantly round; they were gaunt.
‘Am I really that unsightly?’
Between what Lucio had said and my gloomy thoughts after looking in the mirror earlier, my mood was beginning to sink.
“Lia!”
“Diana.”
The moment I lifted my head at the sound of her voice, meat slipped into my mouth.
“Mmph! I was going to give it to you!”
Diana waved her fork indignantly at what she was holding.
Seeing this, the Duke burst into laughter.
“Diana, your arms are too short—you’ll never beat me.”
“That’s not fair! I hate you, Father! Wahhhhh!”
Diana burst into tears, but everyone simply gazed at her as though she were adorable, making no effort to console her.
Duke Elrad, if anything, deliberately piled more food onto my plate, saying, “You must eat meat to grow strong.”
Uncertain how to respond, I found myself unable to resist Diana’s tearful gaze fixed upon me as I ate, so I began my meal slowly.
Unaware of what ripples that evening would create, I fell asleep contentedly after a rare feast.
* * *
“Is that really true? That girl sitting at the table alongside the young master!”
“And the master himself served her food?”
“Impossible! What could she possibly have that we don’t—that she’s better than us!”
In the early dawn, the maidservants who’d begun their work early let their tongues fly with the gossip that had been itching to spill since last night.
“Did you see what she was wearing?”
“Sonya said she saw that girl in the young lady’s room, laying out the mistress’s clothes and jewelry, choosing among them.”
“Good heavens. This is something we cannot simply overlook!”
Blinded by jealousy and speaking with fervent passion, they raised their voices as though they were the most loyal servants of House Elrad.
“But what can we mere maidservants do? The young lady, the Duchess, and the young master all shield that girl so carefully….”
“Whatever happened in the Duchy, they’re all thoroughly deceived. You should see how presumptuous that girl is.”
“Exactly. They ought to know her true nature—how cunning and scheming she is, never making a single mistake.”
“Even if she did slip up, they’d forgive her anyway. What’s the point.”
It was the moment they clicked their tongues, as though the outcome were obvious.
Suddenly, their eyes gleamed with sinister intent.
“The eldest young master has arrived.”
“Yes. If it’s Lucio, he would never tolerate that girl’s mistakes.”
And morning broke.

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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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