Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 5

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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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I had the most ordinary brown hair and brown eyes, with a gentle, unremarkable face.
Yet somehow, the face and aura I saw reflected in the mirror felt entirely different.
My eyes seemed slightly smaller than I remembered, and my nose a touch lower.
At first glance, I wasn’t conventionally beautiful, but with a generous eye, one might call me somewhat cute.
When I returned to the Guild with the portrait in hand, the executives who saw it remarked how strikingly similar it was, and I laughed along with their comments.
In that moment, I felt as though I was truly seeing myself for the first time.
Yet an inexplicable unease lingered still.
So when Master happened to pass by, I impulsively asked him a question.
“Master, you do see my hair as brown, don’t you?”
〈….〉
He didn’t answer at all.
Though I couldn’t see his expression clearly, he must have looked utterly bewildered.
At the time, embarrassed by my foolish question, I’d hurried away.
But strangely, now I found myself desperately curious about what his answer would have been.
* * *
“Big sister?”
“….”
“Big sister!”
“Oh, sorry.”
I’d been distracted by the child’s casual compliment, and now, with my eyes still burning, I pressed a kiss to Diana’s soft-looking cheek without thinking.
Diana giggled at the ticklish sensation.
It was remarkable how Duke Elrad, known as the cold-blooded one, doted on her so thoroughly, and how the Grand Duke and Duchess of the Belus Duchy themselves had taken on the roles of godparents—such was the beloved nature of Diana.
Overprotected by her eight brothers, courted by countless nobles of renown, and even sworn to by Jack, one of the Empire’s three greatest knights, it was strange to see this famous princess now lying in a worn bed at this old Orphanage.
“But big sister…”
“Hmm?”
“What’s this?”
Diana asked, waving her small finger.
Her finger pointed to the mysterious crimson-hued bead necklace hanging around my neck.
“Oh, this.”
I’d been wearing it since the day I was abandoned at the Orphanage’s doorstep, and I’d never removed it once—it was like a talisman to me.
“It’s pretty, isn’t it?”
I’d cherished it for so long, thinking it might be something my parents had left behind.
“Mmm…”
Diana stared at the bead without blinking, her cherry-like lips moving slightly.
Suddenly, the mysterious light within the bead seemed to rotate rapidly.
“Huh?”
I froze and quickly grasped the necklace in my hand.
“When did this crack?”
A sorrowful note escaped my lips as I discovered a fine fracture running through the necklace.
Fearing it might be taken from me, I’d never shown it to the Director or anyone else, keeping it hidden all these years.
I’d treasured it so completely that I’d nearly forgotten it was even around my neck—treating it as an extension of myself. Yet somehow, I couldn’t recall when it had cracked.
“…But I suppose it’s all pointless now.”
The necklace had been precious because it might have been an important token to reunite me with my parents someday.
But ten years had passed without any such miracle.
Though I’d worn it my entire life, I found myself thinking it was utterly useless.
Still, I couldn’t bring myself to discard my only precious possession, so I tucked the necklace bitterly beneath my clothes.
* * *
“Sister, where’s the meat?”
During our meal, Diana tilted her head as she stirred her thin broth with a spoon, the bowl nearly devoid of any solid pieces.
“…What is she saying?”
“D-Dana! You said you were hungry. Let’s eat quickly.”
“Okay!”
Deliberately avoiding the children’s gazes drawn by her innocent words, I hastily tore off a piece of hard bread.
Fortunately, Diana didn’t dwell on it further and contentedly chewed the bread I’d given her.
“That’s right, eat well. Chew it thoroughly.”
I found it endearing how she savored the hard bread so delightfully, despite it being nothing like the soft, fluffy white bread or luxurious foods she must have eaten before.
Especially when her plump, rosy cheeks moved with each chew—it was absolutely adorable.
The way she opened her mouth to receive the food reminded me of a baby bird.
The only problem was….
“More?”
The appetite of this small, cute four-year-old was far more voracious than I’d anticipated.
Diana stared blankly at her empty soup bowl before slowly turning her gaze toward my soup and bread.
Looking at the child’s gleaming eyes, I simply couldn’t bring myself to say there was nothing left to eat.
“…Here, have this too, Dana.”
Thinking that while my hunger might be as intense as yesterday’s, my mind was still an adult’s and could certainly endure it, I pushed my bowl toward her.
But there was one crucial fact I’d overlooked.
No matter how mature my mind was, my body remained immature and frail—that of a small child.
“Gasp… Ugh.”
I’m going to die!
Now, just hours after our meal, I was genuinely on the verge of my last breath.
I felt utterly foolish for confidently grabbing a water bucket, insisting I’d do the laundry and fetch water.
I’d never imagined my stamina would be this weak.
‘Now that I think about it, something felt wrong from the moment I entered the Forest.’
I’d felt my breath growing short after just a few steps.
Since I couldn’t even properly sense the mana in my body, using magic here would surely make me collapse.
“Sister, water! Water there!”
As my vision spun, the energetic Diana bounced excitedly, pointing at the Lake with her finger.
Upon finally reaching our destination, I wanted nothing more than to collapse and rest, but I pushed through with sheer willpower, making my way to the water’s edge and taking a drink.
Then, carefully cupping my clean hands, I brought them to Dana’s lips.
“Here, Dana. Drink some water.”
Diana’s throat had grown parched during the journey, so she gulped down water eagerly.
After she’d drunk her fill, I settled her onto the soft grass beside the Lake and gave her instructions.
“Stay right here and behave yourself while I do the laundry, alright?”
“Mm! I will!”
Diana nodded obediently, and noticing the other children at the Orphanage playing house in the courtyard, crushing grass beneath their feet, she began mimicking their actions with her small hands.
Watching her, I smiled and took a deep breath.
The cool water and the Forest’s fresh air filled my lungs, and I felt revitalized.
Then, with grim determination, I fixed my gaze on Diana’s dress and began scrubbing it vigorously.
Shortly after, the laundry was nearly finished, and as I wrung out the last of the water with all my strength before shaking it dry, a delighted giggle erupted.
Diana, who had grown bored with playing alone, had moved beside me, and water droplets had splattered across her face.
Emboldened by her reaction, I shook the dress several more times with vigor, and her laughter continued without pause.
I was about to laugh along at the child’s innocent delight when a sound suddenly caught my ear.
“Dana, shush.”
I brought my finger to my lips and whispered, and the clever child immediately mimicked me, placing her own finger against her lips and whispering, “Shush.”
I patted her head in approval and slowly turned my body toward the direction of the sound.
* * *
“Hah!”
As expected.
The source of the kiai was none other than Jack.
I had no idea he’d been training his body since such a young age—in my past life, we hadn’t been close enough for me to know.
I quietly hid behind a tree and observed Jack as he practiced sword swings with a branch in hand.
An opportunity to witness the training of one who would later be called one of the Empire’s Three Great Knights was indeed rare.
‘He’s never received proper instruction, yet his form is flawless—not a single bad habit.’
Despite his young age and the fact that no one was directing him, Jack maintained his posture with such stubborn precision that it was almost rigid.
I marveled inwardly at how such tenacity combined with talent would eventually make him a Sword Master.
Then again, being born with mana was a blessing in itself.
Mana was the fundamental requirement for manifesting not only magic but also ‘Aura’.
I’d heard that nobles possessed more mana than commoners, and among them, those from prestigious or high-ranking families had even greater reserves. In that sense, Jack and I were blessed with uncommon talent.
“Sigh.”
Just then, Jack stopped moving and exhaled a sigh, his expression clearly annoyed.
I flinched involuntarily and pressed myself and Diana firmly against the tree.
My talent was optimized for concealing my presence, and I was confident that Jack, still young and unable to properly control his mana, would never detect us.
* * *
‘Is that supposed to be hiding? What an idiot—just hiding your body and thinking that’s enough?’
Jack turned his head slightly, utterly exasperated.
The hem of a dress fluttered visibly beside the tree—apparently from laundry done at the nearby Lake.
Seeing Lia’s clumsy attempt, Jack sighed and opened his mouth.
“I can see everything you’re hiding. Come out already.”
“…You knew I was here?”
Lia emerged hesitantly from behind the tree and asked in a flustered voice, while Jack unconsciously furrowed his brow.
Yesterday she suddenly acted all confident and surprised everyone, but today she’s back to being foolish as usual.
‘How is she supposed to survive in this harsh world like that?’
“I knew from the start.”
“Huh! I-I’m sorry.”
“….”
Even the way she covered her mouth with her hand and jumped in surprise was foolish.
Jack exhaled a deep sigh once more, then suddenly frowned as he looked at Lia’s small hands.
Lia was a girl and two years younger than him, so it was natural her hands were small, but….
‘They’re just too small.’
Looking at her anew, Lia was the thinnest and smallest among all the children at the Orphanage, and it bothered me greatly.
Even though she needed to eat well, she was foolishly kind and kept sharing her food with others.
“Why did you give that little brat all of yours again today?”
When Jack shot out the question in an abrupt tone, Diana beside him widened her eyes and blinked.

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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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