Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 51

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

I couldn’t hide the gratitude I felt, mingled with an inexplicable sense of unease.
‘I was planning to handle this myself soon enough.’
Lucio’s sudden arrival had only delayed things temporarily, but I’d already resolved not to remain passive any longer.
‘Yet somehow, everything has spiraled into this mess….’
“Mmm… Sister?”
Diana, lying in bed, called out to me with heavy, sleep-laden eyes blinking slowly.
Thinking she’d already drifted off, I’d paused my reading of the fairy tale and had been lost in thought, but I quickly caught myself and read the final sentence.
“And so the princess lived happily ever after with the hero.”
Upon hearing the perfect ending, Diana smiled with her eyes still closed.
Because of Allen’s situation, I’d been distracted throughout the entire fairy tale, and I felt newly apologetic for it.
As I brushed back my fallen hair and stroked her forehead, Diana chuckled and turned her body toward me. Then, in a voice that suggested she might doze off at any moment, she spoke.
“Sister. Dana too….”
“Yes?”
“Dana too… wants to live happily… with Sister.”
Already feeling wounded, hearing the child’s innocent confession made my heart clench painfully.
“…Forever?”
Barely suppressing the surge of emotion, I asked, and the child gave a small nod.
“Yes. Forever….”
With those words, Diana fell asleep.
I closed my eyes tightly and gazed intently at Diana’s peaceful, sleeping face.
Somehow, I felt tears threatening to spill.
No one had ever cared for me like this before, and I didn’t know how to respond.
When I first followed Duke Elrad, my heart had been light and unburdened.
Though Diana cared for me, I’d assumed it was only because she was young and had no one else to rely on.
So I’d intended to restore Jack’s position and, until I could establish my independence, simply pass the time while preparing for various things.
‘There were many times when my heart wavered toward the people of House Elrad who treated me so kindly.’
Yet I never abandoned my resolve to leave someday.
Just as I’d once devoted myself entirely to Terenthium, believing it to be my eternal home, only to receive betrayal in return, I didn’t want to repeat that past of putting down roots somewhere only to be abandoned again.
But no matter how many times I resolved not to harbor hope, the heart doesn’t move as the mind commands.
In truth, even now, simply because I stood beside Diana, I was being resented regardless of my own efforts.
‘It’s so similar to how things were in Terenthium.’
At such moments, fear would shake me, and I’d want to leave immediately.
Yet the reason I continued to endure, again and again, was….
“Mmm.”
The small child, even while stirring restlessly, gripped my finger tightly—her face seemed to pierce straight into my heart.
Even after circumstances changed and I reunited with family, this child treated me with unwavering constancy, and I couldn’t bear to leave her.
‘My dreams of becoming wealthy, of traveling freely—if I could remain by Diana’s side….’
Knock, knock.
Just then, a knock interrupted my sentimental reverie.
I quietly descended from my chair and opened the door, revealing the Duchess Elrad and the Head Maidservant in their outdoor attire, having just returned.
“My, has Diana already fallen asleep?”
Duchess Elrad lowered her voice as she peered into the room.
“Yes, madam. You’ve just arrived?”
I’d heard she’d attended the Empress’s tea party at the Imperial Palace today.
Glancing quickly at her expression, it didn’t seem particularly troubled.
‘That’s right. I need to prevent the Duchess from suddenly passing away.’
Though I had no family and couldn’t truly understand, losing a loving mother overnight would surely leave a deep wound in Diana’s heart.
Reminding myself of another reason I needed to remain at the Duke’s Mansion, I followed the Duchess as she suggested we talk for a moment.
As we walked toward the Duchess’s chambers, she spoke to the Head Maidservant.
“It seems Diana will soon receive an invitation to the Crown Princess’s tea party, so please tell the etiquette instructor to focus more on imperial protocol.”
“Yes, understood.”
My eyes met those of the Head Maidservant as she bowed her head in acknowledgment.
For a moment, I forgot to breathe at the sharp, piercing gaze directed at me.
When I blinked in surprise, the Head Maidservant now gazed elsewhere with an indifferent expression, as if what I’d just witnessed had been a mistake.
‘But it wasn’t a mistake.’
I could detect hostility from others faster than anyone.
And there’s no way I could have imagined such a cold, piercing stare.
‘Now that I think about it….’
An unsettling memory from when I was with Lucio surfaced.
〈Helen.〉
When Lucio called the Head Maidservant by that name.
Holding my breath as I watched, I could sense it.
Her breathing had momentarily faltered.
The Head Maidservant, just like now, had quickly suppressed her agitation.
I glanced briefly at Lucio, but he seemed utterly indifferent, showing no interest whatsoever.
Yet that fleeting crack in the composure of someone who rarely showed disturbance struck me as deeply strange and unsettling.
“Then please rest now.”
I watched the Head Maidservant’s retreating figure as she turned with her usual rigid posture, giving a slight nod.
‘What is she hiding?’
As if my occupational instincts were awakening, I had a premonition that the Head Maidservant, whose true nature had been inscrutable from our first meeting, harbored some secret.
“Lia, come here.”
At that moment, the Duchess opened the door and gestured toward me with a warm smile.
“Madam, you must be tired. What is it?”
As I stepped inside and asked, I grew slightly anxious, wondering if perhaps Bianca had sent me another letter. I hadn’t yet finished my reply.
“Lia, I heard today that you’ll be working in the Main Library starting tomorrow?”
But at her words, my heart suddenly sank.
The Head Maidservant had clearly spoken about it.
‘The Duchess may have also learned that I’ve been mistreated by the other maids.’
As I looked at the Duchess with eyes trembling as if an earthquake had struck, she smiled and spoke.
“That’s wonderful news.”
For some reason, Duchess Elrad seemed unusually animated.
“Spending time in the Library will allow you to read many wonderful books. However, don’t clean or organize the books alone—make sure to call the other maidservants. Understood?”
“Yes, I will.”
I exhaled in relief as I answered.
Fortunately, it seemed the Head Maidservant had only given her a brief account rather than the full details.
That was when it happened.
“By the way, about Lucio….”
Duchess Elrad swallowed nervously, as if tense.
“…?”
“His temperament differs from Allen’s and Diana’s, so it may be somewhat challenging… but I would appreciate it if you could assist him well for the time being.”
“Me? You mean me?”
I couldn’t hide my bewilderment as I asked for clarification.
I had no idea why she would suddenly say such a thing.
Duchess Elrad, understanding my confusion, smiled and added further.
“Lucio isn’t the type to keep someone by his side. He must have taken a liking to you, which is why he made that decision.”
“…That’s unlikely. Perhaps it’s thanks to Miss Diana?”
“That can’t be. Even if I didn’t raise him directly, he’s still my son—do you think I wouldn’t understand what’s in his heart?”
She denied it and gently stroked my head.
“Our Lia is just as clever as Lucio, so you’ll learn much simply by observing.”
It was embarrassing to be placed on the same level as Lucio, who was called a genius, but sensing that Duchess Elrad’s mood had somehow dampened, I couldn’t bring myself to object again.
Instead, as I gazed at her wondering what she meant by not raising him directly, she fell silent as if lost in thought, then spoke with a bitter smile.
“Lucio was a clever and responsible child from an early age. Without being told, he studied on his own and trained diligently in swordsmanship. As his mother, I was naturally proud and impressed, but on the other hand, I was worried. So I adjusted his class schedule several times and delayed his wake-up time, but when the elders learned of this, they came rushing like a swarm. They said I was trying to ruin the heir of House Elrad. Eventually, the matter escalated to the point where Lucio had to spend his time in the Capital City rather than in the Territory. At first, I resisted strongly, but… ultimately, I was pressured by the elders and sent him away. Of course, the biggest factor was that he himself wanted to stay in the Capital City.”
“….”
“As a result, he grew up wonderfully, but I still don’t know if it was the right decision.”
Suddenly, I recalled the distance I had sensed between Duchess Elrad, who seemed delighted to see Lucio, and the rigid Lucio.
It seemed she harbored the same thought, as she laughed bitterly.
“It appears he finds me uncomfortable since I couldn’t raise him by my side like I did with Allen and Diana. He even seems more at ease with Helen.”
“That can’t be true.”
Seeing Duchess Elrad’s increasingly melancholic expression, I quickly objected.
“Even if the young master finds it awkward not seeing you often, he would never be uncomfortable with you or regard the Head Maidservant more fondly.”
This wasn’t merely words of comfort.
Though I had only witnessed them having a proper conversation today for the first time, I hadn’t sensed that Lucio treated the Head Maidservant with any particular favor.
‘Except for the fact that he calls her by name.’
His demeanor was cold and indifferent, as it was toward everyone else.
But Duchess Elrad didn’t seem to see it that way.
“You’re kind, Lia.”
“That’s not it….”
“It’s fine. Helen has looked after Lucio since he was young after coming to the Capital City. So it’s not strange that he’s more at ease with her than with me.”
Though Duchess Elrad tried to make light of it, I wanted to object but couldn’t, and my heart ached.
The truth was, I wanted to tell her.
Everyone said Lucio was as cold as ice, but if there was even a shred of humanity and warmth in him, it undoubtedly came from Duchess Elrad.
Without her, he would surely have become far more callous and indifferent.
‘Someone utterly devoid of the kind of gentleness that would move him to offer chocolate to a street beggar child.’

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