Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 60

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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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“Fortunately, it seems all the rampant mana has been brought under control. We’ve been blessed by fortune.”
At Tellin’s words, I checked my own mana and found it remarkably serene—so much so that it was hard to believe I’d caused a runaway just yesterday.
It felt almost as if I’d desperately wished for this rampage to happen, so peaceful was the sensation, leaving me with an odd feeling.
I even felt a confidence that I could now conceal both my mana and presence without any particular effort.
Then, suddenly, my mood darkened.
I realized this wasn’t the time for such idle thoughts.
Duchess Elrad, noticing my expression had grown grim, asked urgently.
“Is something else troubling you?”
I shook my head and spoke in a small voice.
“No… I’m just grateful.”
“For what?”
It was Duke Elrad who responded to my words.
Something about his appearance suggested he was angry, and I shrank back slightly.
“For treating me… without simply casting me out…”
I genuinely wanted to express my gratitude for House Elrad’s generosity—even if they were to cast me out, they had treated me first.
“Ha! This is absolutely maddening.”
But before I could finish, Duke Elrad’s face twisted hideously.
“Everyone, leave.”
It was clear he intended to be angry.
Watching the mages and physicians disappear as swiftly as they’d arrived, I hurried to apologize.
“I’m sorry.”
“…And what are you sorry for this time?”
“For causing the fire. And… for frightening everyone because of me. I never intended to cause such a commotion…”
“So you’re saying all of this is your fault and you’re apologizing for it?”
“…”
To some extent, yes, but I didn’t truly believe it was entirely my fault.
Yet I couldn’t bring myself to say so, so I hung my head low.
“Ha, you really are—!”
Duke Elrad’s voice rose slightly.
“Am I truly such an unreliable adult to you?”
“…Pardon?”
“Why didn’t you tell me from the start? Unlike the Castle, the servants in the Capital City don’t know how you came to House Elrad. I prevented word from spreading for Diana’s sake, but if I’d known you were in difficulty, I would have taken action long ago. If only you’d said something…”
I froze as I watched Duke Elrad burn with fury.
It wasn’t because he frightened or terrified me.
Moments later, tears burst forth uncontrollably.
I knew my face was contorting unbecomingly, but once the tears started, I couldn’t stop them.
“No, I wasn’t trying to be angry with you…”
“Dear! Why on earth are you making the child cry!”
As Duke Elrad stood bewildered, unsure what to do, Duchess Elrad pushed him aside with an angry expression.
“Lia, don’t cry. You’re safe now. Nothing like this will happen again.”
And I began to comfort her while wiping away my own tears.
“I should have realized sooner. I should have known without you telling me. I’m sorry for being so foolish. You’re still just a child—how frightened and exhausted you must have been. I’m sorry for leaving you alone. I’m sorry for not understanding. I’m so sorry, Lia.”
With just a few words from Duchess Elrad, all the terrible thoughts I had harbored melted away like snow.
I thought I had purged everything yesterday, yet resentment and anger still lingered in my heart.
And as relief filled that void, fresh tears welled up.
I stammered out a question.
“So… you’re not going to cast me out?”
Duchess Elrad looked at me in surprise and asked back.
“What? Of course not. Why would you ever think such a thing?”
Only then did I burst into tears like a small child and throw myself into Duchess Elrad’s arms.
“I was so scared. Everyone hated me.”
Completely defenseless, I poured out even the deepest secrets I had hidden away.
And I began to sob, as if expelling all the sorrow that had accumulated within me.
My body trembled with the intensity of my emotions.
Duchess Elrad held me tight without the slightest concern that my tears were soaking through her chest, gently patting my back as she spoke.
“Yes. From now on, keep crying out like that. Tell us you’re scared, ask for help. Please, don’t let anyone hurt or torment you in silence. Let us be there for you.”
Her words only made me cry harder.
“I’m worried your fever might return.”
Duchess Elrad looked at me with concern as I hiccupped, placing a hand on my forehead.
“You’ve suffered so much through the night…”
My face was already flushed from crying so hard, and my head spun dizzily.
I was holding my breath, trying to force the tears to stop.
“From now on, don’t worry about what others think. Don’t do anything you don’t want to do—just do what makes you happy. You don’t need to work at all. I only agreed to let you be a maidservant because you wanted it, not because I ever intended to use you.”
Duke Elrad spoke in his usual blunt manner, though his tone had softened somewhat from before.
Seeing him even glance at me with some concern, my already crumbling walls gave way completely, and I asked carefully.
“But… then wouldn’t I be completely useless?”
“Nonsense.”
He furrowed his brow and declared firmly.
“All you need to do is eat well, sleep well, and live well. That’s enough.”
Then he pulled the bell cord and ordered the maidservant who came running to prepare a meal.
Food was brought to my bedside almost instantly.
It was a gentle, mild soup made with grain and milk that wouldn’t irritate my throat.
I quickly waved my hand to stop Duchess Elrad from feeding me directly, and instead sipped the soup little by little.
Duchess Elrad watched me eat with evident satisfaction.
Feeling my cheeks grow warm, I asked quietly.
“But… is it alright if I stay here?”
“Why are you asking me something we’ve already discussed?”
“No, that’s not it! This is your Bedroom, my lady.”
“Ah…”
Duke Elrad’s mouth closed as he was about to counter my words hastily.
He cleared his throat awkwardly a few times before speaking.
“Your room has burned down. You cannot stay there.”
“Ah.”
I bit my lip at the fact I had forgotten.
‘And I caused such damage…’
That was when it happened.
“Lia, your new room is next to Diana’s now. We’ll move your things this afternoon, so don’t worry and be patient for a little while.”
At the Duchess Elrad’s words, I widened my eyes in surprise.
Staying in the room next to Diana’s was something that had failed to happen when I first came to the Capital City, blocked by the Head Maidservant.
‘But why now?’
Now that I thought about it, the Head Maidservant, who always stood like a shadow beside the Duke or Duchess Elrad, was nowhere to be seen.
‘I saw the Butler Grandfather earlier when the mage and physicians came and went.’
The Duchess Elrad smiled bitterly, as if she had noticed my confusion.
“Helen has been confined to her quarters as punishment for failing to properly control the maidservants this time.”
I was startled.
While my thoughts momentarily halted, the Duke Elrad spoke.
“Lucio took care of things this time. He questioned each of the maidservants who tormented you one by one, handed down appropriate punishments to all involved, and dismissed them. He didn’t even write them letters of recommendation, so from now on, no noble family will…”
“Dear, there’s no need to say such things to the child.”
The Duchess Elrad stopped the Duke Elrad, whose words seemed to be boasting.
It seemed she did so because what he was saying didn’t sound particularly good to my ears.
Indeed, the Duke Elrad’s words were quite harsh in content.
Those who had received good treatment and wages as servants of House Elrad until now suddenly found their livelihoods cut off overnight.
“Lia. What happened to them is the just consequence of their actions. Not only the unreasonable torment all this time, but they tried to search your room and even administer corporal punishment based on absurd misunderstandings. That was merely an excuse from the start. They should be grateful that it ended with just this much.”
The Duchess Elrad gripped my hand firmly with an unusually resolute expression, as if to say I had no need to apologize.
However, unlike the Duchess Elrad’s concern, I felt no sympathy for them.
They were people who tormented me, still a child in body, and crossed the line countless times.
‘Especially that last time was truly the worst…’
In that sense, this outcome was nothing but the natural consequence of their own actions, just as the Duchess Elrad said.
But there was still one thing that bothered me.
‘Did Lucio know something and impose confinement on the Head Maidservant because of it?’
I was deeply troubled.
I was surprised by Lucio’s firm decision, given how long he had known her, but above all, I was puzzled that punishment had been handed down to the Head Maidservant.
She was one of the capable servants who supported this vast Duke’s Mansion.
While the Duchess Elrad was away in the Capital City, she had taken charge of managing the Estate together with the Butler, and she was still assisting the Duchess Elrad at her side.
‘Clearly, on the surface, the Head Maidservant was not directly involved at all.’
Rather, whenever similar problems arose, she had even taken the initiative to dismiss maidservants and handle the aftermath.
‘But in truth…’
I had suspected her for a long time.
As someone who understood the ecology of servants well, I believed that none of this torment could have been possible without permission from above.
Even my colleagues at the Guild who hated me never tormented me openly, as they were wary of the Master and the executives.
‘That’s why I accepted the final mission without question.’
Even within the relatively free Guild, such dynamics existed.
In a place like House Elrad, where hierarchy and discipline were rigidly maintained, the hostility and harassment directed at me reached levels that were utterly unbearable.
‘Even Jack, who stayed with the Knight Order, noticed it.’
So I had always believed that someone in a position of authority was condoning their actions, and I continued searching for whoever was pulling the strings above them.

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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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