Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 64
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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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Lucio, carrying Diana in his arms, turned first and descended the staircase, and we quietly followed in his wake.
Before his arrival, the atmosphere had seemed quite lively.
Remarkably, everyone fell silent as if by some unspoken agreement.
However, Allen, unable to bear the stillness, approached me and spoke.
“Lia, get better soon.”
“Pardon?”
“Then I’ll treat you to chocolate fountain again. You like that, don’t you?”
Despite his affected swagger, the way he seemed to gauge my reaction made me laugh involuntarily.
I have no younger brother, but if I did, I imagined it would feel like this—Allen was truly endearing.
“That’s right, I do like it. Young Master Allen truly is the best.”
Satisfied with my response, Allen’s lips curved upward.
Unlike Master, who wouldn’t even twitch an eyebrow at my honeyed words, Allen’s honesty made it genuinely rewarding to praise him.
‘Besides, chocolate fountain really is the best, so it’s not even a lie.’
As I broke into a bright smile, Allen suddenly blinked and wore a dazed expression.
Feeling oddly self-conscious and turning my head away, I noticed Jack wore a similarly peculiar look.
‘Did I do something strange?’
I blinked in confusion.
* * *
Amid the subtle atmosphere, they arrived at my newly prepared room.
“Wow.”
I was startled by the room—far more spacious and comfortable than the guest chamber I had occupied during my previous stay at the Duke’s Castle.
“Be careful now.”
The moment Taize set me down on the plush bed, I gasped.
Upon the large, soft bed—perfect for rolling about with Diana—lay a pink dress and a letter from Bianca.
The dress, which I had thought would be ruined from last night’s events, was pristine, and the letter, which had been thoroughly wrinkled, was now crisp and neat.
Clutching the dress and letter to my chest, I realized they must have been prepared by the Duke and Duchess for me, and I was deeply moved.
Seeing my eyes grow misty, Allen frowned.
Just then, a cool breeze swept through the wide-open window, and the fragrance of fresh flowers adorning every corner of the room filled the space, only deepening Allen’s displeasure.
“Hmph. Now they do this and expect someone to appreciate it?”
Allen lifted a vase filled with flowers that had bloomed in the garden after last night’s rain, speaking with evident dissatisfaction.
Only then did I notice the flowers that beautifully decorated the room.
At the same time, I became aware of the maidservants who had been watching me with tense eyes since we arrived.
Had they expressed their apologies through decorating the room like this?
Having received only indifference and sharp gazes until now, I felt somewhat awkward confronting these complex emotions—a mixture of guilt and goodwill.
“You don’t like it either, right? Should I just throw this out?”
“No!”
When Allen asked while holding the vase, I hurriedly shook my head.
“I really do like it.”
At my response, the servants’ tense bodies relaxed with visible relief.
And Allen’s irritation only deepened.
‘Does she not even get angry? Why is she acting so foolish?’
But since she insisted she was fine, Allen had nothing more to say. He pressed his lips together in displeasure and set down the teacup.
“Put me down!”
Diana, who had just descended from Lucio’s arms, began darting about the room as if inspecting every corner.
She seemed delighted by the fact that Lia was staying in the adjacent room.
Watching her with a warm smile, Lia turned her gaze toward Lucio.
“Young Master, please give me the book.”
She had been bothered by the fact that he was holding it all this time, so she quickly extended both hands.
“…!”
And with a flinch, I trembled without realizing it.
Around us, I could hear people drawing in sharp breaths.
“Tsk. I’ve only managed to put on a little weight.”
Lucio, who had stepped forward as if to hand over the book, instead grasped my wrist and muttered under his breath.
“It looks like it could snap at any moment.”
Even for a child, Lucio frowned as he observed my slender wrist—so thin that it fit entirely in his palm with considerable space remaining.
In his eyes, my wrist appeared more fragile than the bare branches of winter trees.
“….”
As if it were his own wrist, Lucio continued to gently squeeze and release it repeatedly, and I found myself bewildered.
Not knowing how to respond, I couldn’t pull my hand away, my eyes rolling about helplessly.
Allen, who looked as though he’d seen a ghost, Taize with a vacant expression, and Jack and Diana with their eyes wide open—all of them were watching this scene unfold.
My face flushed crimson in an instant.
Flustered, I looked back at Lucio, but his expression suggested he was oblivious to the gazes around him.
‘Does this man have no sense of shame?’
I knew he was indifferent by nature, but I never expected him to be so utterly unconcerned with others’ feelings.
‘Of course, he’s clearly just taking pity on a poor child!’
Still, unable to bear the embarrassment, I hastily withdrew my wrist from his grasp.
Fortunately, he wasn’t gripping it with any real force—as if he truly might break it if he did—so I was able to slip free from his hand.
But seeming displeased by this, Lucio’s brow furrowed slightly. And he gazed at me in silence.
As time passed and his gaze grew more intense, the atmosphere in the room, which had been filled with quiet, gradually became strange.
Unable to bear it any longer, I fidgeted with my fingers and asked softly.
“Young Master, why are you looking at me like that?”
“….”
Lucio remained silent.
No matter what, he couldn’t bring himself to say outright that he was troubled by my pallid complexion, worn from anguish throughout the night.
“The key to the Main Library.”
After a brief silence, Lucio set the book down on the nightstand beside the bed and withdrew a key from his pocket, handing it to me.
“I’ll be returning to the Academy soon, so keep this while I’m away.”
“Ah….”
“If you wish, open it whenever you like and make yourself comfortable.”
“….”
Lucio stared at Lia’s vacant expression without answering, his eyes narrowing slightly. He had been certain she would be pleased. Her reaction was entirely different from what he’d anticipated.
‘So that’s what’s bothering me.’
She only laughed freely or chattered excitedly in front of others.
Whenever she was alone with me, she always appeared stiff and tense like this.
“If you don’t need it….”
“No, no!”
At his gesture of withdrawing the key, Lia cried out urgently. She quickly snatched the key from Lucio’s hand and, fearing he might take it back, clutched it tightly in both hands while looking up at him.
She looked like a squirrel cradling an acorn, and Lucio found himself laughing without thinking.
“Ha.”
At that sight, Allen, who had been wearing a bewildered expression until now, rubbed his eyes vigorously and leaned his face close to Lucio’s.
“Brother, have you lost your mind?”
At his crude language, Lucio frowned, and Allen quickly swallowed and corrected himself.
“I mean, are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
“I’m fine.”
“But why…. You’re not actually sick, are you? Was the Academy exam that exhausting? I suppose it’s not easy to always rank first, but you should still think about your health.”
“Allen.”
Lucio called his name as if to stop his incessant muttering.
But Allen only raised his voice in protest.
“You’re acting strange all of a sudden! You think so too, right?”
Allen turned to Taize, who knew Lucio’s usual demeanor, seeking agreement.
As the conversation suddenly shifted to him, Taize, who was already breaking out in cold sweat, blinked in confusion.
When Lucio’s cold gaze fell upon him as if prompting an answer, Taize hastily turned away with an awkward cough.
It was then that Jack, who had been watching the scene beside him, and Lucio’s eyes met.
“Brother must like Sister too!”
Diana cried out and nestled into Lia’s embrace.
Lia’s shoulders flinched, but Lucio simply stroked Diana’s head without responding.
In an atmosphere mixed with astonishment and bewilderment, Lia laughed awkwardly, unable to describe the feeling.
* * *
I let out a long yawn, savoring the warmth of the sunlight in my drowsy state.
Thanks to Duchess Elrad, who insisted I not leave my bed—let alone my room—until my body fully recovered, I had been living a lazy life like a languid cat for days.
It was something I could never have dreamed of during my time at the Orphanage or my days as a street beggar, and even after entering Terenthium, I had never had such leisurely moments, always busy learning things and carrying out tasks.
This peaceful and serene daily life, the first I had ever experienced, was absolutely wonderful.
“Still, being confined to this room is a bit suffocating.”
I stretched and moved my body as I leaned against the window.
Now that there was nothing wrong with me anymore, sitting idle made me restless.
I had already finished the book Lucio brought me, and though Diana often visited with Allen, for some reason today was unusually quiet.
This morning, Baron Bardo had said I could probably start moving around soon, so I had planned to play hide-and-seek with Diana, but it seemed that wasn’t happening.
“Ah! I should ask to send a letter to the Duchess.”
Looking for an excuse to slip outside, I grunted and climbed down from the sofa by the window.
I got up from the sofa by the window with a grunt, looking for an excuse to slip outside.
And last night, I finally held my first completed letter in my hands.
While deliberating over my response, various matters piled up, and considerable time had slipped away.
He might not even wait for my reply, but I found meaning in the act of sending it nonetheless—it was as I stepped out of my room.
“Oh!”
The Maidservant who had been sweeping the corridor was startled by my sudden emergence and wore a look of surprise. She quickly rushed over and asked.
“Are you feeling alright? Are you allowed to be out and about?”
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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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