Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 8

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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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Shockingly, the Director was in collusion with the kidnappers, regularly bringing children to be sold at the slave market.
Those brutes who had visited the Orphanage with Diana a few days ago were undoubtedly part of the kidnapping ring.
Heat rose unbidden to my eyes as rage consumed me.
“I won’t let this stand.”
My trembling fists clenched, I barely maintained my composure as I pulled a stack of papers from the desk.
Then I began using magic to immediately duplicate the ledgers and transaction records.
In case of unforeseen circumstances, I planned to take the originals with me and leave the copies in the safe.
Given time, they would revert to meaningless paper, but a momentary deception would suffice.
‘Duke Elrad will arrive soon.’
Thanks to mana reserves incomparably greater than before, the copies materialized far faster than I anticipated.
‘Now that I think about it, I should investigate why my mana suddenly increased….’
“Cough.”
Suddenly, blood surged from my throat and spilled forth.
My frail body couldn’t withstand the abrupt expenditure of so much mana.
An overwhelming exhaustion washed over me, but I quickly raised my hand and obliterated every drop of blood to leave no evidence.
Simultaneously, I staggered and collapsed to the floor.
My mana depleted as feared, and tremors rippled through my limbs from fingertips to frame—yet my eyes burned with an unwavering brilliance as I gazed upon the evidence.
* * *
“Slacking off again, you worms!”
Recalling that night from days past, I barely suppressed the urge to overturn everything when the Director’s voice suddenly boomed from downstairs.
“Worms?”
“It’s nothing! I wasn’t talking to you, Dana.”
I spoke urgently, watching Diana innocently echo the Director’s words with a guileless expression.
An ominous premonition gripped me.
Last night, the Director had gone out to drink as usual, but returned to the Orphanage before midnight, his face drained of all color as though he’d seen a ghost. Then he immediately demanded to see Diana.
Thanks to my repeated warnings, Diana neither cried out nor whimpered when confronted by the imposing Director.
Knowing how terrified Diana usually was of him, after he left, I gently kissed her cheek and whispered against her ear.
That soon her father would come to save her—she need only endure a little longer.
If my memory served, the Duke would visit tomorrow.
With the thought that I merely needed to hold on a bit longer, I rose to my feet, hoping the day would pass swiftly.
“Dana, I’m going to clean. Rest a little while longer.”
* * *
“Duke Elrad? Surely not… it can’t be. That’s right, his hair isn’t silver. It’s a bright gray!”
My hand, which had been wiping the floor with a cloth, froze as the Director paced anxiously about the room, muttering incoherently.
Then he turned to me and shouted sharply.
“You. Bring that gray-haired girl from yesterday.”
“…Yes?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself!”
The Director’s wide eyes and threatening demeanor sent me bolting outside in panic. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs.
‘Should I flee now? No. What if I miss the Duke!’
I stopped abruptly, my fingernails still caught between my teeth from nervous gnawing.
Now that I thought about it, the Director had shown this much interest in Diana before.
In fact, he’d even locked her in the Attic the day before Duke Elrad arrived.
At the time, I naturally assumed he was punishing Diana for failing to adapt to life at the Orphanage, but….
〈Listen, all of you—no matter what you hear, you must say you know nothing!〉
As the memory surfaced of what the Director had said to the children in the courtyard before Duke Elrad stormed into the Orphanage, a bolt of realization struck me.
He had known all along.
That he was implicated in the kidnapping of Duke Elrad’s own daughter, and that if this fact came to light, his life would end that very day.
Feeling my breath catch in my throat, I lifted my head to find myself already standing before the Bedroom door.
“Dana?”
Diana, whom I’d naturally assumed would be asleep, was standing beside the bed, and upon spotting me, she suddenly began to whimper.
“Sis….”
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
Flustered, I hurried toward her, but Diana only stepped back and continued crying.
“Whatever it is, it’s alright. Your sister is here.”
It’s alright, it’s alright.
After repeating those calm words several times, the child finally managed to stop her tears.
Only then, as my own panic subsided, could I see the situation clearly.
“Ah….”
Diana’s clothes and bedding were soaked through.
Realizing she could hide it no longer, Diana fidgeted with her fingers and sniffled.
“Dana… you need to use the bathroom.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s fine….”
The way she contradicted my reassurance suggested that Diana, sharp and perceptive as she was, had already noticed the Orphanage’s deplorable conditions.
“I’m sorry, sis.”
Diana kept fidgeting with her fingers before finally lowering her head.
It was just as I wiped away the tears clinging to her eyes and lifted the child into my arms.
“What on earth are you doing! Do you find my words amusing?”
The door burst open, and the Director, who had climbed all the way to the second floor, glared at Diana and me with a menacing gaze.
My heart suddenly pounded as if it might explode.
When I first joined the Guild, Terenthium received commissions from a shabby tavern in a dangerous back alley.
Nobles, lower-ranking knights, mercenaries, commoners—all sorts of people came and went, and it wasn’t uncommon to see large men like the Director getting drunk and rowdy.
Though I tried not to show it, I was terrified.
Fortunately, not long after, Master’s whim led to the headquarters moving to a café in the bustling district, and since then I’d avoided such threats from large men, so I’d forgotten this fear.
I even thought I’d overcome it. What a foolish thought that was.
“O, sis….”
As I froze in shock, Diana called out to me.
But I had no chance to respond.
The Director, having spotted Diana, was reaching his hand toward the child. It was exactly the same as before.
Back then, I couldn’t step forward, but this time was different.
I quickly gathered Diana into my arms and curled myself up like a hedgehog.
“Ugh.”
But the groan of pain didn’t come from me.
My eyes flew open in shock, and the first thing that came into view was Jack’s gray hair.
* * *
“Sniff….”
How much time had passed?
I stirred at the soft sound of sniffling beside me and opened my eyes, quickly realizing from the pitch darkness where I was.
It was the attic at the very top—the place the Orphanage children despised most.
I had thought that since Diana hadn’t offended the Director this time, she wouldn’t be locked away in the attic, but I was mistaken.
In the first place, Diana had been locked in the attic because she was Duke Elrad’s daughter.
I was ashamed of myself for not seeing it sooner.
“…Dana.”
“Unni!”
As if she’d been waiting, the child nestled into my embrace. Her trembling voice twisted my expression.
My heart swelled so much I feared my voice would shake, but to reassure the child, I forced myself to steady my throat and speak.
“Dana, didn’t I tell you? Your father will come to rescue you soon.”
“Mm.”
“You trust me, don’t you?”
“Mm. Dana trust unni.”
The child’s gentle words made my eyes burn with heat.
I was grateful for this child who relied on me so much despite our brief acquaintance, yet my heart ached for her.
“That’s right. Dana, just a moment.”
After patting the child’s back a few times, I quickly checked the mana within my body.
Since I hadn’t properly rested or eaten after casting magic yesterday, I could barely sense my mana.
Though I knew my condition was poor, I managed to raise my hand and conjure a small flame.
Soon I could see the face of the little girl, streaked with tears and snot.
And.
“Jack….”
When I saw Jack lying with his eyes closed as if unconscious, words failed me.
In the past, Jack had also been locked in the attic with Diana after shielding her from the Director, but this time he seemed injured far more severely than before.
‘It’s all my fault.’
Because I….
Because I returned from death.
I wanted to cry from the terrible feeling, but noticing that the flame at my fingertip had become noticeably smaller than before, I quickly examined Jack with cold clarity.
From his condition, it seemed he’d been unconscious for at least a full day.
By now, Duke Elrad had likely arrived at the Orphanage.
And after an extensive search, he would discover this attic.
“I can’t wait.”
I couldn’t bear to leave these children trapped in darkness for even a second longer.
And just then, the flickering flame that had been wavering precariously extinguished itself into the silence.
Without hesitation, I turned my body toward what I presumed to be the attic window—the spot I had noted when the flame had briefly illuminated the space.
“Ugh.”
No matter how hard I clawed at the wooden planks with my bare hands, they wouldn’t budge—layered as they were, one upon another.
Yet even as my delicate fingers were pricked by splinters and drew blood, I couldn’t stop.
Then, as one plank finally tore free, a thin shaft of light pierced through, and the world beyond became visible in a narrow sliver.
Only then did Diana, realizing what I had been doing in the darkness, turn ashen.
“O-Onni. You’re bleeding….”
“It’s fine. I’m fine….”
I comforted the bewildered Diana beside me and exerted my strength again and again.
Once I had torn away enough of the planks, the broken window’s opening was revealed. It seemed the sound would carry well outside from here.
But my brief hope quickly turned to despair.
No matter how loudly Diana cried out “Father!”, the world beyond remained silent.
“This can’t be….”
The Empire’s greatest knights who wielded aura should have come together.
I had believed they would notice this sound and presence.
Anxiety gripped me as I habitually clutched the necklace in my hand and murmured softly.
“I have to go myself.”
There was no one else who could set everything right.
My heart raced as I gauged the distance, looking down at the ground through the window.
The old me would have landed lightly from this height without difficulty.
But now, I was far too fragile.
If fortune favored me, I might escape with merely broken legs or arms—but if it didn’t, I could die.
‘I want to live.’
Even having made such a mess of things, I still wanted to live.
As though that alone had been etched into me as my singular desire.
In the end, I resolved to take one final gamble.

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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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