Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favorite

‘I thought it was just the Grand Duke and the Duke’s friendship.’

At first, I was surprised, but when I thought about it later, I wondered why I hadn’t noticed.

The Duke of Elad and the Marquis of Diapel were one of the few noble families with a long history as long as the Empire’s.

Of course, they must have interacted with each other for a long time, and since their mansions were so close, it was only natural that they would become friends.

‘But a childhood friend to the Duke…’

Maybe it was because I couldn’t imagine it at all. Even though I knew all along that the Grand Duke was the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Diapel, I couldn’t make the connection at all.

“You don’t like it?”

“Yes?”

“The roses are really pretty…”

At that moment, Askart’s disappointed voice woke me from my thoughts.

His face, which had been bright until a moment ago, became gloomy, perhaps because he had taken my silence as a rejection.

The young man’s appearance changed into a sad expression, and I was surprised and at the same time felt refreshed.

I had often been told by the Duchess of Peirunt to come to the mansion, but it was only a scouting concept.

This was the first time I had been invited to visit her house in such a pure sense.

I hesitated and looked at the Duchess as if asking for permission.

The Duchess, who was looking at me with an anxious face, seemed to understand that my expression was troubled, so I said hurriedly.

“Your Highness, the Marquis will be coming soon, so I’m worried that I might be a nuisance.”

“…!”

I held my breath at the Duchess’ words.

It wasn’t because I was upset that I wouldn’t be able to go to the Marquis’ residence.

‘He’s coming too!’

If you think about it, it’s only natural. The Marquis is Askart’s maternal grandfather. His parents also came from the distant Duchy of Belus to attend the graduation ceremony, and the Marquis lived in the same empire. If you think about it, there was no reason for him not to come.

Even so, I thought the Marquis wouldn’t come because he was a lord guarding the Diapel Territory, a border region with kingdoms at risk of war.

In fact, he rarely came to the capital before handing over the title to his youngest son.

‘Marquis…’

An old man with white hair, holding a cane and always walking with a straight back came to mind.

When I was in charge of the café that was the headquarters of Terenzium, he was the only nobleman I had been close to in my past life.

“The Marquis will be here in a few days, so I think it’ll be okay.”

At that time, I tilted my head when I heard Askart’s calm answer.

‘Why do you call your maternal grandfather Marquis?’

However, my thoughts didn’t last long. The Duchess looked at me, perhaps because it was difficult to refuse again.

I raised my hand in fear that she might misunderstand me again.

“I want to go! Can I go?”

The Duchess opened her eyes wide as if surprised by my words, then slowly nodded.

Askart also smiled brightly.

“You can come with Diana, or you can come alone!”

“Hmm… The meal is probably almost ready, so shall we go now?”

At that moment, the Duchess spoke again with an awkward smile.

As we all headed to the dining room, I suddenly became curious. Even though he was a guest, the Duchess, who loved her son so much, didn’t say a word to Lucio and only focused on Askart the whole time. And…

‘Why do you keep staring at me!’

In fact, I felt Lucio’s gaze on my cheek from the moment I first got out of the carriage.

I tried to pretend not to notice him, thinking he was looking at Askart.

When I saw Askart, who had moved far away and was talking to the Duchess, I realized that he was indeed looking at me.

‘Since he didn’t call me, it seems like he didn’t really have anything to say.’

I felt like my gaze was getting hotter and hotter because I was conscious of it, but I made up my mind.

I decided that I would never make eye contact with Lucio unless he called me directly.

Fortunately, the result was successful.

* * *

“Haam.”

An afternoon after lunch and dinner.

Unable to overcome the drowsiness that was creeping up on him, Lucio yawned and lifted his teacup, but his eyes fell on Askart.

“If you’re tired, why don’t you go back and rest.”

“Well, the Duchess told me to take dinner with you. That’s not polite.”

“Is it polite to force myself to stay?”

Askart flinched at Lucio’s sharp tone.

“…I didn’t force myself. I’m just a little tired.”

“You went straight back to the dorm yesterday.”

“Yeah. I went to bed early, but I couldn’t sleep well.”

Askart, who spoke awkwardly, let out a laugh as if he was embarrassed.

After finishing all the packing last night and going to bed early, he felt a strange excitement.

The reason was simple.

〈Thank you so much, Your Highness.〉

He was excited at the thought of seeing that bashful child again.

Thanks to that, he even took a close look at his hair and clothes that he usually didn’t care about.

“It’s strange. I’ve never seen a child look cute.”

Askart muttered to himself.

Not even realizing that Lucio had stopped, Askart was lost in thought.

Was it because he was reminded of his lost sister, or is it because of trauma? Whenever he saw the gifted children passing by at the academy, he would always look away from the guilt and sadness that weighed heavily on him.

Even Diana, Allen’s younger sister who he bragged about every time they met, was strangely similar to Lucio, but he didn’t feel any particular emotions. But Lia was different. When I saw her long eyelashes or her soft cheeks, I couldn’t help but laugh.

When she blinked her gentle eyes and looked up at me, my heart raced. But it was strange.

Until now, I never thought of myself as being stupid or particularly bad at remembering people’s faces.

After the festival, I tried to recall Lia’s face, but I couldn’t remember it well, so it was difficult.

I asked Lucio how Lia was doing, but there was no way a friend with an indifferent personality would know about my sister’s maid.

Naturally, I got a cold look in his eyes as if he was wondering why I was even curious about that, and he replied that he didn’t know.

‘That’s why I tried to look at her closely today.’

I thought I wouldn’t remember her face if I turned around again, so I couldn’t take my eyes off her from the moment I got off the carriage, even while eating. But now that I tried to recall her, the child’s facial features were blurry.

Askar felt a little frustrated. I wanted to meet Lia, who had gone to put Diana to sleep right away. However, knowing that it was absurd, I tried to hold out until dinnertime, but the sleep I couldn’t get last night came rushing back.

“Ha… I want to take her home.”

After the graduation ceremony, it was clear that I would not be able to visit the Empire if I returned to the Belus Duchy.

Strangely, my heart was complicated because I thought I would never see Lia again.

Without knowing why I felt this way, Askart thought how nice it would be to go to the Belus Duchy with Lia.

Lia had enough magical power and the qualities to become a wizard. Furthermore, since the Duchy had a well-organized system for orphaned children, they would not spare any support for the child.

Since I knew Bianca, the commander of the Duchy’s knights, wouldn’t it be easy for her to adapt?

“I’m really confident that she’ll do well.”

Thump.

At that moment, the sound of a teacup being sharply placed on the table was heard.

When Askart, who was startled, raised his head, Lucio was looking at him with a terrifyingly downcast face.

It was no exaggeration to say that he was glaring at him, but Askart asked with his characteristically bright face.

“What’s wrong? Are you tired too?”

Lucio sighed and touched his forehead after hearing his answer, but Askart just tilted his head.

If Askart had been a little more careful, he would have noticed that Lucio’s mood had been uncomfortable since he had gladly accepted the Duchess’ invitation, and that he had become more than uncomfortable when he had stopped by the flower shop before his visit…

Unfortunately, Askart wasn’t very perceptive.

“Are you going to the duchy right after the graduation ceremony?”

“That’s right. After all… your father and mother are coming. You can’t leave the duchy empty for too long.”

That was what he said, but the Duchy of Belus was one of the powerful countries that gained independence from the Empire, and it was not a weak country where anything could happen even if the Grand Duke and his wife were away for a while. However, Askart’s face had darkened compared to before.

I couldn’t tell you how surprised I was when I heard that my parents would come to attend his graduation ceremony a while ago.

I hadn’t seen my parents since I left the Duchy to enter the Academy.

Maybe that’s why. I was happy and scared at the same time. I was looking forward to their coming soon, but I also wished they would come a little slower.

Lucio said briefly, perhaps knowing his complicated feelings.

“I wish you would come sooner.”

“…”

Askart couldn’t answer and remained silent.

* * *

The sunlight shone brightly over the sea.

The calm sea without any waves was as beautiful and peaceful as a painting.

“Uuuk!”

At that moment, the peace was broken by an inappropriate sound.

“Madam!”

“Your Majesty!”

The Grand Duchess had been suffering from a chronic headache since she left the duchy and boarded the ship.

As expected, she continued to groan in her cabin after departure, and when she came out onto the deck, she couldn’t enjoy the beautiful winter sea and vomited out her churning stomach.

In the past, she had a healthy constitution that didn’t suffer from motion sickness, but her body had become extremely weak after not eating or sleeping properly for a long time. On top of that, the Empire’s cool winter weather was different from the Duchy.

The Grand Duke was not sure if she would be able to endure the long journey to the Empire.

“I don’t think it’ll work.”

The Grand Duke, who was looking at his wife with anxious and fearful eyes, carefully opened his mouth.

“I’ve installed a teleporter inside the ship, so let’s go to the Grand Duchy right now…”

 

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