I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 108

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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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Watching Isabel’s bright, sparkling eyes, Kiruen felt her own eyes grow moist.
‘I had forgotten. What kind of child she is.’
The Villorian Royal Family—the mightiest sword-wielding house to maintain its traditions for five hundred years.
In that place, a child was born unable to train in Villorian swordsmanship.
In a world of survival of the fittest where one must at least pull their own weight to survive, how has this child lived these past eight years?
How has she endured her life?
‘Beneath that pure, unblemished smile lies… a fierce determination and effort to survive, doesn’t it.’
I saw it clearly today.
Isabel’s situational awareness and actions were far from those of a young child.
They were unmistakably the bearing of a seasoned strategist.
It showed plainly how Isabel had survived these past eight years within the Imperial Palace.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
Kiruen knelt on one knee, bringing her eyes level with Isabel’s.
Sitting like this, she felt it anew.
‘She’s so small.’
Even accounting for the fact that Kiruen herself was considerably larger than most people, Isabel was small.
Kiruen pulled Isabel into a tight embrace.
“Huh?”
Isabel, who had been expecting praise, tilted her head in confusion.
It seemed like an odd sort of praise—the emotion behind it felt quite intense.
“Is this praise?”
“Yes. It’s very much praise.”
Tears welled up in Kiruen’s eyes.
‘With such a small body, how many towering waves has she endured.’
How many fierce waves has she weathered.
A child has the right to live a child’s life.
The privilege of not having to think about how I should live, how I should fulfill my role as a member of society—such complicated matters need not burden her.
To savor delicious things before her eyes, to laugh with delight watching fallen leaves tumble, to be praised for small things, to laugh freely when joyful, to cry openly when sad—all of this should be allowed.
That was what Kiruen believed a child’s life should be.
But the Isabel that Kiruen saw had never lived such a life.
“Such, such, such a great praise.”
“Hehe.”
Isabel, embraced by the character she had admired since reading the novel, offered a smile that came from her heart.
The child’s body, without her knowing it, laid bare her true feelings.
“I’m happy.”
“….”
Those words—that she was happy—pierced Kiruen’s heart again and again.
‘No one in the Imperial Palace ever held this child like this.’
That was why she was finding happiness in the mere fact of being embraced by someone.
From her perspective, this wasn’t something to be happy about—it was simply natural.
Isabel reached out and pulled Kiruen into a tight embrace.
This was real-world fandom.
“I really like this.”
Kiruen wanted to ask.
How can you like something this much?
Is just being held really that special?
Time passed in silence.
Eventually, Isabel noticed that Kiruen was crying.
“Sister? Why… why are you crying?”
From Isabel’s perspective, it was rather confusing.
There was no reason to cry, so why was she?
Still, she tried to comfort her.
With her delicate, fern-like hands, she patted Kiruen’s back gently.
Not knowing why she was crying, Isabel couldn’t offer proper consolation.
“If you want to cry, you can cry.”
Kiruen had to swallow her sobs once more.
If you want to cry, you can cry.
Those words seemed, perhaps, like something Isabel was saying to herself.
Tears have a peculiar contagious quality, and Isabel’s eyes began to redden as well.
Kiruen asked carefully.
“Are you truly happy, Princess?”
If she wasn’t happy, if she wanted to escape the life of royalty, then by any means necessary, she would help this child.
That’s what Kiruen decided.
“Of course. I’m incredibly, incredibly happy.”
She was living a life so radiant it couldn’t even be compared to her previous existence.
From the sunlight greeting her every morning to the sleep that came without pain.
Everything was a blessing and gratitude to Isabel.
“How can you be so happy?”
“Well…”
Because her previous life was so agonizing?
She couldn’t say that.
“How can you not be so pessimistic?”
Isabel’s world was filled with pessimism, yet how could she grow like sunshine?
“Hmm…”
She couldn’t speak of her previous life. If she did, the Holy Knights might come crashing down.
A famous saying from her old social media came to mind.
Something a French philosopher had said, or so she’d heard.
“Pessimism is a feeling, but optimism is a choice.”
“…”
Tears streamed down Kiruen’s cheeks.
Those words only deepened her sorrow.
So this child was transmuting her despair—that mere feeling—into optimism, that fierce will to persevere.
How fiercely she wielded her determination to carve out her existence.
Kiruen could say nothing more.
She simply held this pitiful child close, embracing her tightly.
* * *
Third Prince Kaman shifted his steps.
He had no particular destination in mind—merely a morning stroll, one might say.
As he walked, he arrived somewhere without intention.
‘This place is….’
Coming to his senses, he realized he stood at the barracks where Isabel was staying.
Last night, something significant had occurred here, or so he’d heard.
‘Why did I come here?’
Upon reflection, there was no particular reason.
He had simply arrived here by pure chance.
‘I should return.’
Just as he turned to leave, Kaman drew upon his mana and extended his senses into the barracks.
There was no particular reason—it was merely a sense of responsibility.
As a prince stationed within the base camp, he felt obligated to ensure his guest was well.
A voice drifted from within.
“I was not in my right mind, and even a three-year-old child could calculate that I would attack if I left. That much is obvious.”
He was genuinely startled.
She had calculated everything in that moment and acted accordingly.
Kaman listened intently to her words.
As his astonishment deepened, he heard something unexpected.
“Despair is merely a feeling, but optimism is will.”
That single, brief statement struck Kaman forcefully.
In truth, he had severed all interest in his blood relatives.
Having once yearned for family, he had thoroughly rejected them.
He believed nothing in this world held less value than family.
Thus, he had no interest in Isabel.
Only now did the circumstances and situation surrounding Isabel begin to come into focus.
“….”
Who suffered more—myself or that child?
Who was more despairing—myself or that child?
Kaman found himself unable to answer readily.
The voice of a soldier standing watch reached his ears.
“Your High… No, Sir Kaman. What are you doing?”
“Nothing at all.”
Kaman turned his body and began to walk away.
His mind was tangled with conflicting thoughts.
Her pure and crystalline appearance like a kitten was not the whole truth.
Perhaps it was a desperate struggle to survive as a member of the Villorian Royal Family.
Isabel was undoubtedly bearing an extraordinarily heavy burden in her life.
‘Isabel claimed the top position in the Olympiad at the youngest age, elevating the prestige of the Villorian Royal Family.’
Because he had believed that swordsmanship alone held the highest value, he had failed to see such things.
But now, I could see them.
‘She was dispatched as a volunteer to the Kingdom of Rahela and achieved many accomplishments.’
That was why the people of the Kingdom of Rahela showed absolute support for Isabel, and it became the foundation for commercializing the Teisabel Teleportation Gate.
Leveraging the efficiency of the Teisabel Teleportation Gate, the Kingdom of Rahela accumulated considerable wealth and power.
When I thought about it, wasn’t Isabel’s arrival in the Kingdom of Jirdel also related to that very matter?
‘Come to think of it, she was more than deserving of the Rose of Sharon Medal.’
It was not in the realm of swordsmanship, but in another domain.
Isabel had received the Rose of Sharon Medal in her own way and was performing the role of ‘Princess’ admirably.
“Huh? Brother?”
“….”
Kaman was startled.
‘I was certain I turned around and walked away?’
He was sure of it, but for some reason, he had ended up inside Isabel’s barracks.
It seemed that his body had lost its sense of direction while he was lost in deep thought.
Though slightly flustered, he did not show it.
“You.”
“…Yes?”
Without realizing it, Kaman opened his heart a little to Isabel.
The sight of a child doing her utmost to live, that child transforming despair into optimism through sheer will—it struck at the feelings he had hidden away.
“Draw your sword.”
“…Yes?”
Kaman drew his sword.
Since there was no particular killing intent, Kiruen silently observed Kaman.
Isabel tilted her head in confusion and asked back.
“Draw my sword? You mean the Chamado?”
“Yes.”
Kaman thought it would be fine to show Isabel a little goodwill.
More honestly, he wanted to become closer to her.
As family.
He wanted to rediscover that value he had forgotten.
So he decided to do his best as well.
Just as Isabel was living her life to the fullest.
“Draw your sword. I’ll give you a proper match. You should prepare yourself.”
The only younger sibling I had truly experienced was Michael.
My brother Michael would become delighted at such words and burn with renewed determination.
‘Isabel would surely be just as pleased if I said this to her.’
…I was certain of it.

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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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