I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 111

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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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Kaman spoke.
“What is your criterion?”
“My criterion?”
“Yes. Your criterion.”
Isabel struggled to comprehend Kaman’s question, pondering it for quite some time.
Judging by the way her lips were pressed firmly together, she didn’t seem inclined to answer readily.
“What criterion do you mean?”
“….”
Kaman fell silent once more.
Only after a brief moment did he slowly open his mouth again.
“Why do you use a different form of address for Michael than you do for me?”
“Pardon?”
Isabel tilted her head in confusion.
Upon reflection, it did seem she had used different forms of address.
It wasn’t intentional—it had simply happened naturally as she spoke.
“Of course, such trivial matters of address are of no consequence whatsoever.”
“….”
“It has virtually no bearing on me—a matter of the utmost insignificance.”
“….”
“However, the reason I ask is merely that I’ve developed an academic curiosity about what criterion underlies that form of address.”
“Do you realize that was the longest thing you’ve said to me?”
Isabel laughed brightly.
Seeing him speak at such length, it seemed he had opened his heart just a little.
Kaman asked again with an unmoved expression.
“What is your criterion?”
I simply wish to know what that criterion is.
That was the impression his demeanor conveyed.
“There’s no particular criterion. It just happened naturally as I spoke. Does it bother you that I call Michael my brother?”
The Vilotian Royal Family had not produced a daughter in five hundred years, and the proper forms of address between siblings had never been formally established.
Since the Isabel in the novel had always used “brother,” she could only assume that was the formal address.
“If I’ve been impolite and it’s made my brother uncomfortable, I won’t use that form of address anymore.”
“….”
Kaman felt as though something was somehow slightly off.
Though his chest felt unsettled, he himself was not aware of what he truly wanted or why the form of address bothered him so much.
“It’s not that it bothers me.”
“Then what is it?”
Isabel pondered.
‘Surely it’s not that he’s uncomfortable because I don’t call him brother.’
No matter how she thought about it, this was a matter of propriety.
It was a good opportunity to reconsider the etiquette of the royal family once more.
Kaman fell silent once more before finally opening his mouth.
“I don’t know.”
“Pardon?”
….
Kaman lacked somewhat in his ability to communicate with others.
Fortunately, Isabel was someone who could regard Kaman, despite his poor social skills, with a warm gaze.
She understood all too well why he had become this way.
Isabel smiled softly and spoke.
“Tell me exactly what you don’t know. That’s the only way I can understand.”
“That thing you mentioned.”
Isabel suddenly found herself amused.
‘Twenty Questions?’
I had heard the term many times but never played it because I had no friends.
The doctors and nurse teachers who attended to me were all far too busy, and since I couldn’t attend school properly, I had no friends either.
“Wait a moment. Let me think carefully.”
I decided to think it through thoroughly.
The thought that this was a game I had never played before made it thrilling.
I traced back through our conversation from the beginning.
“I’ve got it! You don’t know how we can become closer?”
….
But he had already answered “I don’t know” to that earlier.
“I’ve got it! The way to chat while having dessert and tea?”
….
But we just did that a moment ago.
Isabel answered her own question and spoke the next possibility.
“The way to share kind and warm words….”
Isabel paused.
It seemed she would guess the answer in just three tries, far short of twenty.
Isabel’s voice grew slightly quieter.
“That’s it. You don’t know how to share kind and warm words.”
….
Kaman remained silent for a long while before speaking awkwardly.
“Teach me.”
* * *
King Valkio of Zirdel let out a heavy sigh.
“Ugh, this blasted Transportation Gate. It’s always causing trouble.”
The Transportation Gate, maintained at great expense paid to the Mage Federation.
Whenever it was truly needed, it would break down like this.
“And why have the carriage wheels broken down again?”
“We’ll repair it at once, Your Majesty!”
There are plenty of people to meet at the Royal Palace.
Among them was the Princess.
“You did send word to the Princess that I’d be running late, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did. In fact, her reply has already arrived.”
King Valkio of Zirdel chuckled as he took the Princess’s letter in hand.
“How old is the Princess now?”
“Eight years old.”
“How does she write with such beautiful penmanship?”
King Valkio was well-versed in both the literary and martial arts.
That’s why the Princess’s letter pleased him greatly.
It felt as though affection was welling up even for a granddaughter who didn’t exist.
He could sense that every single word, every single sentence had been written with meticulous care.
“She says there’s no rush, that she’s having a wonderful time with her brother for the first time. The brother in question would be Prince Kaman, correct?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“How could anyone have a pleasant time with that ice-cold fellow? That one would have icicles falling out if you poked him.”
So Isabel’s words were undoubtedly a lie.
“How can a child of merely eight years be so calculating?”
Rahela had emphasized tremendously that she was “the key that would determine the Empire’s future.”
I’m not entirely sure if that’s truly the case, but still, I really wanted to meet the Princess.
“So the child is that adorable?”
“In the Kingdom of Alpea, she’s called Sunshine. Or sometimes Spring.”
“Good. The gift for the Princess is ready, I assume?”
“Of course.”
For the Princess, we commissioned the kingdom’s finest seamstress to create a princess doll.
Along with it came several outfits for the doll reflecting the latest trends and jewels for the doll as well.
It was a gift that children these days absolutely adored.
“She’ll be absolutely delighted. Hehe.”
* * *
When I learned that King Valkio of Zirdel would be arriving even later due to a carriage breakdown, I was actually relieved.
“Yes. Isabel. Try calling me that.”
“I. Sa. Bel.”
For Kaman, calling my name seemed to be an act as difficult as eating broccoli.
I really, truly hate eating that green stuff.
Thinking of it that way, I could understand Kaman’s struggle.
Still, he had improved considerably over these three days.
At first, he couldn’t even pronounce my name correctly.
“And look at my eyes. When talking to someone, you should make eye contact.”
“Doesn’t that mean you want to fight?”
“No, it doesn’t!”
I put on my signature blank expression and looked at Kaman.
At first, Kaman could barely make eye contact, but now he’s managing to hold it for quite a while.
“See? You can do it.”
“This is embarrassing.”
“Still, you’ve improved so much. You called my name, and we made eye contact for three whole seconds.”
On the first day, we started with eye contact practice.
It was my impromptu lecture (?) for the poor Kaman, who had no idea how to have a warm and affectionate conversation.
“Try saying it a bit more gently.”
“….”
“Come on, try repeating after me.”
I remembered how the nurses used to coax me every day, saying “Come on, open your mouth wide.”
Whenever I struggled to open my mouth, they’d feed me that green medicine.
I shook my head vigorously to shake off those memories and spoke again.
“I-sa-bel.”
Then a voice came from behind.
“Isabel.”
It was a refreshingly clear voice.
That voice was like a pleasant spring breeze.
I reflexively spun around.
“Your Highness. I have returned.”
“Teacher!”
It was Viscount Biatonn.
“You said you were going back to the main house. You came back so quickly?”
“Yes. I missed you, Your Highness, so I came back right away.”
“Really?”
Though I knew it was just something he was saying, my eight-year-old body responded honestly as always.
I broke into a wide smile.
“Of course. Truly.”
Having someone care for me like this was truly a great blessing.
My heart felt so full, and it was wonderful.
“I’m happy.”
“Since you’re happy, Your Highness, I’m happy too.”
Viscount Biatonn smiled brightly at me as he always did.
Glancing to the side, I saw Kaman staring intently at Biatonn.
Right.
He should learn by watching Viscount Biatonn.
Call someone by their name like he just did, and make eye contact like he’s doing now… wait?
‘Something feels off.’
Viscount Biatonn usually wore bright, flashy clothes in white tones.
He enjoyed wearing outfits that would be difficult for others to pull off, yet he was that special kind of person who made them look absolutely perfect.
But today was different.
Viscount Biatonn was dressed entirely in black, which was utterly unlike his usual appearance.
“Why are you dressed like that?”
….
Within the narrative, there were scarcely any instances of Viscount Biatonn wearing black garments.
It had been depicted only once throughout the story.
Only when my father Ron met his death at the hands of the male protagonist Arun.
After my father passed away, Viscount Biatonn, who had been imprisoned, spoke these words.
「”Bring me black garments.”」
Though they were enemies, Arun held Viscount Biatonn’s integrity in high regard and granted him that measure of mercy.
Viscount Biatonn wore black and mourned his dear friend for a long time.
Refusing all sustenance, Viscount Biatonn starved to death within his prison cell.
Remaining in a cross-legged sitting position.
“Why would our Princess do such a thing?”
Viscount Biatonn was smiling with such radiance that it was almost blinding.

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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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