I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 3
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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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Biatone was nearly the only person capable of provoking Emperor Ron’s anger.
It also meant the Emperor allowed him an exceptional degree of proximity.
[Your Majesty. Have I not repeatedly counseled you to abandon your preconceptions? In this world, beans sprout where millet was sown, and millet where beans were planted.]
Yet those words applied equally to Biatone himself.
Biatone was born into a mage’s lineage. Thus, his journey to mastering the sword was fraught with countless trials.
He had heard countless times from the family elders that a child bearing mage’s blood had no business learning such vulgar swordcraft.
Had his mother not possessed such an open mind, he might never have learned the sword at all.
Since Ron had witnessed Biatone’s entire growth, he could hardly deny the truth of it.
[No matter how I listen, that doesn’t sound like counsel—it sounds like nagging.]
[Whenever you’re losing an argument, you always nitpick my tone. That’s rather petty, isn’t it?]
[If you’re so aggrieved, why don’t you become Emperor yourself?]
[If I said I’d become Emperor and got executed for treason, what then?]
[That would be quite acceptable.]
This exchange—one that would make imperial subjects or other officials clutch their chests in shock—continued between them.
Biatone seemed to recall something and continued speaking.
[If we consider innate chanting, this phenomenon becomes explicable. A body devoid of mana reciting an incantation would naturally succumb to slumber—it is the natural order of things. Though Your Majesty, who has devoted your entire life to the blade, may find such phenomena difficult to comprehend.]
Ron gazed at Isabel for some time.
Hmm, hmm.
It was an unprecedented occurrence—something that had not happened in the past five hundred years.
After a brief moment….
Flash!
Isabel’s eyes opened.
‘Excellent. My strength has returned.’
Upon opening her eyes, Isabel felt delighted.
[The Princess appears to be in good spirits—am I seeing this correctly?]
[It appears so to my eyes as well.]
[Is there a reason for her joy?]
[I have heard that children capable of innate chanting rejoice by resonating with mana of their own accord.]
[You’re not fabricating lies simply because I lack knowledge, are you?]
[My mother taught me this.]
[A curious truth indeed.]
Isabel was genuinely pleased.
‘Though I only slept briefly, my body feels so light.’
This sensation of lightness was happiness itself.
It was utterly different from my time in the hospital.
Then, no matter how much I slept, exhaustion consumed me, and I lacked the strength to move even a single finger.
It was not an exaggeration—my body ached whenever I tried to move even one finger.
Simply being free of that suffering brought me immense joy.
‘Hmm?’
Isabel felt her father Ron’s gaze upon her.
I lifted my head to look up at Ron.
I raised my head so high that I swayed slightly.
‘My head is so heavy!’
But I refused to give in.
I let out a determined cry.
“Hngh!”
With unwavering resolve, I steadied my body.
I’m coming up. Just wait right there.
Heave!
I stretched out my right arm.
My right arm touched the stair one step above.
‘Now the left arm!’
I stretched out my left arm. Both arms touched the stair one step up.
‘Now it’s the right leg.’
I moved my right leg.
‘This is fun!’
Moreover, this baby’s body found even the act of ‘climbing to higher places’ enjoyable.
Though I was slightly out of breath, the joy was indescribable.
‘My heart doesn’t hurt even though I’m breathless.’
I felt tears welling up.
My heart didn’t ache, and neither did my lungs.
I didn’t have to breathe carefully.
In the past, deep breaths would cause sharp, stabbing pain in my chest….
Huff! Ha! Huff! Ha!
Even breathing this passionately didn’t hurt.
“Ooh-ah!”
I’m climbing!
I climbed eagerly.
To one-year-old me, the staircase was a towering mountain.
‘I finally did it!’
I reached the upper seat where Ron was.
I turned to look behind me.
Far below, many people were staring at me.
Their faces were filled with astonishment.
“Papa mama!”
I called out “Papa mama” with relatively clear pronunciation.
I had practiced for days to say it today.
I hugged Ron’s calf tightly.
Sniff sniff.
‘That smells nice.’
Ron carried a pleasant fragrance.
‘And he was warm.’
Warm. It was a body heat I had never felt before.
Being held in his arms made it tangible.
‘So I really do have a father.’
Hehe.
I lifted my head sharply to look up at Ron.
‘Wait, can I do this too?’
The curiosity of an infant took control of my body.
Like a koala, I clung to Ron’s leg and began my ascent.
No matter that I possessed a Villorian body, I was still just one year old.
I didn’t get very far.
Thump!
I landed hard on my bottom.
The diaper was so cushioned it barely hurt.
“Giggle!”
Ron watched that pure laughter in silence.
His eyes trembled as he gazed at his daughter—unprecedented in every way—who had clung to his leg only to tumble down.
* * *
‘The climb was a failure.’
But that was fine. Babies do that sort of thing.
With one hand, I pointed at Vice Commander Biatone.
In this infant body, it was hard to resist the urge to show off.
“Vice-uncle.”
Though I’m just a baby, I know exactly who you are and your position… That’s what I meant to convey.
Vice Commander Biatone smiled at me, placed his hand over his heart, and bowed respectfully.
He was greeting me.
I waved my hand at my four brothers.
“Brother-mama.”
Because it sounded similar to “father-mama,” the word “mama” stuck to the end against my will.
It was a side effect of practicing “aba-mama” for several days.
Hehe—I laughed.
I wasn’t laughing because I wanted to; the laughter just came naturally.
It was impossible not to laugh when they were so radiant.
My second brother murmured as he looked at me.
“So having a little sister is this cute.”
Sermon, my second brother, was weak to cuteness.
He didn’t realize he was the cuter one.
Looking at my second brother, who seemed like the very embodiment of the word “cute” itself, I smiled even wider.
“You too!”
My fourth brother.
With a four-year age gap between us, that little five-year-old was flaring his nostrils indignantly.
He seemed quite upset.
“Brother, am I not cuter?”
“You can’t compete over cuteness.”
“But I’m definitely cuter.”
My second brother was resolute.
“No. Isabel is cuter. I’m certain of it.”
“…How infuriating.”
My fourth brother looked at me as though I were his greatest rival.
I found all of this delightful.
It truly felt like I had gained a family.
However, my Biological Father Ron’s expression remained unchanged.
‘I’ve created the variable, and now I must complete my task.’
I had spent an entire year preparing for this moment.
‘Hmph, assassin, let’s see you try to show yourself.’
You won’t be able to appear.
Because I will choose my Biological Father, the Empire’s greatest swordsman, not Haeil.
No matter what, choosing my father is the golden rule of romance fantasy novels.
…Or so I had decided.
Huff, huff.
I bounced up and clung to my Biological Father’s leg again.
Huff-puff, huff-puff.
I climbed up his leg like a koala. I had risen about fifteen centimeters from the ground.
My hand touched the sword hanging at my Biological Father’s waist.
“Shing-tak!”
I had practiced this pronunciation diligently.
I made it clear that I had chosen ‘my Biological Father’s sword’ of my own volition.
The sharp-witted Biatone adjutant stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, it appears the Princess has chosen the sword. Is that correct, Your Highness?”
“Uh, uh-huh!”
I nodded my head enthusiastically.
“She can already communicate with adults. Remarkable.”
“Mm, mm.”
Biatone was a man without much prejudice.
He didn’t mind at all that he could converse with me, barely a year old.
“Why did you choose His Majesty?”
“Daddy handsome, strongest. Hehe.”
I found myself laughing, distracted once more by Ron’s dazzling appearance.
Adjutant Biatone understood my words perfectly.
“Your Majesty is the Empire’s greatest swordsman, so I chose you,” he said.
“…Biatone. Do you truly believe you are conversing with a child when you speak to me like this?”
We conversed aloud.
Biatone was far more courteous speaking with his voice than when he communicated secretly through mana.
“Indeed, Your Majesty.”
“Had another said such a thing, I would have punished them severely.”
“A one-year-old can communicate, Your Majesty. Especially children who have memorized the Imperial Oath from birth. If you permit, I shall provide proof.”
Biatone knelt before me.
Even so, our eyes were not quite at the same level, yet he smiled brightly at me.
I nearly felt dizzy.
‘There’s… light.’
It was a different kind of beauty from my Biological Father’s.
If I had to describe it, it was fresh and warm.
His playful jade-green eyes were as pure and clear as those of a young child.
I couldn’t help but laugh at his gentle expression and gaze.
My Biological Father spoke.
“Then show me this proof.”
Adjutant Biatone widened his eyes and asked.
“Your Highness certainly understands what I’m saying, don’t you?”
At his brilliantly radiant expression, I reflexively nodded.
His voice was so quiet that only my Biological Father and I could hear it.
This was practically ventriloquism.
“It seems Your Majesty cannot acknowledge that the Princess understands speech. You’ve had quite severe prejudices since childhood. Because you were so exceptionally talented, you tend to assume that what you couldn’t do, others cannot do either.”
“Kya-ha-ha!”
“Just because Your Majesty couldn’t communicate at one year old doesn’t mean the Princess cannot.”
“Kya-ha-ha!”
Without thinking, I began to clap. It was an expression of enthusiastic agreement.
‘I know, I know.’
Ron was born exceptionally gifted.
He was a genius from birth, and he accomplished everything he set his mind to.
Everything he did was right, and he was always ahead of others.
Because of this, he had quite a stubborn and self-righteous conviction in what he believed.
Then, at that moment, my Biological Father finally opened his mouth.
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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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