I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 34

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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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The Rosild Duke regarded me with an unfavorable gaze.
His expression was far from cordial.
Yet he posed his question with outward courtesy.
“What do you mean by that, Princess?”
“Reina called my friend a toy.”
“One does not typically refer to animals as friends.”
“And she demanded I sell my friend to her. Even after I repeatedly told her he was a friend, not a toy.”
“What matters now is that this animal has bitten my daughter, inflicting a deep wound.”
I knew he would respond this way.
I shook my head.
“What matters more is that Reina has insulted the Vilotian Royal Family.”
“….”
Reina let out a sharp cry from her father’s embrace.
“Does the Princess still not understand what takes priority?”
The Rosild Duke patted his daughter’s back, his touch remarkably tender.
I found the sight both amusing and envious.
‘No matter what happens, the Rosild Duke will side with Reina.’
Having a father.
Having someone steadfast in my corner.
Someone who would embrace me with open arms even if I made mistakes.
I felt a pang of envy for something I had never possessed.
‘Still, I have a father too!’
Even if he sits there now with that expressionless face.
Even if he seems like the type to tell me I’m wrong if the logic doesn’t hold.
‘I have a father!’
And an extraordinarily handsome one at that.
Standing beside my father, the Rosild Duke looked like a squid.
The squid spoke.
“Insulted the Royal Family, you say? Do you understand the gravity of such words?”
“I do.”
I looked at Kim Beolggwol.
After looking at the squid, gazing at Kim Beolggwol warmed my heart.
“Kim Beolggwol.”
Kim Beolggwol, who had been nestled in my arms, slipped out like a loach and stood on the ground.
Standing upright on two legs like a person.
“You see? He responds to his name.”
“A trained dog also responds to its own name.”
His response was as if to say, ‘So what?’
“The name Beolggwol was given by my brother, Michael Vilotian, and the full name Kim Beolggwol was given by me.”
I looked directly at the Rosild Duke.
This was the most crucial statement.
“It means the Imperial Family bestowed a name upon her.”
When the Imperial Family directly granted a name, it carried profound significance.
To give a name was to declare that she belonged wholly to them.
“During my first meeting with Lady Reina, I explicitly mentioned that my Brother and I gave Kim Beolggwol her name.”
This time, I turned my gaze toward Reina.
“Isn’t that right, Lady Reina?”
“That is… well…!”
How Bumblebee wasn’t a toy, how Bumblebee was my friend.
In truth, those were all smokescreens.
The most important statement had been casually dropped at the beginning.
‘Yes. My Brother and I gave her the name.’
Because I’d mentioned it so casually at first, she likely hadn’t fully registered it, but regardless, I had made it abundantly clear.
That the Vilotian Royal Family had bestowed the name.
“She kept coveting what the Imperial Family had directly given.”
“….”
“But I declined graciously. I wanted to be friends with Lady Reina, you see.”
Only now did Reina’s expression darken as she grasped the situation. Tears glistened in her eyes.
“Was I wrong to do so? Was my punishment too severe? Hasn’t it become clear who was at fault?”
The Rosild Duke exhaled deeply.
He patted his daughter and set her down on the ground.
“Apologize.”
“N-no, I won’t!”
Reina lifted her index finger.
She displayed the finger wrapped in thick bandages.
“It hurt, I’m telling you.”
But my Biological Father, who had been silent, spoke up.
“The Vilotian Royal Family disciplines a single transgression only once. Consider yourself fortunate.”
Since Bumblebee had already scolded her, we would not pursue the matter further.
Conversely, had Bumblebee not bitten her, the Emperor himself might have imposed punishment.
My Biological Father looked toward the Rosild Duke.
The Rosild Duke bowed respectfully.
“I sincerely apologize. I have failed in my daughter’s upbringing. I shall return home and give her a stern warning.”
In the end, Reina reluctantly apologized to me through tears.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright.”
I smiled brightly and extended my hand.
“Let’s be close friends, Sister Reina.”
I knew all too well how to conduct myself in such situations to my advantage.
Reina’s body trembled visibly.
* * *
Ron had been struggling to contain his anger since earlier.
So he desperately hid his emotions behind an expressionless mask.
‘Why am I so angry?’
I despised the look in their eyes.
They never truly respected the Vilotian Royal Family in the first place.
‘I knew that from the beginning and didn’t care.’
My relationship with House of Rosild was one of mutual benefit.
The Vilotian Royal Family provided formidable military power, and House of Rosild reciprocated with corresponding financial resources.
Our roles were different.
We never harbored deep respect for each other from the start, nor did we expect it.
So it was entirely understandable that they didn’t revere the Princess.
That night, Serna spoke.
“It seems like you’re angry at yourself, Your Majesty.”
“Angry at myself?”
“The Duke surely protected and sided with Reina regardless of the circumstances. He simply took his daughter’s side.”
“….”
“While that may not be right, Reina must have seen her father as a reassuring shelter. She felt unparalleled security in his embrace.”
Now that I thought about it, that seemed to be the case.
“But Your Majesty tried to discern right from wrong and examine the circumstances, didn’t you? Your intervention was delayed because you were considering your relationship with House of Rosild.”
“….”
“If the fault had been Reina’s, you might not have sided with your daughter.”
Serna, lying on the large bed, rolled onto her side.
She faced Ron, who was looking down at her.
Serna squeezed Ron’s hand firmly.
“Weren’t you anxious about not being able to be a good father to Isabel?”
“….”
Ron had devoted himself solely to swordsmanship since childhood. He was quite clumsy at everything else.
The same applied to his own emotions.
Especially emotions like anxiety and fear.
‘Anxiety. This is the first time I’ve felt this emotion.’
Without even a moment to examine my own heart, I was simply consumed by anger.
“Don’t worry. Your Majesty will be able to become a far better father than the Duke of Rosild.”
The Vilotian Royal Family never invested much affection in their children from the start.
They were merely heirs to succeed Villorian.
That was how it had always been.
A good father.
I had never even considered such a thing.
“I have no interest in such matters.”
Serna smiled softly.
She was in no rush.
Ever since our daughter was born, she understood better than anyone how Ron was gradually changing.
She simply held Ron’s hand firmly.
His wavering was plainly visible in her eyes.
Everything he had protected until now seemed to be shaking at its very roots, leaving him in turmoil.
‘I understand.’
She nestled into Ron’s embrace.
Even if it comes a little late, Your Majesty can become a good father.
Instead of saying that.
“I love you. Sleep well.”
She ended with those words.
Wrapping her arms around Ron’s waist, she drifted into sleep.
Ron gazed at Serna’s face for a long while.
Suddenly, something strange occurred to him.
‘But… did I ever say I was angry?’
Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t said anything of the sort.
He had never mentioned it, yet Serna already knew everything.
The Emperor ruled the continent, but the Empress ruled the Emperor.
* * *
Reina wept bitterly inside the carriage returning to the Duke’s estate.
“I hate you, Father!”
The Rosild Duke was at a loss.
Before his only daughter’s tears, all he could do was sigh heavily and pat her gently.
“I’m sorry.”
Reina screamed with indignation.
“I hate the Princess! I despise her! I hate the Emperor too! I hate the entire Royal Family!”
The last part was particularly galling.
At the final moment, the Princess smiled brightly and extended her hand, saying ‘Let’s stay close, Sister Reina.’
If she didn’t take that hand, she would be reduced to a shameless, ungracious noblewoman who rejected even the Princess’s final gesture.
She felt completely trapped.
‘How infuriating!!’
Reina had no choice but to take that hand.
Facing the Princess’s smile, Reina tasted the sting of humiliating defeat.
“A barbaric, penniless half-Princess, of all things!”
“….”
“Barbarians without a shred of refinement!”
Though she had forced herself to apologize, her anger burned fiercely.
The Rosild Duke was busy soothing his daughter.
“Just wait. I’ll make her utterly humiliated later. I’ll make her feel the weight of our immense wealth down to her bones.”
“Yes, yes. Father will do that for you. So stop now. Our beautiful daughter has a runny nose.”
* * *
Meanwhile, when Tesleron met Kim Beolggwol, he let out an odd laugh—”Ohohoho!”
He successfully managed to place his hand on Kim Beolggwol’s body.
The fur was indeed abundantly soft and fluffy.
“Kyaaak!”
Kim Beolggwol started to protest but stopped himself.
‘Beolggwol, please get along with him. I’m asking you.’
Isabel had made the request so earnestly.
Though Tesleron’s touch felt terribly uncomfortable and unpleasant, Kim Beolggwol endured it for Isabel’s sake.
“Ohohoho! It’s true. It really is. How can fur be this soft!”
An animal lover, Tesleron.
He could not contain his affection.
In the end, he swept up Kim Beolggwol—merciless to everyone except Isabel—into his arms.

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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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