I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 5

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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 long-awaited day had finally arrived.
I had practiced whenever I found the time for this moment.
“Look, look!”
I lay prone in the cradle, my chest and belly pressed against it.
Now was the time to unveil what I had been working toward.
‘I’ll put strength into my arms!’
My upper body gradually lifted off the cradle.
Mother’s and Luluka’s eyes widened.
“M-Mama! The P-Princess is…!”
“It’s almost like she’s doing a push-up.”
I raised my upper body using only the strength of my arms.
My display of physical prowess didn’t end there.
From that position, I lifted my left arm.
I was supporting my entire six-kilogram body weight with just my right arm.
‘Wow, I couldn’t do this even at twenty years old.’
Ten-year-old princes can split boulders with their swords.
When I thought about it that way, this wasn’t really that remarkable.
Soon enough,
I tumbled down with a soft thud.
Ow!
My nose hit first and it hurt, but I refused to cry out, clinging to my last shred of dignity.
“Mama! It seems the Princess just performed a one-armed push-up!”
To be honest, it wasn’t really a push-up—just me holding myself up.
But to my nanny’s eyes, it apparently looked quite impressive.
“Even with the blood of the Villorian Royal Family flowing through her veins, how is this possible? The Princess must surely be a genius!”
Luluka seemed to genuinely mean it.
“It was like performance art by a great artist. Seeing that she has such deep appreciation for the arts, she truly takes after Mama.”
Performance… art?
These were absurd compliments.
Performance art, of all things….
‘…That’s actually not bad.’
Strangely enough, I found myself delighted by these ridiculous praises.
‘It can’t be helped when you’re in a baby’s body.’
A baby’s body was extremely susceptible to praise from Mother and the nanny.
In truth, I felt wonderful.
There was only one shameful thing about it.
‘I wish my bottom would just stay still.’
Wiggle, wiggle.
My bottom moved again.
Whenever satisfaction welled up or my mood became exceptionally good, this body would wiggle and dance.
No matter how hard I tried to hide my emotions, my bottom kept giving me away.
‘Well, I’m still just a baby, after all.’
I decided not to worry about such a trivial thing as my bottom bouncing and swaying with delight.
It was just a matter of enduring a little embarrassment.
‘I might as well enjoy the praise.’
I longed to receive Mother’s compliments—something I had never heard in my previous life.
‘This is wonderful.’
Confidence blossomed warmly within me.
My craving for attention exploded.
“One more time!”
Mother and my nursemaid focused entirely on me.
As always, this attention was utterly thrilling.
“This time, with this little arm.”
This time I managed to hold myself up with my left arm.
But soon I tumbled down with a soft thud.
Mother and my nursemaid clapped their hands in delight.
I loved their faces and smiles so much.
Thanks to them, I became happy too.
But then, the door opened and a voice rang out.
“Serna. What brings you such joy?”
In an instant, the air in the room froze.
It was a voice with a sharp, cutting edge.
‘Father?’
It was my Biological Father’s voice—one I hadn’t heard in a long time since the selection.
* * *
My Biological Father’s voice was cold.
Like a biting north wind.
It was a voice with an enchanting quality that froze everything around it.
Mother answered.
“Your Majesty, you should knock first.”
“….”
My Biological Father did as Mother instructed and stepped back outside.
Then came the sound of knocking.
Knock, knock.
Mother then asked in a warm voice.
“Could it be my beloved, His Imperial Majesty?”
“…I knocked this time.”
Mother entrusted me to my nursemaid and went to open the door herself.
“Thank you. I love you.”
My Biological Father’s face was completely stiff.
I understand. That’s just shyness.
My Biological Father has never loved his children even once, but Mother is set to love me tremendously.
I don’t quite understand how they’re so distinctly separated, but that’s how it was anyway.
Mother continued speaking.
“Your Majesty, your voice sounded quite fierce. Why was that?”
“Empress. It’s not that….”
Luluka laid me down in the crib. Then she tactfully excused herself, saying she would bring tea.
“If Your Majesty speaks to me that way, I become very upset and my heart aches.”
“….”
Though my Biological Father is the world’s strongest swordsman, he always fumbled around my Mother.
My Biological Father rarely made mistakes with Mother, but if there was one, it was almost solely when I was born.
After she went through such hardship to give birth to me, he treated her coldly, saying a useless child had come out.
Though it wasn’t directly written in the novel, my Biological Father likely spent that entire night consoling Mother.
‘Well, a daughter being born to the Villorian Royal Family is a curse, after all.’
Since what came from Mother’s suffering was a problem child like me, he must have found me utterly repulsive.
…That’s what I think, but I was in such a good mood back then that it didn’t matter. Now that I think about it again, it really was something that could have hurt deeply, wasn’t it?
‘Still, I’ll think kindly of him!’
Even Mother apologized for giving birth to me, so in any case, there were mitigating circumstances.
Anyway, my Biological Father seemed quite flustered.
His expression was blank on the surface, but his Adam’s apple moved noticeably just now.
“…I apologize.”
“Then please tell me why you spoke so fiercely. If I’ve done something wrong, I’ll correct it.”
From her words alone, Mother seemed submissive, but it was my Biological Father who was breaking into a cold sweat.
Suck, suck.
I sucked on my pacifier.
The sunlight was warm and the breeze felt pleasant.
Perfect weather for sucking on a pacifier.
‘Well, if I had to guess, while he was searching for my beloved Mother, he heard me sounding incredibly happy all by myself, got jealous, and came in…something like that?’
I gazed at my Mother and Biological Father, feeling satisfied.
‘Mm, these are good times.’
My Biological Father is the world’s strongest warrior, rivaling the male lead in rank.
My Mother was almost his only weakness.
The decisive reason my Biological Father would eventually be defeated by the male lead was precisely because of Mother.
‘Mother’s body and heart were both damaged from cleaning up after my mess. Eventually she fell ill and died young….’
After Mother died, my Biological Father stopped eating and drinking.
「”A world without the Empress is truly so empty.”」
Ron, who had devoted his entire life solely to the Empire’s prosperity and glory, sighed and wept thus.
「Ron merely scraped by day after day like a man who had lost tomorrow.」
And gradually his strength waned until he was defeated by the male lead and the Empire fell.
As I recalled that despite his outwardly cold and sharp demeanor, he was actually a sweet guy who cared only for Mother, my heart grew warm and fuzzy.
‘I should take another look at Father’s face.’
Lying down, I couldn’t see Father’s face.
There was no help for it.
I pushed myself upright.
Why was this blasted diaper so heavy today?
Father’s gaze fell upon me.
I sent him an intense look.
“Papa… mama.”
I pointed at Father with my finger.
Grunting with effort, I rose to my feet. My legs trembled and my balance wavered.
“Papa… mama!”
“What is this child doing?”
“She’s calling for you.”
On wobbly legs, I barely managed to stand.
Obsidian-black eyes gazed down at me.
I felt as though I might be drawn into those eyes.
Instinctively, the words tumbled out.
“I love you.”
I’m not entirely sure why I said such a thing.
It just… simply happened.
I appreciate your request, but the Korean text you’ve provided consists only of ellipsis dots (“….”), which don’t contain any actual words or meaning to translate.
[UNTRANSLATED LINE 142]
If you have actual Korean text you’d like translated, please provide it and I’ll be happy to help!
Thud, thud.
Father drew closer to me.
His expression seemed somewhat angry.
“Say it again.”
My voice grew smaller of its own accord.
“I… love you.”
An awkward silence fell.
In that moment, I felt a little afraid.
I thought I might be scolded for saying something unnecessary.
Though we were father and daughter, we had never shared particularly intimate emotional exchanges.
‘Did I overdo it?’
I asked carefully.
“Papa… are you angry?”
To anyone’s eyes, his expression was clearly angry.
Mother chimed in from beside me.
“He is not angry, dear.”
At Mother’s words, my heart eased considerably. Her words were like magic.
“Your father is simply more shy than he appears.”
“Empress.”
“You’re allowed to be honest in front of your daughter. There’s no need to be an iron-willed ruler even with family, is there?”
“….”
“The people may want an iron-willed emperor, but your family wants an affectionate husband and father. And I love that tender side of you.”
Mother smiled warmly and spoke to me.
“Isabel. What does Isabel tell Mother every day?”
“Warm?”
“Not that.”
“Hug?”
“Yes. Try doing that with Father too.”
Unfamiliar with the situation, Father took a step back.
He looked as though he’d encountered something frightening.
I glanced back and forth between Mother and Father.
Reading the moment, Mother smiled warmly and gestured for me to go ahead.
I gathered my courage and reached out my hand.
“Papa warm.”
The hardest part was just getting started.
Once I’d mustered the courage, my desires began to grow.
“Can you give me a hug?”
Father’s face filled with bewilderment.
“Does Isabel want Father to hold her?”
“Yes!”
“Why?”
“Because….”
I hesitated, then made up my mind.
A baby’s self-control was far too weak to suppress instinctive desires.
After all, I only had twenty-one years left.
I decided to simply follow my heart.
“Because it’s warm.”
“….”
“It feels good when you hold me.”
Father spoke.
“How bothersome. Do you think whining suits the princess of Villorian?”
I still stood anxiously with my arms spread open.
And I sensed it.
Ah, I’m going to fall on my bottom again.
But my premium shock-absorbing diaper would protect my precious rear end…wait?
I didn’t fall?
My body lifted into the air.
“Yay! I’m being held!”
Just before I would have fallen, Father caught me in his arms.
Unlike the perfunctory way I’d been held during the selection ceremony, this embrace was genuine.
“Hold me!”
He truly held me.
I felt his warmth.
For the first time, I felt the sensation of being protected beneath a family’s shelter.
My Biological Father’s gaze fell upon me.
The original me had never even known what my Biological Father’s face looked like.
That child in South Korea had abandoned me without ever looking at my face.
But now it was different.
All of this felt like a gift.
“Daddy is a gift.”

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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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