I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 8

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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 bit his lip.
Right, even a three-year-old has her infancy. Babies have an even more baby-like phase.
Watching her was like seeing a baby who thought she was already grown.
Her cheeks were the color of peaches.
Love welled up abundantly within me.
“She’s so adorable that…”
I nearly bit her.
I almost said those words aloud.
In reality, I nearly took a bite out of those plump little sausage-like arms with a snap.
However, as a trained swordmaster whose self-control was incomparable to ordinary people, Biatone was able to suppress that fierce impulse.
‘Phew, that was really dangerous.’
No matter how adorable she was, I prided myself on knowing where to draw the line.
Biting the Princess’s arm would be crossing that line.
He muttered very quietly.
“Sigh, what will I do if she gets a boyfriend later.”
A former sword fanatic.
He, who prided himself on knowing his limits, curled up the corners of his mouth.
“I’ll just kill him.”
His murmur was so quiet that Isabel didn’t hear it properly.
* * *
Biatone headed to the Emperor’s Office carrying the picture Isabel had drawn.
“It’s an abstract painting of Your Majesty.”
Ron accepted the picture.
“Have you come to dispose of garbage to me?”
“You’re accumulating regrets again.”
“What?”
“You just said it was garbage. This magnificent painting!”
“It looks like a painting some self-proclaimed artists carelessly drew for a few silver coins.”
It was a jab at Biatone.
Previously, Biatone had brought paintings several times claiming they were abstract representations of Ron.
Of course, Biatone was well-versed in art and quite skilled.
However, for Ron, such facts were of no concern.
“This time, I didn’t paint it.”
“Then?”
“A three-year-old child painted it. But this painting has some very peculiar characteristics.”
“….”
“Look. The eyes here are refined to be sharper, and the lips are smooth too, aren’t they? The nose also looks a bit more upturned than reality.”
“….”
“Moreover, the skin texture is incredibly fine and radiates an aura of handsomeness…”
Ron, who had been listening silently, couldn’t hide his bewilderment and asked.
“Didn’t you say it was abstract?”
The explanation had been far too detailed.
Something about refined eyes, smooth lips, a perky nose.
That couldn’t be right.
It was an abstract painting, after all.
It seemed like only Biatone’s eyes saw it that way.
“Most of all, the eyes are so clear. The Emperor I know has such a fierce, desolate gaze… Aaaah!”
Shiiing—
Ron’s sharp blade sliced through the front of Biatone’s uniform.
“I bought it with my saved salary! It was expensive!”
“Did anyone ask?”
“You made ‘I didn’t ask, so there’ sound incredibly dignified!”
Ron truly embodied the Emperor of the Sword Art Empire.
His blade work was fluid and clean. With restrained movements, he sheathed his sword, then opened his mouth with elegant composure.
“Say what you need to say and get out.”
“That three-year-old child is the Princess.”
“What?”
Ron’s gaze returned to the painting.
Gravity settled into Biatone’s pale green eyes.
“What surprised me most was the Princess’s powers of observation. The Emperor and she haven’t met many times, nor for very long…”
“…”
“Such profound observation can only stem from sincere affection. Warm feelings and deep love for the Emperor shine through. This isn’t something learned—it’s an innate gift.”
So he was reading all that into an abstract painting…
It was abstract, plain and simple.
For something drawn by a three-year-old, it was decent, but such an assessment should have been impossible.
‘What I cannot see, you apparently can.’
Do you have psychic powers or something?
I wanted to ask, but since they were kind words regardless, I didn’t press the matter.
“You must be quite fortunate, Your Majesty.”
“Fortunate how?”
“The Princess loves you so much without you having to make any effort. She even told you she loves you last time, didn’t she?”
Ron’s expression turned incredulous.
“You envy that?”
“If you don’t envy it, are you even human and not some beetle?”
“A beetle, out of nowhere?”
“No, it’s just so unfair.”
“So what’s your point?”
Ron answered Biatone’s provocations quite earnestly and sincerely.
This also meant Ron’s mood was quite good.
Ever since Biatone said “sincere affection shines through the painting,” Ron had been in a rather excellent mood.
Ron himself was unaware of this fact.
“I’ve never heard her say she loves me, even when I’ve scraped together my entire salary to coerce—no, persuade—a top-tier chef to craft treasure jelly for her. And she doesn’t even say thank you; she just extorts it from me.”
“How unbecoming of someone who claims to be the Princess’s tutor.”
“Now you’re nitpicking my speech again.”
“We are within the imperial palace. Maintain your dignity.”
Biatone wanted to point out that it was Biatone himself who had told Ron to leave, but he refrained.
Ron stared at Biatone for a long moment before letting out a deep sigh.
“So? What is it you really want to say?”
“I’m dying of envy, Your Majesty.”
Though no one else was around, Ron still lowered his voice.
Biatone knew Ron well, and Ron knew Biatone equally well.
“Don’t beat around the bush. Speak plainly.”
“I’m not entirely sure what you mean, Your Majesty.”
“Before I kill you.”
“Since Your Majesty insists so earnestly, I suppose I have no choice.”
Biatone cleared his throat with a soft cough before speaking.
“It appears the Princess possesses extraordinary aptitude and talent for magical engineering. Given her innate magical resonance and such refined observational skills and dexterity, it’s quite evident.”
Magical engineering was the discipline of applying magic to solve problems through engineering principles.
It formed the foundation of modern civilization.
“As Your Majesty well knows, talent in magical engineering divides into three major categories. First is the inborn magical comprehension and affinity for mana that one possesses from birth—which she has already demonstrated through her innate resonance and mana harmony.”
“….”
“The ability to design magical circles and magical engineering blueprints based on keen observation, which requires fundamental manual dexterity as a prerequisite. She has proven this through her drawings as well.”
And the final one.
“Mathematical talent is the most crucial.”
“For instance?”
“The talent to understand the concept of jelly quantities at merely three years old and perform addition and subtraction through mental arithmetic.”
Though no one had ever taught her, the Princess possessed a precise understanding of numerical concepts.
“She calculated the exact number of jellies and made her demands—or rather, requests—with perfect accuracy.”
“….”
“Considering all these circumstances, it appears the Princess has been blessed with innate magical talent.”
In the original story, Isabel had never learned magic.
She had merely engaged in wrongdoing, despairing over the fact that she would die at twenty-one.
“If Your Majesty permits, I shall seek out a capable magic instructor for her.”
* * *
Three months later, Isabel had a new teacher.
“It is an honor to meet the Princess. I am Karin, a First-Class Mage of the Mirotell Magic Federation.”
Isabel began to hiccup.
She wanted to scream.
‘Why is the final villain appearing here of all places!’
This was content that had never existed in the original story.
Karin, a first-class mage of the Mirotell Magic Federation.
In the original work, she was an ambitious mage.
‘A psychopathic dark mage!’
She was someone who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals.
‘Yet remarkably intelligent and cunning.’
She betrayed her master and ascended to the position of ‘Starborn Mage,’ the leader of the Magic Federation—so meticulous and calculating that she could deceive even her own mentor without a trace.
Having seized control of the Mirotell Magic Federation, she desired to birth a vast empire that would dominate the entire continent.
In that process, she came into conflict with Arun, the male protagonist who became Emperor of the Sword Art Empire.
‘But Arun is the male lead….’
No matter how powerful a shadow villain she was, she ultimately could not defeat the protagonist.
After suffering multiple defeats at Arun’s hands, she spitefully cast the ‘Curse of Narbidal’ upon the female lead.
The female lead, languishing in illness, left her final words with Arun and closed her eyes.
Of all places, that’s where one arc ended.
‘Back then, I thought the female lead was dead and cursed it as an anticlimactic ending.’
But then another twist appeared here.
‘Who could have known the female lead was actually a dragon, let alone an anticlimactic ending?’
For reference, in this world, dragons were known as the progenitors of magic and the originators of all magical arts.
The only existence capable of nullifying the Mark of Narbidal and the Curse of Narbidal.
A mere human mage’s curse could never take effect.
The female lead, who had sealed her own memories, awakens her draconic consciousness on the brink of death.
After that, Arun and the female lead display all manner of affection and live happily ever after—or so the story goes….
‘In other words… it means there’s a shadow villain who can rival even the strongest male lead and the even stronger dragon female lead.’
We haven’t even started the prologue yet.
For this work to truly begin, there needs to be eighteen more years.
The “time limit” in 【When the Doomed Villainess Dies】 is only three years old now, so I have no idea why she’s already appeared.
Regardless of my will, my body began trembling uncontrollably.
With just these clues alone, the final villain will sense something amiss about me.
“Your Highness, are you feeling unwell?”
“I-I’m fine….”
I wanted to calm down, but I couldn’t.
Having a child’s body was terribly inconvenient at times like this.
‘What do I do?’
The greatest trial of my three-year-old life was approaching.

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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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