I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 81

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Amidst the throng of countless people.
A pair of man and woman, their bodies and faces concealed beneath thick robes, stood among them.
The two silently observed Rahela and Isabel.
Upon closer inspection, their presence radiated far more powerfully than the crowds gathered here, yet no one perceived it.
Just as one cannot hear a sound when its frequency is too high.
Their presence was far too immense and magnificent for ordinary people to sense.
The woman’s name was Robena. The Duke of the North opened her mouth.
“Your Majesty, you said you dislike such things? That propaganda wars are despicable and vulgar acts?”
“….”
It had been ten years since Robena last met Ron.
Ron had changed so much in those ten years.
“You said swordmasters should devote themselves solely to swordsmanship?”
“….”
“That proving oneself through strength is all that matters?”
“….”
“That spectacles are merely something weak younglings engage in?”
“….”
Ron’s brow furrowed slightly before he finally spoke.
“I wondered who taught Biatone to be so snippy, but now I understand.”
Robena’s eyes curved into crescents.
She found this situation utterly amusing.
That genius swordmaster Ron, who knew nothing but swordsmanship, was now orchestrating such a spectacle himself.
This entire show had been arranged by Ron, who personally orchestrated Rahela’s involvement.
‘For his one and only daughter?’
Of course, there was some logic to it.
Even she, who remained vigilant against ‘cuteness,’ had nearly succumbed to Isabel’s charm.
“But Your Majesty.”
“What is it?”
“Aren’t you busy?”
“….”
“Why are you lingering here?”
The Ron that Robena knew was an exceptionally busy man.
It was somewhat amusing that the Emperor, second to none in busyness in this world, was spending days here.
“There is no one but me who can stop the Duke’s recklessness.”
“So you’re forced to remain here because you fear I might truly steal five years from the Princess?”
“That is correct.”
“Yet before I arrived, you were constantly hovering near the Princess.”
“….”
Ron found himself at a loss for words.
Robena was unnecessarily perceptive.
“And there was that cleanliness obsession that didn’t quite fit her image, right? She had to sleep in clean places, eat clean food, and even on the battlefield she was like that—Biatone used to gossip about it endlessly.”
“He gossiped about her?”
Robena, having spilled everything with a smile on her face, continued speaking with the satisfaction of having accomplished her task.
“So anyway, has that cleanliness obsession been cured?”
“No. She’s still like that.”
“Yet she was living under a bridge with beggars so her identity wouldn’t be discovered?”
“….”
Robena let out a quiet laugh.
“My goodness, I never thought the Empress—someone who seemed to have neither blood nor tears—could change like this. I’m even feeling a subtle sense of betrayal. How does it feel? Loving your child?”
Ron’s body flinched.
I had never consciously thought of loving Isabel.
Until now, my child had been nothing more than the heir to the Vilotian throne.
The part of my face hidden by my robe flushed ever so slightly.
“I don’t indulge in such petty emotional games.”
“Really?”
“Like leaving a child by the water’s edge, I’m merely—very slightly, microscopically—concerned about whether she’s eating well, whether her condition today is acceptable, whether anyone is tormenting her, whether she’s in pain anywhere, whether she’s acting too mature, whether she’s masking her happiness, whether she’s truly happy, or if something is lacking, and if something is lacking, what I might do about it. That’s all.”
Ravina, the Dragon of Wisdom and Duke Robena herself, placed a period on the sentence.
“You’re completely in love.”
“Not at all.”
“So you’re completely in love.”
“….”
Throughout the entire conversation, my gaze never left Isabel.
* * *
The newspapers were plastered with news about Isabel.
[The Princess Transcends the Olympiad and Reaches Alpea.]
[The Vilotian Royal Family Demonstrates Its True Strength.]
While most newspapers did include content related to the Magic Federation and the Magic Tower, they could not help but be filled with favorable coverage of Isabel.
There were far too many eyes and ears to manipulate with subtly fabricated lies.
Led by the people of Linta, the citizens of the Alpea Kingdom and countless volunteers did not spare their praise for Isabel.
[The Holy King Personally Escorts the Princess.]
A title of respect.
Did not Rahela herself, revered as the “Holy King,” greet Isabel at the triumphal arch and personally commend her achievements?
Even Lsalin, the whispered voice, had no choice but to publish favorable articles about Isabel.
Isabel’s public favorability was now too high to touch carelessly, and besides, Biatone’s warning was far too terrifying.
Lsalin received severe criticism from her superiors.
‘Just wait and see.’
Biatone’s actions had crossed the line far too much.
For now she would let it pass, but as a journalist in the media, she had no intention of letting it go so easily.
‘This glittering popularity will fade soon enough.’
Several stars are born every day. And most of them disappear without a trace.
The Princess would likely feel the same way.
‘Once public attention fades, I’ll weave together countless threads and expose everything. How dare they insult the chief editor of the Free Press Whispers like this?’
* * *
Meanwhile, King Rahela of Alpea shared a final dinner with Isabel.
“Does it suit your palate?”
“Mmm, wow!”
I spooned up the corn soup.
It was exactly to my taste.
“This is the most delicious corn soup ever!”
A smile bloomed across the Chef’s face as he stood in the background.
A bit of corn soup clung to the corner of my mouth, yet the sight was not vulgar at all—it was utterly endearing.
“Yes, the Chef truly outdid himself today.”
I raised my thumb in approval.
“Chef. I love you.”
My body was currently seven years old.
Whenever emotions reached their peak, the threads of reason snapped, and my true feelings spilled out unfiltered.
Sweet corn soup.
Appetizer bread—sweet and savory garlic baguette.
This was the paradise I had dreamed of, again and again, in that hospital room.
“This must be heaven.”
“For a Princess, you certainly have remarkably expressive features.”
I caught myself in that instant.
Royalty must maintain composure at all times and never reveal their emotions—such was the virtue expected of them.
Only then could they instill stable trust in the Empire’s people.
Yet this was unavoidable.
“The baguette is just so incredibly delicious.”
I dipped it into condensed milk and took a bite.
Munch, munch.
The crispy-outside, tender-inside baguette melted away in my mouth alongside the condensed milk.
The subtly sweet garlic aroma, mingling with condensed milk and butter, created a rich, savory-sweet flavor that filled my mouth abundantly.
The sweetness spread all the way to my toes.
Intoxicated by such bliss, my seven-year-old body once again slipped beyond the control of reason.
“Mmm, it’s absolutely scrumptious!”
“Scrumptious?”
“It means incredibly delicious.”
Rahela laughed with a soft chuckle.
She had no idea where such peculiar and strange words came from, yet it was truly fascinating how the meaning became instantly clear upon hearing it.
“Yes, absolutely scrumptious indeed.”
The dinner concluded.
I waved my hand toward the Chef as he stepped outside.
“Thank you. That was delicious. It was the best.”
Isabel felt genuine gratitude toward the Chef who had served her such wonderful food.
She pondered for a moment how to convey the feelings of a seven-year-old accurately, then broke into a bright smile and gave a thumbs up with a sharp *pop*.
“That was seriously delish!”
“It was a true honor to serve the Princess a meal.”
The Chef, reading the mood, raised his own thumb in response.
Though it felt awkward and embarrassing to say it for the first time, it was only proper to echo what the Princess had started.
A bit self-conscious, but he echoed it with conviction.
“Se… seriously delish!”
* * *
Hehe, hehehehe.
Laughter escaped him.
[Seriously delish.]
This had now become his family’s motto.
The Chef, who had been falling into routine, rediscovered his old passion today.
For the first time in ages, he felt incredibly happy.
He rushed home and grabbed his wife, making a fuss.
“She was truly breathtakingly beautiful. I’ve never seen anyone like her!”
He wasn’t speaking of her appearance.
She was someone who knew how to give others the gift of joy and happiness, and that was truly beautiful.
“I think I understand now how the Princess’s maid could develop such a delish dessert.”
“What’s ‘delish’?”
“It’s a thing, hehehehe.”
“You always said you hated children.”
“That guy is dead.”
He and his wife had agreed not to have children.
They had decided to enjoy the world together, just the two of them.
His wife would occasionally suggest, “Don’t you think it would be nice to have at least one child?” but he always refused.
“I’m sorry for changing my mind, but… couldn’t we have just one daughter? No matter how much I think about it, a daughter seems like the answer.”
He received a sharp blow to his back, but regardless, he was in excellent spirits today.
Isabel had completely changed the life plans of an entire household.
* * *
Unaware that she had completely altered the future of a family, Isabel listened quietly to Rahela’s words.
“I don’t trust people. I trust circumstances.”
It was an incantation Rahela cast upon herself.
She too was being drawn in by Isabel’s charm, but she rejected it with her mind.
‘The Emperor must have orchestrated all of this.’
Of course, Emperor Ron had instructed nothing.
‘Which means every action the Princess takes is calculated for political gain.’
So Rahela decided not to trust the charm of the Princess as a ‘person’.
Instead, I believed in the “situation” where the Emperor was going to such lengths for the Princess.
And I believed in the magical power Isabel had demonstrated at the volunteer site this time.
“And trust only what I’ve seen and judged for myself. I don’t think the Princess is plotting anything through her magical power—specifically through the Teisabel Teleportation Gate. It doesn’t seem like she could obtain anything through false techniques.”
Rather, I could understand why the Magic Federation was so desperately trying to slander the “Teisabel Teleportation Gate.”
“In that sense….”
Rahela began to propose something.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————