I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit – Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Mother would look at me and sob, saying she was sorry.

It was the same today.

“Meowmeow!”

I reached out my hand.

“Meowmeow.”

I smiled brightly to reassure her not to worry.

But the more I did that, the more Mother wailed.

Pat, pat.

I lifted my short, chubby arms and patted Mother’s arm.

Ah, my sausage arms are heavy.

“Isabel, are you trying to comfort Mother?”

Nod.

I can’t speak, but they say body language is a universal language.

Then Mother was surprised.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Nod.

This isn’t the first time I’ve sent this signal.

“Now! Mau auu ieo（I can understand what you’re saying!）”

Mother turned her head and asked Ruruka, my nanny.

“Does she really understand what I’m saying?”

“I believe so.”

Ruruka lowered her voice.

“Actually, I haven’t told anyone. I knew they’d just scold me for saying something ridiculous.”

“But… Isabel really seems to understand us.”

“I think Her Highness is a genius.”

The baby’s body reacted strongly to the transparent praise.

I clapped my hands without realizing it.

“Kyaha!”

“Look, she likes it when you praise her.”

Mother hugged me tightly.

“It’s okay even if you’re not a genius. Just grow up healthy.”

A few more days passed.

Once I started speaking, my pronunciation gradually became clearer.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

The Bilotian Imperial Family had a tradition.

It was a tradition called the ‘Selection Ceremony’, which was like the Korean ‘Doljabi’ (a first birthday celebration where the baby chooses an object that is believed to foretell their future).

And that was today.

Ruruka knew that I understood language, and she whispered to me.

“Your Highness just needs to choose the sword you want the most.”

“Okay.”

“I’m already looking forward to how surprised people will be.”

Ruruka’s eyes were filled with pride.

She looked like an enthusiastic parent who was proud of their talented child.

“I will open the doors to the banquet hall.”

The attendants opened the doors, and Ruruka and I entered the banquet hall.

Ah, it’s so bright.

Being one year old, my eyes were quite weak, and I wasn’t used to the light of the chandeliers that were emitting a brilliant radiance.

Far away, Father and Mother were sitting side by side at the head table.

Behind them stood Sir Viaton, Father’s aide and close friend, and next to Mother were my four older brothers sitting in a row.

‘Oh, my God.’

It was the first time I had seen Sir Viaton and my brothers in person.

This must be heaven.

‘I express my deepest gratitude for this transmigration.’

From Father to his aide and then to my brothers. I wondered if it was okay for me to see these faces for free.

Even if I saw them from a passing KTX train, they would definitely be handsome men.

To think that such drawing styles exist in the world…

My nanny put me down.

The floor felt soft.

‘Ooh, a red carpet!’

A long red carpet was spread out before me.

On both sides of the red carpet, the knights of the Bilotian Imperial Family were lined up in a row.

They had drawn their swords and crossed them, creating a feeling of a forest made of swords.

“Ooh.”

Cool.

The solemn atmosphere overflowing was indeed befitting of the knights of the Bilotian Imperial Family.

‘Are they models or knights?’

This world was a very peculiar one.

It wasn’t just the knights who were handsome; even the attendants who served were all far above average compared to what I knew.

It was a place teeming with handsome men and beautiful women.

In a world where the average level of beauty surpasses imagination, I think I could have my fill of eye candy for 21 years.

‘There will be swords stuck at the end of the red carpet, right?’

The great sword ‘Tidal Wave’, which symbolizes Bilotian.

And ten other smaller swords.

‘It is said that the princes of Bilotian have always chosen Tidal Wave.’

They say it proves the Bilotian bloodline or something.

‘It’s all good. It’s all good, but…’

The problem was that I had to overcome the first death crisis today.

In Bilotian, there is an organization called ‘Geomrimwon’.

It was a powerful organization composed of descendants from the founding families who had greatly contributed to the establishment of Bilotian.

Among them were hardliners who did not acknowledge the Bilotian princess.

They would not tolerate a female child who could not learn Bilotian swordsmanship holding ‘Tidal Wave’.

‘The scenario is that an assassin will pop out the moment I touch Tidal Wave, right?’

According to the novel, I ‘luckily’ survived.

They said the sword barely missed by a hair’s breadth or something.

But I am not Isabel from the novel.

Being lucky enough to survive means that if you’re unlucky, you die.

‘I absolutely cannot die.’

I will never die.

I clenched my fists tightly.

How can I die with these faces around?!

‘What about Milkis? What about macarons? What about meat! What about Tteokbokki!’

It’s too unfair.

I will enjoy my 21 years to the fullest.

‘I need to create a variable.’

So, I have to proceed a little differently from the novel.

The more variables there are, the more the situation will change.

Toddling, toddling.

I’m still not able to walk properly, so I crawled diligently.

‘Variable!’

I saw small stones called mana stones here and there.

They were traps that would cause a small explosion if touched.

Babies participating in the Selection Ceremony had to avoid these traps and reach their destination.

“Ebebe. Yucky.”

I decided to ignore such things and pass by.

Eventually, I arrived at the destination where more than ten swords were stuck.

In the Selection Ceremony, this place was called the ‘Hall of Swords’.

I heard Father’s voice.

“Choose your sword.”

I sat down for a moment and thought.

‘The moment I grab a sword, the assassin will appear, right?’

Yeah. I’m not grabbing it.

If I pick up Tidal Wave, the assassin will come out.

If I pick up a sword other than Tidal Wave, I’m not qualified as a princess.

‘This is the time for clichés.’

If I pick up the First Emperor’s sword here, it’s not a romance fantasy novel.

If it’s a romance fantasy novel, I should choose my cold and arrogant father.

I don’t know about the sword that symbolizes the Imperial Family or anything!

I decided to fulfill the cliché of a cute daughter choosing her handsome but scary father.

The justification wasn’t bad either.

Father was the best swordsman in the empire.

“Ngaaah!”

But my body wouldn’t move properly.

It was because of the fear of the assassin who might appear at any moment.

‘I have to forget about the assassin for now.’

The baby’s body could only think of one thing at a time.

Thinking about the assassin made me too scared to move.

So, I had no choice but to sing a song.

“Geome, seupul, jinaseoeung. Eung, eung, gieoseoung.”

Through the, forest of, swords, let’s go. Crawl, crawl, let’s crawl.

The baby’s body completely forgot about one thing when it focused on another.

Singing the song allowed me to forget my fear, and only then could I move.

‘Wow, the stairs are really high.’

These stairs, designed for adults, were too high.

Fortunately, the assassin didn’t appear.

“Eubeo! Eubeobeo!”

‘I, climb, to the top!’

Well up, courage!

I put strength into my hind legs.

Heave-ho!

I climbed up one step.

Struggle, struggle!

My right leg floated in the air.

I put strength into my left and right arms.

Heave-ho.

I succeeded in conquering one step.

‘I did it!’

I climbed one whole step all by myself.

‘Ah, I’m tired.’

Let’s see, there are about 21 more steps left.

‘I need to rest for a bit.’

Perhaps it was because I had used too much strength. I started to feel sleepy.

‘This is a bit… too… sleepy…’

My vision blurred.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Coo, coo.

The Geomrim scholars of Geomrimwon who participated in the Selection Ceremony were speechless as they watched Isabel fall asleep.

Empress Serna was covering her mouth with both hands.

‘What to do…’

Adults cannot interfere in the Selection Ceremony.

Everyone just stared blankly at Isabel at this absurd sight.

Ron looked at his sleeping daughter with emotionless eyes.

He used mana to transmit a small voice to his aide, Viaton.

『Is this how female children are?』

No female children had ever been born in Bilotian.

It had been like that for 500 years, so there was no information about female children.

『I don’t know either.』

Viaton was a powerful swordsman who had no rivals within the Bilotian Imperial Family except for the Emperor.

They had been close friends since childhood and still treated each other like brothers.

He was also one of the few people who could speak casually with Ron.

『She was muttering strange sounds earlier. What was that?』

Viaton thought hard and came to a conclusion.

『It’s highly likely that it was an instinctive magic chant.』

Crawl, crawl, let’s crawl. Through the, forest of, swords, let’s go.

It was certainly a voice with a certain rhythm and melody.

『Are you claiming that a one-year-old child is chanting a magic spell?』

『It’s rare, but it’s a phenomenon that definitely occurs. In the Mirotel Magic Federation, they call this phenomenon ‘Innate Chant’.』

『Nonsense.』

『My own mother chanted an Innate Chant at that age.』

『That’s a very interesting phenomenon.』

Viaton’s mother was an excellent mage and someone who had taken good care of Ron since he was young.

Ron also treated Viaton’s mother like a second mother.

When his mother was mentioned, Ron also took a step back.

However, he wasn’t completely convinced.

『That child has inherited the blood of Bilotian. How can the princess of the Sword Empire chant an Innate Chant?』

Then Viaton’s answer was outrageous.