🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 2
Why Are You Here?
The emperor looked down at me with eyes so cold that they could make him seem like a heartless man.
But what shocked me wasn’t that his expression was stern.
“W-what?”
As soon as I made a sound, the corners of the emperor’s mouth twitched into a grin that didn’t match his imposing appearance.
“Princess!”
Before I knew it, my body was lifted off the ground. The emperor had scooped me up in his arms.
“Ugh!”
Does this guy even know how to hold a baby?!
“Why are you lifting me like this?”
I grimaced and yelled as he clumsily handled his strength.
“Uuuuugh! Aaaah!”
Hey, hey! Control your strength! Control it!
When I flailed wildly, the emperor flinched for a moment before finally holding me properly. It was softer than before.
“Waaah, ahhh?”
Speak quickly! Why are you here, Duke Pickerdilly?!
“Eh… ahhh?”
The voice sounded familiar, the room looked familiar, and this person looked like someone I’d seen before.
It was none other than the Duke Pickerdilly from my previous life—a general famously called the incarnation of war, known for being taciturn and cold, never letting others see his gaps.
“Why is it that in this life, you, who were a loyal minister in your past life, are now my father?”
Hey, sir! What’s going on here?
“I’m the daughter of a loyal minister?!”
Me, the daughter of that man?!
“My dear~ our beautiful Darling!”
While I was still reeling in confusion, the loyal minister’s lips were already moving toward my cheek.
“Nooo!”
I desperately reached out, trying to push him away, but I wasn’t strong enough.
“Who does our daughter take after to be so lovable?”
“Waaah, waaah!”
Ahh, this is insane!
“You take after your father~.”
The emperor planted a ‘smooch!’ right on my cheek, speaking all sorts of gushy nonsense.
‘No…!’
In the end, I gave in and let him kiss me.
“To be kissed by a loyal minister!”
“My precious daughter.”
It was sheer shock and horror. The person I knew was not the type to make cooing noises, and I had assumed that when he died back then, that was the end—no further interaction.
“Our Darling! Oh my! Beautiful eyes! Lovely nose! Who do you take after? Your father, right?”
‘This guy… has he gone mad in the meantime?’
What could have possibly happened to you?
“What did you say? Hehe~ Daddy is the best~ Hahaha, Daddy, stop being embarrassed!”
Jeff’s flattery knew no bounds. I struggled desperately, hating it, while he went on gleefully by himself.
I reached for Miranda to signal for help, but she only smiled brightly and enjoyed the scene, oblivious to my suffering.
‘This isn’t right, save me!’
I wanted to throw a punch at the god who had never helped me in my life.
Is this what they call “a twist of fate” in books?
“Waaahhh!”
Is that it?
“Waaahhh!”
This life must be wrong.
In this life, I fell ill for two weeks after meeting my father, Duke Pickerdilly—no, Jeff.
Not only was he my father, but I discovered he was an extreme doting dad, and the shock of that, along with the stress of being harassed by him, was too much for my fragile body.
Time passed, and I turned three years old—two whole years since that shocking reunion with Jeff.
During that time, Jeff had done things utterly unbecoming of an emperor.
Of course, doting on his child was understandable, but the fact that the child was me made a difference.
At first, I thought he was being overly attentive because I had no siblings.
Moreover, the biological mother of this body was nowhere to be seen. Presumably dead, I thought about the cruel fate of the original body.
At one point, Jeff kept fussing over me so much that I considered revealing that I was his former servant from my past life—but I stopped.
I’d had too many complications in the past from revealing information about my previous life. Ulrika had been the only one who didn’t treat me like a madwoman.
Considering Jeff’s nature, he wouldn’t call me crazy—but…
‘He’d be shocked to know his dearly beloved daughter is me.’
Ah, this is maddening.
For two years, I had consistently cursed the god. I was doing so even today, yet the god never appeared.
As in all my previous lives, it seemed to insist I conform to reality.
‘Damn you, cursed god!’
I pounded my rattle on the pillow.
‘Even thinking back, this is too much!’
In my previous life, I’d arranged nannies and tutors for Jeff, yet here I was being subjected to childcare all over again in my reincarnation!
“Ooh, Your Majesty. Is something wrong? Don’t like your rattle?”
“Hgh… hhgh, huuugh!”
Other than my mental chaos, life in the imperial palace was peaceful. As the emperor’s only daughter, I had every luxury and delicacy.
I had no complaints about that. If there was a problem, it was that I had been born too young this time.
‘No matter how much I grow, there’s no end!’
Why am I still three years old despite growing so much?
“Waaahhh! Hhhhhh!”
Being mentally adult but physically a toddler was frustrating and exhausting!
“Princess? What’s wrong? Princess! Princess!”
How am I supposed to walk on my own and solve the divine problems when I’m treated like this?!
The injustice boiled over.
‘Eating is this hard?!’
Even gaining independence from the bottle had been a struggle, and I wanted to finish such processes quickly before my dignity as a soul collapsed.
“Picture, picture!”
“Yes, Princess. It’s a picture.”
When it looked like I might cry, a maid showed me various items, and I responded vaguely.
“Colored pencils!”
“Yes, colored pencils. A specialty of the Kingdom of Nouwen.”
Though I had lived as a beggar before, life as a princess was entirely different.
As a beggar, hardships were voluntary in a way. Now, every meal involved being force-fed from a bottle, and shame filled me, making me feel like I would shrivel up.
‘Well, I guess I’ll manage to adapt to this life…’
I slowly turned my head. The sunny weather suggested it was spring turning to summer. The warm, slightly hot wind was no longer harsh as before.
Most importantly, the princess’s room was the best temperature-controlled room in the palace.
The room could be cooled when it was hot outside and warmed when it was cold, perfectly comfortable for a baby.
“Phew…”
I let out a long sigh. The nanny who played with me tilted her head and smiled at my gaze.
“You were looking at the emperor, weren’t you?”
“No.”
I wasn’t.
Anyway, don’t say things like that, or Jeff will…!
“Is that so?”
A heavy, dignified voice fell on my cheek. Some might find it majestic, but I found it spine-chilling.
“Our daaaaarling? Did you see Daddy? Did you?”
Because I knew that soon, the voice would change like that!
‘So burdensome!’
I glared at my father with a look of disgust.
‘Aren’t you supposed to work?’
Even with that face, Jeff suddenly clasped his eyes in delight.
“Khh!”
“Your Majesty?”
“Our daughter looked at Daddy so warmly!”
‘Are you crazy?’
The emperor’s eyes glowed with overwhelming intensity. Even if an older man’s eyes were twinkling, this was unbearable. Especially for a man in his early thirties!
‘You’ve aged! Where’s your dignity, your majesty?’
I held back a sigh at my frustration.
‘You were so reliable as a loyal minister.’
How did you end up like this?
“Our daughter spoke! She’s holding colored pencils!”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Though she is only three years old, she is already speaking words and holding a pencil. She must possess extraordinary intelligence and talent.”
Everyone scrambled to align with “Daddy” Jeff’s excitement.
“She might become a great painter!”
I had only drawn a lopsided circle.
“Or perhaps even a great novelist!”
I looked at the maid and the attendant in disbelief.
‘Do novels these days even make sense?’
Everyone seemed out of their minds.
‘Well, what can a commoner do before power…’
Whenever I showed this expression, people stared at me with even brighter eyes.
With only my chubby cheeks and tiny hands, even shaking my head looked adorable to them.
‘Ugh.’
This was severe. Staring at me like that was exhausting, so I ignored all the attention and practiced walking. I was tired of drawing and writing, so I tried walking instead.
I also began practicing speaking clearly. Surprisingly, it was easier than weaning from the bottle.
Until age two, many pronunciations were difficult. But perhaps due to my countless past lives or a special gift of this life, my language skills suddenly skyrocketed at age three, almost adult-level.
I guessed this phenomenon was a trade-off for having a fragile body.
The problem was that Jeff caused another commotion, declaring our princess a genius granted by the gods, and bragged about it for a month, which was exhausting.
Meanwhile, physically being a child caused other inconveniences. Though my mind was adult, my body was slow.
Even simple movements were difficult, and the struggles I thought were worst as a king in my previous life were naturally negated while living as a baby.
‘Being a baby is the hardest.’
My wobbly little legs trembled with every step, but at least I could move forward.
“Waaahhh!”
Though I soon fell and thrashed on the floor as if I would destroy everything.
‘What kind of upside-down bug pose is this?’
This cursed body! Damn toddler body!
“Our princess!”
As soon as I threw a tantrum from falling, Jeff swooped in and picked me up.
The emperor looked as if he expected some fun game, his eyes sparkling with magic, and he rubbed his cheeks against mine.
“Ooh, so pretty! Who do you take after? Daddy? Yes, Mommy!”
Of course, the gushing didn’t stop.
‘Who gave you permission to make a solo performance?!’
Why not just play the flute too! Or an orchestra!
I hissed in annoyance.
“Playing alone is boring, isn’t it, our Darling?”
No! Not bored at all!
I made a disgusted face, but my look of desperation didn’t reach my father. The reliable general from my past life was gone, replaced by a doting fool.
“Daddy got you a companion so you won’t be bored.”
Companion?
‘What’s this all of a sudden?’
I blinked in bewilderment.
‘A companion for me, only three years old?’
It seemed too early. Even if my growth was fast, giving me friends so suddenly was premature.
Squeak.
Before I could protest, a large door opened, and people entered promptly.
“Your Majesty, Marquis Fleur has arrived.”
Simultaneously, the smile vanished from my father’s face. He became solemn and serious, the face I remembered from when he was emperor.
“Let them in.”
Soon after, the door opened fully, and a toddler, about 3–4 years old, entered holding a woman’s hand.
But the child wasn’t alone.
‘Three…?’
