TMLOST 05

A Tiresome Time-Limited Life (5)

“How is it?”

Elia asked with sparkling eyes as she watched the movement of Aaron’s throat above the teacup.

Since she barely knew anything about him other than the fact that he was Lotte’s loyal knight, she desperately wanted to learn what he liked.

‘If he says he likes flower tea, I can even give him my share!’

Other nobles said they could not properly start or end their day without flower tea, but Elia absolutely could not drink it that way.

“My apologies, however…”

The moment Aaron hesitated, sounding like he was about to give a negative answer, Elia’s heart dropped.

Was my staring too burdensome?

Did my fangirling show on my face?

Did he dislike the flower tea?

Surely he doesn’t dislike me the way I disliked flower tea the first time I tried it… right?

People always said you had to listen until the end of a sentence in Korean, but this wasn’t Korea anymore!

“Yes, please go ahead.”

Inside, she was full of anxiety and worry, but she still had to maintain an elegant appearance. Carefully controlling her voice so it would not shake, she calmly replied.

Aaron slowly placed the teacup down and parted his lips as though choosing his words carefully.

“I do not know much about tea, so I fear I cannot give Your Highness a proper opinion.”

Hearing his awkward answer, Elia desperately held back the scream that almost escaped her mouth.

‘Cute!’

She quickly covered her mouth with her hand just in case the corners of her lips had risen too obviously.

‘Of course it’s fine not to know much about tea! Of course!’

While internally making a huge fuss, she noticed Aaron’s gaze on her again and forced herself to calm down.

“That’s understandable. The only thing I know about is flower tea too. If it doesn’t suit your taste, I can prepare something else.”

“No. It suits my taste well.”

Seeing Aaron hurriedly drink the tea while looking slightly flustered reminded Elia once again that her position was not an ordinary one.

If a superior asked, “Does it not suit your taste?” then of course people would say it did, even if they hated it.

Realizing she had asked a pointless question, she mentally smacked herself several times.

“You do not have to force yourself. Flower tea is not my preference either.”

Making sure the nanny standing nearby could not hear, Elia covered her mouth with her hand and whispered before smiling softly.

Every time Elia struggled while drinking flower tea, her nanny would scold her, saying:

“You used to drink flower tea so well, so why can’t you anymore?”

She constantly lectured her that anyone from the Rier Empire should never avoid flower tea.

If the nanny heard what she just said now, she would definitely explode in anger asking what nonsense she was saying.

Perhaps Elia’s attempt to make the atmosphere more comfortable worked—or perhaps Aaron simply found her strange—but he suddenly let out a quiet laugh.

The moment she saw him smiling, Elia clutched her heart.

It was a smile far too dangerous for her heart.

“Are you alright?”

Before she noticed, Aaron’s face had already moved close to hers.

Startled, Elia accidentally held her breath. Seeing that, Aaron became even more alarmed and quickly grabbed her shoulders.

“Your Highness?”

“Ah? O-Oh, I’m fine! Really, I’m perfectly fine.”

Seeing the nanny rushing over in shock, Elia quickly regained her senses and waved her hands hurriedly.

Even after hearing her answer, Aaron still carefully examined her face with concern before apologizing quietly and returning to his seat.

He was probably only being so attentive because she was an Imperial Princess, but seeing how loyal and kind he was made Elia realize Lotte’s words in the original story were true—Aaron truly was the kind of man who made many women cry.

‘What a sinful man.’

Resting her chin on her hand, Elia stared at Aaron before turning toward the nanny standing near the door.

“Nanny, please leave us alone for a while so we can speak comfortably.”

“…Understood.”

Even though the nanny reluctantly agreed, Elia was still grateful she listened. The nanny had an oddly overprotective side and hated leaving Elia alone.

“Sir Aaron, this is more comfortable for you too, right?”

“If Your Highness is comfortable, then I am fine as well.”

Even this stiff personality was charming.

As expected, everything about her favorite character was wonderful.

If someone asked her to choose the happiest moment since arriving in this world, she could confidently say it was now.

Only because she had the face of an Imperial Princess could she sit face to face with him like this. Otherwise, she would have been satisfied just secretly watching him from afar.

“You must have been very surprised that I requested this meeting. Thank you for coming.”

“I was only surprised that Your Highness knew of me. It is truly an honor.”

Aaron looked directly at her as if every word was sincere, and Elia felt like she might melt under his gaze.

She blankly stared back before lowering her eyes to the teacup handle in her hands.

Looking at him from so close still made her heart race uncontrollably.

Then suddenly, she thought this might become her last chance, so she lifted her gaze again.

“Actually, I wanted to visit the Kingdom of Veronica myself, but I was not granted permission. So instead, I asked if I could meet Sir Aaron.”

Aaron’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, and Elia smiled brightly at him.

“That was only two days ago, so I did not expect you to come this quickly. Though it’s late, thank you for coming. I truly wanted to visit personally, but the situation would not allow it…”

“I heard your health is not good.”

“Ah, yes. It’s a little bad. But not enough for Sir Aaron to worry.”

Aaron was already busy protecting Lotte, so just knowing he was aware of her condition made Elia oddly grateful.

“If it is not rude to ask… where exactly are you unwell?”

“Hm, it is not rude, but…”

Elia rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

What exactly was wrong with this body anyway?

She knew it was weak, but even in the original story, the illness was never explained. Nobody in the Imperial Palace ever told her the disease’s name either.

In that sense, it was no different from her original life.

“I don’t know either. I don’t know what part of me is sick. Or what disease I have.”

“You do not know the name of the illness?”

“Maybe… I’m simply weak.”

In the end, she was destined to die anyway, so did it really matter what illness she had?

Unlike her original body, the only difference was that this time she knew exactly when death would come.

Of course, she could not suddenly say:

“I only have one year left at most. Maybe six months.”

So she could only speak vaguely instead.

She had originally wanted to travel for healing—not only for herself, but also for the original owner of this body.

But honestly, just seeing Aaron right in front of her already felt healing enough.

No matter what, she was happy she could at least see Aaron closely before dying—and even see many different sides of him.

“I want to visit the Kingdom of Veronica where Sir Aaron was born and raised.”

Aaron’s expression did not change at all.

Or perhaps the change had simply been too small to notice.

“If you ever come, I will prepare everything so Your Highness may look around comfortably.”

Aaron, whom she thought was only gentle toward Lotte, was unexpectedly kind to Elia as well.

Even though she knew it was because of her status, she still could not stop her heart from fluttering.

As if he had already said everything necessary, Aaron quietly closed his mouth again.

Meanwhile, Elia desperately thought about how to continue the conversation.

She wanted to keep talking no matter what, but what should she say?

“If you like the flower tea… how about taking me with you?”

“…Pardon?”

At Aaron’s confused response, only one thought filled Elia’s mind.

I’m doomed.

She had meant to say, “How about taking some flower tea with you?”

But instead, her true thoughts had accidentally slipped out.

As the atmosphere instantly turned awkward, Elia laughed nervously while desperately trying to think of something to fix the situation.

“I-I mean the flower tea! It looked like you enjoyed the flower tea.”

“Ah… yes. It is not something a person like me can easily enjoy.”

No.

The atmosphere somehow became even more tragic.

Elia screamed internally.

This was not what she meant at all!

“I wanted to give you some flower tea since you traveled so far, but my words became mixed up… I apologize. P-Please give some to Her Highness Lotte as well.”

How many kinds of flower tea were piled inside this room already?

If she gave some away, she could reduce the amount she herself had to drink too. It was killing two birds with one stone.

It was far better for Aaron and Lotte to drink it than let it sit here untouched.

Even the nanny could not scold her for that. She was not throwing it away—she was gifting it to an allied kingdom!

Lotte usually preferred black tea, but since she liked tea in general, perhaps she would enjoy flower tea too.

“It is alright.”

“This is the best way I can show my gratitude. Please accept it.”

Not even Aaron’s handsome voice could stop Elia, whose excitement was now overflowing at the thought of finally getting rid of some flower tea.