TMLOST 01

A Tiresome Time-Limited Life (1)

“What’s so great about a tyrant male lead?”

That was what she thought after finishing all of The Queen of the Tyrant.

It was the love story between the queen with a dark past, Lotte, and the tyrant who suffered because he could never escape the shadow of his half-sister, Llewellyn.

Even if he suffered because he was the child of a concubine, did he really have to turn out that twisted?

In the end, he was still going to inherit the throne anyway.

“Hm.”

Rather than him, the one she truly pitied was the older sister who lived a short life and died young.

Since the story mainly focused on Llewellyn and Lotte, the story of the older sister, Elia Richard, was not explained in detail. Still, she was described as intelligent and broad-minded, someone trusted deeply by the people beneath her.

But that was only while she was healthy.

Once she became sick with an unknown incurable disease and slowly began to waste away, her position gradually weakened. Llewellyn began appearing before the public instead, building influence for himself, while Elia could no longer participate in politics or social gatherings.

The same people who once ignored him for being an illegitimate child immediately switched sides once they realized the imperial princess had no future left.

“It’s just like my parents. They buy me anything I need, but they never come to see my face.”

She could not help but feel attached to Elia because her situation was so similar to her own.

Her once warm family life had turned into loneliness where nobody visited her anymore. All the support that had once been directed toward her was now focused on her younger sibling, and nothing remained for her.

She remembered her mother’s cold voice over the phone, saying they were already giving her more than enough support with the private hospital room, medical expenses, and even her unproductive hobbies.

That those things alone were privileges she could only receive because she had been born into their family.

Even without hearing it, she already knew.

How many people died without ever receiving treatment.

How many people failed to get proper care because they could not even get a six-person hospital room.

How many people spent their days staring out the window because there was nothing else they could do after being hospitalized.

But why did nobody understand that losing her parents’ love hurt more than all of that?

“Elia probably slowly died while carrying the same feelings as me….”

Lotte, who lost her parents young and rebuilt the country in their place.

Aaron, who had to watch the person he loved love someone else.

And even Llewellyn, desperately struggling to overcome the invisible wall called Elia.

Every character in the story was pitiful in their own way, but Lotte and Llewellyn at least received a happy ending, so they did not stay in her heart for long.

The one she cared about most after Elia was Aaron, who lived entirely for Lotte.

A man that devoted should have been the male lead instead!

She could not understand why he had to spend his whole life unable to escape Lotte’s shadow.

“A man who’s incredibly gentle and protects you reliably by your side… how perfect is that?”

Just imagining it made her smile. Aaron was exactly her ideal type.

The small silhouette shown on the cover and the descriptions of his appearance in the novel allowed her imagination to run wild endlessly.

If Elia, the tyrant’s older sister, had met Aaron, maybe they could have been a little happier.

Although both Elia and Aaron were not described much in the story, it was clear they had lived upright lives without shameful pasts.

Most of their appearances in the novel came through the words of people who respected and remained loyal to them.

Their direct appearances were few, but they were mentioned from time to time in conversations throughout the story.

Still, it felt sad and disappointing that they both seemed to meet tragic endings in different ways.

“Am I the only one fangirling over Aaron? Why is there nothing but Llewellyn fan art?”

With her laptop open, she browsed fan art of The Queen of the Tyrant on social media, but everyone only seemed obsessed with Llewellyn.

Was this the sorrow of loving the second male lead?

There was not much information about Aaron in the original story, so people seemed uninterested in him, and that disappointed her.

Even during his brief appearances, she personally thought he left a huge impression.

“It’s time for your blood test.”

Her time immersed in the novel was short-lived.

Now it was time to return to reality.

To the life of a terminal patient suffering from an incurable disease that did not even have a proper name.

The familiar smell of disinfectant and medicine mixed with the damp yet cool steam coming from the humidifier.

“Should we use this hand today?”

“Yes.”

Her thin arms were covered in bruises from countless needles used for blood tests and IV drips.

Today, it was the left hand’s turn again, the bruises there having finally started to fade.

Whenever a bruise faded and a vein became visible again, another needle would be inserted.

“How are you feeling today?”

After finishing the blood draw, the nurse transferred the blood into another tube and asked the same question as always.

And as always, her answer remained the same.

“The same as always.”

“No improvements? Or any place hurting more than before?”

“No.”

Maybe death was truly getting closer now.

There were days when the pain became so unbearable that all the lights in the dark hospital had to be turned on in the middle of the night.

But now, she had become so numb that even the sting of the needle barely bothered her anymore.

“Don’t stay up reading too late tonight. Go to sleep early.”

“But there’s still the side story left….”

She knew living a regular life — sleeping early and waking early — was healthier than staying awake all night.

Before getting sick, she had lived like that too.

But she loved the emotions of dawn, and she hated going to sleep.

She would keep reading novels while fighting off blurry vision and heavy eyelids until she unknowingly fell asleep.

And when she opened her eyes again, sunlight would already be filling the hospital room.

“Then how about sleeping early tonight and waking up earlier than usual to read?”

“Books feel better when you read them at dawn.”

“The feeling right before sunrise and the moment the sun comes up are nice too.”

It seemed the nurse had come determined to persuade her today.

She wanted to resist more, but the nurse looked like she would not leave until she agreed, so she reluctantly nodded.

She could not keep wasting the nurse’s time when there were other patients to care for.

Only then did the nurse finally leave the room.

“Let’s sleep a little and wake up later.”

When bedtime arrived as promised, she decided to become a good patient for once.

She turned off the lights and lay down on the bed.

It was almost her first time sleeping while some hospital rooms were still lit outside the window.

I should hurry and sleep so I can wake up and read the side story.

Murmurs filled the air.

In her hazy state of mind, she could not understand what people around her were talking about.

It felt strange.

Until now, she had never heard noisy voices right before waking up.

What could possibly make the usually silent hospital room this loud?

The sounds did not seem to come from beyond the door.

They sounded very close.

“Ugh….”

The moment she let out a small groan to show she was awake, the surroundings instantly became quiet.

“Your Highness!”

…What?

Her heavy eyelids flew open at someone’s shout, and she saw countless eyes focused on her.

She had spent nearly all her time in the hospital, so there should not have been any unfamiliar faces left.

Yet every face around her was completely unknown.

Even if they were newly hired staff members, at least one familiar face should have been mixed in.

“I’ll go bring the physician!”

“You suddenly collapsed. Do you know how worried we were? Is there anywhere hurting?”

Looking carefully now, the women surrounding her were not wearing nurse uniforms.

They were dressed as maids.

And they were addressing her with honorifics, calling her “Your Highness.”

It’s a dream.

Ignoring the maids noisily fussing around her, she closed her eyes and fell asleep again.

‘Did I read too many fantasy romance novels? I’m not even royalty, but there are maids calling me “Your Highness.” What an over-the-top dream.’