TMLOST 02

Chapter 2

A Tiresome Time-Limited Life (2)

At first, she thought she was having these dreams because she had recently read too many romance fantasy novels.

But as countless nights passed, the scenery before her and the situation she faced never changed.

She finally accepted that staying silent would solve nothing.

The people around her only called her “Your Highness” without giving any explanation. Since nobody else said anything, she had no choice but to ask first.

“Imperial Princess, how is your condition today?”

“……What is my name?”

Not knowing what else to say, she finally spoke for the first time to the physician who had come to check on her condition.

“Y-You are Imperial Princess Elia Richard.”

The physician looked startled for a moment but quickly regained his composure.

She could not continue living a life of simply eating and sleeping forever.

She needed to accept reality.

Still—

Elia Richard?

The name was far too familiar, so she asked another question.

“Where is this place?”

“This is the Rier Empire, and the current year is Imperial Year 619.”

Elia Richard of the Rier Empire.

A weak body with no strength at all.

Those facts made her realize where she was now.

Inside the world of The Queen of the Tyrant.

At first, she wondered if she had crossed into another world while still carrying her sick body.

But after learning whose body this was, she had no choice but to understand.

Her second life was also a time-limited one.

Several more days passed like that.

The physician who first spoke with Elia had immediately reported everything to the Emperor that same day.

According to him, orders had been given to prevent information about her condition from leaking outside the imperial palace.

The reason he was telling Elia this was so she would not accidentally reveal anything if someone came to visit her.

An imperial princess suffering from memory loss—

The fact that she already had an unknown illness and was living on borrowed time was enough to damage the Empire’s reputation.

‘Who would have thought someone so promising would become such a troublesome imperial princess?’

The truth about her being terminally ill had not even been revealed by the imperial family first.

Elia had once been very active in high society, but after she began refusing every invitation from the nobles, people naturally became suspicious, and rumors started spreading from there.

That was why they especially needed to hide the fact that she had also lost her memory.

The physician suppressed all those hidden thoughts and merely delivered the Emperor’s orders before waiting for Elia’s answer.

“Understood.”

Elia accepted his words calmly.

If outsiders came to visit, she simply had to pretend as much as possible that she had not lost her memory.

There was nothing else she could do.

“Even with my lacking knowledge, I will do my best to help Your Highness.”

“Thank you, nanny.”

When she had first asked who she was, the middle-aged woman had burst into tears, asking if Elia had forgotten even her.

That reaction had actually reassured her.

Even if she tried her best, it would be difficult to learn information alone when the original story had not even begun yet.

The nanny hurried off immediately after the physician left, saying she would organize some books for her.

The next day, she returned with several books and placed them on the desk.

The first books covered the Empire’s basic history and information about the major noble families.

Among them was information about the vassal state, the Kingdom of Veronica.

After purging the traitors who had thrown the nation into chaos, the Emperor placed Lotte, the surviving royal bloodline, onto the throne and ordered Veronica to prosper beneath the Rier Empire as its subordinate kingdom.

The Empire could have absorbed the land completely, but at the time, the Empire was expanding its territory in many places at once.

The Emperor had only extinguished the nearby rebellion quickly to prevent further damage and could not afford to waste more military power there.

Besides, the Emperor, who was busy conquering rich lands, had no interest in the gloomy territory of the Kingdom of Veronica.

He simply placed the young Lotte on the throne and made the kingdom a vassal state in preparation for any future problems.

‘Wow…….’

Since there was little interaction with the Kingdom of Veronica afterward, the section ended with only a brief explanation about Lotte and her knight, Aaron Albert.

So the reason the Emperor never met Lotte no matter how desperately she wished to see him—

Was simply because she was of no benefit to the Empire.

The question she had while reading the novel was finally answered, but the truth shocked her at the same time.

She felt relieved to learn the hidden story, yet it also felt like opening Pandora’s box.

Lying in bed blankly staring at the sky, Elia suddenly had a thought.

‘Maybe I can change Aaron’s fate?’

Changing the fate of Elia herself, who suffered from an incurable illness, would probably be impossible.

But right now, it was still one year before the original story began.

If this was before Lotte developed feelings for Llewellyn, then maybe there was still a chance.

Aaron might be clumsy at expressing himself, but nobody could surpass the sincerity of his feelings toward Lotte.

If Aaron’s feelings were conveyed before the original story began, perhaps the future could change.

The novel never directly stated that Aaron loved Lotte because his role was small.

But beneath that unconditional devotion, there had to be love.

After all, he only looked at Lotte and showed no interest in any other woman.

When the love between Lotte and Llewellyn finally came true, Aaron once said something unforgettable.

[If you are happy, then I will live to protect your happiness.]

If that was not love, then what was?

“Then……”

Elia had one year.

Before the original story began, she decided she would become Cupid for Aaron and Lotte.

But first, she needed to meet them before she could play matchmaker.

Knock knock.

“I have come to deliver His Majesty the Emperor’s orders, Imperial Princess.”

“Come in.”

She had just been wondering whether she should ask the Emperor for help.

And now the Emperor had sent for her.

The door opened, and an elderly butler slowly walked inside and bowed politely.

“I greet Your Highness. I am the head butler.”

Although it was her first time seeing him, she roughly knew who he was.

The head butler was one of the Emperor’s closest aides and someone who strongly supported Elia inheriting the throne.

In the original story, he was eventually killed by Llewellyn alongside the Emperor because he did not trust Llewellyn becoming Emperor.

“The same as always.”

It was only a polite greeting, but there was nothing else she could really say about her condition.

Perhaps understanding her feelings, the butler smiled gently at her answer before speaking again.

“His Majesty wishes for the whole family to share a meal together for the first time in a while. Would Your Highness be able to attend tonight’s dinner?”

What power could a sick imperial princess possibly have?

Of course she had to agree.

Besides, this was actually a good opportunity for her.

Since arriving in this world, this would be the first time she could meet a major character from the novel instead of a background extra.

She felt both nervous and excited.

Time passed faster than expected, and soon it was dinner time.

Standing before the hall where the meal would be held, Elia took a short deep breath before signaling the maid to open the door.

The doors slowly opened.

After taking a few steps forward, she saw a familiar face.

‘Ugh.’

Before she could turn away, their eyes met.

The moment she saw those gently curved eyes, her body froze as if she had looked directly at Medusa.

“It’s been a while, noona. Do you recognize who I am?”

Silver hair.

Red eyes.

There was only one person with such a rare appearance who would call her “noona.”

Llewellyn Richard.

In the original story, the Emperor of the Rier Empire only had Elia and Llewellyn as his children, so there was no other possibility.

If there had been more imperial children, the story would surely have mentioned how Llewellyn slaughtered his siblings or explained their situations.

She had seen him endlessly on the novel covers, so there was no way she could fail to recognize him.

Even if she did not want to see him, she always had to look through piles of Llewellyn fan art just to find the occasional Aaron fan art she desperately searched for.

Still, seeing him in person felt different from what she imagined.

The red eyes that had once seemed full of madness on the novel covers now looked comparatively calm and gentle.

Whether he really was Llewellyn or not, there was only one answer she could give him.

“No.”

After answering briefly, she forced an awkward smile.

She could feel Llewellyn’s gaze slowly examining her.

Elia also wanted to look at him properly, but she endured the urge because she knew it would not end well.

‘Even if he’s handsome at a glance… he’s still not my type.’

“Elia.”

At the dignified voice coming from behind her, Elia turned around.

The owner of the voice was the Emperor himself.

The golden-haired Emperor with red eyes carried an overwhelming pressure far beyond what she had imagined.

Since the Emperor had invited the family to dinner, there were not many people who could possibly attend, so she had already guessed who it might be.

Elia slightly lowered her head in greeting.

Meanwhile, Llewellyn walked boldly toward the Emperor as though he had completely lost interest in Elia.

“I hope you have been well, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor’s gaze shifted from Elia toward Llewellyn, who greeted him.

Seeing the warm smile on the Emperor’s face made her feel strangely conflicted.

People could look different depending on perspective, of course.

But because the Emperor’s image as a cold-hearted father had been so strong in her mind, her thoughts completely froze.