IHWL 04

Chapter : 04

My father looked at me with emotionless eyes.

“If you truly understand what I’m saying, blink your eyes.”

Even his voice was extremely cold.

At that moment, Sir Viaton stepped forward.

He knelt on one knee and spoke politely,

“Your Majesty has asked me to provide proof. If you would entrust me with it, I will personally demonstrate it.”

“Permission granted.”

Still kneeling, Viaton turned halfway toward me and met my eyes.

It felt like sunlight was shining down on me.

Beautiful people really were something else.

With a warm, playful tone, he said,

“Ba-baba! Your Highness! Could you try blinking your eyes?”

His tone became very high-pitched.

“Bliiink~!”

It was the textbook way adults talked to babies.

I burst into laughter without realizing it.

I opened my eyes wide.

“Bwink!”

I blinked.

Viaton blinked at the exact same time.

It felt like he was copying me.

Like I had become a magician.

Giggle.

I laughed again.

“Now, Your Highness, this time—twice. Twice, okay? You understand, right?”

Viaton covered his face with his hand.

His hand was so big—or his face so small—that it completely covered it.

Thump, thump.

My heart started racing.

“I-is this… peekaboo?”

When would that beautiful face pop back out?

When would he say “peekaboo!”?

As a baby, I instinctively felt excited.

“Bliiink~! Bliiink~!”

“Giggle!”

I laughed again and focused.

I blinked twice.

“Bwink! Bwink!”

It was so fun it hurt my pride.

And it hurt my pride even more that I was enjoying it so much.

But still—it was really fun.

“Your Majesty. The princess blinked twice in succession. Would you accept this as proof?”

“……”

My father stared at me silently before speaking.

“What is your name?”

“Isabel!”

I slightly bowed and spoke clearly.

“I… am… Isabel.”

Uh—uh.

Because my head was still too big for my body, I lost balance—

Wait? I didn’t fall?

“He lifted me?”

There was no romantic “princess carry” here.

My father picked me up like I was some pitiful fish that couldn’t even support its own body.

He used just his thumb and index finger, as if picking up something dirty.

I flailed in the air like a fish caught on a hook.

“Ahhh! What is this embarrassing situation?!”

Being lifted awkwardly was one thing.

What really hurt my pride was—

that it was still fun.

“This is… the humiliation of flying?”

No, that sounded too pathetic.

Let’s call it… soaring humiliation.

It was a strange experience—feeling joy and embarrassment at the same time.

“Then what is my name?”

“Ron! Ron Bilottian!”

“Did you truly choose me?”

“Yes!”

“You really do understand everything and respond.”

“Yes!”

Viaton added,

“And it’s because His Majesty is the sharpest sword in the empire, correct?”

“Yes!”

“……”

“Or was it because that sword looked the coolest?”

“Yes!”

My father continued, looking completely indifferent to my answers.

“The princess has chosen her sword.”

He asked Viaton,

“Which sword did the princess choose?”

“Ron Bilottian—the final sword of the Sword Empire—His Majesty himself.”

No one had expected this outcome.

Silence filled the room.

Even the scholars of the Sword Forest Institute seemed stunned.

“Then record it. The princess’s choice today.”

In the end, the assassin never appeared.

Judging by the atmosphere, my choice didn’t seem bad.

“Successfully changed the original story.”

So much for the so-called “law of preserving the original plot.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, I felt dizzy.

It was the same dizziness I used to feel right before losing consciousness.

Back then, nurses would rush around, and I’d only wake up much later.

“I’m scared.”

The fear I had momentarily forgotten came rushing back.

Was this punishment for altering the story?

“No.”

If I passed out—

it felt like I’d wake up back in that hospital room.

No mom, no dad—just the smell of medicine.

Like everything would go back to how it was.

“No!”

I didn’t want to lose consciousness.

I didn’t want to suffer like that again.

“Please… I’ll be good.”

Someone once said I was born like that because of sins in a past life.

“I won’t sin. Even just living until 21 is enough. I’ll be really, really good.”

I didn’t want to go back.

I desperately begged someone.

“I’ll protect everyone here too. I won’t even ask to be loved. Just let me live for 21 years. I’ll leave behind something meaningful before I go. Just let me live until then. Please.”

It felt like this dream would shatter.

So I desperately clung to my fading consciousness.

“Don’t…!”

And I lost consciousness.

When I opened my eyes again, something felt different.

An unfamiliar feeling.

No—

something I had never felt before.

“It’s warm.”

I was in someone’s arms.

Surprisingly—

my father was still holding me.

“I’m being held.”

Someone was holding me.

And that someone was my father.

Something that might be ordinary to others—

was a miracle to me.

His embrace was wide and warm.

A comfort I had never felt in the hospital.

“Waaahhh!”

Tears burst out on their own.

I clutched the front of his shirt tightly.

As if I would never let go.

“Waaahhh! Mine!”

Then suddenly—

a chill ran down my neck.

“I have to stop.”

The Bilottian family was cold and ruthless.

Even as a baby, being clingy might get me rejected.

“I don’t want to be abandoned again.”

I tried desperately to stop crying—

but the tears wouldn’t stop.

My father muttered,

“A noisy child.”

For some reason, I missed my mother.

Maybe it was instinct—babies always cry for their mothers.

The ceremony must have ended.

Only my father and Sir Viaton remained.

“You seem quite troubled. I will take her.”

“Do so.”

Viaton took me into his arms.

At that moment, I stopped crying.

“She stopped crying when I held her.”

I looked up—he was smiling.

“Perhaps my arms are more comfortable, Your Majesty.”

“Your muscles must have gone soft.”

Carefully, Viaton patted my back.

His gentle touch made me feel soft and sleepy.

“Yes, let’s say my muscles have softened.”

Without realizing it, I burrowed into his chest.

His arms were incredibly comfortable.

“For the sake of the little princess, I wouldn’t mind softening my muscles at all.”

“……”

“I’ll take her back to her room.”

He carried me carefully.

It felt like floating on clouds.

As we walked down the hallway, he whispered,

“I think His Majesty showed some expression. I’m glad.”

His smile was dazzling.

He looked at me with pure affection.

“With someone this cute, if he doesn’t react, he’s not human—he’s a beetle.”

I laughed.

“I like… Viaton.”

How could I not?

A man this kind being described as a former assassin and sword demon—

that had to be a mistake by the author.

“Really?”

“Mm.”

He rubbed his cheek against mine happily.

It was soft—like dough.

He laid me gently in my crib.

Then lightly kissed my forehead.

It felt like soft jelly touching me.

“He’ll say a formal farewell and leave, right?”

“May straight cuteness shine with love.”

It would’ve sounded cheesy from anyone else—

but from him, it felt natural.

“So sleepy…”

I couldn’t stay awake.

I fell asleep before even saying goodbye.

Sleep, wake, eat, poop—

my life became an endless cycle.

Several months passed.

My vocabulary improved rapidly.

“Mommy! Pick me up!”

At my words, my mother smiled like she owned the world.

“How can she speak so well? Could she be a genius? Even the palace scholars say they’ve never seen such fast language development.”

“It’s not just language. Her emotional expression is so rich and mature. She’s so cute, yet so grown-up—it’s amazing.”

Ruruka praised me enthusiastically.

And praise made babies dance.

Wiggle, wiggle.

My hips moved on their own.

“And she can even perform innate chants. I heard less than 0.1% of children in the Mirotel Magic Federation can do that.”

“Really?”

“Yes! She’s definitely a genius.”

My mother and nanny always watched me with loving eyes.

I didn’t dislike the attention.

No—

to be honest,

I loved it.

“Who knew I was such an attention-seeker?”

And then—

the long-awaited day finally arrived.