chapter 3
The emperor looked down at me with such cold eyes that it made him seem utterly heartless.
But that wasn’t why I was shocked.
“Ba, bbaaa?”
W-what?
The moment I made a sound, the corner of the emperor’s lips curled into a grin completely unbefitting his dignity.
“Princess!”
Before I knew it, my body lifted into the air. The emperor had picked me up.
‘Ugh!’
Has this guy never held a baby before?!
‘Why is he lifting me like this?!’
His ridiculous lack of control made me grimace and cry out.
“Uwaaaah! Aaaah!”
Hey, hey! Watch your strength! Your strength!
As I flailed around, the emperor seemed startled and quickly pulled me into his arms. It was gentler than before.
“Bbaaa… abubu?”
Say it already! Why are you here, Duke Piccadilly?!
“Eububu…?”
Now that I thought about it, his voice was familiar, the room was familiar… and he looked like someone I’d seen before.
The emperor was none other than the “Duke Piccadilly” from my previous life—the very man I had entrusted the throne to. He was a grand general known as the incarnation of war, famous for his few words and his cold, unapproachable nature.
‘Why is a loyal subject from my past life my father in this one?’
Excuse me, sir! What the hell is going on here?
‘Me… the daughter of a loyal subject?!’
I’m his daughter?!
“My daughter~ my lovely little Darling!”
While I was still in shock, the former loyal subject’s lips approached my cheek.
“Waaah!”
Nooo!
I stretched out my hands desperately to resist, but I didn’t have the strength.
“Who did my daughter take after to be this adorable?”
“Waaah, waaah!”
This is insane!
“She takes after her daddy~.”
The emperor babbled nonsense and planted a loud smooch on my cheek.
‘No…!’
In the end, I had no choice but to surrender my cheek.
‘A loyal subject kissing my cheek?!’
“Oh my, my pretty daughter.”
This was pure shock and horror. The man I knew was not someone who spoke in such a syrupy tone, and when I died back then, I thought that was the end of it.
“My Darling! Oh my! Your eyes are pretty! Your nose is pretty! Who do you take after? Your daddy, right?”
‘This guy must’ve gone insane in the meantime.’
What on earth happened to you?
“What? You like daddy the most? Haha, don’t make daddy shy!”
Jeff’s nonsense showed no signs of stopping. I struggled desperately, hating every second, but he was having the time of his life.
I reached out to Miranda, silently begging for help, but she only smiled brightly, completely unaware of my suffering.
‘This makes no sense—someone save me!’
I felt like punching whatever god was responsible—though they’d never helped me once in my life.
Was this what they called a “twist of fate” you only see in books?
“Uwaaah!”
Is that what this is?!
“Waaaaah!”
I think this life is seriously messed up.
I fell sick for half a month after meeting Jeff—no, Duke Piccadilly, my father in this life.
It was too much: not only was my former loyal subject now my father, but he was also an extreme daughter-obsessed fool. The stress alone was too much for my weak body.
Time passed, and before I knew it, I turned three years old. It had already been two years since that shocking reunion.
During that time, Jeff did things completely unbefitting an emperor.
Sure, it’s understandable to dote on your child—but it’s a different story when that child is me.
At first, I thought maybe he paid extra attention because I had no siblings.
Also, my biological mother never showed her face—I even wondered if she was dead, thinking the original owner of this body had quite the tragic fate.
At one point, I almost revealed that I used to be his ruler, but I stopped myself.
Back then, revealing my past life had only ever made things worse. The only person who didn’t think I was crazy was Ulrika.
Considering Jeff’s personality, he probably wouldn’t call me insane…
‘But if he finds out the daughter he adores is actually me… he’d be shocked.’
Ah, this is driving me crazy.
For the past two years, I’ve cursed the gods nonstop. Even now, they haven’t shown themselves.
Just like all my previous lives, it feels like they’re telling me to just accept reality.
‘Damn it, you useless gods!’
I smacked the pillow with my rattle.
‘No matter how I think about it, this is too much!’
In my past life, I assigned him tutors and caretakers—and now I have to go through childcare myself like some kind of karmic repayment?!
“My goodness, Your Highness. What’s wrong? Don’t you like the rattle?”
“Hic… waaah!”
Aside from my mental turmoil, life in the imperial palace was peaceful.
As the emperor’s only daughter, I wore and ate all kinds of luxurious things.
I had no complaints about that part. If there was one issue…
‘Why was I born into such a young body this time?!’
I’ve grown so much, so why am I still only three?!
“Waaaah!”
Do you know how frustrating it is to have an adult mind in a child’s body?!
“P-Princess? What’s wrong?!”
At this rate, when will I walk properly? When will I go outside and find answers about this cursed fate?
‘Even eating is this hard!’
It took a tearful battle just to graduate from a baby bottle. I wanted to get past all this before my dignity completely shattered.
“Painting, painting!”
“Yes, that’s right, Your Highness. A painting.”
“Colored pencils!”
“Yes, they’re colored pencils. A specialty of the Kingdom of Nowen.”
I’d lived as a beggar before, so you might think this life is easy—but it’s different.
Back then, at least it was partly by choice. Now, every mealtime comes with forced bottle-feeding and overwhelming humiliation.
‘Still… I’m starting to get used to this life, more or less…’
I slowly turned my head.
The weather was bright—somewhere between spring and summer. The breeze was warm, no longer painfully harsh.
And above all, the princess’s bedroom had perfect temperature control.
“Haah…”
I let out a sigh. The nanny followed my gaze and smiled.
“You were looking at His Majesty.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
Don’t say things like that—if Jeff hears…!
“…Is that so?”
A heavy gaze fell on me. His deep voice might sound charming to others, but to me, it was terrifying.
“My daaaughter? Did you look at daddy? You did, didn’t you?”
Because I knew it would turn into that.
‘This is too much!’
I glared at him.
‘Don’t you have work to do?’
But instead, he grabbed his face dramatically.
“Gasp!”
“Your Majesty?”
“My daughter looked at me warmly!”
‘Are you insane?’
Even if he was a handsome man in his early 30s, those sparkling eyes were unbearable.
‘You’re older than me! Where’s your dignity?!’
The man who used to be a dependable loyal subject had completely vanished.
“My daughter spoke! She’s holding a colored pencil!”
“Yes, Your Majesty. At only three years old, speaking words and holding a pencil—she must be exceptionally intelligent!”
“She might become a painter!”
It was just a squiggly circle.
“Or perhaps a great novelist!”
I stared at them in disbelief.
‘Do novels sound like baby babble these days?’
Everyone had lost their minds.
‘Well… what can ordinary people do in front of power…’
Whenever I made a face, they only looked at me more fondly.
With my chubby cheeks and tiny hands, even shaking my head looked adorable.
‘Ugh.’
This is serious.
I ignored their gazes and focused on practicing walking instead.
Eventually, I also started practicing speaking clearly.
Strangely, talking was easier than giving up the bottle.
By age three, my language skills shot up to an adult level.
Maybe this absurd ability was compensation for my weak body.
The problem? Jeff made a huge fuss about it, calling me a once-in-a-millennium genius.
Still, having a child’s body was inconvenient.
‘Being a baby is the hardest thing.’
My tiny legs trembled with every step.
“Waaah!”
And soon enough, I fell flat on the floor.
‘What is this, a flipped-over bug?’
“This useless body!”
“My princess!”
Before I could even get angry, Jeff rushed over and scooped me up.
He looked like he might shoot hearts from his eyes and rubbed his cheek against mine.
“So cute! Who do you take after? Daddy, right?”
‘Who asked you?!’
“Are you bored playing alone, Darling?”
Not at all!
But my expression didn’t get through to him.
The sharp general who once commanded armies with a glance was gone—only a daughter-obsessed fool remained.
“So daddy brought you a companion.”
A companion?
‘What now?’
I blinked in confusion.
“For a three-year-old, isn’t that too early…?”
Creeeak.
Before I could respond, the large doors opened.
“Your Majesty, Marquis Fleur has arrived.”
At once, Jeff’s smile disappeared. He returned to his dignified self.
“Let them in.”
Soon, the doors opened fully…
And a toddler, around three or four years old, walked in holding a woman’s hand.
But that wasn’t all.
‘Th-three?’
There wasn’t just one child—
There were three.
