Daughter of the Emperor

01. Hello, I’m Baby

It was shortly after the birth when I regained my consciousness.

I knew it sounded a little strange, but it really was a day ago when I was born. Until then, everything I am was sunk deep into the water as if it were a dream.

My last memory, vague but barely at the end, was the fact that a strange man stabbed me in my stomach with a sharp knife, and I died after I was rendered unable to resist the ruthless hand of the man I saw for the first time.

Oh, Seriously! Come on! Even when you die of motiveless crime?

“Baw-”

I opened my mouth in frustration, but what came out was not a proper word. I just wanted to say, ‘This is so annoying,’ but instead, I frowned at the feeling of my toothless gums hitting each other.

What’s up with this weird voice?

That was when I realized. Oh, that’s right. I was a baby now. I felt somehow miserable. As soon as one died, reincarnation would come afterward.

“Oh, when did my princess wake up?”

I know right, but when did he come in?

I felt a hand hugging my body and I instantly reacted by yawning for no reason. In fact, I couldn’t tell whether it was night or day because my eyesight was so blurry. Of course, I had been getting better after a few days.

When did I wake up?

I didn’t even know when I woke up.

I was already feeling drowsy even after sleeping the entire day. Like, a lot. What was the point of sleeping if one would still feel sleepy after they woke up? Even after a peaceful respite, I was relieved when I slept again.

Oh no, my sleepiness struck me again.

Even so, I was glad no one said anything to me when I slept all day.

Speaking of sleeping, should I sleep again?

I closed my eyes again, which won’t open well, and I smelled something delicious. Ugh, now I felt that a scent was delicious. It’s over. I was really a baby now. When I opened my eyes, it was what I thought.

The milk.

The repulsion lasted only for a moment. My body reacted even though I knew it’s mother’s milk. I’m hungry. I ate hard because I couldn’t even open my eyes at first, but now I can open them! Still, the situation has not changed much. Yeah, I should eat it. What am I supposed to do?

At least this tasted good though. I was busy sucking what had been passed on to my mouth and filling my stomach. I didn’t know how I reincarnated, but it’s different to experience a baby’s life in action… No! What the hell am I doing!?

“You don’t have to be in such a hurry. Yes, that’s right.”

I got curious about this sweet language filling my ears. I’m sure babied learned languages as they grew. A newly-born child could not know the human language, but somehow their voices were always automatically interpreted to me.

Was that Korean? That can’t be true though.

“Princess, my princess.”

The lady patted me on the back as I finished eating. She was asking me to burp. I would like to do it quickly, but what could I do when I couldn’t even hold my neck? This body is my body, but I couldn’t handle it the way I wanted to.

“Princess…”

Oh, seriously! Why do you keep calling me that!

She called me with that pathetic-sounding voice, and when someone heard it, they will think I was dying. I also felt like I was a serious patient who died after hearing that voice.

Yes, do not worry. I’m fine here, nanny.

The nanny smiled at my little gesture. I was glad to notice it was a smile.

On a side note though, since they called me a princess, I thought my name was ‘Princess’ or I was a child of a noble house. However, I was a real princess.

Oh my, what kind of twist is this?

Oh, but a bigger twist was lurking elsewhere. I wanted to be born in a really happy royal family, but now that I was born a princess,…

“Your Majesty!”

Oh, he said he’d be here in two days, but he was already here. I grabbed the hem of the nanny’s dress in amazement. The nanny also stood in amazement with a pale face. The burf was back on its way. Oh, my.

“Y, Your Majesty!”

So I was reincarnated. I didn’t know the name of this body I currently used. Anyway, I was born under a huge responsibility, but I had a problem. My biological father was a bloodthirsty tyrant, Emperor Caitel.

Caitel Agregiant.

He was the handsome guy who came in with him.

“Glory to Evangelium.”

As soon as I saw the Emperor’s heel, my nanny held me as she bent her knees. However, his scarlet red eyes did not even look at her.

You are him.

The main character of the story I had been hearing all week. I had never seen him before. However, it didn’t feel like I was seeing it for the first time.

Is it because I have heard so much about him?

Suddenly, the air that had cooled down in this room turned into tension. I tried to straighten my back even though it does not make any difference.

There was only eye contact, but my body was shaking. Those were unbelievably threatening eyes to use while looking at a child; no, his own daughter. The fierce look held me back in tears.

This madman will kill me if I cry.

His maddened eyes were as red as blood. Silver hair with a tint of red which looked like tanned oars fell like snow, and its beauty was magnificent enough to be praised as heavenly creatures.

Yes, this was that man. This felt wrong in my first meeting with my father, but I had no choice but to look up with a face full of discontent.

So this handsome man in front of me was the Emperor of Agrient Empire and my father. He was a tyrant called the Mad Emperor of the Empire who toppled over ten kingdoms within five years of his reign and built up this United Empire.

Oh, God.

“…”

The heavy silence subsided. An expressionless and cool, insensitive eyes gazed at me with arrogance.

Those eyes looking down at me made me thirsty for no reason. Was this an effect of too much pressure?

“This is my child?”

At the moment, the tip of his lips twisted and a long stretch of eyelashes covered his eyes. Only then did the air weighing on me grew a bit lighter.

Ha, that God-like beauty doesn’t suit to be placed on the face of such a madman.

My cheeks swelled by itself. It was easy to tell because my cheek was chubby.

He laughed at the sight of it.

“Y, your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty!!”

Along with the voice of the bewildered nanny, I could hear the voice of another man. However, I didn’t have the chance to see what the new man looked like.

It was because on my neck, yes, I had a big hand on my neck.

I took a short breath.

I stared at the pupil of the fellow who held my neck. His eyes were looking down at me and it was more threatening to look up at him. However, the fear it induced was not enough to kill me.

It’s just, it’s just…

Oh, I could not believe this fellow was my father.

My new life was already 90% sh*t.

I sighed with lamentation and tears in my heart.

I could hear a particularly small breath of a child.

He must have heard it too. The emperor’s eyes were showing a bright brilliance. It seemed strange that I did not react to him even though he held my neck with a hand. That was weird for me too.

“…Your Majesty.”

I could hear a flustered voice behind him.

I felt pathetic hearing that flustered voice. Well, that was normal though. Anyway, I could not believe I am this calm even after facing an immediate threat to my life. Was it because of my experience of being dead once already?

What is the matter with me!?

I guess it was because I gave up this life as soon as I was born.

Phew… those terrible rumors about him. Fundamentally, he massacres people on a daily basis, and he is a madman who killed all the women he slept with. There would be no difference even for his child.

Yeah, if he would kill me, then do it quick. His eyes, that was not a father’s eyes. Oh, my life. What is the point of being reborn when that fellow was my father? I had not sold my country out of my previous life. If it’s not like that then why is my life like this now!?

“Ariadna.”

Caitel’s lips, which had been holding my neck still for a long time, moved. Suddenly, the cold hand holding my neck disappeared. He grinned as I shook my head against the sudden vacancy.

“Let’s call it that.”

This was the first encounter between a mad tyrant and his only daughter.

. . .

A baby’s life is monotonous. Eat, sleep, eat, sleep, eat, sleep, and repeat.

Yeah, that was really the end of the day. So whether my father came or not was none of my concern, I laid down the cradle because I had to stick to my daily routine. The sweet, fragrant of the fluffy quilt tickled the tip of my nose.

The nanny who was patting me on the back until the burp came out again, was now smiling at me. Her face was filled with relief.

“You did great, my princess. If you burst into tears there, your throat would have blown away. Very nice.”

That is true, but I could not help but get angry. Wow, was she talking to the baby about that? It was so unfair, but I could not speak, I did not have teeth, and above all, I was a baby! Boo-Hoo!

“Come on, you should sleep.”

I hate you! I hate you! I hate it!

I closed my eyes as I glanced at Serira, my nanny who was only twenty-three years old.

Fine. I am going to bed since that’s what you told me.

I was twenty-five years old before I died, so no matter how much I tell myself that Serira was my nanny, she still seemed younger than me.

I am screwed.

The fact that my father was infantile, clearly implying my life is already half ruined. The fact that Caitel had already returned from sweeping the southern kingdom of Icharta, told me it had been swept away a long time ago. I did not know what blood smells like, but my nanny told me earlier how the Emperor had the scent of blood around him.

“Can’t you sleep? Would you like me to sing you a lullaby, princess?”

Yeah, sing a song.

I nod, with my sleepy eyes close. It was just that little movement, but Serira smiled after seeing it. She was so pretty when she smiled. I heard she left her child in a family home when she entered the palace. I guess she managed to do it somehow.

“Good night, my baby, in the front yard and in the back garden.”

The familiar lullaby I felt like I heard when I was baby in my previous life blinded my eyes. I did not know if I am sleepy, but, let’s get some sleep. It’s sad to think so.

Oh, my gosh. I think I’m a real baby.

I’m about to fall asleep. At the same time, my previous memories and thoughts were intertwined. I’d been hearing things all week. You would die soon, the Emperor would not let you survive, or something like that.

More specifically, that lady in the past died like this, and the other lady died like that, so this was how they would die this time. Well, that was all.

Besides, my mother was already dead, and when she gave birth to me, my father raised his army to fight the kingdoms of the South. I thought I was the daughter of his first wife since I was called a princess, but my father was extraordinary. He’s twenty-six years old, but he still did not have any concubines.

Nevertheless, I was called a princess because I was his only child.

“How surprising for His Majesty to leave the princess alive, and give her a name.”

“Hush, do not say that.”

Oh, she’s here again. I wrinkled my forehead with irritation at the voice I heard in my sleep. The provider of my knowledge, and the woman assigned to me, Elene, was a chatty person. She was so loud. It is not been a day or two that I woke up sleeping with her voice.

“The princess woke up.”

“Oh, she is sleeping well.”

Haha, you are funny—you woke me up! I wanted to say something to Elene, but as soon as I realized I couldn’t because I was a baby, I felt so sad.

“Elene!”

“Sorry, I got it. I’ll be quiet.”

When Elene got depressed by my nanny’s voice, I finally felt relieved.

I went back to sleep with a relaxed expression. Elene could not stand it and chat about the new news.

Leaking the story in one ear, I recounted the stories I had heard.