No, what kind of childhood did he have to be convinced so quickly like this?
Is he really going to let this slide?
“?!”
What happened next literally unfolded in the blink of an eye.
Step—!
The king closed the distance between us, suddenly slipped his hand under my armpits, and lifted me up in one swift motion.
W, what?!
Startled, I was at a loss for words and couldn’t even make a sound, when the king’s sharp gaze swept over me from head to toe, and he finally spoke.
“It’s light.”
As if gauging the weight of a cargo, he repeatedly lifted me up and down.
“Far too light.”
As everyone fell silent, the king, as expected, wore a slightly subtle expression.
“Yeah, now I remember.”
“….”
“Back then you were just an ugly little lump… but now you’ve grown to be quite presentable.”
He glared at me as if challenging me, then spoke.
‘Mhm? Did I see that wrong?’
For a moment, I had the illusion that a faint warmth flickered through his eyes, which had been sharpened like blades.
“Y, Your Majesty. Don’t tell me…!”
The Chief Royal Eunuch, who had been anxiously watching the situation, hurriedly called out to the king.
“They say you’re my daughter.”
I stared at him blankly and tilted my head, not knowing what he meant.
“Don’t you have anything to say?”
“…?”
What do you want me to do?
I started racking my brain again.
There really wasn’t much I could say in this situation.
‘Then….’
I opened my eyes wide in determination.
It was time to show the desperate survival skills I’d honed until now!
“Fadher…?”
That’s right, calling him “Father!”
“Fadher…!”
But it had to be as adorable as possible—something that, once he heard it, he could never even think about killing me!
“Hehehe!”
I put to full use the “most lovable expression” I’d developed over the past five years and smiled at him.
‘This is humiliating.’
Still, to think that I, once called the greatest assassin, am acting cute for the very person who put me in this state.
I smiled while desperately suppressing the urge to swing a dagger at him right this moment.
“….”
The king was silent for a moment.
And slowly, his expression began to twist.
His already fierce eyes seemed to narrow even more, and even his mouth twitched.
“It seems the princess has some trouble with pronunciation.”
Is this not it?
If that didn’t work, maybe it’d be better to try a more human conversation.
‘Change of strategy’
I set aside the cute, lisping act for the moment and spoke to him more calmly this time.
“Fadher… aw you okay?”
“About what?”
“The foowish girl didn’t know anyfing, so she didn’t wecognize the sacred weapon and touched it… and because of dat, Fadher almost….”
“That thing wouldn’t have hit me in the head.”
“B, But it’s a wewief dat Fadher isn’t hurt. It was weally, weally an acksident. I’m sowwy.”
“….”
At my words, the king’s temples suddenly furrowed, and even a blue vein stood out.
‘This doesn’t work either?’
If admitting my mistake and apologizing didn’t work, then there was only one option left!
“Fadher, I’m so happy to see you today. It makes me happy. Actuawwy… the girl was awways cuwious about you and wanted to see you.”
Right away, appeal my harmlessness with endless expressions of affection!
Crack.
In that moment, the king’s large hand gripping my side tightened with force.
“Ugh.”
He was so strong that even a little pressure sent a sharp pain down my spine.
“Your Majesty…!”
Unable to bear witnessing this terrifying scene, Chief Royal Eunuch stepped forward again.
“I will immediately send someone to thoroughly investigate this and take the princess back to her quarters…”
“Forget it.”
Just as if the king were about to stop him, the strength in his hand holding me also slackened.
“Just by seeing me.”
Then the king quietly asked me a question.
“Are you saying you’re happy?”
His black eyes, swirling with emotions I couldn’t read, shone sharply as if they could pierce right through me.
“Yes! Because I’m very happy!”
Seizing the moment, I nodded my head adorably up and down.
Then the king made a “hmm” sound and spoke again.
“Even though I didn’t intend to see you for that long?”
“Yes!”
“Even though I’m a heartless and cruel father who didn’t even give you a name?”
“Yees!”
“Why?”
“Because you’re my fadher!”
For a moment, the king’s pupils trembled ever so slightly.
It was such a brief moment that I thought I might be imagining it, but I was sure that small change was a sign of approval.
“I like you no mattew what you look wike ow do, Fadher!”
Seizing the moment, I kept saying “I like you, Fadher!” over and over, driving home my harmlessness.
“Hehehe.”
Of course, I didn’t forget to flash a killer smile again, hiding my dark intentions beneath it.
“….”
Unaware that the king’s expression as he watched me was subtly changing in some indescribable way.
* * *
Fortunately, the king didn’t say anything afterward and let me down, and I was able to return to the detached palace.
“Ewwww! Uwwwaaaah!”
I rinsed my mouth with water, tainted by the lies I had spat out to survive.
‘That was truly a terrifying time….’
How horrifying it was to act cute for the father who had abandoned me.
I felt somehow uneasy.
‘But at least I got the information.’
For an assassin, gathering information about the target is essential.
There was plenty of indirect information, but I needed to understand directly what abilities he had and what condition he was in.
‘He was incredibly skilled.’
At the very least, I now knew for certain that I wasn’t skilled enough yet to face my biological father, and that I needed more training.
‘The problem is that it’s not easy to train while avoiding the court ladies’ eyes.’
It would be great if I had some foolish minions who knew the palace inside out and could be easily bossed around.
‘Anyway, since I worked hard today, maybe I’ll take out my favorite treasures for a little healing after a long time.’
Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I opened the gap in the floor and took out the hidden treasure chest.
“Oh, my beautiful treasures…!”
Hairpins, chopsticks, needles….
The secret weapons I’ve collected so far.
Others might call them trivial, but they have no idea how much effort I put into collecting each of these over time.
‘Even these things are precious to a princess abandoned and left in the detached palace…’
I took one out and swung it around a couple of times, but eventually gave up.
‘As expected, I can’t train here.’
The Court Lady Choi is very experienced.
If I practiced handling a dagger and accidentally broke something, there was a high chance I’d be caught immediately.
“Your Young Highness the Royal Princess! Where are you!”
They say even a tiger comes when called!
The peaceful moment was rather brief.
It was because Court Lady Choi burst in with loud footsteps.
I quickly hid the treasure chest and then lifted my head.
“Mhm…?”
But unlike usual, she didn’t have her usual annoyed and bothersome expression—she looked flustered.
“It is the command of Her Highness Noble Consort that we immediately bring the Young Lady!”
* * *
‘Why on earth did she call for me?!’
I rolled my eyes anxiously.
‘Has it been almost three and a half years?’
After such a long time, I stood in front of Jipbokheon.
This was the place where I literally stayed as a newborn, the residence of the Noble Consort Go.
Ever since she ordered me to be moved to the detached palace, as if discarding a useless tool in storage, I hadn’t set foot here.
It was the same even after I learned how to sneak out of the detached palace.
I never went anywhere I might run into the Noble Consort Go.
To me, the Noble Consort Go was an even more dangerous person than the king!
‘Could it be that she plans to get rid of me before becoming queen…?’
“You there!”
“?”
As I followed Court Lady Choi into Jipbokheon, I suddenly stopped in my tracks.
“Stand still!”
I turned my head and saw a familiar face.
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