Chapter 2: Locked Away!

The head court lady roughly placed me into the cradle, making my back and bottom sting.

If I were an ordinary baby, I would have cried my heart out in this situation.

Of course, my baby instincts almost made me cry, but I managed to hold it in through sheer willpower.

“......”

Because I am about to engage in a life-or-death battle of wills with someone who I suspect is the boss of this world!

'Come to think of it, they called me a princess... So this guy must be my biological father.'

He looked to be in his mid-twenties at most.

Beyond being the king of this world, he had strikingly white skin contrasted by black eyes and hair.

Standing at a towering height of nearly 190 cm with a broad build.

A face with a strong jawline, sharp nose, lips that seemed to never smile, and overall chiseled features.

‘He’s handsome.’

“You're Ugly.”

“......”

I don’t even know what I look like right now, so I don’t care how others see me... but it doesn’t feel great.

“You don’t cry.”

The king raised an eyebrow in surprise at my stoic demeanor as he stared at me intently.

'Do you think I don't know?'

My instincts from countless near-death experiences in my previous life told me:

'Don't cry. Not in front of this guy.'

I've seen eyes like his before.

When I was being trained to become an assassin, they would put the youngest child in a harsh situation to see their reaction.

At that time, the instructors would strangle the crying child.

An assassin must never show emotions, no matter the situation.

And the man in front of me had the same look in his eyes.

As if proving that I’m weak would lead to immediate disposal.

“The baby seems to like His Majesty very much.”

That's not true, so the newborn assassins should shut up.

I'm in the middle of a staring contest here, and you’re breaking my concentration.

Unaware of my struggle to stand my ground against the king, Court Lady Kim tried to make small talk.

“She’s not even smiling?”

Fortunately, unlike Court Lady Kim, the king seemed perceptive.

He quickly realized that I didn’t like him.

'Oh, come to think of it, I was under threat of assassination.'

Being reincarnated was already overwhelming, but now I was also in danger of being assassinated.

And to top it off, my father is the king, and all these bizarre situations had made me forget the harsh reality.

'Won’t they try to assassinate me again once the king leaves?'

It was a reasonable suspicion.

If I were a few years old, maybe I could survive, but as a mere newborn, I had no chance of surviving an assassination attempt.

In that case, the only way is...

“Gah!”

I’ll smile, so take me with you!

In my past life, I excelled at acting in various human roles!

Desperate to live, I gave the king a deadly cute baby smile.

There’s no other way to attract the attention of someone who hates crying than to smile.

“Goo, gah!”

“You look even uglier now.”

As expected, he’s not easy to deal with, being the boss of this organization.

He stared intently at my smiling face and delivered a heavy blow.

'Damn it.'

I couldn't help but sigh at the king’s obliviousness to his daughter’s assassination threats.

“Gwaa!”

But I am a professional assassin skilled at hiding my emotions.

While hiding my true feelings, I kept smiling at the king.

He furrowed his brows deeply, as if he couldn't comprehend why a baby would smile at him, and clicked his tongue.

“Is the baby mad from the start?”

“She’s smiling, so she must like His Majesty.”

“......”

Anyone could see that I was adorably waving my limbs and smiling, clearly asking to be held, but he just glared at me with a sour expression.

The atmosphere was better during the staring contest earlier.

“Your Majesty......!”

Creak!

Just when I thought I couldn’t keep smiling anymore, the door suddenly opened, and a woman dressed elegantly in hanbok rushed in.

“Your Excellency Gui-in has arrived!”

The nervous voices of the maids, who failed to announce her presence immediately, echoed belatedly.

Following the woman called Gui-in, another court lady stood, catching her breath.

“I greet Your Majesty.”

“Welcome, Lady Gui.”

The woman bowed deeply with a graceful gesture to the king.

‘Gui-in... a concubine?’

Even to my young eyes, her beauty was almost inhuman.

‘Why is everyone here so unrealistically beautiful, like actors?’

My fleeting curiosity was soon interrupted.

“What brings you here, Gui-in?”

The king turned to the beautiful woman with an impassive expression.

“I was worried because I heard that the princess had a fever all night, so I rushed over. I didn’t know Your Majesty was already here, and I apologize for my rudeness.”

“Did you think a tyrant wouldn’t care for his child?”

“Y-Your Majesty......!”

“It’s a joke. No need to be so frightened.”

It sounded more like a threat than a joke.

He must have excellent self-awareness to call himself a tyrant.

“Now that I think about it, aren’t these court ladies under your command, Gui-in?”

“I personally instructed them to take care of the princess with utmost sincerity.”

Wait a minute. So, this Gui-in woman is the superior of the court ladies who tried to kill me...

‘Then she’s the one who ordered my assassination?’

Furious, I flailed my arms.

Being a baby makes it hard to control my emotions.

Finally, I blurted out.

“Wa!!”

She tried to kill me!

“Bwa-bwa!”

Listen to me, I’ll explain!

“Yes, I knew you cared for the princess even before she was born. So, I’ve been considering it, and I think it would be best if you personally looked after the princess from now on.”

'What? You bastard?!'

The king ignored my desperate attempts and said something ridiculous.

“The princess needs someone to play the role of mother since the queen is absent.”

“So, you’re saying you’ll entrust me with full responsibility for raising the princess?”

“Yes. Will that be alright? You might find it burdensome with Prince Suyang to care for as well.”

“Not at all! How could it be a burden? It is an honor to be entrusted with such an important task by Your Majesty. I gladly accept your order.”

“I’m relieved to hear that, Gui-in.”

Although both were smiling, their conversation felt anything but pleasant.

And I was the only one who couldn’t genuinely smile!

“Wa! Waaah!”

Now I’m really angry. I can't hold it in anymore.

My baby instincts were screaming to cry out loud!

I flailed my limbs and cried until I felt my strength drain away and I lay down exhausted.

“Waa... boo...”

In this tense situation, I was overwhelmed by an intense drowsiness.

My baby body betrayed my reason.

***

“I can’t stand the sight of it anymore, but I can’t kill it either!”

The shrill voice of a woman pulled me from my deep sleep.

I was lying in a slightly different place than before.

It seemed that I had been moved to the concubine’s quarters according to the orders of that cold boss.

“We should have dealt with it before His Majesty arrived. How could you not handle such a simple task properly!”

“I have committed an unforgivable sin. I am truly sorry, Your Ladyship.”

Finally, I was able to clearly see the scene in front of me.

Court Lady Choi was kneeling in front of Gui-in, her face covered in blood.

Lady Gui held a birch cane.

‘To beat a court lady to that extent with a cane...?’

Despite her fragile appearance, she had the tenacity to beat someone severely.

She definitely had the potential to be an assassin!

“If you give me another chance, I will find another way to eliminate her without any repercussions.”

Another woman, who seemed to be a senior court lady, offered, but Gui-in shook her head.

“Enough. This might work out better. I’ll use her as a pawn to bring down Huibin when the time comes.”

‘Is this what they call palace intrigue?’

I made a mental note of the names mentioned in the conversation just in case.

“Then what about the princess......?”

“Wait until His Majesty gives the order. Until then, lock her in the furthest room of the Chibokheon and feed her just enough to keep her alive.”

She sounded like an assassin trainer.

Gui-in looked at me with a mesmerizing beauty as she directed her gaze my way.

“After all, when I become the queen.”

She approached me with a predatory glint in her eye, her hand reaching as if to grab my neck.

“Killing her will be easy.”

I stared directly into her eyes. The sharp nails grazing my neck sent shivers down my spine.

But I wasn’t scared.

Her murderous intent felt familiar and almost comforting to me.

‘This life is doomed too.’

I was filled with a grim certainty that this life would end up in ruins just like the last.

Prev Chapter - Chapter List - Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter