Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 216

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Hey! What’s with calling me over just because you’re heading to the Nobility Council?!”
When I arrived at Sera’s Crown Princess Palace, Seian Crowell was already waiting outside. His hair shimmered with anticipation, and a subtle fragrance emanated from him—likely scented oil.
“Seian. You look absolutely stunning today.”
“Hmph! As if you’d have the eye to judge!”
His outfit was fitted snugly, accentuating his elegant lines in a way that would surely draw envious glances from countless women. He truly was beautiful and striking in every way. I praised him sincerely, grateful for how much effort he’d put into his appearance.
“Lady Hollis resembles a swift bird. Especially in that tailcoat—you look like a swallow with that forked-tail coat.”
Seian Crowell kicked at my shin.
“Ow!”
Of course, kicking me only hurt Seian’s foot. He hopped on one leg, cursing me while tears streamed down his face, wondering what my body was made of—iron?
My bones were probably harder than steel.
“But I have a favor to ask.”
“You? Asking me?”
Seian seemed utterly shocked, pointing back and forth between himself and me with wide eyes. I wanted to bite those adorable fingers.
“Yes. I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Why? Why?”
He immediately went on guard, bristling like a dark-furred polecat. So adorable I wanted to bite him.
Seian insisted he was useless and couldn’t possibly do anything I couldn’t, spouting accusations about my hidden agenda before hiding behind Reina Letem. It would be wise to separate him from Reina before I grabbed him by the hair and dragged him away.
“Get in the carriage first.”
Since the Main Palace was some distance away, I extended my hand to Seian as we boarded the carriage the attendant had prepared. Having forgotten all about hiding moments before, he quickly grasped my hand and sat beside me, waiting for me to speak.
“I want to know where Sunbird is.”
“I don’t know.”
The way he answered so quickly made it obvious he did know. Reina Letem seemed to reach the same conclusion, giving Seian a look of utter amazement at his stupidity. He was being far too transparent.
“You seem to know something.”
“I don’t know, I won’t tell! Sera’s been scary lately!”
See, he definitely knows. His refusal to speak simply meant he knew but wouldn’t say it aloud. Watching Seian spill everything from his own mouth, Reina Letem’s expression shifted from surprise to shock.
“The Transparent Crown Prince is really this much of an idiot?”
“When you live a life where others make decisions for you, your reasoning typically deteriorates.”
“Ah, because of Sunbird.”
That was likely the case. Until now, simply following Sunbird’s orders had guaranteed his livelihood—why would he bother with the exhausting task of independent judgment? Sunbird’s opinions were far more efficient and closer to the correct answer anyway.
“Hmm.”
Now that I thought about it, was Sera’s weakness in practical situations also largely Sunbird’s influence? If she’d simply followed Sunbird’s orders, she would have rarely needed to make her own decisions. I’d truly excelled at naming him. Indeed, I was the world’s greatest Puppet King at pulling strings.
“Think carefully, Seian. Who frightens you more—Sera or Cecilia?”
“Obviously Cecilia.”
“Which would be more terrifying—betraying Sera and getting caught, or betraying Cecilia and getting caught?”
“Ha…”
His reasoning seemed to be recovering now.
Seian Crowell clutched his head in anguish. Betraying his current guardian Sera would result in something dreadful. But defying Cecilia of the Deep Abyss Organization might mean never walking under the sun again.
In truth, Seian Crowell narrowly escaped death thanks to me back then. Without that ring, he would have spent his entire life serving young Seian Mark Two and Mark Three in the underground depths of the Crown Princess Palace, occasionally conversing with Cecilia when she visited.
Of course, when that time comes, I’ll find a way to save him regardless.
“If I tell you, then… what will you do for me?”
Seian Crowell has grown. He’s learned to negotiate. I found it somewhat unexpected, yet I answered him faithfully. I didn’t know what he wanted, but if it was something I could do, I could do anything.
“Anything I’m capable of.”
“Huh?! Anything?!”
What on earth was he planning to ask for? Seian Crowell’s demands were predictably modest, so I wasn’t particularly worried, but seeing his face flush like that made me uneasy. Was he going to ask me to do something humiliating? I’d hate it if he asked me to recite the titles of those harem novels the reckless Crown Prince reads while buying books from a bookstore.
“How about this—meet me in the morning and chat a bit, have lunch together, watch a play, browse a bookstore, have some tea, have dinner, and then part ways.”
“Oh…”
“Oh…”
Most people would call that a date. I was debating whether to say it, but Reina Letem nudged my shoulder and urged me to just say it, so I decided to be honest.
“I’ll go on a date whenever you want.”
“That’s not a date!”
“Oh…”
“Oh…”
Was he really going to insist like that? Did he think it would work? Does Seian Crowell think everyone else is an idiot? Why is this bastard so stupid?
“I said meet in the morning, talk, eat lunch, watch a play, go to a bookstore, have tea, eat dinner, and part ways! When did I say let’s go on a date!”
“Hmm…”
“Evan. I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while. What do you see in him?”
“His face.”
Does Seian Crowell have any other merits besides that? When I answered that way, Reina Letem told me to live as I pleased, and Seian Crowell shrieked and scratched my shoulder.
“Let’s schedule the date for another time then.”
“It’s not a date!”
Fine, let’s call it not a date. I answered casually while soothing Seian Crowell and asked about Sunbird’s whereabouts. The man hesitated for a moment, then shouted again.
“Hey! You can’t say I told you, right? Absolutely not?!”
“Of course. I won’t breathe a word that you told me.”
Even without me asking the source, anyone with common sense could guess that Seian Crowell was the one who told me, but Reina Letem and I kept our mouths shut. Seian Crowell didn’t need to know much. And it was cuter that way.
“Well, Sera’s mother is at the Family Estate Outside Palace, right? He’s there with her.”
‘With her’ really meant ‘confined with her,’ but Seian Crowell didn’t need to know much. You just grow up thoughtlessly and become a docile ferret.
“But why are you attending the Nobility Council? I thought you were drawing a line between yourself and House Neftis?”
The transparent Crown Prince was surprisingly perceptive about these things. Perhaps it was from years of eating the rice of observation in the Imperial Palace. Certainly, I didn’t actively work as the Eldest Daughter of Neftis and had left practical matters to my younger siblings. There was only one reason to participate in the Nobility Council under the Neftis name when only influential nobles could attend.
“To see Sera lose her mind and become a babbling mess, then leave the conference hall with a meaningful smile.”
“Still have a terrible personality. That’s reassuring.”
Sera, with a head as small as her stature, would only later realize why I wore that meaningful smile. Go ahead and wail in despair after losing Sunbird.
“But seriously, Sera is really scary these days. If I do something wrong, I feel like I should hide somewhere too.”
“If you wish, use the Neftis Townhouse. I’ll tell my younger siblings to treat you with utmost hospitality.”
“Hmm.”
Ever since my father went on strike, Bruno has been looking after things, and one of their house mages is stationed at the Neftis Townhouse. Apet occasionally comes and goes from the guest room. There’s nothing to fault regarding security.
“Since you’re an idiot, I’m telling you in advance—you have to come alone on the day we spend time together, right? You absolutely can’t bring other people or friends with you, okay?”
“I know basic date etiquette.”
“No, it’s not a date!”
Fine, if that’s what you say, Seian Crowell, then so be it. As the carriage arrived at the Main Palace, I stepped out first and escorted him. Reina Letem, who descended last, looked at me and openly said, “Pathetic.”
With such filthy language spilling from her lips, it was no wonder she’d reached her age without a single male suitor. I shook my head in disapproval and headed toward the Noble Council Chamber. Reina Letem cursed at me, threw a tantrum, and followed along.

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Today’s gathering of nobles and members of the Royal Family had convened for one purpose: to decide whether the death of the Previous Emperor would be recorded in Imperial history as murder or natural causes.
For months now, this decision had been dragged out. Princess Sera’s faction, wishing to record the Previous Emperor’s death as the Crown Princess’s crime of filial impiety, insisted it was murder. The Crown Princess’s faction, preferring to bury the incident quietly and proceed as always with the eldest daughter’s succession, advocated for natural causes.
“Please, everyone be seated.”
Wow, with my father absent, Bruno is presiding over this. As Bruno spoke with gravity, he spotted me and began winking in my direction. I pretended not to notice and looked instead at Sera, seated across the way. I’d heard she’d become quite fearful lately, and her expression had certainly grown more unpleasant—she had that Cecilia aura about her. Like short-haired Cecilia.
“We’ve been dwelling on this single matter for months already. Let’s just handle it roughly and move on. How much longer will we leave the Emperor’s throne vacant?”
“How can such a grave matter be handled roughly! The evidence clearly points to the Crown Princess’s doing!”
“A single sword being identified as property of the Crown Princess Palace—how does that prove Her Highness committed the act? Did you witness her striking the blow?”
“You, sir! Mind your tongue!”
“Oh my! My apologies! Your features are so indistinct that I failed to catch your name, and I’ve committed a rudeness!”
“This person is truly insufferable!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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