Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 217

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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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Still a complete mess. I savored the familiar chaos of the Nobility Council, warmed by the sight of these women bickering. Once the middle-aged women’s quarrel subsided, Cecilia fanned herself with a flourish and opened her mouth, clearly intent on provocation.
“Sera, what do you think? Do you still believe I did it?”
“Your Highness would never do such a thing, I believe.”
She wanted to believe, but the evidence didn’t support it—she was clearly itching to recite her scripted lines. Sera’s demeanor remained so composed that I saw my opening and jumped in.
“If you want to believe, then believe. Sera says Your Highness is trustworthy—doesn’t that mean this council is finished?”
The moment I seized on her words and drove my point home, the composed Sera began to splutter. And someone behind me shouted, “Go, you mad dog!” Who the hell just said that?
“That’s not what I meant! I want to believe, but the facts don’t support it!”
“Facts? So my younger sister has already accepted as fact that I stabbed Father with a blade?”
“You just said you believed me! Which is it?”
“How can a princess of this realm be so inconsistent!”
“How could we possibly entrust her with state affairs!”
Excellent work, you Crown Princess Faction dogs—keep it up! I cackled and clapped my hands together, and Reina Letem clapped back at me. She said that even if her own grandmother came back to life, she couldn’t read the room like I could. I’ll take that as a compliment.
“Ugh!”
Sera, you’re Cecilia’s younger sister, but you’re also Seian Crowell’s sister. The way you just got angry and made that sound was so very Seian. But unlike Seian, Sera’s face had turned terrifyingly fierce, and she glared at me while grinding her teeth. Well, the atmosphere had ripened nicely—time to make my exit.
I whispered to Seian Crowell that we should leave, then stood up. As we rose, Reina Letem also stood, and the three of us began to file out of the Conference Hall. Sera and her faction couldn’t tear their eyes away from us. I wrapped my arm around Seian Crowell’s waist and waved goodbye to Sera. She looked bewildered. A creeping anxiety seized me—what if she never figured it out?
“You’re walking to Sera’s Mother’s place, right? Not taking that noisy thing you usually ride?”
“….”
“….”
So that’s what Seian Crowell was worried about. The method of travel didn’t matter to me, but if Seian Crowell was hoping for it this much, then honor demanded I oblige.
“I didn’t just dig my own grave, did I?”
So you can read the room after all—you’ve grown. I conjured ice wings on Seian Crowell’s and Reina Letem’s backs and took control of the noisy thing. Seian Crowell screamed and cursed me out.

◇ ◆ ◇

The man screamed while faithfully playing navigator. Upon arriving at Sera’s Mother’s residence, we pushed Seian forward as our representative for identity verification at the gate before entering. After walking for some time, I spotted a middle-aged woman in a distant garden filled with blooming flowers, conversing with birds while watering them.
“Oh my! Seian, is that you?”
Ugh! This is the middle-aged version of that radiant heroine from a romance novel!
The woman approached with wavy blonde hair cascading brilliantly, flowers and butterflies and birds adorning the background as she smiled broadly. She wore a somewhat outdated puffy dress, and the excessive bustle somehow harmonized perfectly with her, lending her an even more fairy-tale-like appearance.
Despite clearly dragging the dress across bare ground, not a single speck of dirt marred her white garment. This was a feat that required either divine blessing or some exceptional skill—something extraordinary, in any case.
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
“Formalities? We saw each other at last year’s State Banquet!”
Indeed, a true radiant heroine. Seian’s presence would have been completely overshadowed by Sera and Cecilia, yet she remembered his attendance. Besides, it seemed the Previous Emperor’s death meant no gatherings were held this January. The fact that she mentioned seeing us at last year’s State Banquet made that clear.
“But tell me, who are these two ladies?”
“I am Reina Letem. It is an honor to meet you.”
“I am Evan Laef.”
“Oh my! Oh my goodness!”
Sera’s Mother, who had suspected as much and was now making a fuss about being right, called over a maid who had been helping her water the plants, instructing her to fetch something. Then she grasped Reina’s hand tightly.
“Ice Heart and Flame Heart! I even have a doujinshi pairing the two of you!”
Truly, she deserved her reputation as a radiant heroine who survived even before Cecilia herself and her own mother. One must possess such complete lack of shame, tact, and dignity to survive in that dark Imperial Palace.
The woman who had brazenly boasted about owning fan fiction pairing them right before their faces gushed about liking both Ice Heart and Flame Heart, but admitted her true favorite was Flame Heart.
“Ice Heart has such poor tact—she must suffer so much!”
No, I certainly have better tact than you. Seian and I, possessing more awareness than Sera’s Mother, retreated three steps away from Reina to observe the situation. Watching us flee from the radiant flower-garden Empress, Reina’s eyes blazed with fury.
“You’ve expressed your affection for Ice Heart so openly so many times! She must feel terrible!”
“Don’t bring doujinshi settings into official canon!”
It was rare to see Reina so exasperated. Watching her receive so much encouragement and comfort, I offered a line that the flower-garden radiant Empress would surely love to hear.
“Did I? Did I really like you? I’m sorry for not realizing it.”
“Don’t you dare add fuel to this fire!”
“Oh my! It’s mutual!”
Sera’s Mother, clapping her hands and saying we were now getting along, even whistled and chanted, “If you’ve made up, give each other a kiss! A kiss!”
One truly must possess such complete lack of tact, shame, and dignity to survive in that dark Imperial Palace.
“Regardless, we came to meet Sunbird.”
“Oh dear… Sera specifically told me not to let anyone see him.”
Yet she didn’t lie about him not being here. Truly, what a remarkable character this woman is. After just ten minutes of conversation, I’m already this drained.
“If you let us meet him, I’ll kiss Reina.”
“Hey!”
“Why would you kiss that gorilla?!”
“Hehe! Hehehehehehe!”
The Empress, covering her mouth while laughing—her delight visible in her eyes—kneaded her face to compose herself, then produced that familiar Ice Heart and Flame Heart coupling book. So that’s what she’d instructed the maid to fetch earlier.
“Ice Heart signs on the left, Flame Heart signs on the right.”
She certainly has clear preferences. Come to think of it, Sera also had surprisingly firm convictions about odd things. So her strong-willed nature was inherited from her mother.
Without hesitation, I signed on the left, and Reina reluctantly signed on the right with visible displeasure. I understand her feelings well. I would have been equally reluctant if she’d asked me to sign on the right.
“Hehehehe, you must show me a reconciliation scene right before my eyes later!”
The flower-garden radiant Empress linked her pinky with mine in a promise, then cast a lukewarm gaze toward Reina with words of encouragement. She must feel terrible. Today, I found myself pitying Reina quite a bit.
The Empress led us to the very top floor of the mansion. The security was stringent, and I could see iron bars, but Sunbird was at least guaranteed sunlight. Our grandfather, by contrast, had lived in the basement.
“Then have a wonderful time, and be sure to call me when you’re ready to return!”
The Empress departed with flowers, butterflies, and birds adorning her wake. We knocked softly on the door and asked Sunbird if we could enter. The man opened the door himself to welcome us.
“What brings you all the way here?”
“Sera seems to have hidden you away quite thoroughly, so I came to drag you out.”
“Do I strike you as someone who would go willingly?”
“Just hear me out first.”
At my suggestion, the man invited us inside, insisting we have some tea before we leave.
“Wow, this is beautifully decorated.”
“Sera’s Mother certainly has an eye for aesthetics.”
“But what’s the point? There’s no freedom here.”
Seian, you truly are kindred spirits—always worrying about Sunbird’s freedom first. When Reina and I marveled at this unique perspective and praised him, Seian sighed and called us blockheads.
Why did insults come back when I offered praise?
“I am confined by Sera’s will, but I have no intention of complying with your wishes. Please leave.”
“Why is he acting so tough? We could just drag him out by force.”
“That’s because he has something to rely on.”
After all, the reason he’s living so peacefully here is that he can leave whenever he wants if things get urgent. Look at how his face has filled out—his complexion has improved because he’s been eating and sleeping comfortably here. His gastroenteritis must have subsided.
“Something to rely on?”
“You have a teleportation skill, don’t you?”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
My sudden remark startled Reina, and Seian was even more shocked. Perhaps because they’d always thought of him as powerless, they looked somewhat betrayed.
“That’s nonsense.”
But Sunbird wasn’t surprised. The man, who spouted lies without blinking an eye, even tested me with a sly question about where I’d heard such a thing.
“There are ways to know everything.”
“In any case, I’ve never possessed such an ability, and I’m merely curious about the source of this nonsense.”
“Follow me and I’ll tell you.”
“….”
It’s true that Sunbird possesses teleportation ability. So even if we drag him away, he can escape anytime using the skill. There’s no loss for him in this.
And even if we assume Sunbird doesn’t have teleportation ability, coming with us would be the natural course of action. Sunbird lacked the strength to resist us, so he was forcibly taken along.
It would be stranger if he resisted and either fled from us or drove us away. Sera would be deeply confused and would interrogate him about hiding such power all this time. The emotional rift would only deepen.
In the end, your only choice is to come with us. You’re trapped.

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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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