Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 233

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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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“Hmm, now that you mention it, there is something I could use your help with.”
Since Sunbird had already stumbled into my lap, it would be wasteful not to put him to work. When I mentioned having something quite important, the man writhed in pain yet still asked for details.
I ground my teeth together, my face twisted in exasperation as I thought of that bastard.
“Find me a way to keep Duke Zibenstein from flirting with my mother.”
Sunbird rubbed his feet while wincing at every ache, then spoke quietly with a troubled expression.
“Wow, that’s… quite difficult.”
“Is it really that hard to drive a wedge between the two of them?”
“Yes. His true objective would be Neftis’s independence.”
Why did their romance suddenly balloon into something of this magnitude?
“Why? If he wanted independence, wouldn’t he target Zibenstein instead? Why fixate on Neftis?”
“Because Zibenstein is formed by the alliance of the Seven Houses, but Neftis answers only to the Duke’s decision.”
“But I have no intention of inheriting Neftis.”
“Which is precisely why he’s been so diligently courting your mother.”
“Even if he wins Mother over, I won’t listen to a word of it.”
“That’s precisely what puzzles me as well.”
Sunbird said he’d investigate this matter further on his own, then told me to give him all the tasks I had while we were at it. The man was certainly eager.
“I want to perform with the Band during the Social Movement lecture. I’d like to have Sera join us too—it’s been a while since all the members could gather.”
“Understood. I’ll arrange the schedule.”
“And Cecilia’s been sulking because I didn’t attend the coronation. Is there any way to smooth things over?”
“Unless we hold another coronation, there’s no way around it, is there?”
“Oh.”
I’d made the right call consulting Sunbird. So that method existed. When I let out an “Aha!” of realization, the man looked startled and grabbed my shoulder firmly.
“Wait, what are you thinking of doing?”
“What else? Hold another coronation.”
“You’re insane!”
After all, the first coronation was held at the Imperial Palace anyway, and I’d grown tired of seeing it so often. Holding another coronation in a fresh setting would be both fun and meaningful. A small, intimate affair with only the people Cecilia cares about. She’d definitely love something like that.
“Sera will need to attend too, so I’ll contact you once the date is set.”
“You’re really going through with this?”
“There’s no such thing as a fake coronation.”
It was getting late, so I decided to head back to the Dormitory and get some rest. After exchanging farewells, I left the East Wing and made my way on foot toward the Magic Department. Sometimes it was pleasant to walk slowly and take in the scenery around me.

When I woke the next morning, Reina told me what had happened during my absence. Apparently, Seian had been loitering around the Magic Faculty Dormitory when the Dormitory Manager caught him and took him into protective custody before safely returning him to the General Studies Department.
She said he’d probably come looking for me. What could he possibly want?
“Hey, you didn’t forget already, did you? You ran off and left your meal sitting there.”
“Surely he didn’t come just to blame me?”
“He probably came to settle whether things are continuing or stopping.”
I see. What should I do? Reina said he’d probably come again today based on his behavior, so I jumped up and decided to file an absence notice. This wasn’t avoidance—I just happened to have business at the Neftis Townhouse. I needed to check on Mother, monitor Makina’s translation progress, and look after the tasks I’d left with my younger sibling.
“I’ll be late again today.”
“If you keep running away like this and the transparent Crown Prince gets completely beaten down, what then?”
“If I’m despised, that’s actually a reward.”
“You pervert.”
Say whatever you like. I’m objectively a pervert, so I don’t take it as an insult. I laughed heartily at Reina and deployed my ice wings toward the Neftis Townhouse.
Upon arrival, I searched for Mother, but learned she’d gone out early this morning to meet with Bruno. I promptly drove an ice pillar straight through one side of the building.
“Sister! Sister! The invitation samples have arrived!”
Ah, my dear younger sibling—always so efficient. Around the time I proposed to Gerth, I’d asked them to prepare invitations for a July wedding, and they’d already produced finished samples. They’d created three designs to choose from, so I embraced my younger sibling Rael and spun around before examining the samples.
“This one—the invitation with the ring-shaped design is quite beautiful. If we finish it by decorating the ring portion with crystal, it would be even more exquisite.”
“Exactly! As expected of you, Sister! Your aesthetic sense is unparalleled! Since this is an opportunity to showcase House Neftis’s wealth, I’ll incorporate small diamonds!”
Yes, that would look more impressive than crystal. My younger sibling truly is a genius of ostentation and vanity. I embraced Rael once more, spinning around again, then picked up a three-dimensional card modeled after an ice palace.
“We’ll use this as a separate invitation. I’ll be hosting Cecilia’s coronation ceremony.”
“Pardon? The Emperor’s coronation ceremony—you’ll be hosting it, Sister?”
“Yes. Since I was too busy to attend, I’ll host it myself to create the opportunity to be present.”
“As expected of you, Sister! I’ve never even heard of such an idea!”
Actually, it was Sunbird’s idea, not mine, but since Rael was praising me so effusively, I felt too awkward to correct them, so I accepted the credit and basked in the compliments.
I was contentedly listening to my younger sibling’s admiration—marveling at how I could pull off such things so brazenly, expressing admiration—when a commotion erupted outside the mansion.
“Yaaaah! Yaaah! How long are you going to keep running! Come out right now?!”
That piercing scream of a voice could probably be heard a thousand miles away. Seian had pursued me all the way to the Neftis Townhouse, so I gave up on checking Makina’s translation progress and equipped my ice wings.
Just as I was about to take flight, Seian shouted something rather compelling.
“Hey, I won’t say I hate this anymore! I won’t tell you to stop! Just let me see your face!”
Oh, oh—he didn’t come to curse me out? Then, um, is it okay to meet him? He won’t snap at me, right?
I deactivated my ice wings and crept toward the gate. Peeking my face out, I saw Seian being restrained by the guards. The man’s frustration boiled over as he let out a wild shriek: “Kyaaaah!”
“You’re angry! You’re clearly angry!”
“Hey, do I look like someone who wouldn’t get upset seeing you?!”
He was the one who said to stop first! My argument—that if he said to stop, I should stop, as Reina’s Head Maid grandmother had told me—made Seian take a deep breath before attempting to persuade me.
“Okay…. I won’t be angry. I won’t pick a fight. Just let me in first. Let’s talk.”
This liar will definitely get angry eventually, yet here he is pretending to be calm. But knowing how this ends, I still let him in anyway. Is this what it means to be a girl blinded by love?
“I’ll have tea brought.”
“I’ll have wine.”
“Wine in the morning? What’s gotten into you?”
“You keep making me drink it, you do!”
Don’t blame me, you alcoholic. When I firmly diagnosed Seian’s condition, he shrieked “Kyaaaah!” again and tried to bite my arm. He’s developed quite the biting habit in the time we’ve been apart.
After seating Seian in the reception room and pouring him wine as he wished, the man gulped it down and then pressed his lips into a tight line. He seemed to have made some grave resolution, steeling himself with determination. With a solemn expression, he slapped his own cheeks twice, then unleashed a thoroughly clichéd line at me.
“Look, I’ll be honest—I don’t particularly like you. But if you’re willing to die for me and date me anyway! Then, I, I might just agree to it?!”
“Oh.”
So all I had to do was beg and he’d date me? When did this man become so easy?
“I’d die to date you.”
“Ha! I knew you’d say something like that!”
Seian Crowell puffed out his chest with satisfaction, his nose held high. Dating me would be simple enough, but apparently there was one condition he needed to set first.
“You need to make your position clear. Is it him or me?”
“Him?”
“That demi-human bastard! That scrawny freak!”
“You mean Gerth.”
“I don’t even want to know that bastard’s name?!”
In any case, Seian Crowell straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin high, saying he’d be happy to date me once I’d “settled things” with that one. First, I supposed I should ask what he meant by “settled.”
“What do you mean by ‘settled’? Like reconfirming our relationship?”
“What nonsense are you talking about? Obviously it means don’t see him anymore! Don’t even look at his face, don’t exchange letters! Never meet him again, not ever!”
“That’s impossible.”
“Hey! You said you wanted to date me!”
“I did.”
“Ugh! Then obviously you have to do it! Cut ties with him and choose me!”
Today my internal BGM had somehow shifted to an upbeat pick-me-up tune. Seian Crowell kept pestering me—forget Gerth, choose me, pick me, pick me—and I wondered how best to explain my relationship with Gerth. Words alone wouldn’t carry enough weight, so I hesitated, searching for the right way to convey it. Then I remembered that the wedding invitation had been completed, and I pulled from my pocket the invitation card adorned with an image of a hand wearing a wedding ring.
“I’m marrying Gerth this July. Meeting him is impossible.”
“?”
Seian Crowell looked bewildered as he took the invitation, examining the outside carefully, opening it to study the inside, lighting a candle to try singeing the paper, and even pouring my black tea onto the invitation card.
Why was he conducting experiments on the paper instead of actually reading the text?
“Hey. There’s no hidden cipher here at all?”
“There is no cipher. Since there isn’t one, nothing appears.”
“Why are you marrying that lizard?”
“Because I proposed to him.”

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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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