Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 238

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

“Cool your head first.”
Seeing Evan about to charge in recklessly, Cecilia finally stepped forward. The moment she snapped her fan shut, the Bachelor hurried over with a bucket of ice and dumped it on Evan. Drenched and shivering, Evan let out an indignant sneeze and glared at Cecilia reproachfully.
“First, we need to understand why he targeted your mother.”
The sneeze brought clarity. Evan realized the urgent matter wasn’t killing Bruno—it was stripping Eleanor of her adoptive mother status before the marriage registration was finalized.
“But that requires Mother’s consent!”
“The Emperor’s approval is sufficient.”
“That’s… well, I suppose…”
Evan Mitchell feared the consequences. Yes, I could tear up the adoption papers now to extinguish this immediate threat, but Eleanor would never sign them again if I tried to reinstate her status later.
If I carelessly made and unmade her adoptive mother status like that, she’d be furious—saying I might as well have written a slave contract instead of an adoption agreement.
“No. I can’t use this method. Mother will beat me to death.”
“So there is someone you can’t cross either.”
“You get hit by the Head Maid too, don’t you?”
“Of course. How could I defy someone who raised me?”
I’d sooner cut ties with my biological parents than fight with someone who raised me. The assembled nobility and the Imperial Crown Prince opened a space of understanding, while those raised without a Nanny and Cecilia—who lacked human sentiment—failed to comprehend Evan Mitchell’s position. Cecilia in particular couldn’t fathom why eliminating one’s caregiver was such a problem.
“Marriage registration takes time to process anyway. I’ll go try to persuade her.”
As Evan spoke the word “persuade,” I gripped the harpoon tightly. I’d found enough reason not to kill Bruno even after being drenched in ice water, but the determination to fight if necessary burned fiercely within me.
“H-Evan, I-I’ll lend you my strength too!”
“Your life depends on this—I have to help.”
“It’s been a while since I stretched these muscles.”
With the Poison King, Flame King, and Dragon Marquis helping, I’d feel secure. Evan decided to storm the Zibenstein Townhouse with the three of them, though I advised Cecilia to return to the Imperial Palace for safety. Cecilia was somewhat displeased at missing the fun, but the Bachelor happily attended to His Majesty the Emperor.
“Evan! Let me help too!”
“Sera Crowell, you’re not useful. Go study instead.”
“Whimper!”
So the day had come when Sera Crowell became a liability. Among the remaining 999 possible scenarios, such a thing had never occurred, so the Sunbird let out a cheer and pulled out the ukulele he’d been learning lately, plucking away merrily. Could life really be this comfortable? Lately, happiness poured down so abundantly it was almost frightening.
“I’m sorry, Gerth. You were supposed to be the main character today.”
“I still have one more ceremony left, so it’s fine. I’ll protect the lemon pie while you’re gone.”
Marrying Gerth had truly been the best choice. Evan Mitchell pulled him into a tight embrace and spoke words I’d been holding back for a while.
“Gerth. I would have married you even if you were a upper-body lizard.”
“Would it be any different from now?”
“It would be very different.”
It was the highest compliment Evan Mitchell could give anyone, but Gerth—who didn’t concern himself with beauty standards tailored to human convention—couldn’t accept such praise. Had Evan’s adoptive mother, biological mother, or biological father been present, they would have been astounded.
“I’ll be going.”
“Go safely. I’ll be waiting.”
With Gerth by my side, I felt reassured. Evan considered what words might persuade Mother.
A cute man might be ideal for dating, but a husband needed to be more than just cute. There was so much a husband had to do for a household. Moreover, since Evan Mitchell had to take responsibility not just for a family but for Ilram Territory and the Demon Race as well, the husband’s role was even greater.
How could I convey this to Eleanor, who had spent nearly half a century alone, supporting herself and Mitchell single-handedly? It was a concept difficult for her to grasp.
“E-Evan! Z-Zibenstein’s p-private soldiers!”
“Killing him will only complicate matters. Let’s fly.”
As Evan distributed ice wings to each of her friends, the soldiers below shouted for a fair fight. If they fought fairly, they’d all die. Those soldiers had guts.
“Unfortunately, we can’t proceed any further ahead.”
As they flew toward the Zibenstein Townhouse, the Department Head Professor—who could float as expected—blocked Evan and her friends’ path. Everyone tensed, uncertain how the battle would unfold if the Dragon King fought at full strength, but the Professor simply flicked his finger and told Evan she could pass.
“Why are you only letting Evan through!”
Though relieved that at least someone could proceed, Reina cried out, unable to fathom his reasoning. Ilyong offered a perfectly logical explanation. Come to think of it, the Department Head Professor had never said anything but the right thing, whenever and wherever.
“Evan will need to negotiate with Bruno afterward. Since she lacks intelligence, she can go alone.”
“That’s… cowardly!”
“Evan has no brains without us!”
“I agree, but you’re all really too much.”
Everyone cursed Evan for being stupid, but Evan calmly accepted it and decided to go alone. It was true—she wasn’t intelligent. Besides, she didn’t want to fight the Dragon King, who was going all out to protect her friends. In typical boy adventure stories, characters who received a buff for protecting their friends were always unbeatable.
“Then I’m off!”
“That’s… cowardly, Evan!”
“How dare you negotiate without a brain, you bastard!”
“Just you wait, Evan Laef!”
Evan abandoned her friends and flew silently onward. Hearing a sharp clang, she glanced back briefly. Kanna’s rain of blades, scattered in abundance, crashed to the ground from a single spell cast by the Department Head Professor, while Reina was pinned to the earth before she could even cast magic, feeling the planet’s weight through her entire body. Eugene, the only one capable of resisting the Professor’s gravity, barely managed to drop to one knee.
She’d made the right call not engaging. Gerth and Evan had fought to a draw, both relying on pure strength and raw magic due to their lack of sophistication, but the Professor was sharp-minded and a mage who’d spent three hundred years honing nothing but magic. The outcome of such a battle was unknowable.

Upon arriving at the Mansion, Evan landed in the Garden and politely followed Butler Grandfather’s guidance. The old man kept bowing, lamenting that our young master was causing trouble, while Evan swung her harpoon back and forth, assuring him it was fine. For someone saying it was fine, she wielded her weapon rather menacingly, so Butler Grandfather hastily confirmed Evan’s true intentions.
“You mustn’t kill him. Even if he appears to be nothing but a dissolute wastrel, he is the young master I have devoted myself to raising all these years.”
“I have no intention of killing him.”
“You only have no intention of killing him, don’t you?”
“Mm.”
Caught red-handed. Evan felt a pang of guilt and made a different promise to the old man.
“I won’t kill him. I’ll also refrain from causing fatal or severe injuries.”
“Thank you.”
Having extracted a promise that she wouldn’t injure him too badly, Butler Grandfather led Evan to the Central Courtyard. The space was decorated with white, flowing ornaments on all sides, creating an atmosphere much like a wedding venue. Upon seeing this place—which was actually a petit wedding venue—Evan, exasperated, drove her harpoon into the ground and unleashed the legendary ice-binding magic.
“As long as I keep my eyes wide open, you won’t get married! Where are you, Bruno!”
As Evan, furious, summoned a blizzard, Bruno appeared with Eleanor in his arms. Evan, thinking how skillfully he appeared and disappeared, conjured an ice pillar, which the middle-aged man barely dodged. In his haste, he even forgot to add “aing” to his protest.
“That’s dangerous! What if your mother gets hurt!”
“Our mother won’t get hurt by this!”
“Isn’t your faith a bit excessive?!”
Wherever Bruno Siebenstein dodged, ice pillars erupted from the ground. With columns rising from below and spikes descending from above, the desperate man finally leaped beside Evan and kicked her with all his might.
As Evan coughed and was knocked backward, Eleanor screamed and struck Bruno’s back.
“How did I raise such a precious child! How dare you hit our baby!”
“That attack just now was the young master’s fault!”
“So I’m supposed to just stand here and get beaten to death?!”
Eleanor and Butler Grandfather made a fuss, but for Evan, whose body was as hard as steel, the impact was negligible. If anything, Bruno’s foot probably hurt more than Evan did.
“Why! Why him of all people!”
Evan staggered to her feet and questioned her mother. Out of all the men in the world, why him? She wouldn’t have cared who else her mother brought, but why Bruno of all people! To this question, Eleanor finally poured out everything she’d been wanting to say.
“This man said he’d make the young lady a duchess! And, and! He’s younger than her!”
“Why is being younger such a big deal!”
“Do you have any idea how important it is!”
When Evan flared up, Eleanor’s mother continued through glistening tears. Being younger mattered so much. Men already had shorter lifespans than women on average, and if they were to spend their entire lives together, how could the young lady not understand how crucial it was that he was younger than her?
“If he’s younger, if he’s younger, then at least he won’t die before me, right!”
What would she do with the rest of her days if she’d married an older man, only to have him die right after giving birth to children? Eleanor wept bitterly, lamenting how it would leave a lifelong ache in her heart.

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