Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 282

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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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“Ugh!”
“You two really are siblings.”
Clutching my heart in the same pose as Rael, my face twisted in pain, I told him to pack his things quickly—the decision wasn’t going to change anyway.
Rael still seemed intent on resisting, arguing that he’d become a duke regardless, so what difference would graduating from the Academy make?
“If you graduate from the Academy with good marks, you can marry Cecilia on favorable terms.”
“If you graduate from the Academy with good grades, you’ll be able to marry into Cecilia’s family on favorable terms.”
“What’s good about that? Life as an Emperor’s husband is grueling.”
“You can’t marry me anyway. If you’ve set your heart on the second most beautiful woman, it would be Cecilia Crowell.”
“Ugh, ugh! How could you possibly—!”
“Are your eyes knots in wood?”
I proudly presented Seian to Rael like a reverse Lion King, showcasing the man’s beauty. Among all the humans in Evan’s House, only the Crowell Royal Family possessed beauty worthy of companionship, and I had secured Seian—the most stunning among them all.
“If the man I chose is like this, the woman you’ll select is obvious.”
“Oh, that’s true! You really are remarkable, Sister, your insight is so sharp!”
Honestly, given Cecilia’s personality, who would willingly marry her? Only my brother would be foolish enough to fall head over heels for her face alone, so his favor is already assured. With wealth and glory secured, all you need to do is go and enjoy yourself thoroughly.
“With just an Academy diploma, no one can criticize your education. You have me, Gerth, and Seian behind you, so you can go to the Imperial Palace and tear silk just for fun!”
“What a life of legendary beauty I’ve only heard tales of!”
Now he seemed motivated. When I said his face alone could ruin ten nations, Rael countered that my face could ruin a hundred. Seian looked utterly bewildered by our exchange.
“Why do you lunatics keep talking about ruining perfectly good nations?”
“It means we’re that beautiful. Understand from context.”
“Your brother-in-law could ruin ninety-nine nations and still be fine!”
The brat was still giving my face a slight edge over his own—how touching. I ruffled his hair affectionately like petting a dog and helped him pack. Once we’d gathered three carriages’ worth of clothing, a crystal pillar suddenly shot up from the mansion’s main building.
“Isn’t that Iyongi’s magic?”
“Oh dear, Mother must be causing trouble again.”
“Again?”
Iyongi’s hysterical fits had been common since childhood, but seeing Rael rush forward so urgently suggested something serious. I asked Seian to guard the Egg carefully, then scooped up Rael and flew toward the main building.
“I am the Duchess Neftis. I am the Duchess Neftis!”
“Why are you making a fuss again, woman!”
Was that Iyongi harassing my mother? I landed quickly and positioned myself in front of her. Titi had also come out of concern for Mother and was hovering nearby.
“What business do you have with my mother?”
“Why are you calling her your mother?”
“Because Eleanor is my mother?”
What an obvious thing to say. Should I call my mother something other than mother? To my bewildered response, Iyongi grew furious and began smashing the mansion with thunderous crashes.
“Your mother is me! I am the Duchess Neftis!”
“Giving birth doesn’t make you a mother. And what’s this obsession with being Duchess Neftis?”
Since Iyongi didn’t seem inclined to explain properly, I gestured to Titi, and the little sparrow flew over and chirped the details to me.
“Most official events are attended by Mother Eleanor, you know. She wasn’t invited to the Mother’s Association hosted by the Crown Princess’s mother, and that’s why she’s like this.”
It was a far pettier reason than I’d imagined. Looking at the invitation in Eleanor’s hands, it was indeed addressed to Eleanor Laef, the Duchess Neftis’s proxy. She’d been invited as the mother of Evan Laef—perfectly natural, wasn’t it?
“Eleanor raised me. She’s the one managing the Duchess Neftis’s schedule, so it’s only natural that Sera’s mother invited my mother to the Mother’s Association.”
“Your mother is me!”
Iyongi let out a primal roar and transformed into a dragon. Apparently, now that humans and demons weren’t fighting anymore, she didn’t care about the neighbors’ eyes.
“What are you going to do about it, squeak? I think you got even more upset because your sister stirred things up for no reason.”
“The only way to overcome violence is with violence.”
If she was going to cause a disturbance, I’d simply knock her down.
I used the legendary ice crystallization to block the crystal pillars the Female Informant scattered. After minimizing damage to the mansion and wrapping an ice gauntlet around my right arm, Iyongi also wrapped sharp crystals around her stubby arm and swung them wildly.
When fist met fist, frost descended around us and crystal shards flew everywhere. Though the fragments were small, they flew at such speed that they lodged deep into the walls. Titi was using her wings to shield Mother and Rael from the shrapnel, but dragging this out wouldn’t do anyone any good.
“Aaaaaaah! Drop dead, Procula Neftis!”
“Why do you keep trying to kill me!”
“Because I want you dead!”
“But why!”
“Not knowing that is your sin and karma, you idiot!”
People always beat someone to death and then conveniently forget they were the aggressor. I channeled all my accumulated resentment into my fist. The crystals wrapped around my arm shattered with a loud crash, leaving a deep wound on the dragon’s shoulder. Blood poured from Iyongi’s shoulder as she polymorphed back into human form, and she coughed up blood from her mouth, as if the ice had pierced her lungs.
“That’s mean.”
Iyongi spoke like a pouting child, then suddenly sprouted dragon wings and let out an incomprehensible cry.
“I have a mother too, you know!”
What was I supposed to do about that? That fool should have matured by now, but seeing her act like this after over two hundred years, I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for her.
“Well, since Iyongi has left, we should head back too.”
“Oh my, should we really leave the Duchess as she is, Miss?”
“It’s fine. Just tell her that if she picks a fight again next time, I’ll come and discipline her myself.”
I soothed Mother and decided to grab Titi as well, taking her to Seian’s house. Since things had come to this, you might as well study too. You’ll be the first demi-human to enroll at the Academy.
“Squeak, you’re trying to use me for political purposes.”
“How did you know?”
“Squeak, have I not watched you for a year or two, sister?”
Since this brat was my younger sibling, she had a sharp mind for these sorts of things. Once I enrolled her as the first, I’d establish a precedent for demi-humans entering the Academy, and Ilam would actively sponsor it. Demi-humans with scholarly aspirations would flock to Ilam, and by making it a condition that they must work in Ilam in exchange for tuition support, we could secure a large pool of high-quality talent.
“As long as she looks presentable enough to attend the Academy, I can solve the rest with money—whether it’s provisional admission or whatever.”
“Then why did Rael take the entrance exam three times?”
“Father’s money probably couldn’t fix how disastrous his grades were.”
“Squeeeak….”
The sparrow demi-human looked at Rael with the eyes of someone watching an insect. Rael scratched his head awkwardly, then told me the main point that had been written in the letter.
“Oh right, Sister! When is Dekarucha making their comeback! The members have already made up!”
“Sera can’t even leave the Academy as a doctoral candidate, so what comeback are you talking about?”

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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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