Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 50

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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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#If I cannot possess it, I will reduce it to ashes.

The Townhouse of Duke Neftis, located in the Capital, bustled with servants hurrying about their tasks. The Duke had issued orders to prepare a grand reception—the heir of Neftis was returning home.
Most of the servants believed Mitchell had fled with her Nanny last year after pestering the Crown Prince, only to have her head forfeit. A few whispered that she’d packed her belongings and escaped the estate, but few gave credence to such rumors.
The Emperor himself had pronounced a death sentence. No matter how distinguished Mitchell was as the heir of Neftis, she could not possibly have preserved her life.
Thus the servants labored in bewilderment. Had the Duke finally lost his mind to grief over losing his daughter? Or was he maintaining two households behind the formidable Duchess’s back? Either prospect was dire enough that the Townhouse servants discreetly carried resignation letters or vacation requests in their pockets, moving through their duties with half-hearted effort.
“Move faster! Mitchell could return today, or even tonight!”
Duke Neftis, by contrast, seemed delirious with joy. The beacon of hope that would restore the family’s honor had not only enrolled in the Academy Magic Department but had achieved top marks in her year. He’d learned this directly from the Academy Headmaster—the complete first-year, first-semester grades of the Magic Department—so there was no room for doubt.
If things continued this way, after graduation he wouldn’t need to go through the trouble of adopting Mitchell as a foster daughter. Instead, she could graduate as top of the Academy, assume a new noble title, and he could transfer the entire Neftis estate to her as his vassal.
This would amount to transferring his fortune to a complete stranger on paper, thereby avoiding inheritance taxes from that treacherous Emperor. He could grant additional titles or territories to Rael and his other favored children, allowing Neftis to plant its roots deep in this Empire and prosper for another thousand years.
What had once seemed a crisis now appeared fortuitous. If Mitchell became Duke Neftis and gifted that forgettable Crown Prince to her as a husband, their children would inherit not only a mage’s bloodline but also succession rights to the throne.
The golden age of ancient Neftis—when they had sold the waters of life and basked in glory—was not far off.
According to reports from his subordinates, there was one minor concern: Mitchell had been associating with the Third Princess. However, Mitchell had always been somewhat lacking in certain ways, yet she’d never willingly brought harm upon herself. The Duke assumed she had her reasons this time as well.
“Still, it would be better if she could secure the Crown Princess’s favor instead…”
“Father! I’ve obtained the exclusive welfare card for Sister!”
“Excellent work, Rael!”
Duke Neftis affectionately ruffled the platinum-blonde hair of his spirited son, who resembled him so closely, then accepted the card and placed it in a gift envelope. Since Mitchell could not yet confidently claim to be Mitchell Neftis, she could not use the gleaming magical VIP card reserved for Neftis family members. However, he could provide her with a welfare card issued to maintain the dignity of those in high positions within the Neftis household.
It was merely a card allowing one million crowns per month—a pittance—but even such a pittance would be precious to Mitchell now. He’d heard that Mitchell, who had lived without dirtying her hands, was now doing menial labor and earning a mere three hundred thousand crowns per month.
Thinking of this, the Duke would sometimes wake in the middle of the night, stricken with indignation, and weep while gazing out at the Lake through his window. His wife would scold him for the noise, so he’d hurry back to bed.
“The Duchess has definitely left on her journey, hasn’t she?”
“Yes. I saw her off at the train station. She won’t return for another month.”
The Duchess and Mitchell had always been at odds. If one asked when their relationship had fractured, it was after the Duchess had subjected five-year-old Mitchell to a barrage of magic under the guise of “training,” nearly costing the child her life.
After that, Mitchell would growl and bare her teeth whenever she saw her mother, while the Duchess, under the pretense of discipline, repeatedly drove Mitchell to the brink of death.
As a result, the Duke had done many heartbreaking things over the years. Whenever Mitchell caused injury or accident, he would step in first before the Duchess discovered it, creating evidence that he had sternly reprimanded the child. Without such measures, the mage Duchess would push Mitchell to her limits according to a mage’s ethics and values.
In her childhood, Mitchell had resisted fiercely, viewing her father as unreasonably harsh. But as she matured, she came to understand he was protecting her from the Duchess, and she began calling him “Father” and following his guidance.
How moving that was. Thinking of his precious daughter—so beautiful he wouldn’t feel pain even with her in his eye—tears threatened to spill again. She wasn’t merely pretty; she was truly beautiful. She had inherited the Duchess’s genes strongly, possessing silver hair as cold as ice and eyes as piercingly blue as winter. If eye fairies existed in this world, the Duke thought, they would surely look like Mitchell.
“Rael, my son.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Do you suppose your sister was an eye fairy before she was born as my daughter?”
“Hehehehe! That fits perfectly! Yes! Sister is definitely an eye fairy!”
“I, I am the father of an eye fairy!”
“I am the brother of an eye fairy!”
The two of them shrieked with delight and danced about wildly as they prepared the celebration. Of course, the party’s subject was Mitchell Neftis, and its purpose was to commemorate her enrollment at the Academy, her top marks in her year, and the beginning of her vacation.
They would celebrate modestly with family at the Townhouse, conclude their business with the treacherous Emperor, and return to Neftis Territory to host a grand reception, inviting all the vassals and relatives.
“I hope Sister arrives soon!”
“Don’t worry. I asked the Headmaster, and he said the Magic Department’s final exams are all finished. Once she tidies up her dormitory belongings, she’ll come straight here.”
The two donned party hats and held firecrackers in their hands, brimming with excitement. Seeing no word by nightfall, they concluded Mitchell would arrive tomorrow. With that determination, they waited until evening, slept soundly, and agreed to reconvene the next day.

The next day arrived. The two waited for Mitchell. Mitchell did not come home.

Another day passed. The party food they’d prepared spoiled and was discarded, yet Mitchell still did not arrive. But the two waited with unwavering persistence.

Twenty-four more hours elapsed. The Duke summoned the Information Chief and, united with Rael, unleashed a torrent of reproach.
“How can this be?! Mitchell! Why hasn’t Mitchell returned home?!”
“You say my sister is staying in the Dormitory during the break?! Then shouldn’t we obtain visiting permission and go to her?!”
“Please calm yourselves, sir and young master.”
As the two identically-featured men clamored indignantly, the Information Chief held a report her subordinate had brought, fluttering it while blocking one ear and reading with deliberate disinterest.
“Miss Mitchell has departed for Ilam, it appears.”
“Why there?!”
“Why that rural backwater in Ilam?!”
“Well… because she has a residence there?”
“Mitchell’s home is here—what other home could she possibly have?!”
“The home my sister should return to is this Townhouse! Of course, the family estate is in Neftis, but regardless—there’s no reason for her to go to Ilam!”
“The Nanny lives in Ilam.”
“That’s precisely why—why would she visit the Nanny?! Her home is here!”
A grown man throwing a tantrum like this was revolting. The words rose to the back of her throat, but fearing the loss of her position, she clamped her mouth shut. When the Duke and his son carried on like this, silence was the wisest course.
“Bring her back at once! Fetch Mitchell here immediately!”
“When has the young lady ever obeyed a summons to come or go?”
“That’s true enough! Our girl isn’t the type to be bound by anything!”
“My sister is like the wind itself! That is her charm!”
The Information Chief offered her agreement—yes, yes, quite right, absolutely. With these two, contradiction was never the prudent path.
“Let me think… if we’re to make her understand this is her home and prevent her from visiting the Nanny…”
“We need to eliminate her place to return to!”
“Yes! Let’s destroy the Nanny’s house!”
And without the Information Chief needing to devise anything, the two put their heads together and swiftly arrived at solutions. When it came to underhanded scheming, none could rival House Neftis.
“Information Chief!”
“Yes, sir.”
“Eliminate Eleanor’s residence!”
“How shall I do that?”
“Burn it down, demolish it—there are countless methods, you fool!”
How was she to execute such a despicable scheme? The words climbed to the back of her throat once more, but she swallowed them again, uttering only a meek acknowledgment.
“Then my sister will return home now, won’t she?”
“Sigh. I thought she’d grown up, yet she can’t even secure a single residence for herself. Still a child, it seems.”
“I find such aspects endearing, Father.”
“Of course. A person is more charming with some flaw than in perfect completeness.”
“I see. I learn something from you every day.”
The two laughed heartily, poured chilled grape juice into crystal glasses, and toasted with a clink. The formidable Duchess was away on her travels anyway—this summer, they could spend time with Mitchell undisturbed.
From the tale of earning tuition in Ilam to the process of acquiring magical skills—the two of them had so much they wished to share with Mitchell Neftis.

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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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