I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 153

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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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From the moment Arun chose to live as a human, he made a vow to himself.
‘I must never let anyone discover that I was Kim Beolggwol.’
Kim Beolggwol was dead.
For a dead ratel to reappear would be a violation of nature’s laws.
If it were discovered that I retained all those memories intact, they would be forcibly erased from my mind.
‘Mother placed me as Ravina’s son precisely because she suspects me. I must be even more careful.’
In truth, Arun in human form also had to remain unaware that he was a dragon.
Arun concealed the fact that he remembered everything—his entire past and his true form.
‘I am the son of Robena, the Duke of the North.’
He lived by this conviction.
Training with the Black Whale Knights was not easy, but not so difficult that he would abandon it.
Thanks to this, the veterans had begun to regard this new recruit quite favorably.
His senior, the apprentice knight Chris, had even said this.
‘I thought a noble young master would give up right away, but this guy is far more impressive than I expected.’
At first, everyone had dismissed it as the reckless whim of a thoughtless young nobleman.
They said he would grow tired and drop out after a little pressure.
But Arun endured it all without complaint.
‘If I can at least see Isabel from a distance.’
That would be enough.
He couldn’t say whether this was what humans called love.
He was also too young to truly contemplate such feelings.
But one thing was certain.
His mind was filled entirely with thoughts of Isabel.
And then came the day of the royal council meeting.
He finally had the chance to meet Isabel up close.
‘…Isabel.’
He sensed from afar that Isabel was approaching.
His heart pounded wildly.
It felt as though a tail that no longer existed was wagging.
In the past, when he saw Isabel, he would simply run to her with joy and embrace her, but now he could not.
‘I must create new memories, new moments together.’
Isabel, drawing near, was dazzlingly beautiful.
She had grown so much in the past year that she no longer looked like a young child.
‘Why has she grown so much?’
Perhaps… did she now wish to grow older?
Various thoughts crossed his mind.
It was said that his subconscious desire to remain young had been holding back Isabel’s growth.
But over the past year, she had suddenly grown.
Isabel, who had always wanted to remain a child, now seemed to wish to become an adult.
For some reason, he felt a pang in his heart, wondering if Kim Beolggwol might somehow be the reason for this change.
I had been mistaken to think that merely seeing Isabel from a distance would be enough.
‘I want to talk with Isabel.’
How has she been doing all this time?
Has she been in any pain?
Did she grieve deeply after Kim Beolkkot’s death?
If so, I wanted to hold her hand tightly and comfort her, telling her there was no need to sorrow anymore.
‘Please. Get a grip on yourself.’
I must erase the remnants of the past.
I need to build new memories and new experiences.
As Arun, not Kim Beolkkot, I must grow closer to Isabel.
‘You were happy just knowing you could see Isabel again.’
I am not Kim Beolkkot.
I am not Kim Beolkkot.
I am not Kim Beolkkot.
So if I live fiercely as the youngest of the Black Whale Knights, as a knight devoted to the Empire, then eventually I will find a point of connection with Isabel.
He tried hard to erase Isabel’s image from his mind with that thought.
‘But why…’
When I came to my senses, I was standing in front of the Arena Palace.
I hadn’t intended to come here, yet I had arrived without realizing it.
It was as if I had lost consciousness for a moment.
‘I should go back.’
But then Isabel came walking toward me from ahead.
With Narmore.
* * *
Narmore acknowledged him.
“Aren’t you Prince Arun, who’s been the talk of the town lately?”
“…Is my reputation really spreading?”
“Yes. There are rumors calling you the Fire Fox.”
“I’m not sure what a Fire Fox is.”
It was obvious even to a young child that Narmore’s attitude was far from friendly.
Arun had no desire to engage enthusiastically with someone who was hostile toward him.
“They say you flirt shamelessly with the maids.”
“That’s never happened.”
“Yet they boast that you smiled prettily at them while looking their way?”
Narmore’s expression hardened.
Even yesterday, Yuri had been bragging about it.
That Prince Arun’s eyes had met hers, and that Prince Arun had given her a grin.
“Are you speaking of me?”
This was the first Arun had heard of it.
Given that he was set up as the son of the Northern Grand Duke, he wasn’t naturally that kind-hearted.
I had no memory of smiling at anyone.
Though I had never smiled, a strange phenomenon was unfolding—those who witnessed that smile were filled with something inexplicable.
“That’s never happened.”
“Well, I suppose that’s true.”
Arun had always brushed aside such trivial provocations without concern.
As a Knight of the Empire, he had to conduct himself befitting his station.
But this time, he found it difficult to simply let it pass.
“No, Your Highness.”
Isabel, who had been listening silently to the conversation, was taken aback.
“I didn’t say anything, Prince Arun.”
….
Arun found himself at a loss for words.
For reasons he couldn’t quite understand, he wanted to prove his innocence to Isabel.
‘Are the Ratel’s instincts still lingering within me?’
This was precisely what the adult dragons feared.
Before one’s sense of self was properly established, possessing the memories of another creature would cause the self to become muddled.
The dragon’s sense of self would fail to perfect itself and become distorted.
‘I’m a Ratel who smiles only for Isabel, one who doesn’t squander laughter. That’s what this feels like.’
He suppressed that sentiment with reason.
Because right now, he was human, not a Ratel.
Isabel asked.
“What were you doing here, Prince Arun?”
Narmore intercepted the answer.
“Obviously, he came to exchange jokes with the maids or something.”
“Oh! So Prince Arun gets along well with the maids without formality.”
Arun’s expression tightened slightly.
“I said that’s never happened.”
In fact, Arun felt genuinely wronged.
He had never had a conversation with the maids, not even once.
“Yes, well, let’s leave it at that.”
“It’s not about leaving it at that. I’ve never done such a thing, Representative Narmore.”
Isabel smiled brightly as she spoke.
“I like it when people get along so naturally and intimately. Prince Arun, you seem like a good person. For some reason, Yuri was also full of praise for you.”
….
“Please continue to be kind like that. Oh, you might not know, but Yuri is my maid and a precious friend. If you happen to meet her, I’d appreciate it if you’d treat her warmly.”
Arun wanted to say no.
He had never been close with the maids.
This was the truth.
‘My mood is truly terrible.’
This was surely because the Ratel’s sense of self still remained within me.
Kim Beolggwol rarely opened his heart to anyone other than Isabel.
He was devoted solely to Isabel.
But he disliked how Isabel kept asking him to treat others with kindness.
‘The only person I want to be kind to is you, Isabel.’
He didn’t voice that thought.
His expression seemed somewhat irritated.
Isabel pondered this.
‘Hmm, no matter how I look at it, his behavior is suspicious. Why does he seem upset? And why is he wandering around the Arena Palace?’
She found Arun deeply suspicious.
Why had the original story’s male lead come to the Imperial Palace, and why was he exploring every corner of it?
‘If he might pose a threat to my family, it would be good to assess the situation beforehand.’
So she made a proposal.
“Since we’ve met like this, would you like to talk for a moment?”
“Yes, ah, no.”
That was odd.
It felt like he had barely stopped himself from saying ‘Yes!’ just now.
“I apologize. I’m currently on patrol duty.”
“Is it because you dislike having tea time with me?”
“Not at all. It would be an honor. However, I’m on duty and cannot help it. I’ll postpone this opportunity for another time.”
After rejecting Isabel’s proposal, Arun returned to his quarters and took a deep breath.
‘That was dangerous.’
He had almost said yes.
And just like before, he had almost embraced Isabel tightly.
(Though Kim Beolggwol had been small and always nestled in Isabel’s arms, he believed it was he who held her in his broad embrace.)
‘How should I treat Isabel?’
Kim Beolggwol, having just become Arun, found everything awkward and clumsy.
He was confused about what attitude to take in front of Isabel.
He had thought that seeing Isabel would simply bring him joy, but it wasn’t so.
The way Isabel looked at him had changed greatly from before.
The gap between then and now made his heart feel deeply troubled and unsettled.
‘I want to become close with Isabel again.’
But he still didn’t know how to do it.
* * *
Several days after the special royal conference.
I headed to the Slums of the Capital City with Narmore.
“It’s truly gratifying.”
“Pardon? What is?”
My true feelings had slipped out without my realizing it.
“A boy who was wasting his genius and loitering in the Slums has become the wealthiest person in the world.”
“I’m merely a servant, though. The wealthiest person in the world is the Princess.”
“…Ah, right. That’s what we decided on, isn’t it?”
“It’s not a matter of deciding, Your Highness. It simply is.”
In any case, Narmore had been dedicating himself to building new homes for the people of the Slums, establishing schools and orphanages.
We arrived at the recently completed Seibel Orphanage.
Truth be told, I had barely managed to convince him to change it from “Isabel Orphanage” to “Seibel.”
Narmore had the terrible habit of putting my name on everything, so it was exhausting to talk him out of it.
I spotted someone in the distance, bustling about in a white apron.
“Teacher Karin!”
This place housed many children abandoned for various reasons.
Count Karin often came here to care for the children.
Through his volunteer work here, Count Karin’s expression had become considerably brighter.
It seemed as though he was washing away the wounds of his childhood through this service.
These days, he was practically living here.
“Your Highness, you’ve come again today.”
“Of course. Building an orphanage and calling it done wouldn’t be right. I hope no other young Karins appear in this world.”
Thorough oversight and supervision were necessary.
Otherwise, a second and third Karin would surely emerge.
“Huh? Teacher, you smiled. You just smiled, didn’t you?”
He had definitely smiled faintly just now.
Embarrassed at being caught smiling, Karin’s earlobes flushed slightly red.
By the time we finished our various volunteer work, dusk had already fallen.
A strange sense of emotion washed over me.
‘I used to only receive help.’
Now I had become someone capable of giving help.
I hoped many children would find what they wanted to do and be able to pursue it.
I walked alongside Karin.
“Allow me to see you home.”
The streets were far wider and cleaner than before.
It was no longer a filthy Slums.
But then, someone suddenly emerged from the alley.
“Karin! Are you not Karin?”
It was an old man with snow-white hair, his appearance gaunt and haggard.
He wore tattered rags patched in various places, and his stench was foul.
His ribs protruded sharply, as if he hadn’t eaten in quite some time.
Karin’s eyes widened.
“You couldn’t possibly be…!”

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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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