I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit - Chapter 177

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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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Everyone was startled.
It was the first time the Dragon Lord had appeared in an official gathering since the Black Flame Dragon incident.
“Dragon Lord, what brings you here?”
“Is it strange for the Dragon Lord to participate in the Holy Dragon Council?”
Everyone fell silent.
It wasn’t strange per se, but it was certainly unprecedented.
Ravina, the Dragon of Wisdom, contemplated the matter thoughtfully.
‘The Dragon Lord must be viewing this situation with considerable caution as well.’
After all, she was the one who had personally suppressed the Black Flame Dragon incident.
I concluded that she had made a noble resolution not to repeat what happened then.
“Surely the Dragon Lord wishes to prevent a second Black Flame Dragon incident before it occurs?”
“What are you talking about?”
Aisylla the White Dragon.
She smiled softly.
“I’m trying to protect a friend.”
“A friend… you say?”
One had to wonder what deeper intentions the Dragon Lord harbored.
Words from one of the Dragon Lord’s stature carried weight, and much was surely hidden beneath the surface.
Not just Ravina, but all the dragons thought the same.
Aisylla twisted her white hair around her fingers.
“I command you as Dragon Lord.”
A command to the dragons.
This was something only the Dragon Lord could do.
For the first time in 3,000 years, the Dragon Lord’s decree—the Dragon King’s Edict—was proclaimed.
“From this moment forth, all dragons shall take it upon themselves to become guardian dragons of the Vilotian Empire. This mandate shall remain in effect until the Wilhelm family is completely exterminated.”
Her voice reached every corner of the world.
Even to Arun, who was now inseparable from Isabel for the next twenty-four hours.
And to someone training intensely in the Black Sea.
* * *
A voice reached Arun’s ears.
“From this moment forth, all dragons shall take it upon themselves to become guardian dragons of the Vilotian Empire. This mandate shall remain in effect until the Wilhelm family is completely exterminated.”
Though Arun, as a young dragon, had never heard this voice before, he instinctively understood.
This was a command the Dragon Lord was issuing to all dragons.
“Arun? What’s wrong?”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing.”
Arun smiled lightly and looked at Isabel.
Just then, a breeze drifted through the window.
More precisely, Arun had summoned a gentle wind.
He wanted to lift Isabel’s spirits, and as a result(?) a few strands of her hair fell across her forehead.
He hadn’t intended for that, but fortune was on his side in many ways.
‘I could touch her hair.’
It was an excellent excuse.
Arun brushed Isabel’s hair back for her.
It was a small gesture, but it made him happy.
“I’ll protect you.”
“I think I’ve heard that over a hundred times.”
“This time, it’s a different kind of promise.”
“I’ve heard that at least fifty times too.”
“The Dragon Lord has given me an order.”
“The Dragon Lord?”
Isabel tilted her head in confusion.
The term “Dragon Lord” was unfamiliar even to Isabel, who had read every word of “The Villainess with a Time Limit Dies.”
The character had never appeared once, even until the ending.
‘Why did the Dragon Lord get involved?’
Separate from the novel’s plot, the involvement of such a powerful being as the Dragon Lord was extraordinarily unusual.
‘Wilhelm’s scheme must be terrifyingly dangerous.’
Dangerous enough to threaten the peace of the world itself.
Isabel fell into her own thoughts.
A considerable amount of time passed.
‘I have less than three years left in my life.’
I couldn’t know when Wilhelm would make his move in earnest.
He could act immediately, or it could be a year from now, or three years from now.
“Arun. How much longer do I have to stay like this?”
“What do you mean?”
Arun’s expression darkened slightly.
“Am I making you uncomfortable?”
“No, that’s not it. The time I spend with you is….”
I hesitated slightly.
It felt like something was seeping into Arun gradually, but I remained cautious with that emotion.
Afraid that I would leave behind too deep a wound when I departed.
That was what I feared.
“It is joyful and precious.”
At those words, Arun’s anxious expression brightened.
Though he was the Black Whale’s Vice-Commander, typically reserved with his emotions, he laughed and cried at every word Isabel spoke.
“You make me feel a completely new kind of emotion—one I’ve never felt even from family—in such rich and varied ways.”
“I hope that’s love.”
“….”
Isabel fell silent for a moment.
Ever since their engagement, Arun had become far too proactive.
At unexpected moments, he would rush in with a bright, warm smile, and she still wasn’t accustomed to it.
“But the truth is, I live in constant anxiety every single day.”
Wilhelm—this enemy who had waited five hundred years—this colossal adversary was targeting me.
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t terrified.
“Because of me, countless people are on high alert.”
“….”
“Even Arun was forced into an engagement because of me.”
“That, that wasn’t unavoidable.”
“You said yourself it was unavoidable.”
“That, that was…!”
Arun couldn’t deny it.
After all, he had said ‘unavoidable’ multiple times himself.
“All of these things weigh on my mind.”
“….”
“I don’t want to spend my remaining three years living in anxiety, in impatience, burdening others with my problems.”
At first, I had thought of it as nothing but a gift.
In truth, I still regarded it as a gift.
But as the end of this gift drew near, fear crept in more and more.
The final moments of this precious and happy time were approaching.
The closer it came, the more I wanted to make this time meaningful.
“Arun. Help me. I can’t just sit idle like this. I won’t simply wait. We must take action first.”
“…Isabel.”
For the gift that remained—merely three years.
For the three springs left to come.
* * *
Along the borders between the Mage Federation and the Vilotian Empire, and between the Mage Federation and the Seven Kingdoms, clashes both large and small erupted.
The Mage Federation deployed Mages at the forefront, wielding devastatingly powerful magic.
This was a warning directed at Villorian, a display of military might.
But then, dragons appeared across the world.
“A, a dragon!”
“R, really a dragon!”
Most people had only encountered dragons in legend, never seeing one with their own eyes.
The legendary dragon had revealed itself.
“C, could it be Villorian’s guardian dragon?”
While records of a guardian dragon’s existence did exist, this was the first time it had been proven to be real.
The dragons wielded magic incomparable to anything humans could muster, utterly annihilating the Mage Federation’s magical corps.
The Mage Federation immediately issued a statement.
[Due to the black dragon that recently appeared in the Nephman region, over twenty innocent lives have been lost. Through a contract with this evil black dragon, Villorian…will ultimately plunge this world into the abyss of malice.]
They branded the black dragon as evil.
[Villorian is deceiving the pure white dragon through false schemes, throwing this world into chaos.]
The moment the black dragon appeared, they misrepresented it as inherently evil.
When the White Dragon appeared, Villorian proclaimed that the White Dragon had been deceived.
In truth, some dragons felt uneasy about involving themselves so deeply in the human realm.
Dragon power was far too formidable, and they possessed the ability to overturn the world’s order and natural progression.
When several dragons questioned the Dragon Lord about whether this was permissible, he responded.
“So what? Tell all those with complaints to step forward. Though I wonder if they’d dare say such things to my face.”
No dragon harbored any grievance against the Dragon Lord.
* * *
The Vilotian Emperor’s Office.
Serna and Ron were engaged in conversation.
“Regardless of which dragon appears or what justification is offered, there seems to be a remarkable talent for framing everything negatively. No matter what happens, the conclusion always boils down to the same thing—Villorian is evil, Villorian is dangerous.”
“Many fall prey to such propaganda.”
Countless people feared Villorian’s movements.
An already formidable empire seeking world domination—vague dread permeated everything.
“It’s unavoidable. They’ve waged a media campaign for five hundred years while we paid no attention. One cannot catch up to five centuries of accumulated expertise and tradition in merely ten years.”
“….”
“For five hundred years, the perception has been carved into minds that the Vilotian Empire is barbaric and violent. The fact that many fear us isn’t entirely their fault.”
The Mage Federation had slowly and cunningly imposed this narrative.
Villorian dismissed such matters as meaningless and paid them no heed.
Of course, in terms of military might, the Vilotian Empire was overwhelmingly superior.
“It would be simpler to just sweep them all away at once.”
“That would result in far too many innocent civilian casualties.”
“If it meant capturing Wilhelm, I would do exactly that.”
Serna herself carried many concerns.
Truthfully, Ron’s words held appeal for her as well.
Yet she was not only Isabel’s mother but also mother to all her people.
As the Empire’s mother, she believed she must maintain her center and move forward.
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door.
“It is the Chief Advisor. May I enter?”
“Come in.”
He referred to himself not as Biatone but as “Chief Advisor.”
It signified he would deliver an official report.
Biatone wore his uniform as always—impeccably pressed and neat.
He began his report without a trace of levity.
“Why do you carry such weight?”
“To convey the Princess’s wishes.”
Biatone began to speak.
“The Princess has stated that she wishes to assume the risk herself. She says she will willingly walk into a trap to capture Wilhelm.”
In that instant, a terrifying aura erupted from Ron.
“You’re bringing me such nonsense as an official report?”
“Consider this, Your Highness is no longer a young child.”
Of course, she remains as lovely as one.
I barely held back those words.
This was an official briefing, after all.
“She does not wish for those who cherish her to suffer any hardship.”
“Nonsense!”
“Of course, no one feels burdened. I am no exception. I would gladly offer everything I possess for Her Highness’s sake.”
“….”
“Yet Her Highness has spoken. She said she wishes to spend the last three springs remaining to her in warmth.”
Isabel’s expression and words were so earnest.
Her approach to life was so reverent.
That was why Biatone could not help but listen to what Isabel said.
“For the final springs remaining to Her Highness, perhaps we must make a decision now.”
If Isabel truly desired it.
If it was what Isabel wanted.
Ron, Serna, and Biatone could do anything.
Even if it meant leaping into the fires of hell itself.
“Speak in detail…”

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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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