I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit – Chapter 112

Chapter 112

It was strange.

Sir Viaton’s eyes looked inexplicably sad.

That bright and beautiful smile felt a little upsetting today.

Unconsciously, I clasped Sir Viaton’s hand with both of mine.

Sir Viaton’s hands, which were always warm, were very cold today.

“Your hands are cold.”

As I held his hand, an unknown sadness washed over me.

Perhaps the emotions engraved in Sir Viaton’s mana were being transmitted to me.

My body trembled.

“……”

“……Your Highness?”

I could tell for sure.

Sir Viaton’s heart was filled with sadness right now.

Even though only a slight trace of emotion embedded in his mana was transmitted, even that fragment was too much for me to bear.

The depth and magnitude of the emotions Sir Viaton was experiencing were so profound that I couldn’t even begin to fathom them.

‘What…… what should I do?’

Tears welled up in my eyes without me realizing it.

Because I felt so sad.

It felt as if all the misfortunes of the world had settled on my shoulders, weighing me down.

The fragments of emotions transmitted from Sir Viaton felt like they were about to consume me.

‘It’s just a part of his emotions being transmitted.’

Just that much.

My world felt like it was about to collapse.

The mental fortitude I had built up over the past 20 years felt like it was crumbling into dust in an instant.

‘Then how much is Sir Viaton himself feeling?’

Things that were invisible to the eye began to come into view.

Sir Viaton was in a truly precarious state right now.

He looked like someone who had lost something most precious in the world.

“Your Highness?”

There was nothing I could do.

I couldn’t comfort Sir Viaton’s heart with any language I knew.

I couldn’t even say that I fully understood his feelings and sadness.

Because that would be a lie.

When I started to cry, Sir Viaton knelt on one knee and met my eyes.

“Your Highness. Why are you crying? What happened? Did you have a nightmare? Or did His Highness Kaman treat you harshly?”

“……”

I just walked closer to Sir Viaton.

As Sir Viaton’s mana and my mana reacted, a strange illusion appeared.

Sir Viaton’s mana was recording something and transmitting it to me.

━━Can you please hold me just once?

It couldn’t be, he was always a strong person, but that’s how it sounded to me.

━━Please hold me just once.

It was an auditory hallucination I couldn’t refuse.

Something made my body move on its own.

I opened my arms wide and hugged Sir Viaton tightly.

Flinch.

Sir Viaton’s body trembled slightly.

Sir Viaton’s body was much larger than mine.

But today, for some reason, it felt small.

I patted Sir Viaton’s back.

I couldn’t control my emotions.

I tried so hard not to cry, but it was all in vain.

Tears streamed down my face and fell in droplets.

Sir Viaton didn’t say anything.

He didn’t hug me back affectionately like he usually did.

He just sat there, rooted to the spot like a statue.

I still didn’t know what to say.

I just opened my mouth as my heart led me.

“I admire you, Teacher. You are a much greater person than I am.”

“……”

“But it’s okay to be a little small today. I, your Princess, permit it.”

“……”

“Let me hold you.”

I didn’t know how much comfort this would bring, but I had to hug Sir Viaton.

The longing contained in the auditory hallucination asking me to hug him was too desperate for me to ignore.

Drip. Drip.

Something hot fell on the back of my neck.

It was a very large teardrop.

‘Huh?’

I looked up at Sir Viaton.

Sir Viaton was crying like a child.

Like a child who had lost his mother.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Kaman, who had returned to his barracks, couldn’t sit still for a while.

‘What was that just now?’

Thinking rationally, it was a very strange thing.

Isabel, who had approached the brightly smiling Viaton, had suddenly cried, saying it was okay for him to be small, and Viaton had cried along with her.

But the strange thing was that he had also felt a lump in his throat.

It was full of things he couldn’t understand.

‘Why did I……?’

Why did he almost cry?

‘Why did my heart ache?’

He still couldn’t figure out the reason.

He tried to lie down on the bed, but sleep wouldn’t come.

After a very long time, as dawn approached, he remembered one thing.

‘I used to write a diary.’

That diary he had burned.

He had consciously forgotten its existence, but now he began to remember its contents one by one.

Things that he had buried deep in his heart and ignored surfaced.

Things he had forgotten.

Things he knew instinctively, without anyone teaching him, came to mind.

‘How to treat people with kindness. How to share feelings.’

If you treat people kindly, they’ll think you’re easy and try to take advantage of you.

There’s no more useless and wasteful way to spend time than sharing feelings.

Crack, crack – fissures began to appear in his hardened thoughts.

‘What I saw was……’

Perhaps it was the kind of emotional connection that young Kaman had longed for.

Young Kaman had also desperately wished for someone to understand him.

He had swung the sword he hated so much, hoping someone would notice his efforts, understand his heart.

Living that way, he had lost everything from the past.

He took out a small notebook from his drawer.

He started writing in his diary, just like young Kaman had done.

『I’ve learned one thing for sure.』

But he couldn’t be as honest as young Kaman.

He couldn’t write down all his emotions, and he couldn’t move his quill anymore.

Kaman, who had wanted to write something, put down his quill.

‘I wish you would stay a few more days.’

Isabel helps him find the old feelings he had lost.

When Isabel was around, he felt like he could find the ‘him’ he had forgotten.

For some reason, the sight of Isabel hugging Viaton had brought tears to his eyes.

After much contemplation, he completed his diary in his own way.

『That guy is quite useful.』

He still had a long way to go.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Isabel visited the Jirdel Royal Palace with Viaton, Narmore, and Yuri.

Viaton’s role was secondary, so he stayed in the back, while Isabel led the way, with Narmore and Yuri positioned behind her on the left and right, respectively.

‘They said he looks like a kind grandfather, and that description fits him perfectly.’

Valkio, the King of Jirdel.

He was generally considered to be one of the more gentle among the seven kings and was largely classified as a ‘good person’.

A man with a rather plump physique and a benevolent expression.

‘He was supposed to be quite a reasonable and relatively kind person, but he also had the setting of being overly fond of dad jokes and constantly saying “back in my day”, right?’

Valkio said.

“I apologize for the delay in the schedule. The transfer gate malfunctioned, and then the carriage broke down as well. I apologize once again for wasting your precious time.”

“No, it’s alright. Thanks to that, I was able to have a good time.”

“With Prince Kaman?”

“Yes.”

“You have a truly kind heart.”

To think she was lying like that again, trying to put his mind at ease.

She was truly a child with a wonderful personality.

Valkio smiled kindly.

“I should naturally repay such a kind heart.”

The expressions of the ministers lined up on either side suddenly hardened.

Those feelings were transmitted directly to Isabel.

‘Please!’

‘No!’

‘That’s not it!’

It was as if she could hear their desperate cries.

“Do you know what they say when the king doesn’t want to enter the palace?”

Sigh.

That’s not it.

The ministers wore expressions of near resignation.

Isabel tilted her head.

“Hmm.”

Ah.

I think I’ve seen this before.

“You don’t know, do you? Shall I tell you?”

“Wait a moment. I can guess.”

Isabel became serious.

The phrase “you don’t know” greatly stimulated a child’s brain and pride.

Ah, I think I know this.

It was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t quite recall it.

“Ah, I don’t know.”

“Shall I tell you?”

“……Yes.”

“Grumble grumble.”

The ministers’ bodies stiffened.

They generally liked Valkio, but they couldn’t accept this kind of joke.

But one person’s reaction was different.

There was one person who was smiling brightly.

It was Isabel.

“Funny, isn’t it?”

“Yes!”

Eight-year-olds were at an age where they would be amused by even a rolling leaf.

In fact, Isabel herself was a little embarrassed.

To think she found such a joke so funny.

Seeing that, Valkio was greatly pleased.

‘See, you guys? The Princess loves it, doesn’t she?’

He wanted to say that to his ministers, but he held back for the sake of his dignity.

“Your Majesty, shall I also tell you a funny riddle?”

“Haha, I look forward to it.”

“What’s the word office workers like the most?”

“……”

Valkio thought hard, but in the end, he couldn’t guess the answer.

“What’s the answer?”

“Weekend.”

A kingdom represented by Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Friday, Friday.

In other words, a kingdom that had become wealthy by exploiting its workers.

The expressions of the ministers brightened subtly.

Except for a few truly ambitious ones, they were also government officials who had to give up their weekends and forcibly come to work at the palace.

In any case, Valkio seemed to be interested in Isabel’s story.

“Hahaha! That’s a very fascinating and amusing story!”

“I have another one!”

The stage prepared by Isabel, the de facto owner of Narmore Corporation, and the strategist Narmore, began to unfold.