I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit – Chapter 158

Chapter 158

The shadow wasn’t in the shape of a person.

‘If it were a person, there’s no way a tail-shaped shadow would be visible there, right?’

The tail was wagging from side to side. Like a puppy that met its guardian.

Even though it was just a shadow, it definitely was.

Arun spoke.

“What’s wrong, Your Highness?”

“Just now, definitely……”

I examined the shadow once more.

But now, it was just a human form.

I rubbed my eyes, but there was no change.

‘It was definitely Honey Badger’s tail.’

No one else may know, but I do.

How a tail wags.

At what angle it wags.

How vigorously it wags.

That’s why I could tell just by looking at the shadow.

The shape of that tail just now was definitely Honey Badger’s.

‘I must miss Honey a lot.’

That’s why I’m seeing things.

“It’s nothing.”

Arun sat down next to me, a little distance away.

And unlike when he was addressing Father, he spoke in a rather gentle voice.

“If there’s anything you want to say, Your Highness, please feel free to speak at any time.”

“Alright, I will.”

Father seemed displeased with Arun.

“Twelve years old.”

“It’s Arun, Your Majesty.”

“I don’t think I ever told you to interpret my words arbitrarily.”

“Your Majesty has never ordered me not to interpret your words arbitrarily either.”

Wow, watching him speak, he’s like a slightly more polite Sir Viaton.

That’s why I felt strangely drawn to Arun.

It’s not because he’s handsome, absolutely not, really, truly.

“From now on, don’t interpret my words.”

“If it’s an order, I’ll obey, but……”

“But?”

“Would that be alright?”

Father’s eyebrows twitched.

Wow, amazing.

I thought Sir Viaton was the only one who could change Father’s expression in such a negative way.

One more person has been added.

He’s definitely male lead material.

“What do you mean?”

“If I grasp Your Majesty’s intentions more accurately and articulate them specifically, Her Highness will also be able to understand Your Majesty’s true feelings more easily.”

If he really has a similar personality to Sir Viaton, Father won’t hold back any longer.

It’s about time he started drawing his sword, like he does with Sir Viaton.

‘Huh?’

But he didn’t draw his sword.

On the contrary, he seemed to be somewhat agreeable.

Arun smiled faintly.

“I will do my best to ensure Your Majesty’s true feelings reach Her Highness.”

“That is your own volition.”

“Of course. There can be no coercion or compulsion in the noble and virtuous task of conveying Your Majesty’s true feelings to Her Highness. I will purely of my own will, help to narrow the distance between Your Majesty and Her Highness, and allow fatherly love to blossom.”

Father doesn’t really like it when people talk for so long.

He prefers to speak concisely and get straight to the point.

It seems Arun hasn’t fully grasped Father’s character yet.

As expected, Father’s expression was quite stern.

But the emotions conveyed through his mana were a little strange.

‘Is he satisfied?’

It was strange.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Arun spoke.

“Your Highness, don’t you hate Prince Sermon? I heard something major happened back then.”

Just thinking about that time made Arun shudder.

It was fortunate that he had awakened his dragon’s ego, otherwise, he might have lost Isabel forever.

Regardless of the context, Sermon was the very definition of an enemy to Honey Badger.

“It wasn’t my brother’s fault.”

“……There’s no need to force yourself to forgive him.”

“If I had to pinpoint the blame, I think it lies with Mother and Father.”

Isabel glanced at Ron, gauging his reaction.

It was an issue that needed to be addressed at some point.

‘Is he not going to get angry?’

Fortunately, Ron just listened to Isabel’s words silently.

Isabel gained a bit more courage.

“Father didn’t love his son, and Mother neglected him.”

“……”

Isabel checked Ron’s reaction once more and asked.

“Am I being too disrespectful?”

“No.”

Ron wasn’t angry.

It felt like he had contracted a disease that prevented him from getting angry at Isabel.

“It’s upsetting, but what’s done is done……”

“……”

“From now on, I hope Father will love Brother Sermon, no, everyone. Like Mother does.”

Serna had changed a lot.

With a heart full of atonement towards her children, she was trying to spend as much time with them as possible.

However, Sermon was displaying extreme hostility towards Serna.

Kaman was trying to accept that love to some extent, and Michael didn’t have any thoughts on the matter yet.

“I really wanted to let you know, Father.”

“What is it?”

“Every child needs their parents’ love and attention.”

In the past, even Isabel lacked the courage to say such things.

She was too busy trying to protect herself.

But now, the situation was different.

Mana flowed from the shoulder she was leaning against.

Within that mana, there was a deep love that was beyond words.

“I couldn’t say this before because I was afraid of Father. You have no idea how scared I was every day. I tried to be a useful child.”

“……”

“But it’s different now. I can feel how much you love me, Father.”

“……”

Ron, who had spent his entire life training with the sword, didn’t know how to respond.

It was best to just remain silent.

“So please, share a little of your love with my brothers too.”

Isabel smiled brightly.

“But I’d still like you to love me the most, of course.”

“……”

Watching her, Arun smiled faintly.

In Arun’s world, Isabel shone brightly once again today.

Enough to make him want to protect her for the rest of his life.

After a long silence, Ron spoke.

“I’m awkward and uncomfortable with such things.”

To be honest, he wasn’t confident.

He didn’t think of himself as a loving father.

He, too, had never received love as a child.

The reason he had changed like this was because of Isabel.

In other words, Isabel was Ron’s variable.

So it wasn’t strange that he showed a different side of himself only in front of that variable.

“My usual behavior is the norm, and how I treat you is the exception.”

Ron was well aware of his own limitations.

Of course, he would try, as Isabel had said, but he knew it was nearly impossible.

“Wouldn’t it be enough if you cared for them a lot?”

It was better for Isabel to smile once than for him to try a thousand times.

Sermon, Kaman, and Michael too.

They seemed much happier when they were with their younger sister, Isabel, than when they were with him, their father.

Isabel continued speaking calmly.

“I can’t be with them all the time.”

Isabel had less than 10 years left.

“So please, Father.”

Thump!

Ron felt as if his heart had dropped to the floor.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

A fierce chill swept through the air.

It was Rovena, the Duke of the Northern Sky Island, the master of Sky Island.

“No, Your Majesty, are you out of your mind?”

“What?”

Arun stood in front of Isabel.

It was to block the cold air emanating from Rovena.

“I heard you deployed 30 elite members of the White Whale directly to Sky Island?”

“Yes, I informed you.”

“I never gave you permission.”

“Do people usually ask for permission after being informed?”

Their eyes met in mid-air.

It was as if sparks were flying.

This is what had happened:

1. Isabel wanted to find someone. （Of course, the reason was absurd, but it didn’t seem to matter much to Ron.）

2. Ron wanted to help Isabel.

3. So he deployed 30 White Whale Knights, directly under the Imperial Palace, to Sky Island.

4. He then informed Rovena.

Rovena said,

“You do realize this is a huge diplomatic issue, right?”

The White Whale Knight Unit is publicly known as the representative intelligence group of the Imperial Palace.

Of course, it was true that they were the main group handling information for the Imperial Palace.

And they were also a military group that infiltrated enemy lines, assassinated key figures, uncovered the enemy’s critical weaknesses, and secured attack routes to the enemy’s territory.

In other words, each one of them was a strategic military asset.

But to have more than 30 of them deployed to Sky Island, from the perspective of the island’s master, it was beyond anger, it was absurd.

“It’s a personal matter. You don’t need to worry about it.”

“You’re deploying the White Whale Knight Unit for a personal matter? Arun, what have you been doing? I knew His Majesty was out of his mind, but you should have stopped him if you were by his side.”

Arun took a step forward.

That was fine, but then he suddenly said something strange.

“Mother, I would appreciate it if you could tone down the cold air a bit.”

“……What?”

“Her Highness is cold.”

“……”

Rovena was momentarily speechless.

It was so absurd that even her anger subsided.

“So you’re saying you don’t understand what’s important right now?”

Besides, the princess wasn’t cold at all. She was perfectly fine.

“Please withdraw the cold air.”

Arun’s gaze was so firm that Rovena stopped emitting her mana.

Only then did Arun speak again.

“It truly is a personal matter. There will be no political or military operations against Sky Island. I guarantee it.”

“Be careful about making guarantees. Even if you are my son.”

“I know.”

“Sigh.”

Rovena covered her forehead with her hand.

“Fine. Let’s hear the details of what happened.”

After hearing the story, Rovena laughed, “Huh-“.

“You’re telling me you really did this because of a dream? With just a composite sketch made from what you saw in a dream?”

“That’s right.”

“By deploying the Imperial Family’s best elite personnel?”

“Yes.”

“If someone with such tremendous abilities was on Sky Island, don’t you think I would have found them?”

“……”

“There’s no way such a person would be on Sky Islan……”

At that moment, Gailop, the Captain of the White Whale Knight Unit, appeared.

“We found him, Your Majesty.”