I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit – Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Thwack!

Something flew through the air and embedded itself in the club.

It was a fork.

“Ugh!”

Unable to withstand the force with which the fork had been thrown, the guard tumbled backward.

“Hey, did you check her identification properly?”

The moment a woman with long, red hair tied back tightly in a ponytail appeared, all eyes were drawn to her.

It was no wonder, as her height was a staggering 180cm.

She was wearing silver armor that gleamed and shone in the sunlight.

Her name was Kiruen.

She was the Captain of the Outer Wall Guard, responsible for the overall defense of the capital’s outer walls, and the gatekeeper known as the “Iron Wall.”

Oh, my aching body.

The guard, who had managed to get up, exclaimed in surprise.

“Ca, Captain-nim!”

“Captain or whatever, I asked if you checked her identification properly!”

“I did.”

“Didn’t I tell you that if you get caught lying, your hand gets chopped off?”

The guard stood at attention.

Cold sweat trickled down his back.

To ordinary citizens, she was a dependable and reliable gatekeeper, but to the soldiers, she was a superior more fearsome than any other.

“I, I apologize. I’ll check again.”

“Good. Check carefully.”

Are your eyes even in the right place?

Kiruen already sensed that Ruruka’s status was unusual.

The fact that the material of her clothes was high-quality, her posture was impeccable, her skin was not tanned by the sun, and her hands were smoother than those of ordinary citizens were not the crucial factors.

This was Kiruen’s intuition.

And that intuition proved to be correct.

“It, it’s real!”

The guard realized that Ruruka was the nanny who served the Princess.

The identification she presented bore the seal symbolizing the Imperial Family.

His recent struggles had led him to neglect properly verifying the identification, and that had been his downfall.

He had checked it a hundred times correctly, but this one time he hadn’t, and this had happened.

Kiruen let out a deep sigh.

“Phew.”

She walked closer and lightly tugged on the guard’s shoulder.

It didn’t seem like she had used much force, but the guard’s body was flung backward.

Then, Kiruen bowed deeply.

A subordinate’s mistake was ultimately the superior’s mistake.

Therefore, it was right for her to apologize, that was Kiruen’s belief.

“I apologize. It seems we have disregarded the Princess’s will. I will personally visit the Princess soon and offer my apologies. Please forgive my subordinate’s rudeness.”

“Ah…… Ah……!”

Ruruka was already well aware of this famous Captain.

It was no exaggeration to say that almost no one in the capital didn’t know that red hair and silver armor.

Ruruka was speechless.

Kiruen possessed a certain dignity that was beyond words.

‘No, it’s a bit strange to say she has dignity, isn’t it?’

Her speech was rough, and her voice was husky.

Her behavior was often brusque.

She was quite different from the typical noblewoman.

Nevertheless, Kiruen definitely had dignity.

‘Perhaps it’s more accurate to say aura rather than dignity.’

Aura.

That was the right expression.

Although she was bowing politely, she possessed an authority that could not be underestimated.

Ruruka murmured unconsciously.

“You’re…… cool.”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Startled, Ruruka quickly changed the subject.

“I’m following the Princess’s orders to take this girl……”

However, Ruruka couldn’t finish her sentence.

A cloud of dust was rising in the distance.

The soldiers guarding the walls went on high alert and started beating the drums.

Ruruka instantly tensed up.

‘Could it be a monster attack?’

She had lived in the safest place in the world, the Imperial Palace, so she had never experienced a monster attack.

Fear suddenly surged within her.

“It’s alright.”

Kiruen had already straightened up.

“The walls built for the citizens are stronger than anything else.”

Kiruen knew that Ruruka was terrified.

She smiled gently and reassured her.

“And I’m here too.”

The soldiers began to close the gates in preparation for any potential danger.

Kiruen shouted, imbuing her voice with mana.

“Open the gates.”

“Bu, but Captain-nim!”

“Open them if I say so. I’ll take responsibility.”

She had realized.

What was currently rushing towards them, creating a sandstorm, was not a horde of monsters.

She relaxed.

At least it wasn’t an enemy.

‘Still the same as ever.’

Someone with a face covered in soot was running towards them.

Just like Yuri, he was a mess, but strangely, he exuded a noble air.

His name was Michael, the fourth Prince.

“Prince Michael, appearing like that will make the soldiers nervous.”

“Kiruen-noona, long time no see!”

Michael’s greeting was very brief.

It seemed he wasn’t particularly interested in Kiruen.

He showed more interest in Yuri, who was equally covered in grime.

It was a kind of camaraderie.

“I know her. I saw her in the carriage before! And Ruruka’s here too? What are you doing here?”

“Your Highness, that, that is…… the…… the situation.”

After hearing the whole story, Michael grinned.

Michael, the strongest among the Princes in terms of physical strength, picked Yuri up with two fingers.

“Alright. Let’s go! To a distant world! Let’s depart! To the Imperial Palace!”

“Eek, Eeeek!”

Flustered, Yuri struggled in mid-air.

Kiruen facepalmed.

“Your Highness! Even so, we must grant entry according to proper procedures and order……”

“Uhehehehe!”

But the Prince on horseback was already far away.

Only his hollow laughter remained.

He rode so fiercely that another cloud of dust billowed up.

Incidentally, the inside of the outer wall was a well-paved granite road.

The guard muttered.

“A dust cloud even rises there? Is that…… possible?”

“Indeed, it is.”

Kiruen sighed deeply.

She asked Ruruka.

“You’re certain about this child’s identity, right?”

“Ye, yes. She’s a child sponsored by Duke Rossild, and she recently won first place in the Olympiad. If you check, her identity will be verified quickly.”

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

Kiruen sighed deeply once more.

In any case, the outer wall’s defenses had been breached.

“I’ll go report to the Imperial Palace.”

“Di, directly to the Imperial Palace?”

“The outer wall’s defenses were breached. This is a serious matter.”

“……I, I apologize.”

The guard was extremely nervous.

After all, he was the cause of this incident.

If he had handled things by the book from the beginning, this situation might not have occurred.

‘Damn it. This is bad.’

The Captain was already terrifying.

He thought that if he got on her bad side here, his life would become difficult.

But Kiruen patted the soldier’s shoulder.

“Even if it’s a bit of a hassle, do your best. That’s our job. Understand?”

“Yes, yes, Captain-nim!”

The soldier stood at attention.

Kiruen patted the soldier’s shoulder once more and then started walking away.

“Ugh, what a pain.”

Towards the Imperial Palace, where she originally belonged.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Crash! Bang!

Michael rode very boisterously.

He was so consumed with the thought of getting to Isabel quickly that he didn’t consider Yuri’s well-being.

‘Ugh, I think I’m going to throw up.’

Yuri felt nauseous.

She had been jostled around so much in the air that she felt like she was going to get motion sickness.

Michael said cheerfully.

“Hey, you have to tell her exactly what happened. Tell her that I rescued you in a cool way and brought you here this fast.”

He rubbed his nose with one hand.

He grinned.

His mouth was stretched from ear to ear.

“She’ll praise me, right?”

Michael opened the door to Isabel’s room.

Full of anticipation for praise.

“Isabel! I brought you a present!”

Boom!

The door exploded.

In his excitement, Michael had forgotten all the etiquette lessons he had received.

Isabel, who had been taking a bite of cheesecake in the room, was startled.

“Oh, oh, Brother!”

A human-shaped hole appeared in the door made of solid wood.

“Here, a present.”

“A present?”

Michael, who had been hiding his hand behind his back, suddenly brought it forward.

Even in that moment, he shielded Yuri by moving her behind him, protecting her from potential harm.

Michael, having become close to Isabel, had realized that not everyone in the world was like him.

It was a blessing in disguise.

“Pr, Princess-nim……!”

Ugh! Blegh!

Yuri finally started to vomit.

“Yu, Yuri-unni. Are you alright?”

Yuri couldn’t calm down for a while.

It was only after a considerable amount of time that she could finally catch her breath.

“Why aren’t you praising me?”

“Brother, sit in that chair over there.”

“Why?”

“It’s the thinking chair. I think you need some time to think.”

“What’s that?”

“Think carefully about why I’m not praising you right away. And think about how I felt in the Elbe Mountains.”

Michael made a dissatisfied humming sound and stroked his chin.

Although he showed his displeasure, he still obeyed.

He sat in the chair and began to think for a moment.

The way his lips twitched, it seemed he was imagining the time he had won the sledding duel against Honey.（）

Meanwhile, Isabel heard from Yuri about what had happened.

“My sponsorship was cut off.”

“They kicked you out even though you’re the top scorer in the Olympiad? That’s not a good thing for Duke Rossild either, is it?”

The fact that they had done this to a gifted child who had achieved the top score in the Olympiad meant that Reina’s influence was at play.

Yuri’s eyes filled with tears.

Suddenly, a very ominous thought crossed Isabel’s mind.

‘No way.’

Yuri knelt down and cried her heart out.

“I…… I really didn’t steal anything, Princess-nim.”

They couldn’t just kick her out, so they had framed her for theft.

“Please believe me, I really didn’t steal anything.”

Yuri’s world was completely dark.

She felt like she had been plunged into a shadow where she couldn’t see anything and could barely breathe.

The loss of material support was difficult enough, but the fact that no one believed her isolated her further.

‘I can’t breathe, Princess-nim.’

The fear that even this Princess in front of her wouldn’t believe her bound her tightly.

Perhaps the facts didn’t even matter.

Anyone with common sense knew that they should side with Rossild, not her.

If the Princess was a sensible person, she would side with Rossild, not her.

Nevertheless, she had come to the Princess and knelt because she wasn’t alone.

She had a mother to take care of.

Her mother was very ill.

Clutching at straws, she spoke as if gasping for air.

“Please…… have mercy on me, just help me once.”

And the answer came.

“I know. I know that Yuri-unni didn’t steal anything.”

Yuri was startled and looked up at Isabel.

Surprisingly, Isabel was also crying.

“I believe that you didn’t do anything wrong, Unni. It must have been hard and lonely coming all the way here, right?”

Isabel hugged Yuri.

She didn’t seem to mind her dirty and smelly appearance at all.

“I’ll help you.”

Light began to seep into Yuri’s dark world.