I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit – Chapter 45

Chapter 45

“First, go wash up. Nanny, please prepare a simple meal for Yuri-eonni and me.”

It seemed like she hadn’t eaten for a few days.

I thought she might get sick if she suddenly ate too much heavy food.

“Please make it light and easy to digest.”

“Alright.”

I pushed Yuri, who was overwhelmed with gratitude, into the bathroom and sat down at the table, lost in thought.

‘Ugh. I spoke confidently, but……’

I saw Yuri’s expression.

That expression, as if she had grasped the last thread of hope in the abyss of despair.

That expression, as if she had been looking at something so dazzling, even though I’m not that kind of person.

‘I wonder if I overdid it.’

My desire to help Yuri was sincere, but helping her also meant accepting a slight confrontation with Duke Rossild.

‘Accepting and sponsoring a child expelled by Rossild within the Bilotian Imperial Family has the potential to become a political issue.’

The Bilotian Imperial Family couldn’t officially sponsor her.

‘Well, I have ten million Luden, so it should be enough for her and her mother to move here.’

In other words, it seemed like it would be enough for a settlement support fund.

But this money was actually meant to launch a soaring rocket.

If this money disappears, there will be a setback in my plans.

At that moment, Chief Attendant Dailtha entered my room.

“Your Highness…… Hmm? Your Highness is here as well?”

Ah. Right. My brother was here too.

He was so quiet that I forgot he was even there.

My brother hurriedly wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.

“Ah, I wasn’t sleeping.”

You were sleeping, you were. No wonder it was so quiet.

The only times my brother is quiet are when he’s sleeping or unconscious.

My brother yawned loudly and stretched.

“I’m bored, I’m leaving.”

Hop.

He jumped off the chair.

Even though he jumped lightly, the entire floor resonated with a thud!

It’s a good thing this is the sturdy Imperial Palace; if it were an ordinary house, the floor would have collapsed.

“Next time, I’ll be praised.”

My brother, burning with a strange sense of competitiveness, went outside.

“Hey! Honey Badger! Where are you! Let’s play fighting!”

He shouted loudly.

Chief Attendant Dailtha smiled faintly.

“At least he didn’t jump out the window today.”

“That’s…… true?”

“It’s clear that he’s being very careful with his behavior in front of Your Highness.”

“In front of me?”

“Yes.”

Is that what you call being careful? He almost broke the floor just now, and the door is shattered?

“It seems Your Highness is precious to him.”

“Is there a correlation between him being careful with his behavior and me being precious to him?”

“There is.”

For some reason, I gulped.

“It seems he’s realized that he might die if he treats you carelessly.”

“……”

Well, a frog can die from a stone thrown in jest.

If my brother messes up his power control, I could be sent far away.

Come to think of it, since the Elbe Mountains incident, I don’t think I’ve ever been scared or almost injured when I was with my brother.

“……Does that kind of realization usually come this late?”

“If it weren’t for Your Highness, it might not have come at all.”

“……”

It was hard to tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

But as always, Chief Attendant Dailtha was very perceptive.

“So…… what are you worrying about so much?”

“Well, that’s……”

“I’ve heard the general situation.”

Chief Attendant Dailtha already knew almost everything.

I had a conversation with the Chief Attendant about various things.

“……So I’m thinking about how I can help Yuri-eonni.”

“Why do you want to help that girl? There’s no benefit whatsoever for Your Highness.”

Actually, there wasn’t much to gain.

, Yuri was a minor character with little significance.

She was just occasionally mentioned as ‘the math genius so-and-so’.

So, the probability that she would be of direct help to me, like Sir Teyselon or Narmore, was low.

“It’s just, my heart aches for her.”

“……”

The burdens she carries alone feel too heavy.

The weight of life she has to bear on her own is excessive.

That’s why I wanted to help her.

“Many people have helped me.”

Without the unconditional support of people, I wouldn’t have lived to be 20.

I would have been kicked out because I couldn’t afford the hospital bills.

No, I wouldn’t have even been hospitalized in the first place, and I wouldn’t have received proper treatment.

Because I didn’t have a mom or a dad, and of course, I didn’t have any money.

I haven’t forgotten the fact that the help of countless unknown people has made me who I am today.

‘Oops.’

Sir Viaton’s words came to mind.

‘Don’t worry! The Holy Knights will assassinate them!’

I shouldn’t talk about a past that doesn’t exist.

I quickly made an excuse.

“Just as this world has become a gift to me, I want to become a gift to someone else.”

I cautiously gauged her reaction.

I was a little scared that I had revealed too much about my past life.

“……Is it too grand a dream?”

✦✦✦✦✦✦

In the end, Chief Attendant Dailtha found a way.

“Using my authority as Chief Attendant, I will hire Yuri as Your Highness’s maid.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. I have that much authority over personnel. The slight issue is that Yuri is of common birth, but as the top scorer in the 14th Olympiad, we should be able to make it work somehow.”

Yuri-eonni, who had finished washing up, was sitting on a chair, unable to hide her anxiety.

She was trembling like someone who had committed a crime, and it was very pitiful to see.

I sat next to her and gently held her hand.

“From now on, you will be Your Highness’s maid. Please conduct yourself properly in all matters so as not to harm Her Highness’s prestige.”

“……Yes. Thank you.”

Chief Attendant Dailtha’s gaze was sharp.

Anyone seeing her for the first time would definitely think she was cold-hearted.

Her tone itself was cold.

“You must diligently pursue your studies to get along well with Your Highness. To ensure you possess the appropriate qualities and etiquette as a maid, I will guarantee you as much study time as you desire.”

But the content was very warm.

“You must show outstanding achievements. Only then will you be able to build a deep friendship with Your Highness.”

“Is that…… the reason for my studies?”

“Yes. Should there be another reason?”

“……”

Yuri-eonni’s hand, which was holding mine, tightened its grip.

Her body was trembling.

“Is that really the reason I should study? For the honor of the Imperial Family, or to avoid shaming my sponsor……”

“Your role is to joyfully fill Your Highness’s time.”

It would be nice if she spoke a little more kindly.

I whispered in Yuri-eonni’s ear.

“The Chief Attendant is asking you to be friends with me.”

“……”

“Actually, I’m lonely because I don’t have any friends either.”

Yuri-eonni bit her lip hard.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

Sigh. How much hardship must she have endured for her emotions to surge like this?

I carefully placed a handkerchief on her hand.

Chief Attendant Dailtha continued speaking with her usual icy expression.

“Furthermore, the working benefits in the Imperial Palace are quite excellent. I will also provide you with a booklet containing various manuals, so please read it.”

If the family of someone working in the Arena Palace falls ill, the Imperial Palace takes responsibility.

From the start of treatment to full recovery.

That’s what Chief Attendant Dailtha meant.

“However, there is one prerequisite that needs to be met……”

“You’ll need permission from your mother or father, right?”

Usually, the personnel authority for those working in the Arena Palace lies with the Chief Attendant of the Arena Palace.

But this case was a little special.

Duke Rossild had accused Yuri of theft and expelled her.

Accepting Yuri meant, in other words, taking in a criminal as a maid.

But the Imperial Palace doesn’t accept criminals.

That meant directly contradicting Rossild’s words.

So, hiring Yuri in the Imperial Palace also meant proving that ‘Yuri is not a thief’.

“Duke Rossild will definitely object.”

“……”

Chief Attendant Dailtha-nim was silent for a while.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sometimes I think she’s just a bright and warm person like the sun, but when I see her like this……”

“When you see her like this?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Chief Attendant. There are two worst things in the world. One is leaving a sentence unfinished, and the other is……”

I also cut her off.

I know how to do the interruption technique too.

But Chief Attendant Dailtha didn’t seem particularly fazed.

It was a little frustrating.

“Anyway, I will take care of that part.”

From the Imperial Family’s perspective, this wasn’t a ‘fatal matter’, but it was certainly an awkward one.

It was something that Chief Attendant Dailtha had to take on some risk for.

“I’ll do it.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll talk to Mother and Father myself. I think that’s the right thing to do.”

It was something I started. So it was right for me to take responsibility.

That evening, I had dinner with Father.

Mother was also present.

‘Dinner with Mother and Father.’

It was just a dream in my past life. Now, it was reality.

I felt happy and excited for no reason.

After the happy dinner, Mother wiped her mouth with a napkin.

“So…… what is it that our daughter wants to say? Why did you call Mother and Father?”

Even that simple gesture exuded elegance, and I unconsciously imitated Mother.

Dab, dab.

I’ll do it like Mother later too.

It didn’t have the same natural elegance as Mother, but I tried to mimic it anyway.

“Well, actually.”

It’s like this and that.

I explained the whole situation and asked for permission to accept Yuri as a maid.

Father, who had been listening silently, opened his mouth.

“So, what you’re saying is……”

Words I couldn’t have imagined began to flow from Father’s mouth.