I Was Just Having Fun With The Time Limit – Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Rovena and Viaton stood facing each other.

The volunteers surrounded them in a circle.

“What’s going on now?”

“I don’t know.”

Although they didn’t know exactly, they could feel a tremendous force.

Swordsmen of Viaton and Rovena’s caliber were extremely rare, and ordinary people rarely had the chance to meet such warriors.

“Is this the aura of swordsmen?”

Everyone gulped.

No one pushed them, but they instinctively stepped back.

“I’ve only heard about it, I didn’t know something like this really existed.”

“Y-Yeah, me neither.”

Just standing still, they felt a terrifying and eerie feeling.

It was like a giant, irresistible tidal wave was rushing towards them.

“Are they going to fight?”

“Surely they won’t really fight?”

Rovena smirked.

“It’s been a long time, my disciple.”

Despite having changed her face with magic, Rovena accurately read Viaton’s expression.

As the name ‘Viaton’ appeared, people began to whisper.

“V-Viaton?”

“Sir Viaton, the Chief Aide to the Emperor?”

One of the top ten greatest swordsmen in the Empire had revealed himself.

The initial chills and fear soon turned into admiration.

“But who is that woman who is speaking informally to Sir Viaton?”

“W-Wait a minute.”

Someone recognized Rovena’s face.

Hair like a melting blue glacier. Blue eyes resembling a lake.

Someone in a high enough position to speak informally to Viaton. And a woman with an intense chill（寒氣） that made their bodies shiver.

“N-No way!”

Viaton frowned.

“I said it would be best to put down the honey badger, Teacher.”

The Grand Duke of the North, Rovena, was the Grand Duke who ruled Sky Island, which floated above the Elbe Mountains in the northern part of the continent.

Sky Island was part of the Empire, but it was closer to a neutral state.

500 years ago, the first Emperor made a pact, giving rise to the first Grand Duke, and that history continued for 500 years.

However, when Grand Duke Rovena disappeared 10 years ago, exchanges had virtually ceased.

“What if I don’t want to?”

Rovena rolled up her sleeves.

There were bite marks from the honey badger on her wrist.

“It bit me.”

Suddenly, a cold wind blew.

It was a cold wind, enough to frost over the walls here and there.

Grand Duke Rovena’s hair fluttered in the cold wind.

“Viaton. Have your skills improved quite a bit in the past 10 years? It seems you’ve forgotten my warning that I’d kill you if you messed with me 10 years ago.”

“I’m telling you once again. Put down that honey badger.”

Rovena’s eyes curved into a crescent shape.

‘Interesting.’

The Viaton she saw was a very political and calculating child（?）.

He seemed thoughtless and easygoing on the outside, but in reality, he was a child who moved after thoroughly calculating everything.

But today was a little different.

‘To think Viaton would show such a great emotional disturbance.’

The Viaton she remembered wouldn’t react like this.

Viaton should have reacted like this originally.

‘I’ll give you 500 Luden, so hand it over. Hehe. Huh? You don’t want to? Then I’ll give you 600 Luden. I won’t go any higher. Take it or leave it.’

He should have been making a ridiculous bargain like this, but the current Viaton was different.

10 years ago, she had driven Viaton to the brink of death.

Even then, Viaton was grinning.

‘You’re saying you’re more afraid of what will happen to Arun than the fear of death?’

Rovena looked at her nephew in her hand.

This brave nephew of hers, not even recognizing his aunt, had bravely charged at her, so she had no choice but to knock him unconscious.

“Well, what sin could a speechless animal have?”

“……”

Rovena was a little puzzled.

He should be stepping in at this timing.

‘Yes, it has no sin. As expected, Teacher is someone who knows what’s right, hehe.’

The Viaton she knew and the current Viaton were very different.

“This creature must have an owner, right?”

It was about time they showed up.

If her calculations were correct, in about 5 seconds.

She counted the time in her head.

‘5, 4, 3, 2, 1.’

At that moment, someone pushed through the crowd and came running.

“Honey!”

Rovena smirked again.

‘You’ve come, Isabel.’

✦✦✦✦✦✦

The first person I saw was Sir Viaton, holding a sword.

The next person I saw was a woman, and in her hand was Honey, unconscious.

I could feel a tremendous aura from that woman.

Even the great Sir Viaton seemed to be nervous.

‘Calm down, calm down, calm down.’

This kind of situation was very dangerous.

If my body escaped the control of my reason and went on a rampage, it would be unstoppable.

Even now, I was barely suppressing the urge to run to that woman and burst into tears.

‘Calm down, calm down, calm down, please, Isabel.’

Fortunately, I had practiced suppressing my impulses for a very long time. Both in my past life and in this life.

I clutched my pounding heart and tried to see the situation as rationally as possible.

‘Blue hair and blue eyes.’

And I heard the word ‘Teacher’ as she ran over.

There was only one person in this story who Sir Viaton called Teacher.

‘It must be Grand Duke Rovena.’

Rovena was a supporting character with little significance in the story.

A supporting character who appears in the latter half of the story, makes a new pact with the male lead Arun, and then suddenly disappears.

I quickly recalled the information I had about Grand Duke Rovena.

‘Meticulous and cold-hearted personality. The only person she ever showed affection to was Sir Viaton. She rarely appeared in the story.’

Sir Viaton hid me behind him.

“Step back. It could be dangerous.”

Sir Viaton’s touch was still gentle, but it felt a little rougher than usual.

It meant that even Sir Viaton was nervous.

Grand Duke Rovena spoke.

“Are you the owner of this impudent creature?”

Sir Viaton spoke quickly.

“Don’t answer.”

It wasn’t hard to guess the reason.

It seemed that Honey had bitten the Grand Duke’s wrist, and she was trying to hold the owner accountable.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

It was Grand Duke Rovena’s ironclad rule to repay grudges tenfold and kindness a hundredfold.

“No, Sir Viaton.”

I moved my unwilling feet. It wasn’t that I didn’t feel like it, but my feet really wouldn’t move.

‘Why are my feet so heavy?’

It was like someone had attached a very, very heavy weight to my ankles.

But I moved my feet with difficulty.

“I am the Princess of the Bilotian Empire, and I personally named that child.”

I could hear the murmurs of the people. But I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

The important thing for me was to bring Honey back safely.

“So I won’t hide behind Sir Viaton. That child’s name is Kim Beolkkul, and I gave him that name. I’ll apologize if there’s anything wrong.”

Grand Duke Rovena curled her lips and laughed.

Her eyes were so fierce that I instinctively avoided her gaze.

‘No, no.’

Avoiding her because I was scared wouldn’t solve anything.

I took courage and looked into Grand Duke Rovena’s eyes again.

‘Ugh, I can’t do it.’

I still couldn’t look.

If I were an ordinary person, it might have been different, but I was a mage who could handle mana, so I could feel Grand Duke Rovena’s powerful aura even more strongly.

“If everything could be resolved with just an apology, this world would be a little more beautiful, Princess.”

“I’m sorry.”

I took courage and took another step forward.

Sir Viaton reached out as if to protect me, but I carefully pushed his hand away.

“If you’re sorry? What can you do for me, in exchange for me not harming this creature?”

“If I sincerely apologize, will you not harm Honey?”

“That depends on what you do.”

I thought for a moment.

Actually, the answer was already decided.

In this world, animals that bite people without justification are killed. So even if the Grand Duke killed Honey, I wouldn’t have anything to say.

I had to pay the price for Honey’s life.

“I was taught that a life should be paid for with a life.”

‘Your Highness!’ Sir Viaton exclaimed, but I continued.

“I will give you my last year, Grand Duke.”

“Your year? How?”

I rolled up my sleeve and showed her the Mark of Narvidal.

“I heard that if you go to the temple, they can extract the lifespan of a person with the Mark of Narvidal using divine power.”

It was a procedure that was impossible for ordinary people. It was only applicable to those with the ‘Mark of Narvidal’.

This was because those with the ‘Mark of Narvidal’ had a precisely determined lifespan, and that lifespan was indicated by ‘sand’.

“They can extract the sand that hasn’t fallen yet. They say that creates the power to perform miracles.”

That was the real reason why the ‘Mark of Narvidal’ was called a curse.

Since I was born a princess, it wouldn’t happen to me, but usually, if someone was born with the ‘Mark of Narvidal’, they would immediately become a target for human trafficking.

They would be consumed and discarded as sacrifices for the ‘miracles’ of the wealthy and powerful class.

That was the fate of those born with the Mark of Narvidal.

However, Grand Duke Rovena had a formidable personality.

“Do you think you can replace a life with just one year of a Princess’s life? Surely you’re not going to spout nonsense like your one year is more valuable than other people’s one year, are you?”

“……”

I was momentarily speechless.

I was terminally ill, and the time given to me was exactly 21 years.

It was true that I would live a much shorter life than others on average.

But it was also awkward to say that my one year was more precious than other people’s one year.

Time was precious to everyone.

“Five years.”

Grand Duke Rovena twirled her hair with her index finger and continued.

“If you give me five years of yours, I’ll let this creature live. How about it?”