I’m in Trouble Because The Emperor Thinks My Time is Limited - Chapter 11

People began to sob one by one. Grown adults collapsed onto the floor, crying uncontrollably. The minister gagged as he bit his fist, trying to hold back his tears, while the maids and knights held their breath until their faces turned red. But in the end, none of them could hold it in, and they wept.

Honestly, I was the one who felt like crying the most.

Then, Sionel suddenly let out a hollow laugh, like a broken person. His eyes were red as he continued to laugh and laugh. Right now, Sionel truly looked like a madman.

“So that’s what it was.”

He abruptly stopped laughing and looked at me. His fixed gaze made me shudder.

“You always told me I had many enemies. And you said you would protect me. From the first time we met, that’s what you always said.”

Protecting Sionel had been my wish. It was the naïve desire of a young girl who wanted to protect the boy she loved.

“And not long ago, you told me that there were no more enemies, that I no longer needed you.”

It had been a careless remark. I needed to leave, so I said whatever I could to make it happen. There was no reason to take it so seriously.

“Is this what you meant?”

Sionel’s lips had turned pale.

“Did you think I’d be grateful if you died in my place?”

Tears fell from Sionel’s eyes. Still, he didn’t blink, glaring at me without a hint of softness.

“Who? Who did this? If you took the curse in my place, you must have known everything from the start. So you must know who the culprit is, right?”

The emperor’s voice was terrifying. He was ready to tear whoever was responsible to shreds as soon as I named them.

But of course, I had nothing to say. I knew nothing about such a curse. I had never received one.

In my silence, the wretched priest stepped forward again. Of all the people, it had to be him, making me feel even more anxious.

“The late Empress Dowager kept a sorcerer close by.”

“The Empress Dowager?”

The Empress Dowager, once the empress of the former emperor, despised Sionel with every fiber of her being. He was the son of a mere maid, not even a concubine.

In fact, she had attempted to kill Sionel multiple times through assassins and conspiracies.

It was also true that she had kept a sorcerer in her company.

I could already imagine what was going through everyone’s minds. They were likely thinking that I had taken the curse meant for Sionel and was now dying because of it.

“That woman used such cowardly tricks!”

The general slammed the floor in frustration and howled.

“The late Empress Dowager was already killed by my own hands.”

A dangerous light flickered in Sionel’s eyes.

Before becoming emperor, Sionel had personally dealt with the Empress Dowager, who had been the last to attempt to kill him.

“And the sorcerer is dead as well.”

“The accumulated curse would not disappear just because the sorcerer died. Since the curse was aimed at Your Majesty, it must have been incredibly powerful.”

“Is there a way to break the curse? If you’ve identified the cause, you must have found a cure.”

“The sorcerer is dead, so there is no way to undo the curse. However, there is one possible solution.”

“What is it?”

“The only way to save Miss Lindel is through ‘this.’”

***

I finally regained my senses, but by then, it was already too late.

“No! This is all a misunderstanding!”

***

The whole empire was buzzing with stories about me.

They said that a young girl had fallen in love with a prince at first sight and swore her loyalty to him. To save him, she had taken on the curse meant for him, and now, after years of enduring it, she was on the brink of death.

The tale of a knight who sacrificed her life out of love for the emperor was popular with everyone, young and old alike.

The rumors spread like wildfire, especially since my name had been famous for some time. And because I couldn’t leave the emperor’s chambers, I heard all of this from the knights and maids who visited me.

“Lindel, the weather is lovely today.”

“When you recover, we should all go see the flowers together, just like you always wanted.”

“Poor Lindel!”

“Excuse me! I’m perfectly conscious! I haven’t collapsed or anything. Can you all stop?”

“Lindel!”

I wished someone would chase these people out.

The three people standing before me were knights from the Imperial Guard, who I could call friends. They had been clinging to me since earlier, making a huge fuss.

Anyone would think I was a critically ill patient with no consciousness.

“No more pretending you’re fine. We all know you’re not okay.”

“Exactly! You always said you were fine, and now look at what’s happened. Do you know how much we—”

At Utilia’s words, Russell buried his face in his hands and began to cry. He was always the most emotional among us.

Usually, we’d tease Russell for crying like that, but today, Pahn stayed silent.

Instead of teasing Russell, Pahn just looked at me with sad eyes. “I heard His Majesty is taking good care of you.”

“Yeah.”

I couldn’t argue with that.

Five days had passed since the priest’s nonsense. During that time, Sionel had treated me like I was a fragile, precious thing that might disappear if he wasn’t careful.

Even when I mentioned being bored, he personally called my friends to come visit.

Since I couldn’t leave the room, he brought them to me, into his very own bedroom.

They were likely the first knights in history to visit a patient in the emperor’s bedchamber.

And yet, I wasn’t happy about it at all.

“Is it really okay for us to be here in the emperor’s bedroom?”

“He allowed it. I asked him several times if we could meet outside, but he absolutely refused.”

Sionel had flatly refused even when I suggested meeting in the reception room instead of outside. It made me uneasy as well.

Then, Utilia whispered awkwardly, “Well, it is the bridal chamber after all.”

“What?!”

Russell, wiping his tears, blinked in surprise. “Congratulations! We all heard you’ll become the empress. Your love has finally been fulfilled, Lindel!”

“The whole empire knows about it!”

I collapsed onto the bed, hiding my face in embarrassment. I wanted to die of shame.

And to make matters worse, they were calling it the bridal chamber, as if that’s how people saw us.

In truth, nothing even remotely resembling a honeymoon had happened between us.

“Now all that’s left is for you to be happy. So don’t worry about anything and focus on getting better.”

“Yeah, and tell us if anything hurts.”

“I’m not sick!”

I was so tired of hearing the same thing over and over every day.

I wanted to climb to the top of the palace and shout that I was perfectly healthy. But I knew no one would believe me.

Over the past five days, I had learned that much through experience.

“You’re saying that again? We’re not worried. We’re stronger than you think. Please, just take care of yourself first.”

“I do take care of myself.”

“Good. Please, keep it that way.”

“Now, can you all leave? I’d like to be alone.”

No matter how many times I said I wasn’t sick, they just cried. No matter how many times I said it wasn’t a curse, they still cried.

No one believed me.

The real mistake was sitting back and letting the priest’s nonsense continue without protest.

I should have screamed, insisted that it wasn’t a curse, even if it meant coughing up blood in front of everyone again. But because I missed that chance, everyone now believed the curse was real.

“His Majesty has been searching everywhere for the black priest. Our Imperial Guard is involved, and the entire empire is under investigation. He’ll be found soon.”

“Even the Imperial Guard? Who’s going to protect the emperor if his men are busy chasing after some priest?”

“This is no small matter. Besides, Captain Schrein is leading them. Right now, the most important thing is your condition.”

“This is ridiculous.”

The black priest—that was the only solution the priest had given us.

“There’s a black priest in the southern region who can touch souls. We need to find him and have him treat Miss Lindel’s twisted soul. That’s the only way.”

Life was truly unpredictable. All I could do was nod dully as they talked about the black priest. I didn’t even have the energy to argue.

I just hoped that when we found this black priest, he would look at me and say I was perfectly fine.

By then, the priest would be thoroughly embarrassed for spouting all this nonsense.

I no longer felt sorry for the priest. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be in this mess!

I didn’t care if people thought I was being petty. I had already sharpened the knife of revenge in my heart.

Now, all I could do was wait for that black priest to clear my name.

“But Lindel…”

Then, Pahn cautiously asked me a question.

“How did you figure out the curse on His Majesty?”

His eyes sparkled with admiration.

Even though my situation was what it was, I had still made a name for myself as a genius knight.

I had gained even more fame for being the first to uncover the curse when no one else in the palace had noticed.

Naturally, my legend had grown, adding another remarkable chapter to my life.

Pan, Utilia, and Russell were all staring at me eagerly, waiting for an answer.

When I stayed quiet, they leaned in even closer, hanging on my every word.

“Are you curious?”

“Of course!”

“Please tell us. Everyone’s dying to know.”

“Well, if you’re that desperate, I’ll tell you the truth.”

I took a deep breath and pretended to glance around nervously before motioning for them to come closer.

As secretively and clearly as possible, I said with all my heart, “There’s no curse. It’s all nonsense. How could a fifteen-year-old kid know about a curse?”

I wanted to shatter their admiration.

But, as always, it was I who ended up being shattered.

“There you go again! Ah, it’s a secret, right? Got it.”

“Such a tease!”

Nothing I said got through to them.

By this point, I was starting to feel genuinely frustrated.

At that moment, Luna entered the room, and without hesitation, I pointed to the three knights sitting around me.

“Luna, please get rid of these three.”

Friendship or not, staying with them was just raising my stress levels.

“…The knights?”

Luna looked flustered, but I had no intention of taking back my words.

“Right now.”