I’m in Trouble Because The Emperor Thinks My Time is Limited - Chapter 16

“Lindel?”

Lindel’s head, which had been shaking violently, suddenly stopped, and she collapsed.

“You!”

Ascal was shocked.

All the color drained from Lindel’s face in an instant. Her pale face was covered in sweat, and her breath came in ragged gasps.

Ascal quickly pulled her limp body into his arms, calling her name once again.

Lindel’s unfocused eyes briefly turned toward Ascal, but only for a moment.

“Urgh!”

“……!”

Her trembling body stiffened for a brief second before blood started flowing from the corners of her mouth.

Even as the thick, dark blood stained his clothes, Ascal’s eyes remained fixed on Lindel.

Her lips quivered, as if trying to form words, but she only managed to look up at Ascal before her body went completely limp.

“Lindel! Stay with me! Lindel!”

Despite Ascal’s desperate cries, Lindel didn’t respond. Blood trickled down her chin, filling the air with the stench of iron.

Ascal was frozen for a moment, unable to process what had just happened.

When Lindel’s head fell forward, he finally snapped back to reality. There was no time to waste.

Scooping her up into his arms, Ascal bolted down the hallway of the Imperial Palace.

***

I realized I was dreaming. The scene before my eyes was far too surreal.

Standing in front of me were Sionel, Laroche, and Ascal—all together.

It was a combination that made no sense, so I quickly understood that this was a dream.

“Why are you such a brat? I’m technically your ancestor, you know?” Laroche spoke with a grumpy expression, directing his words at Sionel.

Startled by the sudden outburst, I looked at Sionel, fully expecting him to explode in anger.

But surprisingly, Sionel merely shrugged, showing no sign of being offended.

Of course, it had to be a dream.

“If you’ve got time to talk nonsense, why don’t you do something about that?” Sionel said, nodding toward me with his chin.

At the mention of “that,” I flinched, but quickly realized that Sionel wasn’t referring to me.

He was looking at the small child sitting right next to me.

I hadn’t noticed the child until now, and I found it a little surprising. Sionel’s blue eyes glared at the child with annoyance.

I followed his gaze, trying to get a clearer look at the child’s face, but, as is often the case in dreams, I couldn’t make out the features clearly.

“Again! You’re not listening to a word I say!”

While I squinted, trying to recognize the child, Laroche jumped up and shouted angrily. Startled by the outburst, the child instinctively pressed closer to me. I unconsciously wrapped my arms around the small body.

“Hey. Get off.”

Sionel’s voice was cold as he addressed the child. He clearly wasn’t fond of the kid.

When the child pressed even closer to me, Sionel’s expression darkened.

“You—”

Sensing his hostility, I instinctively tightened my hold around the child.

“Both of you, enough,” Ascal finally spoke, breaking his silence.

Was he defending the child? I found it surprising, given how cold Ascal usually appeared. But to my disappointment, Ascal sounded irritated.

“My sister seems troubled. And you, stay away from her.”

Ascal’s cold voice was directed at the child this time. Clearly, he didn’t like the child either.

But what shocked me more was hearing Ascal refer to me as his sister.

Even though it was a dream, I hadn’t expected to hear something like that.

As I stood there speechless, I felt a tug on my clothes.

It was the child, quietly nestled against me.

“Lindel, they’re bullying me.”

The child whispered, but I didn’t know how to respond. I glanced around nervously, noticing the growing tension between Sionel and Ascal.

“Uh, why are you two picking on a kid? Calm down, please.”

“Who are you calling a kid?”

Sionel’s sharp voice cut through my words. He was glaring at the child beside me, clearly offended.

“Well, the child looks like a kid to me.”

“Lindel. What part of that looks like a child to you?”

Sionel’s face twisted in disbelief. It was a rare sight to see him this annoyed—something I hadn’t witnessed in a long time.

Though it was refreshing in a strange way, now wasn’t the time for that.

“Are you jealous?” I asked, half-amused. The thought of him being jealous of a small child was oddly funny. I laughed a little, no longer feeling tense.

Sionel’s brow twitched in response. “Of course I am.”

I was taken aback.

I hadn’t imagined Sionel could be jealous even of a child.

As I marveled at his unexpected reaction, Ascal suddenly called out to me. He was looking at me with a perplexed expression, as if I had lost my mind.

“Has something happened to your head?”

“M-My head?”

I stared at him, dumbfounded by his blunt question.

Ascal’s eyes narrowed in disapproval. “That man—uh, I mean, what about him makes you think he’s a child?”

I followed Ascal’s gaze and turned my head toward the child.

But instead of a child, there sat a full-grown man.

I was so startled that I almost fell backward.

“Oh my god!”

I nearly cracked my head open, but the man grabbed me just in time, saving me from the fall.

Where the child had been just moments ago, there now sat a grown man. He looked at me and smiled.

“Who… who are you?” I asked, my voice filled with confusion.

The man gazed at me as if I were the strange one.

“Lindel. It’s me.”

“Lindel, wake up.”

“Huh? Who did you say you were?”

As the man began to answer, another voice interrupted. His words overlapped with the new voice, and I couldn’t hear him clearly.

The man spoke again.

“I am…”

“Please wake up.”

Once again, the voice overlapped with his.

I suddenly realized that someone was calling me. The voice sounded strangely like Sionel’s.

I turned my head toward where Sionel had been sitting, but he was just staring at the man in silence.

Feeling something was off, I heard the voice again.

“Lindel, please wake up.”

This time, I was sure it was Sionel’s voice.

As I realized this, the man in front of me smiled—a smug, arrogant smile.

“Well then, I guess it’s time to go.”

“What…?”

“It’s time to go now. He’s calling for you.”

The man whispered, his voice filled with amusement.

“We’ll meet again soon. Whether you like it or not.”

It’s time to return.

Goodbye, child.

At the end of his words, I woke up.

“……!”

“Lindel!”

Sionel’s voice, which had sounded so faint just moments ago, suddenly became clear.

Instead of the man from my dream, I now saw a white ceiling above me.

As I blinked in confusion, Sionel called my name again.

“Lindel, are you awake?”

I turned toward the voice and saw Sionel standing there.

‘Was that all just a dream?’

My mind was still foggy, and it took a moment to process the reality around me. Only then did I notice that Sionel’s eyes were red and puffy.

Realizing it a beat too late, I called out to him.

“S-Sionel?”

My voice came out rough and strained. My lips were dry, and opening my mouth hurt.

But that wasn’t the only odd thing. It felt as if I hadn’t spoken in ages; there was a strange, sour taste in my mouth.

“…What is this?”

“Lindel, Lindel.”

Sionel repeated my name like a lost child.

Still struggling to understand the situation, I blinked, hearing faint sobs around me.

‘What’s going on?’

I wondered if I was still dreaming.

Everything—the disheveled Sionel and this unfamiliar place—felt so strange. It all seemed unreal, especially after the bizarre dream I had just had.

But the more I looked around, the clearer everything felt. My eyes were dry and scratchy, but the sensations were too vivid to be a dream.

No, this wasn’t a dream.

“It’s alright. You woke up. That’s all that matters. You’re okay.”

Sionel’s voice was soft, as if he were comforting himself more than me.

There was no reason for him to react so dramatically just because I’d woken up from sleep. I needed to figure out what was going on.

“Sionel.”

When I tried to speak again, my voice was just as rough as before, as if it had been scraped with sandpaper. It sounded like I hadn’t spoken in days.

As soon as I realized this, a dry cough erupted from my throat. The people around me stirred nervously at the sound, but despite their visible anxiety, no one spoke.

The silence was terrifying.

Unsettled by the strange atmosphere, I looked at Sionel, who gazed at me with tear-filled eyes.

“Yes, it’s me. I’m here.”

He clasped my hand between both of his, holding it tightly as if he were praying. He looked nothing like the Sionel from my dream, who had been sulking and jealous.

I thought about pulling my hand away, but for some reason, I couldn’t find the strength.

I awkwardly shifted my gaze, trying to figure out what was going on.

The white ceiling I had seen when I first opened my eyes was unfamiliar. I quickly glanced around, realizing I didn’t recognize this place at all. The entire room was bathed in white, giving it a holy, almost divine atmosphere.

Next, I noticed the people standing behind Sionel. They were all dressed in white robes adorned with gold threads. They were clearly priests.

It seemed that this was a temple.

‘But why am I here?’

The question naturally arose.

“Where… cough! Where is this?” I asked, clearing my throat, and Sionel answered in the gentlest voice I’d ever heard from him.

“This is the temple of Lute.”

His voice, heavy with emotion, seemed to be trying to reassure me.

But I couldn’t simply accept his answer.

The temple of Lute?

“Lute’s temple?” I asked loudly, ignoring the sting in my throat. I couldn’t understand why I was lying here.

“Yes.”

Sionel’s bitter reply made my jaw drop.

Lute was the god of the dead.