I’m in Trouble Because The Emperor Thinks My Time is Limited - Chapter 49

Amidst the panic and screams, the guards sprang into action. Leaving behind their fallen comrade, they moved to inspect the area beyond the door. Blood from the corpse soaked the guard’s clothes and began to stain the floor.

“Who goes there?!”

A loud voice came from the guards outside. The sound of swords being drawn followed, suggesting they had spotted a suspicious figure.

Since I was far from the entrance, I couldn’t see what was happening right away. Out of habit, I moved forward to help manage the situation, but Utilia blocked me.

“Stay here. Others will take care of it.”

Instead of answering, I turned to look at Sionel, and my eyes met his blue gaze as he watched me. Ignoring Utilia’s words, I began walking toward him. However, the situation was only just beginning.

“What is that?!”

“Catch it!”

“Get back! Quickly!”

Terrified screams followed. Since we couldn’t see what was happening outside, the tension among the people inside grew worse. A young noble who had been craning his neck to peek out the door fell flat on his backside.

“…A-a monster.”

“Hey, are you okay?”

“It’s a monster!”

Others tried to help him up, but the young noble screamed, pointing at what he had seen. Someone rushed past him. Millior, drawing his sword, charged out with a fierce determination. His sword soon swung toward a suspicious, blood-covered creature—the one the young noble had called a monster.

“Protect His Majesty!”

Cryan’s voice rang out from one side. With Cryan leading the way, the remaining guards moved to form a protective barrier around Sionel.

In the midst of the chaos, Sionel’s eyes remained fixed solely on me. I saw him trying to make his way toward me, but another loud explosion sounded.

-Boom!

“Captain!”

Someone shouted, calling for Millior, who seemed to be in trouble. The sound was partially drowned out by the ground-shaking vibration. It was an explosion.

The guards were busy trying to evacuate the nobles, but the problem was that the disturbance had happened right at the only entrance.

The mixed cries and screams created chaos. In such a dire situation, safely evacuating frightened, panicked people was no easy task.

I grabbed Utilia by the shoulders and spoke, “Help the knights.”

“But I’m supposed to protect you—”

“Hurry, Utilia. As the former deputy captain, I’m asking you.”

“Damn it!”

With a harsh curse, Utilia ran off toward her fellow knights. I watched her retreat for a moment before turning back to Sionel. I saw him call my name, but his voice was drowned out by yet another explosion.

-Kaboom!

Cracks began to appear in the walls of the grand banquet hall, and the ground shook. As sturdy as it was, it couldn’t withstand successive explosions without sustaining damage.

Before Sionel could shake off the guards blocking his way and come to me, I turned my back on him.

It was a promise I knew I couldn’t keep—the one about always prioritizing my own safety. After all, I was a knight to the core.

“You’re here, bastard.” I grinned, showing my teeth as I looked at the woman standing on the terrace railing. Her yellow eyes narrowed at me.

“You knew I’d come. You let my subordinate go on purpose, didn’t you?”

Her soft, silvery voice grated on my nerves.

“How kind of you, Lady Lindel.”

But that seemingly kind voice was just part of her vile act. The smell of blood hung heavily around her.

“Why would I be ‘your’ Lady Lindel? Do you even know me?”

“Of course. I came here just to meet you.”

“Oh, is that why you prepared this messed-up event? Was the previous magic tool incident also your doing?”

“Ah, that? No, that was my partner’s handiwork.”

The woman ran a hand through her golden hair with a smug expression.

“If it were up to me, I wouldn’t do something so petty. I prefer grand displays like this.”

I didn’t care for the preferences of people who enjoyed hurting others; either way, it was disgusting.

I opened my cloak, drawing the dagger I had hidden at my waist. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.

“Oh dear, you sent your subordinate away and now want to fight me with just that?”

“It’s enough.”

Her yellow eyes narrowed at my taunt, as if trying to gauge whether I was bluffing or serious.

“Impressive, Lady Lindel.”

With those words, an explosion echoed again—this time, much closer. The source was the ceiling of the banquet hall. Part of the ceiling collapsed due to the explosion, crashing to the floor.

“It’ll take a while for His Majesty to get here. What will you do now?”

The woman giggled, pointing behind me. The collapsed ceiling had blocked the path to where I was standing.

Moreover, I saw another blood-covered creature charging at Sionel. It wasn’t the same creature Millior had fought earlier. This one seemed completely deranged, screaming as it attacked the guards blocking its way, all the while its unfocused eyes locked on Sionel.

“Ah, they’re all doing so well,” said the woman in a gentle tone, as if praising children.

“…Is all of this aimed at me?”

My voice lowered. If I were the target, then innocent people were getting hurt because of me. Anger flared within me as I looked at the woman, who seemed to enjoy my hardened expression.

“Yes and no. In the end, you’re just a means to an end.”

Her words were cryptic.

“But that doesn’t matter, does it? Lady Lindel, would you kindly die now?”

“No thanks. I’m too precious to die on a whim—too many people would be upset.”

“Oh, that’s a shame.”

The woman lightly jumped off the terrace railing, landing gracefully inside the banquet hall. She quickly drew the sword she had been loosely holding, readying herself. It was clear at a glance that her weapon was extraordinary, and compared to my meager dagger, it seemed overwhelming.

“Isn’t it unfair to fight me with such a big weapon against just a dagger?”

“Villains are supposed to be unfair.”

The woman burst into laughter. As I tightened my grip on my dagger, Utilia’s words suddenly came to mind.

“…I really do attract all the weird ones.”

***

-Clang!

The dagger in my hand was now broken in half. I stared regretfully at the dagger, which had been split in two by the woman’s strike.

Glaring at the laughing woman, I tossed the useless weapon aside. After just one exchange, the supposedly high-quality dagger had shattered pathetically.

“Bringing something like that is just mean!” I shouted in frustration, but the woman responded by swinging her sword again.

I ducked to avoid it, rolling across the floor.

‘I’m really going to die at this rate!’

With no weapon and my cumbersome outfit hindering my movements, I realized how prophetic my earlier conversation with Utilia had been. It seemed that people really shouldn’t speak carelessly.

“You’re quick, like a rat!”

The woman shouted in a delighted tone, swinging her sword again. Despite her seemingly random attacks, they were sharp and relentless.

The one-sided nature of the fight was infuriating, but I was glad I had sent Utilia away. From our earlier exchange, I could tell—this woman was strong.

-Swish!

Her sword narrowly missed, slicing through my cloak. I felt a chill.

“They said you were weakened, but I guess not. Your movements aren’t bad. So why aren’t you using your aura?”

She seemed to be assessing me. Since I remained silent, a wicked smile spread across her face.

“Or is it that you can’t use it?”

“Think whatever you like.”

“Well, even if you could use it, it wouldn’t make a difference.”

The woman wiped the smile off her face, raising her sword. I instinctively knew—she intended to end this here.

“I’ve had fun, but I can’t play with you any longer.”

Her gaze shifted momentarily behind me.

“I need to finish you quickly and get to the emperor. So, it’s time for you to die.”

With those chilling words, she lunged at me, swinging her sword without mercy.

-Clang!

“……!”

But there was something she had overlooked.

“H-how…”

The woman looked down at her abdomen, her eyes wide with shock. Her red lips were stained with dark blood, and soon she coughed up a clot of blackened blood. The broken dagger was deeply embedded in her stomach.

“Why do you think I threw away my only weapon?”

As she lunged at me, I had rolled across the floor to retrieve the broken dagger, then driven it into her exposed abdomen as she attacked.

I had thrown the dagger aside specifically for this situation, knowing no one would bother to guard against a discarded weapon. And the woman had fallen for it.

“This isn’t a knight’s duel; there’s no need to fight fairly.”

I approached her as her body slumped to the floor and took her sword from her hand.

“I’ll confiscate this, since it’s dangerous.”

I had deliberately aimed to incapacitate, not kill, so the woman was likely unconscious. I intended to restrain her to find out who was behind all of this, but at that moment, screams erupted around me. Startled, I turned to see the blood-soaked creatures all screaming in unison.

I raised the woman’s sword to head toward Sionel, but then the creatures collapsed to the ground.

“What…”

The creatures lay motionless on the floor. The knights around them cautiously approached, but there was no further movement. One by one, I saw people sigh in relief.

I stopped my steps toward Sionel, also relieved, and watched the scene. But then I noticed something strange.

The eyes that had been on the creatures were now turning toward something behind me. Someone muttered while looking behind me.

“Wh-what is that?”

‘Ah, this can’t be good.’

The horrified expressions on their faces as they looked behind me were an ominous sign.

“…I knew it.”

When I turned around, I saw the woman’s yellow eyes glowing eerily as she stared intently at me. I had confirmed that she was unconscious, but she was now getting up from the floor. Her expressionless face as she glared at me was unsettling. Her limbs moved unnaturally, like a marionette on strings.

“It hurts.”

She smiled faintly, her bloodstained lips moving to utter those chilling words.

‘…Wait, this is too creepy.’

Just as I began to feel increasingly frightened, as if I were seeing a ghost, I heard someone muttering beside me, apparently feeling the same way.

“A g-ghost…!”

A young boy had collapsed nearby, his face pale with fear. Ah, this was definitely not a good sign.

“Kyaaah!”

The boy’s terrified scream drew all eyes to him, breaking the spell that had held them staring stupidly at the creature. The woman’s yellow eyes also shifted toward the boy.

She smiled again.

“I knew it!”

Gripping the sword in my hand, I dashed toward the boy.