I’m in Trouble Because The Emperor Thinks My Time is Limited - Chapter 68

It was a miracle.

When I returned from death and opened my eyes here again, I was grateful for the miracle.

You were here.

After all the revenge was over, you were not there. But here, you were alive.

Breathing, warm, real. When I saw you, not as an illusion but truly, I thanked God for the first time.

“It was you who killed that child.”

I killed you.

You died because of me.

I hadn’t forgotten that fact. So I promised myself. This time, I would let you go. I would simply wish for your happiness from afar. But I was a helpless human being.

How could I not be greedy for you, who smiled at me?

Even when I pushed you away, again and again, you kept coming back to me. Just like a wave, you kept washing over me, and I could do nothing but be swept away.

No, even that was an excuse.

I couldn’t let you go.

But now, once again, you are dying because of me.

I will kill you.

“It’s okay.”

You, covered in blood, looked at me and smiled. I still vividly remember your faint breathing.

Yet you easily spoke the words, “It’s okay.”

Every single moment when you said those words, I was never okay.

You died because of me.

I was losing my mind.

***

Regression: To return to one’s original position or state after making a round; in other words, coming back.

If we knew in advance what the future would bring, what choices would we make?

Among all those countless choices, Sionel had only one.

To save ‘me.’

For him, regression was an opportunity to save me.

In the past—no, in his previous life, Sionel hadn’t become the emperor.

The First Prince, who had died early in this life, ascended the throne in the previous one, and the Empress became the Empress Dowager, flaunting her power. When I heard this, I shivered.

If not anyone else but her had become the ruler of the imperial palace, I could easily imagine how miserable Sionel’s life must have been.

And, just as expected, it was the Empress who killed me.

The Empress disliked those who were by Sionel’s side. Unlike those who fell away one by one due to her schemes, I stayed by Sionel’s side until the very end, like a thorn in her side.

That was why she dealt with me first.

As soon as the First Prince ascended the throne, the Empress made her move. She hosted a banquet, invited us, and had me killed during the ensuing ambush.

‘Who knew that the dream I had that day was the day I died.’

When I heard that I had died from a deep stab wound to the stomach, I recalled the scene from my dream.

Every detail matched so eerily. However, in Sionel’s story, there was no mention of a black-haired man.

At that time, Schrein and Cassius saved Sionel in the midst of the chaos, and he survived.

Because of my death, Sionel said he had changed. He lived solely for revenge.

Consumed by the desire for vengeance, he endured a long time and finally accomplished all of his revenge.

At the end of that, Sionel ended his life, and when he opened his eyes again, he had returned to his childhood—so he said.

In that life that had been turned back, he chose to become the emperor to protect me.

Only for me.

“No, then shouldn’t he treat me better?”

At my muttered complaint, Hasina, who was beside me, looked up.

“What did you say?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Oh, okay.”

When I shook my head vaguely, she lost interest quickly. I looked back at the familiar pattern of the ceiling.

I was currently recovering in my quarters in the Empress’s Palace.

Hasina, my attending physician, was the only one by my side. Perhaps out of consideration for my confused state, no one else dared to step foot in here.

I was grateful for that consideration in a different sense.

It wasn’t so much confusion as it was the fact that now my impending death had become an undeniable reality, making it uncomfortable to face others.

‘If they cry when they see me, how am I supposed to comfort them? I really don’t know when I’ll die now.’

It seemed I was adjusting to reality faster than I realized.

Or maybe it was the opposite?

Perhaps because I had been struck with shocking truths three times—about being a half-blood, having a limited lifespan, and now regression—I had lost touch with reality.

As I boredly counted the familiar patterns on the ceiling, I turned to Hasina again.

“Hasina.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s say there’s someone you love very much. But you’ve been separated from that person for a long time, and then you meet again. What would you do, Hasina?”

At the sudden question, Hasina rolled her eyes, thinking it over.

“Uh, I don’t really know. I don’t have anyone like that.”

“Then let me ask it this way. Would you ignore them and act mean on purpose?”

“No?”

“Right?”

“Right. I wouldn’t want to be hated.”

Nodding, I rose from my seat. As I suddenly prepared to leave, Hasina hesitantly got up as well.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to grab someone by the collar.”

“What? Grab who?”

Hasina’s eyes wavered, but I couldn’t stop myself from going to grab Sionel’s collar.

Sionel Woodburgh had committed a great crime.

“Wh-who are you going to grab by the collar?”

“Sionel, that bastard.”

“Gasp!”

Hasina was speechless, seemingly moved by my grand ambition to grab the emperor by the collar.

“Don’t worry. I’m not just any human; I’m half-dragon. Surely I won’t die at a human’s hands, right?”

“Um, His Majesty even treated Melaine recklessly…”

“…Would he really kill me?”

However, I remembered the sight of Sionel casually throwing Tumel around. I paused, considering my options. Maybe it was best to think rationally.

“Hasina.”

“W-what are you going to say this time?”

“Do you know about regression?”

“Regression?”

Hasina looked slightly baffled at the sudden change in topic, but she nodded, seemingly preferring this over my talk of grabbing the emperor by the collar.

“What would you do if you experienced regression?”

“Me?”

Hasina seemed to think hard about it, deeper in thought than I’d expected. Perhaps she had a wish she desperately wanted to fulfill.

“I’d buy a lottery ticket.”

But her answer was typical Hasina.

“I’d become a rich bum and spend my life doing absolutely nothing.”

She wore a more serious expression now than when she talked about my curse. Regardless of her role as a priest or con artist, Hasina’s identity was very clear.

‘She’d probably sell her soul for money.’

Hasina showed me the paper in her hand with a shy smile. The paper, filled with random numbers, was something she had cherished for a long time.

“These are actually lottery numbers. There’s a pattern to it, you see. That’s why I study it every time—”

Leaving Hasina, who was enthusiastically sharing her research results, behind, I sank back into thought.

‘But even though I’m half-dragon, why did I die so easily?’

In my previous life, I wasn’t cursed.

The Empress summoning the sorcerer was something that had only happened in this life. It seemed that Sionel’s changed behavior had caused it.

Surprisingly, the Sionel of the previous life had been innocent and weak, unlike now.

Since the person who had always been trampled on started acting completely differently after regression, the Empress must have come up with new countermeasures.

‘I don’t know.’

With my head growing more complicated, I gave up thinking and let out a deep sigh.

‘I think I should meet my father.’

Count Bodebachne, my father, was definitely human. So it must have been my mother, whose face I didn’t know, who passed on the dragon’s blood to me.

Sionel said he had heard from the previous me that I was a half-dragon, which meant I must have learned it from my father.

For some reason, the fact that my father hadn’t told me in this life bothered me. I needed to meet him to learn the details.

‘But what do I say when we meet?’

Father, I’m about to die soon. Please live a long life. That would be strange, wouldn’t it?

No matter how close we were, saying something like that would make things awkward.

Even as Hasina continued excitedly, saying, “Based on my findings, this time’s winning number is definitely 31…”

“Hasina.”

“Yes?”

Hasina, who had been engrossed in her lottery talk, finally snapped back to reality at my call.

“Where is Sionel right now?”

“W-why do you ask? Are you really going to grab him by the collar?”

“No. I just want to see him.”

“Oh my.”

Hasina blushed slightly, and I smiled faintly.

“I may be mad, but… the last time I saw him, he was crying because of me. I wonder if he’s still crying.”

“…Lady Lindel.”

I got up from my seat. Nothing would change if I just sat here, endlessly worrying. So I had to face it head-on.

“The knights said earlier that he was in the dungeon.”

But Sionel’s location was very unexpected.

“The dungeon?”

Suddenly, someone’s face came to mind, and I turned pale.

“Laroche!”

I’d heard so much all of a sudden that I had forgotten. Laroche was still there. How could I have remembered Tumel earlier but forgotten that?

Blaming myself, I hurried to the door.

“Please calm down, Lady Lindel! I’m coming with you!”

“No! I don’t know what Sionel might do to Laroche!”

Sionel still didn’t know what kind of relationship Laroche and I had. Judging by the fact that he hadn’t asked me separately, it seemed he planned to interrogate Laroche.

He had no mercy for those he considered enemies, so there was no telling what might happen to Laroche.

Of course, I was also worried about Sionel.

Earlier, he had shown an overwhelming presence against the two dragons, but they were still dragons. Humans feared dragons for a reason.

If Laroche and Tumel fought him in earnest, it would be dangerous.

‘Why can’t I use mana when I’m half-dragon!’

If only I could teleport, this would be so much easier, but for someone who couldn’t even begin to touch mana, it was just a far-off dream.

“I need to reveal the truth about the contract. Laroche will definitely stay silent about it!”

I had to properly explain and ask for forgiveness too.

I urgently opened the door, and the knights standing guard outside looked at me in surprise.

“L-Lady Lindel?”

“Where are you going…”

“To the dungeon.”

“Pardon?”

As I took a step past the bewildered knights, Hasina called out from behind me.

“Uh, um!”

“Hasina, hurry! We need to get there quickly—”

“L-Lady Lindel! Please listen to me first!”

“Hasina?”

Hasina was looking at me with a tearful face. Her unusual reaction made me stop.

“Please know this.”

“What?”

“His Majesty, he, in fact, already knows.”

As I frowned at her words, Hasina awkwardly twisted her lips. After hesitating, she squeezed her eyes shut and shouted, “His Majesty already knows about the contract!”

“…What?”

I stared at Hasina with wide eyes. Sionel knew about the contract? That couldn’t be.

“That, that can’t be! How would he know?!”

“Well…”

Hasina hesitated and then pulled something out from her pocket, holding it out to me.

“I told him.”

The dazzling light of a diamond glittered in front of me.

“This morning.”

Hasina confessed.

It was too much money to keep her loyalty.