I’m in Trouble Because The Emperor Thinks My Time is Limited - Chapter 75

Through my conversation with Sionel, I made a decision.

It was to find my father and ask him about the secret of my birth. However, this time, my companions were not Sionel but Schrein and Melaine. Since the emperor couldn’t leave the palace freely, he had to remain behind.

Even so, it took a great deal of effort to dissuade him from stubbornly insisting he would accompany me.

Thus, with this modest group, we arrived at the territory of Count Bodebachne.

Of course, calling it modest was relative; the group’s strength was equivalent to a brigade or even more.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been here.”

“Indeed. It feels new to return after so long.”

Schrein and I smiled as we took in the serene sight of the territory.

I was born and raised here until I joined the guards, so the visit filled me with anticipation.

Schrein had spent three years here during a time when he was aimless after becoming a Swordmaster. It was here in Bodebachne’s lands that he and I became teacher and pupil.

“This must be your first time.”

“Yes, it is.”

Schrein addressed Melaine, who was blankly staring at the scenery outside the window.

“What do you think? It’s quite beautiful, isn’t it?”

Melaine’s gem-like eyes observed the landscape of the territory.

Small children, not even waist-high, ran around playing, while the friendly residents went about their work with warm expressions.

“It’s peaceful.”

Despite its proximity to the capital, the territory exuded a rural atmosphere.

This was largely thanks to my father, the lord of this land, who always wished for it to be a peaceful sanctuary for anyone.

With his tireless efforts for the well-being of his people, my father was a greatly respected lord in these parts.

I, too, deeply respected my father.

“But do you not have a territory of your own, Lindel?”

Melaine, glancing at Schrein, respectfully asked me.

“I hold only an honorary title and wasn’t granted a separate territory.”

“An honorary title?”

“It’s more like a ceremonial rank. My title as count was something Sionel suddenly bestowed upon me. Normally, such a thing wouldn’t happen.”

Melaine furrowed his brow, clearly struggling to understand, which made both Schrein and me laugh simultaneously.

“People don’t call me the Count of Bodebachne. Do you know why? Because there already is a Count Bodebachne. So, despite holding the title, I’m rarely addressed as such.”

For this reason, there had been much debate when I first received the title.

Normally, titles granted through public office were limited to baron or viscount.

But when I was appointed deputy captain of the guards, Sionel abruptly conferred the title of count upon me.

The noble society was in an uproar.

Even with an avalanche of complaints, Sionel didn’t retract his decision. His stance was that he had granted a title befitting my abilities, so there was no issue.

In hindsight, I think he overreached to protect me, who was constantly targeted by the nobility.

After all, recklessly going against high-ranking nobles was no easy feat.

Yet, at the time, I found my father’s actions more puzzling than Sionel’s.

Sionel’s eccentricity was something I had long accepted, but I never expected my father to approve.

“I agree.”

When he, who was in the most likely position to oppose, voiced his approval, the nobles fell silent.

To this day, I still don’t know why he did so.

“As a result, there are two Count Bodebachnes, and I’m usually called either the deputy captain or Sir Bodebachne. Honestly, I find it more convenient.”

“Humans are overly particular about trivial matters,” Melaine muttered, furrowing his brows, to which Schrein laughed and teased him for speaking as though he weren’t human himself.

Unlike Melaine, who shrugged nonchalantly, I felt a pang of guilt.

As we continued our conversation, we eventually arrived at the Bodebachne estate.

Upon stepping out of the carriage, people’s gazes immediately converged on us. Fully robed from head to toe, we must have appeared suspicious.

To avoid drawing attention, we had chosen a carriage without the imperial crest.

As removing our hoods would instantly reveal our identities, we had no choice but to remain as we were.

“What’s going on here?”

Before we could knock on the estate’s large gate, the commotion drew out the butler, who opened the door and stepped outside.

“It’s been a while, Grandpa.”

“Lady Lindel?”

Seeing the butler’s face, now lined with even more wrinkles, I was struck by the passage of time.

Noticing his wide-eyed expression as he recognized me, I chuckled softly.

“How did you come to be here…!”

Tears brimming, the butler hurriedly ran toward me.

His reaction caused the onlookers outside the gate to crane their necks even more. Quickly, I led everyone inside.

“Such a long journey—”

“Oh, come on, it’s just next to the capital. It’s not far at all.”

The butler’s emotional response brought tears to my eyes as well.

Unlike most of the other servants, the butler and my nanny had been the only ones to treat me warmly.

Whenever someone tried to ignore or bully me, he would scold them sternly and protect me.

The butler led us straight to the drawing room. However, as we walked through the estate, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

“For someone in your condition to come all the way here….”

“Ah, well, it’s fine, really.”

In the past, I would have confidently denied it as a misunderstanding, but now I couldn’t.

Though I awkwardly tried to reassure the teary-eyed butler, it seemed he had heard some worrying rumors about me and was concerned I might collapse at any moment.

‘Well, to be fair, I do have a track record….’

Seeing Schrein dabbing at his own eyes beside the butler left me at a loss for words.

“But Grandpa, you don’t look so well yourself. Is something the matter—”

“My lady!”

At that moment, the door to the drawing room burst open, and someone rushed in, breathless. It was the nanny who had raised me since I was a child.

“Oh, my dear lady!”

The nanny’s face was already soaked with tears, as if she’d been crying since hearing of my arrival.

Seeing their unchanged affection and love for me made my heart ache with emotion.

However, I couldn’t fully rejoice in reuniting with my nanny. Her disheveled appearance wasn’t just from crying. She looked utterly exhausted.

Like the butler earlier, the dark shadows under her eyes revealed her weariness.

“…Has something happened at the estate?”

While holding my nanny, who was sobbing uncontrollably, I directed my question toward the open doorway.

Standing there was Ascal, his face pale and tired as he gazed at me.

The gloomy atmosphere of the entire estate, the worn-out appearances of the staff, and, most notably, Ascal’s presence at the estate during this time all indicated that something was amiss.

“Why have you come here?” Ascal asked in a subdued voice. He seemed completely unlike his usual self, thoroughly unkempt and unbalanced.

“Where is the Count?”

“…I asked first. Why have you—”

“Please tell me, my lord. What has happened?”

“……”

The atmosphere between us was too cold to resemble a conversation among family. But that was to be expected. Having never been fully accepted as part of the family, I couldn’t bring myself to call him ‘brother.’

The last time I had seen Ascal was when he discovered me fleeing from the palace to escape pursuers. Since then, despite the incidents that had unfolded, he had never sought me out.

We were bound by a mere fragment of shared blood—a connection that was hardly enough to form a bond.

Yet today, his gaze upon me was different from before.

“…Follow me.”

Turning his back to me, Ascal began walking. I quickly followed, trying to keep up.

Seeing the nanny continuously wiping her tears with her handkerchief and the butler bowing his head in sorrow filled me with unease.

Schrein and Melaine, sensing the gravity of the situation, had also fallen silent.

In utter stillness, we walked through the corridors of the estate.

Ascal led us to my father’s bedroom. It was unusual for him to be here during the day; he would normally be in his study at this hour. My heart began to pound uncontrollably.

Gripping both door handles tightly, Ascal hesitated for a moment before finally opening the door.

“…Father?”

Inside, I was met with a sight I had never seen before.

Lying still on the pristine white bed, my father had his eyes closed.

This was not the father I remembered—the man who always sat coldly at his desk, silently poring over difficult books. That image of him was forever etched in my mind.

Now, he lay motionless on the bed, his pale complexion indistinguishable from that of an ill patient. Priests and other staff members stood silently nearby, attending to him.

When I noticed the presence of a priest among them, my heart sank.

“Everyone, leave the room.”

At Ascal’s command, all the attendants except the priest exited the room. He approached the bed where our father lay.

“…What happened?”

My voice came out overly rigid. I hadn’t intended for it to sound so cold.

“Why, why is this…?”

“We don’t know the cause.”

“You don’t know?”

“He suddenly collapsed three days ago. There were no warning signs. According to the priest, there’s no apparent cause even now.”

Ascal explained that despite this, our father remained unconscious.

Schrein placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. It was only then that I realized I had been trembling. Seeing the concern in his expression made me aware of my own state.

The face reflected in the window—pale as a sheet—hardly looked like mine.

At that moment, Melaine moved.

Without hesitation, he approached the bed and, without saying a word, pulled back the blanket covering my father.

His sharp gaze focused on the faint rise and fall of my father’s chest.

Ascal, shocked by Melaine’s sudden action, roughly grabbed his arm in anger.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

“They’ve cursed him to die slowly.”

“What?”

Ignoring Ascal’s outburst, Melaine yanked his arm free. Ascal’s expression darkened further, but Melaine paid him no attention.

His jewel-like eyes fixated on the priest, who had remained silent until now.

“You were brought here to heal him, and yet this is what you’ve done?”

“Melaine, what are you talking about?”

It was clear that Melaine had discovered something.

When I urgently approached him with a worried expression, he raised a hand to stop me.

“The moment I walked in, I was overwhelmed by the stench of decay filling this room.”

“…You must refrain from making such remarks in the presence of a patient. Even as a priest of Lute, this is disrespectful.”

The priest of Ursilla retorted with a displeased expression.

The tension in the room grew palpable.

Schrein glanced between Melaine and the priest, trying to assess the situation. But both he and I had already begun to eye the priest warily.

“I wasn’t speaking about Lindel’s father.”

Melaine’s voice, dripping with scorn, was directed at the priest. Tilting his head slightly, he fixed the priest with a piercing glare.

“I was talking about you.”

“What do you mean?”

Feigning ignorance, the priest responded nonchalantly. Melaine let out a brief, derisive laugh.

“Don’t play dumb—”

His fierce gaze was sharp enough to bite through the tension.

“The stench of a rotting corpse is coming from you, you bastard.”