Ch.227226. Time Limit (2)

# 226. Time Limit (2)

At first, I didn’t believe it.

Even after seeing it with my own eyes, I still didn’t believe it.

I couldn’t believe it, and I didn’t want to believe it either.

But from the moment I heard those words, I had no choice but to believe.

“Blame me. It’s all my fault.”

In that moment, for the first time, I resented him.

It was the first time I’d felt such an emotion—the first time in my life.

Even knowing I shouldn’t, even knowing he was completely blameless, I resented him.

And that feeling lasted quite a while.

Even when I followed him to Leicester, even when we drove Bael away together, even on the night after our opponent retreated…

Even today—three days since Mother passed away, and two days since our opponent retreated.

“Yaaawn…”

Today, as usual, she woke up at the rather late hour of 11 o’clock after trying to sleep.

This wasn’t like her normally, but lately she couldn’t help it.

Regardless, this bed was far too large for one person.

“Why are we using separate rooms?”

Apart from her resentment, she missed him.

She had no one to lean on; he was practically the only person she could rely on now.

Yet he didn’t understand how she felt.

“Tch…”

She looked around her somewhat messy room.

The belongings she had brought this time were scattered across the floor.

And among those belongings, one item particularly caught her eye.

“Why is that…?”

She approached the item.

As she did, a clearer wave of emotion swept over her heart.

It was a simple analog object.

A small frame with a photograph in it, but its presence was anything but small.

“…”

Every time she looked at the person in that photo, her chest tightened.

Tears threatened to spill from her moistened eyes at any moment.

But she put the frame down.

“I shouldn’t be like this…”

She had always tried to maintain her composure.

She was still trying now, and would continue to do so.

Of course, in a way, that was only natural.

After all, she was destined to be the next Emperor, so she needed to learn not to be swayed by personal emotions.

But this was too significant to simply call a “personal matter.”

Besides, she wasn’t the Emperor yet.

Even so, she held back.

She suppressed her emotions as much as possible.

“I should go for a walk…”

Leaving the frame behind, she exited the room.

There was somewhere she visited first.

She headed toward a room that looked no different from the others, but like her own room, had guards stationed outside.

She asked one of the guards in front of the room.

“Is he still like this?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

She understood the Emperor’s behavior.

If she herself was struggling this much, how immense must his grief be after losing someone he had lived with his entire life?

It was probably beyond words.

And he had suffered such humiliation on top of it.

Right now, the Emperor’s mental state must be on the verge of collapse.

That’s why she didn’t say anything more.

More precisely, she couldn’t. She didn’t know how her words might affect him.

“Ah… by the way, do you know where Albert is?”

“Sir Albert has been out since morning.”

“You don’t know where he went?”

“No… we don’t have that information…”

“I see. Thank you. Keep up the good work…”

Just like yesterday, she left without saying another word, only greeting the guard.

Then she exited the lodging building.

“What should I do now…? It would have been nice if Albert were here.”

As soon as she left the building, she sensed magical energy surrounding her.

It could have been hidden, but it felt deliberately unhidden.

She asked Lilith, who had appeared at just the right moment.

“Do you know where Albert is?”

Lilith dispelled her [Stealth] and revealed herself.

“He said he was going for a walk. Why are you suddenly looking for him today when you didn’t yesterday?”

“I just want to see him…”

“Why don’t you just run to him and cry when you see him?”

“What? What do you mean…?”

“This is the time for that, especially for you.”

Those words struck her heart.

She was right… she had been in denial until now, but this was indeed such a situation.

“Act spoiled for once. It’s okay to do that now.”

Hearing those words made her really want to do just that.

And hadn’t he always told her? To lean on him whenever she needed…

“But… I need to know where he is first.”

“Wait for him in his room. He said he’d be back by evening.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah.”

But now that she was about to do it, she hesitated.

She asked Lilith with somewhat anxious eyes.

“But is that really okay…?”

“Of course it is. If it were me, I would have done it already. And he’s the only one you have for that. You should at least rely on him.”

“You’re right…”

After that answer, she immediately headed toward his room.

Lilith spoke to her retreating figure, finally taking proper action.

“Cry if you want to cry, lean on him if you want to lean. That’s what lovers and family are for, right? Though I don’t know much about such things.”

“Yes…”

She hadn’t known Lilith for long, and their relationship wasn’t deep.

Yet Lilith was giving her sincere advice.

Even though she had no obligation to do so.

“She’s a good person…”

Now she understood why Albert had wanted her on their team so badly.

She was an excellent person in many ways, both in skill and character.

Reassured by this fact, she headed to his room.

Then she tried to open the door.

-Thud!!-

Of course, it wouldn’t open.

She touched the door lock on the door.

Numbers from 1 to 9 appeared, glowing with white light.

“A password? What could it be?”

She could just bring a master card to open it.

But she wanted to try guessing it.

She was curious about what numbers he might have chosen.

“1234?”

-Beep beep!!-

“1207?”

-Beep beep!!-

Neither simple patterns like 1234 nor patterns related to him like 1207 were correct.

With a thought, she entered her own birthday.

“0403?”

Then…

-Ding-a-ling!!-

With that sound, the locked door opened.

She opened the door and entered the room.

As expected, there was no one inside.

In the empty room where no voice could be heard, she thought:

‘When will he come back…?’

It was now 1:30 PM.

But Albert wouldn’t return until evening… it was truly a bleak situation.

“Is there anything to do…”

With such thoughts, she lay down on the bed.

“His scent…”

A familiar fragrance enveloped her.

As she lay on the bed passing meaningless time, she began to feel sleepy again.

“Is it because I ate? Or because the scent is nice?”

Her eyes gradually closed, and for the first time in a long while, she fell asleep as soon as she lay down.

***

After sleeping for about four hours,

She rubbed her eyes that wouldn’t open easily and sat up.

“Yaaawn…”

It felt like it had been a really long time since she’d slept so pleasantly.

She looked around again.

Of course, he wasn’t there yet, but she found something else instead.

She looked at the well-organized desk.

“Huh? Is this… a diary?”

A notebook placed there.

She opened the notebook labeled “Diary.”

“Albert keeps a diary too?”

It hadn’t been written for long, as there wasn’t much content.

Still, she was interested in what little content there was.

So she began reading his diary from the beginning.

-December 19th, I’m starting a diary today. I wasn’t particularly interested before, but I suddenly felt like writing. I think it’s better to leave at least some trace of myself.-

The last sentence created a strange feeling.

That’s what it means when I think about it now… but it shouldn’t be.

-December 20th, I finally started seeing those guys. I hope this ends quickly…-

After that, there was no diary entry for a while.

The main reason seemed to be that he had no time to write once the battle began.

But there was an entry from yesterday.

It was the first and last diary entry since the start of the Leicester battle.

-December 26th, Yesterday… Her Majesty the Empress passed away.-

As soon as she read that part, her heart began to race and her eyes reddened.

She was still not okay, it seemed.

-Right before my eyes… Truly… I couldn’t face Ally. Though Ally doesn’t show it, she must resent me for failing to properly fulfill my duty. Even I resent myself, so how must she feel…-

The sentence that followed.

As soon as she read that sentence written at the end of this diary entry, a crystal-clear tear fell from her eye, wetting the notebook.

-I want to tell her to cry if she wants to cry and lean on me if she wants to lean, but now… I don’t even have the courage for that.-

I really resented him, and I still do.

But similarly… no, even more than that, I feel sorry and grateful.

Sorry for making him think this way, and grateful that he has such thoughts.

“I miss him…”

For a while, Albert had been deliberately avoiding her.

She too hadn’t sought him out, not wanting to face those emotions.

But now the end of that time limit was approaching.

‘I need to find him…!’

With that determination, she approached the entrance.

And at that moment…

-Ding-a-ling!!-

The sound pierced her ears.