How to Save a Time-Limited Heroine

Generally, that was the case.

In a situation where someone was treating a person like an object, the correct thing to say would be, “A person is not an object.”

The current situation was no different.

When Agnes said, “Give me this,” the correct thing for Deltain to say would have been something that preserved the dignity of his subordinate. That would have been the morally right thing to do.

However, unfortunately, Deltain was far from being someone who adhered to moral etiquette.

“Did you leave it to me?”

Deltain said with a frown.

Like Agnes, he treated Kaltara as an object with his words.

The person in question, Kaltara, just laughed heartily.

“That’s right. Woman, I am the boss’s property, so I can’t belong to you!”

“Not a woman, but Princess Levadine. Show some respect.”

“Understood! Sorry, Princess Levadine woman!”

Kaltara laughed so heartily that her gums were fully exposed.

While Agnes was still staring at Deltain, she finally shifted her gaze to Kaltara and spoke.

“Then there’s no problem?”

“Hmm?”

“You said you can’t belong to me because you’re Deltain’s property.”

Agnes’s smile deepened.

“Then it’s fine. Deltain is mine. So, if you’re the property of my property, that means you belong to me too, right?”

It was Deltain who responded to her words.

“I’ve never been your property.”

“You will be.”

“You’re living in a delusion. That will never happen.”

“It will absolutely happen. Even today, you came all the way to the duke’s residence to see me, despite your schedule.”

“As I said again…!”

Kaltara blinked.

She tilted her head curiously at the sight of the two starting to argue again and then finally exclaimed, “Ah.”

“Boss, have you promised to breed with this woman?”

Deltain’s body froze.

His face turned bright red, a color Kaltara had never seen on him before.

As Deltain opened his mouth to curse, Kaltara quickly continued before he could speak.

“That’s not a good idea. This woman is too weak. She’ll die before giving birth!”

She still wore a refreshing smile on her face.

She seemed like someone who was stating something obvious and reasonable.

“Even if she gives birth, it will be a problem. If it’s the boss’s child, won’t they be my next master? I have no intention of serving a weakling. If you’re looking for a breeding partner, find another woman!”

Deltain rubbed his eyes with his hand.

“… get lost.”

“Hmm! Where is Gerhart?”

“He’s preparing a meal. Go to the dining room.”

“Got it!”

Kaltara walked towards the dining room with heavy steps.

The men who had been standing idly behind her finally bowed briefly to Deltain before following her.

Only then did Deltain look at Agnes’s expression.

Her smile had faded slightly.

It was unlike her.

Deltain didn’t like it for some reason and clicked his tongue.

“… don’t mind it. She’s always like that. Her muscles extend to her brain, so she tends to speak without thinking.”

“Are you worried about me?”

“I’m apologizing as a leader for my subordinate’s rudeness. I’m just doing what’s expected.”

“If an apology could solve everything, there wouldn’t be any need for laws.”

Agnes lifted her head.

“Compensate me.”

Deltain felt both relief and annoyance at her expression.

In the end, what came out was a laugh mixed with sarcasm.

“You seem to have forgotten that you were the first to be rude.”

“Kaltara doesn’t care about that, but I do. I’m sensitive about such things and feel hurt easily.”

“Is being narrow-minded something to be proud of?”

“Yes, especially as a woman. It’s a great asset. They say the best women are usually narrow.”

Deltain was at a loss for words.

Exactly three seconds.

It took that long for Deltain to understand her words.

Immediately, he spoke with as much disdain as he could muster.

“… crazy bitch.”

“Now that you’ve cursed at me, I feel even more like crying.”

Agnes said that, but her smile only deepened.

She stood up from her chair and looked directly at Deltain.

“As compensation, give me Kaltara.”

“I can’t.”

“Why? Do you like her?”

“Don’t judge me by your standards. I don’t act based on love. Kaltara is my strongest weapon. The effort and resources I spent to create her were astronomical. If you really want compensation, ask for something else.”

“Ah! So, you agree to compensate me?”

Agnes clapped her hands in joy.

Only then did Deltain realize his mistake and gritted his teeth.

He had promised compensation he didn’t need to give, falling into Agnes’s pace.

Losing the most basic rule of negotiation, this was a very shameful mistake for Deltain.

His eyes flared up with anger.

Seeing his face filled with rage, Agnes slightly blushed.

“Looking at me like that makes me embarrassed.”

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I’ve become more motivated to get rid of the magic flower. I’ll make sure to keep you alive. And then I’ll punch you in the face.”

“Did you want a kiss mark? Pretending you don’t but being sly. Give me your hand, and I’ll make one for you.”

“Screw you.”

Agnes burst into a clear laugh.

“Hmm, what should I get….”

Agnes knew that Deltain wouldn’t go back on his word.

He was someone who took responsibility for his words as much as his pride.

A brief contemplation followed.

At the end, Agnes smiled and said.

“Let’s put it on hold. I’ll think about it a little more.”

With that said, she clung to Deltain.

“Carry me to the dining room. I can’t walk.”

She spoke with more vitality than she had shown in a long time, making Deltain feel somewhat irritated.

However, considering how truly frail her body was, she wasn’t entirely wrong in her request.

She was a woman who skillfully exploited the cards she held, almost to an annoying degree.

*

The atmosphere in the dining room was strange.

Deltain continued his meal without uttering a word, his mood clearly unpleasant, while Agnes moved her knife with a beaming face.

Kaltara, with her thick skin, ate with her bare hands regardless of the tense mood of the others.

Gerhart felt awkward.

So, standing behind Deltain, he opened his mouth to speak.

“My Lord, shouldn’t you introduce the knights to the Lady?”

Deltain furrowed his brow deeply.

Then he pointed to each person with his fork and recited their names.

“Kalatra, Pobler, Galan, Jevis.”

“I wouldn’t know them just by those names.”

Agnes smiled brightly.

Deltain responded with a snort.

“What do you mean you wouldn’t know? If you know their names, you can tell who they are.”

“So cold.”

Agnes said no more.

As Deltain said, there were only four Hounds of Hebron, and once you knew their names, it was easy to distinguish them.

Agnes greeted the knights.

“Nice to meet you.”

The man with black hair melted by burns from his neck to his nose bowed his head.

He was Galan, the necrophiliac.

“Nice to meet you.”

The middle-aged man with stiff features and brown hair accepted the greeting.

He was Pobler, the carnivore.

The blue-haired boy, who shyly lowered his head, was Jevis, the lecher.

And the muscle-bound giant with threatening ash-gray hair, a head taller than Deltain, was…

“Greetings again!”

Kaltara, the masochist.

“… I always find their nicknames weird.”

“Did I give them those names? The knights who saw them fight did.”

“You could have stopped them from being called that.”

“Why should I care about their nicknames?”

Deltain continued his meal as if he felt nothing.

Agnes hummed softly and smiled.

“But you seem confident about them. They all look really strong.”

“I am actually strong!”

“You seem so. Even though you’re a barbarian, I’ve never seen anyone as big as you.”

“Hmm! I’ve never seen a frail human like the Princess!”

Kaltara laughed heartily.

Then she continued.

“But I’m curious. Why do you want me?”

“Kaltara, I told you to be polite.”

“Then I’ll correct myself: why does the Princess want me?”

Deltain clicked his tongue and turned his head.

He knew Kaltara would soon forget his words.

Seeing that she had paid enough respect, he saw no reason to continue an unproductive conversation.

Agnes, intrigued by their conversation, smiled and answered.

“When I see healthy people, I get envious.”

Even as she spoke, her gaze was fixed on Deltain, specifically his eyes, as if pinpointing him.

Kaltara didn’t put much meaning into that gaze.

She simply responded earnestly to what was said.

“I wouldn’t want to imagine living a frail life. If I were you, I’d have hanged myself!”

Clang-!

Deltain put down his utensils with a loud noise.

His face clearly showed his anger.

“Kaltara, don’t cross the line.”

“I’m fine. You’ll make up for it.”

“That’s why I’m saying it.”

Deltain was angry.

It was a rage he couldn’t quite understand himself.

Kaltara’s behavior was nothing new, and he had never been angry about it before, which left him quite perplexed.

Therefore, he attached a reason to his rising feelings.

“I’m the one who loses out because of Kaltara’s behavior. She doesn’t have the intelligence to think about that, so I have to step in.’

Mana was swirling around him.

This was an obvious threat.

Kaltara was still smiling brightly.

“I don’t understand why the boss is angry!”

“Your behavior is excessive. If you can’t be polite, keep your mouth shut.”

“As you command!”

Kaltara clamped her mouth shut.

Despite the tense atmosphere, no one seemed worried.

The Hounds of Hebron were used to his irritable nature, and Agnes loved that irritable side of him.

Thus, the tense meal ended.

“Let’s go.”

Deltain put on his coat and spoke to Agnes.

Agnes straightened her back and looked at him as he approached, then said.

“Hmm, it was bothersome to come here, so it’s fine.”

“What?”

“It was more fun than I expected. So, I’ll go back a different way.”

Deltain frowned.

He felt a rising sense of unease, wondering what this strange woman was thinking.

Agnes reached out and pointed at Kaltara.

“Her. She looks sturdy, so I want to ride her.”

“…I told you, she’s not for giving.”

“I just want to ride.”

Deltain looked at Kaltara.

She shrugged, indicating she didn’t care.

“… she doesn’t know how to control her strength.”

“She will learn to.”

“What do you know about her when you just met today?”

“Kaltara doesn’t like weaklings. She wouldn’t want to suffer because of a weakling. Right?”

Agnes looked directly at Kaltara and asked.

Kaltara blinked, then laughed loudly and nodded.

“Right! The Princess is quite perceptive!”

Agnes’s smile deepened.

“Then, please take care of me?”

“Of course! I’ll take you home safely!”

Kaltara picked up Agnes.

Before Deltain could say anything else, she opened the door and left.

Deltain felt his blood pressure rising.