How to Save a Time-Limited Heroine

To put it simply, Deltain Hebron and Agnes Levadine didn’t always have this kind of relationship.

In some ways, it was a natural story.

Deltain first encountered her in the game.

In the game, she was the epitome of a tragic and kind-hearted heroine, and this was also true the day they first met here.

-Thank you. For coming to find me like this.

Deltain had felt deep sympathy for her faint smile on her sickly face.

Even without the necessity of gathering materials, she was such a lovely woman that Deltain felt the urge to save her.

-I’ll definitely cure you.

The relationship that formed through such promises started to strain when Deltain experienced his seventh defeat.

-It’s a failure. This time too.

It was a remark that didn’t need much concern.

It could have been dismissed as something said out of regret.

If it weren’t for the smile she had then.

Deltain remembered it clearly.

The way she curled her lips crookedly as she said the word was, by anyone’s standards, a sneer.

It was like a provocation to Deltain’s solid pride.

From that day on, Deltain became hostile towards her.

Their relationship, filled with sharp words towards each other, continued in this manner.

“Bursting into a Lady’s room like this… my, what a rude person.”

“Then answer. I definitely knocked.”

“You opened it before I could respond.”

“You weren’t going to answer anyway.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“With your personality, it’s obvious.”

“Oh my, how vulgar.”

Agnes chuckled softly.

Deltain frowned at that smile and sat on the chair next to her bed.

“How are you feeling?”

“I feel like dying. Every night, I fall asleep fearing I might not wake up the next day.”

“Stop exaggerating. As I said, you’re safe for another three months.”

“An expert opinion?”

“It’s an absolute truth. The magic flower lodged in your heart won’t bloom for at least another three months.”

Deltain continued, tapping his foot with his leg crossed.

“You know better than anyone, don’t you? Despite your body losing vitality, there’s no immediate pain.”

“You’re harsh on a patient.”

“If you didn’t talk like that, I’d respect you.”

“Blaming others is a bad habit.”

Agnes’ smile deepened.

It was as if she were soothing a child.

Deltain didn’t like her way of always picking a fight first and making him out to be the bad guy.

“… let’s stop.”

“You lost.”

“Ridiculous. People don’t get excited over a dog’s bark.”

“Are you calling me a dog?”

Agnes opened her rabbit eyes wide in surprise.

Her round eyes gleamed with cherry blossom color.

Deltain clicked his tongue.

“… stop nitpicking.”

“If you want, I can bark. Woof. Woof. How’s that? Do I sound like a dog?”

“Oh, that’s fucking dog-like.”

“Pfft… then I’m a bitch, right? Because I’m female.”

Deltain’s fist clenched tightly.

He was angry at himself for being swayed by such vulgar words.

“… the Princess Levadine being a bitch, today’s evening paper will sell out.”

“If such an article appears, you’ll be named the source of the rumor. There’s only the two of us here.”

“What if I’m a suspect, what can you do about it?”

“Aren’t you afraid of the empire?”

“They should be afraid of me.”

It was an arrogant statement, but true.

Deltain Hebron was a living legend.

His personal combat ability was unmatched, and considering the knowledge he possessed and the impact he had on the empire’s civilization, he was someone the empire couldn’t easily antagonize.

“Why do you think your bed is so soft? Who do you think made the lamp and temperature control devices in your room? It’s all me. You, lying in bed and whining, should be especially grateful to me.”

Agnes burst into laughter at his arrogant words.

Then, barely suppressing her laughter, she replied.

“Whoa! There’s no one like you, Hero. I’m so grateful. I’ll never forget this favor for the rest of my life!”

Her tone was theatrical, as if she were acting.

Her hands were neatly placed by her cheeks, clearly indicating she was mocking him.

Deltain clicked his tongue shortly.

He decided to change the topic.

If he continued at her pace, he wouldn’t be able to get any work done all day.

“… let’s start the examination.”

“Preparing for the fifty-second failure?”

“It’s not a failure, just a mistake.”

“Words are so strange. Just changing one word can make such a difference in feeling.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“I’ll cry.”

“….”

“I’ll cry myself hoarse all night calling for you. Then I’ll collapse from exhaustion, and even when I wake up, I’ll still call for you. Oh, and I won’t eat or drink. Wouldn’t that trouble you?”

Ridiculous.

… Deltain couldn’t say that.

For the past few months, she had indeed been capable of such actions.

Deltain quietly ignored her words and started to speak.

“There’s no treatment today.”

“Then why did you come? Oh, did you miss me that much?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just here to observe.”

The nature of the Magic Flower Actrias.

Deltain felt the need to get to the bottom of it.

It was through these three months of that he realized ordinary remedies wouldn’t work anymore.

‘This curse is unlike any other.’

In the first month, he tried all the remedies he had tested in the game.

In the second month, he used remedies he hadn’t tested in the game.

And in the last month, until just yesterday, he used remedies he created after coming here.

None of them worked.

He invested nearly 90 days in this, excluding the 7 days spent looking for ingredients for another contract, but the curse was still unyielding.

So Deltain thought.

He had to try a different approach.

“Observation, huh? Should I undress then?”

Startle.

Deltain flinched and looked up in horror.

His earlobes were slightly red.

“Wha…”

“The curse is in the heart, right? So don’t I need to undress?”

Agnes’s smile was mischievous.

“Oh, did you have some lewd thoughts when I said undress?”

She leaned forward.

Her dazzling blonde hair flowed down like a curtain, and as she propped herself on the floor with her arms, her collarbone deepened.

Deltain deliberately avoided looking at her cleavage that peeked out from under her clothes.

At that moment, Agnes whispered.

“Pervert.”

Clench.

Deltain’s fist tightened.

“… you’re the pervert. I didn’t say anything.”

“Do you have to say it? If you’re confident, look me in the eye.”

“Your eyes are so dull there’s no point in looking.”

“Liar. Your face always turns red when you look into my eyes.”

“….”

It was an undeniable fact.

Whenever Deltain met her cherry blossom-colored eyes, his heart would sink.

“I am beautiful. That’s an undeniable fact.”

Agnes reached out.

She gently grabbed Deltain’s chin and slowly lifted his head.

Deltain’s gaze naturally fell on Agnes.

His face was tense as if trying to hold something back.

Agnes burst out laughing at his expression.

“Pfft! So ugly!”

Deltain’s body trembled.

He couldn’t stand this humiliation any longer.

<1st Tier Magic: Activate Silence.>

A blue light briefly appeared and disappeared in space.

Immediately, Agnes pouted, looking deflated because she couldn’t make any sound.

“… stay still. I want to finish quickly and go home.”

Agnes flailed her legs.

‘Ha…!’

She was a woman who wouldn’t listen to anyone.

Deltain kept reminding himself, , as he continued his observation.

*

After finishing the examination, Deltain left Agnes’s room.

Outside the door, Agnes’s exclusive maid, Anya, bowed deeply as usual.

“The lady….”

“Is asleep. Don’t wake her. I put her to sleep with magic.”

“Y-Yes….”

“She’ll wake up in two hours. Have porridge for dinner, and don’t use any ingredients with magical beasts. She can’t have mana infused into her body.”

“I’ll inform the chef.”

“Good, thank you.”

Deltain patted her shoulder and walked down the hallway.

Anya blinked at his retreating figure before scurrying off to do her tasks.

<96 days until the blossoming of the Magic Flower Actrias.>

This was the day when failure was 96 days away.

*

Returning home, Deltain headed straight for the study without even changing his clothes.

His butler, Gerhart, who had driven him all day, asked.

“What would you like for dinner?”

“Sandwich.”

“But Sir, you had a sandwich for breakfast too….”

“Sandwich. I don’t have time to eat a proper meal.”

Gerhart sighed deeply and nodded.

He knew his master was someone who rarely paid attention to other matters once he was fixated on something.

“… I’ll prepare it.”

“Oh, right. No pickles….”

“I won’t include them.”

As Deltain nodded, Gerhart left the study.

The moment he was gone, Deltain conjured mana and began to weave a spell.

Blue threads emerged from his fingertips, forming a shape in the air.

The shape formed by the threads was an exact replica of a beating heart.

<2nd Tier Magic: Activate Imagination.>

This was a second-class simulation magic.

Deltain had devised this spell to perform surgery on Agnes’s heart.

He abandoned the spell when he realized the magic flower couldn’t be extracted through surgery, but today Deltain used it for a different purpose.

‘The magic flower has no form. It exists merely as condensed mana.’

This was the biggest obstacle.

If it was a form of mana, it could only be extracted through magical procedures, but the magic flower absorbed any mana injected into it, making it impossible to remove with purification magic.

‘… the condensed mana is like a seed with roots.’

Deltain traced lines over his [Imagination].

A dot above the left atrium, and from that dot, roots spread out, penetrating the heart.

‘What should I do….’

Time was running out.

He couldn’t be sure when he’d find another ingredient like the one in Agnes’s heart if he didn’t solve it within the 96-day timeframe.

Deltain’s anxiety grew.

He frowned and steeled himself again.

‘… failure is not an option.’

As always, he wouldn’t fail.

There might be mishaps along the way, but in the end, there would be a sweet victory.

The pride that brought Deltain Hebron to this point burned brightly, flaunting itself.

<95 days until the blossoming of the Magic Flower Actrias.>

Deltain’s night grew deeper.