Limited Extra Time - Chapter 103

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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—— Page 1 ——

I happened to overhear it.

…What?

I asked the owner of the Paint Shop about the Art Affliction. And I learned something I didn’t know before. The Art Affliction, it seems, takes away the area where pain occurs.

My quiet voice did not tremble. I simply settled down calmly, speaking softly as if to soothe the trembling Carina Leopold.

Carina Leopold’s lips parted soundlessly. She wanted to say something, anything, but her body wouldn’t move.

Your pain was centered in your heart, and sometimes it consumed your entire body.

…

So I asked. You described your symptoms to me, and I explained them.

And when I returned, I heard the story between you and Periel Kalos.

…Ah.

You knew from the beginning, didn’t you? That’s why you came to me.

—— Page 2 ——

At those words, Carina Leopold began to tremble violently.

She took one step, then another, backing away. Her terrified eyes, her lips drained of color to a sickly blue, her face completely drained of blood—all of it laid bare her fear.

Gasp…

Carina Leopold stepped back once more.

I’m sorry, I’m sorry… When the time comes, I was going to leave… sob…

Throb—! As her breathing quickened, pain shot through her heart. She clutched at her chest and grasped the Tree nearby.

It was difficult to breathe. But if she held her breath, she felt suffocated.

Carina!

Don’t… don’t come… don’t come closer….

Carina Leopold shook her head.

Cold sweat beaded on her skin as she retreated backward. Even as she refused him with a shake of her head, Millaiyen Pestellio advanced toward her with determined strides. Carina Leopold sank to the floor, clutching her chest.

Damn it, Carina!

Millaiyen Pestellio gathered her into his arms. Whenever she felt pain, he was helpless to do anything. All he could do was remain at her side, whispering reassurances and stroking her back.

Shh— it’s alright. Carina, it’s alright.

He lifted her from the cold floor, cradling her trembling form against his chest. Millaiyen Pestellio carefully caressed her back as she curled inward, her body quaking. It’s alright. You’re alright.

Shh, it’s alright.

Ugh….

I’m sorry.

A small, fragile voice slipped through her whimpers, threatening to scatter into nothing. Millaiyen Pestellio exhaled a low sigh.

Carina Leopold was consumed by fear. He couldn’t fathom what terrified her so deeply.

Carina Leopold.

—— Page 3 ——

“….”

“It’s okay to cry.”

“….”

Her eyes widened until they could stretch no further.

Carina Leopold slowly lifted her head from her curled position. Tears glistened in her aquamarine eyes, those brilliant blue irises.

“I just wanted to say that.”

Millaiyen spoke as he stroked my back.

From the day I first learned that truth, I had wanted to tell her this one thing: that it was okay not to be okay, that she didn’t need to be fine, that she could cry as much as she wanted.

“Why….”

Her voice spilled out drenched with tears. Carina Leopold had to swallow repeatedly against her aching throat, struggling to suppress the emotions welling up inside her.

Breathing itself felt labored, as though she had eaten dry bread without a single sip of water to wash it down.

Not because her heart ached or her vision blurred, but because those simple words kept echoing in her ears. Such an insignificant phrase, yet it pierced her so deeply.

Carina Leopold’s face contorted.

“Why are you being so kind to me…?”

I had nothing to give. No abilities, no means to offer anything in return.

The only thing I could do was invoke miracles to be of some small help to him. Yet

he stubbornly refused even that.

“I have nothing….”

Carina Leopold’s slender fingers gripped the hem of Millaiyen’s garment. Her already pale hand grew even whiter, and her fingertips—they were flushed red, painfully so.

“I have nothing… to give you….”

I couldn’t even give him this body. I couldn’t make the promise to stay by his side—

—— Page 4 ——

—the promise of a lifetime together. Perhaps it was the easiest promise of all.

Such a simple vow to merely be at his side. A promise of the future that required nothing but a nod. A promise I could make for tomorrow, the day after, months from now, years from now.

But I have nothing. Not even time remained.

“I ask nothing of you. Such things no longer matter to me.”

Millaiyen Pestellio spoke as he traced his hand across Carina Leopold’s back.

He could not pinpoint when it had begun, but he could no longer release her. Had it been possible, he would have done so long ago.

Yet it was impossible. The moment consciousness returned, he found himself watching over her, desiring her, wanting to hold only her in his gaze. His heart ached merely seeing her sit—how could he possibly let her go?

“Stay by my side.”

Carina Leopold bit her lower lip and shook her head. Her eyes, forced wide to hold back tears, trembled violently.

Millaiyen Pestellio set her down to meet her lowered gaze, then knelt on one knee beneath her and tilted his head upward.

The eyes of Carina Leopold, still bowed, met those of Millaiyen Pestellio as he knelt.

“No, you need not stay by my side.”

“….”

Carina Leopold gazed at Millaiyen Pestellio with tears glistening in her eyes.

The blood vessels in her eyes had reddened from the strain. Millaiyen Pestellio carefully extended his hand and grasped hers.

“Just let me be by your side. You may leave me if you wish. I will follow you.”

“Please….”

She wanted to tell him not to speak thus.

But her throat tightened, and she could not open her mouth.

—— Page 5 ——

The words would not come. If she dared move her lips, tears brimming with her own selfishness would surely fall upon his serene face.

“You need not be by my side. I will be by yours.”

Carina Leopold bit her lips firmly and shook her head with all her strength.

I hate it, hate it. Hate it….

Don’t do this. I would have been fine if you’d simply dismissed me as troublesome. I would have accepted your anger, your indignation. All of it fell within my expectations.

I had imagined it countless times and was confident I wouldn’t be hurt. Even if I were wounded, I was certain I could pretend otherwise.

I wished it had simply ended that way. At least, in Carina Leopold’s imagination, it had. After thinking it through again and again, there were so many different endings.

“Carina Leopold.”

“….”

“If you want to cry, then cry. If it hurts, then scream.”

My vision grew increasingly blurred.

This can’t happen. I can’t let this happen. You shouldn’t say such things. I fear I’ll surrender to your tenderness, lean upon you once more.

‘This is cowardice.’

He is always composed. He knows himself so well.

I, Carina Leopold, have nothing to give him, yet Millaiyen Pestellio has given me everything. He gave me courage, a place to belong, tenderness, and memories.

“People don’t always need to be fine. Saying you’re fine isn’t strength. Claiming you’re fine doesn’t prevent your heart from rotting. So don’t pretend to be fine when you’re not.”

Patter. The tears that had been trembling in my eyes finally cascaded down.

She stepped back. Yet a single droplet fell upon Millaiyen Pestellio’s face, rolling down his cheek.

“…Sob….”

—— Page 6 ——

The tears I had so tightly suppressed burst forth like a dam breaking. My vision blurred until I could see nothing. I felt no chill from the cold wind. Only the weight of all I had endured came crashing down like waves.

I must have endured well. I must have accepted and understood everything. Death was inevitable. It was beyond my control. It was my own foolish mistake.

If only it hadn’t involved my family. All my excuses, all my blame—none of it mattered.

I wanted to live doing what I desired. Even with so little time remaining, I resolved to do everything I wished during those final moments. Then, I would be happy. I decided to live joyfully in that way.

In twenty years, there had been scarcely anything good. Why shouldn’t my last days be happy? Why shouldn’t my final memories be something worth cherishing for eternity? I comforted myself in that manner.

Millaiyen Pestellio, who had been kneeling on one knee, rose to his feet and drew her into his

embrace.

Carina Leopold hung her arms limply at her sides, tears streaming silently down her face.

“Cry. It’s all right.”

It was fine to cry more, he whispered. It was still all right.

Millaiyen Pestellio’s voice, as he murmured that he would stay by her side, was far softer than ever before.

“Sob….”

Her stifled voice grew slightly louder.

Millaiyen Pestellio gently stroked the back of Carina Leopold’s shoulders as he held her.

“Ahhhhh!”

Carina Leopold’s weeping intensified.

She cried out as though screaming, her arms rising to grip Millaiyen Pestellio’s back. She buried her face against his chest and her sobs erupted.

As her cries grew steadily louder, as if long suppressed, Millaiyen Pestellio clenched his teeth. He could not begin to fathom the countless emotions contained within her weeping.

—— Page 7 ——

The burdens she had carried through her small frame and tender years were beyond his comprehension.

Millaiyen Pestellio could never fully understand Carina Leopold. He had lacked so little. Though his Mother had passed early, his Father’s love had been abundant and overflowing. Though he could not call his family harmonious, he was taught sternly when he erred and praised endlessly with joy when he succeeded. When he made mistakes, he was given difficult tasks, but never subjected to violence.

He had many friends and countless opportunities to learn. He could speak his dislikes freely.

He had never known the weight of true deprivation.

There was someone who had grown up without ever receiving what she had taken for granted as natural.

There was someone who mechanically uttered that everything was fine. Someone who deceived those around her, deceived her friends, deceived the people she loved, and even deceived

herself. She had lied simply to survive, to endure. She must have repeated countless times that she was fine.

There was nothing I could do. Millaiyen couldn’t even properly understand Carina Leopold.

“Haa…!”

Emotions leaked out without pause. For her, who seemed to struggle even with breathing, all Millaiyen could do was stroke her back.

I couldn’t even say that everything was fine. My heart ached at the sight of her weeping so sorrowfully.

“I don’t… want to die…”

Carina Leopold opened her mouth, gasping and choking. Her fingers gripped tightly at Millaiyen’s clothes.

“I hate it…”

“…”

My heart plummeted. No—was it only my heart that fell? The very ground beneath my feet seemed to crumble.

—— Page 8 ——

The trembling voice reaching my ears sounded as though it would collapse at any moment—or perhaps it had already collapsed. The sandcastle I had built crumbled and shattered and crumbled to dust. Carina Leopold was already so broken she could barely hold her form. I had merely patched the outer walls with sand, but inside was already hollow. Rotted and decayed and crumbling, nothing remained. And yet she had carried on, pretending to be whole.

“Huh… I don’t want to die…”

Between the sobs, a sincere plea too fragile to voice loudly broke through. Millaiyen clenched my fists tightly to hide my trembling hands. The grip was so fierce that blood seeped through, careful not to touch her back—a grip that felt threatening enough to shatter anything in its path. I couldn’t contain the sorrow.

“…Yes.”

Millaiyen answered calmly, my voice thick with emotion. Perhaps I had simply tried to answer calmly. …No, I had only hoped that my voice would come out calm as I intended.

“Why…”

“…”

“Why… only me….”

“….”

Was this the story she had kept buried inside for so long? Or was there more? Perhaps I had only heard fragments of words and phrases—mere slivers of the countless things she had endured. Yet already, he felt as though he stood barefoot upon a scorching, parched desert, his breath suffocating, his chest so tightly constricted he could barely draw air. Millaiyen could no longer stroke Carina’s trembling back.

—— Page 9 ——

He simply could not.

“All I wanted… was….”

Her voice came through gritted teeth, stifled sobs escaping between them, and it stole his breath away. Millaiyen could only hold her close, embracing her as she trembled.

“I truly… had nothing….”

He could only listen, his own breath suspended, his mind blank. She must have wanted to live. She must have longed for it. There was no way she could have been indifferent.

That.

She was only twenty years old.

Barely an adult, perhaps only now… finally freed from the shadow of her parents—that immense, heavy, terrifying shadow.

How had she hidden this anguish and lived all this time? What must she have felt… to smile before him and say she was fine? Why did she smile at all?

Deceiving herself that everything was alright. Consoling herself that death was inevitable,

something beyond her control.

“….”

Millaiyen opened his mouth to say something—anything. But between his trembling lips, no words emerged. His mind had gone blank white. He felt like an idiot.

“I… love you….”

Millaiyen drew in a sharp breath.

He lowered his head to confirm he had heard her words correctly. Carina still pressed against his chest,

She buried her face against him, gripping his garment with trembling hands.

“I’m sorry… because I love you…”

Millaiyen Pestellio’s movements froze entirely.

It was easy to discern how choked her voice was, drenched in tears.

This was the honest confession he had yearned for so desperately.

Yet simultaneously, it was the most sorrowful confession in all the world.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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