Limited Extra Time - Chapter 11

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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 ——

Count Leopold exhaled deeply with a heavy sigh.

“It’s Carina’s birthday, and the picnic overlapping with it may have upset her. I suppose I should have scheduled it for a different day.”

Infrick furrowed his brow, his voice strained with concern.

Two days prior, he had asked for her understanding, but Carina had shown no sign of genuinely accepting it.

Had I known it would come to this, I would have spoken with her more thoroughly.

‘Her demeanor was certainly unusual.’

A child who rarely displayed anger would not have done so without reason.

Infrick rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand, recalling what had transpired between him and Carina that night two days ago.

“Even if she said it was fine, her heart was surely troubled.”

“She’s hardly a child, and yet….”

Count Leopold clicked his tongue.

He glanced over the note as though observing the thoughtless behavior of a foolish child, then placed the paper on the dining table.

—— Page 2 ——

He glanced over the note once and placed the paper on the table.

“No matter what, how could you just leave a single note and go, when you clearly know I’d be worried sick…”

The Countess Leopold swallowed a sigh.

I wonder if I let her go, saying I’d go on a trip. To anyone’s eyes, it looked like nothing more than taking out my frustrations on her.

“It’s not like I’m going through a late puberty. What on earth is a grown noblewoman doing something so embarrassing?”

Did you go on a trip alone?

Ferden’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

Ferden had always dreamed of one day traveling and adventuring alone with a sword in hand.

‘Sister really is amazing.’

Traveling by herself like that.

Ferden held back the urge to throw a tantrum. He’d recently heard from his older brother that travel was something to be done only after coming of age.

Ferden’s bottom fidgeted restlessly in his seat.

If he had his way, he would have rushed out immediately to travel with his sister.

“For now, send out a few people to quietly investigate where she went. She couldn’t have gone far anyway. The Southern Territory has few bandits, so it shouldn’t be dangerous.”

“If she disliked it so much, she could have simply said something….”

The Countess Leopold added her words with a worried expression to Count Leopold’s statement.

Had Carina seen this, she surely would have twisted her face in disgust, but for the Countess Leopold facing this situation, her concern was genuine.

Of course, whether she would have reacted the same way had she actually said such things in that moment was questionable.

“How much money is missing?”

“I, I shall check the empty coffers at once, sir.”

The Maidservant bowed her head deeply and hurried out of the Dining Hall. Count Leopold clicked his tongue again. What kind of calamity was this?

—— Page 3 ——

“When is sister coming home, Mother and Father?”

“I don’t know.”

Count Leopold answered Abelia’s question with a sidelong glance, his voice heavy as a sigh.

It was clear he was deliberately trying to upset himself, which made it all the more infuriating. How could a child use their parents’ affection in such a manner?

Count Leopold struggled to calm his roiling emotions.

“…Still, I’m worried. They say the Southern Territory’s winter isn’t cold, but the child has never even been on a journey before.”

“If that’s the case, she couldn’t have gone far. I’ll pursue her at once, Father.”

At the Countess Leopold’s anxious voice, Infrick spoke as though he might leap to his feet that very moment.

With his knight’s training and his title, if he rode without rest, catching up to Carina Leopold—regardless of what she was traveling by—would be no difficult feat.

Count Leopold waved his hand.

“Sending a few people will suffice. You know as well as I do that the Southern Territory isn’t particularly dangerous. You’ve only just received your title and joined the order—don’t do anything to fall out of favor.”

“But…”

“And what sense does it make to leave home over a birthday party? No one refused to hold one for her. I never thought she could be so thoughtless.”

Had Carina Leopold heard this, she would have bounced in place, pounding her chest in frustration and indignation.

But as someone once said, even ten acts of kindness crumble to dust when overshadowed by a single transgression, and all that has been built collapses in an instant.

That was precisely her situation.

For all the patience she had endured,

—— Page 4 ——

what returned was nothing but the word “thoughtless.”

The Dining Hall door opened again.

This time, it was the Head Butler who entered, having heard the circumstances from the Maidservant.

He too appeared to have rushed over, his attire slightly disheveled.

“Butler, did you find out what I asked you to investigate?”

“Yes, sir. The sum missing from Miss Carina Leopold’s personal funds over yesterday and today combined is just under 2 gold.”

“Look, she couldn’t have gone far.”

Count Leopold gestured with a jut of his chin.

Only then did he release the tension in his eyes. Having heard words that aligned with his expectations, the Count exhaled a long, somewhat relieved sigh.

“At most, she’ll last a week or two before returning, won’t she? When she does, I’ll have to scold her severely. Tsk. How could she drive a nail through her mother and father’s hearts like this—

what was she thinking?”

“Still, you should let her go, dear.”

At the Countess Leopold’s words, Count Leopold nodded.

He had no desire to become such a heartless father.

Though it was infuriating, he couldn’t simply pretend not to know.

“Hire someone trustworthy to find out where Carina has gone. Tell them to offer no assistance until she returns on her own feet.”

“If you find her, you should bring her back. What are you saying?”

“This way, she’ll experience how much hardship comes from leaving home, how many privileges she’s been receiving.”

“…”

“Besides, she couldn’t have gone far, and she likely hired a private carriage, so she should be easy to find.”

Count Leopold shook his head firmly.

Perhaps if she truly experienced hardship this time, she would mature a little.

—— Page 5 ——

Of course, he believed Carina would humble herself and return within a week or two. At most, he thought, a month.

Of course, neither he nor the Countess anticipated that news of Carina would fade beyond the Southern Territory, nor that she would fail to return even after two months had passed.

***

The first week after Carina disappeared passed quietly.

Count Leopold attended the planned picnic as if to demonstrate his indifference to her absence.

Since she had always been a taciturn child, her absence didn’t leave a particularly glaring void.

Apart from Countess Leopold occasionally glancing at her empty seat with worry, and Abelia and Ferden bringing up the subject from time to time, nothing remarkable occurred.

The first news of Carina reached Leopold House just as two weeks were about to pass.

“You’ve finally located Carina?”

“Yes… well, that is to say…”

“I thought as much. She couldn’t have gone far anyway. What could an ignorant noblewoman accomplish running away from home alone? No matter how clever she might be.”

Count Leopold shook his head from side to side.

A faint glimmer of relief crossed the Count’s eyes as he spoke. Truth be told, two weeks without word had left him somewhat anxious.

Unlike Count Leopold’s composed demeanor, the Head Butler stood restlessly, waiting for him to finish speaking.

—— Page 6 ——

“Why that expression? Has something happened to Carina?”

“No, it’s just that…”

The Head Butler spoke in a voice tinged with a sigh. After hesitating, he clenched his fists and lifted his head.

“The people we assigned to track her have reported that they can no longer pursue the trail.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“It appears that Miss Carina has left the Southern Territory.”

Count Leopold’s face contorted.

The Head Butler bowed and offered a written report with both hands. The Count snatched it from him. Count Leopold opened the letter and scanned it with his eyes.

[The target has boarded a carriage bound for the Capital and has left the Southern Territory. Since traveling beyond the Southern Territory falls outside the scope of the contract, tracking has been suspended. Please note that any further surveillance will require a minimum of three times the initial contract fee.]

For someone who had paid out dozens of gold coins, it was an absurdly brief report.

“…Carina Leopold!”

At Count Leopold’s thunderous voice, the butler held even his breath.

“How can someone so grown be so utterly thoughtless!”

Count Leopold crumpled the letter as he shouted.

It was clear she had left because she didn’t understand how dangerous the world beyond the Southern Territory truly was.

Since the Southern Territory fell under his jurisdiction, he could have tracked her easily enough, but once she’d crossed that boundary, finding her would be far more difficult.

“No matter how hurt she was, how could she do this! Does she have any sense at all!”

Count Leopold’s voice thundered through the room.

Hearing the commotion, the Countess Leopold

—— Page 7 ——

cautiously entered his study.

“Darling, what is the matter?”

“Carina has left the Southern Territory.”

Count Leopold spoke with his expression twisted in displeasure.

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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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