Limited Extra Time - Chapter 110

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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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A Doomed Extra’s Time

A Doomed Extra’s Time

Chapter 110

After finishing his preparations, Millaiyen Pestellio entrusted the remaining tasks to Goreden and returned directly to the tent where Carina Leopold awaited.

Winston and Peng, who had been standing watch, bowed respectfully.

“Welcome back, sir.”

“How is Carina?”

“She experienced one episode, but after administering the sedative extracted from Haron, she fell asleep.”

At Winston’s explanation, Millaiyen Pestellio dragged a hand across his face.

He gazed quietly at her sleeping form, her breathing gradually steadying, and nodded slowly.

While ordinary sedatives proved ineffective, the specialized sedative Periel Kalos had developed showed remarkable results.

“Good work. Both of you should rest outside. What of Periel Kalos?”

“He appears to be conducting some sort of experiment with Haron and the wild creatures we’ve captured.”

This time the answer came from Peng. Millaiyen Pestellio carefully

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sat at the edge of the bed.

“How proceeds the Subjugation?”

“We’re in the final stages. Only the Herta pack remains, and thanks to Carina’s Herta, we’ve already reduced their numbers by more than half. We plan to withdraw soon.”

Above all, I needed to move Carina Leopold to a better location. I could no longer keep her in the Forbidden Forest as her condition deteriorated with each passing day.

Recently, I found myself spending more time watching her sleep than seeing her awake.

“Understood. I’ll plan for withdrawal within two or three days and begin organizing things gradually.”

“Yes, convey the same to Periel Kalos.”

“I’ll deliver that message myself.”

Winston interjected. Millaiyen nodded and gestured toward the exit with a tilt of his chin.

At his silent dismissal, the two men bowed respectfully and slipped out of the tent.

“Carina.”

Millaiyen called her name carefully. Even knowing she wouldn’t respond, I couldn’t help but speak.

My fingertips slowly brushed through her hair.

“Mil… laiyen…?”

“Oh, did I wake you?”

“No…”

Her eyes, hidden beneath closed lids, gradually opened at the sound of my lowered voice. Her blue eyes seemed somehow clouded.

“Would you like some water?”

“Yes.”

Millaiyen poured water from the pitcher and handed it to her. Carina Leopold carefully pushed herself upright.

Millaiyen steadied her waist as she sat up, then placed a cup of water in her hands.

“How do you feel?”

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I’m sorry. I had another episode, didn’t I?

It’s fine. There’s nothing we can do about your body aching.

Millaiyen Pestellio cupped Carina Leopold’s cheek in his hand as she lowered her head.

Her cheek was warm to the touch, as if she were running a fever, and Millaiyen Pestellio smiled bitterly. He suddenly scooped her up and settled her onto his lap.

What… what are you doing…!

You look like you’re lacking energy.

I’m lacking energy. Sometimes it feels like my body isn’t my own anymore. It’s ridiculous—I’m not addicted to drugs, but addicted to painting instead.

Carina Leopold’s voice as she let out a hollow laugh was weary and lifeless. The frequency with which she met his eyes had diminished, as had her smiles.

Yet whenever he held her in his arms, she still reflexively nestled against him.

The Magical Beast Subjugation is nearly complete. Soon

we’ll be returning to Leopold Manor. Have you finished painting?

…Yes.

Carina Leopold gazed toward one corner of the room.

Dozens of canvases stood lined up there. Some remained unfinished, while others had been completed and used to manifest miracles.

Only a few had been painted by choice. Most of them were painted in a frenzy. The sensation of having my sense of self stripped away

was not pleasant.

…

…

Silence flows. Most of the time we spent together lately was like this.

Carina Leopold didn’t raise her head, as if apologetic, while Millaiyen Pestellio simply waited quietly for her to speak.

Carina Leopold.

What?

Want to get some fresh air?

Now?

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“Yes, now.”

Carina Leopold’s eyes sparkled. She lifted her head quickly. Millaiyen laughed as he watched her nod with an expression far brighter than before.

He set her down on the bed briefly and rose to his feet.

“Just wear this and we’ll go.”

He brought a thick outer robe and handed it to Carina Leopold. As she fumbled her arms through the sleeves and stood up, he draped a blanket over her legs and

lifted her into his arms.

“I can walk!”

“No. It’s a lover’s privilege.”

Millaiyen kissed the nape of her neck and walked out of the tent.

Fresh air brushed against her nose, and Carina Leopold’s lips curved into a smile in an instant. A faint smile appeared on Millaiyen’s lips as well.

“It feels like it’s been a while.”

“Since what?”

“Since I’ve seen you smile. You’ve been especially melancholy these past two weeks.”

“…Ah. It’s just… I hate how unlike myself I’ve been.”

Carina Leopold spoke in a more relaxed voice. She wrapped her arms around Millaiyen’s neck and buried her cheek against his shoulder.

“One moment I came to my senses and realized I’d hurt Periel Kalos, and the next I was scratching you.

And on certain days, I found myself inflicting wounds upon my own heart.

It was inevitable.”

“Even so, I feel myself slipping further into madness. Had I remained in the Count Leopold’s manor in this state, I would have surely heard them say I’d gone mad with my limbs bound.”

“Still, it feels like I’m gradually going mad. Perhaps if the Count continues like this…”

“If it had been me, I would’ve gone crazy tied up like that.”

She laughed softly, drawing Millaiyen close and embracing his neck tightly.

Though she smiled, fear gripped her heart. It felt as though a vast, invisible chasm yawned beneath her feet, ready to swallow her at any moment.

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Death loomed before her ceaselessly, as if she were perpetually staring into its face.

Millaiyen gently stroked the arm tightening around his neck with his hand. Carina Leopold, who had been trembling, slowly released her grip.

“…You know, Millaiyen.”

“Yes.”

“I fear that one day, I won’t be able to open my eyes ever again.”

Millaiyen came to an abrupt halt. Though they had walked slowly, they had already ventured deep enough into the Forbidden Forest that their surroundings grew dim

and quiet. She held her breath, her face buried against his shoulder.

“I fear I’ll lose myself to something other than myself, and never be able to open my eyes again.”

The terror of it stole her breath away.

She had made peace with death long ago. Even before setting foot in the Northern Territory, she had accepted that her life was ephemeral, destined to vanish.

But now that very existence had been branded with a name—

regret.

I wanted to linger in Millaiyen’s embrace a moment longer.

I wanted to slip into the crevices of his life.

I wanted to be remembered by him.

I wanted to stay by his side.

“Millaiyen, it’s me. Dying was acceptable.”

“Carina.”

I had imagined it dozens, hundreds of times over during the entire journey to the Northern Territory.

So I had the resolve to endure whatever lonely, desolate, and painful death awaited me.

I had the confidence to cast aside any lingering attachments.

There were scenarios in my imagination where I gave my heart to someone. The partings in those imaginings were varied. Yet every ending was the same.

Whether their memories of me were erased or I drifted away like the wind, in the end I was alone. No one remained by my side.

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After thinking about it dozens of times, now I desperately wished for it never to come.

“But… do you know what I’m thinking right now?”

“Yes.”

His answer was the complete opposite of what I expected.

When I opened my eyes wide in surprise at his frustrated tone, Millaiyen pressed his lips to the nape of my neck. He was smiling.

“Do you want to live?”

“…”

“If you’ve come to want to live because of me, that’s enough. If you’ve come to think that dying is unacceptable, I could ask for nothing more.”

This man always delivers the answer she desires. He gave her the response she had waited for, the one she never expected to hear.

Millaiyen smiled brightly and pressed his lips against hers.

“Would you like to visit the End of Winter tomorrow?”

“…The End of Winter?”

“We just need to ride horses a bit further from here. All you’ll see are towering cliffs and a dark mountain range with no entrance in sight, but…”

“Yes, I’d like to go.”

She nodded without a moment’s hesitation.

The crisp wind, which she hadn’t felt in a long time, cooled the stuffiness in her chest. The cold breeze that struck the Winter Mountain Range and returned swept across the two of them before rushing past swiftly.

* * *

“Damn it!”

Periel Kalos spat out a curse and roughly swept his arm across the desk, scattering the tools that lay upon it.

The pile of instruments tumbled across the floor in an instant.

“Why on earth…!”

He pressed his forehead with a grim expression, unable to contain his frustration as he stamped his foot. It was a rare display of composure lost for someone like Periel Kalos, who never abandoned his dignity.

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Unable to overcome his emotions for a moment, Periel Kalos shuffled his feet. It was a rare moment of composure lost for someone who always maintained his dignity.

After throwing things about for some time, Periel Kalos abruptly ceased his movements. He stared down silently at several animal corpses scattered across the floor.

His face, twisted by despair, was a wreck from accumulated exhaustion.

“Damn it, blast it all!”

He obsessively pursued the hypothesis he had established before—

Through his research, Goreden had found a way to utilize Haron. He had discovered a method applicable not just to Magical Beasts, but to humans as well. It could now be used as a cure or substitute for the artistic plague that would manifest in the future. All of this was the fruit of his obsession with Haron over the past two months.

All the research had proceeded smoothly. Millaiyen Pestellio continuously supplied him with Haron and Magical Beasts, while Winston assisted him.

Thanks to them, Periel Kalos could focus entirely on his research. So in truth, everything had gone smoothly.

Everything, that is, except for that final, insurmountable step.

Every method he conceived proved useless against the Creators.

The price exacted by the Creators followed a different trajectory than other artistic plagues. There was no way to restore the lives they had already carved away as payment.

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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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