Limited Extra Time - Chapter 111

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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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Periel Kalos, are you alright?

Winston….

Winston approached and asked. Over the past two months, as they conducted research together, formality had gradually dissolved between them.

Winston had listened patiently to my frustrations and offered counsel. Thanks to him, I had come to rely on Winston considerably.

My expression crumbling, I clenched my teeth and slumped weakly into the chair. I pressed my head into my hands with a look of despair.

Running my fingers through my hair, I lowered my gaze.

Winston smiled wryly at my face, which looked as though I might burst into tears at any moment. If something were truly unreachable, it would be easier to abandon it.

But something tantalizingly within grasp only intensified the longing.

It seems you’re having difficulty. I’m sorry this old man hasn’t been of greater help.

That’s not it…. I’m the one who’s lacking.

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No matter what I do, I can’t find a way to save the Creators…. to save Carina Leopold. It’s as though I’m trapped in absolute darkness on all sides.”

Periel Kalos buried my face in my hands.

I had discovered a method to treat the Artist’s Curse. I had even found a way to substitute the price of miracles with something else.

I had found a way to partially reverse the damage in the already-worsened Artist’s Curse.

But what if Carina Leopold dies anyway? What if I can’t find the answer in time, Winston?

Winston strode toward me. He reached out and gently patted my shoulder.

At twenty-six, both Periel Kalos and Millaiyen Pestellio were still too young to bear the weight of another’s burden.

To him, who had lived more than half a century, they were merely children.

Those who ascended to the lofty rank of Duke at such a tender age found the death of a beloved person unbearably difficult to endure.

All the more so if they had given their heart.

“Millaiyen will never properly face me again for the rest of his life. Carina Leopold may even resent me for breaking my promise.”

“If this old man may speak plainly, you seem to be worrying needlessly. I know how hard you tried. And I’m certain Miss Carina Leopold and His Grace know it as well.”

Winston too had ridden far to heal her illness,

yet in the end, he had been unable to help.

Winston was not without his own frustrations.

“…I never knew I could feel such emotion. My shoulders grow so heavy I feel as though I’m suffocating.”

“Life sometimes places excessive weight upon one’s shoulders. There are times when you wish to set it down, yet cannot.”

Wrinkled hands rested upon shoulders,

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and Periel Kalos exhaled a long breath.

‘How strange.’

Was it because Winston had lived longer than him? Or because he had never known an adult of this kind before?

Winston possessed the ability to ease the human heart.

“When retreat becomes impossible, one has no choice but to grit their teeth, drag their legs forward, and advance even through tears.”

“…I know without you saying it.”

I know there is no choice. I know there is nowhere to retreat.

Striving to the end and failing is different from giving up midway because it seems impossible.

Millaiyen might forgive the former, but never the latter. And I will spend my life resenting myself.

“Of course, when one is alone, there is no other method available.”

“What?”

“But now Periel Kalos has both myself and Millaiyen Pestellio, does he not? And just earlier, Herta threw a wild beast in front of the tent and left.”

“…That would be Harun’s way of asking for food, since I’m the one managing him.”

Imagining that enormous creature thundering over and dragging a beast to drop before the tent, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

Winston smiled quietly.

His voice was lighter than before, as if the tension had eased considerably. Winston patted my shoulder a couple of times, then withdrew his hand.

“Do not be anxious. Once you catch your breath, you will see something else.”

“…Winston.”

“Yes.”

Winston, who had bent down to organize the scattered documents, turned around. I lifted my head to look at Winston once, then took a deep

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breath.

“Actually…. There is one method. I discovered it about two months ago while dissecting a Magical Beast. I’ve even conducted experiments and there is potential.”

“What method is that?”

“That is….”

I slowly moistened my lips.

Throughout the explanation, Winston’s expression brightened and then darkened again repeatedly.

Eventually my lips slowly closed.

“Is that truly so?”

“Theoretically speaking. Or rather, it was actually possible.”

“…I see.”

Winston fell silent. This was not the sort of conversation where he could afford to lose his words.

Her time was dwindling, and soon they would have no choice but to decide.

“It might be wise to speak with Lord Millaiyen Pestellio about this.”

“…Won’t he go mad?”

“Or perhaps it would be better to tell the young lady herself.”

“I’m afraid. I promised her I would save her….”

Periel Kalos buried his face in his palms.

I remember the light in Carina Leopold’s eyes—how she had wounded herself in the grip of madness, then returned to her senses.

That expression, drained of terror and etched with guilt and remorse, no longer shone with tenderness and warmth.

“Since that day, she won’t even meet my eyes properly.”

“She has a gentle heart, so she must be feeling sorry. Speak with her when you have the chance.”

“…Winston, you always make it sound so simple.”

“As one grows older, one realizes that the things once feared were never truly anything at all.”

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Winston spoke with a hollow laugh. When Periel Kalos lifted his head, Winston met his gaze.

Wrinkles creased his face, and his kind eyes curved gently.

“Things left undone, things one wishes had been done in youth, things feared too greatly to attempt—small rebellions never taken—these circle through one’s mind.”

Winston continued softly, his head now raised.

“Things that seem difficult become quite manageable once you actually set about doing them.”

Periel Kalos watched him quietly as his voice continued in a slow, nostalgic cadence.

The frantic excitement that had consumed me moments before had now settled into calm clarity. My vision, which had felt tinted red, became clear once more.

“I raised my voice at something I thought wasn’t me, and after receiving one harsh scolding, nothing catastrophic occurred. I learned that much.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes. So there are things that can be undone with a single step forward, and I hope you won’t hesitate to take that step simply out of fear.”

At Winston’s words, Periel Kalos’s eyes widened. Though I had never lived in great fear, somehow his words resonated deeply within me.

A faint smile bloomed at the corners of Periel Kalos’s lips.

“Isn’t it the privilege of the young to savor even fear as a thrill?”

“…I still think you’re in your prime.”

“At this rate, I’m one step away from the coffin.”

“Don’t say such things. Just stay by my side for a long time.”

At Periel Kalos’s words, this time it was Winston’s eyes that widened. The two of them gazed at each other and burst into laughter. A cool breeze seeped through the gaps in the dim tent.

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* * *

“You’re really planning to go all the way to the Northern Territory yourself?! What about things here, Count Leopold?!”

“I need to bring Carina Leopold back.”

Count Leopold sighed as he spoke.

“Infrick keeps urging me to go as well. If I ride hard on horseback, it shouldn’t take that long. So I’m asking you to handle things here for a while.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to petition His Majesty and have the Duke apply pressure instead?”

Count Leopold’s brow furrowed at his wife’s words.

He had indeed considered that approach. In fact, he had sought a separate audience with the Emperor himself. But once the Emperor learned it concerned the Northern Territory, he withdrew his support.

“He said he couldn’t involve himself in matters between a betrothed man and woman.”

It was clear the Emperor simply wished to avoid creating unnecessary complications with the Duke.

But now that the Emperor had spoken thus, Count Leopold had no choice but to accept defeat.

“But Infrick is going, isn’t he!”

“Yes, and Nocton will accompany him as well. His mentor there apparently summoned him.”

“What about Lia’s personal physician?”

“I’ve already hired a replacement. The handover is complete, so don’t worry.”

The Countess Leopold shifted anxiously from foot to foot, her expression clouded with concern.

She turned away from Count Leopold and gazed at Infrick. The Countess Leopold reached out and gently caressed his cheek.

“My son, you know you are the future of the Leopold House, don’t you? Must you truly go?”

“Mother, I owe Carina Leopold an apology. I need to meet with her and talk. Don’t you feel the same way?”

“Of course I feel sorry about it.

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But… what will happen to the household if both the head and the heir abandon it?”

The Countess Leopold spoke with worry etched across her face.

She meant that Count Leopold’s Residence would stand empty for at least two months. She could not help but be anxious about that.

“From what I’ve learned, this so-called artist’s affliction poses no threat to life. I suspect Carina Leopold simply spoke carelessly in her anger…”

“Mother, I don’t believe Carina Leopold would tell such a lie. I’ve also inquired about the artist’s affliction. Isn’t it a disease that can cause one to lose limbs or sight?”

Infrick clenched his fists and raised his voice. The Countess Leopold stepped back with startled eyes. Only then did Infrick tremble slightly and close his mouth.

“Infrick, enough. What kind of disrespect is this toward your mother!”

“…I apologize.”

“And your mother is right. We’ve looked into it ourselves. They say this artistic affliction can be cured if one simply stops pursuing art. If we prevent her from painting, wouldn’t that solve it?”

Infrick swallowed hard. Soon after, he pressed his forehead as if suffocating. No one was properly addressing the fundamental problem.

If it were truly that simple, why hadn’t Carina Leopold—who would have understood it better than anyone—stopped painting?

One cannot simply let go. Just as a Knight cannot abandon his sword, she too was bound by the same truth.

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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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