Limited Extra Time - Chapter 117

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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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“Why do you think he’s coming here?”

“To get Carina Leopold back, I suppose.”

“It doesn’t feel like it’s for my sake. It’s not because of my health either….”

She trailed off softly, her voice barely a whisper.

Yet her brush continued its hurried dance across the canvas. Periel Kalos waited in silence for her next words.

“Is it because The Painter desires ‘Carina Leopold’ herself, or because he cannot allow the Leopold Family to be tainted? Or perhaps it’s mere self-satisfaction?”

“Is it because you can’t let the Leopold Family be tainted, or is it for your own satisfaction?”

“Why do you not consider that it might be because of Carina Leopold?”

“I pride myself on knowing that person better than anyone. I’ve watched for so long that I’ve come to understand what he despises and what he cherishes, whether I wished to or not.”

Memories I now wished to forget had already been etched into my mind.

They had become indelible marks, carved so deeply I could never erase them. Carina—

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I simply let out a quiet laugh.

“That person despises admitting his own mistakes. He abhors any crack in his perfection. He would never apologize to me, not even in death.”

Carina Leopold spoke with a voice tinged with faint amusement.

Her tone was calm yet sharp, as though she had already pierced through so much. Periel Kalos fell silent.

“I am the child he fathered, and he regards his children as little more than possessions. There’s no malice in it. It’s simply how many people think.”

“….”

“He believes children must unconditionally obey their parents, that they must never rebel against them.”

Carina Leopold’s brush never ceased its motion. The story flowed on with quiet steadiness.

Yet unlike her voice, her

brush moved without pause.

In an instant, color bloomed across the canvas, and a sky materialized.

“That person always believes they’re right. Even when someone presents an error directly before their eyes, they cannot accept it. When struck by the truth, they only raise their voice and ask if I’m now defying my parents.”

I had always believed he was right, but now I understood that wasn’t true. So Carina found herself closing her mouth more and more. I became unwilling to speak at all.

“I thought about it carefully. Why couldn’t I give any answer in front of my parents?”

“Yes.”

“I wasn’t afraid to share my thoughts with Millaiyen or Periel Kalos, or even with my older and younger siblings.”

Then I suddenly realized something. It wasn’t that I couldn’t speak—it was that I was unable to speak.

Every time I opened my mouth, I feared the giant’s hand rising high into the sky, and felt

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helpless.

When I came to my senses, I had become something incapable of voicing any opinion at all.

Carina Leopold’s brush began to trace a vast mountain range. A wondrous sight glimpsed only once was slowly taking form upon the canvas.

“My parents never struck me severely. Even Mother, after slapping my cheek that one time, never laid a hand on me again.”

Periel Kalos found himself unable to speak.

More precisely, he could not speak.

What could he say to her, who recounted experiences she had never endured nor contemplated with such composure, her brush moving without falter across the canvas?

“But whenever I tried to say anything, Father would always raise his hand as if to frighten me, and Mother would always harden her expression menacingly. I think that’s what terrified me.”

“…”

“Of course, that was when I was very young. After I grew up somewhat and began to simply accept the situation, such things stopped happening.”

At Carina Leopold’s words, Periel Kalos felt his breath catch. He couldn’t imagine his words flowing freely again.

Carina Leopold, who had been drawing without pause for some time, suddenly stopped moving.

Periel Kalos looked at her. Since she was staring only at the painting, he could see only her profile, but he couldn’t help but be startled.

“But honestly, I’m still afraid even now.”

She was trembling. The hand holding the brush quivered visibly, unable to touch the canvas.

“Whenever I stand before my Father or Mother, my body goes rigid. So even though they say they’re coming now, I’m shaking. And… I’m afraid I won’t be able to say a single word, just like when I ran away back then.”

“…Before we have a conversation, I think we need to stop Millaiyen

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first.”

Otherwise, whether the other party is Count Leopold or anyone else, he might just draw his sword and charge in.

At least when it came to matters concerning Carina Leopold, he would never yield. Even if he had to become a demon himself.

…That’s rather frightening, actually.

At Carina Leopold’s response, Periel Kalos let out a low laugh.

With the atmosphere becoming more relaxed, Carina Leopold

began moving her brush again.

Periel Kalos, watching that hand as its trembling ceased, exhaled a sigh.

“In truth, if I simply yielded and complied, it would resolve itself. If I stepped back and followed that person’s words, there would be no major problem.”

Perhaps it was he who was strange for being unwilling to follow his words.

But I grew weary of viewing a world that seemed unjust only toward me.

I wanted to walk on my own.

I wanted to see the world with my own feet.

“For them, it was merely a means to frighten me, but it seems to linger in my memory far longer than expected. Even now, my body tenses reflexively at the thought.”

“That is the nature of memory. No matter how much time passes, it can suddenly resurface one day and stir up painful emotions anew.”

At Periel Kalos’s words, I turned to look at him. His eyes curved gently as he gazed at me, arms still folded.

I smiled back at Periel Kalos’s warmth.

“Just as wounds become scars, so too does the human heart, it seems. Carina Leopold, I wish for your happiness.”

My eyes widened momentarily before returning to their natural state.

“Thank you. I too have always wished for your happiness, Periel Kalos.”

A faint smile graced his lips before fading away.

As the sunset had only just begun to descend,

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the room was suddenly bathed in crimson light.

“Miss. The master has just arrived at the Territory.”

“Oh, truly?”

I leaped from my seat.

Peng stifled a laugh at how I rose before even responding.

My entire being radiated affection.

“May I go now?”

“Since you’ll be riding, there’s no need to rush. Spring may be approaching, but the weather is still quite brisk. I’ll fetch a thick shawl for you.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“It’s fortunate that you arrived before the young lady’s family members, sir.”

At Peng’s words, Carina Leopold simply

offered a quiet smile in response.

Peng bowed respectfully and withdrew.

Carina Leopold paced back and forth, leaning out the window for a glance before forcing herself to sit on the bed. Though she sat, her body was already poised to bolt at any moment.

It had been a full week.

Without the familiar warmth she’d grown accustomed to, she’d lost sleep countless nights.

The person she’d been waiting for, waiting so

desperately for, had finally arrived.

Less than a minute after sitting, Carina Leopold rose from the bed again.

Fortunately, Peng returned through the door not long after.

She greeted him with barely concealed delight.

“Thank you.”

“Not at all. Go on now, miss.”

Peng draped the thick shawl across Carina Leopold’s shoulders, securing it carefully as he spoke.

The moment Peng’s hands released the shawl’s ties

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Carina Leopold had already opened the door and stepped from the room.

Peng followed immediately after her.

The best restraint I could manage was to walk at a measured pace rather than break into a run.

Watching Herta’s deliberate movements, I began to understand why my master had taken such a liking to her.

‘Like a little chick.’

A smile escaped my lips before I could help it.

Peng tried to suppress his expression, but his composure proved more difficult to maintain than expected.

He awkwardly smoothed his lips with his hand.

As she descended the staircase with careful, measured steps, Peng’s mouth curved upward in an uncontainable smile.

When Carina Leopold stepped outside, a gust of cold wind struck her, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

In the distance, she could see Herta approaching the Castle.

Carina Leopold’s lips softened into a gentle smile. She was delighted by how well Herta was settling in.

Atop Herta’s massive form were two figures. She noticed Millaiyen Pestellio rising from his seat as he spotted her.

Before Herta had even come to a complete stop, he leaped down.

“Carina Leopold, why are you out here in the cold?”

“I simply wanted to see you. And you’ve returned within the week, as promised.”

“I couldn’t stay away too long.”

Carina Leopold laughed softly and extended her arms toward Millaiyen Pestellio.

He moved to embrace her but hesitated, instead grasping her shoulders.

Then he quickly stepped back two paces.

“…Millaiyen Pestellio?”

Carina Leopold stared at him with wide, astonished eyes.

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Millaiyen Pestellio, observing her eyes rounded like a startled rabbit’s, subtly averted his gaze.

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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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