Limited Extra Time - Chapter 12

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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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“Good heavens… No, well, that is to say. What has become of Karina?”

“The trail has gone cold, it seems. She boarded a carriage bound for the Capital, so she must have headed that way.”

Count Leopold rubbed his furrowed brow with his thumb.

After a week of contemplation, I realized her mood might have been worse than I’d thought.

So I’d planned to throw her a birthday party upon her return, though I intended to scold her severely…

“Even a child wouldn’t behave with such reckless abandon. Am I some common commoner? What possible problem could warrant leaving the Southern Territory without permission!”

I was utterly exasperated.

All the more so because I understood this was clearly deliberate—an attempt to vex me.

The more Count Leopold dwelled on it, the more his anger kindled.

“How could she treat her parents with such mockery and contempt!”

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“Do calm yourself. First, we must find the child. Whether you scold her or not, we should bring her home and discuss it then.”

“Bring her home? Enough. If she despises this house so much, let her do as she pleases. She left of her own accord, so she’ll return on her own terms, head bowed in proper apology, before she sets foot in Leopold Manor again.”

“My dear!”

Count Leopold spoke with an expression set in stone.

The Countess Leopold called to him with worry etched across her face.

“…Cassis.”

“If we don’t correct this behavior now, when ever will we?”

Count Leopold folded his arms across his chest.

“Pay the trackers more and have them continue their pursuit. If they provide regular reports, I don’t mind doubling their asking price.”

“Understood.”

The Head Butler bowed and hurried from the study.

Count Leopold, who had risen from his seat, sank back into his leather chair and pressed his hand to his forehead.

“I know Karina acted thoughtlessly this time, but she must have had her reasons for feeling hurt.”

“If she felt hurt, she should have said so. Running away from home—is that how one handles things? Stop defending her. That girl clearly made a mistake. What possessed her to run away like this….”

Count Leopold let out a hollow laugh at the mere thought, his words trailing off.

He turned his head, his gaze growing more composed.

“If word of this gets out, you know what a scandal it would be for our reputation.”

“She’s a sensible girl, so she’ll return before things escalate—for the sake of the family, if nothing else.”

“How long do you think she can actually endure on her own?”

Count Leopold spoke coldly.

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Yet his pupils trembled faintly.

“What about Lia? She’s never been particularly fond of her sister. She was always clinging to Karina’s side, but she’s not lonely, is she?”

“She does seem to visit Karina’s room often, but she hasn’t said much—perhaps sensing the somber atmosphere.”

Countess Leopold answered quietly to Count Leopold’s concerned inquiry.

The Countess Leopold answered Count Leopold’s worried question in silence.

That.

“At least I’m better than my thoughtless older sister.”

“Abelia may act childish, but she has depth. And Karina must have been struggling quite a bit too.”

“Struggling with what, exactly?”

Count Leopold furrowed his brow and pressed the matter.

The Countess Leopold fell silent at her husband’s blunt question.

Even she could not fathom what could have been so difficult for Karina.

Watching his wife hesitate, Count Leopold sighed.

“I understand the impulse to comfort her with a mother’s heart, but it is also a parent’s duty to tell her clearly when something is wrong.”

“That may be true, but… why would she suddenly act like this? She’s never been the type.”

The Countess Leopold spoke as though sighing.

Karina had rarely given her cause for concern.

She could not begin to fathom why her daughter would suddenly drop such a bombshell and leave.

“What could she possibly lack? Has she ever complained of insufficient allowance? Have I refused to buy her anything she desired?”

His voice was cold.

“She’s never known hardship, so she’s grown spoiled and ungrateful.”

At Count Leopold’s words, the Countess Leopold

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fell silent.

She too had to admit it was true. Karina lacked for nothing.

Had she not granted her every wish?

“In any case, let us speak of this no further. We shall wait for her to return on her own, exhausted.”

Count Leopold spoke to calm his worried wife, the Countess Leopold.

“It shouldn’t take more than a month at most.”

With the money she’d taken, she wouldn’t be able to maintain any of her usual activities.

Count Leopold sighed as he calculated roughly when Karina would return.

“I simply cannot fathom her reasoning.”

He fingered the letter that had brought news of Karina before finally taking up his pen.

The Study filled once more with the whisper of paper beneath his hand.

***

When I finally opened my eyes after my prolonged fever, my entire body was drenched in cold sweat.

I felt both clammy and frigid.

I wrapped myself tightly in a thick quilt, desperate to warm my trembling form.

‘Where… am I?’

An ornate yet aged chandelier came into view.

I drew a sharp breath, then slowly buried my face in the quilt.

Even wrapped tightly in the bedding, the cold seemed to seep into my very bones.

‘Ah…’

I recalled the moments just before I’d fallen asleep.

Before my fever could worsen, Peng had come to guide me, and I’d entered the Separate Residence before immediately succumbing to sleep.

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I gazed out the window, trying to gauge the time. It seemed dawn was just breaking.

‘That light is still on over there.’

It appeared to be the Study of Leopold Manor, so the cold man was undoubtedly there.

‘My dreams are so restless.’

Thirst gnawed at me as well.

But the cold was so bitter that I had no desire to move at all.

After hesitating, I slowly closed my eyes again.

Darkness descended once more.

I opened my eyes again less than two hours later.

The unfamiliar bed and my aching body were troublesome enough, but it was the violent dreams that kept jolting me awake.

Still, having slept a little, I found myself capable of more movement than before.

‘While I can move, I should fetch a cloth for my forehead and a pitcher.’

I had the medicine, but the Physician had prescribed it only once every two days.

Taking it tomorrow rather than today would surely be more effective.

I exhaled softly and crawled slowly out from beneath the blankets.

“So cold….”

My voice emerged hollow and trembling.

My teeth chattered against each other.

I hurriedly rummaged through my travel bag in the corner of the room and pulled out a spare robe, wrapping it around myself.

‘If the Maidservant sees me, she’ll call the Physician again….’

I didn’t want my circumstances to become known.

I swallowed a short sigh.

Blinking my eyes, I grasped the railing and descended slowly to the first floor.

Still, I couldn’t manage this sprawling building alone, so a Maidservant or servant came by once a day to inspect it.

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or so I’d heard.

Since there was nothing I could do about that, I simply nodded in agreement without protest.

‘Was the Kitchen in that direction?’

I focused my eyes to see clearly through my wavering vision.

Holding the lamp in my hand, I moved forward cautiously.

Rustle—at a sound from somewhere, my nape prickled with dread.

Unlike Leopold House, the lamps here were sparse and scattered, lending the space a desolate atmosphere.

A bead of sweat rolled down my spine.

I gulped and turned my head left and right.

The night in this dark, unfamiliar space was truly frightening.

My body trembled.

This time, a distinctly heavy footstep echoed clearly.

“…Miss?”

“Ahhh…!”

I swung the lamp dangerously.

The man who’d spoken jumped back in alarm, hastily dodging.

A beat late, she recalled that familiar voice and slowly opened her eyes that had been squeezed shut.

“…Your Grace, the Duke?”

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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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