Limited Extra Time - Chapter 128

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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 Limited-Time Extra’s Hours

Chapter 128

Millaiyen gazed down at Infrick, who could no longer rise, and slid his sword back into its sheath at his waist.

The sun was already creeping across the darkening sky, revealing itself inch by inch.

As Infrick’s swollen face trembled and his body shook, Count Leopold rushed forward to examine him.

“Are you all right?”

“…Yes.”

“Does it hurt?”

“…”

At Millaiyen’s question, Infrick clamped his mouth shut.

It hurt, certainly, but the last shred of pride he possessed as a knight would not permit him to admit it. Infrick clenched his fists in bitter resentment.

“She endured tens of times more pain than this. Every single day was one of despair and suffering

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for her.”

“…”

Infrick fell silent, his mouth sealed shut. His grotesquely swollen face could barely open his eyes anymore.

His once-handsome features had been reduced to pulp. Count Leopold grasped Infrick’s hand with a look of profound pity.

Millaiyen observed the scene with an unwavering gaze.

An ideal father and son.

Parent and child.

Oddly enough, Count Leopold, whom I observed in this moment, was not so different from my father, the former Duke Millaiyen Pestellio.

He knelt before his ailing child and bowed his head. Dirt clung to his clothes, yet he met his child’s gaze without hesitation. That gesture—more than anything—had shattered Millaiyen’s composure.

He was, without question, an ideal parent.

To everyone except Carina Leopold.

“Why could you not do this for Carina Leopold?”

At Millaiyen’s words, Count Leopold lifted his head. Millaiyen simply held the Count’s wavering gaze, unblinking.

“Yes, it is possible to overlook someone. Your attention may have been divided. You are human, and Carina Leopold is human. Not everyone bears the same character as if stamped from a mold—how could you treat all equally with the same heart?”

The quiet voice resonated with crushing weight.

The smile faded from Periel Kalos’s expression as well, though he had been observing the scene with amusement. The gazes of Count Leopold and Millaiyen collided in the empty air between them.

“People can be that way. I do not deny everything you say, Count.”

“…”

“But a parent must not be. A child caught in the middle may become overly cautious, may possess a timid nature. Yet…”

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Millaiyen clenched his teeth. His subdued voice carried no excitement, no burning rage.

His expression twisted completely. Had Carina Leopold truly carried this same visage in her eyes her entire life?

“Simply because she stands less prominently than others… if even her parent dismisses her very existence as insignificant, where is the child supposed to find refuge?”

“I… I merely…”

Count Leopold’s lips trembled as he finally spoke, faltering.

He wanted to say he simply did not know, that he had merely been unaware—but Count Leopold found himself unable to utter any words at all.

Because that could never even be called an excuse.

“To you, are visible wounds wounds, but invisible wounds are not?”

As I listened to the words, Infrick groaned and rose from his seat.

Watching Millaiyen support him as Count Leopold stood, I clenched my fists.

“You could have sheltered her, you knew well how to meet her eyes and how to show concern… why were you so cruel to her?”

“I simply thought that was how it should be done. That I was doing well enough…”

Count Leopold lowered his head. Belated regret emanated from his clenched fists, but there was nothing that could change now. Not from anyone else—

Carina Leopold had drawn the line herself.

“Leave before Carina wakes.”

“Please allow me to stay. To do right by that child…”

“There are no more chances. You kicked away countless opportunities laid at your feet, and now you ask for another?”

Millaiyen exhaled a short breath.

He turned his head and narrowed his brow. He had only just noticed Periel Kalos’s presence. In a low voice—

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—he clicked his tongue and seized Infrick by the scruff of the neck.

“Your words were unbecoming, but there is no changing that you are being driven out from here now.”

“Let go—!”

“Get out. If you set foot on Northern Territory lands without permission even once more… then know that you have made the Northern Territory your enemy.”

Millaiyen handed Infrick over to the soldiers and spoke. Then he turned his head toward

Count Leopold, who stood towering.

“Should I grab the Count by the scruff of his neck and throw him out instead? He looks so fragile I’m afraid he’ll die from a single shove, so why don’t you walk out on your own two feet?”

“…Is it truly necessary to drive me away?”

“I hate nonsense, and I’m not a dog.”

At Millaiyen Pestellio’s harsh words, Count Leopold finally lifted his heavy feet.

Upon arriving, he stared blankly at the carriage before him.

The interior was packed so densely with pristine white bundles that barely enough space remained for two people to squeeze inside.

“This is…”

“The gold coins Carina Leopold promised to give. Since coins are tedious, I filled it with gold ingots instead. I’ve packed it generously—two or three times over—so take it with you.”

“I have no need for it.”

At Millaiyen Pestellio’s gesture, the soldiers practically shoved Count Leopold into the carriage.

Count Leopold’s brow furrowed in displeasure before he finally walked into the carriage of his own accord.

Barely fitting into the cramped space, Count Leopold turned his head urgently toward Millaiyen Pestellio.

“…Is Carina Leopold truly dead?”

Millaiyen Pestellio lifted his head quietly, meeting Count Leopold’s gaze before turning away slightly.

“She’s dead. So forget and live on.”

“…Is there truly no way for me to remain by that child’s side?”

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“Too late.”

At Millaiyen Pestellio’s resolute words, Count Leopold hung his head.

Millaiyen Pestellio waved his hand dismissively. The soldiers closed the door and set the carriage in motion.

“Ah… Why is that one still here? Go, stop the carriage.”

The moment Millaiyen turned his body, his expression hardened.

Nocton came into view, standing at a distance with a ghastly pale face. Millaiyen clicked his tongue low.

Looking at that wretched countenance put him in a foul mood.

“Your Grace! I… surely I cannot be here?”

“You cannot.”

“I came to see Master Winston, not Miss Carina. I merely happened to travel the same route as Count Leopold, so I came along.”

Nocton made a hurried excuse. At the mention of Winston, Millaiyen’s brow furrowed.

When he glanced at Periel Kalos, Periel

shook his head side to side. He too had received no separate word from Winston about this.

“A Physician?”

“…I am Master’s disciple.”

After a brief moment of consideration, Millaiyen waved his hand dismissively.

After all, he had intended to drive out Carina’s family. It mattered little if one wretched lump remained behind.

“Let him continue using the Annex Building. Assign someone to attend to him.”

“Thank you.”

Nocton bowed hastily at the waist.

As Millaiyen turned away, Periel Kalos followed in his wake.

“Why are you outside?”

“The commotion drew my curiosity. What do you intend to tell Carina by driving them out like that?”

“I simply obliged because he wanted to spar.”

At Millaiyen’s brazen words, Periel Kalos’s expression grew peculiar. Whoever witnessed that scene would never

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call it sparring.

“When are you planning to bring Haron?”

“I’ll depart tonight. This time, I’ll bring it properly.”

“We’re running out of time. If that doesn’t work, I’ll need to find another method.”

Carina Leopold had no time to spare. She needed to know just how large the Haron that Herta possessed truly was.

It would need to be substantial enough to substitute for a human life.

“I’ll bring it this time, so don’t worry.”

“Understood.”

Millaiyen ascended to the Second Floor, and Periel Kalos, who had been watching his retreating figure intently, soon turned and made his way toward the Basement.

***

“Periel Kalos?”

“Ah, yes. What is it?”

“Why are you thinking so deeply about it? What do you mean by being dragged out since dawn?”

Periel paused for a moment at Carina’s question.

Actually, it’s not that difficult to give an answer, but even if Millaiyen does it

It was something she had tried so hard to hide from her that she had woken up before dawn broke and resolved it.

‘I do enjoy teasing him, but…’

Sometimes it wouldn’t be so bad to take someone’s side.

“He simply woke him at dawn and sent him off in a carriage.”

“Ah, truly? One should sleep during the early morning hours. Come to think of it, Millaiyen seems rather careless with his own well-being.”

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Periel laughed warmly as he watched Carina Leopold speak with that sullen tone.

“How is your body? Did you have no seizures today?”

“Yes, thanks to your medicine, I was fine today.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Periel Kalos answered matter-of-factly. I had researched Haron and discovered how to extract its power in liquid form, but that was all.

The dosage of Haron she consumed was steadily increasing. Excess in anything was never beneficial.

“I hope Millaiyen returns soon.”

Wishing for his return before he had even departed—the thought struck me as absurd, yet there was nothing I could do about it. My heart had already been given, and I could no longer let it go.

“He will return quickly. He promised he would.”

“Yes, I hope so.”

It was a leisurely afternoon hour.

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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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