Limited Extra Time - Chapter 147

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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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—— Page 1 ——

Good heavens, who is this? Welcome!

Marin Aerial, who had ridden out to greet us the moment we entered the Territory, leaped from her horse and swept Carina into an embrace without hesitation.

Despite her petite frame, she possessed surprising strength—she lifted Carina clean off the ground and spun her around in a complete circle right there in the saddle.

It’s been so long. Have you been well, Carina? Ah… surely I don’t need to use some stiff, formal title like “My Lady” or “Duchess,” do I? Spare me that.

No, it’s fine.

Millaiyen Pestellio’s expression darkened with displeasure, his arms crossed as he regarded them with obvious reluctance.

He exhaled a short breath and moved to block Marin Aerial’s path as she attempted to help Carina onto her horse.

What are you doing?

—— Page 2 ——

“Ah… you’ve monopolized her the entire journey here. Surely you can spare some time for us women to be together, sir.”

Marin Aerial replied with brazen confidence, her voice light and teasing.

Carina showed no sign of objection. Watching her comply and mount the horse without resistance, Millaiyen Pestellio bit his lip and swallowed hard.

Marin Aerial quickly mounted the horse and urged it forward at a rapid pace.

Though it might have appeared as though she were fleeing, to Millaiyen Pestellio’s eyes, she looked like nothing less than a thief making off with stolen goods.

Millaiyen Pestellio immediately mounted his own horse and pursued the two of them.

“Shouldn’t we proceed directly to Leopold Manor?”

“Well… I mean, what do you think the Aerial Count would do?”

“I’m going to show her around the area a bit. It’s tactless for a man to keep inserting himself between a woman and her friend. Don’t you know that’s how you become disliked?”

Marin Aerial spoke with triumphant confidence, with Carina seated before her.

Millaiyen’s eyebrows twitched as he pulled Carina Leopold into his embrace, asserting his claim over her.

“Carina Leopold?”

“You’ve had such a difficult journey getting here. Please go ahead as Marin suggested.”

“…Carina Leopold.”

“You don’t intend to circle the entire Territory with that procession, do you…?”

Carina Leopold’s finger pointed toward the Duke’s Household procession following behind Millaiyen.

Millaiyen’s expression shifted to one of realization, and he pressed his lips firmly shut. His dissatisfaction was palpable, yet he could hardly throw a tantrum over it.

“I wish to remain with you.”

“We’re going to be together this evening anyway. I’m going ahead. I couldn’t sleep properly the whole way here because I was worried about you.”

—— Page 3 ——

“I went.”

“I wouldn’t say waking up every hour counts as sleeping.”

Millaiyen’s words caught in his throat at Carina Leopold’s remark. It wasn’t wrong, but he wanted to refute it anyway.

She quietly watched Millaiyen take a deep breath, then reached out and gently stroked his bangs.

“There’s nothing dangerous in Marin’s territory. And even if there were… you know. I’d probably be fine.”

At her words, Millaiyen’s face hardened into rigid lines.

Carina Leopold belatedly realized that the words she had spoken were hardly the best choice for soothing him.

As she furrowed her brow in discomfort, he finally exhaled a low sigh.

“I promise I’ll return before dinner.”

I promise I’ll go in before eating dinner.

“Very well. Since you wish it, I won’t press the matter. I’ll wait at the Count’s residence.”

“Yes, I’ll see you in a moment.”

Millaiyen Pestellio brushed his lips lightly against Carina Leopold’s cheek and nodded.

Carina Leopold watched him withdraw, her smile wordless and serene.

Observing Millaiyen Pestellio’s graceful retreat, Marin Aerial clicked her tongue inwardly.

She turned her horse’s head sharply toward the sea.

“Carina, you’re truly remarkable.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve known the Duke since he was quite young. The Northern Territory, as you know, has considerable interaction with us. I watched him grow from a child.”

Marin Aerial gestured with her hand at knee height, illustrating just how small he had been in those distant days.

Carina Leopold nodded in understanding.

“Honestly, even then he showed no obsession with anything. Except for his parents, he rarely engaged in emotional exchanges. He had his duties, but he ascribed no meaning to them.”

—— Page 4 ——

And even when we did meet, we rarely had any deep emotional exchanges. It felt like there was an obligation, but no real meaning behind it.

Marin Aerial, whose boldness was unparalleled, sharply analyzed his past.

Millaiyen Pestellio dislikes having his past exposed so much that I suspect he wouldn’t hesitate to draw his sword if it came to that.

“If you look at our relationship, you’ll see we were mostly rivals. But you know what’s strange? We must have said harsh things to each other, so I really don’t know what was so good about that guy that I ended up marrying him.”

Various families from the Northern Territory, including Marin Aerial, sent all sorts of gifts for the modest wedding ceremony.

After that, Carina Leopold and Marin Aerial actually exchanged quite a few letters with each other on several occasions.

“Well… perhaps his honesty?”

“You’re quite the oddity yourself, calling that honesty.”

At Marin’s unfiltered words, Carina Leopold finally burst into laughter.

It seemed she gravitated more toward someone who laid everything bare with abandon than someone who constantly harbored secrets.

“Regardless… seeing the Commander lately is truly remarkable. I never thought he could be so devoted to someone. I knew he had a strong sense of responsibility, but this is different.”

“So the changed Millaiyen isn’t suited as the lord of the Northern Territory?”

“No, it’s good. Far more human. I mean… we mostly saw the Commander during monster subjugations and hunts. He was pure beast then.”

Marin scratched the back of her head as she spoke.

The horse she held the reins of was well-trained, showing barely any sway.

Soon the brilliant blue sea filled her vision. As the harbor came into view, Marin fell silent.

—— Page 5 ——

“Beast?”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t know. If he’d been an enemy, I would’ve wanted to turn tail and run. Here—this is the sea.”

Marin Aerial steadied Carina Leopold as she helped her dismount from the horse.

Her gaze drifted silently toward the horizon.

The brilliant blue sea and brilliant blue sky merged at their boundary like a gradient.

“…There’s a peculiar scent.”

“That’s the sea breeze. Beautiful, isn’t it? Anywhere in this domain, you’ll breathe it every day.”

At Marin Aerial’s words, Carina Leopold nodded.

It was indeed a scent close to her own natural fragrance.

Carina Leopold gazed at the sea glimmering in the sunlight, taking in the sight of several ships drifting leisurely across its surface.

“…Beautiful.”

“Right? I knew you’d like it! This is my favorite place. Though those pirate bastards do bother me from time to time.”

Marin shrugged her shoulders and spoke matter-of-factly.

Carina nodded and stood there for a long while, drinking in the landscape with her eyes.

The strange-voiced birds soaring through the sky, the undulating waves, and the creatures that occasionally surfaced—all of it accumulated within her gaze like precious treasures.

The frozen salt scent lingering at the tip of her nose and the damp breeze drew a smile from her lips unbidden.

It seemed it would be wonderful to walk this path with Millaiyen as well.

“That’s the Sandy Beach over there. It feels nice to walk barefoot. If you’d like, I’ll take you out on a boat later.”

“Could I paint while on the boat?”

“Well…. If you don’t mind the rocking? I can bring out a large vessel, but the sea has a mind of its own.

—— Page 6 ——

Still, it should be fine if we don’t venture too far out.

In truth, Marin Aerial had intended to show Carina around various places.

But with Carina’s gaze fixed entirely upon the sea, she found herself unable to suggest moving elsewhere.

“Carina.”

“Hmm?”

“I heard you don’t have long to live. Is that true?”

A slightly subdued voice tapped at her ears. Worry seeped through his deliberately lowered tone.

Carina Leopold closed her mouth for a moment, then turned her head and stared intently into her eyes.

“Yeah.”

“…I see.”

At my calm response, Marin’s eyes widened before slowly returning to their normal state.

Sharp canines revealed themselves once more in a grin.

“I wasn’t asking out of mere curiosity. But I thought it was better to ask than to suffer alone in silence. If I’ve hurt your feelings in any way, I apologize.”

“No, I had no intention of hiding it anyway.”

If the life given to me has an end, then at least those who stand beside me should know when that end comes.

It was a decision I had reached after discussing it at length with Millaiyen.

Just as I needed time to prepare, they too deserved time to prepare. Simultaneously, it gave them time to distance themselves.

I didn’t want to ask people who couldn’t bear sorrow to bear it anyway.

“Anyway, you’re cool about it.”

Marin reached out and gently stroked my hair.

At that touch, as if offering praise, I blinked blankly.

—— Page 7 ——

“By the way, you smell kind of interesting?”

“Interesting smell?”

“How should I put it…?”

Marin buried her nose in my neck and sniffed deeply for a long moment. Like a beast catching the scent of its master.

After doing so for quite some time, she widened her eyes and took a step back.

“My family’s dog gave birth to puppies not long ago, and you smell kind of like…that…?”

“…A dog?”

“Oh, no. Sorry. I didn’t mean you’re a dog or anything. What I meant was… I just happen to have a keen sense of smell.”

Marin fumbled through her explanation, searching for the right words.

“My parents believed that heirs of the Aerial Family must possess exceptional senses, so one of their hobbies was having me guess scents with my eyes covered.”

“Ah….”

Truly unique parents. Yet throughout her explanation, Marin’s expression remained bright and untroubled.

It spoke volumes about how affectionate they had been. As Carina nodded in understanding, Marin continued.

“In any case, pregnant beasts emit a distinctive scent.”

Marin gestured vaguely with both hands before finally releasing a deep sigh and falling silent.

She had realized that no matter how she phrased it, coherent words simply wouldn’t emerge from her flustered state.

“So… you’re pregnant?”

“…Marin, you’re remarkable. Almost frighteningly so.”

Carina answered in a daze.

Only Peng, Winston who had conducted the examination, Millaiyen, and herself knew of her pregnancy.

She couldn’t say whether Periel Kalos knew. There was no way to confirm if Winston had informed him.

—— Page 8 ——

In any case, there was no way Marin Aerial, stationed at such a distant location, could have learned of it.

“Ah, of course. That little runt of a human…. Ha! It’s not just surprising—it’s genuinely astonishing.”

Marin let out a hollow laugh between her lips.

It was entirely unexpected.

Carina had never anticipated that Marin would notice, and Marin had never anticipated that Carina would be carrying a child.

“I wondered why you kept your claws so sharp, but now I see there was a reason.”

“Hmm?”

“Your Excellency, I mean. You seemed sharper than usual.”

“…Is that so?”

As Carina Leopold tilted her head, Marin nodded. It didn’t seem like much, yet she appeared oddly anxious.

It was a side of her I hadn’t seen even at the small gathering held at the Duke’s Estate.

“Congratulations, Carina. I hope I was the first person to celebrate this with you.”

“You’re the first among my friends.”

Carina Leopold spoke with a faint smile.

Speaking the word ‘friend’ still made my heart flutter slightly and felt a touch awkward, but fortunately Marin didn’t seem to dwell on such hesitation, offering a broad grin instead.

“That’s wonderful. We should head back now, though.”

A beast carrying young is sharp-clawed regardless of sex.

I wanted to tease Millaiyen a bit more, watching him pace anxiously back at the manor, but considering Carina Leopold, it seemed best to return him quickly.

“I wish the child resembled you more than His Excellency.”

Marin Aerial helped her onto the horse with even greater care than before, speaking softly. Carina Leopold settled into the saddle without resistance and let out a low laugh.

—— Page 9 ——

She truly disliked Millaiyen.

The two returned to the Leopold Manor with the glossy black horse in tow.

It was hardly a secret that Millaiyen Pestellio was pacing anxiously outside the manor, tracing figure-eights like a star as he spun in circles.

And Marin Aerial’s burst of uncontrollable laughter at the sight was equally unremarkable.

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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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