Limited Extra Time - Chapter 160
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
—— Page 1 ——
Right now, he was heading to meet someone he never wished to see again. He truly despised it, yet allowing her to wear that dark expression was far worse.
“Are you proceeding as planned?”
Peng, who had been waiting below, asked as Millaiyen descended. Seeing that faint smile, Millaiyen nodded.
“Yes. If they’re not complete fools, they would have realized Carina is alive. That’s why Carina
deliberately continued operating under that name, it seems.”
“The lady is kind-hearted, after all.”
“True. Even after I spoke so harshly, I couldn’t bring myself to let them carry lifelong guilt.”
He didn’t blame her for it. Carina was that kind of person, and precisely because she was, Millaiyen had come to love her. He had even come to love that aspect of her. Yet regrettably, he himself was not nearly so kind.
—— Page 2 ——
Millaiyen harbored the desire to stamp out every last ember of hope they might harbor of approaching her again, and personally throw it into the trash.
“And if there’s a fool among them, he’ll want to meet Carina. If he’s truly her father… Count Leopold won’t approach again, but his successor concerns me.”
“Yes, I share your assessment entirely, sir.”
“We’re going to the Leopold Estate.”
“Understood.”
Peng watched Millaiyen board the carriage, then issued orders to the Coachman.
The Coachman nodded, and soon the carriage began to move.
‘He won’t shed blood, at least.’
Peng, bowing to see Millaiyen off, methodically oversaw each of the bustling servants.
Peng knew better than anyone how deeply his master was concerned for the lady.
“Come now, we must finish preparations soon—the lady and young miss will be departing shortly.”
“Yes!”
The maidservants were more animated than usual, fussing over their mistress’s appearance for her first proper outing since arriving in the Capital.
She typically favored simple attire even when visiting the Temple, so they were thrilled to finally showcase their skills.
‘I should double-check just to be safe.’
Peng turned to inspect the carriage she would be riding in once more. For the first time in ages, the Leopold Manor buzzed with activity.
“Seren, are you alright?”
“Hic….”
As the carriage passed through the Plaza and drew closer to the Imperial Palace, the crowds grew denser.
—— Page 3 ——
Even without the throngs of nobility and their attendants gathered for the banquet, the clashing of swords and crackling of torches grated harshly on the ears. I found it unsettling enough myself, so I could scarcely imagine how much Seren, far more sensitive than I, must be suffering. Still, I was grateful that after visiting the Temple, his expression had brightened considerably….
—— Page 4 ——
“Millaiyen.”
“You should have pushed through and entered.”
“…Ah, Seren was struggling. I couldn’t leave him.”
Of course, even if I had gone, I couldn’t have simply pushed through as he suggested.
I didn’t particularly want to dwell on what he meant by “pushing through.”
“We’ll enter directly from here.”
“Ah… but there wasn’t a long line ahead?”
At Carina’s explanation, Millaiyen’s expression flickered for just an instant—the briefest of moments.
In the next moment, he opened his mouth with a radiant smile spreading across his face.
“Fortunately, once I explained the situation, they graciously allowed me to enter first.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. So let’s hurry inside.”
At his playful tone, Carina Leopold nodded.
Millaiyen Pestellio closed the carriage door firmly again, saying he would see her inside.
He watched the carriage advance through the gap the other carriages created, then swept his gaze across the surroundings.
“I suspect they’ll keep their mouths shut. I’d prefer it if she never found out about this—not even a remote possibility.”
Millaiyen’s gaze slowly swept across the nobility.
Within the long queue, nobles were quarreling over who should enter first, each brandishing their status, causing the entrance itself to be severely delayed.
And Millaiyen, who had come out to greet them, was rendered speechless by this spectacle.
Thinking of his child, who was extraordinarily sensitive to noise, and his companion, who was helplessly stamping her feet in frustration, his stomach twisted.
When he actually opened the door, inside were Carina Leopold with a bewildered expression and Seren with eyes flushed red from
—— Page 5 ——
crying. He wanted to behead them all, but such a thing was impossible. “I suggest you enter in order. It’s shameful to bear the name of nobility while behaving like this.” The moment Millaiyen’s cold gaze fell upon them, the nobles fell silent.
Having assessed the situation, Millaiyen drew his sword and swung it lightly to silence the surroundings. What followed was simple. His aura of
anger was something few in this line could withstand. “Go.”
“Yes.”
“Goreden, you must never leave Carina Leopold and Seren’s side while inside the Imperial Palace. I’m entrusting the judgment call to you depending on the situation.”
“Understood.” Goreden answered quietly. Millaiyen parted the crowd like the parting of the Red Sea as he
He walked quickly through the wide plaza and re-entered the Imperial Palace. The moment his oppressive presence vanished, the nobility exhaled the breath they’d been holding. “…No one ever mentioned Duke Pestellio was like that.” “He was a monster.” “I thought my head was about to roll.” The gathered nobles added their own comments one after another.
Most of them had only heard rumors about Duke Pestellio. Since the Duke rarely left the Northern Territory, many were seeing him for the first time. “The title ‘Gatekeeper of the North’ wasn’t given to him for nothing,” someone murmured among the crowd.
The nobility, still trembling from the lingering emotional aftermath, climbed back into their carriages. Their entry was quieter than before.
—— Page 6 ——
Carina, how is Seren?
Ah, now that we’re away from there, she seems a bit better…
The child who always smiled brightly was now frowning deeply. She was too busy whimpering with her face buried in Carina’s chest.
With only two hands, there was no way to cover her ears, so Carina could only
tap her feet restlessly.
Oh, Seren.
Millaiyen, who had been watching the child in Carina’s arms, gently covered the girl’s ears.
Seren loved this gesture. The moment he covered her ears, even her crying would stop completely.
Following the method Carina had taught him before, the child’s frown softened slightly and she lifted her buried head a little.
Lady Carina, Lord Serenus.
At the soft male voice from behind, Millaiyen’s expression darkened.
Sensing something, Seren’s face brightened instantly and Carina’s eyes widened. Millaiyen turned his body around, his brow furrowed.
Oh… Kalan?
Yes, it seems we meet again here.
What brings you here?
The Imperial Palace has requested cooperation from the Temple.
Kalan smiled faintly at the corners of his mouth. Millaiyen, who had been alternating his gaze between the two exchanging greetings, turned his body slowly to regard Kalan.
Kalan’s and Millaiyen’s eyes met in the empty space between them.
…This one is far from ordinary as well.
I cannot fathom what is happening with that household. It is quite fascinating how two divine powers that should never intertwine have become entangled. Kalan Dium deliberately severed his curiosity.
—— Page 7 ——
“So you are the Temple person assisting Seren.”
“My abilities are humble, but it is an honor to meet you for the first time. I am Kalan Dium. Duke Pestellio.”
“There is no need for further introductions.”
At Millaiyen’s words, Kalan Dium simply smiled silently. The hostility the other man harbored was starkly apparent.
His possessiveness was so pronounced that he had embraced even this incompatibility.
“Kalan, what are you doing here….”
At the voice heard from behind, the gazes of all three shifted simultaneously.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————