Limited Extra Time - Chapter 163

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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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Millaiyen’s hand wrapped around her waist, stroking it slowly in a soothing manner.

“Why did you leave the priesthood?”

At Millaiyen’s question, Isth’s eyes widened in surprise before a melancholic smile graced his lips.

As if recalling bitter memories, he remained silent for a long while before finally washing his face and barely parting his lips to speak.

It all felt so perfectly executed that it didn’t seem like an act at all.

Yet to Carina Leopold, it felt all the more like a mask.

Beneath that skin-thin facade covering his face, she sensed there lay another visage entirely.

“I came to realize that prayer alone cannot save lives. So I left the Temple and have been walking the path of a Physician.”

“What happened?”

“An epidemic swept through a village. There was someone I desperately wanted to save, so I prayed without sparing time for meals or sleep… but the Divine did not heed my

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prayers.”

Scratching his cheek with his index finger, Isth broke into a bright, childlike smile, laughing shyly.

It was a smile so endearing that anyone who witnessed it would lose themselves in an instant.

“So I turned my back on the Temple and became a Physician. Fortunately, I found that this path allows me to save far more lives.”

Among the nobles listening intently nearby, some nodded their heads with what seemed like excessive

sympathy.

Millaiyen too narrowed his brow with an enigmatic expression and nodded.

“That’s… quite remarkable.”

Millaiyen’s lips curved upward.

Isth’s pink eyes widened with surprise, rounding with an expression that would never normally escape him. At words so uncharacteristic, Carina Leopold’s eyes widened slightly.

‘…Impressive?’

Millaiyen was hardly the sort to praise someone over such a trivial matter. Carina Leopold turned her head toward him with a peculiar expression.

Carina Leopold tilted her head and looked at him with a slightly puzzled expression, as if wondering who would praise someone like that.

“Millaiyen?”

At her call, Millaiyen’s shoulders flinched.

Isth’s gaze narrowed slightly, then withdrew willingly from the eyes meeting his own.

Only then did Millaiyen turn to look at Carina Leopold.

“Yes, Carina Leopold.”

He bent at the waist and pressed his lips to her nape.

Carina Leopold startled, her body trembling with surprise.

“Wait… what are you doing out here?”

“Just wanted to feel some warmth.”

Millaiyen inhaled deeply against her nape, her scent igniting his senses.

The haze that had clouded his eyes began to

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clear immediately.

‘…Using him won’t work.’

Isth thought to himself while pretending to survey the surroundings.

Truly, he was the Duke of the Northern Territory, known as the Iron-Blooded. Now I understood the rumors of him being a gatekeeper, a monster, and why the nobility feared him.

Divine blessing aside, he himself existed somewhat beyond the realm of humanity.

‘That said, this woman is rather intriguing too.’

She alone was escaping his influence through her own strength.

Not only that—her unwavering vigilance made converting her all the more difficult.

From our first meeting, she alone had sensed my subtle aura and remained tense.

‘Ah… I covet this as well.’

Isth’s crimson tongue flicked across his lips, appearing and disappearing.

It had been long since I found so many things worth coveting. The Imperial Court certainly had an abundance of jewels. At least acquiring those would keep me entertained for some time.

“Such childishness…”

At the sound of her voice, Isth’s gaze returned to the two of them.

Millaiyen was rubbing his forehead against her shoulder.

As he behaved like a small child, Carina Leopold gently chided him while cradling Seren in one arm, her other hand softly caressing his cheek.

Isth’s expression became peculiar.

‘Her capacity to embrace even a monster is remarkable.’

Having spent this much time together, she could not possibly be unaware of his merciless nature, yet she treated him without the slightest hint of revulsion—it was astonishing.

“Shall we go get some fresh air?”

“Mm, no. It seems the time limit has ended.”

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His ears twitched once, and he whispered something like a sigh into her ear before slowly straightening the waist he had bent to match her height.

He gestured toward the entrance of the Banquet Hall with his chin.

“Cardinal Kalan Dium, His Holiness Pope Erhasir Kalium Rifet enters!”

With a thunderous announcement, two figures emerged, treading upon the crimson carpet that stretched from the entrance all the way to the Emperor’s seat at the head of the hall.

Everyone in the Banquet Hall bowed in silent respect.

“…Cardinal?”

Carina Leopold’s lips parted slightly as she bowed along with the others.

“You didn’t know?”

“Well, I just assumed he was a Senior Priest….”

Carina Leopold’s lips trembled.

An identity she never anticipated. Of course, I had sensed his exceptional abilities, but I never imagined he held the rank of Cardinal.

Her pupils dilated slightly in shock.

“You couldn’t have known. If he weren’t a Cardinal, the moment he stood in my way….”

Millaiyen, who had been about to say he would have beheaded him, suddenly realized the person beside him was Carina Leopold and closed his mouth.

He had nearly made a grave mistake. Millaiyen bit the inside of his mouth hard.

“His Majesty the Emperor, His Highness the Crown Prince, and Her Majesty the Empress enter!”

Everyone in the Banquet Hall bowed simultaneously.

Millaiyen offered only a light bow in greeting. Thanks to this, Carina Leopold was spared from having to bow as well.

The Emperor, entering the hall, spotted Millaiyen and his face brightened with genuine delight.

Millaiyen responded with an expressionless face, bowing his head once more in acknowledgment.

Millaiyen Pestellio bowed his head once more with an expressionless face.

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I demonstrated my response to that warmth.

“Rise, all of you.”

The Emperor spoke as he settled into the throne at the head of the Banquet Hall.

The nobility who had been bowing straightened one by one. A considerable number of nobles filled the expansive Banquet Hall. The Emperor’s gaze shifted toward Millaiyen.

“It has been quite some time since I’ve seen your face, Duke Pestellio.”

“It is an honor to see you again, Your Majesty.”

Millaiyen replied in a blunt tone. Though he maintained proper respect befitting the Emperor and showed no disrespect in his voice or expression, his emotional detachment was unmistakable.

“I summoned you repeatedly without answer, yet your child has anchored you to the Capital.”

“My child’s health is delicate. We came only temporarily for recuperation. Once my child recovers, we intend to return.”

“What a pity. I had hoped you would remain in this Capital.”

The Emperor spoke, his lips curling slightly.

Where else in the Empire could one find such a formidable blade? To the Emperor, who knew his martial prowess better than anyone, he was a talent impossible to covet.

“If you would find a family to govern the Northern Territory in my stead, I would be satisfied.”

At Millaiyen’s words, the sound of held breath rippled through the assembled nobility.

Rumors about the Northern Territory were rife. Of course, those who had visited directly felt somewhat differently, but most nobles had never set foot there.

“Or if you would prefer to leave the Northern Territory as it stands, I would be grateful.”

“You speak plainly. Do not be so harsh.”

The Emperor responded lightly, resting his chin in his hand.

Contrary to expectations, the Emperor was treating Millaiyen’s demeanor with considerable leniency. Their relationship appeared neither strained nor intimate—

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does not know.

“Yes, the Duchess is someone I’m meeting for the first time…”

The Emperor, who had been moving his lips, made a peculiar expression. He seemed troubled as he stroked his chin, then let out a low sigh.

‘So that’s why he sent word that he would suddenly be unable to attend today…’

It seemed this was indeed the reason.

I had heard he was terribly devoted to his wife’s affairs, but I never expected he would go so far as to personally visit Count Leopold’s Residence and resort to intimidation.

Carina Leopold had been officially declared dead.

Strictly speaking, the one who became Duchess Pestellio was a commoner who bore the name ‘Carina’.

I understood the circumstances well enough. Before the marriage, Duke Pestellio had instructed me to ensure rumors of his union with a commoner would not spread, explaining the situation in detail.

“Ah, so the Duchess and I are meeting for the first time. I wondered what sort of person could have melted that iron-willed heart of his, and she is indeed lovely.”

“…Thank you.”

With an odd expression, Carina Leopold nodded and offered only an appropriate word of gratitude. Then she quickly closed her mouth.

‘She is also someone difficult to deal with.’

The Emperor sighed inwardly.

Noticing her discomfort, Millaiyen swiftly positioned himself in front of Carina Leopold. The Emperor’s mouth fell open, then closed helplessly.

He soon abandoned the conversation and surveyed the assembled crowd.

“Yes, it is pleasant to see such a lively gathering at this grand banquet after so long.”

He began speaking slowly with a smile playing at his lips.

“I have gathered you all today both to impart certain matters and to strengthen our unity once

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function.”

At this revelation, sharp intakes of breath echoed throughout the hall, followed by a rising murmur of voices.

The Emperor loosely gripped the armrest and spoke again.

“Recently, a Heretic Sect calling themselves ‘Salutaris’ has been causing turmoil within the Empire. The troubling matter is that their leader claims divinity and wields some bizarre power that borders on the miraculous.”

At the Emperor’s words, the nobility’s mouths

snapped shut. They listened intently to his every word. It was a matter no Capital noble could possibly be ignorant of.

“Since they appear to have infiltrated quite deeply into the Empire’s structure, should you discover anything, you must report directly to me or immediately notify the Imperial Guard. Do not forget this.”

The Emperor’s piercing gaze swept slowly across the Banquet Hall as he issued his warning.

“I shall send official notices to all regions, but anyone found to have even the slightest connection to them will be executed for treason.”

The Emperor’s voice was merciless.

The man whose smile had seemed so gentle moments before now possessed a gaze as cold as winter ice.

The Emperor’s stare was so sharp it was difficult to believe he possessed any age at all.

“I trust you all understand that this is something no one—especially those of you bearing the responsibility to set an example as nobility—should ever dare commit.”

Rather than answer with words, the nobility bowed deeply, pledging their loyalty through the gesture.

That.

Carina followed Millaiyen, offering a light bow of acknowledgment while surveying her surroundings. Isth, who had been present moments before, was nowhere to be found.

‘…Was he dismissed for not being nobility?’

Even as a companion, it was true he wasn’t of noble birth, so it would make sense if he felt uncomfortable.

Though I could rationalize it that way, I couldn’t understand why my mood felt so peculiar.

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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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