Limited Extra Time - Chapter 168

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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 ——

It was well over four days before Ajidahaka and Millaiyen returned.

Carina Leopold had not left the house during that time, spending most of her days with Seren.

In truth, she had no choice. Since that day, Seren had taken to crying far more frequently. Worse still, whenever I tried to visit the Temple, the child would burst into inconsolable sobs, so I hadn’t been able to go for a week now.

While crying and wailing, she couldn’t even visit the Temple for a week.

Without Millaiyen around, I often find myself lying awake through the night, unable to sleep properly.

And today, unable to bear it any longer, I had just written and sent a letter to Kalandium asking for his help early in the morning.

Seren’s face was always sorrowful, and even though she kept her surroundings as quiet as possible, she looked troubled, so she wanted to go to the Temple.

But I’ll only take you outside the room.

—— Page 2 ——

Even though I tried to leave, the child burst into tears.

She cried so miserably that her own heart felt like it was breaking along with his.

And that afternoon, Millaiyen Pestellio, Ajidahaka, Kalan Dium, and the Pope arrived together.

“You reek of blood.”

As soon as the Pope saw Millaiyen Pestellio, he spoke.

Millaiyen Pestellio glanced at her without answering, then strode up to the Second Floor. He showed no emotion.

His eyes had become completely those of a beast in just a few days.

“Man, that was fun. It’s been a while since I’ve had a massacre like that.”

“I never thought I would see someone like you.”

“Well, I never thought I’d set foot in the same house as God’s messenger while I was still alive.”

Ajidahaka responded lightly and followed Millaiyen toward the second floor. Kalan Dium and the Pope trailed behind them.

At the sound of crying echoing from the second floor, Millaiyen’s pace quickened.

Yet even so, he did not forget to knock, blinking slowly.

When he rapped on the door, a voice from within bade him enter. Millaiyen drew his hand across his face at the sound of that voice, which he had not heard in so long.

Opening the door carefully, I found Carina Leopold sitting on the bed, looking somewhat weary, soothing the child.

“Oh… Millaiyen?”

“Carina, I could hear Seren crying continuously from downstairs…”

“Yes, whenever I try to step out of the room, the child bursts into tears again…”

Millaiyen reached out carefully to take Seren into his arms, then abruptly stopped.

He swallowed slowly. He had certainly washed himself at a nearby inn before coming, yet his hands appeared stained with blood.

—— Page 3 ——

“Millaiyen?”

“…Yes.”

He withdrew the hand he had slowly extended, speaking quietly.

Carina, who had been watching him intently, quickly grasped his hand.

At her touch, warm and unguarded, his hand—which had grown cold—slowly thawed.

“Seren waited for you so much. I waited too.”

Carina Leopold extended her arms and drew him close, and Millaiyen yielded, bending into her embrace.

The Pope, who had followed behind, stifled a hollow laugh as the sharp tension dissolved in an instant.

“Why are you so quiet today, Kalan?”

“It’s nothing.”

“If you’re envious, I could do the same for you.”

The Pope seized Kalan Dium by the collar and kissed him lightly.

Carina, who had been holding Millaiyen, widened her eyes at the sudden turn of events.

Kalan Dium furrowed his brow and gently pushed the Pope away. He straightened his disheveled clothes and exhaled softly.

“Please don’t do this outside. I simply had nothing to say.”

“That sounds like you’re saying it’s fine inside.”

“You’re not someone who would tell me to stop, are you?”

The Pope chuckled at Kalan Dium’s words. Though he appeared ascetic, once his skin was bared and he climbed into bed, he became more audacious than anyone—that was Kalan Dium.

“Then shall we do it tonight?”

“….”

“Um… so, you two were dating?”

“How cute. No, if I had to define it…”

The Pope stroked his chin.

—— Page 4 ——

If I were to give it a name, it would simply be a partnership.

We’ve never explicitly confessed our love to each other—it’s just that Kalan fell for my seductions, and we’ve ended up doing various things together.

‘Now that I think about it, I was in the position of his guardian, wasn’t I?’

Is this what they mean by raising something only to consume it?

If so, then I’ve done an excellent job of raising a fine child.

I was smiling contentedly when Kalan Dium’s expression turned rigid.

“If you have business, conduct it and leave.”

Millaiyen, in that peculiar posture of merely resting his face against Carina Leopold, spoke lightly to the Pope. There was scarcely a trace of dignity in his bearing.

“Show some respect, Duke Pestellio.”

“Not severing your neck is respect enough.”

“It’s fine. Leave him be.”

The Pope waved his hand dismissively. Kalan Dium, his brow furrowed, wore an uncomfortable expression but said nothing further.

As the Pope approached slowly, Seren’s eyes widened, and tears began to well up.

The Pope’s movements halted abruptly.

Then, as she took another step closer, Seren’s cries erupted in full force.

“Waaaaah! Waaah! Dada!”

Seren cried out not for Carina Leopold but for Millaiyen, wailing desperately. Without time to think, Millaiyen rushed to gather the child into his arms.

Millaiyen, visibly flustered himself, gently soothed the child.

“Ah, this is… a bit…”

“Your Highness’s goddaughter certainly does think of her master a great deal.”

At the Pope’s troubled voice, Ajidahaka added his words with a hint of amusement.

The clever child had already learned. What posed danger to her

—— Page 5 ——

and what did not.

…What do you mean by that?

You remember what I was trying to say last time, don’t you?

…More or less.

Carina Leopold nodded at the Pope’s words.

Her golden hair tilted slightly to the side as if in distress. Millaiyen, who had been soothing the child, lifted his head.

What do you mean by that?

The Pope looked at Carina Leopold. There really wasn’t much choice. She reluctantly nodded.

The divine power I’ve been channeling to suppress Seren’s mana is poison to Carina Leopold. At the time, she asked me not to speak of it, so I didn’t…

…Carina Leopold.

At the Pope’s words, Millaiyen’s face hardened like stone.

She carefully closed her mouth, gauging his reaction cautiously. She was afraid that raising the child at her side might become impossible.

I’m sorry. But I just didn’t want to tell you.

…I see.

Millaiyen nodded after a long pause.

He seemed reluctant, but he neither shook his head nor spoke words of denial toward her.

Apparently my daughter has figured it out. That divine power becomes poison to the master while mana becomes aid.

…Surely not.

That’s why she’s rejecting the divine power. Look, the moment this side makes a move, she trembles and flinches.

Ajidahaka’s thick finger pointed toward the Pope.

Indeed, Seren’s eyes were fixed firmly on her. Carina Leopold turned deathly pale.

—— Page 6 ——

“So you’re holding back right now?”

“That too, but… I’m holding back because I can now.”

“…What do you mean you can now?”

“The child is growing. She’s instinctively learning to control her magical power bit by bit. She’s learning how to let the loud noise pass through when necessary.”

Ajidahaka gently stroked the child’s hair with evident pride.

Seren’s eyes widened as she broke into a radiant smile. Carina Leopold fell silent for a moment, watching the child beam with tears glistening in her eyes.

“Then we won’t need help much longer. This one seems to have a strong will too—she’ll overcome it soon enough.”

“But…!”

“You’re the one who needs to be careful, Carina. The reason I came all this way is because of you.”

“…Me?”

Both Millaiyen and Carina Leopold’s gazes turned toward the Pope simultaneously.

The Pope exhaled deeply. She hesitated for a moment, seeming to deliberate, before glancing at Kalan Dium and finally speaking.

“You know the sturdy poison he built up burst, don’t you? Of course, it was a precarious poison. The rupture simply happened about a month earlier than expected.”

“Yes.”

“The problem is that your divine power has grown. More precisely, the power of your miracles has grown. I can’t say for certain, but it appears to be the result of continuous transformations to overcome the magical power. This is my first time encountering such a case.”

The Pope answered while stroking her chin thoughtfully, then shrugged.

What she witnessed yesterday was no longer in the form of a drawing. The divine power had evolved on its own. To consume what remained of her.

“You’ll need to control it well from now on. Exercise restraint and discipline. Your imagination will become power henceforth. You mustn’t desire anything too intensely.”

—— Page 7 ——

…I understand. For now, what he’s blocked will suffice, but the clock has already begun to tick.

Carina Leopold did not answer.

Three years, perhaps? It was not so different from the time initially given. It was fortunate that she had not encountered that heretic sooner. Had the poison manifested more quickly, it would have been catastrophic. The timeline would have collapsed entirely. She could only be grateful that his machinations had been delayed.

Ah, but what became of that man…?

Appropriate measures were taken.

Millaiyen answered with composure.

He did not mention the bloodshed that had swept across the Capital and the entire Empire.

Everyone in this room except Carina Leopold and Seren knew the truth, yet none could speak of it.

The corpses of every heretic involved had been displayed on pikes, their limbs torn asunder and cast as carrion to the beasts. It was only because he had left the disposition of the common people to the Emperor that matters had not already spiraled further beyond control.

In any case, be cautious. Carina Leopold, from this moment forward, whatever you desire with all your heart shall become a miracle made manifest. Your mind has become a canvas.

Carina Leopold gazed at the Pope for a long moment, then slowly nodded.

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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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