Limited Extra Time - Chapter 175

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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 ——

Her funeral was held quietly. Only those who had shared connections with her attended, and they grieved.

It was modest for a Nobility funeral, but she never seemed to enjoy ostentation anyway.

One by one, her belongings were gathered and burned, and I held the child close through countless nights until sleep claimed us both. Seren asked nothing, yet he often whimpered for her.

Millaiyen entered her Room and slowly surveyed it. The scene was little changed from before, and his breath caught in his throat. He could almost see her sitting on the Bed if he turned his gaze away.

As he moved through the Room methodically, he noticed books arranged on the Bookshelf.

Though the titles were not written on the spines, he recognized them—he had often seen Carina Leopold writing in them and hiding them away.

—— Page 2 ——

He slowly withdrew two familiar notebooks. Opening the navy-bound volume, the first page revealed handwriting he knew well.

[To Millaiyen.]

He traced the letters slowly with his fingertips.

The neat, meticulous handwriting reflected her character perfectly. He drew a long, slow breath and rubbed his face.

Opening the pale blue notebook, the inside bore the same precise script: [To Serenus.]

He slowly closed both notebooks and made his way to the child’s Room.

“Seren, are you asleep?”

“Father!”

The child emerged quickly from within. He must have been changing clothes with the Maidservant.

Millaiyen smiled faintly and lifted the child

into the crook of one arm.

“Leave us.”

Millaiyen Pestellio commanded the servant, who bowed and swiftly disappeared.

The atmosphere within Leopold Manor had grown somewhat subdued. It was only natural—the funeral had concluded merely two weeks prior.

“Seren, I found a notebook your mother wrote. Shall we read it together?”

“Mother’s?”

“Yes, your mother’s.”

“Yes!”

The child’s eyes sparkled as he nodded eagerly. Millaiyen Pestellio smiled quietly as Seren clambered onto the bed with small grunts of effort, settling himself upon my lap.

I leaned back against the headboard and positioned the child upon my knees.

“This is for you, Seren.”

“Mother…!”

Seren nodded with a radiant expression. The notebook was suffused with a pristine, luminous aura—

—— Page 3 ——

one that the child recognized better than anyone as Carina Leopold’s essence.

“Father will read it to you.”

I drew in a breath.

I knew Carina Leopold had inscribed something here before departing, yet it took me considerable time to open the pages.

It was difficult—as though she still lived somewhere, breathing still.

I opened to the first page.

“To Serenus.”

I read the single line inscribed at the center of the first page slowly, then carefully turned to the next.

“I’ve been wondering if it’s too early to write to Seren, but since Mother must leave on a long journey soon, I’ll write it this way. I’m sure Father will read it to you.”

“Oh!”

“When Seren learns to read someday, look at this alone without Father knowing. I’ve hidden a special gift just for Seren. It’s a secret from Father.”

“Huh….”

Seren’s breath caught, and soon he began glancing around cautiously.

Millaiyen chuckled softly and

“It’s fine for now.”

Only then did the child exhale and nod his head.

“Mother will probably miss you very much soon after leaving on her journey. Mother misses our Seren so much too. This notebook is something Seren can open whenever he misses Mother.”

Millaiyen traced her handwriting silently, reading through it word by word.

He was desperate to preserve every period and comma. His throat grew dry, but there was nothing he could do about it.

“But before you read this, Mother wants to make a promise with you. If Mother wrote ‘The End,’ you can only open the next page on Seren’s next birthday.”

“Seren’s birthday?”

—— Page 4 ——

Seren’s head tilted. He couldn’t open the next page even though there were so many? His lips pouted out. “If you read it all at once, you won’t be able to open it later when you miss Mother. Will you promise Mother?” “Yes!” The child nodded brightly. Millaiyen waited for the child’s answer, then immediately lowered his gaze to the next line. His eyes dimmed for a moment. She had written two different letters, imagining the moment when the child might cry and refuse. Millaiyen gripped the notebook tighter, his throat constricted as he opened his mouth. “My good daughter, as expected. This notebook is yours, Seren. Mother left on a sudden journey, so Seren must have been surprised, but Mother hasn’t gone far away.” As Millaiyen spoke, Seren’s eyes widened. “This is a gift for our first diary meeting. Should we ask Father for a pen and color in the butterfly Mother drew?” “A pen?” “Here it is, Seren.” Millaiyen placed a pen in the child’s hand. The child’s eyes rolled, and he stared intently at a butterfly drawn in the bottom right corner of the diary. There were spaces where the color hadn’t been filled in. Seren dipped the black ink and carefully colored the butterfly’s wings. Then a faint light emanated from the diary, and a blue butterfly with blotchy black wings fluttered and emerged from the pages, revealing itself. The butterfly fluttered and landed gently on Seren’s finger. Millaiyen read the next line of the notebook.

—— Page 5 ——

“Seren, actually, Mom is a magician. When you color it in, friends will come out like this. Of course, I hope you’ll make many friends, not just the ones in the book.”

Seren nodded repeatedly at Millaiyen Pestellio’s words. Though her gaze was almost entirely fixed on the butterfly.

“Don’t cry about not having a mom. Complain to your dad a lot and practice writing hard so you can read mom’s diary soon. This is the end. You’ll read the next page on Seren’s sixth birthday. Understand?”

“…Yes.”

“I love you, Seren.”

Millaiyen finished speaking slowly. Though the urge to turn the next page seized him, he obediently closed the notebook. Seren clutched the diary to his chest, his gaze fixed on a fluttering butterfly.

Millaiyen shifted his attention and opened his own navy-blue notebook.

He stared intently at the neat handwriting that read “To Millaiyen” for a long while, as if the words might pierce through the page.

Then he slowly turned to the next page.

[Hello, Millaiyen. I’m not sure how long it took you to find my diary. I left it out in plain sight, but if it took you over a week, I’d be a little sad.]

Millaiyen’s shoulders flinched. In truth, it had been nearly two weeks since he’d properly looked around her room.

Simply accepting reality had been

overwhelming enough.

[Actually, this isn’t a diary—it’s a letter. A letter for you and Seren. I’m sad about leaving so soon, and there are so many things I couldn’t say, so I’m writing them down like this.]

Millaiyen’s eyes moved slowly across the next lines. He drew a deep breath.

—— Page 6 ——

[I hope you won’t grieve too much after I’m gone. I don’t know if our last moment together was tears or laughter, but either way is fine. I’m sorry for going first. And sorry—this is the last time I’ll say that.]

If I apologized for leaving you alone, I’d certainly be scolded severely.

Millaiyen leaned against the headboard of the Bed with a bitter smile. The child, unable to read yet, gazed at where the butterfly had been drawn and then vanished.

I was staring at the spot where the rain had been drawn and then disappeared.

[I won’t nag you. I just want you to think of this as our memory notebook. Millaiyen, from today on, you’re only allowed to miss me one hundred times. Seren has so much he wants to say every year that he should only open this on his birthday, but you—you can open it whenever you want to see me.]

You’re special. Those words written small

drew an involuntary smile. Millaiyen, tracing the curve of his own lips, slowly shook his head.

He already missed her.

[If you miss me terribly, open this. If you still miss me after that, turn to the next page. But you can only do this a hundred times. I couldn’t find a notebook with more than two hundred pages anyway.]

That’s too much.

A wry smile played at his lips. It was impossible that he could only long for her a hundred times in his lifetime. He would yearn for her thousands upon thousands of times more. Millaiyen Pestellio’s fingers traced the paper tenderly.

[When I thought I was dying, the nights were agonizing thinking of you who would be left behind. Because I know better than anyone what it feels like to be abandoned, I could imagine how much you would suffer.]

—— Page 7 ——

She felt the same. The thought of sending her away alone, of letting her bear that fear by herself—it weighed heavily on his heart.

Over the past three months, there had been many nights when he lay awake, unable to sleep, consumed by worry.

[Truth be told, I, Millaiyen, am not particularly worried. You’re strong, so I’m certain you’ll manage somehow. But still, when you’re too lonely or sad, open this and cry before me. You must only cry before me.]

Millaiyen Pestellio released a hollow, deflated laugh.

His eyes had grown hot without him noticing. He would spend a long time yearning for her in the days to come.

[All I have to say is that I love you. I love you. Whenever things are hard, turn to the next page. Don’t spoil Seren by always giving in. Make it clear when something is not allowed.]

[He’ll figure it out on his own, but I just wanted to write it down.]

The handwriting of the addendum was noticeably smaller. Millaiyen Pestellio’s lips curved into an arc.

[If there are places you must pass through, I will wait before them always. Take your time living, and then come to me.]

“You don’t have to do that,” he murmured, though she would never hear it. Millaiyen Pestellio’s gaze fell upon the final words.

[May you always be blessed. Take care of yourself. If you abandon Seren and die young like I did, I won’t forgive you.]

Millaiyen Pestellio’s face finally crumpled into an absurd expression.

—— Page 8 ——

As he laughed softly, his fingertip carefully traced the vivid ink marks before he slowly closed the notebook.

‘What do I do when I miss her every single day?’

Swallowing the question I could not bring myself to voice, Millaiyen carefully laid Seren—who had already fallen asleep cradling the notebook—onto the Bed. He lay down beside him, extinguished the light, and gently withdrew the notebook from the child’s embrace, placing it on the nightstand.

The fifteenth night without her remained

cold, so Millaiyen drew the child closer into his arms and closed his eyes.

The season was still spring.

【完】

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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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