Limited Extra Time - Chapter 176

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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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Side Story 1.

The World Still Turns

My nose tingled with cold.

Though tender shoots had already pierced through the frozen earth and poked their heads above the surface, the wind that brushed against my cheeks remained biting and chill.

The child’s cheeks flushed crimson as she drew vibrant, multicolored lines across her sketchbook in rapid succession.

The kaleidoscope of hues streaking across the pristine white paper was utterly captivating.

“Serenus.”

A long shadow stretched across her drawing. Yet despite the interruption, her expression remained radiant.

“Father!”

The girl’s head snapped up, her semi-wavy navy hair cascading behind her shoulders and swaying gently.

“You’re home!”

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“Yes, and how has my precious daughter been?” His gentle voice made Serenus’s eyes widen with delight.

The rapidly growing child’s head now reached up to Millaiyen’s waist.

He embraced her tenderly.

“What were you doing?”

“I was drawing a picture to give to Mother for the memorial ceremony!”

“But there’s still so much time left before then.”

“I’m not very good at drawing. I’m not satisfied with it.”

Millaiyen chuckled as he watched the child pout and thrust out her lower lip.

Once a year in the Northern Territory, a grand festival was held to console and honor the countless souls of the departed.

After Carina Leopold’s death, Millaiyen had created this new festival on the anniversary of her passing the following year.

A celebration to honor the dead, allowing time to be spent in joyous revelry rather than somber reflection.

It was Millaiyen’s deliberate scheme to spare the child from enduring a melancholy day beneath the guise of a memorial.

Seren had blossomed into a remarkably talented twelve-year-old.

The one regret, if I had to name it, was that she had not inherited Carina Leopold’s gift for painting.

Though the person who lamented this most was none other than Serenus herself.

Remarkably, the child possessed no talent for the arts—painting in particular. Whenever she attempted to draw a horse, it invariably emerged as an amorphous blob.

Instead, the child possessed a remarkable gift for singing.

Recalling how Periel Kalos had leapt with joy upon discovering this fact always stirred peculiar emotions within me.

Yet every year, months before her mother’s memorial day and the Festival of Spirits arrived, the child would unfurl pristine sheets of paper and sketch with pencil, then add color with brush or colored pencils.

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Just as she was doing now.

“Happy birthday, Seren.”

“Yes! And thank you, Father, for bringing me into this world!”

Millaiyen burst into laughter and swiftly scooped the child into his arms, holding her close with all his strength.

The precious child giggled brightly, rubbing her cheek against his own.

“What are you saying? I should be thanking you for being born, Seren.”

Without this child, I would have had no idea how to navigate this tedious world.

Perhaps he had already decided to go to her side.

Seren was the only reason for living that remained to him.

Even after all this time had passed, he could find no reason to live beyond Carina Leopold and Seren. The moments spent with her had been far too intense to forget.

“The memorial service still has plenty of time before it begins. Why don’t you spend today with your father?”

“I’d love to!”

“Starting tomorrow, we’ll be busy with the birthday celebration, so let’s cherish our time together today. Winston and Periel Kalos should arrive soon as well.”

Seren laughed brightly and nodded vigorously. Eyes of gold and blue—each a different hue—widened simultaneously into perfect circles.

The child had grown up bathed in love, brighter than

anyone else. Bright and wise, with many friends and beloved by all—a healthy, thriving child.

Perhaps this was exactly how Carina Leopold had most wanted to see her. A child she had borne, grown into someone truly remarkable.

“Is the Pope coming too?”

“…Yes, he said he would.”

Millaiyen’s voice grew slightly sullen as he carried the child toward Leopold Manor.

Seren laughed, unaware of

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anything, but truthfully, Millaiyen still found the Temple’s people rather disagreeable.

However, it was an undeniable fact that Seren, who had been far more sensitive as a child, had received considerable help from that Pope and Cardinal.

Moreover, perhaps because of that, the child had grown quite fond of the Pope and Cardinal.

There was one unspoken rule regarding Seren’s birthday: on the day itself, he must spend time with family.

The grand celebration would begin only after Seren’s birthday had passed. From that day onward, carriages would arrive in the Northern Territory ceaselessly for about three days.

This was not something Millaiyen had suggested. It was a decision Seren had made at some point to do things this way.

When I asked the reason, the child answered like this.

“This is the day we read Mother’s letter, so it’s family day! The three of us—Mother, Father, and me—will sleep together!”

Though I had never explained it in detail, Seren never asked about Carina Leopold. Perhaps the child already understood the fact that they could never meet again.

On his birthday alone, the child would clutch the book Carina Leopold had given him close to his chest, slip into Millaiyen’s bed, and fall asleep.

Knowing that this too would fade away once Seren grew into adulthood, Millaiyen held the child burrowing into his arms as tightly as he could.

“Will you read the letter before bed tonight too?”

“Yes! That way I can dream of Mother. She always appears in my dreams on my birthday without fail.”

“…Yes, I’m glad for that.”

They say dreams are the fervent wishes of someone’s heart.

So Millaiyen could always easily understand how desperately the child longed for Carina Leopold.

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Yet despite yearning for it so deeply, Carina Leopold had never once appeared in his dreams.

All he could do was sit beside Seren on the child’s birthday and slowly turn the pages of the diary that had been left for him.

“My goodness, Seren. You’ve grown into quite the young lady in the time I haven’t seen you!”

“Uncle Periel!”

The child sprang from Millaiyen’s embrace and leaped into

Periel Kalos’s arms.

Periel Kalos caught the child—now quite tall and sturdy—with practiced ease, embracing Seren tightly.

“Have you been well, little one?”

“Yes! How have you been, Uncle?”

“I’ve been well. Happy birthday, Seren.”

“Hehe. Yes! It’s such a happy birthday!”

The child spun in place while wearing her dress, grasping the hem and lifting it slightly as she

offered a light greeting.

Periel suppressed his laughter, bending at the waist to meet the child’s eye level with a gentlemanly bow.

“You must have been doing well. Word of your romance has spread all the way to the Northern Territory.”

“…What?”

“Uncle! Are you in love?”

Seren’s eyes widened as she asked.

Periel, flustered, quickly lifted his head.

“Love? What is love? Uncle doesn’t know about such things.”

Periel’s face flushed crimson as he desperately shook his head.

“What? Isn’t love when a man and woman engage in romantic relations? My friends Elliott and Juri have recently started dating too.”

“…Uh, well… I see. Yes, that’s right. Children these days certainly move fast… Yes, well. There…”

“Tsk, if you’re going to act stupid, get out.”

Millaiyen replied coldly, and Peri

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el’s eyes flashed fiercely as he rushed over and grabbed Millaiyen by the collar.

Then, flashing that captivating smile at Seren, he brought his lips close to Millaiyen’s ear.

“Are you insane? What have you been teaching her that innocent Seren already knows things like that?!”

“Seren enrolled in the Academy this year. When you meet friends, you naturally hear all sorts of things. Tsk, despite looking like a philanderer, you’re remarkably—almost excessively—conservative.”

Millaiyen brushed off Periel and continued speaking.

“Where’s Winston?”

“Ah, it seems he’s been cornered by Peng, who came to greet us earlier. How much do you torment Peng that Winston gets kidnapped every time you visit?”

“Not much.”

Millaiyen turned his head and replied indifferently.

He hadn’t really tormented Peng. Though whenever he caused some trouble or another, Peng would certainly be shocked.

Peng simply adored Winston.

Since Winston worked under Periel, his visits to the Northern Territory weren’t particularly frequent.

“Seren, go put on your party dress and come back down. You said you wanted to wear the new one we had made.”

“Right! I’ll be back in a moment, Uncle!”

“Yes, off you go.”

Periel waved his hand to Seren as she scampered up to the second floor.

“Did you finally find them?”

Millaiyen walked toward the reception room, his voice breaking the silence as he watched the child disappear.

Periel hesitated, his face flushing with embarrassment for quite some time before he slowly nodded.

“Yes, a good person. Someone who doesn’t judge me solely by my background. Though they do have a tendency to be quite

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open about it, I’m grateful they can accept this face of mine.”

Who is she?

The Western Baron’s Daughter. Apparently she’s looking for a contractual marriage partner. She said she’d divorce me in a few years. Why, I found a marriage partner myself back then.

He had been searching for a marriage partner for several years now, but having yet to find someone to his liking, there had been no word of him marrying or even entering into a romantic relationship.

…A contractual marriage?

Yes, something about inheritance rights seems to be tangled up in it. I’m not particularly inclined to divorce, but if that’s what she wants, I’ll leave her be for a while.

Right, it’s about time for you too. Seven years have already passed.

Millaiyen was not unaware of whom Periel harbored in his heart.

They pretended not to know, pretended otherwise, but he too had been troubled by it in his heart.

I hope it goes well for you. I’ll attend the wedding, so send me an invitation.

Oh, you’ll come? If you attend, it will be quite the grand wedding.

At Periel’s excitement, Millaiyen let out a soft chuckle.

Everyone had grown older by degrees, gained a little more experience, and matured a little further. Even the painful memories would eventually become cherished recollections.

I hope things go well for you.

….

Thank you for letting go of Carina Leopold, for setting aside your feelings back then.

It was something he had been unable to convey for quite some time. No matter how he said it, it would feel like a deception to the other.

At his words, Periel froze like a statue, his lips trembling slightly before he slowly closed his mouth.

…Yes. Thank you too.

He had to be grateful to Millaiyen for turning a blind eye.

How could one’s feelings be controlled at will? At some point, one comes to their senses—

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My gaze simply follows where it’s directed.

….

You upheld your boundaries as my friend. So there’s nothing to thank me for, nor anything to apologize for. I’m glad you’ve found your own path. Thank you for coming to Seren’s birthday. Rest now, and I’ll see you this evening.

Millaiyen turned and headed toward the Study.

Periel, who had been quietly watching his retreating figure, slowly opened his mouth.

Seren is precious to me as well—my dear nephew.

When you have children of your own someday, let me know. I’ll be an especially devoted uncle.

What are you saying? You’ll have your hands full when you meet our child.

He lightly dismissed Periel’s insistent bleating about returning the favor exactly as he had with Serenus, and returned to the Study.

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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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