Limited Extra Time - Chapter 185

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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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A Doomed Extra’s Time

A Long Romance Fantasy Novel by Ja Eun-hyang

A Doomed Extra’s Time

Special Side Story: Episode 10

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My head… it aches.

It felt as though my skull might shatter into fragments at any moment.

It was precisely the sensation one might experience the morning after an endless deluge of alcohol—that peculiar fog of intoxication settling over the mind.

Of course, I had little personal acquaintance with hangovers, but judging by how others described them, my current state seemed to match their accounts rather closely.

A low groan escaped my lips.

The pain was so excruciating that I couldn’t even open my eyes. I clutched desperately at the blanket within reach, my body writhing in discomfort.

Have you awakened?

At the sound of that voice, my body went rigid.

An unfamiliar accent of the Imperial tongue cut through the air—a woman’s soft voice.

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I pressed my forehead repeatedly against the pillow, gritting my teeth. The pain was unbearable.

Please wait a moment. I shall fetch an antidote for the Quatan.

Quatan? What in the world was that?

Moments later, accompanied by rustling sounds, I was forcibly lifted upright.

A woman with delicate hands placed a glass of water in one of Carina Leopold’s hands and a small paper packet in the other.

“It’s powdered medicine and water. Powder absorbs faster than pills, so it would be better to take the powder with water.”

“…”

“If Koutan doesn’t take the antidote, he’ll suffer for another week.”

Listening to the mysterious woman’s calm and composed voice, Carina Leopold’s shoulders stiffened slightly.

Another week of this agony?

I had no room for suspicion. The headache was far too excruciating.

Besides, the woman seemed utterly composed and serene, showing no signs of excitement or deception.

Carina Leopold quickly dumped the powder into her mouth and gulped down the water.

“Ugh…”

A terrible bitterness flooded her mouth. It was so bitter she nearly gagged.

As she finished drinking the water with trembling hands, something round slipped into her mouth.

She reflexively tried to spit it out, but the sweetness she felt on her tongue made her pause.

‘A candy?’

Carina Leopold furrowed her brow.

“Just rest for about thirty minutes and you’ll feel better. The Master has been waiting for you to wake up, so I’ll bring you to him.”

Carina Leopold frowned.

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Even when I tried to understand the situation, any attempt at thought felt like someone was continuously striking the inside of my head. After about twenty minutes, I could gradually feel the headache subsiding. I barely managed to open my eyes to find unfamiliar exotic decorations adorning my vision in elaborate splendor.

I gazed blankly at the ceiling for a moment, then lifted my hand to gently brush my eyes and rub my cheeks. I was tempted to pinch my own cheek to confirm I wasn’t dreaming another dream.

“What in the world…?”

Where am I?

As my senses gradually returned, even the throbbing in my head faded into insignificance.

I jolted upright from the bed. My head throbbed slightly, but it was bearable.

I approached the Window where the scorching sun blazed through, and the words caught in my throat.

The unfamiliar landscape was one thing, but

the massive mountain visible beyond the horizon was neither verdant nor barren.

There was simply nothing. All I could see was an endless expanse of sand dunes.

A Desert stretched before me—so vast and boundless that it stole my breath away, radiating waves of heat.

“…Ah.”

I stumbled backward, my legs unsteady.

The incomprehensible sight left me unable to

produce even a proper sound.

Just yesterday, I had been on the road heading toward the Northern Territory. I couldn’t fathom how I had arrived here.

“Sleep well, Carina Leopold. When you open your eyes, I’ll show you my beautiful country.”

A voice suddenly echoed in my memory, and I spun around just as a soft knock sounded from outside before the door

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swung wide open.

“You’re awake, Carina Leopold.”

“…”

It was a familiar face.

The man who had introduced himself as Karsan Erha was shirtless, adorned with ornate decorations across his entire body—quite different from their last encounter.

That alone might have left me less speechless. But surrounding him were numerous striking women dressed in scanty, revealing garments that left little to the imagination.

The fabric draped across their bodies was so thin it was nearly transparent, with their cleavage and thighs brazenly exposed.

“I apologize for resorting to such crude drugs on you. The circumstances were rather urgent, you understand.”

“…I swear, I’ve seen every kind of lunatic there is.”

Carina Leopold stifled a hollow laugh.

The words that escaped her lips bore such a striking resemblance to Millaiyen Pestellio’s frequent manner of speaking that it was almost uncanny.

At Carina Leopold’s remark, the women’s faces contorted in indignation.

“How dare this wench speak to the Shah in such a manner!”

“Ah, never mind. I was indeed at fault for my rudeness. I understand your anger at being brought here so abruptly.”

Karsan Erha waved his hand lightly as if in good humor, then swung it with considerable force.

The sharp sound of flesh striking flesh echoed violently, and simultaneously

the woman who had raised her voice to Carina Leopold’s head snapped to the side. Carina Leopold’s eyes widened.

“However, that does not change the fact that she is a precious being beyond the reach of someone like you. Do not presume to lower your tone when addressing her. I thought I made it clear that understanding one’s place is paramount.”

“My apologies, Shah.”

She knelt and pressed her forehead to the ground as she spoke. Then, crawling on her knees, she turned her body and bowed her head once more before Carina Leopold.

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“I beg your forgiveness.”

“…It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Please, stand up.”

It was an attitude that left much to be desired. At Karsan Erha’s gesture, the woman rose again and carefully retreated backward. Carina Leopold’s brow furrowed at the sight of her flushed cheeks.

“I apologize for my Concubine’s rudeness. I do hope you haven’t taken offense.”

‘A Concubine?’

Carina Leopold’s eyes widened. ‘Did he just strike a Concubine? While calling her “someone like you”?’

It was behavior she simply could not fathom. In truth, her displeasure stemmed not from the woman raising her voice.

‘Honestly, if another woman spoke rudely to my husband, I might say a word or two myself.’

“The one who committed rudeness wasn’t her—it was you. This isn’t bringing someone along; it’s kidnapping!”

Carina Leopold spoke with unwavering resolve.

“Send me back at once. Millaiyen Pestellio will be waiting for me.”

“I’m afraid I have no such intention. An Empire that doesn’t even know the first character of ‘Art’—and barbarians from the Northern Territory at that—could never be worthy of a jewel like you.”

Karsan Erha extended his hand and grasped hers, then brought it to his lips with careful tenderness. Carina Leopold opened her mouth, then her face twisted in disgust.

“I am no jewel, and Millaiyen Pestellio is no barbarian. Whatever you desire, I have no intention of fulfilling it.”

Karsan Erha burst into hearty laughter upon seeing Carina Leopold—whom he had assumed to be nothing but delicate and weak—growl with defiance.

“Ah, you truly are entertaining.

But if you return to the Northern Territory, all that awaits you is death.”

At Karsan Erha’s words, Carina Leopold’s brow

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furrowed.

His resolute words left her deeply unsettled, and as the future she had glimpsed in her dream surfaced in her mind, she found herself unable to deny them outright.

“Mark my words—you must remain by my side. A miracle of creation should be cherished and protected among those who truly understand art, as I and my people do.”

“….”

“Your heart will rot and crumble in such a place, and you will only be destroyed. Eventually, you’ll be consumed by the madness of miracles and burn your own body to ash.”

Karsan Erha’s words carried absolute conviction—the certainty of one who had witnessed countless souls across the ages.

“It’s not widely known, but my nation is teeming with artists who perform miracles. Though I alone am the artist of creation. We have been chosen by the God of Art. You and I are extraordinarily precious beings.”

He placed a hand over his heart as he spoke, consumed by narcissism.

How could a life flickering away moment by moment find such joy in this?

“I’m not precious, and I never wanted to be chosen by the God of Art or anyone else. If you’re just going to spout sophistry, then return me to where I was.”

Karsan Erha’s brow furrowed at Carina Leopold’s words.

‘Unexpected.’

He had assumed that a little coercion would make her yield easily.

On the surface, she appeared to be nothing more than a delicate flower—fragile and without equal in her weakness.

Yet she was solid wood.

Moreover, she wielded a demeanor and manner of speech unbefitting a seventeen-year-old. He had never expected to hear such direct defiance of the divine being who had granted her this magnificent power.

“You don’t understand how great this

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power truly is.”

“I understand it’s remarkable. But why do you call it a miracle when it takes a life with every use? It’s nothing but a curse.”

“When mortals borrow the power of the divine, a price is inevitable. However, that price need not always be paid in the same currency. There’s no necessity for it to be our life force.”

Carina Leopold’s brow creased at Karsan Erha’s words.

“There’s another way to pay the price?”

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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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