Limited Extra Time - Chapter 19

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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 ——

My memories of her were hazy. More precisely, my image of Carina Leopold was hazy. At the sound of the latch clicking, I lifted my gaze from my reverie.

Countess Leopold paused at the threshold, her eyes widening in surprise upon seeing Cassis Leopold.

…Cassis? What brings you here?

Just a passing thought. And you? What’s your business?

This morning at breakfast, I noticed Carina Leopold’s empty seat, and it’s been troubling me ever since. So I came to check on her.

Dalia spoke with a hint of awkwardness, her words tinged with the uncertainty of someone unfamiliar with these halls. She had paused several times on her way here, turning back repeatedly before finally arriving at this room.

“What is that?”

“Ah, it appears to be a drawing Carina Leopold was working on.”

Cassis Leopold extended the paper toward Dalia.

—— Page 2 ——

She examined the drawing with careful deliberation, her eyes moving slowly across its surface.

Her gaze traced from one end to the other, growing wider with each moment. When her eyes finally reached the lower right corner, they trembled.

…Her skill has improved considerably.

Skill? Did Carina Leopold draw before?

When she was younger, she would often bring her drawings to show me. But at some point, she grew shy and stopped showing them. I assumed she’d lost interest in it….

Dalia’s gaze returned to the drawing.

I never imagined she was still drawing all this time.

…I wonder if Carina Leopold is doing well?

She’s a clever girl—she’ll manage somehow. In any case, I’ll send word to some of our acquainted nobility.

Sigh… She’s never caused me a moment of trouble, so why on earth…?

Dalia gazed down at the painting, her words tinged with resignation.

It would have been far less shocking if Ferden—who was always causing accidents and acting recklessly—had left the house. But Carina Leopold, of all people, appearing without warning?

Lia keeps asking when her sister will return, and Ferden insists we should go search for her. I’m quite troubled by it all.

Since she’s not here, you must look after Lia more carefully. If she worries needlessly and loses sleep, her health will only deteriorate further.

Perhaps we should send word to the Duke as well, just in case.

To Duke Pastellio?

Surely she wouldn’t have gone that far.

Cassis Leopold shook his head. A hollow laugh escaped him before he shook his head again, more emphatically.

The journey from the Southern Territory’s edge to the Northern Territory’s edge is grueling. Even with a private carriage, it would be exhausting and agonizing—and there’s no possibility she had the funds for such a venture.

She’s timid and anxious by nature. She’s surely taken refuge somewhere in the Capital at best.

Cassis Leopold spoke with conviction.

—— Page 3 ——

“I’ll handle this myself, so ease your worries. I’ll send word to my acquaintances in the Capital and those nearby.”

“…”

Dalia nodded. If he refused to send the messages, she had ways of sending them in secret.

Dalia gazed quietly at the painting. What lay within that unfinished canvas was a profound desolation and loneliness—at least, that was how it felt to her.

Unease swept across her shoulders.

* * *

“Why do you wear such an expression, Lia?”

“…Hmm, was it that obvious?”

Abelia’s lips trembled with discomfort before she let out a hollow laugh.

Abelia adored dolls, so her room was perpetually overflowing with them.

Clutching her most cherished teddy bear among that vast collection, Abelia released a deep, weary sigh.

“It’s just… I worry about my sister. It’s already been two months since she left.”

Abelia answered Nocton’s question.

Abelia’s condition had grown considerably unstable of late. The Count and Countess Leopold suspected it stemmed from Carina Leopold’s sudden departure. To comfort the lonely and melancholic Abelia, they had assigned Nocton to her in Carina Leopold’s stead.

Thus, on the Physician’s days off or when his work concluded, he would visit the Leopold Family Estate to keep Abelia company.

At Abelia’s words, Nocton fell silent. There was nothing he could do regarding Carina Leopold.

After hesitating, Nocton closed the book he had been reading.

Carina Leopold.

—— Page 4 ——

A person of negligible presence, unremarkable and quiet.

Among a family blessed with striking beauty, her dull chestnut hair drew no attention—yet her blue eyes possessed an otherworldly loveliness.

“Hehe, I believed my sister would catch me.”

“…Don’t rely on that.”

Yet those words, murmured softly in that fleeting moment, carried a profoundly grim and dark tone.

Nocton witnessed the woman’s affectionate facade shatter, her expression hardening into cold indifference.

“You know, whenever I fell ill as a child, my sister was always there beside me. That’s why I never felt lonely, even without friends. When I asked her to read fairy tales, she would. When I asked her to sleep beside me, she would!”

“I see.”

“If I said I was lonely, you wouldn’t see your friends and would stay by my side! To be honest, when I was younger, I was so jealous that my sister was the only one who got to be free, so I deliberately told her I was lonely every day just to keep her from meeting anyone.”

“It’s true that she deliberately said she was lonely all the time out of jealousy and prevented us from meeting.”

“It seems Miss Carina Leopold was a wonderful sister.”

Nocton smiled bitterly and agreed with her words.

‘Perhaps Carina Leopold doesn’t actually care for you that much.’

He was about to say as much, but Nocton swallowed the words back down several times.

It would only wound Abelia needlessly. Nocton had no desire to hurt a child who resembled his own younger sister.

Nocton didn’t want to hurt a child who resembled his younger sister.

“Right, of course. So she’ll be back soon, won’t she?”

“If she thinks of you, she will.”

“I hope so.”

Nocton mirrored Abelia’s bright smile with one of his own.

The atmosphere of the Leopold Family Estate had recently become little different from that of a house in mourning. On the surface, they maintained the appearance of a cheerful household, but whispers echoed through every corner.

—— Page 5 ——

There seemed to be no place left untouched by rumor. The scandal had even begun to circulate through high society, and those in the know were well aware of the second daughter of the Leopold Family’s disappearance. The problem was that despite how thoroughly the news had spread, there was almost no information about her whereabouts. The only lead they had managed to uncover was an inn where she had stayed in the Capital. With her common hair color and the way she went about wearing a reversed robe, it was no wonder she was difficult to find. After all, the Capital was a place where one could disappear entirely if one was determined enough. ‘If she were safe, she should have sent word at least once.’ Nocton shook his head. No matter what, considering his ailing sister’s worry, shouldn’t she have sent at least one letter confirming her safety?

Watching Abelia, who had grown noticeably melancholy from her concern for her sister and was neglecting her meals, Nocton felt his heart ache. “Or perhaps you could recover quickly and go search for her yourself,” Nocton added playfully in a gentle tone. His gaze slowly traced over Abelia. Even so, her complexion had improved from before, and her lips were now stained a vivid crimson.

Nocton felt bitter inside. “Or you could just get better soon and go find her yourself,” Nocton added playfully in a gentle tone. His gaze slowly swept over Abelia. Still, Abelia’s complexion had improved compared to before, and her lips were tinted a vivid crimson.

Beautiful blonde hair swayed at her waist, and golden eyelashes hung long beneath her eyes. “Is that so?”

Abelia giggled and chimed in. “Ah! And how brave you were, unnie. You even caught the bug that suddenly appeared for me, and whenever I pestered you to go for a walk, you’d pretend you couldn’t say no and go along with it.”

Nocton listened quietly to her story. Most of her chattering tales always started with her older sister, wandered off elsewhere, and then circled back to stories about her sister again. It had become even more so since Carina had gone missing recently.

—— Page 6 ——

He had first met Abelia roughly three years ago.

The sickly young lady Nocton encountered there was a girl who smiled brilliantly even amid her affliction. Above all, she resembled his younger sister.

She bore a striking likeness to his sister—the one he could never protect, forever bedridden by illness.

Nocton fell for Abelia in an instant. Yet in his eyes, Carina Leopold possessed nothing particularly remarkable.

“But the remarkable thing about my sister that I discovered recently is the paintings she creates.”

“Paintings?”

Nocton’s eyes widened at Abelia’s sudden revelation.

“Yes, I happened to discover them in my sister’s room, and she’s incredibly talented. They’re so magnificent. When I found them, she felt embarrassed and got a bit angry with me, but…”

At Abelia’s bright laughter, Nocton’s brow furrowed slightly. The fact that she painted was

entirely news to him.

Nocton nodded while fidgeting with the cover of the closed book.

“Does Miss Carina Leopold paint?”

“Yes, she’s incredibly talented! The paintings look so lifelike, as if they might come alive at any moment. Are you curious too, Nocton? I brought one without my sister’s knowledge—would you like to see it?”

Nocton nodded as he watched Abelia speak with unbridled enthusiasm.

“Yes, I’d like to see it. But please, calm yourself first before showing me.”

“Oh, I’m perfectly calm. You’re such a nag, Nocton.”

“Once you’ve settled yourself, please show me, Miss.”

Nocton smiled gently and extended his hand. Abelia rummaged through the drawer beside her bed and placed a sheet of paper into his palm. What caught his eye first was the pristine white drawing paper filled with pencil sketches—

—— Page 7 ——

.

“It’s unfinished?”

“Yes, I’m not sure why, but none of them are complete. I brought the one with the highest degree of completion. It seems to be a night sky she painted recently.”

Abelia spoke with an animated voice.

“What I brought is a secret, even if my sister comes back.”

Watching Abelia press her index finger against her lips with a soft shushing sound, then giggle mischievously, Nocton

lowered his gaze once more.

Nocton’s eyes, which had held no expectation whatsoever, suddenly gleamed with intrigue.

“Did Miss Carina Leopold truly paint this?”

“Yes, but I only recently learned that my sister paints. She doesn’t usually talk about herself much.”

Abelia pouted her lips and spoke with a note of complaint. Beneath her expression of dissatisfaction, concern was evident.

“How could she paint something this remarkable and say nothing about it? If it were me, I’d run straight to Mother and beg for praise, bouncing the whole way.”

Abelia tilted her head, thinking of Carina Leopold’s behavior.

‘She must have received tremendous praise for painting this well.’

Abelia couldn’t understand Carina Leopold’s actions. Most people desired praise, so why hide it so carefully?

‘My sister is remarkable. She does everything well on her own.’

Unlike herself, who was fearless yet always called on others when things grew difficult, Carina Leopold always tried to solve things alone.

There must be some reason she left this time as well. Abelia had always admired such courage in her sister.

With Abelia before him, Nocton examined the painting in silence for a long while.

—— Page 8 ——

“There’s a young lady with not much time left to live. I should go see her. There’s no physician in the Northern Territory who properly understands artistic disease.”

“That young lady seemed to come from quite a wealthy family….”

“What was it again? Something Rina, I think…. Anyway, I’m counting on you.”

The conversation with Winston flashed through Nocton’s mind in an instant.

Nocton, who had been gazing quietly at the painting, suddenly rose from his seat.

“Nocton? Are you leaving?”

“Yes, I just remembered something I left unfinished.”

Nocton smiled gently as he returned the painting to Abelia and spoke.

Though Abelia’s expression grew wistful, she graciously bid Nocton farewell.

Nocton returned directly to the Clinic and began rifling through the medical charts.

Excluding the patients he had seen over the past month since Winston’s departure, he rapidly scanned through the charts of his earlier patients, turning the pages swiftly.

After turning back through many pages, Nocton’s hand finally came to a stop.

[Name: Carina Leopold Diagnosis: Presumed artistic disease… Estimated lifespan: one year at most. Notes: Painting, survival probability minimal…]

Nocton’s expression darkened at the words starkly written on the chart.

Winston too seemed to have been at a loss, as evidenced by the multiple periods trailing off at the end of his hastily scrawled notes.

“…This can’t be right.”

Nocton muttered in despair.

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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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