Limited Extra Time - Chapter 25

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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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He wore only a shirt over black trousers—a light, casual ensemble.

“When entering a room, you should kn——.”

“For your information, I knocked more than five times.”

“….”

Millaiyen Pestellio would have no reason to lie about such a trivial matter, so his words were undoubtedly true.

Which meant, by logical conclusion, that she had failed to hear the knocking at all. She furrowed her brow and pressed her palms firmly against her ears.

‘…Could something actually be wrong with my hearing?’

Despite her sensitive disposition, she typically heard sounds well even with moderate concentration, so this was somewhat unsettling.

Carina Leopold lifted her head, feigning indifference.

Millaiyen Pestellio, who had drawn near without her noticing, leaned forward with his hand braced against the desk.

“What were you doing?”

“Just writing down things I want to do. Since this is my first time away from home, I

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wanted to try everything I’ve ever wished for.”

“But the paper looks completely blank.”

“Once I held the pen, I couldn’t decide what to write. I had vague desires aplenty, but when I tried to translate them into concrete reality, nothing came to mind.”

Millaiyen Pestellio tilted his head thoughtfully.

From his perspective, Carina Leopold had a tendency to overthink simple matters.

No wonder, then, that no satisfactory answer emerged from her deliberation.

She needed to learn that it was often better to act on impulse than to deliberate endlessly.

“Does it have to be something grand?”

“No, it’s not that, but….”

“What I mean is—couldn’t it be something like taking a long nap on the rooftop all day, or trying your favorite food until you’re stuffed? Those kinds of things?”

“…That’s possible too, I suppose.”

She simply hadn’t thought of it that way.

She had conjured only grand gestures to mark the end.

Distant travels, perhaps, or picnics with someone, or attempting to hunt herself.

Most of what came to mind was both unrealistic and grandiose.

“Things like this—you write down whatever comes to mind and just do it. Don’t filter it through your head first, cutting away at your desires. Write them down raw. That’s what you truly want to do.”

“Don’t cut it down or trim it first. Write out your desires in full. That’s what you really want to do.”

Millaiyen tapped the blank paper with his finger as he spoke.

“Why would something you’ve filtered and refined in your mind be what you want to do? That’s just what you think you can manage within your limits. Write it all down, even if it seems impossible. Then act on it. Grand or trivial—it’s all something you want to do, isn’t it?”

“…You’re right. I hadn’t thought of it that way. Thank you,

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Millaiyen.”

Don’t mention it, troublesome lady.

Millaiyen chuckled and ruffled Carina Leopold’s hair—a gesture he might have made toward one of his soldiers.

Then, realizing what he’d done, he quickly withdrew his hand.

Yet Carina didn’t seem to mind; she smoothed down her tousled hair and broke into a soft, contented smile.

I don’t dislike being treated like a child. I’ve always had to be mature, an older sister, a younger sister—

a daughter, a mother figure.

No one had ever mussed her hair like this with such a flustered expression.

Millaiyen Pestellio watched her burst into laughter and scratched his cheek with an odd expression.

‘She really is childlike.’

He had no younger siblings, but he wondered if this was what it would feel like to have one.

Millaiyen Pestellio’s eyes darted about before he flicked a stack of papers piled on one corner of the desk with his finger and lifted them.

I raised it.

What is this?

Um, well… wait, you can’t look at that!

Carina Leopold sprang from her seat and reached out, but Millaiyen Pestellio was quicker, stepping back.

Millaiyen Pestellio stared intently at the papers.

As his gaze lingered on the pages, Carina Leopold’s face flushed crimson.

So that’s why she always woke up late—

she’d been doing this in the dead of night.

That…

A mischievous smile spread across Millaiyen Pestellio’s lips.

At the same moment, Carina Leopold’s face turned beet red. Millaiyen Pestellio gazed at her with amusement before glancing back down at the papers.

Layered across three sheets were sketches of the same view seen from the window.

Beneath them, Millaiyen Pestellio was depicted in various poses, wielding his sword—

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was the reason her cheeks had flushed crimson.

The figure in her painting was so dynamic, as if he might spring to life at any moment.

Every time Millaiyen saw the portrait Carina Leopold had drawn, he found himself holding his breath without realizing it, and so he exhaled as though releasing a sigh.

“Why are you hesitating? Just tell me.”

Now that he had given her permission, her lips sealed even more stubbornly shut.

Her lips, stuck together as though glued,

she finally parted with great effort.

“Well, the way you wield your sword beneath that twilight sky was absolutely mesmerizing.”

She spoke while awkwardly touching the back of her neck.

Unlike herself, Millaiyen did everything with such drive and passion—he was like the sun even beneath the moonlight, and she found him utterly captivating.

At her candid words, Millaiyen blinked.

He mulled over her words once or twice,

then lowered the paper back to its original position with a bewildered expression and took a step backward.

“…Is that so?”

He had not expected to hear such a direct compliment while his face burned so intensely, so Millaiyen responded somewhat haphazardly and retreated another step.

“Yes, because time is finite and what has passed never returns, so I like to record things this way. That way, I’ll never forget, no matter how much time passes.”

“I see.”

A brief, awkward silence fell between them.

Unable to bear the weight of this silence, Carina Leopold’s eyes darted about before she finally spoke again.

“But what’s the occasion here?”

“Ah!”

Only then did the purpose of his visit return to Millaiyen’s mind, and his face brightened. He had found a way to break the tension.

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I’m planning to go on an inspection soon, and I thought you might join me. Staying cooped up in Leopold Manor all the time would bore you too, wouldn’t it?

I’m allowed to leave here?

At Carina Leopold’s words, Millaiyen’s eyes widened in bewilderment.

The corners of his eyes trembled slightly. He rubbed his eyes with his thumbs and barely managed to close his gaping mouth.

…Carina Leopold.

At his call, Carina Leopold’s shoulders flinched.

Every time he spoke her name, her heart seemed to plummet into an abyss—it was a peculiar sensation.

She composed her expression and looked toward Millaiyen, though she couldn’t hold his gaze for long before averting her eyes.

That sounds strange. It makes it seem like I’ve been keeping you locked away.

Watching Millaiyen add the remark with an aggrieved tone, she let out a small laugh.

It wasn’t truly imprisonment, but she had indeed kept him from leaving. She had told him to stay still and rest until his body fully healed.

And over these past few days, he had obediently complied with that promise.

It seemed to mean this was a reward for his good behavior. Carina Leopold nodded with a smile.

Indeed, thanks to eating well and resting properly as Millaiyen had said, the frequency of her retching had decreased.

Within Leopold Manor, there was no need to endure or suppress anything,

nor did she need to suffer alone. To be honest, Millaiyen’s perceptiveness was remarkably sharp—the moment she showed even the slightest sign of distress, he would ask her directly about it.

My suspicion that it might be mind-reading magic gradually faded, until I grew somewhat accustomed to his presence.

With fewer instances of tension, my overall condition had improved considerably.

Reckless as it was, distancing myself from home may have been the right choice after all.

Carina Leopold turned her head and offered a faint smile—

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—before it faded.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

Millaiyen Pestellio suddenly thrust his face forward and asked.

Carina Leopold’s body stiffened.

She tried to lean back slightly, but Millaiyen Pestellio’s hand moved faster, pressing against her forehead.

To hide her heart pounding wildly in her chest, Carina Leopold pressed her palm firmly against her breast.

In truth, lately I had been growing tense for an entirely different reason.

“You don’t seem to have a fever.”

“…Of course not. I don’t have a fever. I was just thinking about what to do once we go outside. This is my first time seeing the sights beyond the Duchy since arriving at the Leopold Manor.”

At Carina Leopold’s earnest words, Millaiyen Pestellio chuckled before breaking into a hearty laugh.

“Heh… Why are you always so serious about everything?”

Millaiyen Pestellio withdrew his hand and gently tapped

her hair. Since she showed no sign of disliking it, he continued without hesitation, tousling her locks.

I had seen him do this to the knights under his command before, so I suspected this was merely an extension of that habit.

‘…Being treated the same as the knights is somewhat sad, though.’

Still, since I didn’t dislike it, there was nothing to be done about it. I pressed my lips firmly together, trying to hide the smile threatening to break across Carina Leopold’s face.

“While we’re at it, we should have your winter clothes fitted as well. Prepare yourself quickly and come down. Once night falls, it grows cold, so you must be inside before then.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll have a Maidservant called for you.”

Carina Leopold nodded obediently.

Unlike before, now that she was receiving help again from the Maidservants who attended to her every need, she had grown accustomed to their care once more.

They say the human heart is fickle, and affection

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seemed to be exactly that.

“Sigh…”

The moment Millaiyen Pestellio left, Carina Leopold exhaled deeply and collapsed onto the desk.

She buried her face between her arms, hiding her flushed cheeks and the soft curve of her lips.

“…This is ridiculous.”

Wasn’t it?

Yet her heart continued to race wildly within her chest.

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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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