Limited Extra Time - Chapter 40

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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 ——

The man carefully withdrew his hand from Carina Leopold’s grasp and lifted his head.

Truly, these are the hands of an artist.

Yes, I draw quite seriously.

The man glanced briefly at Millaiyen before bowing his head to Carina Leopold.

My apologies. I assumed it was merely a hobby of the wealthy and responded rather curtly. Please, take your time browsing whatever you like in the shop.

Thank you.

Carina Leopold smiled warmly and quickly disappeared deeper into the Paint Shop.

Watching her face light up with such enthusiasm, Millaiyen’s lips curved into an unconscious smile.

Are you lovers?

What?

You were gazing at her with such tender affection. I apologize for taking her hand—but one can tell if someone is an artist simply by examining their hands.

…That’s not it.

Millaiyen pressed his brow firmly as he answered.

Lovers? That was hardly an apt description for two people who shared divorce papers between them.

Millaiyen crossed his arms and fell silent.

Not lovers? Then what sort of relationship do you share…?

Do I really need to explain that to you?

Not at all.

The Paint Shop Owner shrugged at Millaiyen’s curt reply.

Whenever she brought up his story, his sharp retorts lacked credibility, yet there was something undeniably cutting about them.

Those hands have been drawing for quite a long time—the absence of a dedicated studio suggests you’ve only recently moved here, haven’t you?

Something like that. My desire to create a studio is genuine. From what I can tell, she possesses little more than paper, pencils, and a few brushes.

Millaiyen spoke, recalling the bag she had carried with such difficulty in both hands—so worn and empty it was impossible to imagine it as luggage.

I’ll provide whatever funds you need. Bring whatever supplies the studio requires.

…Understood. I’m uncertain whether what I currently have will suffice, but basic materials should pose no problem.

—— Page 2 ——

“I’ll send someone soon.”

Millaiyen spoke without tearing his gaze from Carina Leopold’s retreating figure as she continued wandering through the Paint Shop.

‘Like a puppy on a snowy day.’

A moment longer and she’d be bouncing about.

She repeated the cycle of withdrawing a brush only to set it back down, scrutinizing paint colors with meticulous care before sighing and replacing them once more.

It was entirely different from when I first met her.

I had thought her someone incapable of doing anything of her own volition, but upon closer inspection, she was someone desperate to create something herself.

“Were you a painter yourself?”

Millaiyen asked suddenly, observing her radiance—far more vibrant than when shopping for clothes or dining.

“…Well, yes. But as you can see, circumstances led me to abandon it.”

The man displayed reluctance at Millaiyen’s question, then glanced once at Carina Leopold before offering a deflated smile in response.

“How did you injure yourself?”

“They no longer move.”

“You’re not moving?”

“There aren’t many people I know in the Northern Territory, but there is a rather peculiar illness called Art’s Curse.”

Millaiyen’s eyes widened at the man’s words.

His gaze shifted from Carina Leopold to the man.

“…Art’s Curse?”

“Yes, do you happen to know of it?”

“Somewhat.”

“It’s actually what people commonly call an incurable disease.”

The man moved his right arm and pressed repeatedly at the space where his left arm had been. Below his left shoulder, it was completely severed, the cross-section smooth and clean.

“From some point on, I began losing sensation in my fingertips bit by bit, and before I knew it, my arm had become completely immobile, as if frozen.”

“If you were attached enough to run a Paint Shop in this desolate Northern Territory, why didn’t you go to the Capital? Why not try painting with your right arm?”

Millaiyen spoke matter-of-factly, his arms crossed.

A Paint Shop could never thrive in the Northern Territory. The fact that he was doing this here meant he couldn’t let go of his attachment to painting.

If that were the case, why was he even in the Northern Territory?

As if to answer Millaiyen’s unspoken question, the middle-aged man let out a hollow laugh and waved his right arm.

“This arm has almost no sensation either. Painting, despite how it appears, is an extraordinarily delicate craft. Particularly, I didn’t paint with just a brush—I used various tools. The subtle sensation felt through my fingertips was crucial.”

The man’s eyelids closed slowly, then opened again.

He still vividly remembers that moment when he could feel nothing. For him, it was the beginning of hell.

“I was left-handed to begin with, and not only did I lose that hand, but my right hand has become like this as well….”

The man’s words trailed off.

“Why not open a Paint Shop in the Capital instead?”

“My heart is too narrow to bear watching others succeed.

—— Page 3 ——

When I see them, I can’t help but wonder why I alone have fallen to such a state.”

Millaiyen closed his mouth as he listened to the man’s words.

In short, I fled. Yet since coming to the Northern Territory, the excruciating pain in my arm and the constant fever that burned through it have subsided considerably.

Pain and fever?

Yes. When one contracts Artist’s Affliction, pain strikes without warning, driving one to madness. That is partly why I came to the Northern Territory.

Millaiyen’s eyes narrowed.

…Carina Leopold also mentioned Artist’s Affliction.

She surely experiences pain and fever as well.

…Then, what is she losing?

I’ve selected everything.

At the sound of her voice, Millaiyen turned his head, his mind still somewhat distant.

Seeing her smiling expression, Millaiyen’s lips curved into a gentle arc.

Carina Leopold approached the counter, holding three tubes of oil paint and a single brush after surveying the Paint Shop from end to end.

For such a lengthy shopping expedition, the selection was remarkably sparse.

That’s all you’re buying?

Ah, well… yes.

Carina Leopold glanced at Millaiyen’s expression before setting the paints and brush down on the worn counter. Given the prices, there was a high probability this purchase would strain her finances.

How much…

As she reached for her wallet from her sleeve, her eyes were naturally drawn to the heavy cloth pouch resting on the counter.

Include the price of that as well and prepare everything as I mentioned earlier. Consider it a down payment, and if it’s not enough, I’ll provide more.

Prepare what?

Your studio. There’s nowhere suitable for you to paint at the Duke’s Estate.

No, just a desk is fine!

I’ve never even owned art supplies, something everyone else apparently has.

As long as I could pursue my hobby quietly, without anyone finding out, I couldn’t ask for more.

Besides, I won’t be staying here long anyway, so it would be wasteful.

…

Millaiyen’s fingertips came to a halt.

He met Carina’s gaze with an exasperated expression, then silently shrugged his shoulders.

She had merely stated an obvious fact, so why did it feel so strange?

Millaiyen suppressed the inexplicable surge of emotion rising within him and opened his mouth.

What do you take me for? Even if it seems wasteful, I have more than enough money—don’t worry about it.

That’s not what I’m worried about…

I just think it’s wasteful to spend money.

Art supplies were so expensive that even the cheapest ones were beyond the reach of commoners.

I didn’t want to accumulate them for a time I wouldn’t even use them for a year.

Pa…

In that instant, my breath caught in my throat.

—— Page 4 ——

Carina Leopold’s movements froze. My heart blazed with such intensity it felt ready to burst from my chest. My pulse quickened, my heart constricted, and breathing became labored. I reflexively clutched at my heart.

“Ah…?”

“…Young lady?”

“Hah…”

“Carina!”

My vision narrowed, then blurred.

As my breathing grew ragged, my legs gave way and my body tilted forward. I tried to steady myself, but my limbs felt rigid. Millaiyen swiftly caught my collapsing form, drawing me into his embrace.

“What? Why is the young lady like this?”

The man stared at me, cradled in Millaiyen’s arms, his expression bewildered. Millaiyen lifted his head toward the man with a fierce gaze.

“…Do you have a horse?”

“Yes, I have one.”

“Bring it.”

Millaiyen pulled her into his arms and spoke. The man, sensing something, quickly got up and ran toward the back. Millaiyen held her in his embrace with both hands, lowered his head, and brought his forehead to Carina’s.

Even my usual body temperature ran quite high, but now it felt as though I could melt solid ice in an instant. As he tried to pull his forehead away, I brushed mine against his.

“So cool…”

I murmured softly. I seemed to exist somewhere between dream and reality. As though drifting in shallow sleep, my fingers twitched, seeking Millaiyen’s relatively cooler body heat.

Seeing my fingers fidget, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

His lips curved slightly as he watched her fidgeting fingers.

“So that’s what it was.”

I had been puzzled by why she suddenly grasped my hand today, but it seemed she was reflexively seeking out something cooler than my body temperature.

‘…But why does this feel so unpleasant?’

Was it because I had assumed she harbored some special feeling for me?

Or was it the realization that she didn’t? Millaiyen’s expression hardened slightly as he pondered this.

“It is here.”

“Very well. Have someone retrieve it and bring it back.”

“…Is this young lady perhaps dangerous?”

“She suffers from the same affliction as you do.”

He mounted the horse with practiced ease as he spoke.

Millaiyen swiftly climbed into the saddle and gathered Carina Leopold into his arms, seizing the reins. He turned his head as he nudged the horse’s flank.

“The same affliction, you say…”

“I will send someone by tomorrow. Have everything I mentioned prepared.”

With those final words, Millaiyen vanished in an instant, the horse thundering across the ground beneath him. The Paint Shop Owner stood rooted to the spot, dumbfounded.

—— Page 5 ——

“…So she has the Artist’s Affliction?”

The man’s face contorted completely. He clenched his remaining fist.

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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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