Limited Extra Time - Chapter 42

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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 ——

“At a time like this?”

“Yes! There’s something with a flag on it….”

The Soldier leaned his upper body forward, squinting his eyes as wide as they would go, and his lips trembled with uncertainty.

“But whose noble crest could that be…?”

At the Soldier’s puzzled words, the Knight standing beside him sighed and snatched the spyglass away.

The Knight brought the long spyglass to his eye and turned the lens to focus.

Just as the Soldier had said, there was indeed a group approaching from afar, kicking up clouds of dust.

He adjusted the focus slightly higher. Sure enough, there was a banner with a crest drawn upon it, exactly as the Soldier had mentioned.

The Knight lowered the spyglass and turned to face the Soldier.

“Open the castle gates.”

“Sir?”

“Open them so they can pass through immediately.”

At the Knight’s cold command, the Soldier, who had been about to ask who was coming, hastily saluted.

Watching the Soldier’s figure hurry away in quick steps, the Knight turned his gaze back toward the group stirring up clouds of dust.

“You’ve arrived quickly.”

The Knight spoke quietly, gazing down at the opening gates.

A crest depicting a harp of five radiant colors entwined completely by a serpent.

There was only one family in the entire Empire that used such a distinctive dye.

“It’s open!”

“Close it immediately once they pass through.”

“Understood!”

Seeing the checkpoint gate open, the mounted group accelerated their pace.

Thanks to the checkpoint gate opening at precisely the right moment on the Knight’s command, the approaching group passed through without delay. Simultaneously, a Soldier who had been observing the situation quickly locked the checkpoint gate shut again.

The Soldier who had been watching them disappear into the distance rushed back up the stairs.

“Captain, was it really alright to let them through without checking their credentials?”

Even if they were carrying a noble’s banner, the standard procedure was to verify and then allow passage.

In rare cases, a noble could have been ambushed and had their banner stolen, could they not?

“Of course, though there’s not much worth stealing in the Northern Territory anyway.”

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Most people here knew how to wield a sword, so even common rabble would struggle to overcome a farmer from the nearby villages.

“Did you get a good look at that banner?”

“Yes, sir. The shimmering pattern was quite distinctive.”

“They say it uses a special dye that gleams silver when caught by sunlight—so brilliantly that it’s visible from great distances.”

“I see…”

“And only one family in the entire Empire uses that dye.”

The Knight explained quietly to the Soldier.

That dye was developed by the family itself. They held the patent, so it couldn’t be distributed anywhere else, and only that family knew the manufacturing method. In other words, it was a special dye used exclusively for credential verification by that family.

“Then which family is it, sir?”

“The Kalos Family.”

“…So, a family with a mad head of house?”

The Soldier opened his mouth cautiously, his expression deeply uncomfortable.

At that blunt word choice, the Knight cast him a sidelong glance. The Soldier belatedly smoothed his lips.

“I heard his temperament rivals our commander’s. Isn’t that so?”

“….”

The Knight fell silent. His conscience wouldn’t allow him to deny it.

He knew all too well how Millaiyen transformed once his eyes went wild during monster subjugation.

The Knight had participated in subjugation missions alongside Millaiyen multiple times and witnessed his various facets.

Their master was undoubtedly strong, but regrettably, in combat he proved unkind.

“Then that’s why the two of them are friends.”

He condensed everything into a single phrase rather than a hundred words. The group that had been kicking up dust was already out of sight.

The fever that had been tormenting her entire body exhausted her for a full day before returning to normal body temperature on the second day.

However, it wasn’t until the third day that Carina Leopold was permitted to get out of bed. Millaiyen Pestellio had been watching over her, insisting she take complete rest.

I thought I was dying to draw.

She barely managed to get up, glanced around quickly, and carefully approached the desk.

I laid out the necessary items on the desk and took out a brush. I then pulled out the sketch I had drawn last time.

The Maidservant came in every hour, and with Millaiyen Pestellio dropping by intermittently to check on me, I really had to just lie in bed for the entire two days.

“It was nice of you to worry, but…”

I felt like I could sense Abelia’s mood, just a little bit.

Millaiyen Pestellio naturally placed his hand on his forehead as he entered, and now it had become a habit—whenever he saw himself, he would try to take his temperature.

And I didn’t dislike the chill emanating from those calloused, massive hands—in fact, I found myself enjoying it a little.

‘It’s gotten warmer recently.’

Winter was approaching, yet my body burned with an inexplicable heat. How strange.

—— Page 3 ——

This was becoming troublesome.

Beyond that, my body ached more frequently. Pain shot through my joints, and my heart would suddenly constrict without warning. Breathing itself grew increasingly laborious.

I feared such episodes might occur in Millaiyen’s presence.

At least Winston’s presence provided some solace. His daily examinations and his diligent preparation of pain-relieving tonics gave me reassurance I wouldn’t have found alone.

I pressed my palm against my chest, then gripped the Haron I’d placed beside me before releasing it.

Finally, I took up my brush. In an instant, the smile faded from my face, leaving only black and white lines in my gaze.

I began to dip the brush in pigment and apply color slowly.

My brush strokes varied—sometimes light, sometimes heavy.

In the depths of my expressionless gaze lay only the painting.

With each stroke, life bloomed in Herta’s eyes, which had been lifeless in monochrome.

Though Herta existed only within the painting, the savage killing intent seemed to seep through unfiltered.

The crude navy armor gleamed, and the shadows in its curves deepened further.

As the painting neared completion, my hands grew impatient.

Faster. Just a little faster.

My hands moved with urgency, eager to see the finished work.

I gazed down at the meticulously filled spaces, every gap colored with care, and slowly lowered my brush.

Soon, her eyes began to shimmer like golden suns, their aquamarine brilliance gradually fading away.

Within those azure eyes reminiscent of aquamarine, golden light diffused like heat haze rising from parched earth.

The shimmering haze slowly consumed her irises, and before long, her eyes were completely

suffused with golden radiance. Carina’s lips curved upward in a slow, deliberate smile.

The room resonated with a deafening boom.

Feeling the tremendous tremor, Carina rose slowly from her position.

As if tearing through paper, an enormous paw withdrew gradually from the barrier and touched the floor.

The opposite foreleg thrust forward, producing another thunderous

sound that shook the chamber.

The space occupied by those two feet alone consumed half the room.

…Wait?

Only then did bewilderment flash across Carina’s face.

Having observed Herta from such a great distance, I had never imagined she would be this colossal in reality.

Carina stumbled backward.

Her hind legs burst forth, shaking the chamber

violently once more.

Something shattered.

With so few furnishings in the room, it was easy to guess what had broken.

I simply lacked the courage to turn my head and look.

As the massive form emerged halfway, Carina’s complexion drained to a ghostly pallor.

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Cracking sounds echoed from various corners, accompanied by the dull thuds of objects crashing to the ground.

Bewilderment flickered across Carina’s otherworldly golden eyes—eyes that seemed to belong to no realm of this world.

Herta, radiating lethal intent and malice, drew ragged breaths as she thrust her razor-sharp horns dangerously close to Carina’s face.

The sharp horn protruding from Herta’s snout came to a perilous halt mere inches from Carina’s nose.

Finally, the last hind leg withdrew smoothly from the paper.

The room trembled for the fourth time.

Those were dead eyes—drained of vitality, filled only with ragged breathing and pure murderous intent—yet Carina felt no fear gazing into Herta’s gaze.

More precisely, she could not afford to be afraid.

The life she had drawn into being was no different from her own child.

Her sole confidant—friend and counselor—who understood her thoughts without a single word spoken.

Carina slowly lifted her limp arm.

Her pale fingertips gently brushed against Herta’s sharp nasal horn.

Herta, notorious for her brutal slaughter of humans, showed boundless gentleness toward Carina—a stark contrast to the murderous aura radiating from her entire being.

She gazed down at Carina with eyes narrowed to slits.

A small, fragile creature.

Herta understood instinctively: this was a being that must be protected.

Needing her strength, Carina had drawn forth a power not of human origin from beyond to create her.

A small warmth caressed Herta’s cheek. The touch felt distant, perhaps because it traced across the hard, sharp armor plating.

The door burst open without so much as a knock.

“Carina, the manor has shaken several times….”

Feeling the manor sway violently, Millaiyen had issued several urgent orders to his Head Butler Pem before rushing over to check on her welfare.

And at the sight that unfolded before his eyes, Millaiyen’s eyes widened in shock.

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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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