Limited Extra Time - Chapter 44

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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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“What?” At the long-awaited response, Carina Leopold lifted her head sharply. She turned Millaiyen’s answer over in her mind several times before finally lowering her gaze. “It’s not my possession. It’s Millaiyen’s possession. If I broke someone else’s property, I naturally have to repay it.” Yet Millaiyen found Carina incomprehensible. Wouldn’t a simple apology suffice?

He could have brazenly suggested that she wasn’t even his fiancé yet. Either way, he would have brushed past it without much thought. Even if she refurbished this room lavishly anew, honestly, it wouldn’t strain Millaiyen’s finances in the slightest. It would be less bothersome than an ant’s bite. “You don’t need to repay it. It wasn’t intentional.” “But…” Still, Carina didn’t want to feel indebted to Millaiyen at all. She always wanted to stand beside him as equals. Only then could she avoid feeling guilty about harboring these feelings.

“Is there anywhere your body aches? Are you dizzy or running a fever? You only just got up today. What on earth…” Millaiyen cut off Carina’s words and examined her carefully, speaking as he did. He naturally reached out to check her temperature and scrutinized her body thoroughly.

Fortunately, there were no visible wounds. “Why did you do such a thing anyway? I remember you saying it was better not to use your abilities.” “…Millaiyen.” Carina slowly parted her lips. Her thin, somewhat pale lips curved into a smile of contentment, opening slowly. Millaiyen, catching an inadvertent glimpse of the bright red tongue visible within,

swallowed hard. He hastily lifted his head and fixed his gaze upon Carina’s golden eyes. How long would they continue to shine like that? Her lips, her eyes—both were unbearably overwhelming. “I wanted to be of help to Millaiyen.” Carina’s eyes rolled gently. Her trembling lips parted slowly. “…Will you be angry if I say that?”

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Only then did Millaiyen understand why she had summoned this demon beast named Herta.

What she must have been thinking when she saw him struggling in battle against Herta.

“Of course not. It’s not something you need to interfere with.”

Millaiyen spoke with a darkened expression.

Since this was a demon beast appearing for the first time, it would take some time to discern its weaknesses, but that didn’t mean he needed her assistance to that degree.

Millaiyen was perfectly capable of handling it alone. There was no need for her to offer her body as a sacrifice or use her abilities at all!

“Besides, I never asked you for help in the first place.”

“I know, but I still wished you wouldn’t be hurt.”

No matter how harsh his words, Carina merely offered a soft laugh.

What was she always so delighted about that she smiled like that wherever she went? She had a personality perfectly suited to being struck from behind.

“I wished you would subjugate it quickly without getting hurt.”

“Whenever you’re bored, you collapse like this—why do you do it? Sacrificing yourself for others is not a virtuous act.”

At Millaiyen’s words, Carina Leopold fell silent.

She knew that too. And by coming here, she had already abandoned the life of living for others.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but this is now exclusive to Millaiyen.”

“…What?”

“It’s something like that.”

Carina Leopold’s eyes curved into crescents.

Millaiyen’s expression grew peculiar as he watched Carina Leopold turn her head sharply, a smile playing on her lips.

“If, once the subjugation is over, you think I’ve been of help…”

Carina Leopold drew in a deep breath.

“When we part ways, would you hold me tight just once?”

She spoke while gripping the hem of her dress out of sight, her gaze meeting his.

If she could carry his warmth with her one last time, she would ask for nothing more.

She despised herself for preparing for an ending, yet simultaneously, a strange tremor—like a delicate electric shock tingling from her fingertips—thrilled her.

“So… the day I leave Leopold Manor.”

“…”

Millaiyen could offer no response.

In her ethereal voice—as though she might crumble to dust and scatter away—a faint tremor resonated.

“Will that… be alright?”

Had she been too greedy?

Or had it been too sudden?

Either way, she was prepared to accept whatever he might say without hesitation.

But when no answer came from the other party, it only made matters worse.

“…All right.”

At Millaiyen’s brief response, Carina Leopold’s face, which had been clouded with worry, suddenly brightened.

She nodded.

“However, do not do such a thing again. I can manage without your help.”

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At his firm words, Carina Leopold nodded with a bitter smile. It stung that he drew such a line, as if to say she was merely an outsider. Yet it was the truth, so there was nothing to be done about it.

“There is no need to shave away what little remains of an artist’s life for my sake.”

Millaiyen added.

‘It is only because it is Millaiyen.’

For a fleeting moment, I was captivated by that tenderness—a kindness that would ignite and vanish in an instant. Even if it were merely a moment’s infatuation, there was no time to hesitate.

If I did not seize this chance to feel what I had never allowed myself to feel before, such an opportunity would never come again.

“If Millaiyen dislikes it, I shall not do it.”

Carina Leopold answered obediently. It was natural, yet this was a strength she would never have shown to anyone else. She had resolved to use her power only for herself from this moment forward. She did not wish to expend it for another.

She did not wish to save another’s life by whittling away her own.

“First, let us draw this one out.”

Millaiyen spoke, observing Herta, who had grown bored and was now poking at the nearby objects with her horn.

“I shall do it. Please clear the way.”

When Carina Leopold stroked Herta’s back once, Herta seemed to understand what she wanted and quickly lowered herself, pressing her belly to the ground.

Thud—!

It was only natural that several loud crashes echoed through the chaos.

Carina Leopold struggled to climb atop Herta’s lowered form, grunting with effort. She attempted to scale the creature by stepping on its horns, but her depleted strength made even grasping a single horn problematic. Herta, flustered by her efforts, stretched her limbs wide and lowered herself further—a sight both pitiful and absurd.

“Carina Leopold.”

“Yes, I’ll be up in just a moment.”

Interpreting Millaiyen Pestellio’s words as hurried urging, Carina Leopold grasped the two horns protruding from the creature’s armored back with both hands, her movements sharp and impatient. Whether she was unaware of his presence behind her, incapable of asking for help, or simply lost in her own determination, she never once glanced back.

Millaiyen Pestellio finally extended his hand first. He swiftly caught her slipping waist.

‘…She seems a bit lighter than last time.’

Millaiyen Pestellio’s brow furrowed.

“Oh, you startled me.”

“You could simply ask for help.”

Millaiyen Pestellio voiced his displeasure as he hoisted Carina Leopold onto Herta’s back. The creature released a long, mournful cry and slowly rose to her feet.

“I’m trying to do what I can on my own.”

Carina Leopold embraced Herta’s horns, anchoring herself firmly in place.

Millaiyen Pestellio gazed up at Carina Leopold with uneasy eyes, her posture appearing somehow precarious.

“Let’s go, Herta.”

Carina Leopold spoke with an oddly animated tone. Herta began to move her massive, heavy form slowly forward.

Thoom—.

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Thoom—.

Thoom—.

With each heavy step, his massive frame resonated through the entire room and shook the Leopold Manor itself.

No matter how wide Carina’s Room door opened, it remained too narrow for Herta to pass through comfortably, and by now the door was nearly torn from its hinges.

…Ugh. Truly, I’m so sorry, Millaiyen.

Carina, her body curled up tightly and flattened between Herta’s horns,

shouted over the creaking and groaning sounds.

Regardless, Millaiyen’s gaze never left Carina’s back.

His entire attention was fixed on her silhouette, anxious that she might slip and fall from her precarious perch.

So that’s why all the servants had been sent outside—this was turning into something rather entertaining.

A voice dripping with honey-sweet charm,

so saccharine it felt as though her ears might melt, reached her.

Millaiyen’s expression crumpled almost reflexively, and Herta bared her teeth, releasing a menacing growl once more.

Carina’s brow furrowed at the sudden shift in atmosphere.

She reached out to soothe Herta, who was already trembling with excitement and looked ready to charge at any moment, gently stroking the space between his eyes.

Hidden behind Herta’s massive frame,

Carina couldn’t see clearly ahead. Naturally, she couldn’t identify the owner of that voice either.

Carina.

Yes?

Come here. Let me help you down first.

Millaiyen extended both arms toward where Carina was positioned.

Though it felt unmistakably like being treated as a child, his expression was far from pleasant, so she simply nodded in compliance.

Carina Leopold patted Herta’s back gently, and Herta obediently lowered herself.

I descended cradled in Millaiyen Pestellio’s arms.

And almost at that same moment, a shadow fell across us.

When I lifted my gaze, a figure blocking my view came into focus. The moment our eyes met, I froze entirely.

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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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