Limited Extra Time - Chapter 48

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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 ——

“You told me Herta’s weakness.”

Millaiyen found his answer quickly.

It was certainly true that thanks to her, he could significantly reduce the damage if things went awry.

To discover a weakness, one couldn’t simply kill the demon—capture was necessary. Yet capture was far more troublesome than killing.

But yesterday’s events had allowed him to skip one step in the process.

“…I said I’d collect payment for that later.”

At Carina Leopold’s soft murmur, Millaiyen turned his head.

She was slowly surveying the studio as though she hadn’t just spoken.

“It’s truly magnificent.”

“Is it?”

“Yes. I never imagined I could ever possess a place like this. It seems such a waste to use it for only half a year.”

At her added words, Millaiyen pressed his lips firmly together.

Half a year.

That word dragged both of them back to reality. In truth, all of this had an ending already determined.

It would all end someday.

Millaiyen had received the annulment documents from her, and the date of her departure was already set.

“If you dislike being at Count Leopold’s Residence, you’re welcome to come use it often.”

At Millaiyen’s words, Carina Leopold’s eyes widened. She felt him gazing at her back.

He was a kind man.

A gentleness that showed consideration for someone whose family relations were strained.

…Perhaps that was it.

“Millaiyen will have a new person in his life soon, so I shouldn’t be coming and going here so carelessly.”

She spoke with a forced smile, her words deliberately light and casual.

Millaiyen offered no response, but Carina Leopold didn’t need one—she didn’t press further.

“Tomorrow, the Paint Shop Owner will be coming again, so if you need anything, tell him.”

“Understood. I’ll stay here a bit longer before leaving. Please go ahead first.”

Carina Leopold spoke as she carefully settled into the chair before the easel.

The Studio was filled with proper canvases rather than sketch paper. Everything was meticulously maintained, pristine and spotless.

—— Page 2 ——

Dozens of canvases stretched across the space, every single one blank.

I heard Millaiyen leave the Studio. Only after he disappeared did I let my shoulders sag, my head bowing under the weight of my thoughts.

“It’s truly too much…”

Both Millaiyen and his gifts were far too generous for me.

No matter how much I embraced what he gave me, he always found something more to add.

I cherished those actions of his, the concern that radiated from his every gesture.

A knock on the wooden door startled me, and I lifted my head. The sound came from just outside the tightly closed Attic Studio door.

“Yes?”

“It’s Perial. May I come in?”

“Yes, please come in.”

Carina Leopold responded reflexively.

‘…What is this about?’

As she puzzled over it, the doorknob turned and the door swung open.

“Good afternoon.”

“Oh, yes. Indeed it is.”

Periel came inside with a smiling face.

Carina Leopold, who had returned his greeting lightly, tilted her head with a still-puzzled expression.

“I just met a Physician named Winston.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, and after that, I felt like I wanted to talk with you. Do you have time?”

“Of course. Shall we go to the Reception Room?”

“No, here is fine. No one will be able to hear us.”

Behind Millaiyen Pestellio’s fresh smile, a halo seemed to shimmer. It wasn’t actually there, but it felt that way.

His smile appeared so devastatingly charming that it could make even the most malevolent person regard him favorably.

“…This is about the Artistic Plague, isn’t it.”

The fact that he had come after speaking with Winston, and that he didn’t want anyone to hear, surely meant he had learned the full story from the Physician.

Millaiyen Pestellio was the patriarch of the Kalos Family. If it was the Artistic Plague, he must have experienced it far more exhaustively than she had.

A gulp—the sound of her swallowing nervously was starkly audible.

Seeing Carina Leopold tense up, Millaiyen Pestellio’s lips curved into a harmless smile.

“Don’t be so frightened, Carina Leopold. It makes it seem as though I’ve become a villain.”

“That’s not it at all.”

“I know. I simply wanted to confirm a few things. And I’d like to tell Carina Leopold, who knows nothing about it, a bit about the Art Affliction.”

Periel grabbed a chair from the desk in the corner and set it down beside the easel where Carina Leopold sat.

Periel settled naturally across from her and offered a gentle smile.

“I heard some things about Carina Leopold from Winston. Nothing else—just about her physical condition.”

The moment Periel took his seat, he launched straight into the matter. Carina Leopold stiffened her posture and nodded

—— Page 3 ——

.

She had made Winston promise never to speak of it…

‘…Did he tell him everything?’

A small pang of disappointment bloomed within her.

“For what it’s worth, I knew from the beginning that Carina Leopold had contracted one of the worst strains of the Art Affliction.”

“How…?”

Hearing the shock in Carina Leopold’s voice, Periel smiled wryly.

“It’s simply that Winston didn’t wish to tell me. Since I broached the subject first, please don’t blame him.”

“How did you know?”

“Through records.”

“Records?”

Periel glanced once at the closed window, then at the locked Studio door, before speaking.

“The history of the Kalos Family spans quite a long time. We have studied the Art Affliction since ancient times. And among those records are artists like yourself—those blessed with the miracle of creation.”

It was a story I had never heard before in my entire life.

As someone like Carina Leopold who had nothing to do with art, this was the sort of tale I could never have encountered.

“The miracle of creation is rare. It is the greatest power God has granted to mankind. Among those, Carina Leopold’s ability possesses considerable strength.”

“…Considerable strength?”

“Yes, you mentioned that you’ve kept living creatures alive for more than a day, correct?”

“Yes.”

“According to records, the maximum time a living creature has survived was approximately sixteen hours. However, you told me that you average twenty-four hours.”

At Pestellio’s words, Carina Leopold did not respond.

I had never imagined such records even existed, and I certainly could not have fathomed that I possessed such power.

“And there was no record of anyone ever breathing life into such a colossal beast.”

“Is that something that becomes a problem?”

Pestellio smiled faintly and shook his head.

Great power meant that much more was innate. That itself was not the issue.

“Unlike artists with other miracles, those who possessed the power of creation shared a common trait.”

“A common trait?”

“Yes, they all died before reaching thirty years of age.”

At Pestellio’s resolute words, Carina Leopold’s eyes widened considerably.

Understanding his meaning was not difficult. This was no riddle or puzzle. It was the very life I was living.

There were people who had walked that path before me, who had lived that life.

“Was it all an artist’s curse that demanded life as collateral?”

“Yes, we refer to those who possess the miracle of creation as ‘Creators.’ According to the records of the Kalos Family, every Creator documented suffered from art sickness, and all of them were the kind that consumed one’s very life.”

“…You said none of them ever stopped their artistic pursuits?”

“Yes, according to the records, all of them showed no attachment to life whatsoever.”

Carina Leopold’s lips pressed together tightly.

—— Page 4 ——

His pale gray eyes narrowed as they fixed upon me. Though perhaps I was merely imagining it that way.

“Why is that?”

“I’m not entirely certain of the reason, but…the more works they created, the more severe their madness became, or so the records state.”

Periel leaned back slowly against the chair’s backrest, folding his arms across his chest.

He methodically sifted through the records of the Kalos Family stored in his mind. Though there weren’t many accounts concerning the ‘Creators,’ each one was so peculiar that they remained indelibly etched in memory. “They referred to what they had created as their ‘sole understanding,’ and came to regard it as their entire being.”

“….”

“As time progressed, they grew increasingly sensitive and emotional, until eventually they created works ceaselessly, as though entranced by some hypnotic spell.”

A sharp breath escaped Carina Leopold’s lips.

Her wide eyes gleamed with a clarity and purity unlike yesterday—luminous as aquamarine.

Periel gazed quietly at her eyes before exhaling softly.

“Do you exhibit similar symptoms, Carina Leopold?”

“….”

I couldn’t bring myself to speak. I was unable to speak. Being exposed by a complete stranger to a truth no one had ever known felt far from pleasant.

“…What exactly is this madness you speak of?”

“They poured everything into their works. They deemed it sacred that their very lives became the material for their creations, and ultimately they even used their own blood and flesh as material.”

Carina Leopold drew in a breath. She had never experienced such a thing, yet the possibility seemed plausible.

If necessity demanded it, perhaps she could.

And the thought of herself entertaining such a notion sent a chill down her spine.

“Carina Leopold.”

Periel’s gray gaze settled upon her. Carina Leopold met those eyes, then held her breath. With his hand resting on the armrest and his chin propped against it, his expression was neither kind nor warm. Rather, it appeared cold and impassive, as though this were his true nature laid bare.

“For me to help you… you must be honest with me without hiding anything.”

“….”

“Let me ask you again, Carina Leopold.”

Periel offered a faint smile, as though urging her to relax.

“Among the symptoms I mentioned, is there anything you are already experiencing?”

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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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