Limited Extra Time - Chapter 49

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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 ——

Her words came slowly, yet her voice was clear and unwavering. She was not the type to let someone brush past her with a vague “Oh, I see?” and move on.

“…Yes, I do.”

“What kind?”

“But it’s not madness—it’s simply real! Just like Herta, those I’ve created are truly my kindred spirits.”

They were my only kindred spirits.

Without a word, they act as I wish.

No matter how much I pour out my emotions, they never reject me. I can speak anything, share any secret.

“I didn’t say it was madness. I merely noted that similar symptoms have appeared in other Creators.”

Periel Kalos raised both hands slightly.

“Please don’t be so defensive, Carina.”

“Ah… I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”

I hadn’t thought I was being defensive, but perhaps I was—the realization made me feel a little guilty.

She sighed, her fingertips caressing the easel.

“I heard you have limited time.”

“…Yes.”

“Do you intend to stop painting?”

“I have nothing else, so I cannot stop.”

These were words I had once spoken to Millaiyen Pestellio as well.

Periel Kalos gazed at me silently, as though he had anticipated this very answer.

“I see. In truth, we are people who create things. It’s difficult to easily abandon the pleasure that comes from it.”

Periel Kalos spoke in a low voice.

He too had poured much of himself into music. For most of my childhood, I walked alongside the flute as though we were inseparable companions. To claim I could discard it easily would be nothing but a lie.

“Does drawing help improve your mood when things are difficult?”

“…Yes.”

“But Carina.”

Periel Kalos gazed at Carina Leopold’s expressionless face and offered a bitter smile.

For those with nowhere to turn, the one place they can cling to is something they cannot release, even if it costs them their very life.

—— Page 2 ——

“Do not escape through your drawings whenever hardship strikes.”

“…”

“That will consume you. You need to create art with your fingertips, not let anger or sadness paint the picture for you.”

Art is something that possesses madness and obsession.

When I focus on one thing, I skip meals for days on end, and if a piece doesn’t turn out the way I want, I tear it down dozens of times over and pick up the brush again with worn, tattered hands.

“I saw your painting at Count Leopold’s Residence.”

“…Did those people see that?”

“Yes, I think I saw it. I told you over and over that it was just a hobby, that you couldn’t possibly have art sickness, but…”

“…That person is always like that.”

I could vividly see before my eyes exactly what expression he had and how he raised his voice.

Carina Leopold was no longer disturbed by the Count’s mentions.

“Whenever trouble seems to be brewing, I deny it first and ask questions later.

I’m not entirely sure whether I truly don’t believe it, or if I simply don’t want to believe it.”

A deflated laugh escaped between Carina Leopold’s lips.

“It must be the former.”

Someone with such a sharp mind in other matters wouldn’t suddenly become dull when facing something disadvantageous.

“If you don’t mind, could you deliver a letter of mine to Count Leopold’s Residence when you return?”

“A letter?”

“Yes, to inform him that I won’t be coming back.”

Her resolute voice was terribly cold.

Periel Kalos sensed that considerable time had been required to reach this point, so instead of dissuading her, he simply nodded in acquiescence.

“Even if he received my corpse, he still wouldn’t believe your words.”

“…”

“And he’ll regret it briefly before growing angry. Why didn’t you tell him sooner? Why did you torment him until the very end?”

“Surely it won’t come to that…”

Periel Kalos, who had been listening to her cold and detached voice, found himself at a loss for words. As Carina Leopold lifted her chin from where it had been bowed, her eyes—dark and lifeless—came into view.

He fell silent.

He had no choice. A girl covered in wounds sat before him. Despite being merely twenty years old.

“He will. When I return home, he’ll be angry first, wondering what on earth I was thinking.”

“…”

“Do you know what was written in that letter?”

“No.”

Upon hearing my response, Carina burst into a soft, mirthless chuckle.

That sorrowful laughter—far too melancholic to be genuine joy—caused me to reflexively caress the flute I cradled in my arms, wrapped in cloth.

“Because I suspect I must be quite old if I could recite poetry even if asked to.”

I spoke with a smile, yet I could not fathom why my heart ached so.

—— Page 3 ——

Periel Kalos listened quietly to her story, gripping the flute tightly in both hands.

“Not a single word. No inquiry into whether I was well, whether I was faring properly. Instead, it seemed he was far more concerned with the rumors about me and the Leopold Family.”

“…If I may be so bold, might I ask you something, Carina?”

“Yes.”

“Does Count Leopold not care for you?”

At my words, the corners of Carina’s eyes slowly descended. She met my gaze with hollow pupils and shook her head.

“If only that were the case—then I would not be so utterly wretched.”

That letter, devoid of any concern for me—was it merely a vessel for paternal pride? Or did he truly harbor no concern for me whatsoever?

‘It is far more complex than that.’

I found myself utterly unable to speak.

The madness of those known as the Creators, which I had witnessed in countless ancient texts and records, could not be truly comprehended through words alone.

What the Creators shared in common was a singular, inescapable truth: none of their lives had been smooth.

Some were born into wretched households, exposed to daily abuse without respite.

Others, despite being raised in affluence, lived under stern and tyrannical parents—constrained, denied freedom, utterly powerless without permission, their existence no different from that of a puppet.

And today, Periel Kalos stood face to face with the true form of the Creators.

“…Have you perhaps spoken with Count Leopold about this?”

He carefully placed on the tip of his tongue the words he had long wished to ask the Creators recorded in history.

She displayed the typical characteristics of a Creator.

Carina Leopold’s lips, which had been twisted in a bitter smile, crumbled away.

Periel Kalos gazed intently at Carina Leopold’s lips as they dissolved like a painting.

“He said the same thing. He asked why I didn’t just speak up if I had complaints.”

“…”

“But you see, I don’t remember ever saying I wanted to be treated like I was barely clinging to life, or that I disliked it. I wonder how my voice could have ever reached him.”

Perhaps it never reached him at all.

As long as Abelia remained ill, Infrick the heir continued to bring only good news, and Ferden remained a troublemaker, my voice would never reach them in all my days.

“Now it doesn’t matter either way. I simply want to live these final moments as though those people don’t exist.”

“…Are you thinking of ending your life?”

At Periel Kalos’s hardened voice, Carina Leopold’s eyes widened and she shrugged her shoulders.

“Of course I want to live. But I don’t want to cling to hope for something I know won’t happen.”

“…”

“I’ve spent every day looking back at the past, so now I want to look only at the present. To do that, I think I need to sever my ties with those people.”

On the day I sent Herta away, I made my decision.

Everyone, when their time comes, prepares to depart. No matter what kind of place a nest has been, the day of departure always arrives.

—— Page 4 ——

No matter how much I pleaded, they would always see me as a healthy, well-behaved child who caused no serious trouble—and they would continue to think of me that way forever.

I no longer wanted that.

So I decided to let go of everything I had kept bottled up for so long.

“…Carina Leopold, if you don’t mind, could you show me how you paint?”

“Paint?”

“Yes, I need to see your ability in action.”

“Ah…, then I’ll need to deliver the letter without going through Periel.”

Deliver the letter without going through me?

As if to silence Periel’s confusion, Carina Leopold immediately grasped a brush in her hand.

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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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