Limited Extra Time - Chapter 55

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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 ——

‘I feel as though I’m seeing this for the first time, but what on earth…’

[If I begin this way, you will surely wonder first about who I am to you.]

After identifying the recipient, he hesitated again at the single line written on the next page.

It was partly because the person writing the letter seemed to see right through him, speaking as if they understood his very nature, and partly because his actual actions had not deviated significantly from what the letter’s author had anticipated.

It was also because Dong-i was not significantly different from what the letter’s owner had anticipated.

“What on earth is this?”

A puzzled voice tinged with displeasure leaked out. Count Leopold immediately lowered his gaze to the next line.

If the opportunity ever came, there were so many things I wanted to say and so many things I wanted to ask, but now it all seems meaningless.

At the Count’s sudden, matter-of-fact words, Count Leopold lowered his awkwardly standing body and sat down in the chair.

Even as he sat down in the chair in his office, he couldn’t get a sense of who the sender of this letter was.

I fell ill. I don’t think I’ll ever return to that manor. I believe this will serve as my reply to the letter you sent through Periel Kalos.

“…Carina Leopold?”

An unexpected name tumbled from Count Leopold’s lips as he read the next line of the letter.

The Head Butler beside him tilted his head with a concerned expression.

“Is it a letter from the young lady?”

Count Leopold did not answer the Head Butler’s question, instead lowering his gaze to the next line.

Carina Leopold had sent a letter. From this fact, one could infer that

either Carina Leopold or the Duke had set foot in this place.

‘…If it was the sound of a flute, then it was the Duke?’

He wielded an uncommon ivory flute to perform what could only be called a miracle.

It was evident he had used it in some manner to put every servant in Leopold Manor to sleep. Count Leopold’s face contorted.

“Monstrous…”

—— Page 2 ——

The Empire was renowned for its art, yet those who wielded miracles were often viewed with suspicion. Many revered those who had reached such heights, but among the older generation, there were those who feared and despised those who wielded such power.

Divine power possessed by mortals—where could one find words both so sweet and so terrifying?

[Please consider this letter my final farewell.]

The brief words were written in clean, flowing script without a trace of hesitation or deliberation.

[I will become famous not as Carina Leopold, but as ‘Carina.’ The paintings I create will be remembered by people. That is what I intend.]

Count Leopold’s mind conjured the image of Carina Leopold as she had always been—quiet and reserved. Could she have been someone capable of such resolute, cold words? He shook his head firmly without further thought. His daughter was not that sort of person. Though she lacked charm and spoke little, she was an obedient child who followed his instructions. Count Leopold swallowed hard and lowered his gaze to the next line.

[Perhaps my name will echo from this distant Northern Territory all the way to where you stand.]

The calm letter, infused with conviction and resolute will, was immaculate throughout. There was not a hint of hesitation or trembling. It could not be thought that she had written it under duress.

[You always told me never to bring shame upon the family. No matter what I did, those words always circled in my mind, and so I could do nothing.]

The Count sensed a distance in the letter—as if she had built a solid wall, warning him not to approach. ‘She couldn’t possibly…’ Count Leopold let out a hollow laugh. The child did not possess such audacity.

She was clearly desperate to hear an apology from her parents. She must have written this letter hoping he would relent. He thought this as he turned to the next line.

[This time, I ask of you. Please do not tarnish the name that will echo forth from this day onward.]

At words that seemed to turn his own back on him, the Count’s eyes widened. He could not shake the feeling of being gently rebuked. As if struck from behind, he blinked blankly.

[You may process my death whenever you find it convenient.]

“…What?”

The chill emanating from beyond the letter froze Count Leopold’s gaze upon that line. His expression hardened into stone, showing no sign of softening.

—— Page 3 ——

Fury blazed across Count Leopold’s face as he read on with bewildered eyes.

[I am indulging in a pleasant, unrequited love right now—one that makes my heart race and my cheeks flush of their own accord. I grew weary of waiting through years of longing. After all, there will never be a place for me within the two of you.]

Unlike the resolute strokes above, this line bore unmistakable signs of hesitation. The thickness of the letters wavered, and the pressure of the ink subtly shifted.

[Did you know? At night, there existed a world where I was the protagonist—not Abelia, not Ferden, not my brother, but me.]

When he had unleashed those countless barbed words from above, he felt no tremor in his voice. Yet here, in these lines, the trembling finally emerged.

A hollow laugh escaped between Count Leopold’s lips.

“…What manner of speech is this to show the parents who raised you!”

At Count Leopold’s harsh rebuke, the Head Butler bowed deeper, his expression clouded with concern as he watched his master.

The Count gripped the back of his neck, his face flushed crimson as he exhaled in ragged, labored breaths.

“What poison is seeping in from outside!”

His face, stained red, looked as though it might burst at any moment.

The Head Butler hurried to the pantry and returned with cold water, which he carefully placed upon the Count’s desk.

“Please compose yourself, Your Excellency. It is not good for your health.”

Count Leopold gulped down the cold water the Head Butler had brought, and only then did he take a deep breath before lowering his gaze to the next line.

With only a few lines remaining, he sensed that reading them would only elevate his blood pressure further.

His pride smarted unbearably, yet he could not bring himself to stop reading. What, ultimately, was she trying to say?

[Even without shouting or threatening to cast me out, there existed a gentle reproof—one that did not shield itself behind the excuse of “I do this because I love you.”]

As Count Leopold’s eyes moved to the next line, his expression hardened once more.

Was she venting her grievances? Or was she condemning his methods of raising her?

“If you had complaints, you should have said so from the beginning!”

Why complicate matters like this? Borrowing even that unpleasant ability—what was the point?

[You would surely rage loudly about how I don’t appreciate the kindness of raising me.

Perhaps you’d blame me for not speaking up beforehand, or say I’ve been corrupted by strange influences.]

Count Leopold’s lips sealed completely as his eyes dropped to the next line.

Carina Leopold saw through everything. The Count’s face flushed crimson, then drained of color. The sting of a direct hit mingled with her calm tone, somehow turning his insides upside down.

—— Page 4 ——

Did I truly say nothing at all? Have I always quietly nodded along to everything? Was I really such a good child who never cried, not once since childhood?

After much deliberation, I dipped my pen and inscribed the questions I’d always longed to ask onto the pristine white paper.

I tried my best not to think about what he would make of it, or what answer might come back.

I didn’t remain silent—I gave up trying to tell you my story. And now, I’m ready to abandon the shadow that’s kept me confined in Leopold Manor all this time.

There was no need to ask what that ‘shadow’ was. The answer already lay in the lines that followed.

So if you wish to see me, come yourself when the Northern Territory checkpoint opens. I won’t set foot there again on my own.

I did my best.

I did my best to convey my thoughts.

And I wrote down the story I’d been holding back with all my strength.

…

Only then did Count Leopold’s expression harden, growing far more grave. It was neither a threat nor stubbornness.

It was as though he were issuing a warning to an invisible opponent.

She had never been this kind of person. She was always obedient, always willing to listen, always the good child.

There was no discord even in this political marriage. I simply complied.

When I asked out of curiosity, you always said you were providing me with everything I needed. Was that money? The money needed to hire a governess to raise me, the money needed to eat, sleep, and live.

The moment Count Leopold saw that question, his gaze froze.

Money? Was there ever a word so cold and callous?

Money. Had the relationship between that child and himself truly been so trivial that it could be defined by money alone?

If I returned all of it, what would remain between you and me? I’m curious whether you even have the right to speak of filial impiety.

‘If I return the money, what remains…’

The Count closed his mouth and thought quietly. Nothing came to mind immediately.

But there had to be something. There must be something.

As long as he was the parent and she was the child.

Remember this. I am neither a docile puppet who obeys, nor a second life you orchestrated for yourselves, nor a chess piece on your board.

The letter, long or short as it was, contained nothing more than that.

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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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