Limited Extra Time - Chapter 79

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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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A Doomed Extra’s Time

A Doomed Extra’s Time

Chapter 79

He leveled his gaze with hers and carefully brushed away the redness beneath Carina Leopold’s eyes with his thumb.

“If it hurt, you should have called for someone.”

“…It was fine.”

“You’re lying again.”

Millaiyen Pestellio’s voice remained cautious, though his tone feigned disappointment.

Since I could sense it, I could feel how much effort he was making without him having to say a word.

“I’m being honest.”

“It doesn’t look fine to me.”

“…”

“If it hurts, you can say it hurts. If you’re in pain, you can cry out, you can get angry. The more you suppress it and suffer in silence, the worse it becomes.”

She seemed unaware that crying out would actually ease the pain considerably.

It pained him, left him wishing she knew that venting her frustration would help.

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He would gladly bear any irritation she might direct at him.

His heart ached seeing her stiffen over a single bitten finger—it wasn’t even that hard a bite.

Her restraint, her silent suffering, wounded him more than any pain could.

“Carina Leopold.”

“Yes?”

“How about you rest today instead of attending the banquet? After all, tonight is just the eve celebration—we keep it light. The real banquet is tomorrow.”

“…An eve celebration?”

Was there such a thing as an eve celebration for banquets? Carina Leopold tilted her head in confusion.

Though she had attended several banquets before, none of them had featured what was called an eve celebration.

“Yes, an eve celebration. The night before, we simply meet face to face, raise our glasses, and part ways.”

“…Banquets have something like that?”

“In the Northern Territory, they do.”

His answer came without the slightest hesitation, and though Carina Leopold regarded him with a subtle expression, she accepted it readily enough.

The cultures of the Northern and Southern Territories differed so distinctly that their banquet customs could certainly vary as well. Besides, Millaiyen Pestellio had no reason to fabricate such a thing.

Moreover, if the eve celebration truly involved sharing drinks, there was no harm in her skipping it.

‘I don’t drink anyway.’

Still, she had wanted to attend the banquet, so it was fortunate that this eve celebration existed. Though she hadn’t heard the maidservants mention it…

‘Perhaps it was so obvious they didn’t think to mention it?’

It was possible they had forgotten to explain something so commonplace to them, or perhaps they hadn’t felt the need to explain it at all.

Carina Leopold, who had worn a disappointed expression, now smiled faintly and spoke.

“I understand.”

“Good. I’ll wrap things up lightly too

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I’ll be back soon, so rest a bit. If it hurts, pull the bell rope right away.

Yes.

Millaiyen nodded lightly upon hearing her response.

Carina Leopold watched him turn the doorknob while cradling Harun on the bed.

Millaiyen.

Millaiyen responded immediately to her call, turning his head while still grasping the doorknob.

Thank you.

Don’t mention it. Get plenty of rest.

Yes.

Millaiyen hurried from the room with evident urgency. Carina blinked blankly. How long had it been since tears last fell?

Even when he said I was dying, I was fine.

So why did it feel so sorrowful?

He merely patted my back and kept asking if I was alright with that helpless expression. I closed my eyes and rested my arm against my eyelids.

When my arm touched eyes that burned with heat, it felt remarkably soothing.

Millaiyen’s touch as he comforted me was terribly clumsy. His fingers inside my mouth….

Oh…!

What on earth was I doing!

I hated myself for opening my mouth as he asked. Carina groaned softly and buried her face in her palms. I was truly embarrassed.

I never knew that tenderness could be so sorrowful. Tenderness is sorrowful. Because I know all too well that I can never return that tenderness, no matter what.

He’s like the wind.

It wasn’t just that she lived freely, following her whims wherever they led—it was that she was someone he could never truly possess.

My mouth turned bitter. A sorrowful smile settled at Carina’s lips.

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Click.

“Haah….”

Millaiyen closed the door behind him and exhaled a heavy sigh.

No matter how many times he replayed what he’d just done, indignation flared within him anew.

Recalling how Carina had clung to him without support, unwilling to let go, Millaiyen dragged an impatient hand across his face.

“The Eve Celebration….”

He found himself ridiculous for making excuses with such an absurd lie.

Millaiyen conjured Carina’s face in his mind and released another escaping sigh. He descended the Staircase at once.

There was no Eve Celebration.

The Northern Territory was inhabited by the same people, and besides, how temperamental were they.

Where in the world would such a celebration exist?

Yet Millaiyen knew better than anyone how desperately she wanted to attend this banquet.

For her sake—she who had never truly participated in a proper banquet and enjoyed herself—he was willing to abuse his authority without hesitation.

With long strides, he made his way toward the Outdoor Banquet Hall situated behind Leopold Manor.

Though it was called an Outdoor Banquet Hall, it was enclosed in a transparent dome structure, so it wasn’t cold.

As Millaiyen approached the Outdoor Banquet Hall, the clumsy emotions gradually vanished from his face.

“Welcome, sir. As for the young lady….”

“I’m not feeling well, so I plan to rest today.

And postpone the banquet for a day as well.”

“Yes…?”

“Call it a vigil celebration instead. Tell them they can eat and drink as they please,

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but the actual banquet will be tomorrow.”

Peng’s expression twisted oddly at Millaiyen’s sudden announcement.

He’d already invited everyone, so what was this talk of a vigil celebration? Where did a vigil celebration fit into a banquet schedule anyway?

Most of these guests were impatient sorts who didn’t much enjoy waiting even an hour.

It had now been just over an hour, so it was about time they started showing their true colors.

“Why aren’t you coming in, sir?”

“I’m not participating today.”

“Today? But the banquet is only one day. The remaining two days will be for meetings.”

“It’s a vigil celebration.”

“A vigil… what?”

A young man with bronze-toned muscular build and purple hair leaned against the wall with his arm propped up, his expression bewildered as he questioned back.

Millaiyen exhaled a sigh.

“I said it’s a vigil celebration.”

“…But where does a vigil celebration fit in?”

“Just tell them that. I’ll handle extending the schedule by another day from my end. Besides, you’ll need to prepare for the Subjugation anyway.”

He slowly withdrew a cigarette from his pocket, placed it between his lips, and spoke.

Watching those languid eyes, the man’s gaze narrowed. What on earth was this man saying?

This was the same person who found the very act of hosting this banquet tedious and always tried to end it early, regardless of what it was called. And now he wanted to extend the banquet by another day?

“Have you lost your mind? Or has your time finally come?”

“Baron Cramber, Your Excellency! That remark is far too much!”

Peng, who had been listening nearby, reacted with alarm and restrained him.

“No, Head Butler. You tell me. Where is the eve ceremony?”

“Listen here, Baron Cramber.”

Millaiyen drew deeply on the cigarette

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and exhaled a long plume of smoke.

The hazy smoke rose high into the sky before dissipating. He held the cigarette lightly between his right fingers and withdrew it from his lips.

“If I say it’s so, then it is. Enjoy your drinks as much as you wish, but the main banquet is tomorrow—make certain everyone attends without exception.”

“…Hah!”

Baron Cramber swept his hand back through his hair.

As his long locks were pushed aside, a deep scar became visible on the inner side before vanishing just as quickly.

Not only that, but his arms bore numerous scars from various blade wounds.

“Then consider it settled.”

“There will be considerable resistance, sir.”

“Resistance from people of your caliber amounts to nothing more than overturning a table, doesn’t it?”

Millaiyen exhaled a hollow laugh, took one final drag from his cigarette, and handed the stub to Peng.

Without hesitation, he turned and walked away.

“Where are you going?”

“To sleep.”

“Is this man insane…?”

A man whose daily routine was sleeping at dawn—what was he doing trying to sleep now, just as evening had fallen?!

Baron Cramber’s face twisted as he watched Millaiyen ascend to the Second Floor with long, purposeful strides, offering an excuse that wasn’t even an excuse.

“Damn it. We’re finished.”

He had been tasked with relaying the message to the other nobles, and he was the youngest, most junior attendee at this banquet.

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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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