Limited Extra Time - Chapter 87

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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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“…Pardon?”

“Pfft.”

Carina Leopold’s bewilderment and Periel Kalos’s scoff erupted simultaneously.

‘Missed me, he says.’

Had I not seen him this morning? A few hours since we last laid eyes on each other, and he speaks of missing me?

Still, his tone pleased me considerably. There was something almost childish about it.

“But we saw each other this morning.”

Even as I said this, my hand reflexively traced Millaiyen Pestellio’s back in the same soothing motion I had used on Periel moments before.

Periel watched silently, his laughter suppressed behind his eyes.

Carina Leopold’s expression, nestled against Millaiyen’s frame—so much larger than her own—was radiant. It was utterly different from the emotionless gaze she had worn mere moments ago. Only Millaiyen could draw such a smile from her.

‘How maddening.’

Could one be so blindly devoted? Millaiyen was not a man known for his tenderness toward others.

He conducted himself with sufficient courtesy to spare his companions embarrassment when necessity demanded it, yet few would call him warm.

One might describe him as possessing basic decorum, but compassion? That was another matter entirely.

He understood the emotions of others, yet rarely did he express his own in return.

Of course, he was not one to fixate on things without cause. But once he did, he never let go.

For Periel, it had been an eternity since he witnessed such raw, unveiled emotion.

Even Millaiyen, who had been glaring at him with lethal intensity, had softened beneath Carina Leopold’s touch. She moved like a tamer of beasts.

“The banquet you wished to attend will begin soon. We should prepare.”

“Has it already gotten so late? I didn’t notice while I was painting.”

“Painting?”

Millaiyen questioned in return, turning his gaze toward the canvas. His eyes widened noticeably.

Following Millaiyen’s gaze, which remained fixed on the canvas without any intention of moving, Carina’s face flushed a vivid crimson.

Never had a radish been quite so red. Though truthfully, it resembled a ripe

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apple far more closely.

Carina’s lips trembled as she writhed in his embrace. She wanted nothing more than to flee or hurl the canvas out the window.

The problem was that this tremendous difference in their physiques made it utterly impossible for her to move.

It wasn’t even particularly tight, nor was she suffocating, yet she found herself unable to escape his arms through sheer strength alone.

Having abandoned her futile struggles,

I remained docile in his embrace. The sound of his heartbeat seemed to calm my own racing pulse.

“…Do you have a moment, Carina?”

“Yes? I’m fine with it…”

“Just ten minutes, if you’ll indulge me.”

Millaiyen promptly lifted me up in his arms and swiftly exited the Studio. He descended the Staircase with long, purposeful strides, cradling me against his chest.

I felt my breath catch. I realized exactly how I must appear

in her eyes.

I could not help but realize it. The painting she had created laid it all bare.

What was depicted on the canvas was Millaiyen as he had sat at the Dining Table this morning.

The landscape beyond the Terrace visible in the background, the bird perched on its railing, and myself with my gaze lowered, as if turning away from it all.

It shimmered with such brilliance that I felt as though she had glimpsed into my very soul. Not a

single stroke had been rendered carelessly.

Unable to bear meeting her eyes, I stood revealed—gazing awkwardly at the Dining Table instead.

She had observed me with such meticulous attention. While I averted my gaze, she had committed every detail of me to memory, one by one. And then she had painted it.

Where in this world could there exist someone so endearing?

Endearing. The meaning of that word, Millaiyen was only now beginning to truly

comprehend. She was endearing.

Carina Leopold does not hate me.

I cannot fathom why she spoke such words after the kiss, but… no one who despised another would transfer their every gesture, their smallest habits, the remnants of fleeting emotions onto canvas.

Millaiyen entered Carina’s Room directly and, without hesitation, drew her into his embrace before lowering his head to kiss her.

Carina’s eyes widened in shock at his sudden kiss.

“Mil… mm…!”

His tongue pressed into her mouth with an urgency that seemed almost desperate, and her eyes closed of their own accord.

She lacked the resolve to push him away with cold words when he appeared so vulnerable.

She knew it. If she yielded here, her emotions would spiral beyond her control.

They would burst and rupture, and she had no sense of how long it would take to seal the

wound closed again.

‘…Just this once.’

It will be fine. Even if it ruptures, I can still mend it. For now, I can still stop myself.

With the same excuse, Carina slowly parted her lips.

As if he’d been waiting, Millaiyen showed no mercy and deepened the kiss. Unlike the tender first kiss, this one bordered on desperation.

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“Hah…!”

Millaiyen bit his tongue and gnawed at his lower lip, while Carina hesitantly raised her trembling hands as if to calm him. She carefully stroked his hair.

Only then did the fervent kiss gradually slow. Carina’s eyes fluttered delicately.

Within his crimson gaze, her own flushed reflection stared back at her.

What lay within was pure desire.

A desire so intense and pure it could be captured in a painting.

An embarrassing sound escaped from where he drew her lower lip into his mouth. As Carina’s cheeks flushed deeper, Millaiyen chuckled softly as if charmed by her alone.

After ravaging the inside of her mouth with deliberate intensity, Millaiyen slowly pulled away.

“…You were watching me.”

His voice, heavy and waterlogged with emotion, made Carina close her mouth.

Carina Leopold closed her mouth at the sound.

Between their still-close lips, hot breath intertwined. She drew in a shaky breath.

“How could I not, when you’re right in front of me?”

Millaiyen laughed at her excuse-laden words.

It was far more than a casual glance.

Her gaze was relentless and unwavering. She could not have rendered him so perfectly without committing every detail of him to memory.

“What am I to do with you?”

Holding Carina Leopold in his arms, Millaiyen Pestellio buried his lips against the nape of her neck as he murmured to himself.

What should I do?

How can I keep this precious creature confined within my embrace?

I wish for her never to leave.

I can no longer bear the thought of her departure. Gritting my teeth, I bit down gently on the nape of her neck.

Not painfully, but with enough pressure to leave a mark. At the slight sting, Carina Leopold’s brow furrowed.

Millaiyen Pestellio quickly stifled a shallow moan, perked up his ears, and obediently withdrew.

“Pack lightly. Wear something practical rather than a dress—it will serve you better. The Maidservants will handle the details, so don’t worry.”

“…Yes.”

Carina Leopold nodded, her face flushed crimson.

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. In every way, it was truly… mortifying. I cupped her flushed cheeks in my large hands, savoring the moment with barely concealed longing.

“I’ll come for you once you’re ready.”

“Yes.”

I grasped the door handle. As I turned it, I paused and tilted my head slightly.

“Don’t wear anything too revealing.”

“Pardon?”

“Most of those Northern Lords lack even basic decorum.”

I spoke matter-of-factly.

The Northern Lords, who bore the names of nobility, would have clutched their chests in indignation had they heard such words, yet I dismissed them without the slightest hesitation.

“Ah… I understand.”

As Carina responded blankly, Millaiyen finished leaving the room.

‘I should remind the Maidservants before I go.’

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Walking down the Corridor, Millaiyen reflected on his actions—behavior so uncharacteristic that Periel would have scolded him without restraint, his language crude and harsh.

“…What was that.”

Carina tumbled onto the Bed unsteadily, muttering to herself. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand. What on earth did it mean? Even if I could excuse the first time as a mistake, I couldn’t possibly excuse what just happened as one too.

‘…No, mistakes can happen twice.’ Carina shook her head frantically. If there’s one mistake, there can be two. Three times would be impossible to call a mistake, but it was only two, after all.

If you make a mistake once, you’re bound to make it twice. Three times might be hard to call a mistake, but this is only the second time.

“Did I become so moved by the portrait…?” The thought even occurred to her that perhaps no one had ever drawn her a portrait before.

Yes, if someone had never received a portrait, it could certainly be moving. Carina nodded to herself.

‘I should give it to Millaiyen as a gift.’ It was fortunate I hadn’t finished it. At least this way, I could leave some trace of myself with him before I go.

Even as she desperately searched for reasons and turned her thoughts over, she kept unraveling in every direction, and Carina swallowed a hollow laugh. At this point, she pitied herself. “How foolish.” As the voices of the Maidservants reached her ears while she was pulling at her hair, Carina forced her face into the most composed expression she could manage.

While the maidservants’ voices reached her ears as she was pulling at her hair in a pitiful state, saying “How foolish,” Carina Leopold put on the best composure she could muster on her face.

It had truly been a messy day in every way.

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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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