Limited Extra Time - Chapter 88

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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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The banquet preparations took far less time than I had anticipated. I could have easily spent more hours painting in the Studio.

I was somewhat surprised by how different the preparation timeline was compared to the Capital.

‘Even with minimal effort, it typically required several hours.’

This time, aside from spending most of my time bathing, the actual preparation had taken less than an hour. Yet the results were far from sloppy.

My hair was styled simply yet elegantly, and my dress was refined. It felt entirely different from those days when I wore gaudy, heavy gowns that never suited me.

I sat on the bed, tilting my head back in a daze.

‘I want to paint.’

Despite having endured such a harsh scolding earlier, painting was the first thing that came to mind whenever I had nothing to do.

I wondered if this desire, swelling and expanding, might one day transform into madness.

‘Or perhaps I want to see Millaiyen.’

I turned my head with a sigh.

What was I to do with such a one-dimensional desire? I considered painting for a moment since there was time, but remembering Periel’s warning, my feet refused to move.

Knock, knock. Click.

The door opened with the knock. It was a familiar pattern by now. I lifted my head.

It was Millaiyen. Instead of his usual casual shirt, he wore formal attire that resembled a uniform.

It was the same outfit I had seen at our engagement ceremony long ago.

“…Millaiyen, you look remarkably dressed up.”

“Since we’re attending the banquet together.”

Millaiyen approached with long strides and brought my hand to his lips, speaking softly.

Watching him bend at the waist and kiss me so naturally sent heat flooding across my face.

“It suits you well.”

“Ah, thank you…”

Carina Leopold averted her gaze slightly as she spoke.

This was troublesome. I kept seeing only his lips. I understood perfectly well why I could see nothing but his lips. My face

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had flushed crimson.

“I’m surprised the preparations finished faster than expected.”

“In the Southern Territory, people wear quite elaborate clothing. That’s why the Capital is such a nuisance. It’s tedious.”

“True, if I had grown up somewhere that wrapped up so simply, I’d feel the same way.”

Even I would choose this—an hour of preparation—over the several hours it took back home. There were times I had to wake before dawn just to get ready.

Thinking of all that, the Northern Territory was far superior.

“If anyone approaches you and throws unwanted advances your way, tell me.”

“Unwanted advances?”

“Yes, there are plenty of idle rakes around.”

Carina Leopold swallowed a low hum and nodded.

The people of the Northern Territory seemed to possess personalities just as uninhibited as Millaiyen’s.

He nodded with utmost seriousness, unaware of what I was thinking.

“They’re barbaric fellows who know nothing but swinging swords.”

“Is that so…”

“Yes.”

A decidedly firm response.

Carina Leopold nodded. Millaiyen certainly possessed a certain wild charm.

She found herself imagining several nobles gathered together like him.

‘….’

It would be rather impressive. Wasn’t that what it meant to be well-liked by many? A soft smile bloomed across Carina Leopold’s lips.

‘…Why am I smiling?’

He had expected her to reproach him or promise to be cautious.

Millaiyen regarded the cheerfully smiling Carina Leopold with an odd expression.

“I’m looking forward to seeing them.”

“….”

It seemed her mind had arrived at a different interpretation. Millaiyen could not conceal his displeasure.

He had meant to instill caution, yet instead seemed only to have kindled her curiosity.

“Looking forward to it? They will trouble you.”

“Sometimes I enjoy a bit of liveliness.”

“Even though Periel might be preferable?”

“But they are people you trust, aren’t they?”

Periel Kalos had slipped from her lips unbidden.

At her added words, his lips pressed together like a clamshell. He could not bring himself to deny his trust.

He did trust them—as comrades in arms.

“Not today, at least.”

Today of all days, I would rather not show it.

Carina Leopold, with her slightly pallid complexion, was beautiful. The flowing white party dress suited her well, but it was those azure eyes that truly captivated—luminous and profound.

The people of the Northern Territory were uniformly spirited and uninhibited by nature, and they harbored considerable curiosity toward someone like her.

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I could only hope that their curiosity would not wound her.

“The banquet will be held at the Rear Outdoor Banquet Hall. It’s enclosed in a transparent dome, so it stays warm even in the depths of winter.”

“Wow… how fascinating.”

Carina Leopold let out a soft exclamation of wonder. Such things could not be seen in the Southern Territory, yet my estate possessed several transparent domes.

The reason such innovations flourished here was likely due to the climate above all else.

“Indeed. When snow falls, it becomes a breathtaking sight. I truly wish to show it to you.”

“I do hope we can see it. Will it snow this year as well?”

“Most likely. It falls without fail every winter.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Millaiyen smiled as he observed her eyes, crinkled with genuine happiness.

Seeing her delight in such simple things, I wished to create even the impossible and present it to her.

I could never overlook beauty and elegance. It was perhaps an obsession similar to Periel Kalos’s—the kind of fixation artists possessed.

“Though it’s still early, shall we head there now? I’ll show you the interior when no one else is about.”

“Yes.”

Carina Leopold nodded eagerly and rose from her seat. Her sparkling eyes seemed ready to scatter stardust at any moment.

Millaiyen finally couldn’t contain his laughter, his shoulders trembling with mirth.

“Why… why are you laughing?”

“I wasn’t laughing.”

He turned his head away, his shoulders still quivering, and answered with a perfectly straight face. At his blatant denial, Carina’s expression grew complicated.

He had clearly been laughing just moments ago, yet his innocent expression made it seem as though he never had.

“You were laughing just now…”

Millaiyen bent down and brushed his lips lightly against hers before pulling away.

The kiss was lighter than a feather settling to the ground. Carina’s face drained of all color.

“You… you have something on your lips…!”

Looking up at Millaiyen, I could see a faint pinkish tint smudged across the center of his lips.

Embarrassment flooded through me, my face burning crimson. I bounced anxiously on my feet.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind going out like this.”

“Don’t say such strange things!”

I hurriedly pulled a handkerchief from my sleeve and rose onto my tiptoes.

Then I pressed and wiped his lips repeatedly. As my handkerchief fell away, Millaiyen licked his lips with a reluctant expression.

“It was fine.”

“…I’m too embarrassed.”

“What a shame.”

Millaiyen took a light step backward, placing one hand behind him while extending the other.

“Shall we go together, my lady?”

At his unexpectedly courteous tone, Carina Leopold’s face flushed crimson.

Yet lacking the courage to push his hand away, she reached out hesitantly toward him.

The moment she carefully placed her hand upon his, he swiftly grasped it and drew her closer.

“Carina Leopold.”

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“Yes.”

“I’ve been thinking lately—how fortunate I am to have met you.”

“…”

She pressed her lips firmly together.

Those were her own thoughts. It was she who should be grateful. Meeting him had given her a resolve she could never have summoned alone in all her life.

“Those are my words to say.”

Upon hearing her response, Millaiyen Pestellio chuckled softly. His conviction that meeting her was a blessing was sincere. After all, it was through her that he had discovered emotions he never knew existed.

I thought it was fortunate, and I meant it sincerely. Because thanks to that, I came to understand emotions I didn’t know before.

‘This Subjugation’s priority will be Haron, then.’

If he wished to witness her smile for as long as possible, he would simply have to push himself harder. Though he found Periel Kalos perpetually irksome, he trusted his abilities implicitly.

In matters concerning art sickness, Periel Kalos surpassed all others. No one possessed more resources than he did, and no one harbored a more expansive repository of knowledge than his mind.

There is no one with such diverse knowledge.

Millaiyen Pestellio arrived at the Rear Outdoor Banquet Hall and opened the door first.

Inside, there would be no one present.

This was precisely why he had arrived an hour early. He planned to wait appropriately, and the moment he detected signs of her fatigue, he would swiftly enter.

“…”

The moment we stepped inside, both of us froze in place.

Carina Leopold stiffened in shock, while Millaiyen Pestellio remained rigid with irritation, his curses rising all the way to his throat yet unable to escape his lips.

“Damn it…”

A faint curse slipped through his lips—one he couldn’t quite suppress.

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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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