Limited Extra Time - Chapter 90

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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 ——

‘Hmm… Did I chase him away for no reason?’

Carina Leopold stroked her chin. It was clear she hadn’t wanted him to leave. Still, I felt a twinge of sympathy for the others who were watching nervously. Millaiyen did have an intimidating first impression, after all.

“Wow, Carina, you’re really something. You handle His Excellency like he’s a puppy.”

“A puppy?”

“Ah, well, it’s just that His Excellency listens so well to what you say.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Carina’s eyes widened before she smiled faintly and answered matter-of-factly. The moment Millaiyen disappeared, those who had been standing at a distance rushed forward in a crowd.

“Wow, how did you tame that guy? I’ve never seen him hesitate like that before.”

—— Page 2 ——

“I didn’t… tame him…”

She blinked at the awkward choice of words.

Now I understood why Millaiyen had insisted she keep her distance from them. Her clothing, her manner of speech—everything about her was fundamentally different from theirs.

“Ah, I’m Marin Aerial. A Count. Just call me Marin casually.”

“…Yes. Nice to meet you, Marin.”

“Ah, speak comfortably with me. I’m not good with formalities like that. That’s why I barely ever go to the Capital.”

“Ah… okay, Marin.”

Carina, unaccustomed to casual speech, answered hesitantly, and Marin Aerial promptly linked her arm through mine.

She truly was exceptional at winning people over. To be honest, keeping up with her was a bit exhausting.

“My territory is the only region in the Northern Territory that borders the coast. Honestly, I fight the sea more than I fight Magical Beasts. And I clash with pirates even more than that.”

Carina Leopold nodded eagerly at my straightforward explanation.

Her fiery, uninhibited nature drew laughter from me. The way her lips curled upward in that rounded smile made her look like a mischievous troublemaker.

“Wow… Sea beasts—are those magical beasts that live in the ocean?”

“Exactly. In the Northern Territory, whether it’s summer or winter, the seawater stays cold, so we conduct sea beast subjugations year-round, regardless of the season.”

“Wow…”

Carina’s eyes widened in astonishment.

What a fascinating tale it was. She had never even seen the ocean, yet the idea of subjugating magical beasts on water seemed impossibly cool to her.

My mood lifted considerably at her genuine wonder. Innocence, it seemed, wasn’t as disagreeable as I’d thought.

Though her temperament appeared entirely different from that of Northerners.

“Sometimes when the sea freezes, magical beasts emerge from beneath the ice, which is rather annoying. Have you ever seen the ocean?”

—— Page 3 ——

“No, never. I can’t really imagine it, to be honest.”

“But why do you keep reverting to formal speech?”

“Ah… I’m not used to it. Or rather, I’m not…”

“What? Well then, just speak however feels natural to you. I assumed you’d prefer casual speech anyway.”

“Ah, yes. If that’s alright, I will.”

Aerial Count nodded.

In any case, Carina had only ever seen pictures of the ocean in books and attempted to draw them from those illustrations, but she had never witnessed it with her own eyes. The curiosity consumed her.

‘I want to see it.’

I miss you.

Carina Leopold’s fists clenched tightly. Yet she would not see it. There would be no time afforded for such things.

The world overflowed with unseen wonders, yet her own clock had already descended into the gathering dusk of evening.

Everyone possessed time—their own personal clock. Carina, who should have been living in the early morning of her days, had lost it all.

What do you mean you’ve never seen the sea?

I haven’t.

The sea is magnificent. Its hidden resources are boundless, and the treasures that emerge from it are endlessly varied. You must visit sometime. It’s only a week’s ride from here on horseback.

…Yes, I will if the opportunity arises.

When you do come, I’ll treat you to delicious seafood. The seafood from the Northern Territory has firm flesh—it’s truly exquisite.

Watching Marin Aerial laugh so brightly, Carina found herself smiling in return.

There was something wonderful about being near someone so radiant—it lifted one’s own spirit. As she exchanged greetings one by one, time slipped away unnoticed.

Well, it seems I’m the last one.

…Ah, hello.

—— Page 4 ——

“It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Solai Leonhardt, Count of the Leonhardt House.”

He was an elderly gentleman of impeccable courtesy.

With silver hair streaked through with white, the old man carried himself with remarkable vitality for his years. Carina bowed respectfully.

“I’m Carina. It’s a pleasure to…meet you.”

“Indeed, the pleasure is mine. I understand you are His Grace’s betrothed?”

At his question, Carina’s smile turned bitter.

Yet she had already submitted the annulment papers—unofficially, she was no longer Millaiyen Pestellio’s betrothed.

“It will be announced soon, but… I’ve broken off my engagement with the Duke.”

“…What? A broken engagement, you say?”

Leonhardt Count’s pupils trembled faintly—a man who seemed unmoved by anything.

I had broached the subject intending to offer congratulations, only to hear this unexpected news of a broken engagement.

‘…They didn’t look like a couple with a broken engagement.’

I had been quite satisfied, thinking that after such a long time, someone had finally captured his heart.

Leonhardt Count had watched Millaiyen Pestellio grow from birth until now, after all.

“Yes, we agreed to break the engagement in exchange for his help. I made rather an inconvenient request of him. He’s a kind person.”

“…I see.”

“Yes, so I’m no longer his fiancée. The Northern Checkpoint will reopen, and I plan to leave Leopold Manor soon as well.”

Carina Leopold explained matter-of-factly.

Speaking of it this way seemed the only way to ensure I wouldn’t back out later.

A promise known to all surely had a higher chance of being kept than one known only to oneself.

—— Page 5 ——

“Hmm… Is that… well, is this something agreed upon with the Duke as well?”

“That’s right. Something like that… can’t be decided alone.”

Baron Cramber and Aerial Count added their remarks.

Their expressions had turned somewhat pale. Carina Leopold nodded. This had been agreed upon from the start when she arrived.

“Yes, it was agreed upon when I decided to stay here.”

“…And after that? Have you perhaps discussed it with him recently?”

Marin Aerial asked with an unusually serious expression.

Carina Leopold shook her head. They had never directly discussed it. Yet somehow, she knew.

“Well, yes.”

Based on how Millaiyen Pestellio had looked earlier, the probability of him letting her go was virtually nonexistent.

If all that pretense wasn’t

meant to drive her away, that is.

“That man’s been acting a bit insane lately, I’d say…”

Carina Leopold laughed awkwardly at Marin Aerial’s crude language. It might take some time to grow accustomed to it.

‘Still, Millaiyen doesn’t curse that often.’

Those who had actually rolled around with him on the battlefield would clutch the back of their necks in shock if they heard this.

Unfortunately, no one was there to correct Carina’s misconception.

“Oh, that’s right! Carina, orders came down to send all the Haron we collect in this subjugation to the Duchy. Do you know why?”

At Baron Cramber’s lighthearted tone, Carina scratched her cheek.

It was embarrassing to speak of the illness she was suffering from, yet staying silent felt like she was hiding something.

“Hmm…”

What should she say?

—— Page 6 ——

Carina’s eyes darted about. She needed to come up with a reasonable excuse without making Millaiyen look bad.

As the Lords watched Carina’s eyes dart back and forth, their expressions grew serious.

‘What on earth does this young lady have that makes that man…’

‘What kind of false modesty is he putting on?’

‘Well, I might actually get to see him living on a leash.’

Carina Leopold opened her mouth carefully after a long pause.

I had no desire to speak of my condition and preferred to frame it as his good deed instead.

“There’s an incurable disease, and apparently the cure might be connected to Haron. So it seems he’s been gathering things to develop it.”

“Has the young lady also contracted this disease?”

Solai Leonhardt asked with practiced ease.

Millaiyen Pestellio was a neutral man.

Neither virtuous nor wicked. Yet if pressed, he leaned ever so slightly toward goodness.

He did not go out of his way for others. He could not ignore someone in distress before his eyes, but he was not the type to seek out the afflicted or do things for their sake.

So if he moved, there was a reason.

“Well… yes, though it embarrasses me. Millaiyen… His Excellency gave me Haron as a gift. That’s how I learned of it.”

“…Ah, His Excellency gave the young lady Haron as a gift?”

“Yes.”

At Carina’s words, Solai Leonhardt stroked his beard with his hand. The corners of his mouth curved into a subtle arc.

The faces of Aerial Count and Baron Cramber twisted into expressions too dreadful to describe,

—— Page 7 ——

as if they had heard something unspeakable.

“What… that man… I mean, His Excellency didn’t say anything else, did he, Carina?”

Marin Aerial asked with an expression as though she had overheard something she shouldn’t have. Carina tilted her head. It didn’t seem like there was much else.

“Ah.”

Carina Leopold let out a soft exclamation.

“I believe there’s a custom of giving it to people with weak constitutions. There’s a superstition that it helps the body recover….”

“…Pfft!”

Baron Cramber couldn’t suppress his laughter and clapped a hand over his mouth.

He hastily bowed in apology, but his trembling shoulders showed no signs of stopping.

Not only that—Marin Aerial’s expression and Solai Leonhardt’s expression were equally strained.

“…Hmm, are you certain there wasn’t another meaning mentioned?”

“No, what other meaning could there be?”

“Well, there certainly is that meaning too, but….”

Marin Aerial scratched the back of her head, trailing off.

It wasn’t entirely wrong—there certainly was such a use for it. Of course, there was a far more common purpose it served.

“Yes.”

“Usually, it’s given to one’s companion, you see….”

“…Companion?”

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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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