Chapter 107

It was certain that the dish made with Kelbia fruit would be served after seeing the Memorial.

The nobles would stop at nothing to get Carsein to eat this dish, and the system wouldn’t miss this opportunity to pressure him.

But I did it effortlessly.

With just one prepared item, I instantly turned the tables on this situation.

▶Used Kelbia Fruit Indicator!◀

▶A large amount of Kelbia fruit was detected in the meal prepared by Pitea Gelteng.◀

▶Choices disappear.◀

Although I couldn’t buy the indicator due to the system’s interference, I couldn’t even make it myself, could I?

How can they stop such a proper and justified method?

Since the choices disappeared automatically, I could speak up confidently.

“I told you, Flora. It’s right for me to go back to the Duke’s House rather than enter this tea party.”

“…”

Flora flinched and raised her head.

But even though she raised her head, she couldn’t say anything.

It must be too familiar a scene for her.

From the beginning, Carsein wasn’t invited here.

He was merely a jester brought here to amuse them, to liven things up.

And Flora was no different from them.

She was the same human who had forcibly held back Carsein as he struggled to break free in the cage, throwing stones and causing injuries.

“This isn’t mine. I didn’t make it. There must be some misunderstanding!”

Now? You’re saying it’s not yours?

‘No. This is the aftermath of your malice.’

It happened because of you.

It grew because of your hands.

Without renouncing that petty malice, you spread it further, leading Carsein to have to eat food with Kelbia fruit, not only inside the Duke’s House but also outside.

And you never realized this fact alone.

This is the reality Flora Bargrand spun towards Carsein Bargrand.

So I cut off Flora’s words sharply.

“It turns out this seat wasn’t meant for me. I understand well that it’s a hundred times right for me to stand behind as a bodyguard knight.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Sorry? Because I only realized I was an uninvited guest so late.”

-Click.

“Don’t stay if you weren’t invited.”

Leaving the tea party room, I walked away, with no one trying to stop me.

***

Why?

This thought had been circling in Flora’s mind all day.

Why wear such plain clothes at a tea party with nobles?

It would have been better to dress up more. To dress fancier.

She disliked wearing such plain clothes.

Why prepare two carriages?

There were no servants to ride with them. They could have just ridden together.

She disliked the idea of riding separately.

As a bodyguard knight, not a legitimate noble and a person of the Bargrand Duke’s House, and a companion of Flora Bargrand?

She disliked lowering her status by downplaying her identity.

Going back to the Duke’s House is right?

Coming here proudly as a companion of Flora Bargrand, what’s the problem?

She disliked how Carsein kept trying to leave the tea party.

Every single action of Carsein’s had been like this.

Like he was an uninvited guest. Like an unwelcome person.

She disliked all of his actions.

However.

When Hemnan Modrich opened the door and came in, it felt like a hammer hit her head.

All thoughts of Carsein’s displeasing actions vanished.

Because a day from the past popped into her head.

Just like when Hemnan arrived late today, Carsein had once been scolded for not arriving on time.

He had apologized for breaking the promise to many people, and lowered the etiquette standards of the Duke’s House and the dignity of a noble, bowing his head in silence.

If we flip the positions of these two people, it feels like there’s little difference between that day and today.

That’s why she felt suffocated.

That day was when Flora Bargrand thoroughly tormented Carsein Bargrand.

The gathering of nobles.

Carsein’s presence.

The incident at this place.

And…

Her own reaction was bound to come up. The past self who felt relieved watching Carsein being tormented by the nobles.

‘Surely…’

When she noticed this, Pitea Gelteng was bringing out the food.

Naturally, that past memory came to mind.

“Pitea, could you put a lot of Kelbia fruit in all the dishes?”

She remembered asking for Kelbia fruit to be added to every dish.

And those colors.

They appeared before Flora’s eyes.

Seeing the discolored food on Carsein’s plate, Flora’s heart sank.

The indicator that identifies food containing Kelbia fruit clearly showed the changed color.

Carsein was never invited to this place.

Nobody recognized him as a noble.

One person was left isolated in this place.

The person responsible for this situation was Flora Bargrand, who informed them that Carsein Bargrand suffers from Kelbia allergy.

That’s what she said.

“Why, why did it turn out like this? What for…!”

Pitea Gelteng approached Flora, who had her lips pressed together.

“Excuse me, Miss Flora. I’m sorry.”

“…What?”

“I tried to prepare a gift worthy of you this time, but… somehow, it felt like Carsein was avoiding everything. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t feed him Kelbia fruit. I tried to cheer you up somehow.”

Pitea regretted that she couldn’t spread any worse rumors.

When Flora heard this, she suddenly lifted her head.

“What do you mean? Cheer me up?”

“You were upset at the last tea party. If Miss Flora’s mood is affected in the Bargrand House, there’s only one reason.”

As soon as Pitea finished speaking, Flora thought, ‘Could she mean…?’

“Are you saying you ordered this to happen? That’s why you served the dishes with Kelbia fruit?”

“Wha— Oh, yes. For Miss Flora, feeding Carsein this…”

“When did I ever ask for something like this…!”

Bile rose in her throat.

But in an instant, Flora’s voice was cut off.

Should she really yell about acting recklessly here?

No. That won’t do.

‘If I yell now… this will…’

In these incidents among the nobles, always one person ended up taking the blame.

Even if it was a carefully planned scheme by the nobles, it was always swept under the rug, and the party or gathering ruined was always attributed to one person.

She couldn’t scold for doing something unauthorized.

She couldn’t accuse of deceiving the Bargrand Duke’s House.

All that would do is highlight Carsein’s outrageous behavior that upset Flora.

Everything started with the seeds Flora Bargrand planted.

Carsein Bargrand, who lived with contempt and hatred, faced this storm head-on.

No matter what she said.

No matter what reaction she showed.

Distorted facts would surely leave a big scar on Carsein.

-Drip. Drip.

Tears flowed naturally.

‘Carsein always… goes through this…’

It was impossible to tell how miserable he felt.

No, she couldn’t even imagine.

Flora Bargrand, who was just a foolish young lady, always engraved deeper wounds.

But recently, Carsein hadn’t gotten angry, knowing that this could escalate.

Such a Carsein.

They had tried to force-feed him dishes loaded with Kelbia fruit.

Her chest ached madly.

“Miss Flora…?”

“Why are you crying all of a sudden?”

“Are you okay?”

The nobles began to notice.

Their unease created a seed of worry.

Crying here only hurt Carsein more.

Wiping her tears with her sleeve, Flora spoke.

“My stomach hurts after eating the food.”

“Wha— Wha?!”

“No… Such a thing…”

Because there was a problem with the food. So Carsein left his seat.

Flora Bargrand cried while her stomach hurt.

By wrapping it up this way, the rumor wouldn’t spread.

There would be no opening for questions about why Carsein left the tea party alone.

This was the best option.

“I’ll be going now.”

“Wait, Miss!”

Leaving the tea party, Flora rushed out, leaving the nobles murmuring.

She probably didn’t look like someone in pain.

The tears streaming like a faucet had stopped.

She hurried to find Carsein at the carriage, but he was already gone.

He had left with a horse nearby, heading back to the Duke’s House.

But.

Another person was there.

“Flora? Did you cry?”

From a new carriage, a pink-haired girl stepped out.

Her younger sister.

“Un… Nii…”

Seeing her younger sister, who had once confessed her mistakes, tears welled up again.

Running straight to where Claire stood, who had just gotten off the carriage, Flora threw herself into Claire’s arms and started crying.

“…”

“Nii, huh, what…? I, I, made Carsein, uh, suffer again.”

“…What?”

“Guhh, what…? Carsein… must be in a lot of pain right now, huh!”

Strictly speaking, since he didn’t eat the food, the symptoms of Kelbia allergy didn’t appear.

But it was clear.

It had made Carsein suffer.

-Ring!

***

The girl who had poured out her heart to Claire and cried uncontrollably.

Claire comforted her with a sorrowful look, stroking her back.

But it wasn’t just comforting.

“Flora. This part is something I can’t solve. You know that, right?”

Flora sniffled and replied.

It was something she must never forget.

Then Claire, instead of scolding, gently stroked her head.

“But in my opinion… I think you need to think about it yourself. How to prevent Carsein from suffering more.”

But Flora didn’t know.

She didn’t know what to do.

Flora had told her this.

So Claire, as they rode back in the carriage, wiped away her tears with a handkerchief and told her to think about it.

In the quiet carriage.

Looking at the empty seat that used to have two people, now reduced to one, Flora pondered.

She lost track of time.

In her small head, memories of the past and present went back and forth.

“Miss Flora. We’ve arrived at the Duke’s Mansion.”

They had arrived at the Duke’s Mansion.

She still hadn’t decided what to do.

But she vividly recalled one thing: the consequences of her foolishness and petty jealousy were this severe.

That’s why she stepped into this place.

“Shayden.”

“Miss Flora? What brings you here?”

This was the room of the Duke’s personal physician.

This was where Shayden, who always rushed to check and treat when she was sick, stayed.

Her swollen red eyes showed she had been crying outside. Shayden was about to ask where she was hurting, but before she could finish, Flora spoke.

“Teach me how to make medicine, Shayden.”

“Medicine…?”

Nodding, Flora continued.

“When someone is sick, you need to apply medicine to heal. I need a certain medicine. To make it, I need to learn from you.”

Though somewhat ironic, Shayden caught on. This request was related to Carsein.

He closed his eyes heavily for a moment, then opened them.

Taking this chance, he spoke.

“Miss Flora, I’m sorry, but medicine doesn’t always heal wounds.”

“So it’s not just about applying medicine… Then what?”

“No, that’s not what I meant. It means that wounds aren’t healed just by applying medicine. And if misused, they can become poison, causing greater harm.”

“What? That…! Even medicine you take orally?”

“Yes, Miss.”

“How can… that be…”

At the mention of greater harm, Flora’s eyes widened.

“Then Carsein’s Kelbia allergy… can’t be cured?”

Tears formed in the naive youngest young lady’s eyes.

Coldly, but she needed to face the truth.

“That disease cannot be cured, Miss. No matter what kind of medicine you use, it cannot be completely healed.”

Tears fell again, tracing the old tear marks.

But this time, they didn’t follow the same path.

“But, for Lord Carsein’s Kelbia allergy, there are stages of symptoms. We can take measures before it gets worse.”

“…?”

At this, Flora raised her head.

“Means we can prevent it from getting worse, Miss. Days of lying in bed could end in just a day. Continuous sleep could end with sufficient rest. If we recover faster, we can see him return to normal life. That’s what doctors do.”

As Shayden smiled kindly and said this, a spark of hope appeared in Flora’s eyes.

She immediately wiped her tears.

“How can I do that?”

Her determination was palpable.

The girl who had always been sheltered in her mother and sisters’ embrace was always a childish young lady.

She had always neglected her studies.

Busy with play.

Living a luxurious life dependent on her family.

But this time, she had jumped out of their embrace to try doing something on her own.

“First, you need to study hard, right?”

“Study… Yes. I’ll do it. I’ll study hard!”

Flora handed back the book she had once abandoned, and Shayden gently pushed her back.

“This time, don’t immediately look for the answer sheet if you get stuck. Try solving it on your own. Got it?”

“Yes!”

-Ring!

▶Cleared the hidden episode “Awareness of Reality” for Flora’s character.◀

▶Flora Bargrand’s settings have changed.◀

[??? → Please ■■■, ■■■■. ]

[Numerical Value: 80%]