Chapter 108

Claire sent Florra away in a carriage, feeling troubled.

Florrahad reacted this way, indicating that something must have happened here.

If it was something that hurt Carsein, it must be serious.

Florralready knows she did something wrong to Carsein.

Though she couldn’t give advice, there’s a high chance she had something to say to Carsein.

This must be the Gelgetten manor’s villa.

“Yet, the two are returning separately?”

When Claire got off the carriage, Carsein was nowhere to be seen.

The duke house’s carriage is only one.

From this, it can be known that Florra and Carsein came on the same carriage.

But, one horse in the stable was missing.

This means Carsein chose to ride alone.

Florra cried, saying she made Carsein hurt.

Carsein left riding a horse alone instead of taking the carriage with Florra.

Such results suggest that some incident occurred at the villa.

“I should go. I might understand something by going.”

Not wanting her two younger sisters to become estranged, she needed to find some clue from the nobles attending the tea party.

Even though she didn’t have an invitation, as a family member of the two sisters, she could ask a few questions.

The tea party hall wasn’t far.

She could hear the voices of the nobles from where she stood.

“This is strange. Lady Flora didn’t eat anything.”

“Then it must be because of Carsein?”

“That makes sense. Of course, it’s because she wasn’t satisfied.”

“No, then why did she leave? You didn’t eat either. If you ate and left, it would make sense.”

“So what exactly happened to make Lady Flora—”

“Excuse me, everyone? Just a moment.”

“What happened… Ugh!”

As Claire stepped in, the noisy tea party hall fell silent immediately.

Another Bargrand.

Her presence alone made the nobles tense up.

“Why, what brings Lady Claire here…?”

Pitea asked, sweating.

“Not much. Here, my two younger sisters, Carsein and Florra attended, right?”

Gulp.

The nobles collectively swallowed their saliva.

“Yes, yes… That’s right.”

“Could you tell me what happened between the two at this tea party?”

Claire asked, but no one dared to answer.

“Why are none of you speaking?”

“Huh? Ah, well…”

It was a sensitive matter for them.

To them, Carsein and Florra were such delicate topics that they hadn’t been able to settle the situation yet.

“What do we do now?”

“There’s nothing we can do except lie.”

“We can’t say Carsein left alone, so Lady Flora was unsatisfied and angry…”

The noble ladies started to discuss what lies they could tell Claire.

Seeing this, Claire narrowed her eyes and asked.

“I know Carsein left first. I met Florra. So, let’s talk about why Carsein left first.”

Carsein leaving was suspicious enough.

He didn’t fall into any traps left by the nobles, and when dishes with Kelbia fruit were served, he left saying he was an uninvited guest and poured some medicine into the food before leaving.

While the reason for his actions was unknown, it seemed like a wasted opportunity.

They didn’t know anything either.

Seeing the nobles fidget around, Claire walked straight into the hall.

Looking at the table, she asked.

“I heard you prepared some dishes today. Where are they?”

“Wha—?!”

“It’s a tea party hall, right? They wouldn’t have eaten simply a snack. It seems like it was more for a meal than a drink.”

“They… They were already taken by the servants. There’s nothing left here, Lady.”

How could they leave the food untouched?

Florra left the table saying her stomach hurt after eating the food, even crying. Though she barely ate, the situation was still unclear, but they couldn’t leave such an uncomfortable situation behind.

However, Claire, who was closely observing the tablecloth and surroundings, noticed a familiar color.

“Lady Claire?”

Despite the nobles’ confusion, Claire confidently approached and confirmed the color.

And.

Anger began to rise in her eyes.

“Shit.”

A vulgar curse escaped her lips.

This color of liquid had once been seen in the duke house.

It was the indicator solution that showed a severe allergic reaction to Carsein when mixed with Kelbia fruit.

This meant there was food with Kelbia fruit in the hall.

That was enough, but Florra said Carsein was hurt.

Seeing just a few drops of this liquid, Claire vividly recalled all the details.

“Ugh.”

Claire, holding a deadly aura, blew her bangs with her breath.

The nobles instinctively felt overwhelmed by her charisma.

Anyone who spoke here would surely earn the enmity of the Bargrand duke house.

And that target was one person.

“How could you prepare the food so perfectly matching the guest’s allergy? Pitea Gelgetten?”

“Y-Yes…? Perfectly matching… What do you mean…?”

“Don’t play dumb. The fact that this indicator shows such a deep color means there’s a lot of Kelbia fruit in it, right?”

“K-Kelbia fruit? But… it’s used as a food ingredient…”

Pitea stuttered, terrified.

But Claire’s anger showed no signs of subsiding.

“The host didn’t know the guest’s allergy? Hah. The Gelgetten house is well-known in the culinary world. Unless this was intentional, how could this happen? Isn’t it?”

“L-Lady… I…!”

“You won’t be able to interact with the Gelgetten house anymore.”

-Slap!

Claire threw her handkerchief at Pitea Gelgetten’s face.

Leaving without a second glance, Claire’s footsteps echoed loudly.

Everyone watching silently could understand that the Gelgetten house could no longer do anything.

—

▶Episode III. The Remains of Malice Clear!

▶Escaped the tea party hall without issues.

▶Successfully triggered outcomes beyond choices.

▶Arina’s restrictions are completely lifted.

▶No limitations on managing Rusmaier territory.

▶Additional rewards will be provided.

Solved one of the two main episodes.

Although it was a sudden incident at the tea party hall, this window suggests it was resolved neatly.

But strangely, I felt disgusted.

I was always an uninvited guest.

Not just at home.

At school, I couldn’t become classmates.

In group projects, I couldn’t be an equal team member.

In private gatherings or company dinners, I couldn’t sit with other company employees’ children or seniors and juniors.

Even during training camps or school trips.

It was the same.

At birthday parties forced to attend because of family, I was often treated like an unwanted guest, just like Carsein, experiencing many troublesome incidents.

But, as I vaguely recalled these unpleasant memories, there was one place where I could be on equal footing.

The only place where I could be in the same position…

‘It was the part-time job place…’

All connections of blood, school, and region meant nothing in those unexpected part-time job places where I could be on equal footing with others.

New customers.

Bosses who watched me work hard.

And.

“Hmm? You’re working here?”

Only one person knew I was working here.

Suddenly, I wondered how he was living.

“…If I say I’m in that game, I’d be considered crazy, right?”

Thinking about how to react made me smile, slightly easing my foul mood.

“Right. Let’s figure out how to clear this crappy game first.”

▶Episode III. Proving as a Lord is ongoing!

▶There’s still one episode left for me.

▶Must contact the House of Aiferos and make a deal!

The goal of this episode is to revitalize Rusmaier territory.

The extent of revitalization depends on my management as the lord, but merely managing the territory wouldn’t make this game easy.

Two things are enforced in this route.

First, trading.

Trading with other houses is mandatory, and Carsein, as the lord of Rusmaier, needs to trade with a specified house.

And inevitably, choices arise in this process.

“The second thing is… the conditions for implementing this trade.”

-Swipe.

Lv. 25

▶Your SP is automatically used for ??? Stat!

▶Strength: 4.88

▶Agility: 6.13

▶Endurance: 6.20

▶Health: 4.57

▶Immunity: 1.30

Glancing at the stats, the anticipated situation arrived.

“I knew it, it’s insufficient.”

In RPG games, there’s a term called “minimum cut” for the minimum specs needed to defeat strong monsters.

This game also requires a certain minimum spec to defeat monsters, otherwise, Carsein would die against stronger opponents.

But, I haven’t fully filled these stats due to two constraints.

A measure by the developer to prevent clearing the game solely through stats. From level 20 onwards, the increase in stats through exercise decreases significantly compared to action power consumption.

This was fine; it was an existing feature.

But, choosing to take over Rusmaier territory from the beginning reduced my free action time, consequently cutting down on training time.

Having another episode added to my plate further reduced my available time.

“Perhaps, clearing episodes too quickly left me with insufficient time to level up.”

So, I can’t proceed with this episode right now.

“Going west as soon as possible to contact the House of Aiferos is beneficial, but with these stats… it’s impossible.”

Their condition for accepting the first trade is unique.

-Nigh!

After letting the tired horse rest, I went to a nearby store.

Maybe I could buy something with the remaining money. Even if it was just combining the Kelbia fruit indicator myself, there might be something useful somewhere.

Also, Rusmaier might need supplies.

Buying and delivering them myself would avoid system interference.

“Huh?”

Just as I entered the store to browse items, I blinked at a changed stat in my status window.

It was the ??? stat.

Still unknown, it didn’t show what would increase if I invested points.

But, a tiny change appeared in that stat.

▶??? 25%

“25%?”

Like other stats, this previously numeric-only stat now showed 25%.

“What the heck is this?”

Sighing in frustration, I heard young women’s laughter from a nearby café.

“Whatever will Lady Harnier do? This eastern nobles meeting, since her clan’s power can’t help, it’ll be reassuring to have a fiancé to rely on. But Lady, you don’t have a fiancé to help you, do you?”

Quite a direct statement.

Since Carsein Bargrand’s abilities are far behind, Harnier is being mocked for not even being able to get help from her fiancé.

Hearing such remarks usually makes one chuckle.

Just like the ones at the tea party hall, people outside were mocking me like this?

Well, whatever. My mood was already bad, so saying anything more wouldn’t change anything.

Even if Ariana hears about it, insulting an engaged woman would be the end of it.

Thinking of easing my sour mood, I stepped into the café.