Chapter 143

In the refreshing spring breeze, the scent of spring filled the air. Food was in his mouth and laughter echoed in his ears.

And then.

-Klang.

Unlike before, the family portrait clearly depicted all five members.

The spring outing of the Duke’s House was successfully concluded.

“But… Carsein…”

Holding the frame, Flora felt relieved but also uneasy.

She had been watching him all along, but Carsein had been grumpy throughout the outing.

That’s what made her uneasy.

There was a time when she had called Carsein not part of the family and threw a tantrum, refusing to go together.

He had explicitly shown his reluctance to be in the portrait too.

Yet, Carsein acted as if nothing had happened.

It was strange how he obediently followed his mother’s words.

From the spring outing to enjoying food and socializing with nobles, and even finishing the portrait schedule, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

This was deeply troubling for Flora.

She had seen enough.

Even though he faced all kinds of injustices, he never complained.

He didn’t enjoy anything, yet he showed no dissatisfaction.

Carsein, despite the deep and clear wounds left by Flora Bargrand, silently accepted them as if they were inevitable.

Could it really be that Carsein had moved on as if nothing had happened?

Could she really conclude that just from this?

No.

“…I need to check.”

She needed to know if Carsein truly had no memory of that incident or if he was pretending not to remember.

Finding Carsein, she would ask him if he remembered what happened back then.

She had plenty of excuses to find him.

All she needed was to bring the book in front of her.

Flora hurried to Carsein’s room with a large book in her arms.

Soon after knocking, Camila opened the door, and inside, Carsein was busily writing with a pen.

“What’s wrong?”

Flora, who had been hesitating, jumped in surprise at Carsein’s sudden question and pushed the book she was holding forward.

“I-I wanted help with my studies…”

If she asked him to solve an unknown problem, maybe she could have some conversation with Carsein. That’s why she brought the book.

With a faint sigh, Carsein moved to a round table where Flora could sit, indicating he would teach her without needing to be asked.

As the problem-solving and concept explanation began, Flora was more focused on observing Carsein’s demeanor.

Gathering her courage, she asked:

“Um… This isn’t about the problem, but can I ask one thing?”

“What is it?”

“The little sister said Mom wanted us not to draw the portrait and go back to the Duke’s House… You said it was okay, right?”

“That’s what?”

“Why, why did you say that? I’m curious! When you came back, you were injured… I wondered if you were upset…”

Her words were a bit off, but she conveyed everything.

The rest was up to Carsein’s response.

If he remembered everything from the past but chose to overlook it, this would determine it.

“Is that why you came to ask? What’s so important about it?”

Carsein answered as if it were trivial.

“Why should I be upset because of some troublemakers? Actually, I’m the one who should be fine.”

“Upset… me?”

“I didn’t get hurt, you know. Oh, well, I did get hit in the face, but it’s healed now.”

…

What?

She thought he was upset because of something from the past, but it wasn’t that?

Carsein spoke as if it was nothing serious.

‘Is he… okay?’

Carsein didn’t bring up that incident at all.

Whether it was his refusal to go on outings, his teasing upon return, or his behavior during the portrait session.

To him, those things seemed insignificant.

“Anyway, you weren’t focusing earlier. Look properly.”

“Oh, I know!”

“You didn’t even use the formulas I taught you and got it wrong again. How could you not know?”

Only then did Flora feel relieved.

Carsein didn’t intentionally ignore the incident; it just wasn’t worth his attention.

“Then, please teach me again.”

She still wanted to spend time with Carsein.

“…”

On the other hand,

Claire closed her eyes tightly while listening to the conversation leaking out of Carsein’s room.

The fragment of the Turmus flower in her hand clearly proved that she had prepared for the situation back then.

‘Even knowing everything… pretending…’

Everything was a deception.

His seemingly okay response in front of their mother, his deliberate silence about this fact, and even his current words to Flora were all lies.

Her chest felt tight.

Every time she felt this discomfort, Claire’s predictions became more accurate.

-Ding!

→ Affinity with [Claire] has increased. ←

[Current Level: 80%]

→ Affinity with Claire reached 80%. ←

→ Special Hidden Episode <Unforgettable Discomfort> conditions met. ←

→ Automatically proceeding to special episode. ←

→ This message will not be displayed to the player! ←

“I have nothing to say to you…”

Claire clenched her lips and left Carsein’s room.

***

→ Sub Episode cleared: Flora’s Studies (2). ←

“Why does this show up?” she wondered, but seeing the “(2)” in the sub-episode subtitle, she vaguely understood.

Sub Episodes usually don’t have much impact on the Main Episode, so they tend to be one-off events.

But not all Sub Episodes are one-time occurrences.

Like the repetition of hunting monsters in Rusmaier territory, there can be repeating Sub Episodes.

“This showing up means some trigger must have activated…”

To understand this, I need to know what triggered it.

But how could I, who had never seen this repeated event, know where the trigger was set?

“Well, forget it. Teaching that brat probably won’t do any good anyway.”

In the game, there was a repetitive episode where monsters in Rusmaier territory were defeated.

Compared to that, this was minor. It wasn’t dangerous, and it would be enough to pretend to teach a few times.

Let’s just let it go.

Right now, this seems more important.

“The letter from the Young Master was received well. However, considering the circumstances, I plan to move the location as much as possible.”

Climbing into the carriage, I looked over Tasha’s letter and the map she included several times.

“Tasha wouldn’t be unaware of my situation, but still, she wants to meet here.”

The point marked on the map was not in Rusmaier but in Shatren.

In this game, Tasha has never betrayed Carsein once.

The story of her being saved by Camila was known, but even considering that, the chance of her betraying Carsein was close to zero.

Still, wanting to meet in Shatren implies there must be a reason.

And there’s one more strange thing.

“Coachman, wait here. Don’t leave this area until I come back. Understand?”

“Yes, Young Master.”

The request was to hide the Bargrand Duke’s carriage and wear a hood to cover my appearance.

Let’s see.

Moving according to Tasha’s instructions, I arrived at the designated location.

‘Somewhere around here… Is Tasha still not here?’

Looking around, there was no sign of Tasha. Instead, there was a noisy carriage nearby.

“Those kids! Doing this again?!”

“We’ll catch them today. Those kids!”

“Run away!!!”

Near the noisy carriage, children seemed to be running out with something from inside, while adults chased after them, yelling.

But…

‘There’s something odd.’

If they chase properly, they should be able to catch them.

Soon, the adults couldn’t keep up with the children’s quick escape and gathered around the carriage.

They started making strange sounds.

“…Should be enough to eat now, right?”

“Yeah, no need to worry.”

“How did this happen? My nose is all stuffy.”

Because this carriage was meant for trading, transporting goods, and selling.

Following my orders, it was supposed to travel from Rusmaier along this route to distribute goods elsewhere.

But instead of selling, they claimed to have eaten enough and felt no worry, with stuffy noses.

It was nonsensical.

“Was this what you wanted to show me, Tasha?”

Starting from behind, I turned and asked directly.

Tasha didn’t deny it.

“…Yes, Young Master.”

-Ding!

→ Unusual behavior of Rusmaier residents detected! How will you respond?

[1. What’s your motive for showing me this, Tasha?]

[2. Take these kids and give them a good beating. Deduct the loss from their pay.]

[3. They committed this act in Shatren territory. It’s understandable, but we can’t let it slide. Catch these kids and make an example out of them.]

[4. It seems you wanted me to witness this scene. Understood. I’ll report this to the Duke’s House.]

…

…

Another unfamiliar choice appeared.

Actually, it’s not surprising for choices to appear, as this situation was a serious matter for the Lord’s Proxy.

Rusmaier residents were giving away goods to Shatren without any mention to me, and losses would be recorded in the accounts.

If handled normally, there were plenty of options.

Either Rusmaier or Shatren, the cause-and-effect relationship could be easily traced. Even the Duke’s power might be used if necessary. The situation was favorable for me.

But, showing me such a situation that I should naturally intervene was unusual.

Adults’ tears.

Children’s dirty hands.

These scenes were genuine, without any artificial fabrication.

-Ding!

→ Sub Episode: Reversed Situation (1) occurred. ←

‘This is another recurring Sub Episode.’

This could be valuable information.

Recurring situations like this could lead to recurring Sub Episodes.

Therefore…

These choices should be taken more seriously.

[7. I want to hear the details, Tasha.]

“I won’t ask who the culprit is. But, I want to hear the details.”

Let’s hear it first.

To handle it properly, I need to know what happened.

***

‘As expected.’

Watching Carsein prioritize the situation, Tasha smiled faintly.

Now she could speak freely.

Or rather, she was ready to face even greater danger.

Cold as he may seem, he was ultimately warm and compassionate.

“In the days of dire poverty, Rusmaier received aid from Shatren territory.”

Such a story would be impossible for another lord, but Tasha spoke without any doubt.

Because the subject was Carsein.

She could speak freely about it.

-Ding!

→ Affinity with Tasha increased! ←

[Affinity Level: 60% → 65%]