Chapter 136

Busy bustling through the Duke’s House.

Isabella, leading the way, and her sisters began to gather in front of the carriage, all set for their outing.

Only Carsein, fetched by Heron, was still missing.

“Surely he won’t be late on such a day. I told him to be prepared… tsk.”

“Arina.”

“…Sorry, Mother.”

Seeing Arina click her tongue at the clock, Isabella stopped her.

It wasn’t too late yet.

“Sorry for being late.”

Just as if she had called him, Carsein appeared.

The family’s faces instantly lit up.

‘He’s here!’

Flora, who should have been monopolizing the youngest sibling’s love from her mother and sisters, was growing anxious thinking Carsein might not come.

Fortunately, now that Carsein had shown up, her anxiety vanished.

But when he fully appeared in the corridor, everyone seemed a bit surprised, and there was a brief moment of silence.

‘Was Carsein always like this?’

Probably due to his freshly dressed appearance, there was a strange sense of unfamiliarity compared to before.

Isabella broke the silence.

“How you’ve grown! The way you’re dressed suits you perfectly, Carsein.”

With a pleased look, Isabella patted her son’s shoulder, a full smile on her face.

The thin frame he once had was gone. His well-fed face was noticeably different from the past, and with the balanced, slight muscles, he looked like a completely different person.

This made the three sisters speechless.

“Hmm. Since there are five of us, we could split into two carriages. What do you think?”

Flora, who had been staring blankly at Carsein, snapped out of it when she heard about the carriages.

‘If we split into two carriages…’

Just like during the snow festival, they could spend time alone together.

With her hands raised and bouncing around,

the youngest sibling proclaimed herself.

“I-I! Today, I want to ride with Carsein!”

“Really? Then how about Carsein rides with Flora?”

Before she could agree, Claire interrupted.

“Wait a moment.”

Claire, who had been gloomy since arriving at the carriage,

started speaking.

“Flora, can’t I ride with Carsein today?”

“Younger sister…?”

“That is…”

Claire hesitated, biting her lip.

“It’s because I have something to tell Carsein about the Rusmaier territory.”

Actually, there was nothing like that. Rusmaier was already completed in Carsein’s hands, so there was no need to convey anything.

Thus, this was just an excuse.

“I’m sorry, Flora, but this is important. Can you give up today?”

“…Alright.”

Flora reluctantly lowered her head, and Claire gently stroked her hair.

“Seems many kids want to ride with Carsein lately. Looks like you’ve become closer.”

“Not much of an issue.”

Isabella said she would go ahead and left them to decide among themselves, and Flora followed her.

The first carriage had Isabella, Arina, and Flora,

and the second had Carsein and Claire.

Arina suggested splitting like this.

Carsein smirked slightly and replied.

“I don’t want to.”

“What?”

“Just let the rest of you ride together. I don’t really feel like riding in a carriage.”

The atmosphere, which had been light and airy, instantly turned cold.

Creating the chilly atmosphere, Carsein immediately went to the stable and brought out a horse.

“Sorry, but I’d rather ride a horse. I don’t particularly feel like riding in a carriage.”

“Ugh. Is Carsein going to pull another weird stunt again?”

“Well, isn’t this normal? Rather than making two carriages just for me, wouldn’t it be better if I rode a horse? Then all four of us can ride together. Isn’t that a solution?”

Arina immediately narrowed her eyes.

“You call that a suggestion?”

“Well, is there anything wrong with what I said? It seems stubborn to you, but all I want is to enjoy this nice weather on horseback. And it solves other problems too. I don’t get why it’s a problem.”

“You…”

Facing Arina’s sarcastic response, Carsein stood his ground, and Arina let out a bitter laugh.

The atmosphere quickly soured.

Sparks flew between the two, as if they were about to fight.

Claire hurriedly intervened, trying to stop Arina.

“Hey, sis! Sometimes, it’s good to change the mood. Let’s just say we’ll ride horses.”

“…”

Noticing Arina’s reluctance, Claire whispered to persuade her.

“We shouldn’t fight on such a nice day. Mom can see us.”

Watching Isabella walk towards the carriage, Arina hesitated, worried about what might happen.

Finally, Arina stepped back.

“Alright. Claire, you’re right. There’s no point in fighting on such a nice day.”

But she added one thing.

“Mom will worry if we don’t get along. This family outing is something Mom was looking forward to. If we mess it up, I won’t stay quiet.”

With a sharp voice, Arina warned Carsein and walked toward Isabella without looking back.

“…”

Claire sighed in relief watching her sister leave, but another thought crossed her mind.

Why is she?

Why is she so obsessed with Carsein?

In the midst of these thoughts,

-Whinny!

Carsein had already mounted his horse and started off.

Clop, clop.

As the sound of hooves echoed, Carsein disappeared.

“Ah, seriously! Why does he have to go so fast!”

Claire complained, venting her frustration on the ground.

Why was he going so fast?

Had he stepped on fire?

She grumbled.

But gradually, her steps slowed down,

and soon, her venting ceased.

“…I was going to apologize.”

After all, there would be opportunities during the outing.

Promising herself to make it next time, Claire slowly headed towards the carriage.

***

Under the bright spring sun, the Duke’s House arrived in the East.

“Wow. So beautiful.”

Following Flora’s exclamation, the family’s gaze turned to the blooming cherry blossoms.

More vibrant than usual, the cherry trees gracefully shed their petals.

Suddenly, Claire cleared her throat.

“The other day, it wasn’t this open. Only a few scattered trees were in bloom, and many weren’t fully open yet.”

“Really? Then we came at the perfect timing?”

“Yes, Flora. People were flocking, and some even had trouble returning.”

People didn’t just gather; they crowded, causing congestion in certain areas. As a result, some inns were fully booked.

“It really would have been better to wait a little longer.”

Isabella, holding a falling cherry blossom petal in her palm, smiled faintly.

Though Arina didn’t seem too happy about something earlier, it wasn’t important right now.

▶Episode IV. Spring Outing is in progress.◀

▶Family has arrived at the outing location.◀

▶Achievement levels will be updated based on your actions, and choices will appear!◀

The spring outing episode has begun, and I am about to face my choices.

Especially,

▶This area is a dangerous zone!◀

[Long stays may trigger corresponding choices.]

The deadly choices that appear in the dangerous zone.

While this place might simply be seen as an outing spot, from another perspective, it’s a gathering of nobles.

There are many people,

and among them are nobles.

This fact was enough to be threatening to Carsein.

“But, the real danger lies elsewhere.”

▶Choices in this episode are not influenced by existing affinity levels.◀

▶Affinity levels gained within the episode will affect the choices.◀

Choices that often put players in difficult situations always exist.

Players can weaken or nullify the power of these choices by raising their affinity levels.

However,

in this episode, one means of doing so is blocked.

The pre-set affinity levels are sealed.

Threats in the form of high-risk fields appear as choices at any time.

Even the new affinity levels calculated based on new choices and overall actions.

This episode is extremely dangerous.

The affinity level’s influence is significant, and the family practically drags the player along.

It’s simple.

Staying close to them is safest, and following their lead makes this episode easier to clear.

“But I don’t want to do that.”

Remembering the situation from Memorial,

seeing the same scenario repeated,

should I foolishly stick to the family for help?

No, absolutely not.

Just because affinity levels are sealed doesn’t mean clearing the episode is impossible.

And even though it’s a high-risk field, it doesn’t mean accepting every choice is necessary.

Just waiting won’t halt the episode’s progression, and clinging to the family isn’t the only way to clear it.

I waited for the right moment.

“Sorry, but can we postpone the cherry blossom viewing for a bit?”

“Is something wrong?”

“Actually, Prince Second is also visiting this place.”

-Ding!

▶Isabella wants to meet Prince Second. How will you respond?

[1. Go with Isabella to meet Prince Second.]

[2. Say you want to go see the cherry blossoms first.]

[3. Sit down and wait.]

[4. Ask Isabella to take one of the siblings to the market.]

When the awaited choice appeared, I chose 2 without hesitation.

[2. Say you want to go see the cherry blossoms first.]

“Then I’ll go look around somewhere else first.”

“Carsein, can’t we all go together? Why leave someone behind?”

Arina said discontentedly,

“Arina, Prince Second’s audience is limited to four people.”

“…What?”

“That’s correct, isn’t it?”

Confidently, I looked at Isabella.

She was surprised but didn’t deny it.

“You know that accurately. But how did you know?”

Well, of course, it’s because I remember the game data.

But here, let’s use a plausible lie.

“Princess Second told us beforehand.”

It’s odd, but it’s not entirely unbelievable.

In reality, it doesn’t affect affinity levels.

“Alright, but how long will it take?”

“Sure, I’ll take a walk. Come back when you’re done.”

Sticking too closely could lower someone’s affinity level, but this situation is actually a good opportunity.

“Alright, come back quickly. Don’t go too far.”

As Isabella and the three sisters headed toward Prince Second, the status window appeared.

-Ding!

▶Episode IV. Spring Outing is in progress.◀

▶Route is set.◀

▶You must purchase items from nearby stalls and return.◀

▶If you leave empty-handed, a Dead Flag will be raised.◀

“Wha—”

Gasping at the system message,

even though this game is full of unpredictable scenes, this caught me off guard.

“Isn’t this exactly like what happened in Memorial?”

The situation is exactly like that.

The Bargrand family, meeting with Prince Second, taking time.

For some reason, Carsein is alone and isolated.

Nobles loitering around, making it easy for trouble to start.

It feels like the exact same plot from Memorial.

“If that’s the case…”

Meeting the nobles is inevitable.

Of course, with my current stats, I’m confident I won’t lose.

Still, fabricating the situation isn’t too hard.

If things proceed like that,

“Then the episode will be resolved. Even if I can’t get the portrait.”

The episode ends in the way the Bargrand family likes.

Still, it’s good to have insurance.

I decided to prepare another method to counter the upcoming choices by following the path I took in Memorial.

▶Entered the shop!◀

Walking a few steps, I saw a familiar place.

The makeshift stall Carsein visited in Memorial.

‘I hope there’s something useful here.’

Browsing through various stalls and reading item descriptions, I pointed at something and asked.

“How much is this hairpin?”

[Turmerus Flower Hairpin]

[A hairpin made from solidified Turmerus flowers. Hence, it’s fragile and prone to breaking.]