Chapter 164

The book and documents were so boring to read.

The festival was splendid with fireworks and magic lights covering the sky, and I could watch for hours without getting bored.

I would rather think about how to play outside than listen to lessons and learn all sorts of things.

I hate studying and love playing.

Flora has always been like this.

At her first Eastern Nobles’ Meeting, she found it incredibly dull and disliked the meeting.

She wanted to spend her time chatting with friends or enjoying the market with family instead of worrying about the residents.

But things have changed a little now.

“Umm… The people here produce a lot of grain, but they lack money, so they pay taxes with grain, right?”

“That’s right. Our youngest, you listened well!”

“Hehe.”

Back then, she would have avoided answering by saying she didn’t understand or forgot, then urged to go play, but not anymore.

Still, there are limits.

“This is too difficult, isn’t it?”

“Sigh. Sister is right, that is too hard.”

Arina explained more about the territory, but it wasn’t enough to fill her knowledge gap.

“Don’t be discouraged because you don’t know. You’re still young, Flora. You can learn slowly beside me.”

“You’re still young, you can learn slowly,” she had heard before from Arina, Claire, and Isabella.

But now, those words felt different.

“I see, my sisters and mother were handling these complex matters…”

I can do it when my time comes.

If managing the residents is all it takes, it’s not that hard.

I can manage the territory like my sisters and get praised by Mom!

How foolish I was, thinking so simply in the past.

But when I realized, it wasn’t as simple as I thought.

Even after listening to the situation for two days, I knew almost nothing.

After watching and listening so much, only a little bit stuck in my head, barely enough to answer.

Even though her sister told her to take a break, Flora insisted on following until the end.

Arina smiled and held out her hand. Flora tightly held her eldest sister’s hand and continued the inspection. She kept asking questions to learn along the way.

One day, when she grows up, she will have to manage the territory alone.

“So, this time, we’re going to expand the space, which we couldn’t last year. What do you think?”

“Of course, there’s no problem with what Lady Arina said!”

“There’s no opposition, right?! If there is, I’ll shut their mouths!”

—Hahaha!

They cheered the moment Arina revealed herself as the temporary Lord.

Even though she hadn’t given any instructions yet, they accepted the plan without hesitation.

Walking around the territory with Arina’s hand held tightly, Flora felt how obedient the residents were.

Arina smiled and patted Flora’s head.

“Flora, things won’t always go smoothly.”

“What do you mean, sis?”

“The Lord holds all authority over this territory, so the weight is enormous. Appearance is very important.”

“Appearance…?”

“For the residents, they want their lives to improve. So, they want a better Lord. If someone is incompetent or has bad rumors, they might refuse. Some territories reject certain Lords.”

Arina added that she wouldn’t want to give such a person the land.

At that moment, Flora suddenly thought:

“Then, if someone like us, high-ranking nobility, came?”

“People here are all commoners. If we noble speak, they’d accept, right?”

Maybe with a higher status, things could be resolved.

Even if they didn’t want to accept a Lord, a higher status should solve it.

However, Arina shook her head firmly.

“If I were a great liar or a despicable swindler, they wouldn’t have accepted this plan.”

Flora felt uneasy, her past resurfacing, filling her chest with anxiety.

Feeling uneasy, Flora rushed into the carriage and ordered the coachman to leave for another territory.

Great liar. Despicable swindler.

Such a person can’t become a Lord.

Yet, there was one who became a Lord of a territory.

Just like Carsein, who took over the Shatren Territory.

In the past, Flora said to the residents of Shatren:

“Carsein is a liar!”

“Our sisters and mom tricked their way into the Duke House! Would you trust him?”

“They lied in the Duke House too. Because of him, the maids and servants suffered!”

She said this out of jealousy, not wanting him to succeed, not wanting him to gain the residents’ approval.

She even hoped all the commoners would distrust him.

“Check carefully! He’s definitely bringing disaster!”

She wanted every action to be blamed on him, every order to be seen as a lie.

She skillfully deceived people.

And…

As expected, Carsein, as the temporary Lord, issued an order that caused a terrible famine, ruining the land.

Carsein was blamed for everything and sent back to the Duke House as a great liar.

What if the swindler who deceived everyone, Carsein, took over the territory?

It would likely be as imagined.

“Please, please… Don’t let anything happen…”

Flora prayed and prayed.

She wished for no trouble.

She prayed that Carsein wouldn’t be falsely accused by her lies until the carriage reached Shatren.

She wished for something close to wishful thinking.

“Where are you!”

After arriving at Shatren, she wandered for a long time.

She searched for Carsein but knew nothing about the place.

It would have been odd not to know the geography of such a famous place.

This moment made her regret not studying at all.

Fortunately,

“────!!”

She heard human voices nearby.

But…

“If you don’t follow my policy, you don’t have to. I won’t give any other orders.”

Seeing this place, she realized the seeds of evil she had planted in the past.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

***

Carsein’s appointment as temporary Lord, delayed by two days, was disastrous.

The residents were already full of suspicion, ready to drive him out, accusing him of trying to deceive them again.

Though he managed to stay active in the territory somehow, it was as if he had given up all his authority as Lord.

“Gasp…!”

Flora cried as she wandered around Shatren.

He was wounded again.

It wasn’t just in the Duke House.

Outside, too, the fallout was spreading.

Like in her dream of Carsein.

“Gah!”

Thinking of Carsein burning away in her dream, Flora gasped in shock.

“No, it’s not… It’s not because of me…”

She didn’t want to believe it.

She didn’t want to admit that it wasn’t her fault.

She wanted to argue that being treated as a Lord shouldn’t depend on just a few words.

Yes, she could argue.

She could confront Carsein directly, claim she never meant it.

Let’s go talk to him.

Let’s confirm.

She moved her small feet toward where Carsein was.

“Why are you here again?”

Seeing him, she felt her breath stop.

But Flora forced herself to speak.

“It’s not true… Carsein. You weren’t framed here… right?”

Tell me it’s not my fault.

Tell me it was just an accident.

Shatren fell apart because of you…

“Isn’t this what you wanted?”

Facing reality, ignoring all excuses, she felt a chill.

Flora stopped wiping her tears and looked at Carsein.

“Oh, I misspoke. Yeah, it wasn’t what you wanted, but a rumor that got around, right?”

No way.

It can’t be.

‘It can’t be. It mustn’t be!’

But…

A cold smile appeared on his lips.

Again, that feeling.

Endlessly cold and distant.

A silent boundary was drawn, creating this suffocating feeling.

Only then did Flora realize.

‘What was I thinking!’

I knew it all along.

It wasn’t Carsein’s fault, but mine.

If my fabricated lies caused Carsein pain, I should have admitted it right away!

She hated herself for avoiding reality again.

But now wasn’t the time to blame herself.

She needed to say something.

She couldn’t just sit by and let all the blame fall on him again.

“Wow, those words fit perfectly. Saying I’d ruin Shatren. A rumor is just a rumor, but it sounds like a prophecy.”

But she couldn’t speak.

What should she say?

How can she deny it?

How can she reveal it’s her fault?

“Maybe I should have listened to those rumors earlier. If I had known sooner, Shatren wouldn’t have fallen. It’s my fault for causing this disaster. I still worry about that moment.”

No.

It’s not true.

Where are those words?

If you say that, I’m the one who exaggerated…

“So, I’m not framed. It’s self-inflicted. As a commoner, without ability, talking about saving the territory was foolish. This time, I’ll wait quietly and see if another chance comes. Maybe the heavens will give me another opportunity.”

At that moment, Flora realized.

She missed another chance.

She should have been honest from the start.

She should have admitted it was her fault.

Because she avoided reality again, she lost her chance.

“Idiot, fool…”

Muttering to herself, tears dripped down Flora’s cheeks.