Chapter 186

Two men sweated bullets.

It was unfortunate that they didn’t get hit by the shard of the pottery, but seeing Carsein enter the seed warehouse gave them an opportunity to seize.

Carsein already had a bad reputation.

With Carsein wearing such a bad reputation, they thought they could neutralize or drive him out from the territory using this as a pretext.

“Even if he’s the temporary lord, I can’t let this slide. Is it okay to just take our seeds like this?”

“That’s ridiculous! Put it down immediately! This is theft!”

However, when they tried to use this as a reason to chase him out,

the two men found themselves speechless due to Carsein’s response.

“The Shatren strawberries and grapes grow by eating mana from their seeds. It’s better to thin them out periodically. That means some seeds have to be removed. Is there something wrong with that?”

“…”

They thought that even if they looked into Shatren, how much could they understand? They figured that someone who ruined their land wouldn’t even know what this warehouse is for.

But this statement acted like a wall, making it impossible to brand Carsein as a thief.

The act of thinning out the seeds itself had legitimacy, and there was a basis for needing to remove some seeds because they eat mana to grow.

Only those who lived in the Shatren territory knew this information. Without having planted Shatren strawberries and grapes, no one else would know.

In this situation, how could they possibly brand Carsein as a thief?

The two men had no choice but to signal each other.

‘Hey!’

‘Yeah. There’s no other way!’

There was no choice but to retreat.

They weren’t sure if he studied or got his information from somewhere, but this method was a huge failure.

But now, they couldn’t back out either.

“Haa. What kind of screwed-up situation is this right now?”

Under the pink bangs, her eyes glinted dangerously.

“Gah!”

“K-Klare…!”

The second daughter of the Bargrand family.

Realizing she heard all the conversation, her mind went blank.

***

‘That’s what I thought.’

Daring to call the temporary lord a thief,

even after observing the perfectly normal action of thinning out seeds to prevent mana from clustering and affecting growth.

The initiative in the conversation had already shifted to me.

I could slightly escalate things by grabbing them and preventing their escape, and if this situation were reported, I might be able to demand the right to manage part of the Shatren territory as a punishment for lying, similar to before.

Using an agent’s ability here could have expanded my influence further.

But things don’t resolve so easily.

-Beep!

A specific event has occurred and a character has intruded! The target is Claire!

Please choose your option.

Just at this moment, an event where a character intrudes occurred.

If this were the event I knew about, I could have chosen the correct option to handle it. But it wasn’t.

Unlike the original game’s progression, the process of accepting the second agent was extremely short, and this place was never supposed to happen. I came here thinking I could gain a small benefit since Trisha told me about it.

And an event happens here? An intrusion by a character, making things much more complicated?

There are too many variables. Not only is it an event, but a choice has also appeared. Clearly, if left unchecked, this could lead to a bad ending where I suffer unexpected consequences due to careless handling.

Given the high risk, I had no choice but to shift my judgment towards minimizing damage rather than seeking profit.

‘First, I need to gather information. The one who came to me is… Claire.’

Her impulsive personality makes it likely she will point out my mistakes outright.

For that, this option seems best.

[3. I did make a mistake. Given my past actions, it’s not strange to be suspected of theft.]

“I made a mistake. Given my past actions, it’s not strange to be suspected of theft.”

It’s obvious anyway that I’d wear a mask.

If so, I should start minimizing damage from here.

“Well, who would have expected anything from Shatren? Anyone would look like a thief. Just like in the Duke’s House.”

Now, even if a few words hurt my feelings, it doesn’t matter. For now, I can draw a line.

“If I’ve done something wrong, let them say what they want in the Duke’s House. The symposium is ongoing right now.”

The symposium is ongoing, and I am the temporary lord of the Shatren territory. If there’s a problem related to this, I alone should bear the consequences.

Drawing that line would decrease Claire’s affinity with me temporarily, but she might complain to the Duke’s House later.

But then,

“What? You’re saying I’m the thief? Huh?”

Claire turned her head and flared up.

“Or do you think there’s another reason? Tell me. Let me hear it.”

“You…”

What? That tone?

That girl who always looked down on me suddenly fell silent.

“Damn. Forget it. I’ll deal with these guys myself!”

I stepped forward and blocked Claire.

“What are you doing? Move aside now.”

“As I said before, everything happening in this territory is under my jurisdiction as the temporary lord. You have no place to interfere, Claire.”

“Bitch!”

Claire couldn’t hold back and hurled insults.

“I’m not calling you a thief! These guys framed an innocent person for theft!”

Haa. This crazy woman knows this yet still does such a foolish thing… No, regardless, the goal is to punish these guys, right?

“Hey, you two over there.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Get out of here quickly.”

“Hey, Carsein!”

“Ahh!”

“I told you to leave. Or do you want to stay here and get caught?”

The two men hurriedly fled. At least I managed to get them away for now.

“Haa, Carsein…”

Claire grabbed my collar and raged.

“Are you really that stupid? Are you just going to let go of the ones who accused you of being a thief?”

“Would you rather I let them off if they stick out their tongues at me?”

“Of course! You’re the son of the Bargrand Duke. These crazy guys have no right to go berserk on you, who hasn’t done anything wrong!”

At those words, my whole body froze.

“I can’t just stand by and do nothing. I need to catch these guys immediately. Move aside.”

Haa. Ridiculous.

I laughed bitterly and looked at the options.

-Beep!

[1. I am the temporary lord of this territory.]

[2. I will deal with it myself. Go back.]

[3. Shouldn’t we just overlook it as a mistake?]

While I don’t know which is the right answer, I know what I have to say.

[1. I am the temporary lord of this territory.]☑

“The temporary lord of Shatren is me. Have you thought about the repercussions if you punish those two?”

“A peasant dares to climb up to a lord, and even tries to frame someone. What’s wrong with that?”

“Of course. There’s no way I’d let this happen in my territory.”

Really, they don’t think.

Instead, they think their actions will make things worse.

They don’t consider that this action will reduce my standing further.

They don’t realize that this will turn against me.

“If the temporary lord of Shatren can’t handle what happens in their own territory and has to report it to another lord, it would be quite a spectacle. People might even say that person shouldn’t be trusted with this land.”

“…”

“If you want to spread my incompetence throughout Shatren… no, across the entire empire, go ahead. Ariana will jump with anger. Fine.”

Feeling the cold blood flow through me, I left that place.

As usual, blocking the path is the second sister.

No matter what I do, I’m seen negatively. Completely overlapping with the second sister, old memories resurface.

“Why aren’t you doing anything? I clearly heard the interns talking behind your back. Why aren’t you reporting them?”

If I were to grab them and report, how would the other interns, junior staff, and workers who work with them react?

It wouldn’t just stop as a rumor. The whole company would know, and I’d receive contempt and hatred. Afterward, no one would want to work with me because of this precedent.

Making enemies within the same company isn’t beneficial.

That simple thought led the second sister to tell me to report them.

This time, it’s the same situation, just with different settings: company, territory, interns, and residents.

No matter what I do, I get blamed, but blocking the path is still the second sister’s job.

-Beep!

A little later, a message appeared saying the event was cleared. I glanced back cautiously, but no one was chasing me.

“Ugh… As always, the second sister has to tell me this to understand.”

***

Claire, holding a handwritten letter from her mother with a happy expression, came to deliver it to Carsein.

She entered the Shatren territory and followed Carsein into the warehouse, feeling somewhat excited.

But her excitement didn’t last long. Witnessing the scene where two residents tried to frame their master, she felt her eyes turn red.

To frame her master, especially the Bargrand family.

And her younger brother.

She was determined to thoroughly punish them.

To prevent history from repeating itself, she wanted to set a proper example.

She wanted to drive home a lesson to Carsein so he wouldn’t repeat such a mistake.

But her futile attempt only led to history repeating itself.

Claire bit her lip.

“Haa… Damn. Why am I so stupid.”

How could such a foolish girl exist?

Nothing had changed.

She saw one thing and ignored the others.

Driven by emotions, she almost tripped up her younger brother again.

Just like when she warned the House of Rilfetten with a warning letter.

And she calls herself a sister?

And she claims to be family?

-Grrk.

Unable to endure the pain, Claire messed up her hair completely. She hated messing up her hair, but now she had completely ruined it with her own hands.

“…Yes. I acted emotionally and came here. If I truly want to help Carsein…”

One step back.

Not too close, but a bit farther away.

She needs to find another way. To avoid making things worse by directly intervening.

-Beep!

Claire’s hidden episode <Unforgettable Displeasure>’s condition 2 is met.

[Condition 2: During the symposium period, Claire realizes that intervening in Carsein’s territory ends up causing harm instead.] ☑

Both conditions are met, clearing <Unforgettable Displeasure>.

The result exceeds the selection, revealing changes without altering the setting.

[I wanted to ■■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■.]

[Current value: 83%]