Chapter 46

Hevon also returned, and only then did a slight sense of relief come over me, along with the metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

I immediately rinsed my mouth with water after seeing myself in the bathroom mirror.

Even though it was surely diluted enough with water, the liquid that came out of my mouth still looked distinctly red.

“Tsk. Arina, that girl really hit hard.”

Claire’s insistence that I receive treatment quickly made some sense; when I regained consciousness, my mouth felt like it had burst open, with the smell of blood vibrating through it.

When I first saw the mirror, I noticed dried blood had flowed out of my mouth and hardened into a trace.

It took rinsing several more times before the color of the water turned murky.

For now, I would have to eat from another direction.

“This is nothing. It doesn’t even hurt much.”

By tomorrow morning, I’d probably have a mouth full of canker sores.

But it didn’t matter. Even if someone slapped me on the hand, it wouldn’t kill me.

The status window showed that the bait I sprayed had been well absorbed, preventing any dangerous Dead Flags from sticking.

Also, in the beginning of the episode, I managed to properly tie one person’s legs, which would be quite helpful.

Not only did I survive, but I was also advancing according to the game’s script, which was the biggest boon for me.

-Splash.

“Pffah.”

As I washed my face with cold water and regained my senses, I organized the developments and key points of Episode V in order.

Before Episode V began, due to the influence of Episode IV, Carsein found himself receiving all the family’s attention.

He couldn’t enjoy his birthday gift or the snow festival, and despite not causing an accident, he became the subject of suspicion and attracted the whole family’s attention.

They tried to give him something, asked if he wanted anything, and offered substantial rewards by freeing his feet.

When I first entered this episode, I received these rewards without knowing anything. Of course, I thought there would be no problems.

And then, I died.

The game, which I thought I could finally handle, cruelly sentenced Carsein to death.

So, what reason could there be for dying this time?

I had to know.

Although it’s common for rewards to come before preparing for the next episode, a message soon appeared, saying I would be expelled from the Duke’s House and die.

Surprisingly, this bad ending was unified.

After being expelled from the Duke’s House, where he would be dragged off and buried, Carsein would meet a cold death.

Only one line remained:

“My family, they’re my family!”

I could guess whose line it was.

“What? Clearly, this is Flora, right?”

While playing the game, it was clear it was Flora.

Even though the culprit was obvious, finding clues wasn’t easy. Why did Carsein keep dying in the same way every time he entered this episode?

No matter how I tried to avoid it, the bad ending screen kept appearing in front of my eyes. Despite trying hard within the game, I couldn’t find any difference compared to other deaths.

But if I carefully observed her line and applied real-world experience, Carsein could survive right away.

It wasn’t about affinity, nor a specific trigger.

This was information gained from Flora’s characteristics.

At first glance, Episode IV seemed like Carsein’s affinity with the family was shining, as he gradually built up trust by claiming innocence.

But there was one person who didn’t fit this scenario: Flora.

Isabella and her two older sisters were in a favorable position, receiving the family’s attention, but Flora was not.

This was the same in reality.

‘The other two girls listen when you show them evidence, but that brat has severe confirmation bias.’

Flora often said something:

“Think you can become our family just because of that?”

When connecting Flora’s line from Episode V, where she screams she’s part of the family, to the bad ending, it led to a significant conclusion.

Yes.

Flora, who received the most attention from the family, was afraid of losing her position to Carsein.

Family’s attention.

Family’s gifts.

Family’s interest.

All of these were dangerous for Carsein.

In short, the hint was Episode IV itself.

The rewards given were nothing but clever traps.

There was a significant foreshadowing that Carsein needed to abandon all the rewards he received to survive.

‘I realized it later. She wanted the most attention for herself.’

Because I understood how exhausting it was to deal with the spoiled youngest child getting excessive attention at home.

Therefore, I needed to earn someone’s hatred.

Just like now.

In summary:

Firstly, it seems the youngest siblings all want more attention than their other family members.

Secondly, in Episode V, one must avoid the inevitable trigger of earning someone’s hatred.

Thirdly, I earned Arina’s hatred and neutralized this trigger, and in turn, tied Emma’s legs, allowing me to take the next action.

Lastly.

-Tap tap.

“Open the door, Carsein. It’s Flora.”

-Ding!

▶Flora has come to find Carsein for some reason!◀

▶Conclude the incident by talking with Flora!◀

[If the incident is resolved successfully: Access to the training hall is granted, and both Emma and Flora’s legs are tied!]

[If the incident is unresolved: You will be unable to move for three days as you search for the culprit in the Duke’s Mansion!]

[Additional rewards may be given depending on your achievements.]

With the progress of the status window known, the subsequent development continued with a conversation with Flora.

To enter the training hall, I had to ensure Flora, who was inevitably coming to me based on the game’s progression, was dealt with properly.

The method was already planned.

However, there were things to be cautious about in this subsequent development.

▶Caution!◀

▶The following penalties apply when talking with Flora.◀

[1. You cannot involve any other characters related to this incident.]

[2. You cannot avoid talking with Flora.]

‘Right, because of this penalty.’

Due to this penalty set by the game system, players lose the best opportunity to confront Flora with only one person, knowing the truth of the incident.

Yet, they cannot avoid the conversation either. What a ruthless design.

If the penalty is ignored, the warning screen will appear again, just like when I died in the game.

One constraint on the player, another to prevent avoidance.

This shows why this game has such a challenging difficulty.

Now, in reality, there are more variables for me.

But that doesn’t mean I feel intimidated.

On the contrary, I feel confident.

Because the third sister here is exactly the same annoying human being as the one I knew.

-Clink.

“…!”

Surprised that I could open the door from this side, Flora stepped back, startled.

Her trembling blue eyes beneath her blonde hair revealed her anxiety.

-Ding!

[1. Why are you here? To start trouble?]

[2. (Silence and wait)]

[3. I know it’s your doing, so just turn yourself in.]

[4. Hurry up and say what you have to say and get out. We need to move to the annex.]

‘Looks like I’m in for a choice bomb here.’

First, I mocked her.

“Are you here to scratch again?”

“What scratching?”

“You always do certain things. Like causing trouble and making me take the blame, then teasing me. Isn’t it reasonable to think I came here to start trouble?”

Choosing option 1, Flora jumped in shock and screamed.

“This time, I didn’t come to do that!!”

-Ding!

[1. ‘This time’ means you admit to previous ones? Stupid girl.]

[2. Then what?]

[3. (Glaring down the hallway) Hey, don’t shout so loud.”]

[4. Fine, let’s hear what you have to say.]

“Then what?”

Option 2 takes a roundabout approach. Choosing 4 would speed up the conversation, but now was the time to be more cautious.

I knew the answer, but since the sequence of events in the game was different, another choice might appear.

So, I decided to slowly gather information.

Flora glared at me and hesitantly replied in a low voice.

“I didn’t do it this time either.”

“…”

“I’ve looked at you many times! I’m not the culprit! I didn’t touch your stuff at all.”

How ridiculous.

She must be afraid of being scolded for what she did.

“No, really. And this time, I came to talk nicely.”

“Nice talk?”

“Yes!”

Floundering, Flora pulled out a cylindrical object from her pocket.

It looked familiar. The status window showed what item it was.

It was the ointment I had seen before.

“This certificate you were supposed to get got torn. All the maids and pages are being investigated. If you tell your little sister to stop the investigation, I’ll give you this.”

“Heh.”

She wants me to stop Claire’s investigation by giving me this ointment?

It feels so familiar to see her make such a brazen request, and it’s infuriating.

-Thud!

I roughly knocked her hand away.

“…”

The ointment rolled weakly.

Startled by the slap on her hand, Flora tightly clenched her hand and took a step back.

“What are you doing? You’re going to tell your sisters—”

“F*ck. You want me to take this and just let it go? Are you kidding? Do you think I’m stupid?”

“…”

“If you caused that much trouble, you should take responsibility. Not blame me.”

“Responsibility?”

Flora’s eyes widened in shock.

“You caused this mess. You just didn’t like me doing well. Seeing your sisters and mother pay attention to me bothered you, so you tore it up.”

“What? No! That’s not true!”

Flora denied it, but too strong a denial can be a form of admission.

This fool doesn’t seem to understand that.

“I had to sit in meetings because of you. Everyone, including the maids and pages, was suspected. A large-scale investigation is underway. And because of you, Emma got locked up. This is all your fault!”

“So what?”

“Well, get Emma out. You talked Emma out of it last time, right? If you take this ointment, the wound will heal faster…”

Emma is my nanny.

She would never do such a thing.

And she says it like it’s a fair trade.

“Again… It’s a secret from mom? If you tell her, she’ll hate us!”

She’s pushing it further with typical childish lies.

Surely, there’s no escaping this.

-Ding!

‘Speaking of choices…’

I know from dealing with the third sister.

This kind of thing needs to be repaid.

Otherwise, she’ll keep doing this over and over.

I need to engrave it in her tiny brain.

What that document was, what it meant to Carsein, and the fact that she had to give up all rights she was entitled to because of someone else.

“You had a very lavish birthday gift last year, right?”

“What?”

“Claire got lots of presents at her coming-of-age ceremony, and Arina got plenty from her partners last year. So I’m asking you, what did you get?”

“…”

Flora looked puzzled, as if wondering why this topic came up.

But then, she seemed to realize something, and the confusion disappeared.

“That was a gift from a long time ago, won at a festival under surveillance.”

“!”

“But it got torn. Before I could check, it was snatched by someone else, and instead, it provoked Arina. As a result, I was suspected and beaten.”

Gulp.

Flora swallowed heavily.

I clapped and continued.

“Everything is your fault. By making the Duke’s House doubt everything about me, this happened.”

Clap clap clap clap.

“If I do anything, I become the person who caused the trouble. Everywhere I go, I’m the dirty, disgusting person who causes problems, and now, by ignoring Arina’s kindness, I won’t be able to get anything anymore.”

Clap clap clap clap.

“But it’s fine if I don’t get anything. It’s fine if I’m always causing trouble. It’s fine if I’m a despised, dirty, and lowly person even among the servants. It’s all because of you.”

Clap clap.

“It doesn’t hurt. I’m not sad. I’m not wronged anymore. So.”

The applause gradually slowed until my hands completely stopped.

“Thank you for framing me countless times, Flora.”

I firmly told Flora with a smiling face.

[5. The document that should have come to me, it was my birthday gift.]

The final choice is just this one, ending it.

But I added a string of words.

Perhaps, it was what I wanted to say to the third sister who had tormented me endlessly.

To keep me from ever feeling at ease in this family.

To keep me vigilant and help me escape from home.

To torment me. To torment me again. To show me that pain is nothing compared to surviving in this harsh world.

Thus, I learned to gain the strength to live.

Isn’t that a truly grateful thing?

“…”

Flora froze where she stood, her face gradually turning pale as I sincerely thanked her.

The blonde child, who had been staring blankly at me, stumbled backward and hit the door.

“Guh!”

And then… she shed a tear and hurriedly opened my door, rushing out.

-Ding!

A message indicating the completion of the subsequent development appeared.

▶You have completed your conversation with Flora!◀

▶Rewards are being distributed!◀

■Rewards

▶You receive the incident resolution reward.

[Emma remains in isolation indefinitely!]

[You will not encounter Flora for the next three days.]

▶The danger level in the training hall changes.

[Change in danger level: Danger → Caution]

…

…

▶Additional rewards based on your achievements are provided!

[???]

[Advanced Ointment version 2]

“Tsk. Why is this a reward? It was just thrown into my room by that brat.”

Probably won’t be useful anyway.

I put it away in an appropriate drawer, just like the original one.

***

“Huff, huff…”

“I had a very lavish birthday gift last year, right?”

“What?”

“Was that the prize Claire mentioned, the one Arina got?”

‘But that…’

“But it got torn. Before I could check, it was snatched by someone else, and instead, it provoked Arina. As a result, I was suspected and beaten.”

‘You mean… I ripped it myself?’

That’s absurd.

How could that be possible?

“But it’s all your fault. By making the Duke’s House doubt everything about me, this happened.”

No. That’s unreasonable.

There’s no way. Just like always, it must be a lie—

“But it’s fine if I don’t get anything. It’s fine if I’m always causing trouble. It’s fine if I’m a despised, dirty, and lowly person even among the servants. It’s all because of you.”

“…”

Fine?

It’s okay?

Indifferent?

“But it doesn’t hurt. I’m not sad. I’m not wronged anymore. So.”

Not hurt? Not wronged? Even…

“Thank you for framing me countless times, Flora.”

Thank you?

…

“What’s going on? What the hell is this…!”

Flora clutched her heart as she ran wildly down the corridor, escaping to her own room.

She kept running.

But Carsein’s voice kept echoing in her head.

“Just wanting to take over the family? Just wanting to protect the family?”

“Just wanting to get along with the servants? To protect this Duke’s House?”

So she had been tormenting Carsein.

“To make me reach the point where I can’t even get a birthday gift? Me…?”

Suddenly, Emma’s voice from the isolation room echoed in her mind.

“Miss, that commoner is Miss’s enemy and the Duke’s House’s enemy. We must drive them out!”

“We must deny all rights. Otherwise, they might rise up someday!”

Really?

Is that true, Emma?

Carsein had nothing?

Her chest felt unbearably heavy.

She could hardly breathe.