Chapter 61

“…”

Today was supposed to be a day with other plans.

It was meant to be a time to laugh and chat with her peers in the greenhouse, sipping warm cocoa and reminiscing about the previous snow festival.

But Flora was walking around, fully dressed.

On the fourth day of Carsein’s induction period.

Recalling the scene she had secretly witnessed near the waterway that day.

“-So this is confiscation? I’ll turn a blind eye to your misconduct.”

Flora stopped in her tracks as she recalled Bruce’s voice.

“It’s clearly something taken from my sister… stolen?”

But why didn’t he say anything?

Even though his stuff was taken, why wasn’t he upset?

“I don’t get it. Why? It’s different from what Sir Theo said…”

Flora was thrown back into confusion.

Seeing someone boldly enter the training hall entrance, she quickly hid herself.

“Stack them carefully. Don’t break even one!”

Peeking out again, Claire was raising her fist, warning the porters.

“Oh right. Today is the second young lady’s arrival.”

Tomorrow might be her turn.

There’s no need to come here with such a complicated heart. Tomorrow, she could see it with her own eyes.

But… strangely, seeing the second young lady made Flora feel a tightness in her chest.

Why?

Every time Carsein received something from someone, she would get angry.

She hated it. Every time Carsein caused trouble, she felt pleased when he suffered.

Now, instead of worrying about being taken, she felt uneasy and suffocated.

It wasn’t because she was worried about her younger sister giving something to Carsein.

It wasn’t due to the fear of losing family.

This indescribable feeling.

She couldn’t explain it in detail.

One thing she knew for sure was that seeing that made her question herself.

“Why? Why?”

She heard directly from Sir Theo that her actions weren’t wrong, so why did she feel this way?

Back at square one.

She didn’t know what this feeling was.

Something felt wrong, and something felt off.

Flora couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling that she needed to go find Carsein today, and while avoiding her younger sister’s eyes, she headed towards the training hall.

***

The fifth day dawned.

Having prepared thoroughly, Claire stood at the entrance of the training hall, watching the knights doing their morning jog.

“Eh, Ehh?!”

“Lady Claire…? Why are you using Greek magic on your fellow knight…”

“This guy is trying to deny it. Do you think I didn’t see? You deliberately aimed for Carsein!”

She caught one of them.

She wasn’t joking about wanting to tear him apart.

“How dare you touch anyone’s brother. Hey, wake up.”

“Eh, Eh? Lady Claire!”

Claire grabbed the knight by the collar, intending to drag him out of the squadron and expel him.

“Sir Theo Lamstair reporting. May I speak to Lady Claire?”

A composed figure suddenly popped out.

“What is it?”

“When we do morning jogs in the training hall, incidents like this happen frequently. It’s quite common during overtaking.”

“Huh. So? Are you saying he didn’t hit Carsein?”

Shiver.

Theo flinched under Claire’s intense presence.

“Hey, my sister told me yesterday that Carsein committed some sort of rebellion?”

“Yes, yes… That’s…”

“I know. It was a petty complaint. But if this guy deliberately hit Carsein, it’s real rebellion. A mere knight attacking the duke’s young master?”

Taken aback, Theo swallowed hard.

“Ma’am. In the training hall, we follow the rules. So, Carsein is currently a trainee here.”

“So?”

“It’s like a small initiation ceremony for new recruits. It’s not violence, just a custom to help them adapt.”

Seeing Claire listening, Theo smoothly lied.

“If not, as a trainee, Lord Carsein’s stamina is lower than ours, so falling behind is unavoidable. Other knights might block his path. Excluding him wouldn’t be fair, right?”

“Hmm. Really?”

Claire released her grip on the knight’s collar, flipping her hair over her shoulder, her eyes now curious. She pressured Theo further.

“Then tell me to keep watching Carsein getting hit like this. Is that what you mean? Because of this petty initiation?”

“Eh?! No, no!”

“That’s exactly what you’re saying. According to the training hall rules, Carsein is a trainee and should expect to be hit while being overtaken. Right?”

Claiming justification for the training hall incident, Claire’s fierce gaze pierced through Theo like blue light.

Defeated, Theo had no choice but to step back.

“He’s my junior. I’ll personally give him a warning. Please let it slide, Ma’am.”

Only then did Theo bow his head submissively.

Claire stared at Theo with a disapproving look.

Just a warning wasn’t enough.

“Then send that guy to another squadron today.”

“Huh, huh?”

“Since overtaking happens multiple times. Just transfer him to another squadron.”

“Ma’am, sending someone to another squadron isn’t easy…”

“The mistake is this guy’s. Or else, we can kick him out of the knight order. There are plenty of candidates. And bad customs should be phased out. Right?”

To make it look like exile, Claire wanted to send him to another squadron.

“Can we send him to the 2nd squadron for Lord Carsein’s remaining three days?”

“Yeah. Do that.”

Theo closed his eyes tightly, reluctantly sending his beloved subordinate to another squadron.

Thanks to this, the morning jog was very peaceful.

Or rather, it was too quiet.

With the second young lady of the Bargrand Duke House glaring, no one dared to interfere.

After the morning jog ended.

Carsein was still sprawled on the floor.

Claire approached her brother and squatted down.

“Are you running every day?”

“Yeah.”

“Then, they’re provoking you every day.”

Carsein sighed deeply and drank water.

“Didn’t Ariana tell you? Getting involved will only make things worse for you.”

“So I didn’t get involved.”

“What?”

“I’m just fixing bad customs among the knights. I haven’t been on your side.”

Claire refused to budge.

Carsein laughed helplessly, realizing she was right.

She only stopped the knights from their bad habits, not giving any special treatment to Carsein.

If Carsein complained, it would be because the knights were practicing unfair practices, and Claire was there to stop it.

“And put this on. How can you be so inflexible?”

“What is it?”

“When a family member joins the knight order, it’s customary to buy them training clothes.”

“Didn’t Ariana tell you?”

“This is also designed by my boutique, so there’s no problem.”

Carsein gave up and spoke bluntly.

“Stop these useless efforts. Stop doing this altogether.”

***

I thought that was a bit direct.

It could have been ended by saying it was an unnecessary action for Ariana.

But Claire, unlike the second young lady I knew, wouldn’t listen after just one warning.

So, I had to be direct.

Of course, there was someone watching.

“…”

Claire’s hand slowly rose.

Although the height difference wasn’t significant, she didn’t dodge. She expected to get hit after saying those words.

However.

Unlike before, heat didn’t rise to her cheek.

“This kid says I’m wasting time with gifts from my sister. Tell those guys to come to me if they have any complaints. Anyway, I’ve already warned the lieutenant beforehand, so it ends at his level.”

Pouting, Claire tapped Carsein’s forehead lightly.

“What’s going on? Why is she like this?”

She intentionally provoked Claire to get hit or scolded, expecting a reaction from her hot-tempered personality, which was similar to the second young lady she knew.

But Claire didn’t hit or even scold her.

“Since you say you’re being bothered, I’ll leave. But, does the spot where your sister hit still hurt?”

“…It’s been a while, so how could it still hurt?”

“But when your sister hit you back then, she used mana, full force. She was really furious.”

Seeing Claire’s puzzled reaction, she scratched her cheek.

“I always control myself when hitting you. Even if I’m angry, using mana makes it really painful.”

“…”

“Uh? What’s with that look? You don’t believe me?”

Would you believe me if you were in my shoes?

I wanted to say it, but held back.

Then Claire grabbed Carsein’s cheek roughly.

“What are you doing?”

“Ugh! You don’t need to know that! Just wear the clothes properly.”

Claire watched closely to see if he would wear the clothes for the next training.

With a gloomy expression, she returned to her position.

“…What’s going on?”

She intended to chase him away, but he quietly left.

The expensive training clothes made her feel bewildered for a long time.

[ Claire Bargrand ]

[Friendship Level: 32%]

When she looked up, Claire’s friendship level had surpassed 30%.

“It’s fine. She’s not the problem.”

[ Flora Bargrand ]

[Friendship Level: 7%]

The real issue lies here.

Feeling that the preparations were complete, she noticed a little kid spying.

“▶Do you want to put the item in the pouch?◀”

[ 1. Yes. ]

[ 2. No. ]

Without hesitation, she placed the item in her pouch and casually threw it somewhere visible.

***

This unease definitely stems from Carsein.

Entering the back alley of the training hall unnoticed, Flora peeked through to watch Carsein run among the knights.

But…

Was it a misunderstanding?

No particular thoughts came to mind. Even seeing Carsein, the unease didn’t dissipate.

However.

-Tuk!

‘…?’

Seeing Carsein get hit by another knight, the unease intensified.

After that, her younger sister used magic to knock a knight down, and Theo talked with him. The knight who hit Carsein barely escaped expulsion.

Carsein openly rejected Claire’s goodwill.

Her chest felt like it was going to burst.

Unable to bear the suffocation, Flora clutched her chest and pulled back her head.

“Gasp, gasp…”

Flora crouched down, holding her chest with both hands.

She felt a strange sense of déjà vu in this situation.

Different place, same cause.

If she replaced maids with knights and harassment with provocations, it was identical to what happened in the duke house.

Every time Flora tormented Carsein, this situation felt similar.

Could it be happening here too?

“No. No! It’s not!”

Flora shook her head vigorously, rejecting the idea.

“I didn’t ask for that. I only did that in the duke house, not in the training hall!”

As she turned away,

-Ziiik. Ziiik!

A tearing sound came from nearby.

Judging from the sound, it must be a knight’s pouch.

But why is this sound coming from here?

“F*ck. Why am I witnessing this mess because of one commoner?”

Soon, the tearing sound stopped. Muttering to herself, she walked briskly towards the back of the training hall.

In that place,

“…”

A pouch was torn open, revealing its contents.

There was no need to check whose it was.

Inside the pouch were the two ointments she had given earlier.

A wave of discomfort swelled in Flora’s chest.

-Ding!