Chapter 9

‘Here comes that crazy girl again.’

—

Flora might have come here to bully and tease Carsein, but this was something I hadn’t expected at all.

I don’t know why she personally came to the space where maids do laundry, but whether she did or not, it wasn’t my problem.

‘This scene was skipped, so the choices appeared a bit later.’

Until the predetermined scene appears, there shouldn’t be any restrictions on choices. Why would I feel uncomfortable?

I should just continue doing what I’m doing.

-Slap slap.

“Carsein…!”

Starting to wash clothes again with her bare hands, Claire gritted her teeth and shouted.

“What are you doing? Don’t tell me you’re not answering!”

“Doing what? Washing clothes.”

“So why are you washing these clothes? You idiot!”

“Seriously. Then should I wear these clothes and go see Mother?”

She held up clothes that were dirty but not visibly soiled.

“If you want to see Mother, you can’t go like this. At least, you need to wash these today and dry them by tomorrow to wear.”

“Damn it. Hey, Carsein.”

-Slap!

Claire finally couldn’t take it and threw the laundry down.

“Stop messing around and say it straight. Why aren’t you making your maid do this and why are you doing it yourself? Why is this happening to you when you’ve been sick until recently?”

Her fierce gaze radiated an indescribable pressure. The distorted face of Claire showed signs of anger, as if she couldn’t bear the tension anymore.

If choices had appeared, I probably would have died for saying something reckless at this moment.

But right now, there’s no restriction on me. My body and mind are fully prepared to face Claire Bargrand.

‘This thing right in front of me. If I pick it up and show it to Claire… hmm?’

Suddenly, I noticed a strange difference.

‘What is that?’

I rubbed my eyes, thinking my vision was off.

But it wasn’t a mistake. I wasn’t half-asleep either.

There was something painted on a white box floating above Claire’s head.

‘2… %?’

It was the affinity box.

What? Why has this gone up?

I thought I still needed more time to increase Claire’s affinity. Or maybe there was something I didn’t know?

‘…Could it be that?’

The message indicating success in triggering results beyond choices. That’s about all I could guess.

There haven’t been any choices that would increase Carsein’s affinity with Claire yet.

Seems like some of my actions must have influenced Carsein’s affinity with Claire. I have no idea what exactly pleased her though.

‘Alright. That’s for later.’

Right now, I need to shut Claire up.

-Ding!

[1. Why did you throw that! Now I have to wash it again! Will you do it for me?]

[2. (Ignore Claire and pick up the fallen clothes)]

[3. I don’t have a dedicated maid. I didn’t choose one.]

Choices appeared, so I chose number 3 immediately.

“I don’t have a dedicated maid for washing my clothes.”

“What do you mean? Arina told me to directly ask you yesterday!”

“So, I don’t have one. A maid to serve me.”

Why hide it? It’s simple, I’m washing clothes myself because I don’t have a maid. That’s all there is to it.

Claire seemed to have guessed from my words that I didn’t have a dedicated maid.

“Carsein, did you really say you wouldn’t hire a maid out of pride?! And now you’re washing your own clothes by hand?”

“But.”

“You crazy kid! There’s a time and place for pride, right? Not hiring a maid?”

Claire got angry and started spewing insults.

“You’re a noble, and the highest-ranking Duke House of Bargrand’s noble! How can you, a noble, do laundry alone?!”

A noble doing laundry by hand? That’s unimaginable.

Even if they’re a weak noble, they wouldn’t do it themselves; they’d order their inferiors to do it, especially in such a cold and harsh winter.

For something like this to happen in the House of Bargrand is not surprising.

“There are maids everywhere. Stop this nonsense and order other maids to do it.”

Claire, who was aggressively pushing forward, tried to walk towards the place where the maids were. I stopped her in one sentence.

“Order the maids? Is that something you can say to me?”

“Damn it. What’s your problem now!”

Yes, you wouldn’t understand.

Even my second sister did the same thing. Let me explain.

“You said I don’t even deserve a maid.”

“…What? When did I say that?”

-Swish!

I took a half-washed shirt and spread it out in front of Claire, showing the stains clearly.

“Do you remember this stain… Did you… back then?”

“Hey, are you joking? This is the shirt you were upset about. You said I should be grateful I have a maid who can wash clothes to this extent.”

“Hey, stop it? This was when you complained about the laundry being slightly underdone and gave a severe punishment. Are you trying to complain now?”

Yeah, it was overreacting.

To Claire, it was just a minor overreaction because the laundry had a slight stain.

But that makes my argument valid.

“It’s not an overreaction. I’m washing clothes myself because I believed your words, that having a maid is a waste. Is that wrong?”

“Carsein, you…”

“Then which way should I go? Should I wash clothes by hand as you said in the past, or should I follow your current advice and assign the work to the maids?”

Seeing Claire, who was trapped in her own words, I added:

“Anyway, not having a maid is better. Salt or medicinal food, cold water in the bathtub, these things won’t happen if you don’t hire a maid. Right?”

Claire’s mouth, which was aggressively attacking, closed tightly.

She knows. She knows why Carsein collapsed and what she went through. Even if you consider everything the doctor Sheiden mentioned, it’s clear that Carsein had contact with a maid.

So if there isn’t a maid,

If there isn’t anyone to serve Carsein,

Nothing will happen.

Really.

“Do whatever you want! You dumbass.”

The pink-haired crazy girl left after saying just that. She couldn’t argue since she was partly responsible for it herself.

But,

You must feel different.

Right, Flora?

“…”

As soon as our eyes met, the annoying little brat who was constantly talking beside me turned and followed the second sister. It looked like she was running away quickly, but it was just how it felt.

Of course, she must have ordered someone to deliberately ruin Carsein’s good clothes.

Based on the information I gathered while progressing through the game episodes, Carsein had punished the maid who deliberately ruined her good clothes fairly.

But no matter what, Carsein was framed. This was the ugly result of Flora’s cunning and Claire’s stupidity.

This time, I was quite satisfied.

“Ah, finally, I feel relieved.”

Even if I’m doing laundry by hand in this cold winter, it doesn’t matter. I’m content.

—

Next day.

Checking the dried clothes in the laundry room.

“Oh, they dried well.”

Even if someone saw them in the laundry room, they belonged to Carsein, so one of the servants might have used them. Just like in the game, no one touched them.

Of course, if I had arrived even a few hours later, those clothes would have been messed up again.

The reason was that I was busy preparing for an important event and couldn’t touch them.

Anyway, thanks to that, the clothes washed yesterday were well-dried. They were fine enough to meet Arina or anyone else.

I hurriedly packed the clothes and moved them to my room.

After that, it was cleaning time. There was no cleaning robot, the room was spacious and luxurious but not practical, and everything had to be done by hand.

But it wasn’t bad. No one would suddenly barge in, and unless it was mealtime, no one would come in.

In fact, with more time alone, I could easily handle unexpected dead flags.

“Huh, it’s done.”

Though I’m not new to living alone, cleaning was easy enough.

“Now, I’ll have to visit Isabella soon.”

Don’t forget. I’ve only finished the tutorial and one episode.

Ahead, many episodes and chapters await to control my life.

Every small action leads to a conversation. Conversations lead to unpredictable choices. Choices lead to continuous dead flags. Nothing can be taken lightly.

Taking a deep breath, I put on the freshly dried clothes and headed to the Duchess’s office with proper decorum.

▶ Currently CHAPTER 1 – Episode II is ongoing! ◀

▶ Pay your morning respects to Isabella. ◀

Knock knock.

“Who is it?”

“Carsein.”

—

A short silence inside before a faint invitation to enter.

As soon as the door opened, the three affinity bars above the figure’s head became noticeable.

“Sit down first. We’ll talk once this is done.”

“Yes.”

I already had a rough idea, but the treatment was indeed cold.

The brief silence after knocking. The answer suggesting we’ll talk after finishing something. No warm greetings or pleasantries.

It was clear she was tired of my tantrums and petulance.

-Gulp.

Isabella stood up, pulling her chair back. It seemed like she was done with something, but it wasn’t quite over yet.

Her hands still held papers, and she sat facing me on the sofa.

“What brings you here today?”

Her chilly voice implied she was busy and could barely spare the time.

Everything felt so familiar.

The look in her eyes, focused on work rather than her son. Her indifferent tone, as if she didn’t care what I said. Her impatience, as if this time was wasted.

That’s because she was the mother who never listened, no matter what I said.

“Don’t mind it. After all, she’s not really my mother.”

I shouldn’t forget why I came here.

Now, I am in the main part of CHAPTER 1, progressing through Episode II.

I came here only to prevent the dead trigger.

Without hesitation, I spoke in a clear voice.

“I came to talk about the maid issue.”

“If you’re referring to Camila, she’s already released.”

“…What?”

I couldn’t believe what I heard and asked again.

Despite this, Isabella calmly fixed her gaze on the documents and replied.

“A maid touched Carsein’s dining table, according to Arina and Claire. But suspecting Camila was unreasonable.”

I wasn’t mistaken.

The maid who touched Carsein’s dining table was released.

“There was no evidence found. Moreover, Camila came to the Duke House for money and took on the role of serving you for the same reason. She wanted to use the money from selling the family estate to care for her sick mother. Everyone knows this. So, she’s unlikely to be the culprit.”

Isabella continued speaking while sipping tea.

“As I said earlier, the trust level of the staff towards Camila is very high. They submitted personal petitions and collectively requested her release from isolation. Regarding your innocence, I’ve already ordered Arina to investigate. That should satisfy you. Sometimes, as a noble, you need to show mercy.”

I was speechless.

Even though it’s a scene from the game, it felt more irritating.

Unlikely to be the culprit?

Even though the real culprit is Camila, she’s saying this and releasing her without listening to Carsein’s opinion?

Mercy is necessary?

‘So, the cries of injustice were all bad endings?’

Would choosing this option be pointless?

Realizing the outcome of the choice, I felt a bitter laugh coming.

-Ding!

[1. Why release that maid! She fed me medicine. She also made me use cold water and put something in my food—]

[2. Then what about what I ate? What about what I ate—]

…

…

The choices were even harsher for Carsein.

If it were him, any response or action leading to a dead flag would have been normal.

But I’m not him.

I want to protest and appeal my innocence, but that’s Carsein’s emotion.

Bringing it up would only make things worse, like pouring salt on a wound.

So, I draw a clear line.

“Oh, I guess I came for nothing. I was planning to request the same anyway.”

Isabella’s eyes, which had been fixed on the documents, finally met mine.

“As you said, Camila is not the kind of maid you need. Well, I came to clarify the misunderstanding caused by me. That’s all… Oh, one more thing.”

I slowly stood up from the sofa and concluded.

“I won’t be visiting for morning greetings anymore.”