100. Remnants of Malice (1)
▶The Extravagance is Forbidden event is underway!◀
▶Meet and chat with Arina!◀
[ Designated Location: Arina’s Office ]
I finished talking to Claire after Isabella.
There shouldn’t be anyone else to meet in this event.
Relieved, I headed towards the designated location, Arina’s office.
However, the door was slightly ajar, and I could hear voices coming from inside.
“Big Sister… Why not?”
It was definitely Flora’s voice.
But her voice sounded rather pleading.
It wasn’t strange for Flora to come find Arina.
I don’t know what she came to do, but she could come and ask Arina for anything.
However, her treatment would be different from Karsein’s.
Even if she were to ask Arina to play with her on a whim, Arina would accept without saying a word.
Just like my youngest sister, who used to bother me back in reality, Flora was the youngest daughter who received all the love from the ducal family.
‘Let’s put aside my biases for now.’
I needed to pay attention to why Flora came here.
Who knows? Maybe a clue to solving this event would pop up there. I should listen in for a bit.
Arina sighed.
“That much isn’t difficult, but… Flora. Did Karsein happen to say anything to you? You used to hate being with Karsein.”
I wasn’t surprised that she suspected me, so it didn’t bother me much.
But she hated being with him? What was she talking about?
“N-no, it’s not like that, Big Sister. I just… want to go with him…”
“If that’s the case, why not go with Claire?”
“It’s just…”
Flora hesitated, unable to give a clear answer.
Perhaps that would be a clue to getting through this event.
At the same time that I thought that, a status window appeared before my eyes.
-Ting!
▶Flora’s !@#%#@!◀
…
…
‘What the heck? Why is this like this? Why are the letters all broken up like this?’
Then, the words in the status window immediately changed.
▶Error occurred!◀
▶You cannot access this part at this time.◀
▶Cannot load choices!◀
▶Searching for alternatives…◀
‘What?! This can’t be…’
I’ve only experienced this twice before. I can’t help but feel like time has stopped and I’m being transported to another part.
But, even though the status window has appeared, the flow of time around me hasn’t changed this time. Time hasn’t stopped.
-Ting!
▶CHAPTER 2 – Confirmed that Episode III has not been completed!◀
▶Confirmed that you have entered an area where major events cannot be ignored!◀
▶Calculating results.◀
▶Two main episodes will be played out simultaneously.◀
▶Time will be delayed in order to choose a more efficient route. You will be notified of the results shortly based on the current scene.◀
Huh? Play out two main episodes simultaneously?
That’s impossible.
In this game, you can only play out one main episode at a time.
The main episodes branch off into several different paths depending on the set route and the conditions you meet to access that part, but a main episode can never be split into two.
‘That means this situation… must be another important main episode if I take a different route.’
Based on all my previous experiences, two episodes have combined together to create a completely new episode that I never knew existed.
Of course, they’ve combined and transformed into a sub episode or hidden episode… but even so, it doesn’t make sense that I would have to play them out separately like this.
But that’s exactly what’s happening right before my eyes.
The system is giving me two main episodes at once.
In the meantime, my sister’s conversation, which had been interrupted for a moment, continues as if nothing happened.
“Ka, Karsein hasn’t been outside in a while either. I was wondering if he’d like to come with me… He could be my escort!”
“Hmm? You want to take Karsein there?”
“Ca… Can’t I?”
“No, it’s not that… Karsein is training as a squire in the Order, so I don’t think it would be a problem.”
Arina stammered, looking troubled.
I can see why she would be.
Taking Karsein as an escort. It’s a statement that could cause problems no matter how you look at it.
He may be an adopted child, but he’s still the son of Duke Vagrant. If she were to take Karsein with her as the Vagrant prince, that would be one thing, but if she takes him as an escort knight, that would be like announcing to the world that Karsein is a commoner.
And to top it all off, he’d be an escort knight for his own younger sister. Even the Order of Knights would find that embarrassing and would probably ask her to take Karsein as the Vagrant prince instead of an escort knight.
She really is just a naive child.
“Flora. Can you tell me why you want to go with Carsein?”
“That… I can’t.”
“…You can’t tell your unnie either?”
“Yeah. Absolutely not. Not even if it’s Mom.”
“Hmm…”
Arina once again looked troubled.
Arina, who would readily accept her youngest sister’s request, was not readily accepting it this time.
‘From what I’ve heard so far, Flora just wants to take me somewhere…’
What the heck? Does that make sense?
That brat who always tried to get rid of me, that brat who hated even riding in a carriage with me, wants to take me with her?
It didn’t make sense for me to go with her, not with Claire or Arina or Isabella.
‘Arina won’t be able to accept this one and will just have to turn it down.’
However, I had overlooked one thing.
-Ting!
‘…What?’
Just now, another episode had been announced.
“I didn’t know Flora liked Carsein this much?”
“Huh? W, well…”
“Unnie will try her best, but I can’t just unconditionally allow this if you don’t tell me.”
“I… can’t?”
“No. I just want you to close that door and talk to me step by step.”
“Oh, okay!”
…Eavesdropping only goes so far.
I had no choice but to take a step back. Getting caught like this could lead to the worst possible outcome.
However, I couldn’t just give up and let this go.
▶Episode III. Remnants of Malice begins!◀
▶Finish your conversation with Arina and carry out the request!◀
The episode had already started.
I had to get even one more piece of information.
-Ting!
‘…I wish I could hear what they’re saying.’
▶Arina’s private space◀
▶This location is a dangerous area!◀
[ If you stay for a long time, you may be penalized. ]
I had to eavesdrop on this, even if it meant taking risks.
***
▶Exiting the danger zone!◀
‘…I was wrong.’
I had entered the danger zone,Prepared but I couldn’t hear anything.
I wondered if there was another place where I could eavesdrop on that conversation, but if I couldn’t hear it here, it would be the same anywhere else.
That means the system must have blocked it completely. They would have tried to block it by any means necessary.
It can’t be helped.
It was something that I had to solve by facing it head-on and making a choice.
First, I turn my head to the status window.
-Ting!
▶Episode III. Remnants of Evil in Progress!◀
▶Finish the conversation with Arina and carry out the quest!◀
‘Nothing much has changed.’
Both of them required me to finish the conversation with Arina before I could proceed.
It would be good to go in after waiting for the right moment, but I purposely left that place and waited at a staircase.
“…!”
Soon, Flora, who was about to come down the stairs, appeared.
I pretended to go up the stairs very naturally, and Flora asked me without thinking.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Wh-why are you here?”
The naive kid really is everywhere.
It’s a good thing I slipped away after gauging the timing to avoid suspicion, but if she had heard me, she would have immediately screamed and caused me trouble.
I might as well sell out someone here.
“Claire told me to find Arina, so I came to find her. Is there something wrong with that?”
“Big sis…?”
Flora muttered to herself while faltering.
She stopped for a moment, but she didn’t seem to suspect that I had eavesdropped on their conversation.
“If it’s because of big sis… yeah, it couldn’t be, right…?”
“What are you mumbling about?”
“Oh, it’s nothing!”
Flora grabbed the hem of her skirt and said that before quickly going down the stairs.
It seemed like she was worried that she might have been heard, but she was relieved when I said she hadn’t. It seems like they were talking about something important.
“Well, I didn’t think I’d be able to get anything out of you anyway.”
I guess I’ll just have to face the rest head-on.
I went up the stairs as if nothing had happened and opened the door to Arina’s office.
“Who is it, haah. Where did you learn your manners of knocking?”
As I just opened the door and went in, she started nagging as usual.
But I have something to say too.
“Why do I need manners? You were talking about me inside.”
“…!”
“You’re badmouthing me while the person in question is listening? And then you’re going to talk about manners?”
Arina, who had been nagging me about not knocking, shut her mouth.
I don’t know what they were talking about, but it was clear that Arina had talked about Karsein with Flora.
“Flora offered to escort me. Does my opinion not matter?”
I brought up the conversation I had heard and pretended to know as much as possible.
The bait has been cast.
She didn’t hear our entire conversation, and she’s only saying what she knows.
However, if she dares to act like she knows everything and mock me, with Arina’s personality─
“Don’t speak carelessly. Are you going to exaggerate what I said about taking you to the tea party as if it were something wrong?”
She’s bound to get caught up on that.
I see. She wants to take me to the tea party.
The problem is that Flora is taking Carsein as her escort to that tea party, isn’t it?
I guess I should have said it in a more unpleasant way.
Arina sighed and got up from the table.
“Ugh. First, sit down. I have to tell you why I called you here.”
“Okay.”
I sat down on the sofa, just as Arina said.
Her prickly attitude hadn’t changed.
Arina glared at me as if she found that annoying.
“I confirmed that you made a large expenditure. I heard you bought the Rusmayer territory with that money.”
“What about it?”
“What about it? Do you think that’s the right attitude to have?”
Arina pressured me with her glaring stare.
I brought out the words I had prepared as if I had been waiting for this.
“If you’re going to point out that buying the Rusmayer territory was wrong of me as a noble, go ahead. You know very well what kind of state that territory is in, don’t you?”
“…Are you saying that you investigated and acted that far?”
“Yes. I went to the venue of the party I attended to see my fiancée, and there was a servant working there. He was so furious at the nobles that he was even thinking of ruining the party.”
When she heard that, Arina told me to tell her more.
“That’s not all. Rusmayer is in an isolated location and doesn’t even receive tolls. Instead, they had to pay a toll on the road they were going to pass through.”
“…Surely, the other territories united together.”
“You know well. On top of that, they were also threatened by the demons. They have no house to protect them, and no one to come to their aid in time. It was constantly falling apart.”
When I even informed her of the fact that they have to pay for the subjugation here without receiving proper aid, Arina swallowed her saliva and looked at the documents.
“…It’s true. I didn’t know that the Count of Modric took the subjugation fee and even the corpses of the demons.”
Arina organized the supporting documents so that she could easily report this fact to the imperial family, saying that they were evil.
In the meantime, the anger that had been in her glare had subsided a little.
This is because the serious state of the Rusmayer territory was covered up by my existence alone.
“I understand the mindset with which you tried to take on the position of lord. However, Carsein, you were once the pathetic cause of a territory’s downfall in the past. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
Here it comes. It’s a topic that was bound to come up if the Rusmayer territory was mentioned.
When it comes to the field related to territories, Carsein can never escape the incident that became the shame of Shatran.
“There is a great deal of responsibility and duty required to govern a territory. If there comes a time when it becomes clear that you lack the ability, be sure to inform the ducal family.”
As expected, it seems she had already noticed that far.
Now that Arina is the one in charge of the financial management here, I suppose it’s only natural.
However, I will not inform her.
I can’t, and I don’t want to.
“I’ll tell you one more time because it’s important. Carsein, if you stubbornly insist on doing things your way, you might create a second Shatran and bring further disgrace to the Bagran ducal family. If you can’t handle it with your ability, be sure to inform the ducal family─”
“I understand, so don’t say it twice.”
“You should listen to good advice even if it’s annoying,” she cut off my words with a somewhat irritated voice.
I knew that the game over of reality would come the moment I failed, but I also knew very well what had happened to those people.
So, I didn’t intend to deal with it carelessly.
“Why don’t you talk about it when there’s a problem? I just came after resolving the aftermath in Lusmayer and taking measures so that the tolls can be received properly, and I have to listen to this?”
I thought I answered quite neatly.
However, did Arina find this appearance of mine unpleasant?
She got angry.
“You get annoyed even when someone gives you advice you should engrave in your heart. Whenever I see this kind of behavior, even if I think about it a lot, I don’t think the honor of a noble suits you at all.”
-Thud.
“However, you’re really lucky. You have a very kind younger sister. So, I’m suppressing my anger right now and giving you one more chance. Take it.”
Arina handed me an invitation in front of me.
I’m sure this is the errand Flora came with.
“What is this?”
“It’s an invitation to a tea party attended by nobles. Flora seems to have been following you around lately. I don’t know why, but your younger sister brought it to me, saying she really wanted you to go.”
“If it’s a tea party, doesn’t it make more sense for Flora to go alone instead of me?”
Arina uncrossed her legs and crossed them the other way.
She still spoke to me with the gaze of someone looking at an immature child who was causing trouble.
“I heard that this time, they’re saying they want to bring one more person each to enjoy the tea party. As I said earlier, Flora asked to attend the tea party with you.”
Here, Arina said she had a suggestion.
“Everyone attending this tea party is a noble, and it seems that many of them will be nobles attending the Eastern Council of Nobles. If you attend, you might be able to get advice in various ways. So, I plan to decide whether or not to reinstate your authority based on this.”
My head was momentarily blank.
She’ll decide whether or not to reinstate my authority based on this?
-Ting!
[1. (Blowing up with anger) Tell them to go eat sh*t. Why would I go to a place where those damn kids are gathered?]
[2. (Propping up my chin) I don’t really care if I don’t go there? I became the lord of Lusmayer on my own and gained authority, so why should I get your permission?]
[3. (Flaring up and slamming the table) Didn’t you hear what Mom said? It’s my authority. Are you saying you’ll give it back to me?]
[4. (Shrugging my shoulders mischievously) If that’s all, I’ll just go back. I’ll ask Claire to help me.]
…
…
With this, I finally understood what Flora had come here to say.
That brat wants to take me to a tea party.
I don’t know why, but I have a hunch that some kind of incident will happen there. I can’t just ignore the feeling that the episode is pointing to this.
Maybe the real purpose is the incident that will happen there.
But why?
Why do Arina’s words sound like the first option?
-Take care of your youngest sibling! Your only younger sister is worried about you and acting like that, so why are you so incompetent that you can’t handle it?
Those words aren’t much different either.
She’s telling me to take care of Flora, my youngest sibling.
Cold sweat starts to form.
It’s disgusting, but no swear words come out of my mouth.
‘Man, this is the second time today I’ve been played for a fool.’
I thought as much in my head, but I couldn’t bring myself to get angry. I was simply dumbfounded.
Suppressing the heat that was trying to rise within me, I looked at the choices before me.
You want me to look after the youngest?
Sure, I’ll do as you wish.
The other choices were all obviously broken, so the answer was clear.
I don’t really feel like it, but it’s best to hide my defeat until the end.
So, I’ll choose this option.
[ 5. A tea party, you say? I’ll go just this once. But you must keep your promise. ]☑
“A tea party, is it? Fine. I’ll go.”
In the end, all Arina wants is for me to listen to her. Just for the sake of her younger sister, Flora.
I have no intention of wasting my precious time, but I need to let some more time pass before I act. Rather than doing nothing and stewing in my study, it’s better to gather some information outside.
But that’s not my real goal.
It’s none of my business whether or not there are people attending that tea party who will be participating in the Eastern Nobles’ Conference.
Do I plan on doing exactly as Arina says? Not even a little bit.
Of course, I could just listen to Arina for now and get permission to attend the conference. But haven’t I seen it already?
My reality was like that, and as the Memorial showed me, Karsein will never be acknowledged for anything. Even if there was something like that, I wouldn’t move a finger for them.
‘I don’t need the authority you give me.’
I’ll prove my right to attend the conference myself, by going to the Rusmayer estate.
Not as the Viscount of Bagran, Karsein, but as the Lord of Rusmayer.
So, I’ll attend this tea party for a different reason.
“Learn a lot while you’re there. If you come back even slightly changed, I’ll give you permission to attend the conference without question.”
Arina advised me as I opened the door and was about to leave.
Learn a lot?
That’s ridiculous.
If she knew what I planned to do at that tea party, she’d be shocked.
‘You can get angry later if you want. I don’t plan on coming back unscathed, anyway.’
I only said I’d go, I didn’t say I wouldn’t cause trouble there.