102. Remnants of Malice (3)
A tranquil silence fell over the carriage.
From time to time, Flora tried to bring up a topic of conversation, but it would always end up being hushed due to Karsein’s curt replies.
It was as if the conversation topics were on the tip of their tongues, yet they received no response at all. She wanted to yell at Karsein to answer her properly, but Flora knew that she couldn’t do that anymore.
And so, the silence continued to descend.
The silence that had settled down continued to dominate the carriage, and before they knew it, time had passed and the carriage came to a stop. They had arrived at the villa.
In other words, by the time they arrived at Viscount Gelgetten’s villa, the two of them had hardly exchanged any words.
As the two of them got off, the knights bowed their heads.
Who would ask for verification after seeing the carriage of the Duke of Vagrant? There was no need for such a thing.
However, Karsein looked straight into their eyes.
‘As expected.’
It was as he had anticipated. Their behavior towards himself and Flora was no different even in this tea party setting.
And their eyes were directed at only one person, which her vanity couldn’t bear.
She knew how the knights’ eyes looked. How full of dissatisfaction they were.
Knowing all this, Karsein deliberately stayed still.
“You may go to the room on the left on the second floor.”
The knight explained in detail, making it easy for the listener to understand.
To their kindness in readily informing them of the location of the tea party hall, Flora simply nodded her head and entered the villa.
However, she soon had to stop in her tracks.
“This tea party has many people who passed the test at the Eastern Nobles’ Conference, so… huh?”
The mirror in the hall lobby only showed her own reflection.
Karsein was nowhere to be seen.
“What the, where did he go?”
She turned her head this way and that, but Karsein was nowhere to be seen.
Then, she suddenly looked back, and only then did his black hair catch her eye.
It seemed that he hadn’t budged from his spot after getting off the carriage. He was leaning against it, writing something in his notebook, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Flora ran up to him and asked,
“What are you doing there? They said the tea party is on the second floor. Are you pretending not to have heard?”
“No. I heard you just fine.”
“Then what are you doing here? Don’t tell me you’re just going to drop me off and go?”
As she urged him, Karsein closed his notebook and replied.
“I’m simply following you as your escort, so why are you going in there?”
“…What?”
Flora’s eyes widened.
“What do you think the reason is that I brought a sword all the way here? I came as your escort knight, so am I supposed to attend with my master?”
“When did I ever bring you as my escort knight! I just…!”
Before Flora could deny it,
Karsein asked the knight on guard duty.
“Hey. Did the host of this tea party allow uninvited guests inside?”
“Huh? That, that’s…”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Or is something so dangerous happening inside that even I need an escort?”
“…”
The knights were taken aback and couldn’t answer Karsein’s question right away.
The original answer would have been to deny Karsein’s position. They didn’t want to see a commoner like Karsein participating in a tea party hosted by a Viscount with their own two eyes.
However, Flora was right before their eyes.
How could they say such a thing when she was glaring at them with her eyes wide open?
If they answered that he shouldn’t go in, they would be caught in the situation of denying that she was Karsein’s companion.
In the end, the two knights failed to answer.
At this, Flora got angry.
“No one told you not to go in, so why are you doing that?”
Flora raised her voice as if it was absolutely unacceptable.
No other option came to mind.
If he didn’t answer like this, it seemed like Karsein would really go back to the Viscount’s mansion.
Even if he had to admit that he was an escort knight, he had to get inside the villa at all costs.
“I have an invitation. I’m a companion who came with her. Is there anything wrong with that?!”
“Yes, yes. You may enter…!”
The knight answered, gulping.
“What about the rule of not letting in escort knights?!”
“Miss Pitea only said to bring a companion. She didn’t specify the scope.”
“Is that it? There’s no law that says escort knights can’t go in!”
Flora met Karsein’s eyes head-on and shouted again.
“Leave everything alone and just follow me as my escort! You’re not an uninvited person!”
Then Karsein chuckled.
The person shouting might not have realized it, but the nobles who had begun to gather one by one were watching Karsein, wondering how they were going to grill him.
Some had just gotten out of their carriages.
Some were watching with interest from the balcony.
Some were smirking beyond the glass windows.
Not all of them, but everyone who was nearby was looking at him.
‘I can guess roughly. Why they invited me here.’
If he had to guess, it would be Flora who said she would take Karsein.
However, it must have been those nobles who led Karsein to come here.
He didn’t know what happened at the previous tea party, but it was too obvious.
Of course, Karsein had nothing to be afraid of from his point of view. It was like the cornerstone had been laid.
He answered Flora, who was angry, with an extremely calm expression.
“You definitely told me to just follow you?”
“Huh?”
Karstein stepped inside the mansion without hesitation.
“W-wait up!”
Flora followed him with her eyes wide open, worried that he might stop or turn back like before. Only when he didn’t, did the blonde girl feel relieved.
However…
Karstein would never miss this chance.
No, he had no intention of missing it.
***
Once inside the mansion, there was no one to point the way anymore.
Before the tea party began, those who knew each other exchanged greetings, while the escorts remained in separate rooms.
“Wait here. When I call you, open that door and come out.”
With those words, Flora went to her seat.
Even at the tea party, her seat was right next to the host. It was a position that openly displayed the authority of the Bagran Duchy.
I should prepare myself as well.
▶Episode III. Remnants of Malice is in progress!◀
As this was also a main episode, a choice appeared at the entrance of the mansion.
The content was a simple choice regarding the knights’ discriminatory treatment.
They treated Flora with kindness but gave me the cold shoulder, just like Emma, by not addressing me properly.
That’s why one of the choices that popped up was:
[1. Hey, you guys, you address Flora properly, so why don’t you even bother to call me by my real name?]
Exactly this.
It was a direct way of addressing the issue.
Of course, it was a trap.
They must have recognized me, but the moment I bring this up, all sorts of problems will burst forth like a river breaking through a dam.
It wouldn’t be strange to complain about not being addressed properly by the participating nobles, but this place is not a duchy but a gathering of nobles. In short, the enemy is everywhere.
In such a place, Karstein is alone.
Didn’t you feel it at the duchy? When dealing with a group of them, it is impossible to use public opinion to your advantage.
If the nobles form a favorable public opinion and you end up facing backlash, it will only become more dangerous.
Moreover, strictly speaking, those knights were only doing their job of letting the invited nobles pass, and they didn’t make any big mistakes. They didn’t find fault with me, nor did they pick a fight.
It was just a slight snub, so if I were to make a fuss about it, I would only be the one at a disadvantage. Just like Flora, those knights could play the victim and make me the perpetrator.
To put it bluntly, Karstein doesn’t do much outside. If I say they didn’t recognize me because of my attire, that would be the end of it. It’s much easier to say that they didn’t recognize me because of my outfit.
In addition, the fact that none of the young ladies had mentioned who they would bring as their escort to the tea party was also a hindrance. What’s more, they could just as easily ask if that person is Karstein.
In summary, it’s a situation where you know but shouldn’t say anything.
‘Well, anything goes when dealing with Karstein, so I expected this much.’
In the end, he decided to deal with the trap by pretending to be an escort knight, but still. I don’t think this choice is the end of it.
‘So, I have no choice but to look around this place.’
▶This area is restricted!◀
[Remaining here for an extended period may result in penalties.]
[Would you like to enter?]
Of course, I have to enter.
[Time limit: 10 minutes]
Without hesitation, I stepped inside, and the timer began to count down.
An episode I’d never seen before.
An episode with no clues whatsoever.
The more this is the case, the more I have to go back to basics.
‘There was one clue, though. Those guys didn’t recognize Karsein right away.’
I could tell because I was watching the knights’ gazes intently. For a short while, they paused, as if to wonder who I was. It wasn’t until a moment later that they realized I was Karsein, but this brief gap was not something to be overlooked.
Why hadn’t they recognized Karsein right away?
I had to find the reason here, in this place.
Since the choices are definitely influenced by the episode, this mansion must hold a clue.
It wasn’t like Dot, so I had to go through drawers one by one and search between furniture, but it paid off.
“…Sure enough, there it is.”
▶ You have found an item in an abandoned trash can! ◀
“You have found an item in an abandoned trash can!”
Is it the soul of a manly badass hero?