105. Remnants of Malice (6)
“H-Have you come as an escort knight for Lady Flora?”
“Yes.”
Pitea Gelgeten blinked her eyes in confusion at the unexpected answer.
‘What is this?’
An accident-prone troublemaker.
A center of controversy who had made a habit of lying.
Bargrand’s one and only adopted son, and their only blemish.
Those were the expressions used to describe Karsein Bargrand, and they were labels that he could not shake off.
That was why he had never let go of his status in the past.
Karsein was not a noble.
He was a commoner that Isabella Bargrand had picked up from outside.
Since his status was his only weapon, he had never wanted to let go of his position and had tried to never lose his place.
However, Karsein had now thrown away his weapon with his own hands.
Noble status. Affiliation with the ducal family.
He had given up both of those things at the same time, and seeing him acting as a mere escort knight made her tilt her head in wonder.
The place, which had been briefly filled with silence, was broken when one of the ladies-in-waiting suddenly realized something and signaled to Pitea.
She was right next to Pitea, and she whispered into her ear in a low voice.
‘Karsein should be… seated?’
Nod, nod.
She could not understand.
Why, exactly?
He had not fallen into the trap that had been prepared for him by acting as an escort knight, but there was no need to seat him.
However, Pitea quickly shut her mouth.
‘Oh, my goodness. I can’t believe I didn’t realize this…! If we do this, we will be insulting Lady Flora and the Bargrand ducal family!’
Karsein was a commoner, not a noble, so they had sharpened their knives to secretly torment Karsein, not the Bargrand ducal family, by using the methods of nobles.
However, there was one prerequisite that had to be met for this method to work.
Even if they resented him, they had to outwardly accept him as a noble, as a prince of Bargrand.
Although they would never truly acknowledge him as a noble in their hearts, he was the adopted son of Bargrand, whose adoption had been completed. How could they possibly dare to insult the Bargrand ducal family?
To outwardly reveal this inner feeling would be the same as trying to pick a fight with the Bargrand ducal family. The Bargrand ducal family, whom not even the imperial family could carelessly provoke.
However, the current situation had completely shattered that prerequisite.
Because he had acted as an escort knight, it seemed as if he was not being accepted as a noble or a prince of Bargrand in this tea party hall.
If they were to acknowledge him as an escort knight, it would mean that Flora had brought Karsein to the tea party as an attendant, which would insult both her and the Bargrand ducal family.
Pitea hurriedly tried to fix the situation.
“P-Please stop joking around, Prince Karsein. An escort?”
“Joking? I am Lady Flora’s escort.”
Karsein calmly refuted her, and her insides began to burn.
She had no choice.
These were words that she never wanted to say, but now was the time to overcome this crisis.
“The son of the Bargrand ducal family, who is known as the pinnacle of nobility, is present here, so how could we possibly place you on the same level as the escort knights, not as a guest? Please do not do that.”
Even if he was just a commoner, he had to be acknowledged as a noble.
He should be treated as a man of the Bagran dukedom and he should be recognized as the highest ranking person in this place.
Only then would they not be able to leave him as an escort knight.
However, Karsein did not give them the chance.
He never left that place, even though he had to lose face several times.
This was like he had stepped into a trap.
In the meantime,
“Don’t talk nonsense!!”
Someone stood up abruptly and shouted.
The voice was clearly Flora Bagran’s.
The atmosphere of the tea party began to freeze as she stood up grumbling.
This was because she was the person who could be considered to have ignored Bagran in this situation.
Pitea Gelgeten gulped and tried to explain that there seemed to be a misunderstanding.
However.
“The seat next to me is for you, Karsein. Don’t be with the escort knights and come here quickly!”
The person Flora was referring to was not Pitea but Karsein.
At that moment, Pitea realized that fortune had followed him.
‘There’s still a chance!’
Flora did not realize this fact and invited Karsein to sit down.
Then.
“Y, yes. That seat is for Lord Karsein, who was invited as the companion of Lady Flora!”
Here, he had to respond by sticking to Flora.
“That’s right. An escort knight! Please take back those words…!”
Suddenly, there were nobles who wondered why Pitea was suddenly shouting, but at this point, they were bound to notice. They spoke one by one.
“It’s just as Lady Pitea said a moment ago. Who would dare treat the Duke of Bagran… Right?”
“Y, yes! That’s right!”
“I’m just saying this now, but we all feel the same way?”
“How could the companion of Lady Flora be a mere escort knight? It’s obvious that you brought Lord Karsein!”
“There’s no need to guess who Guest No. 30 is. R, right?”
““Of course!””
“That seat is a seat that no one but Lord Karsein can sit in!”
Although they were flustered, they agreed with Flora’s opinion so that Karsein would not remain an escort knight.
Thanks to her, all the nobles gathered here could not turn their backs on Bagran.
“That’s what everyone says. Sit down quickly. Quickly!!”
As Flora urged him to come and sit next to her, the anxious expressions on the faces of the nobles gradually disappeared.
The awkward laughter that had echoed through the hall gradually turned into a sigh of relief. This was because he had finally sat down.
Karsein snorted and glanced around.
‘You’re going to take a step back, huh?’
It seemed like they would have pounced on him and torn him to pieces the moment he made a single mistake, but since they did not want to mess with Flora or the Duke of Bagran, they had no choice but to tuck their tails between their legs.
He felt like he could tell that they were desperate to somehow resolve this, so he found himself laughing.
‘Well, I didn’t think it would be resolved all at once anyway.’
Still, if those nobles are cowering like that, the results must be quite good.
I found it quite amusing to watch them fall for the trap they set themselves. I think I’ve scratched their pride quite a bit.
Of course, those nobles might charge at me even more fiercely because their pride has been scratched.
That’s when I just need to deliver a sure blow. If they’ve become a wild beast that’s lost its reason, there’s no easier opponent than that.
“Why did you do something so strange when you could’ve just sat still like this?”
“Didn’t I come here to be your guard?”
“You’re wrong, because I didn’t bring you here to be my guard! If you keep saying that, I’ll tell big sis about it!”
To Flora, the one who caused this situation.
I just need to make her understand.
That this is the evil byproduct that Flora Bagran’s malice created.
***
From Noble mtl dot com
“Ugh…”
Claire let out a groan.
Her restless footsteps continued to circle around this area, like a Mobius strip.
“…Still, I shouldn’t have yelled like that.”
No matter what, it kept coming to mind. What she had yelled at Karsein in the audience chamber.
In many ways, it was true that she had been frustrated and angry.
She hadn’t said a word to her mother, and then her mother had foolishly scolded her for something she had kept a secret.
She hadn’t said a word about how she had extended a helping hand to the Rusmayer territory, which hadn’t received any patronage from any family, and had helped them.
She had been angry at her mother’s words of, “Why does this matter to you?” and had been furious at her attitude of acting like she had done something wrong when she had actually done the right thing…
-Oh, you idiot. Yes! Keep being so stubborn! You stupid brat!
Thinking about it carefully, she shouldn’t have gotten so angry and used such foul language.
-You could’ve just asked for help. Anyway, that’s why you keep getting hit everywhere you go! You’re just needlessly prideful!
The words she had muttered as she left the audience chamber were the same.
She hadn’t cared whether or not Karsein heard her, but even if he had, it wouldn’t have been strange for him to have been upset.
“Ugh, really!”
Claire messed up her hair again.
She was sure she could’ve talked it out calmly.
Karsein had pushed her away, but if she had just phrased it in a more pleasant way, she would’ve been able to persuade her mother to clear up the misunderstanding.
No, she wouldn’t have used such foul language in the first place.
It was all her fault.
Because of her quick temper, her hands moved before her words, and once the harsh words were out of her mouth, she had already done something.
That had especially been the case with Karsein.
As she continued to pull at her hair in frustration, the pin holding her hair up became loose. When the pin fell out, Claire hurriedly reached out for it.
“Whew. That was close.”
Fortunately, she felt it in her palm.
Claire opened her palm and was relieved to see that the pink flower hair pin was fine.
“I can’t lose this. Who gave it to me?”
Even if she received a hundred of the expensive hair accessories that nobles used, it would be harder to receive this one. Even if she compared it to the one that Princess Arcien used, it would feel inferior to this hair pin in Claire’s eyes.
This was because Karsein had given it to her.
After checking that the hairpin wasn’t damaged anywhere, I secured it back into its original place, my hair.
My mind became a little more organized as soon as I put the hairpin back in.
The breath that I let out with a “Whew” made my pink bangs flutter.
“Right. What did you do wrong? You actually deserve to be praised. It’s me who’s bad for getting mad for no reason.”
Either way, I had to meet Carsein.
Carsein would be in his room by now, so I thought I’d go and talk to him in person.
As I took a step towards Carsein’s room, Arina was walking towards me from the opposite direction.
“Claire? What are you doing here?”
“Oh, I thought I’d meet Carsein for a while and talk to him.”
I couldn’t tell the truth, so I scratched my cheek and answered awkwardly.
Then, Arina tilted her head.
“If it’s Carsein, he went to a tea party with Flora right now?”
“When? How long ago?”
“He left a while ago. For some reason, Flora wanted to take Carsein. I heard that they’re having a tea party at the villa of Marquis Gelgeten. They said that they’re taking one companion each.”
“…Marquis Gelgeten?”
As soon as I heard that, Claire suddenly thought of the past.
‘If it’s Marquis Gelgeten…’
A certain day came to mind.
I had told him to take care of his health and go there because he was always skinny and looked sickly. The place I had told him to go to was Marquis Gelgeten’s.
However, as soon as he came back from there, Carsein shouted that he would never go out with Flora again.
Not only that, but that day, Carsein had been scolded by not only me, but also his older sister Arina and his mother, Isabella.
‘After that, I think Carsein was sick in bed for a whole day, so I called Shaiden…’
I didn’t conclude that it was because of Marquis Gelgeten, but I couldn’t shake the thought that it might be the same this time.
“Sister, where’s the villa where the tea party is being held?”
“Hmm? Are you going there too, Claire? You won’t be able to because of the invitation?”
“I’m not saying I’m going to play. I’m just a little worried because they’re just siblings.”
“It’s a place where only nobles gather, so there’s almost nothing to worry about unless Carsein gets into an accident… Okay. Go. I’ll feel more at ease if you’re there.”
“Yes. I’ll be back, sister.”
It was just a hunch, but I had a bad feeling about it.
***
“The atmosphere is a bit gloomy, so shall we change the subject?”
“That would be good!”
The nobles who had gotten rid of their worries after Carsein sat down at this place tried to change the subject as if to change the atmosphere of the tea party.
“Are you okay, Prince Carsein?”
Pitea asked as if to persuade him.
“Yes, I am.”
As soon as I answered in the affirmative, the corners of Pitea’s lips twitched.
As expected, he must be gritting his teeth, saying that he would get his revenge. I can clearly see what will happen in the future.
But that’s why I won’t back down.
There’s a way to break through head-on, not at all.
“So, since we’re all in agreement, shall we move on to a new topic? Any ideas?”
Upon seeing Piteia feign contemplation, the windbag jumped at the opportunity.
“We have the hottest topic right here. Piteia Yeong-ae.”
“The hottest topic?”
“Yes. The Eastern Aristocratic Assembly is set to take place soon, so how can we leave that out of our discussion?”
“Oh my, yes.”
-Ting!
▶Urgent Mission Activated!◀
▶Questions regarding the Eastern Aristocratic Assembly and estate management will be asked.◀
▶Choose the correct answer to evade the nobles’ conspiracy!◀
[Your achievement rate will increase or decrease depending on how successfully you evade.]
As the two young ladies prepared their lines, beating the drum and cymbals, the expected situation arose.
As this is considered a main episode, answer choices did appear, but they weren’t as significant as the root of this episode.
I wondered where the important answer choices would appear, but it seemed like this was it.
‘As expected, they’ll start blabbering about noble qualifications and try to get at the Rusmayer estate.’
Since I had already acquired information from the Memorial, I had nothing to fear.
On the contrary, they had shown inconsistencies that I could exploit, so if the same pattern continued this time, I would reveal those inconsistencies and bite them in the neck.
I crossed my arms, showing that I was ready for them to come at me however they wanted.
Then, out of nowhere, the waiting room door opened.
“Oh, oh dear. I apologize. There was an issue with the carriage, and…Ahem.”
A man rushed in, drenched in sweat.
Judging by the way he was clearing his throat, he must have known that he was late, and he looked ghastly pale.
Now that I thought about it, there was one empty seat.
My number was supposed to be 30, but there had been someone before me who didn’t enter when their number was called. In fact, there was another empty seat here.
‘Was that Hemnen Modric, that punk?’
-Ting!
The status window popped up right on cue.
I chuckled as I read it.
‘Aha. So that’s what happened?’
▶Rewards for results beyond the answer choices have been revealed!◀
▶The reason for Hemnen Modric’s late arrival has been revealed.◀
[Details: Hemnen, who refused to pay the toll, was apprehended by the Rusmayer estate guards, causing him to be late for the tea party.]
It was an exquisite outcome.
The Rusmayer estate guards would be quite amused if they knew about this.
Of course, I had no reason to dislike this development either.
“For a noble to fail to arrive on time to a scheduled meeting. It seems you lack proper etiquette training?”
In that instant, the tea party hall grew deathly quiet as if cold water had been poured over it.