106. Remnants of Malice (7)
The nobles’ expressions turned heavy as soon as I fired that shot.
‘This is what you nobles hate the most, isn’t it?’
Indeed. Is it immature?
They, who vehemently refuse to be put on the same level as commoners like the Karseines, and have repeatedly committed evil deeds, would have hated this the most.
Naturally, they would not be pleased to see commoners acting like nobles.
‘I wonder if I can use this to make them even more emotional…’
As I was pondering how to further provoke the nobles, Hemnen approached, trying hard to hide his sullen expression.
“Ahem! Don’t you know that to enter this villa from the Modric County’s manor, you must cross Mount Waglu? That is why it could not be helped.”
Aha.
The answer lies here.
“Even considering that, you should have left earlier. It’s better to have some leeway rather than arriving exactly at the appointed time.”
“Th, that’s true. But, as I said before, there was a problem with the carriage…”
“Your excuses are excessive. A simple apology would have sufficed, why do you have to speak so abominably?”
“…Ugh.”
Hemnen distorted his face once more.
But I have no intention of stopping.
No. To be precise, there is no need to stop.
“Did you say there was a problem with the carriage? How strange. I recall that you used to scold me for being the last to arrive, saying that if you only used one lane when coming here, the carriage would not overturn and you would arrive on time.”
A problem with the carriage?
That’s a story even a squirrel wouldn’t buy.
It was none other than that guy who had once reprimanded me, saying that I was disrupting the level of etiquette education at the ducal family’s in Memorial.
“Ah, no, that’s…!”
“Do you have anything else to say? After abandoning your appointment with so many people?”
It was that very guy who had told me to apologize properly for abandoning my appointment with so many people.
“We, well, unless you’re close, that’s the line of etiquette. The essential thing is…”
“Are you saying that you alone will not abide by it? Look at this. To think that you would tarnish the prestige of the nobles like this.”
It was also Hemnen Modric who had mentioned the prestige of the nobles and made Karsein lower his head.
And.
The one who had been watching this whole situation was.
“Was there anything wrong with what I said just now? Flora.”
Flora Vagrant.
This little girl.
“There’s… nothing wrong.”
“Is that so? I thought that perhaps I was being immature, so I asked Flora, but it seems that I am not mistaken. Isn’t that right, Hemnen Modric?”
I asked with a smirk, causing Hemnen to tremble.
Soon, he lowered his head.
“…I apologize.”
It was an apology that was all too short and concise.
Perhaps it was because he did not want to apologize any further.
He would admit his mistakes to his fellow nobles without hesitation, but he did not want to bow his head to me. That’s why he cut it so short.
The nobles try to break the awkward atmosphere.
“Now that you have apologized, shouldn’t the matter be settled?”
“Actually, what we were discussing just now wasn’t that important.”
“Even if Master Hem couldn’t attend due to unavoidable circumstances, the tea party wouldn’t have been ruined.”
It was common for nobles to apologize to other nobles.
However, it was unacceptable for a noble to apologize to a commoner, let alone bow their head.
For nobles, this was a matter of pride, and more.
So, the nobles subtly cut off Hem’s apology and created public opinion that he should stop.
‘Well, that’s all I wanted to do.’
I know this well because I’ve experienced it in real life.
I thought we were all students, but the students from prestigious schools who wanted to be superior tried to push me away like this.
If I had gone any further, I would have been the one who suffered. If the situation had been reversed, I would have relentlessly pursued them.
So, it was right for me to stop here, even though it was a pity.
‘But you must feel something. Right, Flora?’
I glanced at Flora and saw that I had hit the mark.
That was definitely a half-beat late response.
“…”
Flora remained silent, her hands tightly gripping her skirt.
Are you starting to remember your past now?
Then know this clearly.
The remnants of your past self.
The remnants of your malice.
It was still carving a terrible scar on Karsein’s body.
***
A grand stage was slowly beginning to unfold, making a mockery of a single person called the tea party host.
As a result of the other nobles desperately trying to save the nobles’ dignity.
Hem’s story of being late, which went against etiquette as a noble, disappeared without a trace. The topic moved on to the Eastern Nobles’ Conference and the topic of territory came up.
“Didn’t Count Modric achieve the highest performance at that time?”
“I heard that the serfs praised him. Their standard of living has also improved significantly.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Isn’t that because Lord Hem led the territory in the right way?”
Hem, whose shoulders straightened when he heard his name, replied with a satisfied smile.
“hahahaha. It’s all a result of proper learning. I’m not great. It’s because of my father’s great teachings.”
“Oh my.”
“Of course, being a role model for nobles is a different story. hahahahaha!”
Now, he was telling me to listen openly.
Didn’t he emphasize the words ‘role model for nobles’?
Didn’t he look at me as if he was mocking me?
I could already guess what would happen next, as I watched him laugh out loud, drenched in his superiority.
And now that the topic of territory had come up, it was certain that I would be mentioned next.
“Rather than that, I wonder if Prince Karsein is okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“Aha. Now that you mention it, you all must not know! Oh my, oh my. You all must not know about this big event.”
Hemnen, who had been propping his forehead up with one hand, shook his head with an expression of regret.
“Prince Karsein recently became the lord of Rusmayer.”
“Oh my.”
“A lord.”
Artificial sighs spread among the nobles.
Everyone must have heard about it secretly. There was no need to act innocent; they all knew about it.
Except for one person.
“Karsein… became the lord of Rusmayer?”
“Yes, Lady Flora. It seems like even within the Vagrant Dukedom, they haven’t mentioned it?”
Flora had no idea about this at all.
I wasn’t sure if it was because of the progression of the episode, but the only ones who seemed to know about this were Arina and Claire.
The hyenas, who had caught the scent, began to act more actively.
“He hasn’t been a lord for long. I had a bit of a scuffle with him regarding the toll. But for him to manage a territory again. Isn’t that concerning?”
“He lacks the qualifications to be a lord. Could he have been trying to hide this?”
“If not that, then there must be another reason he wanted to hide it.”
“If he’s that ashamed of ruining Shatran territory, it’s possible.”
The nobles nodded their heads in agreement.
And lastly, the one who showed his hand.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this important matter? Hmm?”
It was Hemnen.
-Ting!
[1. Why should I explain this to this guy? It won’t change anything if I do, and I don’t want to waste time on something useless.]
[2. You bastard, are you trying to get me chewed out for talking about the territory again?!]
[3. Insolent brat, a mere count’s family shouldn’t meddle in the affairs of a duke’s family.]
[4. Well, it’s not important.]
[5. How dare you? You’re the one who ruined Rusmayer!]
It seemed like the real choices for this episode had appeared.
There weren’t many bold choices, but judging from the fact that it had to do with the territory, this must be the problem I had to deal with.
Choices 2 and 3 were perfect for getting myself killed.
Choice 5 was a choice where the nobles would likely jump at the chance to criticize me, just like Hemnen did, saying that I didn’t have the qualifications to be a lord.
Choice 1 was talking to Flora as if asking why I had to explain this to her, so it seemed like it could decrease my favorability.
Choice 4 was the only one that seemed like the right answer, but…
‘It might be different with other nobles, but I don’t need to back down against this kid.’
I had a card to play here too.
[5. How dare you? You’re the one who ruined Rusmayer!] ☑
“How dare you?”
“…What?”
“Are you saying that Lord Hemnen did something wrong?”
“Wrong? Lord Hemnen, who showed excellent results at last year’s Eastern Nobles’ Conference.”
“Isn’t your posture of accepting advice a bit too much?”
The nobles were staring at Hemen’s neck as if they were about to bite it.
Hemen also wore a faint smile, as if he had foreseen this satisfactory situation.
However, the neck you guys are looking at isn’t mine, but the bait.
“You can’t even control the knights of the Count’s family who were causing damage to my territory which was certified by the Imperial Family, yet you think you are in a position to say something to me right now?”
“…!”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Knights…?”
“Ah, I should explain this for those who don’t know. Three knights of the Count’s family caused a disturbance in my territory. They even disguised themselves as bandits and plundered.”
At first, the nobles had only questions, but their mouths fell open.
“Even when I visited as the Lord that day, a little girl was groaning in pain, but they wouldn’t even let her pass. They said she didn’t have any money to pay the toll and that she should just use her dowry to gamble.”
“Ah, no… That’s!”
Right. It would be easy to misunderstand if I only said this much and didn’t mention receiving compensation.
However, you were going to lie anyway, weren’t you?
“Right. That’s not the end. They didn’t pay the toll even when using the only flatland path that goes over Mount Waglu.”
In an instant, the tea party hall fell into silence.
“You might say that I lack the qualifications to be a Lord, but Hemen also seems to lack the qualities of a Lord. Would a noble Lord who thinks normally really do such a thing?”
Because of this question, the smiles completely disappeared from the mouths of the nobles who had been full of thoughts of tearing Carson down.
They had tried to pressure Carson by bringing up the territory and the Eastern Nobles’ Conference topic, and they had attacked him by comparing him to Hemen, who had shown the highest achievements while talking about the qualifications of a Lord.
However, the problem was that Hemen had committed an atrocity that was hard to defend.
The knights of the Count’s family had caused damage to another’s territory.
However, those three knights turned out to be the ones who had plundered another’s territory.
Could he really talk about the qualifications of a Lord when he couldn’t even control the knights of his own family and something like this had happened?
Because of this great contradiction, Hemen was no longer in a position to say anything to Carson.
“…Everyone, it seems like there was an unwelcome guest here. Don’t you think so?”
Peteia realized that the situation had become impossible to defend and turned public opinion around.
Then, the nobles agreed with Peteia’s opinion.
“That’s right.”
“You’re a different person from the one we knew.”
“I’m very disappointed, Lord Hemen.”
“Oh, it’s a misunderstanding! I already dealt with those knights, and I’ve been in a position to help the Rusmayer territory…!”
Slap!
Youngae, the fan-wielding attendant, cut off Hemen’s words.
“You may have done well last year, but it seems unlikely that you will be able to do so this time after something like this has happened. Isn’t it always necessary for nobles to have a reflective attitude?”
“That’s right. It’s always necessary for nobles who are always developing to have a time of reflection.”
“It also seems good for preparing the period of the conference along with the time of self-discipline.”
They said it in a roundabout way, but it was no different from telling him to just leave because he had done something wrong.
Hemen glared at me as if his eyes were about to pop out, and then he left his seat with those bloodshot eyes.
He must have been very angry because the sound of the door opening and closing was quite loud.
-Ting!
▶You have appropriately removed Hemen with words.◀
▶You have succeeded in causing a result beyond the choices!◀
▶A reward will be given!◀
■Reward
[ Achievement rate increases by 10%! (Current rate: 45%) ]
[ The territory topic disappears, and there is no mention of Shatran’s figures. ]
“I think it’s better to stop talking about it. I can’t believe something like that happened…”
“I agree with Lady Pitea.”
“Me too! It’s a bit hard for us to talk about this and for the ladies to join in.”
“That’s right. The owners usually manage the family rather than the territory.”
As the status window reward suggested, they quickly stopped talking about the territory.
And.
The long-awaited moment had arrived.
“Excuse me. I have something to say to you all.”
“Lady Flora has something to say to us?”
“I wonder. What do you have to say?”
As soon as this little girl opened her mouth, the eyes of the aristocrats lit up.
“Lady Flora. I’m sorry, but can we postpone that story for a little while?”
As if taking this as a cue, Pitea Gelgetten stepped forward.
“As you may have guessed, we don’t really have tea parties in Gelgetten. Our hospitality has always been delicious food.”
-Clap, clap.
As Pitea Gelgetten signaled with her hands, a food cart entered from the front.
“I believe it’s appropriate to have some food with us since you said it was important. You must be hungry since you’ve been talking a lot.”
She asked if we could proceed with this conversation while having a light meal since the food had been prepared at the villa in time for this.
Flora still didn’t notice and replied that it was okay.
“Will Lord Carsein be okay with it too?”
Pitea didn’t hesitate to ask me the question either.
“I welcome the food of the Gelgetten family.”
The aristocrats smiled at that moment.
Sensing Carsein’s future, their eyes were filled with anticipation and joy.
The food came up to the table one by one, sizzling.
And.
-Ting!
▶Consuming this may cause Kelvia allergy symptoms!◀
The expected message appeared before my eyes.
‘It’s time to get out of here.’
***
On this prepared stage, he was nothing more than a fish on a grill.
He was just a laughingstock, flapping around and doing a funny dance, satisfying the aristocrats who were watching him.
But for some reason, he hadn’t shown that dance at all today.
Is he not going to pretend to be an escort knight?
If he dared to claim the qualification of a lord since he had become the lord of Lusmire, wouldn’t Hemmen be chased out instead?
Carsein had always been lucky enough to avoid the traps set for him, despite them being obvious.
‘But it seems that even his luck has run out here.’
Peteah inwardly sneered at Carsein and completely quelled the seeds of anxiety.
“This is a new menu that I made with my special recipe. I’d like to offer it first to the people present here, so please enjoy it.”
“Oh my. What a precious opportunity.”
“It’s not often that we get the chance to taste Gelgaten’s new menu first. Thank you.”
“We must make sure to eat every bite. Right?”
“Of course! Leaving any of it behind would be disregarding the goodwill of Lady Peteah.”
That’s right.
We must eat every bite.
This is a special occasion.
He won’t be able to avoid this food like he did in the past. Like he did back then, he should have force-fed himself the special poison called Kelvia Berry.
His gaze turned to the man with the raven hair.
‘Come on, hurry.’
‘Pick up your utensils and quickly shove that food into your mouth.’
‘And show us. Every single bite.’
The sight of Carsein writhing in agony from the side effects of the Kelvia Berry mixed into the food was the greatest spectacle that the nobles gathered here could enjoy.
However.
-Clang.
He abruptly threw the two utensils in front of him to the floor.
For a moment, everyone blinked in surprise.
“Ugh.”
Carsein wore a meaningful smile on his face.
“I’m being treated worse than an escort knight here.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he took out a vial from his pocket and poured its contents onto the plate in front of him.
At that moment, the color of the food changed drastically.
The nobles grumbled among themselves, secretly criticizing Carsein for doing something to the food.
“I told you, Flora. I shouldn’t have come to this tea party and just gone back to the duchy.”
“…”
For one girl, however, this situation was perceived quite differently.