11 – 11. Claire’s Coming of Age Ceremony (1)
Camilla, who was locked in a solitary cell.
Her punishment was lighter than she had expected.
Originally, it should have been a dim and oppressive room with almost no sunlight, where she couldn’t even straighten her body. However, due to the petitions of other maids and servants, she was moved to a slightly less severe place.
It was a space where she could lie down and close her eyes if she hunched her body a little, with only a cold bare floor. The meals were also secretly brought to her by the other maids, and the knights in charge of her care knew about it but didn’t stop it.
In other words, it meant that they had been quite considerate for a solitary cell.
But convenience is just convenience.
Even if her popularity in the ducal house is high, as Claire Bagrand had said, she is still in a strong position as a suspect.
Even if the servants are helping her, Carceine will not forgive her, so it was clear that she would be driven out of the ducal house.
That’s why she had thought of it as a self-inflicted punishment and took out a remaining vial from her peddler’s goods.
It was a medicine for maintaining the figure of noble ladies by inducing calorie consumption and breaking down nutrients.
However, as it breaks down nutrients, if you don’t consume food within a certain period of time after taking it, it shows symptoms similar to weakness or exhaustion.
If she drinks this and disguises her death in the solitary cell as death due to exhaustion, she could induce her mother to put more money into her account.
Just at that moment.
An unexpected person comes to find her.
– Clang!
“Madam, are you there?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Return to your place, Camilla.”
“…Excuse me?”
“It means to go back to being the maid of Lord Cassein, your master.”
And so, Camilla leaves the solitary cell.
No. Not only that, she was not expelled from the ducal house either.
Without any charges.
Without any punishment.
She has become Lord Cassein’s personal maid again.
But at the same time, she no longer does anything. More precisely, she cannot do anything.
“Oh. Did you tell me to come today? There’s nothing to do in the morning. Just go.”
“There’s nothing for you to do. Just go back and rest.”
“I was going to read a book anyway. There’s nothing for me to do. Just go.”
It wasn’t just that day that they said they would talk about it tomorrow.
Morning. Afternoon. Evening.
No matter when she went, there was nothing she had to do.
Arranging the bedding. Cleaning the room. Managing the belongings. Washing the clothes.
All the tasks that should have been done by Camilla, the maid, inside the room were already taken care of.
It had been already two days.
“Today too. The Master didn’t ask for anything…”
Carcine didn’t ask for anything. As the dedicated maid, everything that needed to be done was already taken care of.
At most, she would bring meals and take away the dishes left in the corridor, but even regular maids could do that.
At first, she just had questions, but slowly she started feeling uneasy. This situation shouldn’t continue.
Tomorrow, tomorrow she would come 30 minutes earlier. She would go to the Master first to make sure the maid’s tasks were not completed.
With that determination, Camilla lifted the tray with the dishes and walked down the corridor.
And then.
A young lady with hair as pink as silk fluttering in front of her, blocking her path.
“Miss Claire…”
“You. I think we need to talk.”
Claire pointed to an empty room with her thumb.
Let’s talk there, she was saying.
Camilla swallowed her saliva and calmly replied, “I will follow.”
***
One day. Two days. And three days.
Except for when the servant came to bring meals, no one entered the room at all, not even the family members.
Thanks to that, I was living alone in the room without any trouble.
The clothes may not be familiar, but it’s enough to be a noble. It’s much better than a space with a drafty hole, it’s a spacious mansion. And since the food is brought to me, there’s no problem.
I don’t need to have just instant noodles for every meal. I don’t have to come home after working several part-time jobs and worry about anyone noticing me.
At best, it was just a routine day of cleaning and laundry.
But I can’t settle for that here.
▶CHAPTER 1 – Episode III is in progress!◀
It started this morning.
The status window announcing the beginning of the episode.
Since only the episode number is displayed and not the title, it means that a branch has not been selected yet. So, from now on, the next episode is starting.
“Now, how should I proceed?”
A while ago, the butler Heron came and told Isabella that she allowed Claire to participate in her coming-of-age ceremony.
And the restriction on the divine power has also been lifted. From the beginning of the game, the divine power was restricted due to an incident caused by Carsein’s accident.
So, when the restriction is lifted, not only will activity in the ducal household become more free, but also the upper floor map, which was inaccessible until the episode is cleared, will be opened.
This is a natural flow of the main story that occurs as a result of Camilla’s rescue, which is the condition for clearing Episode II. It was evidence that we smoothly cleared Episode II and moved on to the next episode without any problems.
And cleverly enough.
“Claire’s coming-of-age ceremony is scheduled for tomorrow.”
What a coincidence.
Last night, I found a memorial in this room. It was a memorial that reflects the day of Ariana’s coming-of-age ceremony, three years ago, which I couldn’t find while playing the game.
What happened there? How did Carsein react? Watching that, I became overwhelmed with anger and it was late to go to sleep.
“That damn coming-of-age ceremony. It must have been hell for Carsein.”
The day of Ariana’s coming-of-age ceremony. Starting with her family, important guests who were not unworthy of Bagrand’s name gathered to celebrate her.
The banquet hall was filled with nobles, and no one doubted that the girl would be designated as Bagrand’s successor.
The rest of the daughters were the same. They were seen as talents who would confidently lead noble society as members of the ducal household.
However, there was one person who was persistently rejected.
“Oh my, oh my. That uncouth…!”
“Though he is also a Bagrand Dragon, he lacks any elegance.”
“Indeed, a peasant is just a peasant.”
The Bagrand Duke’s estate was filled with endlessly friendly nobles, but for him, who was nothing more than a beggar from the slums, he was met only with contempt and disgust.
Still, Karzain had the opportunity to set foot in the banquet hall because the Bagrand Duchess brought him in and recognized him as her child.
However, they were cunning.
The nobles used the children of their own age to banish him from the banquet hall. They disrupted the Duke’s gaze through the company of these children.
Forced to play along and dragged outside, Karzain was thrown to the ground and mercilessly trampled upon by the other noble children.
From Noble mtl dot com
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you a Bagrand?”
“Just a clueless idiot. What business do you have being in the same place as us, nobles?”
“Hmph. Did you really think you had the same rights as us?”
It was nothing but cruel discrimination, treating him as a commoner or even lower.
Unable to bear it any longer, Karzain resisted while enduring the pain. Having survived in the harsh slums, Karzain could bring down one of the noble children with his evil deeds.
But that became a burden, tying Karzain’s feet.
“Ariana, those guys started it first…”
-Crack!
“Don’t call me ‘sister’. You’re neither my sibling nor my family.”
Karzain, who had caused a commotion with all sorts of misconduct, became the culprit who ruined Ariana’s coming-of-age ceremony and received one month of discipline.
After that, Karsein couldn’t call her sister anymore. Because her mother was no exception, she couldn’t call her brother “brother” and her father “father,” and it naturally reminded her of Hong Gil-dong.
Looking back now, it was a truly repulsive thing. Even though she was not related by blood, it was Karsein who was unjustly driven away, and it was Karsein who was beaten up just because she wasn’t Baghdad.
Karsein, who had nothing, was treated like trash and abandoned even by her only family, the only beings she could rely on.
“It hurts so much.”
The reason why the past contained in the memorial hurt, even though it wasn’t my own story, was because I had experienced something similar.
I, too, have been bullied at school and fought back. Even when I was getting hit, I couldn’t bear it anymore and turned one of them into an example by giving them a taste of their own medicine.
And then, the eldest said that someone like me wasn’t even a younger sibling and that I was a disgrace to the family. Since the time when I also got slapped, I think I had the same thought.
Anyway, this happened three years ago?
“It’s true that I shouldn’t go. Yeah. No matter how much I think about it, it’s better not to go.”
The prejudice that this time would be different would certainly be shattered. I don’t even want to participate in the coming-of-age ceremony tomorrow if possible.
If I can avoid it, it’s best to avoid it.
If the option doesn’t appear, there’s no need to go there and get cursed or draw attention from other people. There was no need for them to even acknowledge me in the first place.
How can I not leave this room?
Should I take a shower with cold water and pretend to be sick, lying down and moaning?
I was thinking of all sorts of tricks.
“Your Highness, it’s Camilla. May I come in?”
Camilla?
Why did she come at this hour?
Even though the situation is good, my dead trigger hasn’t completely turned off yet. I couldn’t just relax unless I reached a certain episode and cleared it.
Helplessly, I opened the door.
“I apologize for the intrusion, Sir. Um…”
“Just come in.”
Camilla appeared, standing somewhat hesitantly. I was about to ask what was the matter, but instead I just told her to come in.
There could be a conversation in the hallway that shouldn’t be overheard.
“Yes, yes, Sir…”
Camilla entered my room with a somewhat anxious look. Her voice was trembling a bit, as if something was wrong.
But as soon as she entered my room, Camilla’s lips parted and her gaze started to waver.
“What’s wrong? What is it?”
If she’s anxious, it makes me anxious too. After all, I could be in trouble, damn it!
What did she see in my room?
I followed Camilla’s gaze with my eyes.
But…
“…my hand?”
Oddly enough, Camilla’s gaze was fixed on my hand.
It’s just because I was holding onto the mop while cleaning.
No, who gets anxious when they see a mop? I thought I might have seen it wrong, so I looked again, and I saw it correctly.
I couldn’t believe this absurd situation for a moment. Suddenly, Camilla grabbed the mop I had in my hand.
“P-Please leave this to me, Sir. It’s not something you should be doing!”
Huh?
In that moment, a question mark formed in my mind.
-Ding!
[1. You came 30 minutes early today? Why. What mischief are you up to this time?]
[2. I’m cleaning, why are you taking that away? Give it back.]
[3. What a sudden and unrelated comment?]
“Ah. Come to think of it, I took the route without hiring a maid.”
Seeing the choices like this, I vaguely remember something.
Originally, the correct answer was 2 and 3 was supposed to have a dead flag. But now, the contents have completely changed.
As the perception within the duke’s work improves, the choices also change. It meant that this law was being applied well here too.
“Ah. But since I used this branch before finding something better, my memory is a little hazy…”
First, let’s answer to get some information.
I chose option 3 and replied, “What a sudden and unrelated comment?”
“I am the young master’s exclusive maid. Please let me handle these trivial matters!”
Camilla said, holding the mop, in a pleading tone.
Only then did the scenes of this branch’s progress come to mind.
“Oh, right. Claire must have put those words into Camilla.”
I wondered why she was so anxious. It was after meeting Claire.
If that’s the case, it makes sense. Even though there are no problems now, the one who best activates the dead trigger caused by Camilla in the game is that pink-haired crazy woman.
If it continued with that story.
I can say that things worked out better than expected.
[1. What are you trying to do in my room?]
[2. I’m sorry, but I have nothing for you to do.]
A perfect choice.
Just as I remember.
“I’m sorry, but I have nothing for you to do.”
This was an opportunity to increase Claire’s intimacy.
***
Once the two of them disappeared, the corridor was empty. The left corridor, where Karsein’s room was located, was not frequently used by the maids as they avoided it if possible.
Furthermore, all the servants from different professions had also left, so there were unusually no people passing by today.
Therefore, silence had to flow. Of course.
-Tap, tap. Clap.
However, instead of silence, the sound of tapping quietly spread.
“H-How? Why did Camilla escape from the isolation room?”
The blonde girl saw it. Camilla, who should have been in the isolation room, walking into Karsein’s room with an unscathed body. And Karsein also inviting Camilla into the room after knocking on the door.
There was no choice but to be anxious.
It was none other than Flora who ordered for awakening and stimulating drugs to be mixed in Karsein’s morning meal.
If it were to be revealed that she was involved in this plot and even gave bribes, it could be the beginning and end, and all the events up until now could reach mother’s ears.
Thump, thump, thump-
Flora’s hurried footsteps led her to the bedroom. Closing the door tightly and flipping the blanket over her head, she started rolling her head.
“No, there’s no need to worry. Even if the plan failed, if I deny it and say I wasn’t involved, it’ll be fine, right?”
No one in Bagrand pays attention to Karsein’s words anymore. There was once a person who listened to him, even his mother, but now she seems to have lost her mind.
It was disappointing that the plan had failed, but there was no need to be afraid.
But why?
Why is it so terrifying?