The Damn Family Is Back Again chapter 129

129. The Blue Inner Medicine (6)

When Arsien came back and pointed out my mistakes.

I had somewhat expected it.

A story related to Karcein would come out.

We had already had a conversation about Karcein, so it might have come up then, but Arsien always had a tendency to cover up for Karcein when he made a mistake.

– Wouldn’t it be better to find out what happened first?

“-Claire, calm down. Your voice is too loud.

-Don’t badmouth Carsein too much. He’s your brother, after all.

I’ve always had these kinds of remarks stuck in my throat.

So, I thought there would be no exception this time either.

I thought maybe I’d get a reprimand to take better care of my brother.

But then…

What came out of Arsien’s mouth was a heavy blow.

“Shatron was ruined because of you, not Carsein, Claire.”

Claire’s eyes widened in surprise as she stared at Arsien, her lips slightly parted.

Shatron… was ruined because of herself, not Carsein?

“Arsien, that’s ridiculous. How could Shatron’s territory, which Carsein was in charge of, be ruined because of me?”

It was illogical.

At the time, Shatron’s territory was doing well, with two special products thriving.

The harvest had decreased, and the quality of the products had worsened, but it was clear that it wasn’t because of herself.

Yes, it was definitely a mistaken statement.

No matter how you looked at it, she wasn’t at fault.

If anyone was at fault, it was Carsein’s side.

But Arsien didn’t retract his statement.

“So, if you think that, let’s change our approach?”

“What?”

Arsien raised his fist and extended one finger.

“I explained what happened at the Iperos Marquis’ house in the restaurant earlier today. I told them that the necessary goods were supplied to the West, along with the good news of discovering a new method to repair the city walls, and that someone had brought it.”

Claire’s eyes narrowed.

It was the story she had heard at the restaurant.

As soon as he finished speaking, the next finger extended.

“Here, your sister raised questions, and I told them about another piece of news from the Empire. I said that someone had broken through the trade barrier of Warglu Mountain and created a tunnel to the other side, and even showed a new map, saying that the Western supply route had opened.”

The next finger extended.

“And finally, based on the continuity of the events and the timeline, I concluded that one person had done both things, and connected it to another incident.”

The incident where Carsein had received severe hostility and overt enmity at the Gelgeton Viscount’s villa.

Arsien had neatly tied it all together.

“What’s the point of bringing this up now? It has nothing to do with anything!”

Claire shouted in anger.

No matter how much she liked Arsien, listening to this kind of talk was infuriating.

…Or maybe not.

Maybe it was because of the frustration building up inside her that she felt annoyed.

“Then, shall we turn the tables?”

This time, Arsien folded his fourth finger.

The situation was reversed.

“Claire, you focused on the fact that Carsein got beaten up and went to the Lilton Earl’s house in the West, and immediately told Isabella and Arina. You said that Carsein had gone to the West without a word and got beaten up, and even got sick. So, you asked why Carsein had gone to the West?”

“…!”

He didn’t ask.

So, the silence continued.

Arsien immediately folded his third finger.

“After that, I took revenge on the Rifleton Earl’s family, and then I made it impossible for them to trade with the nobles. You must have heard that I did business with the Rifleton Earl’s family. Don’t you know why Carsain tried to make a deal here?”

He didn’t know.

Again, the silence continued.

One of Arsien’s remaining fingers folded.

“Shatren was completely ruined afterwards. The two specialties almost stopped being produced, and when Rifleton turned its back, Carsain couldn’t trade with any nobles. You scolded Carsain, who was branded with the shame of Shatren, despite knowing everything. Don’t you really not know?”

“…”

Clair’s lips were pressed together, and he was silent.

But this time, it wasn’t because he didn’t know.

It was because an excessive intersection had been created.

Rusmayeur. Shatren.

Aiperos. Rifleton.

Rusmayeur, the founder of the new trade law and the center of trade.

Carsain, the shame of Shatren and the worst lord.

The results of the past and present were too different.

No, everything had become the opposite.

Arsien’s actions and even his own actions.

“Could it be… that it’s really because of me…?”

Clair asked in a trembling voice.

Arsien’s one-by-one mentions and counter-questions couldn’t be misunderstood.

To such Clair.

“That’s right. You already know.”

The old friend gave a bitter answer.

“Carsain tried to change the soil quality of the Shatren territory using the characteristics of the Lopea seed, which grows with mana. That’s why the Rifleton Earl’s family went to the west.”

“…Then, what about that deal?”

The well-arranged pink hair was ruined.

“The Lopea seed can only be grown in the Rifleton Earl’s family. No one else knows how to grow it. They were the only ones who could find people to do it in this empire.”

His lips were pressed together, and a little blood flowed from between them.

“I… just thought that Carsain would only do bad things when he met with nobles. So I stopped him…”

“Clair.”

Arsien shook his head and grabbed Clair’s hand.

“That’s wrong. I told you at the Snowflake Festival too.”

“…”

“You should have trusted me at least once. You should have asked at least once instead of suspecting. You shouldn’t have pointed out Carsain’s mistakes without asking or questioning, with your own prejudices.”

Until the end, he had only doubted.

He hadn’t trusted his own brother like that.

“You only looked at it negatively until the end. Even if Carsein received a rotten seed, he would have grown it and proven it, but you didn’t.”

The only thing that stood out was the mistake. All the praiseworthy deeds were buried.

Because of anger, I acted impulsively. Because of a rash personality, I couldn’t control myself and rushed out. I didn’t try to change my biased perspective.

Nothing was revealed.

Carsein’s intentions, goals, and even his inner thoughts.

Arsien’s words were not wrong at all.

It was Claire herself who gave Carsein the shameful title of “Shatren’s shame”.

– Thud.

A single tear rolled down Claire’s pale face, which was bowed in shame.

“If you had doubted yourself just once, instead of Carsein, the Shatren incident might not have happened. This is the only difference between the two incidents.”

Arsien left behind a final piece of advice and gave Claire some time to herself.

At the same time…

– Clang.

The hairpin that was precariously perched on Claire’s pink hair fell to the floor.

***

When I got a new younger brother…

At first, the fact wasn’t particularly welcome.

He’s just a stranger.

After all, he’s a child picked up from a slum, not even a real family member.

Where did Dad and Carn go, and why did this completely different kid end up in Mom’s arms?

Even though it was because of Mom’s mental illness, it was unreasonable to accept this stranger as family.

Because of that kid, my sister even got slapped by Mom.

Is it all because of that kid?

My first meeting with Carsein was the worst.

Did things get better after that?

No, they didn’t.

I scolded Flora and yelled at her.

I got angry at the maid’s mistake and even blamed others for my own mistakes.

It was a situation that was hard to watch with open eyes.

Why do you, who aren’t even part of our family, act like the owner?

When I said something harsh…

– Claire! What are you doing to your brother?!!

I immediately got scolded by Mom.

That day, I got scolded all day long.

No matter how much I hated it, Mom protected that kid.

Calling him her son, saying that if he wasn’t Carn, then who was he? Even when difficult situations arose, Mom still protected Carsein.

Why did that stranger, who wasn’t even part of our family, get to be called our family member?

As time went on, I felt like my blood was boiling.

One day, something unexpected happened.

My mom’s mental illness recovered.

From noble mtl dot com

On that good day, that kid did something terrible, and my mom, no longer confusing him with Karn, gave him the name Karsein.

From the next day on, Karsein’s pampering continued, but it wasn’t the same as before.

My mom had also returned to her normal self.

Now, everything was finally going back to normal.

It felt like the misaligned gears were finally turning in the right direction.

But, would this kid get kicked out?

No, instead, he became a troublemaker who kept causing problems.

-“It’s not me, it’s you who did that!!”

-“I didn’t do anything wrong! This kid did it!!”

-“This kid told me to get out, saying how could someone like me be a noble!!”

He was a commoner who used to beg for scraps in the slums.

Seeing him act so arrogant, my temper flared up.

That wasn’t all.

-“Flora did it on purpose!!”

Sometimes, I even blamed Flora for it.

It wasn’t just once or twice; it was a habitual behavior.

Thanks to that, I was about to lash out at him, and my hand rose.

I had grown tired of Karsein, who always caused trouble.

But on the other hand, I had to control my strength and magic so I wouldn’t hurt him.

The more I saw him, the more I felt affection for him. That saying was true.

No matter what, my little brother was still my little brother.

Even though we didn’t share the same blood, he was still a troublemaker…

But I couldn’t deny the fact that I had gained a little brother.

No. Regardless of the process, I had accepted him as my brother.

When I hit him on the cheek, I made sure to hold back my strength and magic.

Seeing him get scolded by my sister wasn’t satisfying at all.

And when I saw him get beaten up outside and come back home, it hurt my heart a little.

So, I didn’t want to see him get caught up with the nobles.

I had to protect him from the nobles, even if it meant getting angry.

I hoped that one day, he would realize his mistakes and change for the better.

Even if I had to scold him repeatedly.

Even if I had to hold him back.

Even if I had to raise my voice.

Because he was my little brother.

I didn’t want to see him get beaten up.

So, when he came back after getting beaten up in the west, my eyes widened in shock.

I had to sever my ties with Karsein and the nobles completely, and that was the perfect opportunity.

How dare the Rilfeton Earl’s family, who had beaten up my little brother?!

I responded in English, as per your request:

I had thoroughly responded to him.

With this, I thought there would be no more threats from Karsein.

…But.

Reality proved that this was the most wrong action.

Instead of protection, I was hindering him.

I shouldn’t have hastily pointed out my mistakes and gotten angry, but rather asked for reasons.

I shouldn’t have been trapped in preconceptions, but rather examined and understood it thoroughly.

And I shouldn’t have doubted, but rather tried to understand why Karsein made that judgment.

Only now do I realize the reason for this bitter feeling.

Arshien had revealed everything positively.

But I didn’t do anything and only negatively criticized.

All of this was compared, which is why it turned out that way.

-Drip. Drip.

The tears falling like raindrops onto my hairpin made a rattling sound.

Naturally, Claire’s gaze turned towards it.

The voice of Karsein, which I heard when I received the hairpin, struck Claire’s heart.

-“Last time, I couldn’t even get Ariana’s, but this is Claire’s…”

My lips tightened.

I had suffered so much to get this small hairpin, and it had become a painful memory.

To that kid, I was just nagging.

If I was going to get hurt like this, I might as well not go outside and just get scolded.

The next day, when I got scolded because of this, I didn’t even try to help, but instead just let out a deep sigh.

It didn’t even seem like they understood how I felt when I gave it to them.

Did Karsein just take it and like it?

Crazy person.

Idiot.

A foolish person who can’t even understand the situation.

What kind of sister is this? If they’re a hindrance, then that’s fine!

In the midst of the quiet atmosphere, Claire cursed herself repeatedly.

Yet…

“…Karsein…”

The hairpin in my hand never fell.

– Tingling!

▶Hidden Episode. The target that needed to change has been cleared!◀

▶Claire’s intimacy level has increased!◀

[ Intimacy Level: 67% → 75% ]

▶A specific character’s intimacy level has exceeded 70%!◀

▶The player has successfully raised the intimacy level by themselves. This is an impossible change in this branch!◀

▶You have successfully triggered a result that surpasses the choices. Additional rewards will be given!◀

■Reward

▶This information is not disclosed to the player.

[From the next episode branch, Claire’s help will be received.]

[Unlocking Claire’s exclusive episode.]