The Damn Family Is Back Again chapter 134

134. Spring Outing (4)

▶Episode IV. The Spring Outing is in progress.◀

▶Meet with your family at the Rusmayeur estate’s main gate.◀

This window will appear in two days.

Until then, it was a time for free action, trying out various things.

The target, of course, was the Shatren territory.

I wore a black hood and commoner’s clothes, changing my appearance so they wouldn’t recognize me.

I snuck into the Shatren territory like that…

But the Shatren territory was in a state of chaos, hostile towards Carsein and closed off to outsiders.

Moreover, they suspected that outsiders might be Carsein’s spies.

“I didn’t realize the situation was so different from what I thought.”

I only realized it when I experienced it myself.

When the demonic beasts invaded the Rusmayeur territory, and I simply eliminated them with my own hands.

I realized that if I didn’t provide them with weapons and training, Rusmayeur would never change.

Then, Shatren would likely not have a proper solution either, just like Rusmayeur.

Yes. The fact I had overlooked was…

It was a reality that couldn’t be approached as a game.

-Slurp.

Along with morning, I took out the letters secretly delivered by Camilla.

The first one was from Polux, the Duke of Iferos.

『I’ve tried to convey it to the Lilterton Earl’s family, but… I don’t know if they’ll accept it. Sorry.

-Polux Tutilum.』

“There’s no need to apologize. Should I have said it beforehand?”

I didn’t have anything to lose, so I might as well take a gamble.

I didn’t have any particular expectations, anyway.

The second letter was from Tasha, who was temporarily acting as the lord of Rusmaier in my place.

『There have been regular thefts in Rusmaier, and I want to explain the details in person. It’s not possible to convey it through letters.

-Tasha』

“Hmm, it seems that’s what happened.”

After reading this letter, I became convinced.

There had been instances where the quantity or value of goods had changed regularly.

In other words, the money I received from Rusmaier didn’t match the calculations. There was a high possibility of potential problems. It would be wise to take measures immediately.

But Tasha wants to meet me and explain in detail.

“Is there something going on?”

I’ll have to hear it to know.

I sent another letter to Tasha, asking her to prepare a normal ledger and a separate one with the discrepancies, without revealing the theft.

And the last letter.

This one was from Harnie.

『I’m sorry for contacting you so suddenly. You know about the party before the symposium, right? There’s something I need to prepare for. Let’s meet up when you have time. Us.

-Harnie Teresia.』

“I know about the party, but what do you need to prepare for?”

I don’t know.

I’ll have to meet up with her to find out.

I’ve obtained some useful information, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

So, making plans or preparing countermeasures would be meaningless for now.

-Ding-dong.

“Lord, the carriage is ready. Please come down.”

“Okay.”

As I opened the door and went out, Heron was bowing his head.

But what caught my attention was the bright object right behind him.

‘A Memorial? Here?’

This wasn’t a place with a high risk level in the ducal palace, nor was it a location where special items were stored. At most, it was just the corridor in front of Carcsein’s room.

The location was quite ambiguous.

The Memorial in the corridor was only slightly visible through the narrow gap.

If it didn’t have the characteristic bright light of a Memorial, I wouldn’t have noticed it was there.

“It’s not visible at all. What is that?”

Is it a square frame… or something?

“…This thing is still left here. Young Master. I’ll take care of it.”

Heroney seemed to notice where my gaze was wandering.

“The ladies were young, and they didn’t know better. It won’t happen now.”

The way Heroney spoke suggested that she knew what it was.

Of course, I had to see it.

“No, leave it alone.”

“…Young Master!”

▶You have acquired the broken frame memorial.◀

A white horse suddenly filled my field of vision.

***

In winter, it snows, and in spring, the cherry blossoms fall.

A warm spring had finally arrived.

The cherry blossoms, which had bloomed beautifully under the gentle spring sun, were enough to captivate a woman’s gaze.

“Spring…”

Isabella smiled softly as she caught the falling cherry blossom petals in her palm.

“Shall we go on a picnic with the kids?”

Ariana would probably laugh and say it’s a good idea as the eldest daughter.

Claire would suggest sitting down and enjoying a meal together, like ordinary people.

Flora, who loves playing outside, would happily agree to play with her sisters.

And…

The last child…

“Do you like picnics too, Carsain? Let’s go.”

Isabella believed without a doubt that she would like it.

She had been mentally ill, and that child was not Carn.

After regaining her sanity, she declared a new name, Carsain, for the child.

Since then, Carsain had caused so much trouble…

Counting the number of incidents would make her head ache…

“Sometimes, it’s good to relieve stress outside.”

Still, she’s her child.

No matter how much trouble she causes, no matter how many headaches she gives…

The fact that Isabella Bagrand had taken her in as her child remained unchanged.

So, the mother of four children suggested returning to the mansion and going on a picnic. “Why don’t we enjoy the spring sun together as a family?” she asked.

The children agreed as expected.

They also agreed to call a painter to paint a family portrait, taking advantage of the good weather that day.

That is, until one child’s name was mentioned.

“Mother, I object.”

“Me too, Mom.”

Ariana and Claire, who had seemed to be looking forward to the picnic just a moment ago, firmly opposed it.

It wasn’t that they opposed going on a picnic, but…

They opposed it.

“Is a family portrait really necessary?”

“It’s okay to just have fun, but I also don’t like portraits.”

It was, after all, a family portrait.

“Hmm, can I ask why?”

When Isabella asked with a puzzled expression, Arina and Claire exchanged glances, unsure of how to respond.

Meanwhile, their mother, who didn’t understand the situation, seemed frustrated.

The youngest, Flora, couldn’t hold back and spoke up for the two, shouting:

“I hate him! I hate him! Why do we have to take a family portrait with someone who’s not even family?!!”

“…! Flora!”

“Oh, mom. Flora made a mistake. Just let it go.”

In their hearts, the two sisters felt the same way.

How could they create a family portrait with someone who wasn’t even part of their family, like Karcein?

It was an unacceptable act, especially considering their deceased father and Karne.

However, it hadn’t been long since their mother’s mental illness had recovered.

Until recently, their mother had been overly protective of Karcein, so they deliberately didn’t mention it out loud.

But now…

Afterward, Flora received a scolding from Isabella for saying such harsh words.

Due to their mother’s behavior, the two sisters’ anger was directed at one person, and they couldn’t help but feel furious.

Young Karcein didn’t even notice, and that was that.

“Don’t ever say something like that again. Got it?”

“Uh, yeah…”

“Flora, answer properly.”

Their sisters stepped in to calm Flora down, applying ointment to her hand and comforting her, but Flora’s words refused to retract.

Only hatred and anger were directed at the young boy.

“Madam, I think it would be better to move quickly before the carriage gets crowded.”

“It’s still a bit chilly, and there’s a temperature difference, isn’t it?”

Realizing that the anger was only directed at the boy, Heron and Shaiden tried to ease the tension by hurrying Isabella along.

Isabella agreed and quickly boarded the carriage.

It wasn’t until the sun was high in the sky that the ducal family’s outing finally began.

But…

From noble mtl dot com

Inside the ducal carriage, the ill feelings still lingered.

Even after arriving at the outing location, the atmosphere remained tense.

Isabella immediately called for the painter, but the sisters’ unpleasant expressions made the painter struggle for a while.

“I need to know what’s wrong, so I’ll keep an eye on things from here.”

“Oh, mom!”

“Mother, you’re… “

“If we keep going like this, the day will be ruined. Can’t you all just take a nice picture in this beautiful setting?”

But when Isabella stepped back, they faced an even greater failure.

In the end, one portrait was completed – a portrait of the siblings, excluding Isabella.

“It’s drawn so beautifully, what’s the problem with it?”

“…”

I don’t know what to do.

Except for one boy, no one in the picture was smiling.

Even that was because Isabella had given direct instructions, saying “just make a slightly different expression” or “look a bit more this way,” so it was a drawn picture.

“The rest can wait, let’s take a break.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

With the declaration of break time, Isabella approached Carsein and handed him something.

It wasn’t anything special, just some money.

“Go and get your mood changed or something. If you find something delicious, eat it and come back. Got it?”

It was money.

He still remembered being scolded by Flora for lying a while ago.

Considering that, it would be right to refuse, but he thought back to the Snowflake Festival incident and changed his mind.

“If I do this, I can buy a present for Claire nuna too!”

Back then, he had obtained many presents, but they were all snatched away by thieves on the street.

He was only able to keep the first nuna’s hair tie, which left him with deep regret.

But here, he could buy a present for the second nuna too. No, he had to buy it?

Since it was a bit far from here, he would have to walk a bit, but it wasn’t too far from a place where commoners gathered, and merchants set up their stalls. It was almost like a small festival.

Then, he could get special presents as prizes, just like before.

He could get even more presents for his younger sister too.

The boy replied “Yes!” with determination and received the money from his mother.

There was plenty of time.

Difficult puzzle-solving, nonsense quizzes, mana dart games, and distinguishing between penalty drinks and real drinks.

From these simple mini-games, the boy once again accumulated a lot of prizes.

“Is this enough?”

Such thoughts arose in the boy’s mind.

“What’s going on? Why are nobles at a place like this?”

“Yeah, if they just changed their clothes, you wouldn’t recognize them.”

“It’s clear that their birth can’t be hidden. It’s impossible for people like them to have the same social status as us. They’re really messed up.”

-Kwajik!

Other noble children started to appear, and soon they destroyed all the prizes the boy had obtained.

“What are you doing?!”

The boy picked up the broken items from the ground, but there was nothing intact.

The boy, who had become disheartened, hung his head low.

How could he give such things as presents?

The nobles laughed at the sight of the boy.

“These kids…!”

“Why? Are you going to hit me? Come on, hit me, you punk.”

“Do you think you can get away with it like last time?”

The boy, furious that the presents for his family had been ruined, couldn’t hold back and swung his fist.

Instead of cherry blossoms, dust began to swirl.

Fists filled with anger pounded the nobles mercilessly, and in the process, the young boy’s entire body was covered in dirt and dust.

Of course, there was no return for this.

The clothes prepared for the spring outing were ruined, and that was all.

“Hey, hey! Let go of me! I’ll…!”

“Hey, we have to run away! If we get caught, it’ll be big trouble!”

“What?”

“The kid who was watching said the duchess and the ladies-in-waiting have all returned. If we get caught, it’ll be a huge mess!”

“Ugh…!”

The nobles had no choice but to retreat.

The boy, who had struggled against the majority, wore a faint smile.

It was because he had protected one thing, at least.

“Good thing. The hairpin for my second older sister is still intact.”

At least one family gift was preserved.

Holding the hairpin dearly, the boy went to find his family.

However, what awaited him was not a warm welcome.