141. The Broken Frame (2)
“Is the current situation no different from back then?”
Isabella’s eyes widened in surprise.
At the time, she had forgotten…
But now, she remembered clearly.
The time Heron was referring to was just a few months ago.
After the investigation, it was revealed that the total number of letters sent to Carsein was different, and they had discussed it further at that time.
It was the day of Claire’s coming-of-age ceremony, which was clearly marked on the calendar, but Carsein’s birthday was not even marked properly.
It was the day Heron had revealed his honest feelings while looking at the calendar.
But isn’t it the same as back then? Isabelle couldn’t understand.
“I won’t deny that I was wrong back then. But there’s no denying that it’s a bit embarrassing.”
Isabelle picked up a calendar from the room and checked the dates clearly.
December 31st and January 1st. It was a sign that she remembered that day.
“I’m not saying I didn’t acknowledge it. I won’t forget that I built a wall against Carsein, and that’s why I treated one of his children differently. It was my mistake, biased as I was. But how can this be the same as back then?”
There was a difference.
But it was different.
There was a clear difference from that day.
“I know what Carsein did during that time. Hearing the words of Her Highness, the Arsiene Princess, I thought it was a praise-worthy act. So, I suggested giving him a reward this time. It’s not like I acted on a whim to ease my feelings like I did back then.”
It wasn’t just to ease her feelings.
She was fully aware of what had happened and wasn’t judging right and wrong, but wanted to give a proper reward.
Then, Heron let out a deep sigh.
“That’s the problem, ma’am. You’re avoiding Carsein like this, and yet you’re saying such contradictory things.”
“Avoiding him?”
“It’s not a reward for him. It’s a punishment that brings back past nightmares.”
“Heron, what do you mean…?”
Isabelle raised another question, as if she couldn’t understand.
Then, Heron pulled out a broken frame.
Isabelle’s face turned red with rage, and she gasped for breath.
“This… someone… who could do this to Carsein’s face…! Ah, no. It can’t be. If someone did this, it would be only one person. Emma Urnen, that disgusting woman who wouldn’t even spare his limbs.”
The face in the frame was distorted, and Carsein was separated from his family.
She had no idea that such a remnant still existed in the ducal house. She should have asked the imperial family to sentence her to a heavier punishment in the underground prison.
“Such a thing… yeah. I had no idea this happened to Carsein. I was ignorant and avoided it all this time, right?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Is this also not…?”
– He nodded.
Heron, who nodded, pointed to the outside window with his hand.
“The cherry blossoms in the background, the family outing, and even the portrait. Doesn’t it look very similar?”
“Similar…? What does that…?”
Isabelle’s eyes, which were about to be filled with doubts again, suddenly turned into a dark, empty void.
Her blue eyes, which began to tremble, alternated between looking at the cherry blossoms and the frame that Heron pointed to.
– Thud!
Her body began to collapse, or her heart was about to fall apart.
Something unknown made a loud noise.
“Uh, uh…!”
“Ma’am…!”
“Oh, oh… I… I forgot about it, didn’t I…?”
Isabelle stumbled and leaned against the wall.
Shayden looked at Isabelle with a sorrowful gaze and closed his eyes tightly.
And Heron…
“If Madam hadn’t really turned a blind eye to Young Master Carsein, I would have noticed it earlier. This situation itself is proof that Young Master Carsein is extremely displeased.”
She threw a sharper criticism.
***
A beautiful spring day.
The weather was perfect for going out and enjoying the cherry blossoms.
The Duke’s family picnic started with a single misstep.
-“Do we really need a family portrait?”
-“It’s fine to just have fun, but I don’t want a portrait.”
-“I hate it! I hate it! Why do we need to take a family portrait with someone who’s not even our family?”
Everyone drew a line.
No one wanted to take a family portrait with Carsein, and they all expressed their refusal.
Some even openly expressed their dislike with harsh words.
No one wanted Carsein to take his place as a family member.
No one wanted his face to be in the portrait.
Because they didn’t want to accept him as family.
So, under the warm spring sun, the portrait that was finally taken showed no one smiling.
This blatant exclusion didn’t bring new opportunities even with time.
After a brief break, instead of cherry blossom petals, they were covered in dust, and they couldn’t become a part of the family portrait anymore.
And they were content with that.
-“Mother, since we can’t avoid it, let’s just take a portrait with the four of us.”
They seized this opportunity.
-“We should fill the rest of the frame. Carsein may be unavoidable, but we can at least fill our individual portraits.”
-“Sister is right. It’s better if we take a portrait of just the four of us.”
-“I think so too!”
They were determined to exclude Carsein from the family.
Every single one of them.
And they succeeded in doing so.
Not a single portrait of Carsein was hung in the Duke’s mansion.
Moreover, his face was not even in the frame.
It was because the three sisters had openly treated Carsein as an outsider that day.
“Again, again… only to Carsein…”
Flora, who was reminded of that day by her little sister Claire, clenched her skirt tightly.
There was no need to say more.
They had excluded someone who was supposed to be family.
“Do you know what I’m trying to say, sister?”
“…Yes.”
Flora, who was holding her skirt, nodded tearfully.
“The portrait… shouldn’t have been taken. No, we shouldn’t have come here in the first place. That’s… right, sister?”
“Yes, Flora.”
“Ara, it’s like that, Unnie.”
Sniffling, sniffling.
Flora wiped away her tears with her sleeve, trying to hold back her sobs.
“Mom, today… I had high expectations. What’s going on?”
“…”
It was just as Flora said.
If they didn’t want to create a new portrait and instead return to the mansion, they would have to convince Mom, who had suggested this outing.
Considering they had come on this outing as a family, filled with expectations, and now wanted to replace the portrait in the frame with a new one, convincing Mom wouldn’t be easy.
Maybe they would even be flatly rejected.
This outing was, after all, prepared for Carsein.
Claire smiled wryly and gently patted Flora’s head.
“Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything to Mom. You don’t have to worry, Flora. I’ll take full responsibility.”
She would get scolded a lot. She had deliberately taken advantage of Carsein’s absence to create the current portrait. If they found out she hadn’t even been treated as family, it wouldn’t be surprising if they got angry.
But this was something she had to say directly.
Even if she had to face Mom’s anger, she had to explain what happened that day without leaving anything out.
Carsein was the one who had truly been hurt.
Today must have been an unbearable time for Carsein.
“Do we all have to get scolded…?”
“No, I’m the one who made the biggest mistake.”
The cherry blossom hairpin.
Thinking about receiving it from Carsein, she realized she was the one who should be scolded the most.
“Okay, Flora, let’s go to your room?”
“…Ara.”
She was worried about what would happen if Flora refused again, but fortunately, Flora had changed a lot since then.
After taking the still-sniffling Flora to her room, Claire didn’t hesitate and headed straight to where her mother, Isabella, was.
-Knock, knock.
“Mom, can I talk to you for a bit?”
After a brief pause, a small voice from inside the room said, “Come in.”
Claire took a deep breath outside and then entered Isabella’s room.
She had to apologize for her mistake, so her gaze naturally fell downward.
However, she got straight to the point.
“Mom, how about we don’t create a new portrait?”
Why was she asking? It was inevitable.
Claire steeled herself and waited for Isabella’s response.
“…That’s fine.”
“What?”
Claire’s expression turned puzzled as she asked again, taken aback by the unexpected response.
From noble mtl dot com
“Mom, what did you just…?”
“I realized that thinking Carsein would like the portrait was just my own prejudice.”
“…”
Claire gazed at Isabella with her lips slightly parted.
Now, she saw her mother’s figure in her eyes.
Isabella’s eyes were filled with deep sorrow.
It was only a few hours ago that she had been smiling brightly before departing.
And just a few tens of minutes ago, she had been wearing a bright expression during their outing.
But now, she was lamenting with a 180-degree change in her demeanor.
“Mom also knows, doesn’t she?”
Claire also vaguely sensed it.
“I… didn’t know about that incident, and I brought that child here… How could this…”
How did she not know about it?
Unless someone told her directly, it was impossible to know.
It wasn’t Ariana, and Flora had brought the child herself. Claire had just arrived here.
It was unlikely that Carsein would bring up this topic directly.
Then, someone else must know the truth.
“Who…?”
Claire’s eyes, lost in thought, suddenly turned to the table.
There was a broken frame lying there.
“This was it.”
Who could have done such a thing? But since the frame was ordered from the ducal family, the culprit could be roughly guessed.
However, that wasn’t important.
The ducal family’s appearance was captured in the frame.
More precisely, it was the appearance of the day when Carsein was not recognized as family.
As if drawing a boundary, her lips tightened.
Seeing the contrast between the awkward Carsein and the sister’s appearance, Claire felt like her breath was being choked.
But now, she had the opportunity to speak honestly.
“That. It’s my fault, Mom.”
Claire took the opportunity to confess her mistakes without reserve.
One by one.
Without hiding anything, she acknowledged her errors in detail.
Finally, she came to this place to confess everything.
“…Yes. That’s what happened.”
Isabella, who had been silent for a long time, tapping her chest, opened her mouth with a low voice.
“In the end, this is our mother-daughter’s mistake. You know that, Claire.”
“…Yes.”
“So let’s do this. Although I want to return to the ducal mansion immediately, the symposium is about to open. Let’s focus on our schedule and leave Carsein alone as much as possible. What do you think?”
“I agree.”
“Then, you tell Flora about it. I’ll talk to Ariana.”
In fact, there was no need to tell Flora about this…
What else is there to say?
Claire thought this was the best and nodded her head.
It was the moment when the portrait schedule was canceled.
***
But I realized too late, and when I came to my senses, the sun was already up.
As I was busy with various tasks during that one day when no one came to find me, the day had passed.
“…Um, Young Master?”
“What.”
“May I ask if you’ve had enough sleep?”
I replied dryly.
“I slept.”
“But the pillow and blanket are still in the same state as yesterday…”
“A person can still live a normal life even if they only take a short nap.”
Camilla looked at me with anxious eyes and made a fervent request.
“Lord Carsein, I’m worried that you might collapse. Please, just rest your eyes a little…”
“There’s no time for that.”
I had gained a day’s time as a perfect clear reward.
But even so, the work didn’t seem to end.
Managing the Rusmayeur territory.
Preparing for the upcoming Shatren territory.
Dealing with other families’ obstruction and securing goods.
Organizing information gathered according to the economic situation.
Just these tasks alone would require a substantial amount of paperwork, and I had to calculate and organize the expenses spent by the ducal family before leaving, so it was better to take a short nap.
Then, Camilla suddenly covered the papers I was working on.
“…?”
My gaze, which seemed to ask what she was doing, made Camilla let out a deep sigh.
“I’m sorry, Young Master. As your exclusive maid, it’s also my job to manage your health.”
“This is unnecessary meddling.”
“…If you keep doing this, I’ll have to take special measures?”
“Special measures?”
“Yes. You absolutely cannot refuse the real special measures, Young Master.”
Despite her polite attitude with her hands clasped together, I could sense pressure coming from her words.
-Ding!
“Yes?”
▶Camilla’s intimacy level has increased.◀
[Current level: 60%]
What’s going on now?
This game is really unpredictable.
But anyway, she said she would take special measures, but what’s that supposed to be?
I thought I’d just pretend to listen and deal with it later.
Right then.
▶A specific character will find you.◀
▶A choice may occur.◀
“Karsein, can I come in for a bit?”
Isabella had arrived.