51 – 51. Beginning of Training (1)
“You wanted this…? Such rigorous training?”
“Yes.”
Isabella blinked as if she couldn’t believe it, scanning my attire.
It’s going to be a sight.
My training uniform was already a mess, my face overtly coated with the dust of the training ground.
The nobleman, Carsein, whom Isabella had seen before, would be unrecognizable.
“Why push yourself this hard? There’s no need to go this far.”
“…”
“I didn’t send you here hoping you would endure this kind of training. This is almost like receiving a punishment.”
Though her words seemed to ask for some response, I remained silent.
“I’ll clean your face first, let’s go back. Carsein.”
She took out a handkerchief from her pocket, intending to wipe the dirt off my cheek.
But I evaded her hand.
Aware that the handkerchief was approaching, I straightened my trembling body.
And headed where I belonged.
I walked to the spot behind the trainee knights, assuming the same posture as them.
“To the Duchess, salute.”
With the handkerchief in hand, Isabella’s hand, which had nowhere to go, paused.
Her eyes gazed at me with a distant look.
“Carsein…”
“I am currently a trainee following the rules of the training ground. Not the nobleman of Vagrant Manor.”
“If you wish to learn swordsmanship, I understand. But this is different. After punishing those who conducted excessive training, find a suitable mentor for yourself. So, let’s stop this training, shall we? Right?”
-Clang!
It had arrived.
With this, the choices would come to an end.
“Now, will you punish all the excellent mentors?”
“Carsein…?”
“Who sets the standard for inappropriate rigorous training? Is it me? Or is it the standard of the Duchess of Vagrant Manor?”
“That’s…”
Naturally, it would be Isabella’s standard.
“I have never complained while training with them. If there were any complaints, would you like to ask me here?”
Of course, I would say that I never complained.
Because I truly had not uttered a single word of complaint.
“Now you’re even trying to take away my training in the training ground.”
“What…! No. I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Then what? What would you call punishing those who show exemplary training that I need? If it’s not taking away, how would you describe it?”
“…”
Isabella couldn’t bring herself to reply and closed her mouth again.
“If you have any desires, feel free to speak up anytime.”
“Carsein. Surely you wouldn’t…!”
“Regardless of my intentions, please don’t worry about my pride. Leave it to me to judge whether it’s excessive training or not. Do not interfere, and let me be a knight alone in the training ground, as I earnestly wish for it as a birthday gift.”
Pushing Isabella incessantly, she finally accepted my will without opening her mouth again.
“If you say so… I won’t interfere anymore.”
Despite that, perhaps finding it hard to give up, Isabella tried to brush off a bit of the dirt from my face with her handkerchief.
Even as she attempted that, when I turned my head to avoid it, her hand holding the handkerchief naturally dropped.
“I’ll go. I entrust Carsein to you.”
“Yes!”
Isabella left after saying those words.
Though she said that, she paused her steps a few times, maybe to look back at me.
In the meantime.
The status window displayed the results.
▶Recognition within the 1st Knight Order has significantly increased!◀
▶The punishment imposed on Isabella has been lifted. The knights are relieved!◀
▶The intimacy among the knights has increased!◀
In reality, the knights seemed to have let out a sigh of relief, some even visibly wiped their chests.
Thanks to this, the color of the ashen boxes had lightened considerably, and the boxes with diagonal stripes had noticeably decreased. The case with the largest deviation had decreased by more than half.
‘It seems like things have been resolved well up to this point.’
Although it was an event caused by increasing intimacy, Karceine was now in a state with an invaluable ally.
Isabella Vagrand.
With just a word from her, the 1st Knight Order could not speak rashly to Karceine.
They even went as far as conducting excessive intensity training and some even attempted retaliation in the meantime.
In this state, if they were to leverage Isabella’s power, they might be able to easily hold the knights accountable for their sins.
However, as always, traps exist in this game.
No matter how influential intimacy is, this is an obvious trap.
The moment it is revealed to Isabella, the public opinion of the knight order deteriorates rapidly, unable to avoid the impending dead flag and facing death in any way.
Furthermore, they fail to resolve the hidden dead trigger in Episode V.
Naturally, a feeling creeps in.
The early part of Episode V.
It’s the same as back then.
The hints are identical.
Just like in the early stages, Karceine must not receive any rewards.
That law has been continuing as it is.
‘I should move on to the next stage soon.’
I asked Mark straightforwardly.
“We’ve finished training for today, but the next schedule seems challenging. Can I head back first?”
“…Yes.”
Mark affirmed without saying much.
After all, in a situation where they were blatantly caught by Isabella, what more could they say here?
The other knights were the same.
Since seeing Isabella, they couldn’t lay a hand on me immediately.
However, some of them had a somewhat regretful expression.
They were probably those who had sided with Emma. Thinking that causing trouble here would be the perfect opportunity for bad rumors to spread within the knight order, they probably believed that it would be easy to drive them out.
“Sorry, but this won’t be just for today. For the remaining four days, you won’t be able to chase me away.”
Thinking so inwardly, I was the first to leave the training grounds.
***
My steps felt heavy.
Even when I came to the training grounds, it wasn’t exactly light, but now, unable to bring Karceine along, it felt even heavier.
The attempt to mediate between Arina and Karceine’s argument, prompted by the message Claire had sent, was delayed by a long shot.
By the time Isabella understood the situation, Karceine had already left the training grounds.
“Mother.”
“Mom.”
As we returned to the manor, my three daughters came out to greet me.
What happened to Karceine, who was in the training grounds?
I wanted to ask that.
Isabella closed her eyes tightly and lowered her head.
“Karceine is living as a trainee in the 1st Knight Order’s training grounds.”
“…A trainee?”
“Yes. It’s his third day today.”
Claire frowned deeply, running her hand through her hair.
“If that’s the case, I should have just left the annex open… Why on earth would I sleep in a place like the training camp?”
It’s not to belittle the knights’ lodging. As they are loyal to the Duke of Vagrand, expanding the scope of their residence to the empire is quite advantageous.
However, Carcine is a noble.
Moreover, he is of the Duke of Vagrand.
When Claire heard that the Duke’s son was staying in the same room as the knights at the training camp, she couldn’t help but complain that it would have been better to open the annex at that time.
Even if the annex had been opened, Isabella assured Claire that it wouldn’t have made much of a difference.
The image of Carcine, who avoided Claire’s attempts to wipe the sand off his face with a handkerchief, still lingers in her mind.
It seemed that he was thoroughly upset about this matter.
Isabella, while smoothing out Claire’s troubled heart, asked Ariana, “What happened to the culprit?”
“We are still verifying. Based on Heron’s testimony, we suspect the maids near Carcine’s room in the utility room.”
“Mother. Even after thinking about it, how can you be so sure it’s Emma?!”
“Claire. The evidence is lacking.”
Although Ariana tried to interject, Claire insisted once again.
“Sister, why is the evidence lacking? I clearly saw that day when Carcine scolded you for going out!”
“Even Carcine was on the verge of being caught. The ban on going out had not been lifted at that time.”
“Even so, does it make sense for a maid to scold the master’s daughter to go back home just because she caught her going out? She must have had ill feelings towards you, so it makes sense!”
“If those who harbor ill feelings towards Carcine exist, they are also present in the Duke’s household. Your emotions should not be involved in identifying the culprit.”
“Emma is the one who seems to be most present in the utility room. I think she fits well within the scope. Sister.”
Seeing her two daughters bicker, Isabella intervened to draw their attention.
“I understand what each of you is trying to argue. However, it would be best to find common ground regarding Emma’s case.”
“How?”
“Heron has decided to confine Emma to solitary confinement a bit more regarding this matter. Anyway, failing to control the maids in the utility room can be seen as the head maid’s fault.”
“…If that’s the case, I agree as well.”
“Sigh. She’s really a 100% suspect.”
Ariana somewhat acquiesced, while Claire felt uneasy.
Despite their contrasting reactions, there was no further consensus.
“Mother, you mentioned that Carcine had become a trainee. How was his condition today?”
“…He was lying on the field covered in sand.”
“Was it after training?”
“Yes. Specifically… It seemed like he had been engaging in somewhat strenuous training.”
“As expected.”
Ariana seemed to understand something as she touched her head.
“Mother. That wasn’t just strenuous training. It’s like a knight’s initiation ceremony… But based on my own experience, it’s better to bring him back as a page to the Duke’s estate quickly.”
“But he wants to be at the training camp. Ariana.”
“Such rigorous training will continue every day. It’s better for nobles to have a proper mentor─”
“I also tried to convince him of that.”
Isabella cut Ariana off.
“I relayed what you said, Ariana… But he doesn’t want that.”
Carcine did not want to return as a page to the estate.
He wanted to train alongside the knights there.
Isabella conveyed Carcine’s words to Ariana, which she had heard firsthand, about whether it was strenuous training or not.
“Sigh… His stubbornness knows no bounds. Digging his own grave. It’s part of the knights’ culture, but he might not withstand such a thing.”
“How serious is it?”
“It’s a vile tradition, Claire.”
After giving some examples, Claire and Isabella’s faces darkened, and they too began to worry about Carcine.
“…I will go check on him tomorrow.”
“You? But you said we can’t bring him back.”
“Yes. We can’t bring him back. Instead, even if I’m right there, he won’t dare to do such a thing during training.”
“Oh. That makes sense!”
“Instead, you go tomorrow. It’d be perfect if you could get a training suit for him.”
“Oh, as a birthday present?”
“That’s a great idea.”
Claire and Isabella’s faces brighten up.
This way, they can avoid a bad tradition and keep an eye on Carsein. Knowing that his interest lies in martial arts, they could give him a birthday gift as well.
Finding a chance to slightly ease Carsein’s mood, engage in a suitable conversation to distract him, everything falls into place, and worries gradually subside.
The three of them start planning with laughter.
Gradually, the meeting turns into a discussion about how to satisfy Carsein, the appropriate timing, and more, resembling a formal meeting.
Then, all attention shifts to the youngest.
“Mom, sis. Let Flora go on the last day.”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yes. Flora probably hasn’t given a gift to Carsein. Let’s uproot it all at once.”
Flora flinches at the suggestion.
Given that she was not planning to give a gift but to tease, her reaction was expected.
However, while the family remained unaware, Flora was lost in her thoughts.
Still unsure about Carsein, she is caught in a whirlwind of confusion.
“I don’t know. I have no idea. What’s right…!”
Flora couldn’t hear any immediate conversations; she just wanted to relieve this inexplicable discomfort.
***
– Thud! Thwack!
Inside the room of the blonde girl, her thumbnail breaks, again and again. The nail, bitten repeatedly, was on the verge of bleeding as it failed to shorten.
And as she chewed on it once more, the sensitive skin, already fragile, activated a sharp pain.
“Ah.”
The bitten nail bed starts to bleed, liquid oozing out, gradually staining the tissue red. No turning back after continued chewing.
Quickly grabbing a tissue, she tries to stop the bleeding. However, the blood only continued to stain the tissue red.
No matter how much she tried to stop it, the continuous flow instilled a sense of fear.
“I… If it’s him, he’ll give me the answer.”
After the family’s alternating decision to go to the martial arts hall, Flora, who had been in this state since then, silently headed somewhere.
.
.
.
“Why is no one here?”
Wrapped in a warm shawl, Flora glanced around the unusually empty martial arts hall today, tilting her head.
“Oh. Was there a change in the outdoor training schedule sometimes?”
It was said that the hall was usually empty when there was an outdoor training session.
Wondering if she had missed something, she considered turning back to the mansion, but by now, it was time for them to return.
Slightly changing her destination, Flora quickly transformed into the appearance of a knight.
“Miss Flora?”
“Sir Theo!”
Flora ran towards him with a big smile.