61 – Broken Wings (6)
“…”
Today was a day with a different schedule.
It was a time to talk about the past snow festival with peers, laughing and chatting in the greenhouse over a warm cup of cocoa.
However, Flora was walking down the street dressed up.
It was the 4th day of Karceine’s probation period.
She recalled the scene she had secretly witnessed near the fountain that day.
“So, this is a confiscation? I’ll turn a blind eye to your misconduct.”
As Flora remembered Bruce’s voice, she stopped in her tracks.
“No matter how you look at it, that was something received from my sister… stolen, right?”
But why didn’t she say anything?
It was her stuff that got stolen, so why didn’t she get mad?
“I don’t know. Why? It’s different from what Teo said…”
Flora was once again thrown into confusion.
As she glanced towards the entrance of the smokehouse, she quickly hid as if someone was entering boldly.
“Move everything carefully. If anything breaks, you’re done!”
Clare was there, raising her fist and alerting the porters.
‘Right. Today was the day the second sister was coming.’
The next day would probably be her turn.
She didn’t need to come with such complicated feelings. She could see with her own eyes tomorrow.
But… strangely, Flora felt a tightness in her chest as she watched her second sister.
Why is that?
Every time she saw Karceine giving something to her, she would get angry.
Because she hated it. She always made Karceine get into trouble.
And it felt satisfying when Karceine went through that.
But now, instead of worrying about being robbed, she felt anxiety and frustration.
It wasn’t about the worry of the little sister giving something to Karceine.
It wasn’t rooted in the anxiety of losing family.
It was a feeling that was hard to describe.
She couldn’t explain it in detail.
The only thing she was sure of was that seeing that figure made her question herself.
Why. Why on earth?
She had heard directly from Teo that her actions weren’t wrong, so why did she feel this way?
Once again, she had returned to square one.
She didn’t know. She didn’t know what this emotion was.
Something was wrong; she had a feeling that something was amiss.
Unable to shake off the uneasy feeling that she must go find Carsein today, Flora turned away from her little sister’s eyes and headed back to the training ground.
***
And so, the morning of the fifth day dawned.
Having completed all preparations, Claire, with her arms crossed, carefully observed the knights performing their morning drills in the training ground.
“Huh?!”
“Claire, Miss…? Why are you using Greek magic against my colleague…”
“This brat is being disrespectful. You think I didn’t see that? You deliberately went against Carsein, didn’t you!”
She caught one.
It was no joke when she threatened to make him regret it.
“How dare you touch someone’s sibling. Hey, get up.”
“Huh, Claire, Miss!”
Claire, grabbing the knight by the collar, was planning to drag him out of the training ground for his expulsion.
“I am the novice knight Theo Ramstare. Would it be alright if I say a word to you, Miss Claire?”
A seemingly polite figure emerged.
“What is it?”
“When the novices practice in the training ground, such incidents often occur. It’s quite common during the overtaking process.”
“Well. So? Are you saying this brat didn’t go against Carsein?”
Flustered, Theo trembled under Claire’s gaze.
“Hey. My sister mentioned yesterday that Carsein, what, committed a grave mistake?”
“Yes, yes… that… is…”
“I know. It was about the fire incident. But this brat deliberately went against Carsein, a real grave mistake, right? A mere knight intentionally going against the son of a duke?”
Theo, unexpectedly flustered, swallowed hard.
“Miss. Firstly, Carsein, as a novice, is here for training purposes.”
“And?”
“It’s like a small initiation ceremony for the novices. It’s not violence, just a tradition to help them adapt.”
As Claire seemed to listen somewhat, convincing lies flowed effortlessly from Theo’s mouth.
“Even if it’s not necessary, the novice son is physically inferior to us, so it’s inevitable that he falls behind. It blocks the path for other knights. If we exclude him, wouldn’t that be unfair?”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
Releasing the knight’s collar she held, Claire flipped her hair back and, with an intrigued look, turned the tables and pressured Theo.
“So, watch Carsein keep getting hit like that. Is that the plan? All because of such a pathetic initiation.”
“What?! Oh, no, no!”
“That’s what you’re saying. According to the rules of the training ground, Carsein is a trainee, and you’re saying it’s normal for him to be hit because he’s slow and lagging behind. Right? No?”
Trying to justify the training ground’s rules, Theo faltered under Claire’s unwavering gaze like a blue flame.
Having been cornered by Claire’s persistence, Theo had no choice but to step back.
“He is my junior. So… I will personally give him a warning. Please overlook this. Miss.”
Finally lowering his head with a tail between his legs, Theo.
Claire watched him closely and clicked her tongue.
However, just giving a warning wouldn’t be enough.
“So, that brat. Send him to a different division today.”
“Yes, yes?”
“Say it happened during an overtaking. Since such incidents will happen multiple times during overtaking, why not comfortably transfer him to another division?”
“Miss. Sending him to another division isn’t that easy…”
“He’s the one who caused the misunderstanding, right? Or, well, we can even expel him from our knighthood. There must be plenty of knights looking to join. Besides, we should gradually eliminate bad customs, right? Isn’t that so?”
As inconspicuously as possible.
It had to be a transfer to another division, almost like exile, for Claire to be satisfied.
“Should I send the young master to the Second Division for the remaining three days of his training period?”
“Yes. Do that.”
Teo closed his eyes tightly, looking at his cherished subordinate, but there was no other way than to send him to a different division.
‘These brats. They should have done this sooner.’
Thanks to that, the morning drill time became very peaceful.
No, it became so quiet that no one dared to disturb it, as the second daughter of the Viscount Bagrand had her eyes wide open.
After the morning drill ended,
Today, Carcein was still kneeling on the floor.
Claire walked towards her younger brother and crouched down.
“Do you run like this every day?”
“Yes.”
“Then, do those guys bother you like that every day?”
Upon hearing this, Carcein took a deep breath and drank some water.
“Haven’t you heard from Arina? If you interfere, you’ll only get more harassment from the other side.”
“So, I didn’t interfere.”
“What?”
“The knights have a really bad habit, so I’m just trying to fix that. I’m not on your side.”
Claire, looking puzzled.
From Noble mtl dot com
Carcein, seemingly surprised or disappointed, let out a bitter laugh, but it was true.
He had prevented the knights from having bad habits, but he hadn’t shown any favoritism to Carcein.
Even if this led to a dispute, aside from any misconduct, if he said he came to stop the bad habits of the knights who worship the master of the Viscount’s house, that would be the end of it.
“And, change this. How can you be so inflexible?”
“What now?”
“If a family joins the knight order, it’s the empire’s culture to provide training uniforms.”
“Haven’t you heard from Arina?”
“Is there a problem since I designed it in my boutique?”
Feeling it was hopeless, Carcein spoke bluntly.
“I told you not to do such nonsense because it bothers me.”
***
I believe I was somewhat blunt.
It could end by saying it was an unnecessary action for Arina, but as Claire, whom I knew, sometimes didn’t listen even after being told once.
So, it became a hindrance.
You are the one being a hindrance.
I had to respond so bluntly.
Of course, partly because someone was watching.
“…”
Claire’s hand quietly reached up.
The height difference wasn’t much, so everything was visible, and I was prepared to take a hit since I had provoked it.
However.
Contrary to expectations, there was no heat rising to my cheek as before.
“She’s saying nonsense about gifts from her sister. If others say anything, tell them to come to me directly. Anyway, since I already told the deputy commander, that guy should be in line.”
Sulking, Claire only touched her forehead lightly.
‘What’s wrong with her?’
I deliberately provoked Claire, prepared to take a hit.
Since her hot-tempered nature wasn’t much different from the Claire I knew, even if it upset me a bit, I could definitely send her off.
That’s why I provoked her on purpose.
Claire didn’t hit me or even say anything harsh.
“If it bothers you, I’ll leave. But, does where your sister hit hurt?”
“…It’s been a while, would it still hurt?”
“Well, back then when Unni hit you, she used Mana differently than I do. She completely lost it and didn’t control her strength.”
Showing a response as if she didn’t understand at all, Claire lightly scratched her cheek.
“I, well, I still controlled myself when I hit you. No matter how angry I am, if I hit with full Mana, it would really hurt.”
“…”
“Hey, what’s with that look in your eyes? Can’t believe this?”
If you were in my shoes, would you believe it?
Although I wanted to say it right away, I held back those words.
Seeing Claire’s displeased expression, she grabbed Karsein’s cheek and tugged at it.
“What are you doing.”
“Ugh! You don’t need to know everything! Put on the clothes I gave you properly.”
Knowing there would be more training next, Claire planned to keep an eye on whether she would wear them or not.
Then, with a puffed-up expression, she returned to her place.
“…What’s going on?”
I was clearly about to chase her away… I never expected she would quietly retreat like that on her own.
Looking at the training suit made of obviously expensive material, I couldn’t shake off the awkward feeling for a while.
[ Claire Vagrund ]
[ Intimacy: 32% ]
When I looked up, Claire’s intimacy had surpassed 30%.
“Okay. It’s not an issue over there.”
[ Flora Vagrund ]
[ Intimacy: 7% ]
What really matters is over here.
Watching the little one I’d been secretly observing, I felt ready.
▶Would you like to put the item in your pouch?◀
[ 1. Yes. ]
[ 2. No. ]
I unhesitatingly put the item in my pouch.
Then, I casually tossed it in a place where I could see it clearly.
***
This uneasy feeling was undoubtedly because of Karsein.
Flora, who had sneaked into the training ground unnoticed, focused on Karsein, who was darting through the knights with only her head exposed.
But… was it a misconception?
No other thoughts came to mind. Even as she watched Karsein, the stifling feeling didn’t dissipate.
However.
-Thud!
“Huh…?”
As Karsein was poked in the side by another knight in front of her, the stifling feeling intensified.
After that, her little sister toppled the knight with magic, and Theo and the horse exchanged words. The knight who poked Karsein in the side barely escaped expulsion and faced being kicked out of the Order…
Karsein blatantly rejected Claire’s favor.
It felt like her chest was going to burst.
Unable to bear the stifling feeling, Flora, clutching her chest, withdrew her head that she had tentatively extended.
“Gasping, gasping…”
Clutching her stifled chest with both hands, Flora squatted down.
In this situation, she felt a strange familiarity.
Just like in the noble’s house.
The setting was different, but the dynamics were the same.
Substituting maids for knights.
Replacing harassment with scolding and quarreling makes it no different from what happens in a noble’s house.
For Flora, who had been tormenting Karsein all this time, at least the situation didn’t feel much different.
Could it be happening here, too…?
“No. No! That’s not true!!”
Flora shook her head vehemently, denying that assumption.
“I didn’t ask for that. It must have been the Duke or the Warlord who ordered it. What happened at the training ground is not my fault!”
As she turned away.
-Swish. Swish!
A ripping sound was heard nearby.
Judging by the sound, it was probably a pouch used by the knights.
But why was that sound coming from around here?
“Ugh. Why am I witnessing this mess because of one commoner.”
Soon after the ripping sound stopped, muttering was heard, then footsteps hurriedly retreated behind the training ground.
Walking cautiously, holding her breath, she arrived at a place where…
“…”
A torn pouch lay there, blatantly exposed.
There was no need to see whose it was.
It was because inside the pouch were the two ointments she had given not long ago.
The discomfort that had been lingering in Flora’s chest swelled like a balloon.
-Ring!