81. A Small Sprout (3)
The servant’s face turned pale with bewilderment as the sound of breaking glass echoed.
Well, no wonder he looked taken aback when I hit him first, even though I’d just told him off for not watching where he was going.
But I think I’ve found him.
[ Kian ]
[ Intimacy: -35% ]
The ashen intimacy box under his name.
Judging from the -35% figure, it’s clear he harbors hostility toward Karsein.
However, this character, Kian, does not simply show animosity toward Karsein.
▶You have found an infiltrator hiding as a servant in the party venue!◀
[ Be careful! Something may happen at the party venue soon! ]
Judging from this explanatory sentence below, it’s unlikely that he’s here to ruin the party.
And in fact, that’s true.
This character, Kian, is caught after committing an act of terrorism at the party venue, and even as he takes his own life, he makes his anger toward the nobles abundantly clear.
In other words, this isn’t animosity directed at Karsein alone.
It’s animosity toward the nobles.
Anger born from past events.
This act of terrorism could be seen as a flag signaling the beginning of an episode for the player, as another derivative event.
And… I’m going to try and deal with it right now.
“All three of you, follow me.”
When I barked that order at the three servants, they followed me, exchanging uneasy glances.
▶This location is a warning zone!◀
[ Please be careful, as sudden choices may appear depending on the situation. ]
‘A warning zone, huh? This is enough.’
As a player, it’s not a good idea for Karsein to enter a warning zone.
But on the other hand, what if we consider the current situation?
It’s a place used by nobles, but Karsein, that vagrant, is using it. There’s no way servants would visit.
The same goes for the nobles. I don’t think those oily-fingered snobs will come to see me right away, unless some kind of trigger occurs.
Therefore, ironically, this is the most suitable place to have a little chat with these three.
After all, I’m here to scold these three servants.
Taking a deep breath…
Looking at the three ashen boxes marked -35%, I spoke bluntly.
“I know why you’ve infiltrated this place. But you’d better stop.”
“My lord, we don’t know what you’re─”
Thwack.
“This nonsense. You’re the ones who set up those roadblocks, aren’t you? You planned to scare their horses, break their wheels, or throw their riders, didn’t you?”
“…!”
“Not only that, but you’ve also tampered with the party venue. There’s nothing more disruptive to a party like this than carriages crashing and horses running wild.”
The atmosphere among the servants had changed dramatically.
Their eyes flickered with clear hostility as I swiftly grasped their intentions and blocked their escape route.
-TING!
▶Warning! There are people showing hostility nearby! ◀
I know.
I know it’s not good to provoke them like this.
But there’s no other way.
“Count Modric. That’s the guy, right?”
“…Yes?”
“He beat up the people of your village and then shamelessly tried to punish you guys.”
“How did you know…”
“The only noble who could use the Rusmayer territory’s path is Count Modric from the east. And the only idiot who could do something so blatant must be him.”
The game doesn’t explain their background in detail, but I know that the Eastern Nobles’ Conference will take place, so I’ve done some research.
They’re residents of Rusmayer.
They’re from the isolated village of Rusmayer, which doesn’t belong to any family in the east.
Geographically, Rusmayer is an abandoned land.
This tiny land used to be a battleground for territorial wars, so it’s now used as a border area and doesn’t belong to any family’s territory.
It’s possible to live there, but other than the path leading to this party, it’s useless and has no buried resources, so it’s said to be terribly poor.
But even though they gave up their only path, Count Modric is still causing trouble, so they can’t help but be resentful.
They must have asked the families connected to Rusmayer for help, but the nobles all turned their backs on them.
They said that taking it over would be a waste of money because they’d have to pay more taxes and wouldn’t gain any benefits.
In short, they’re isolated.
“So? You seem to know everything, so are you going to stop us?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t look down on us. Even if you’re a young master of the Vagrant Duke’s family, the three of us can take you down!”
“You can’t even turn back from entering this party. We came here with the sole purpose of getting revenge on the nobles here. We’re not afraid of dying now!”
▶The three men have shown hostility. You can now attack and defeat them! ◀
Considering that I’ve already fought against Bruce and Theo Ramstein, it shouldn’t be too difficult to deal with them.
I could escape without being subdued and call the guards to chase them away.
But that’s not the right way to clear this sub-episode.
“Take it.”
“Huh…?”
-Swish!
A bag flying through the air hit the chest of the man in the middle.
They looked at me curiously and opened the bag.
“T, this is…!”
“Gold?! And so much of it?”
“…What’s the meaning of this.”
“Saving the people who were hit by the carriage is the priority. If you cause a scene like this, Rusmayer will have an even harder time.”
“So? Is this hush money to keep us quiet?”
“No. It’s not hush money. It means that I won’t leave you abandoned in isolated lands anymore.”
“What does that…?”
The three bewildered men gulped.
“Roosmeyer will soon become the Duke’s fiefdom.”
The correct way to clear this sub-episode.
Simultaneously, how to avoid causing problems in the main episode.
It was to buy the land called Roosmeyer in advance.
***
■Reward
[Ivory Colt]
‘This should solve things for now.’
This item is a colt made of coarse, stiff straw that only grows in Roosmeyer, and among the vassals of the Roosmeyer territory, it is known to be given only to those they trust.
With this, they won’t suspect me much the next time I visit.
It was a good harvest.
I was also able to obtain other information.
Unlike Chapter 1, Chapter 2 has a lot of outdoor activities outside the ducal palace, so there is a characteristic that requires finding and solving episodes in advance.
However, the question of whether I could proceed with the episode in advance still remained, and it was just now that it was resolved.
▶Discovered a main episode derived from the sub-episode!◀
▶The vassals of the Roosmeyer territory will return without making a mess of the banquet hall!◀
▶Succeeded in triggering a result beyond the choices!◀
▶Designated Episode I. Roosmeyer’s Isolation as the main episode!◀
‘Now I’m sure. The main episode is not cleared as designated by the system, but I could choose the order myself.’
I’ve retried that game hundreds of times, but I’ve only looked at the immediate threats and focused on choices and favorability.
But now that I look at it, I don’t know why I never thought of this even once. It’s like I only saw the trees and not the forest.
‘Well, whatever. Now is not the time to think about that.’
There’s still work to be done at the banquet hall.
When I brought the drinks.
Harnier was holding her head without even noticing that I had arrived.
“Harnier?”
“Hic!”
She wasn’t even shouting, but why is she so surprised…?
Why do I have a guess when I see that reaction?
I put that anxiety behind me and carefully asked her.
“…What happened?”
“Th, that… I’m sorry, Karcen.”
Bad predictions never miss.
Harnier apologized again, looking at me anxiously.
It seemed that no matter how much she tried to fix things on the terrace, no solution came to mind.
‘In the end, do I have to become the male lead of a medieval morning drama?’
…Damn it.
Well, it can’t be helped.
There was no other way than to use the power of K-morning drama to make those guys puke up oil and escape.
Once we stepped outside, the real party began.
Harnier and I had become the hottest topic of this party, so we were drawing the most attention.
I guess you could say they were determined to bite our necks and not let go this time.
First, the young ladies came up to us one by one with fans covering their mouths and started asking questions.
“We all know how much Prince Karsein loves Lady Harnier. That’s why we’re even more curious.”
“I felt like Lady Harnier was evading the question somehow. Would you mind answering instead, Prince? First of all, where was your first date?”
“I mean, where was the place you went on your first date? You said it was a place we don’t know, so could you tell us how romantic it was?”
“Of course, it must have been a place where nobles usually go on dates, right? You couldn’t have walked the same streets as commoners.”
“I heard that the date course was even better than anyone could have imagined. They say it was one of the happiest days of your life.”
At first glance, these questions seemed sharp.
However, I could sense the dark malice hidden in their gently folded eyes.
“Please tell us too. Shouldn’t we follow the leading culture of two people from influential families like Bagran and Teresa?”
They wouldn’t let us escape.
They mentioned the names of our families and called our meeting a ‘leading culture’, putting us on the spot to give an answer that lived up to it.
‘Well, this. I thought I could just pass it off with some morning drama lines, but I guess I don’t have to?’
No. Strictly speaking, I shouldn’t let it slide so easily.
Perhaps among them, there really was a date spot that was considered a national rule, or a well-known date course.
The so-called unspoken rule of the nobles.
That’s why they bared their teeth when Harnier admitted that she didn’t know much about the noble way of love, and they bared their claws to bite me as well.
However, ironically, this could be easily broken by denying their rules.
“It was the Snow Blossom Festival Street.”
“What?”
“Are you kidding me? The Snow Blossom Festival Street…”
“Are you saying that you went to that street, where commoners hang out, for your first date?”
The young ladies’ venom began to flow.
Now the men would try to bite me, saying how could I take my fiancee to such a wretched place as a gentleman.
“Such an ugly street for a first date… Ugh.”
“I thought you were bragging about your fiancee, but that’s all? Just that kind of marketplace?”
“If you lower your status, you might as well be considered a commoner.”
The bastards started laughing at me.
“That’s funny. So you want us to go to the same places and follow the same courses every time, like you do?”
“Yes? No, that’s…”
“Shouldn’t nobles act like nobles?”
Yes. That’s what I was aiming for from the beginning.
Because you see me as a commoner.
Because you have a look in your eyes that says I’m not a noble like you.
Because you’re trying to frame me, saying that someone like me doesn’t deserve to be here.
That’s why I can really exploit the loopholes by making things bigger.
-Bang!
“I see, I see. You’ve crossed the line. Should I take this as a declaration of war against the Bagran Duchy?”
I slammed my fist against the table and shouted,
“Suddenly… What do you mean by that?”
“Didn’t you guys deceive me and my fiancée? It seems like it’s not strange for our family names to come out now.”
“W-What nonsense! We were just interested in the meeting between the two of you…!”
“Then tell me this. Since when were me and my fiancée supposed to move according to your schedule as if we were your puppets?”
Try saying the same thing once more.
You imbeciles.