The Damn Family Is Back Again chapter 85

85. Not a Favor, But of My Own Accord (1)

-Ting!

▶The late homecoming event has been activated!◀

Along with the hateful voice, the status window that popped up is displaying this message now.

Flora was right next to me, but it seems that I wasn’t the subject of the event.

“As you can see just by waiting this long, Flora has been waiting for a long time too. She was only looking for you when she packed food, and she refused when I told her not to wait here and go inside. Do you get it now? How Flora must have felt?”

Arina spoke to me as if she was scolding me.

‘Do you understand how Flora must have felt?’

Hearing those words, I was relieved and relieved again.

‘Yes. This is how it should be. I’m a little more used to it.’

Weren’t my family originally like this?

They don’t treat me like family.

I can’t be on equal footing in this house.

After all, I’m just an adopted child. A man with no blood ties.

That’s about the extent of it.

I don’t normally think like this, but for this moment, Arina was really welcome. It was always my eldest who filled my dull senses.

“I have something to say about this too, but don’t leave anything out and spill it. Flora hasn’t been able to eat properly since she couldn’t enter the courtroom. So─”

I wondered what else she would say here.

Funnily enough, Arina was saying the exact same thing as my eldest.

“Don’t scold your sister too much and let it go generously. Got it?”

– Don’t scold your sister too much and let it go generously. Got it?

At this point, I could have exclaimed in admiration.

How could the same sound come out without a single difference in intonation?

When it was revealed that the maid was stealing my allowance, and when my third sister was taken away and I couldn’t even face her properly.

Those words were no different in tone or intonation from what my eldest had said in reality.

I was told to be generous to my sister and let it go. Just like right now.

‘I should be really grateful.’

Thanks to her, my relaxed vigilance was completely revived. The frivolous question of why Flora was here suddenly disappeared.

Blankly.

As always, with an attitude of indifference.

I answered my eldest sister, who was looking at me with a hateful expression.

“What does it matter if she waited for me?”

– Ting!

▶Arina’s favorability has decreased!◀

Just like that eldest.

Arina’s expression twisted.

***

“Carsein. What do you mean by that? Are you talking to your sister, who waited for you until this hour, like that to my part-timer?”

Arina, whose favorability had dropped by 1%, asked, furious.

She asked, knowing full well.

“Uh.”

I answered nonchalantly. I’ll let her go after her favorability drops further anyway.

Then, right before my eyes, Arina’s eyes twitched.

The air seemed to freeze as I looked at my eldest sister’s sharp gaze.

Still, I had to say what I had to say.

“I never asked Flora to wait. How is it my fault that she’s here?”

“Carsein.”

“Even in the courtroom. I thought rationally. Emma is Flora’s nanny, so I thought she might take her side?”

“Carsein Vagran…!”

Arina, who was about to shout my name, quickly lowered her voice.

It seemed she was worried that Flora might wake up from her sleep.

Arina exhaled a heated breath to calm her anger.

“Stop acting spoiled. How can you do that to your own sister…! Flora was worried about you sincerely. That’s why she’s been waiting until now!”

Well.

You can say that because you don’t know.

The one who didn’t allow Carsein anything and acted spoiled, trying hard not to allow him anything from now on, was none other than Flora.

I have to take care of that kid because she’s my younger sister, and you guys, who don’t even treat her like family, just let it slide?

That was ridiculous.

“Don’t worry about that. I don’t need that kind of concern.”

“You little…! “

“Whether I catch a cold or not, it’s my business. It’s none of your concern.”

Arina’s teeth chattered.

In the end, she couldn’t hold it in.

“You…! You really are incorrigible. You can’t even fathom your sister’s heart and just turn your head away coldly like that…!”

-Ting!

▶Arina’s affinity has decreased!◀

[ Current value: 24% ]

“Yes. Carsein, it seems like you had too much authority. I was an idiot to think you had changed even a little and to bring you to the Eastern noble Conference.”

-Ting!

▶Arina’s affinity has decreased!◀

[ Current value: 22% ]

“I will personally take back your authority, which you have not been able to shed. I am stripping you of your right to participate in the Easternnoble Conference here and now. Even if I have to tell Mother about this, I will never take it back!”

Arina raised her voice.

“Uung…? Big sister?”

At the same time.

Flora, who had been sleeping, woke up.

“S, sorry. Flora. Did big sister’s voice get too loud?”

“Uung. No… What’s going on? Why are you here… Ah.”

Flora, who had been rubbing her crusty eyes.

She froze as soon as she met my eyes.

She immediately avoided my gaze and hesitated before hugging Arina, looking like she had suddenly woken up.

Right then.

An object on my right began to emit a bright light.

‘…A memorial.’

That was the flowerpot that Carsein had brought from outside the other day. It was something you got here after deciding on one of the main episodes.

At this point, it wouldn’t be strange even if I immediately showed that I had pulled in the main episode.

But.

▶Condition satisfied! Memorial is automatically acquired!◀

-Ugh!

It seemed I wouldn’t need to take it with me when I returned.

The memorial shone alone again and showed me Carsein’s past.

Flashing vision.

The location of this memorial was the ducal palace here.

***

Carsein appeared at the entrance to the mansion.

Carsein’s appearance was not normal today either.

If he had just rolled around in a smoke screen, he would have looked like this with the dirt and dust, but there were traces of being hit here and there.

His flesh was torn by something sharp and was bleeding, but it wasn’t a self-inflicted wound.

Instead, there were bruises that seemed to have been caused by something thrown from a distance. Those bruises, which were very noticeable at a glance, didn’t seem to have been there for long.

In that state, Carsein stepped into the ducal palace.

“M, My Lord! Why are you in such a state…!”

Shaiden exclaimed in shock and grabbed Carsein, who was staggering back.

“…I met some bandits.”

“My Lord…”

Bandits.

Wasn’t that a blatant lie?

Shaiden could vaguely tell that Carsein was making excuses.

It was hard to see how this was caused by bandits’ weapons, not by being hit with stones and farm tools.

If you listened to the recent rumors, it was a daily occurrence in the Shatran territory.

If he reported this fact to Milady right away with Heron, the people of the territory would be severely punished.

However, the reason he didn’t ask any more was because he could see that Carsein didn’t want to reveal who he had been beaten by.

“First, let’s treat you. My Lord.”

“No, I have something to do now… Ugh.”

“Why would you have something to do when you’re staggering like that?”

“It’s really urgent, so…”

Shaiden had no choice but to postpone Carsein’s treatment.

“If it’s urgent, wouldn’t it be better to tell Milady?”

From Noble mtl dot com

“No, Mother.”

“Yes?”

“Never, absolutely not. If Mother finds out about this…”

Carsein shook his head violently as if that was something that couldn’t happen.

Instead, he would find someone else.

“Do you happen to know where Claire… no, Arina is?”

Instead of the mad head of the ducal family, Carsein looked for Arina.

At those words, Shaiden shook his head.

If it were Arina, she would have gone looking for him regardless, since he was headed this way.

“Why are you looking for me in that appearance? Karsein.”

Arina spoke to Karsein with an expression that seemed to say she was at her wit’s end.

However, right now, it didn’t matter to Karsein whether Arina was glaring at him or not.

“The people of Shatran’s territory have driven me out. Just for one day, let me enter there just for one more day tomorrow.”

“Ha.”

Arina clicked her tongue as if she had heard something absurd.

“You want me to let you back in the territory you ruined with your own hands? After you caused such a huge accident yourself?”

“It doesn’t matter what you say right now. Just for one day…!”

Creak-!

The unpleasant sound of flesh rubbing against flesh created a silence at the entrance.

In a voice that had fallen lower than ever, Arina cursed under her breath.

“That mouth. Shut up, Karsein.”

“…”

“Because of you, countless people of the territory were swept up in anger. Their livelihoods were shaken because of your stubbornness, your tantrums. And yet you’re saying you’re going to enter Shatran’s territory right now?”

Karsein looked up at Arina with dull eyes.

In her icy gaze, he felt a deep sense of contempt and disgust.

“After all, Mother shouldn’t have brought someone like you here.”

A cold dagger was thrust in.

It was a cruel, chilling word.

Shaiden seemed to be watching the situation, wondering if he should intervene, but as if that wasn’t enough, Arina added one more word.

“Know your place. Your position is not that of a noble who looks after the people of the territory at the Eastern Nobles’ Assembly, but closer to that of a suckling who has yet to take his first steps. You haven’t learned anything, and you’ve only caused damage.”

Don’t do anything.

That was what she was saying.

Then, Karsein grabbed Arina’s ankle as she was about to turn away, trembling.

“What are you doing…!”

“It doesn’t matter! That doesn’t matter right now!”

“What?”

“It doesn’t matter if I’m an uneducated fool, a suckling who has yet to take his first steps, or a commoner who’s not a noble. Just one thing. Just bring this one thing to the territory!”

With hands covered in dirt, Karsein thrust a flowerpot toward Arina.

It was something he had brought all the way from the territory, cherishing it despite being beaten by the residents.

However.

Arina mercilessly flung the flowerpot away.

-Crash!

The broken flowerpot littered the floor.

“You are now banned from entering Shatran’s territory. Go back to your room and reflect on yourself. Don’t ask me to bring such trash.”

The sound of Arina’s footsteps echoed as she walked away.

Shaiden, who had been watching the sound of her footsteps gradually fading away, approached Karsein, who had now collapsed on the ground.

“My lord. Shall we… go back now?”

“Shaiden. By any chance… could you get me just one flowerpot?”

“…That shouldn’t be too difficult. But where were you planning on putting it?”

“I can’t very well take it to Shatran territory… I was thinking of leaving it here. Just in case, by any chance, the territory people came, they might recognize it.”

What would Lady Arina say?

Sheiden couldn’t bring himself to say those words.

Karstein’s eyes, captivated by something, were still fixed on the flowerpot.

***

▶Memorial has ended!◀

“…”

Karstein, who had been trying to tell us something by leaving a clue about the flowerpot, and Arina, who had mercilessly crushed Karstein’s request.

With this, I had learned another one of his miserable past experiences.

At the same time, my own miserable past was revealed.

The me before I had made up my mind and planned my escape.

My elder sibling, who had looked at me like I was trash.

Even when I had tried to get help from my family, they hadn’t even bothered to listen to my opinion.

Yes. In the end, the act of asking for help itself was wrong.

It’s not a request. I have to do it myself.

After the Memorial ended, I picked up the flowerpot without a word and said to Arina.

“Feel free to take that authority with you.”

“You…!”

“Authority…? Take it? What are you talking about, sister?”

As Flora tilted her head in confusion, Arina seemed flustered as she tried to smooth things over.

“Flora wouldn’t know. It’s something so important…”

“Yes. It’s not important at all. After all, I’m just a commoner, or so they say.”

” …!”

“W-what are you talking about. You’re not a commoner─”

“No. I am a commoner. I was in the past, I am now, and I will be in the future.”

Leaving Flora, who was too shocked to say anything, and Arina, who was still glaring at me, behind, I turned away.

However, the direction I was walking in wasn’t the Duchy’s mansion, but the training ground.