episode_0041

Harney’s eyes widened as the conversation turned to business.

“In this situation?”

“It’s not unusual, is it? You’ve pointed out the flaws.”

“…”

“I’m not trying to make a bad offer. Well, just forget about it.”

What’s the use of explaining the reasons?

The reason for distancing himself was because of his family.

He realized he was being watched by his family and deliberately stayed away.

There’s no significant meaning in saying he was walking to clear his head instead of enjoying the festival during the remaining time.

But Harney doesn’t seem to want that.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that would work.”

“Why not?”

“You said it yourself. You boarded a ship. We should be grateful to Lord Carsein for helping us, but this should be treated separately, right?”

“Do you need to know my situation? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

“Yes. Just like Lord Carsein said, I might be able to help too.”

As they are bound by contract, helping each other for their own purposes isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

However, there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed.

“It doesn’t seem like a good choice.”

“I know. Since we are engaged by contract, it’s best to satisfy only the parts that benefit each other reasonably.”

“Even though you know that, why make such a proposal?”

Harney narrowed her eyes at those words.

“I’ll go where my heart leads me. Just as you helped me, I want to help you a little more.”

“…”

With her beautiful appearance, she smiles and says again.

“If it doesn’t feel right, consider it a trade. As Lord Carsein said, we boarded the same ship, didn’t we?”

I never expected the words I used to persuade her to come back to me like this.

There was nothing to say.

But more than that…

I still can’t get used to it.

Being helped by someone.

“I don’t think this is the place to talk about this, shall we get into the carriage first?”

Harney signals to board the carriage.

It’s getting late.

I thought it was time to return to the Marquisate.

“That’s right.”

But it seems like my time with my fiancée isn’t over yet.

***

Now familiar with the etiquette, I escorted her into the carriage this time.

After a while, as the carriage started moving, Harney spoke first.

“First, may I hear your side? Starting from the reason you were there.”

“Hmm. Then, could you give me some time to think as well?”

“Of course. Since it will take some time to get to the mansion anyway.”

It wouldn’t take long.

What I needed was the time to face reality again after the festival time with Harney.

About ten seconds.

That was enough.

“First of all, I didn’t come to enjoy the festival as Youngae expected. I was walking in the opposite direction of the festival street because of that.”

Harney revealed the thoughts she had suspected, saying, “As expected.”

“As known to the public, I am not the legitimate son of the Bagrande Marquis. I’m not even an illegitimate child; I’m just a child picked up from outside. That’s why my position within the Marquisate is very unfavorable.”

“…No way.”

She must have begun to guess the reason by now.

“At the time of the contract, you should remember the purpose of this contractual engagement.”

“I know… But, that’s…”

With surprised eyes, she stares straight at me.

It’s a look of not understanding. But on the other hand, she must have guessed that there was a reason that could be understood.

Escaping from the Bargrand Duchy. Just hearing that might sound strange. From a duke at the pinnacle of nobility, enjoying the greatest power and wealth in this empire next to the royal family, why would one want to leave voluntarily? Even if it were a beggar’s village or a wandering commoner, they would consider it an insane act.

Because that’s the norm, the rational thought.

However.

“On the contrary, because someone like a commoner became a noble. Because someone who shouldn’t have received those benefits did. Because they climbed that mountain without knowing the subject. I have received deeper humiliation and criticism than anyone else in this empire.”

Under constant surveillance.

Distrusted and obstructed with every small action.

As if that weren’t enough, false accusations and baseless rumors are spread.

“Crying out ‘It’s unfair’ holds no meaning. Even family members are not trusted; suspicion and reproach take precedence. The heavily stained false accusations are already inflated not only among the nobles but even within the duchy.”

“A duke… Surely, then you are…!”

Harnier’s eyes seemed to understand his emotions, filled with pity.

No further explanation was necessary.

“It is the price of overflowing resentment. I am not treated as family in the Bargrand.”

What should have been allies had turned into enemies.

And not just any enemies, but the worst kind.

Therefore, Karsein Bargrand chose this engagement for the past year.

To escape from Bargrand.

To discard a status that was better off nonexistent and to build the strength to live alone in this world.

That’s why this contract was initiated.

Listening to the circumstances and understanding, Harnier remained silent for a moment.

“I’m sorry. I was thinking of helping, but if it’s like this, there’s nothing I can really do…”

“No. Since Lady Youngae will help me a lot.”

“Is that so?”

To Harnier, who looked completely clueless, I smiled and made a few requests.

Even after hearing everything, Harnier still looked puzzled.

“Is that not allowed?”

“It’s not that it’s not allowed, but… Are you sure that’s okay?”

“Yes.”

Whether it’s okay or not.

That’s all that matters, as it will be useful to me.

-Hehehe!

As this conversation was coming to a close, the carriage stopped.

The coachman announced their arrival at the Theresa Marquis’s estate, and she prepared to disembark.

Following proper etiquette, Harnier pursed his lips and offered to escort her.

“It’s not fun teaching you. When things are like this, you need to make a few mistakes to scold and relieve stress.”

“You’ve learned very well. I’ll take your praise.”

“But you still have a lot to learn, right? You need to be prepared. I’m quite a strict teacher, so be ready for a scolding.”

“Hmm. In that case, I need to review in advance. I’ll have to look at that book again…”

“Forget about that. Just forget it completely!”

***

After escorting her to the mansion and returning, it was already late at night.

“Well, the story has gotten longer than I thought.”

To utilize skip scenes, I had to waste some time and return.

If you return home after a certain time, the conversation time with the characters will be shorter, and you might not even meet them at all.

From Karsein’s perspective, it’s better to avoid meeting them as much as possible. That way, he can more surely achieve what he wants.

But you have to go at the right peak time to get that result. If you go later, you’ll end up facing the family members again.

Perhaps around the time when the fireworks display starts and the power struggles continue at the night market. If I hadn’t met Harnier at that time, I would have returned.

At such a late hour, I had to meet at least one person for sure.

“Oh, there she is.”

Through the window, pink wavy hair fluttered.

It must be Claire.

“Is it a blessing in disguise amidst misfortune?”

Floriana was a much better opponent than Isabella.

“I have arrived, Lord Karsein.”

Theresa’s butler who had escorted me all the way to the mansion informed me of my arrival.

As I got off the carriage, I discreetly took out the money from my pocket and handed it over.

“Thank you. Consider it a tip.”

“No, Lord. It’s not a tip. It’s just something that a butler should naturally do.”

“You’ve been back and forth to the mansion twice at this late hour. You deserve to be compensated accordingly. Also, on a side note, I hope you consider my dignity a little.”

“Lord…”

The butler gratefully accepted the money with a nod.

This money wasn’t actually mine; I had borrowed it from Harney, but it shouldn’t be a big issue.

The carriage departed.

Claire must have witnessed this scene nearby, and I maintained Bagrand’s dignity.

I reduced the number of times I was caught with a book.

Surely, coming back late would invite some comments, but at least I won’t be reprimanded for it. The rest is up to my discretion.

“Karsein!”

Claire confirmed my presence and quickly descended the stairs.

She then scrutinized me and made a strange remark.

“There are no injuries… ha. That’s a relief.”

“Why are you acting like this? It’s creepy.”

As I pushed Claire’s hand away and spoke, her pink bangs fluttered from the breath.

Then she pinched my cheek.

“What’s wrong?”

“Creepy? Hey, you find this situation creepy? Huh?”

Although it didn’t hurt, I felt uncomfortable.

I quickly removed Claire’s hand and said, “If you’re going to grope around and touch my face, isn’t that creepy? Think about what you usually do.”

“This is real!”

This time, she pinched my side.

Oh. She really resembles her sister in temperament and everything else, which is annoying.

After my body twisted a few times, Claire withdrew her hand.

Feeling somewhat relieved, Claire got to the point.

“Come back earlier next time! Do you have to wander outside until this late? If you were just one minute late, I would have ordered the knights to search for you.”

“Geez. Why do you do such things?”

When I bluntly replied, Claire showed her fierce gaze again.

“Because. Obviously, I was worried.”

-Ding!

[ 1. (Snorting) What a worrying thing to say. ]

[ 2. (Dryly) Ah, sorry for being late. Okay? Let’s go inside since you’re tired. ]

[ 3. (Waving a finger) Screw that. About surveillance. ]

[ 4. (Turning away) I was just a bit angry, that’s all. ]

The choices appeared.

Meanwhile, Claire continued speaking with sharp eyes.

“I remember that incident too. When you came back after being beaten up outside and hugged Mom. Thinking back to that moment… how could I not worry?”

Claire, who complained as if venting, seemed to have lost her mind after eating spicy fish cakes today.

I thought about mixing in some other words just in case.

“After coming back from outside like that and lying sick for a long time, you caught a cold from staying outside in the snow. That’s why I checked your body first.”

Surprisingly, unlike the forgetful Arina, Claire remembered quite well the time they went to see the snowflake festival.

Normally, I would choose option 2 and proceed without disturbing the mood.

But, right now…

Choosing option 4 and smoothly moving on seemed appropriate.

“I was just a bit angry because I was late.”

Upon hearing this, Claire fell silent for a moment and muttered softly.

“…Right. From your perspective, that makes sense. It’s our fault.”

“Did Arina say anything?”

-She nodded.

“After putting out the raging fire and wandering around with the knights to find you, when you returned without explanation, she told everything to Mom. She said she already knew about it.”

It’s not like I have anything to deny, and that’s because I’m the one in control.

So I answered accordingly.

“After that incident, he said he would take full responsibility, so he bowed his head to Mom and asked her not to scold you. I also… made a mistake, so we prayed together. It’s late now, so he’ll be out looking for you.”

“He’s looking for me?”

“When you came back beaten up that day, he was tormented for a while. He only drank when you gave him the hairband.”

“…”

“So I thought the same thing might happen again this time. Since it’s getting dark, I ordered people to release you first and find you. If you had seen his expression then, you wouldn’t be worrying at all.”

Claire told me what happened during the time I wasn’t there.

“So, calm down a bit. Don’t just lock yourself in your room for days like before. Today… you can even go out with your fiancée without any issues. The ban on outings has been lifted as well.”

Claire’s usually sharp words felt a bit gentle this time.

Maybe it was because of what happened before. It seemed to be the reason.

But.

“You probably would have said the same thing about not worrying, Claire.”

It’s more comfortable to pretend not to care.

Swallowing those words, I checked the status window again.

As expected, nothing popped up.

At this point, the original choices should have appeared.

Claire’s line about not locking myself in my room had changed, and I was supposed to decide whether to stay or not; it was my freedom, and I should have entered the mansion.

The game’s progression had changed.

And it was in a way that greatly favored me.

My attention was involuntarily drawn to the intimacy box.

[Claire Bagramd]

[Intimacy: 27%]

“…Is that so.”

Since the start of the game, Isabella’s intimacy level was at 30%.

Claire’s intimacy level, which had been gradually rising, was now close to that.

It was highly likely that intimacy played a role in the progression.

As I stared at Claire’s intimacy box, something fell from above.

They were small, white pieces.

“And Karsein, you… before… No. No, this isn’t something I should say.”

“What is it?”

“Gosh! I don’t know! Ask your sister directly. More importantly, come in quickly since it’s snowing. Don’t catch a cold and lie down sick again.”

Claire, whose lips were chapped, urged me to come inside quickly because it was cold.

Unlike the game’s progression, I could follow Claire into the mansion without any trouble.

“But, Karsein. Is there something you’ve forgotten about me?”

“Forgotten?”

“Don’t you have one? Something really important.”

What is it? What else is there?

In this route, what did I forget…

-Thunk!

“Ah!”

Showing no understanding, Claire hit the back of my neck.

Of all places, why there? It’s where Harney hit me…!

“Oh my! My expectations were wrong. Just keep taking care of your fiancée!”

After that, she walked away in a huff.

She asks questions and then gets upset herself. Why?

“What the heck…”

This is just my opinion, but…

Are second-borns always like this?