episode_0308

There have been countless instances of doing things hastily.

I also realized the painful snowball effect that my haste had on me.

He also became fully aware of who was harmed by his one wrong judgment.

So Claire waited a little longer.

But this time, I have a strange feeling.

Something was different.

Just this once.

“Lady Claire? Are you going back to the Duke’s house now?”

“Yeah. I left something behind.”

“Uh… Then should we pack our bags first?”

“No. I just said I left something behind. Don’t worry, it won’t take long.”

Claire waved her hand and spoke lightly, but the servants stopped her.

“Still, you should do at least the minimum maintenance.”

“Does it have to be that way?”

“Yes. The closest route is across the Chas River via a bridge, but it looks like there’s a problem with that bridge.”

“Aha, so in a word, I have to go back a bit more?”

“Yes. I think it would be better to estimate that it will take at least one day.”

According to Viscount Ptois, it will take quite a while for this bridge to be restored.

And according to Sir Carlton, there is word that it will take more time to take the safest route because demons are currently appearing on the way back.

Thanks to that, it took a whole day to run all the way to the Duke’s residence.

“…This is going to take quite a while.”

Since the road was quite long, I would feel tired just riding the carriage, so I had to call around here and there to reserve a place to stay.

Moreover, considering other leisure activities and routes, the closest route now was through Carsain’s territory.

Even.

-Thud thud. Thud thud.

“Ah.”

To make matters worse, it’s raining.

In this area, when it rains, the servants suffer greatly, so we had to hold off on even setting out today.

“Why am I so unlucky… Okay. Just pack it up. I’ll leave tomorrow.”

Somehow, I ended up packing my bags even though I was on my way home from work.

And so the whole day passed by because of the rain.

As the early morning arrives, Claire gets dressed and heads out of the villa.

That sight caught the eye of the youngest who had just woken up.

“Huaam…? Little sister?”

“Ah, Flora.”

“Where are you going? From the morning.”

Flora asks, rubbing her eyes, not yet fully awake.

I could tell the other servants roughly, but I couldn’t say that to the youngest.

Everyone in the family, except for Karsine, knows what’s being prepared.

“I couldn’t reach Karsain at all, so I decided to meet him in person.”

“Directly?”

“Yeah. I have to ask them to clear that time. It might be free now, but it might be busy when it happens. I have to ask them to adjust it in advance.”

Flora nods and says, ““I see.””

But soon, as if doubts had arisen, he asked again.

“Why don’t you just send it by letter?”

“Ahaha… I tried that too. It seems like you’re really busy.”

I didn’t bother to include the fact that I wasn’t receiving letters.

Because I might make you worry for nothing.

“Anyway, little sister, I’m going to meet Karcein, so you know that. You must be sleepy, so go back and get some sleep.”

“Okay. Okay. But, you know you have to come quickly, right? We said we were all going to have a meeting.”

Flora yawns and turns away as I gently stroke her head.

Meanwhile, the packing time was over and Claire got into the carriage.

“Coachman, go to the Duke’s house.”

“Okay, Miss.”

Instructions no different from usual.

Claire doesn’t usually give such hasty instructions in these situations.

But today was a little different.

“…Please go as fast as possible.”

***

As she rode in the carriage to the duke’s residence, Claire couldn’t hide her unease.

Eventually, she couldn’t stand this discomfort anymore and asked her servants to deliver the letter to the two estates once more. When the time came, the communication port would light up and she would receive the signal.

That is why, even at this moment, while riding in the carriage, Claire’s eyes are drawn to the two communication ports.

One is Chatren.

The other one is Ruthmeyer.

I wish the lights would turn on anytime, anywhere.

But even when they got close to the Duke’s house, the two crystal balls did not light up.

There was still no answer about Carcein, meaning no news had been delivered.

It could never be this late.

“…”

No. Is that really the only problem?

Actually, maybe I’m missing something else?

Doesn’t it make no sense that we couldn’t contact Karsain, who was supposedly on an inspection tour of the territory, and that he wasn’t even noticed by the other servants?

The feeling of discomfort keeps growing.

“─Mr., Miss.”

“…”

“Miss Claire…?”

“Huh, huh?”

“Lady Claire. We have arrived at the Duke’s residence. No matter how many times I call you, you still don’t respond… Ahem.”

He cleared his throat like that. It seems he was just thinking about something else.

But… as soon as she set foot in this place, Claire looked around and soon sensed something strange.

‘…Was the Duke’s house originally this chaotic?’

The empty duke’s house was well managed by Heron, and even had a skilled maid, so it wasn’t much different from the usual duke’s house.

Still, it was different.

It definitely felt different.

It must just be my imagination.

Claire shook her head, saying it was nothing and that she was being picky.

“What is that?”

This time, something really special caught my eye.

-Click.

“…”

Isabella said to make small versions of the portraits she had taken on her spring outing and place them throughout the ducal palace.

In accordance with her wishes that the family portraits be displayed everywhere, they were framed and distributed.

Thanks to this, Claire could see the five family members wherever she went. At first, she was a little embarrassed, but she got used to it and just passed by once in a while.

This frame is the frame that contains that portrait.

Contains portraits of five families.

however.

Why is only one person’s face cut off?

“…Hey. What is this.”

“Oh, Miss?”

“What kind of kid did this? Tell me right now.”

It wasn’t long before my eyes rolled back.

Of course.

Because something like this meant that we did not recognize that person as a member of the Bagrand Dukes, as a member of our family.

***

To track down the culprit, Claire called her servants.

It seems like there is a strong intention to harass Karsene, just like in the case of Emma Urnen.

Because I thought so.

But even though I called countless servants, not a single one of them knew.

“, where would a servant dare touch the portrait of the Duke?”

“Someone may clean up, but… I wouldn’t do that for fear of my life!”

“Even this is only the face of Lord Karsain…! There’s no way I would do such a terrible thing to Lord Karsain, who always considers our work distribution!”

No. To be exact, there was no one who would do such a thing.

Even those who received bribes like Emma Urnen.

Even those who engage in dirty and petty tricks.

It never existed.

Then suddenly, one of the servants swallowed his saliva and spoke.

“There was someone who touched that frame…”

Claire’s blue eyes gleamed.

When he felt the unspoken pressure to speak right away from the eyes that seemed ready to devour him at any moment, Shidong became frightened and mentioned one person’s name.

“Ka, this is Lord Karsain!”

“…what?”

“That’s right, Lord Karsain himself touched the frame… before inspecting the territory.”

It was something I couldn’t believe even after hearing it.

Not someone else. It was Karsine?

What a crazy thing to do to cut out only your own face from this framed portrait?

‘Fuck. Does that make any sense?’

But he only shouts it inside and it doesn’t come out in his voice.

Because it was the same this time too.

This starter didn’t seem to be lying.

It doesn’t seem like he has any ill will towards Karsain either.

The conclusion is that Karsin himself cut out only my face diagonally from this frame.

As soon as I realized that fact, my sense of discomfort began to grow.

“Oh, Miss?”

Behind the heads of the fearful maids.

A portrait is shown.

A large portrait hangs in the main hall of the duke’s house.

The portrait was painted during a recent spring outing, and is an original depiction of the entire family.

But now…

“That, that’s why…”

The left side of the portrait was cut off exactly diagonally.

As if only one person’s face had been erased.

-If I want to travel, I’ll pay for it myself. As for pocket money, I don’t really need it since I earn my own money. Rare flowers that grow in foreign countries? I’m curious about those. I’d like to buy them and grow them myself.

‘…what?’

All my nerves start to tense at the sound of Karsine’s voice.

At the time, I thought it was nothing special.

But… now?

-Why? Isn’t it weird to do it with my own money?

-Besides, you should have some shame. How much damage have I caused to the Duke so far? When I think about that, the gift is a hundred years too early.

Claire’s sense of discomfort grows endlessly as she recalls the following words.

Come to think of it, the mansion is so quiet.

This is the place where the remaining owner should be kept.

This was too quiet.

Even though the maids had time to rest after finishing their respective tasks, it was impossible for it to be this quiet.

Claire quickens her pace.

“K, Miss Claire?”

“Huh? The lady is here… Oh my.”

“What’s going on?”

The maids, who had finished their work for the day, looked flustered as they enjoyed their short break, but that did not catch my eye.

I know it doesn’t make sense, but the most urgent task was to find out if Karsane was among the maids left in the restaurant.

‘doesn’t exist.’

-bang!

Claire, who has roughly closed the restaurant door, heads to the laundry next.

“Huh…! Oh, Miss Claire!”

“Ah, Miss?! I’m, I’m sorry! That’s…! I missed you so much that I couldn’t meet you for so long…!”

A pair of maids and a knight couple who were having a secret affair in the laundry room were startled and dumbfounded.

‘doesn’t exist.’

Normally, I would have given him a sharp rebuke telling him not to do that, but now he turns his head and walks away as if he doesn’t even care.

Karsine used to read books often.

As you accumulate knowledge, you may find yourself in a place filled with all kinds of books.

-Bam!

Oh, right. Maybe he was just giving instructions to the maids after seeing the man and woman.

It’s late, but this kind of principled thinking is quite deep…

-Bam!

Shouldn’t she have stopped working and told the maids to rest?

In the past, I felt bad about not being able to reduce the servants’ workload, so I would go to them myself and give them food. So, could it be there?

-Bam!

Because the weather is cold.

I have a cold, Shayden…

He searched all over the duke’s house and opened all the doors.

However, Carcein is nowhere to be seen.

No trace of him could be seen anywhere in the duke’s house.

As if it had disappeared.

…no.

As if it never existed in the first place.

As if denying this, Claire reached the final location.

“…”

Karcein’s room.

This is the room where that guy who always speaks calmly as if nothing happened is.

As soon as you open the door, you will be asked why you did this.

If there is anything you cannot say, I will try to persuade you to be honest about it.

Don’t think too hard. Be calm. We will gradually investigate why this happened.

however…

Why?

Why, are you anxious?

‘no.’

Carcein will be here.

Whether he is sleeping because he is tired or taking care of the people in his territory today.

‘Yes, definitely, it will be here.’

-Click.

The door opened.

But at that moment, Claire’s blue eyes… contained no human being.

“What the…what the…”

It was a sight that couldn’t even be described.

It was a very neatly organized room.

It didn’t seem like even a speck of dust or a bug would come out.

But everything else is sorted out too.

A document placed as if it were a bill, and an envelope or purse corresponding to the bill.

This is a room where there are no longer any traces of people.

It was a room that contained only documents and money.

As if it never happened.

As if it never existed in the first place.

“What is it? What are you talking about… Stop playing around like this. This kind of thing…”

-Tingle!

My legs gave out and I fell to the ground, unintentionally hitting the table.

Because of that, an object fell with a clatter in front of Claire’s eyes.

This was also a frame.

Unlike the sharp, diagonal cuts we saw before, it looked like it had been forcibly torn with force.

At the same time, the trash can also rolled in front of her.

A small piece of paper fell out, crumpled, inside the trash can.

no way.

But I had the intention to do it.

-Thump. Knock knock.

The piece fit perfectly into the empty space in the frame.

This was the only face of Karsene left in the duke’s house.

My heart sank.

-Yeah. I was the one who should have left the dukedom in the first place, right?

A single word that she had ignored until the end eventually stabbed Claire in the heart.

A cold wind.

A cold that feels like it might freeze you.

I was just starting to feel it now.

“Miss! Huh, huh! You’re bleeding! You need to get treatment…!”

“…you have to.”

“Yes, yes?”

“We need to find Carcein right now!”

My only younger brother.

Before I really leave the Bagrand Dukedom.

-Tiring!

▶Key Memorial: Broken Frame has been activated.◀