episode_0010

“I won’t come to greet you in the morning from now on.”

Isabella’s teacup, about to take a sip, trembled for a moment. The cup didn’t rise any further and stopped in its place.

“Is that really all you have to say?”

“Yes.”

As Karceine was about to open the door and leave, he turned back to respond.

“I heard you caught a cold.”

Isabella seemed to have known about it as well.

He could have mentioned it and complained unjustly, but Karceine had resolved not to do so.

“Oh, that. I’m sorry. I just haven’t been taking care of myself properly.”

“…Taking care of yourself, you say.”

“It seems I’ve been eating too little. So, I won’t be picky about my food anymore.”

Isabella’s mouth opened slightly.

“I’ll be more careful. Showing such behavior, what good does it do? It only leads people to misunderstand me, doesn’t it?”

Karceine turned his back and opened the door again.

After responding intermittently, it seemed like he had nothing more to say as he left.

“…”

After Karceine left the study, Isabella stared blankly into space for a long time.

Despite having a mountain of work to do, she couldn’t seem to grasp the pen, all because of that child. Just as always, Karceine, who used to vent his frustrations every morning, for the first time, held the word “sorry” in his mouth.

When the word “sorry” was heard. When he showed willingness to release Camilla.

She momentarily doubted her ears.

She had always thought he would just shout and complain about where he went wrong or why he simply released Camilla without showing any dissatisfaction.

Of course, he didn’t always shout in excitement. There were times when they exchanged only a few words quietly and ended the greeting.

But from Karceine’s mouth, the word “sorry” popped out first. He held the request to release Camilla and even admitted his mistake obediently.

It was something that would never have happened before.

“Has he become more mature?”

Age has certainly caught up, so it could be possible. Perhaps there was a reason for it, or maybe studying in the room has matured her mentally.

Either way, it was good to see it positively. The child was only a year younger than Claire, about to reach adulthood soon.

“Coming of age… I see. It’s about time for her to mature as well,” Isabella rang the bell, summoning the butler. Shortly after, the head servant heard the bell and quickly made his way to Isabella’s study, bowing respectfully.

“You called for me.”

“How are preparations for Claire’s coming-of-age ceremony progressing?”

“The staff is quite busy, but everything is being prepared without any issues for now.”

The second daughter, Claire, was approaching her nineteenth birthday. It was January, the month that bid farewell to winter and welcomed spring. On the first day of January, Claire was scheduled to come of age.

“Right. That’s what I meant.”

Isabella set down her teacup and took out a report.

“Heron, do you remember this day?”

“Ah… Miss Arina’s coming-of-age day.”

As he read the contents, a sigh escaped him involuntarily. Heron quickly understood Isabella’s intention.

“Are you planning to invite Lord Carcyn to Claire’s ceremony?”

Isabella nodded.

“I recall that Madam originally did not intend to bring him.”

“To be honest, she still feels that way.”

Given that during Arina’s coming-of-age, Carcyn had caused quite a stir, attending Claire’s ceremony and causing trouble would not just end with the Marquis’s displeasure this time.

“But I’m not sure this time. That’s why I wanted your advice.”

“If my humble assistance is needed, please feel free to ask.”

“I thought he might cause a scene if Camilla was released beforehand… but it seems he didn’t.”

“Oh, Lord Carcyn…”

Just as Isabella had initially expressed, Heron was also visibly surprised.

This morning, I was inwardly expecting a story about being bedridden due to a cold in the morning greeting. However, that prediction completely missed the mark.

“Instead of throwing a fit, Camilla actually took the blame and asked to release her from solitary confinement, even admitting fault for catching a cold. She even said there would be no more morning greetings coming to complain. It feels like she’s become a different person overnight. What on earth happened?”

Contrary to Isabella’s words, Camilla remained confined in solitary. Even if there is insufficient evidence, she is undoubtedly the prime suspect, and the guilt of not properly entertaining Carcain remains. Nevertheless, lying about releasing Camilla from solitary was solely to gauge Carcain’s reaction. In other words, Carcain coming to discuss this matter could be seen as a process of choosing to participate in the coming-of-age ceremony.

“His Lordship ordered to release Camilla from solitary.”

Heron’s mouth hung open at the unbelievable story. As the deputy butler of the Marquis, he had not lost his composure until now. But wouldn’t this also be a natural course of events? Heron added a comment to the bewildered Isabella with a sly smile.

“As I mentioned before, His Lordship is not a bad-tempered person. If he cares for you as he does for the other ladies, this time might have come a bit sooner.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. From an honest perspective, it felt like a wall had been erected since Her Ladyship’s long-standing illness disappeared. Because of that growing distance, the affection you receive would have been quite different from the others.”

“Different affection, for my daughters and Carcain…?”

“At least that’s how it seemed to me. So, I believe it’s only right to give them a chance.”

Isabella fell into contemplation at these words from Heron. In truth, without Heron’s comment, she would have tried to separate Carcain more securely and definitively, setting aside precedent. With more guests gathering than during Arina’s coming-of-age ceremony, she would have wanted to ensure Carcain’s safety more securely.

Because there is precedent.

However, he is also a member who resides in the Carcain estate. Even if he is not Isabella’s son, he is a legitimate adopted son.

Therefore, Heron judged it appropriate to give Carcain a chance. He showed an attitude of accepting his own mistakes and generously considering others’ circumstances.

If Carcain were to realize that such generosity was being extended to him, and if he had truly matured to that extent, then he would have the right to confidently attend his second sister’s coming-of-age ceremony, even as someone previously known by the maids with an unfavorable nickname within the Bagrand family.

As Isabella’s worries deepened, she put the report back in its place.

“Tell Camilla to be released from solitary confinement according to Carcain’s opinion and to participate in the coming-of-age ceremony.”

“If so, it seems that the young master might need a maid as well.”

“Right, that’s true. Hmm… how about reassigning Camilla?”

Reassigning Camilla as Carcain’s exclusive maid. There are two intentions mixed in here.

Heron quickly caught on to those intentions once again.

“By the way, steward. Have there been any news from Viscountess Theresa?”

At the mention of Viscountess Theresa, a look of confusion crossed Heron, who was leaving.

“Viscountess Theresa… Are you referring to her? I don’t recall any news.”

“…Is that so.”

It seemed like he thought there might be some connection on this end.

“I’m sorry, madam. It seems you’ve really misunderstood.”

Even though he was far from feeling such emotions as Isabella was thinking about, he was still too far away.

***

Since the intimacy level has reached 30%, I wondered if there was something going on, but there wasn’t. The morning greeting was just terrible. It made me feel bad as well.

Not only did it bring back memories of my past for Isabella, but my blatant prejudice and preconceptions towards Carcain were clearly visible, making it impossible for me to feel good.

Still, there’s no need to invest emotions in such things.

“Status window.”

As soon as I returned to my room, I checked the status window.

▶ Episode II. Cleared the maids’ grievances! ◀

▶ Camilla is released from solitary confinement. ◀

▶ The maids’ grievances have subsided. ◀

▶No need for morning greetings anymore.◀

“As expected.”

Upon leaving the room after finishing the conversation with Isabella, I heard a sound, so I suspected that I had cleared the episode. First and foremost, it was crucial that Camilla escaped from her solitary confinement and that the dead trigger had been deactivated.

Most of the bad endings that can be seen in the early episodes are directly linked to Camilla, and if she remains trapped in solitary confinement and is not released in time, she will meet a fatal end.

Just the situation where Camilla’s body appears at this time tomorrow was enough to make me feel unjust. Even if they don’t speak it out loud, they will hold a funeral for Camilla and go through the fangs of revenge.

And in the end, regardless of which choice Carcain made, he died a miserable death.

Missing a specific timing is as good as being late. Therefore, Camilla’s escape from solitary confinement at this moment was the biggest stroke of luck.

“But we must not let our guard down. There must have been a branching point where Camilla leaves the duke’s residence even in this situation.”

We must be cautious, very cautious.

“It’s probably due to the maids’ dissatisfaction with Camilla. It seems like you’ve resolved the morning greeting, which was a past setting in the game. Anyway, it was just a shackle.”

It seemed that we had managed to pass the dangerous episode somehow.

▶CHAPTER 1 – Episode II Cleared!◀

■Rewards

[ Exp 50 ]

[ Lv. 1 → Lv. 2 ]

[ You will receive 0.05 stat points! ]

So far, these were rewards that I was familiar with in the game.

However, it seems that there is a longer receipt arriving for me inside the game.

▶You have successfully brought about results beyond the choices.◀

▶Additional rewards will be given!◀

■Additional Rewards

[ Perception +3 ]

[ Your recognition within the Bagrandt Duke’s residence will improve slightly. ]

[ ??? ]

“Results beyond the choices. So, this is why Claire’s intimacy increased additionally.”

In fact, if I had followed the game’s development as it was, Claire wouldn’t have noticed that I took a cold shower and came out. This small change clearly proved that I could move in a favorable direction.

“…But what’s with that question mark?”

Recognition is a game system within the author’s mind that reduces the occurrence of death flags in conversations with maids, but I’ve never seen anything like this before. I received something, but I don’t know what it is.

“Sometimes, when you clear an episode, you get items, but do you have any possessed items? It doesn’t seem like it,” she said.

The only things in my room are the clothes I washed myself. Memorabilia is excluded from the start, and the stats in the status window don’t increase like this.

I don’t even have anything that seems to have been received from someone. What on earth is it?

As I was pondering over this, there was a knock or some sort of sound from outside.

Well, it’s true that someone knocked on my door… “Is there someone coming into my room?” No, there’s no point in worrying about this.

If someone knocked on my room, I should listen to what they have to say when they come in.

“Come in.”

While waiting for the door to open, I fixed my gaze. And I was shocked.

“…!”

“Pardon me. Young master…”

Ding!

The status window lit up before I could even gather my thoughts. A short sentence was added to the reward window that had been hidden.

[Carmilla returns as the exclusive maid!]

And then, Carmilla, who had caught my eye in the status window, asked me in a voice full of concern, “What should I do?”

Even if she asks, I have nothing special to say from my perspective. Since the purpose was to turn off the dead trigger, I had never seen Carmilla return as Karsen’s exclusive maid.

I don’t know who or how someone intervened to attach Carmilla as my exclusive maid, but what’s done is done and cannot be undone. I had to accept it.

“But this… It was clearly a reward, right?”

That means the reward I received is being an exclusive maid.

“This is a really huge reward, isn’t it?”

Ordinarily, one might think that the dead trigger has come back to life, but it’s quite the opposite. Unless Carmilla goes back to solitary confinement, I can avoid numerous bad endings.

Just thinking a little bit gives me the answer. Can I be sure that there is not a single situation where Carmilla is driven out of the author’s mansion as a different variable?

Unequivocally, I can’t do it.

I can say with absolute certainty that I can’t do this game having tried it.

But what if I become my exclusive maid? By becoming my exclusive maid, external variables are completely blocked. It means I can cut off all other variables by becoming my exclusive maid.

So, there’s no need to hesitate. It’s a clear gain. There might be a risk in having a maid again, but I can easily resolve that risk directly.

“No. Beyond that, I might even be able to establish a new plan.”

Decision made.

For now, let’s accept it.

“I don’t have anything to order today. Come back tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow… Did you say tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Tomorrow.”

Of course, just because I said that doesn’t mean you won’t have anything to do.