episode_0275

Everything was good.

When I saw Karsene reading a book on the bed, soundly.

I felt relieved, thinking that there was nothing more to worry about.

He said that his injuries were getting better.

Now that I’m seeing it with my own eyes, there’s no room for doubt.

So Isabella had a brief sense of anticipation.

Anyway, isn’t Karsine my child too?

I wanted her to make cute complaints and tantrums like, “I was really sick. I was scared because I was locked in a dark place. I was bored in the hospital.”

I had some thoughts while riding in the carriage, but I hadn’t done anything for Karsain.

But, sorry?

You took my time?

I didn’t come here to hear that.

“What happened, Carcein?”

Isabella approached the bedroom and grabbed Karcein’s hands.

“Did someone come to you and breathe something strange on you? Or did they try to threaten you or frame you?”

When I first stepped into the hospital room, it was good that Karsine didn’t complain or act like a spoiled brat. This kid has matured a lot.

But there is no reason to apologize.

“Who the hell said that? Tell me who said that nonsense about wasting time.”

The most important thing, above all else, is that Carcein is injured.

The most important thing, above all, is that Carcein woke up healthy.

A waste of time?

You’re taking up the Duchess’s time?

Even bowing your head and saying sorry?

That was absolutely not the case.

What on earth did Karsain do wrong? For an innocent child to make such a judgment, it was obvious that someone must have been involved. That person had to be caught and beaten.

“Is there anything left of the maid who was not enough even after six o’clock? Or, is there anyone among the insolent knights who is talking nonsense? Who is it? Let’s hear who dared to talk nonsense to my son, the son of the Bagrand Duke. This mother will pull out every single hair on her head.”

Isabella urged Carcein to answer quickly.

however.

The answer that comes back is, unfortunately.

“I’m sorry, but that’s my decision.”

“…what?”

“No one said anything like that to me. I was not threatened, and no one tried to frame me. It was purely my own judgment, based on my own thoughts.”

It was a decision made on Carcein’s own initiative.

Isabella blinked her eyes repeatedly, seeming bewildered.

“Why… did you think that?”

Then Carcein answered without changing his expression.

“You already bothered me so much when I greeted you in the morning.”

“What…?”

Isabella’s pupils trembled.

“I have always been a nuisance. Not only when you are in charge of important state affairs, but also right before a meeting with your subordinates, I have come to interfere. And.”

Karsine showed me the wounds on his body. Unlike the ones he had just received, they were completely healed, meaning they were from the past.

“I wasted time like this in last year’s martial arts competition, which I had to participate in out of stubbornness. So wouldn’t you feel the same way this time?”

Isabella covered my mouth with her trembling arms.

Yes, that’s right.

It was because of just one person.

Who did you apologize for?

Why did you feel like I was wasting your time?

Why are you bowing your head?

It’s because of just one person.

-…Don’t get hurt next time. If you come here, the Duke’s work will get delayed. Karsain.

No one else, but yourself.

Because Isabella herself seemed to be wasting time.

“Let’s go now. I don’t want to waste any more time. I don’t want to get scolded by Arina or get nagged by Claire. If you’re going to take care of someone, shouldn’t you take care of Flora, the youngest, more?”

It was a self-inflicted wound.

***

-Click.

“…”

Isabella comes out with a gloomy expression.

When I entered Karsane’s hospital room and saw him reading a book, I felt a sense of relief and even a strange sense of anticipation.

Such a lively face.

Now, his face had taken on a gloomy, shadowy look.

“I… said that to that kid…”

My eyes were tightly shut.

When Karsene wanted his parents’ hand more than anyone else, he said something crazy like it was a waste of time.

After spending a year forgetting about that incident, I ended up experiencing it again, just like last year.

How can you be so ignorant?

How could you not be interested?

How could I not even remember what I did to my own child?

This time, the serious old butler’s advice proved to be right again.

The more so, the more clearly the past comes to mind.

-Thud. Thud.

Isabella pounds on her chest in anguish.

“I’ve always received help from you… How, how can you be so indifferent…!”

It’s only the past now, but at the time, Isabella blindly relied on that child to sustain the rest of her life.

Her vision became blurry as she was overcome with grief over the loss of her husband.

Her only son, who had gone with her husband at the same time, also went missing, and she was left speechless.

For Isabella, whose eyes and ears were completely covered, the news was an unspeakable despair, both as a wife and as a mother.

So, I denied it.

People were talking about how Karn was dead, but his body was nowhere to be seen, and he denied that fact outright.

It’s not death. It’s disappearance.

Doesn’t the absence of a body mean that there might be something alive?

He went around and around the empire, denying and denying again.

But as time went by and she wandered the empire without being able to find Karn, Isabella’s mind became increasingly worn out.

At some point, no one was visible except Karn’s face.

I wandered around just to find Karn.

Her husband’s will, which she never left behind, asking her to find Karn, kept lingering in her mind.

Yes, that’s right.

In the end, I ended up losing my mind.

Without realizing that fact, he was stirring up all sorts of places. The empty Duke’s mansion was entering a period of stagnation.

Then, like a ray of sunlight, the child came down.

-who are you?

Dark blue hair and blue eyes.

A pretty hand holding a carriage doll tightly.

Although there were many times when it was difficult to find a child, that child was undoubtedly Isabella’s lost son.

Well then, that’s right.

There’s no way my child could have died.

Only then did my heart fill with a sense of peace.

Every day, thanks to Karn, I can live again.

If it’s food, it’s food. If it’s clothes, it’s clothes. Even houses that were previously indistinguishable. All objects in the world have changed from colorless to colored and have become distinguishable.

My health is slowly recovering.

Arina also got her job back.

She worked harder every day, juggling her duties as a duchess and her late husband’s belongings.

And then… one day, Karn’s appearance started to look different. Soon after, when his illness was cured, he realized the reality he had been ignoring.

The child he had been holding, caressing, and looking after was not Karn.

I found out why the other kids were yelling that he wasn’t Karn.

The color of their hair and eyes, the position and shape of their facial features, even their speech and habits. Everything was different.

Only when the real world came into view did Isabella realize that she had brought home a completely different child.

I was mistaken in thinking that a stranger I didn’t know was Karn.

From then on, the atmosphere was awkward.

He stopped giving me advice like he usually did, and when I reached out my hand, he hesitated and didn’t take it.

Not only that, but I didn’t even mix words properly. Of course, the child was not my own son, but someone else’s.

Still, Isabella did not cast the child out of the ducal household.

Instead, he was given the name Karsine and was officially registered with the Duke’s family so that he could be protected.

He even went so far as to free the Bagrand Dukes to use their surnames freely.

The reason was… so clear.

Because of that child, I was able to stand up again in a world that was filled with despair.

Because of the existence of the child who had supported her, mistaking him for Karn, she was able to avoid losing her children who were left behind due to the grief of losing her husband and son.

Even though I was a complete stranger, I was able to overcome the difficult ordeal and gain the strength to face reality by accepting all of this.

Isabella Bagrand is saved.

No one else.

To Karsain.

“But, I… may not be able to take care of you properly as a mother…”

The waves, so fierce that they would pierce through your bones, were washing over Isabella’s entire body.

-dump!

“Haa, haa…”

“Mom? What’s wrong? Why are you like that?”

“Mom…!”

Flora and Claire came running with surprised looks on their faces.

The two daughters who were supporting their mother, whose legs had lost strength, were filled with worry.

“It’s okay. I, I’m okay.”

“Mom, now that you’re older, you should expect more from us.”

“That’s right! Now we’re old enough to help our moms.”

Isabella’s heart sank even more as she saw her daughters rushing to help their mother.

That kid.

Because he was offered a helping hand when he was only 10 years old.

“Hey, Mom? Why are you crying?”

“Don’t cry, Mom. What’s wrong?”

I couldn’t hold back my tears.

-Tiring!

▶Isabella character exclusive hidden episode. Cleared ◀

▶There has been a change to Isabella’s intimacy settings.◀

[ ■ ■ ■■ ■Easy ■I ■■■■ ■■■ : 80% ]

***

Isabella, who had been shedding tears nonstop, finally stopped crying.

As his breathing slowed down, Claire asked cautiously.

“Mom. Are you okay now?”

“Yeah. It’s not like I’m sick, so don’t look at me like that.”

Isabella nods.

But the voice was still locked.

“You can go now. Should I go see Carcein?”

“But…”

“It’s okay. Flora. Mom… I just had a flashback. My husband’s face came to mind and I couldn’t help it.”

“Thinking of Dad… That’s why you cried.”

Flora didn’t notice because she spoke indirectly, but Claire vaguely noticed.

‘Mom… won’t cry anymore when Dad’s story comes up.’

It must have been not long after I had been cured of my mental illness.

I heard from Heron that she had to get stronger, that she couldn’t let herself fall apart, that she couldn’t show her children her weak side, and that she had tried to stand up.

So that was an obvious lie.

Then why did you cry and lie?

Perhaps it has something to do with carcein. This would make the puzzle easier to solve.

‘I see. Mom too…’

Likewise. It seemed that there was something wrong with Carcein.

Claire is quick to get Flora out.

“Flora. Let’s go quickly. If we keep doing this, Mom will have a harder time.”

“Why is it hard when I’m right next to you?”

“Mom, there must be times when you want to rest alone. If our youngest is like this, you won’t be able to rest, right?”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Okay. Just like your little sister said, I’ll rest for a bit and then go back, so hurry up and go. If you stay like this, Karcein will be waiting, right?”

“Uh, uh. Okay. ”

Only then does Flora put aside her worries and fall.

Just as I was about to go out.

Isabella stopped Claire’s steps with a trembling voice.

“Can I ask you a favor? Claire.”

“Huh? What do you want?”

“…I have a gift for Karsain.”

At the word gift, the two people let out a short sigh, saying, ““ah.”.”

The two people came running empty-handed as soon as they heard the news.

“Do you all remember the test papers when you were young? When you were praised, you were given a gift along with it, even on your birthday.”

“Ah. That…!”

“I got a grant when I opened my new boutique, right? ”

“I… I got delicious chocolates and a dress back then.”

I have many memories of studying hard and having my head wrapped around something, but… I still felt good receiving a gift from my mother.

“Yeah. It’s the same as before. Tell Karsane that he won second place in the martial arts tournament this time, so I’ll give him a prize for it. It’ll be fine if you say it’s a gift.”

The expression on the sister’s face, who had been sweating over the gift for visiting her in the hospital, brightened up.

‘That’s right. That’s right. Isn’t it time for Karcein to be praised by his mother?’

‘If you’re the runner-up in the martial arts tournament, you can get anything!’

But I quicken my pace with such a joyful heart.

The answer the two heard was not so bright and hopeful.