episode_0310

The distance from here to the duke’s house is not that far.

If you take a carriage, you can get there in a few hours at the most, and if you ask to go a little faster, it is possible to shorten the distance a little more.

No, I guess you can go faster.

The Duke’s carriage is not a cheap carriage, and it rarely breaks down due to rattling or loose parts.

If you make up your mind to go, you can run on a rough road.

If you go quickly even if it rattles, you can get there sooner.

With a coachman who rarely gets lost and has taken his masters all over the empire, it should be possible to get to the duke’s residence in about an hour.

But that’s not the case now.

“Miss. I think it would be best to stay for a day and then head to the Duke’s residence.”

“What? Why?”

“The bridge across the Chas River is currently under maintenance due to problems. Viscount Ptois is said to be in charge of repairing the bridge, but it will likely take quite some time.”

“If that’s the case, why don’t you just take a different route? Do you need to stay for a day?”

“Hmm. Miss. That’s…”

Just like Claire.

Flora also followed the same procedure.

The raindrops are getting thicker.

It may have been quiet inside the carriage, but outside the noise was gradually growing louder.

The river eventually overflowed, blocking not only the bridge before it was restored, but also the surrounding roads, completely blocking the road to the peacock house.

That was the coachman’s explanation.

“…”

Flora stares blankly out the window.

Heavy rain.

The raindrops hitting the ground had changed into heavy rain, unlike what I had seen before I set off.

“Miss. The muddy road is not the way to go anyway. We should go to solid ground, but is that really necessary? The rain is supposed to stop tomorrow, so let’s stay for a day.”

“…”

“I heard that Miss Claire also stayed there for a day. It would be perfect if you stayed there. What do you think?”

Of course, I don’t want to get rained on.

The coachman said that this road is prone to mud, so they should return to solid ground.

Then it will rattle a lot.

You have to put up with the occasional discomfort of the carriage shaking.

I didn’t like that kind of thing.

but.

“…I still want to go.”

“Miss?”

“I don’t mind if it rattles. I don’t mind if it shakes a lot. I’ll go that way.”

That kind of inconvenience isn’t the problem right now.

***

The carriage begins to move again by Flora’s will.

The coachman and even the escorts who followed him tried to persuade him that there was no need to embark on such an uncomfortable journey, but they could not break his stubborn will.

-Thud!

Every time the small body rattles, it vibrates or shocks the seat.

inconvenient.

But if you try to ride a horse outside, you’ll get caught in the rain.

It was by no means an easy journey.

Yet Flora did not utter a word or complain.

No. I couldn’t, exactly. My head was full of completely different things.

“Rain… Yeah. It rained like this. That’s why you couldn’t contact me, right?”

It’s pouring rain.

With the rain falling like this, you might be thinking, “Why don’t we take a break?”

“The communication line is unusable because it wasn’t delivered in advance… Yeah. It’ll be hard to write a letter, too. How can you send someone in this weather? Besides, the weather there won’t be very good for a messenger to fly. Then it’s understandable that you won’t be able to contact them, right?”

There aren’t many ways to get in touch.

It’s possible that it’s late or that they didn’t send the contact.

If that’s the case, then bringing Karcein… and not having any contact at all. Isn’t that only natural?

“The little sister might hate uncomfortable travel too… Yeah. Then maybe she’ll try to move as soon as the bridge is repaired?”

No. Beyond that, what if it’s raining and you’re late?

What if it hasn’t reached the Duke yet and hasn’t come into contact with Carcein?

“Ah! Karcein is so quick-witted that it might be hard to persuade him!”

Can you bring her here without even talking to her?

Then, is it natural that I haven’t heard from you even after all this time has passed?

“What? Then there was no need for me to be in such a hurry.”

Flora laughed bashfully.

My little sister handles things so neatly.

How many times have I felt amazed when I saw that sight?

How strong and proud I was to have such a sister.

Yes, my little sister had her reasons too.

After meeting Karsain, he would have said something subtle and asked me to clear a certain day because he had a family schedule.

He must have gotten out of the carriage, completely fooling Karsene, with the intention of surprising him at the coming-of-age ceremony.

“I’ll wait a little longer. I’ll stop being impatient and wait until my little sister comes. Hmm… But since we’re already here, I guess we should go together?”

The image of the little sister sighing is already drawn.

-It’s because of the rain. Why did you come here all the time? Oh my, really.

If you go to the workshop directly like this, will they say something like that?

Then you can tell me then.

I was too impatient.

I hastily thought of something else.

All she had to do was hug her older sister like before and shake off her anxiety.

…however.

“I wish you could arrive soon.”

Flora was smiling but not laughing.

***

The arduous journey has come to an end.

Flora, who had crossed the rough road without stopping despite the advice to stay overnight despite the rain, was standing right in front of the duke’s mansion.

The coachman opened the door anxiously and asked.

“Oh my, Miss. Are you okay─”

Boom!

Flora jumped out of the carriage.

“Up, it’s dangerous. If you run like that, you might get hurt…”

“It’s okay.”

Ignoring the voices of the grooms and knights who were trying to dissuade me from doing that again.

Flora, who was looking around, noticed something strange and muttered.

“…Why is it so quiet?”

“Yes?”

The coachman asked back as if he didn’t know what he meant.

He tilts his head and looks startled.

“Oh, Miss! What’s wrong with your nails!”

“…Ah. This.”

“How can you be so angry…! Could it be that I’m not a good driver and I hurt the young lady’s body…!”

“Oh, no! That’s not it. Don’t apologize.”

He hid his fingers behind his back.

This… was absolutely not the fault of the man driving the carriage.

But a familiar situation unfolds.

I’m talking about a picture where someone else is nitpicking and scolding me for my one action.

In that sight…

The shadow of a man who had become cold at some point was cast over him.

So Flora becomes more anxious.

“…Don’t worry about it, it’s not your fault. It’s because I… I held the sharp thing wrong and this happened.”

“Is that so?”

Flora enters the mansion, leaving the groom’s worries behind.

“Please take a look!” Despite the greeting, her gaze was still elsewhere.

A familiar yet unpleasant coldness stabs my heart.

quiet.

Excessively.

It was so quiet that I wondered if the duke’s house was this quiet.

I looked around, but there were so few servants passing by. Maybe they were all gathered in another place?

‘…No. It’s late. Everyone must have gone to rest.’

Even the Duke’s servants need time to rest.

I had always heard from my mother and my two older sisters that I shouldn’t treat my subordinates so harshly.

‘Yeah. There must be another reason why the servants aren’t visible right now.’

Flora, who was climbing the stairs to the main hall, stumbles and falls.

The pain in my calf that kept coming back to me brought tears to my eyes.

This is something you can handle on your own and recover from…

The surroundings are still quiet.

It wouldn’t have been strange if one of the servants had come looking for him after hearing this sound.

There must have been at least one person wandering around here. Someone who was dozing off nearby would turn around and ask what was going on, then come looking in shock.

There must be servants having a secret meeting somewhere. The nearest future would be when I find myself falling over after hearing this sound.

But it’s so quiet.

Why is it so quiet even though there are two owners in the duke’s house?

“…”

Flora got back up on her aching legs.

The pupils in the eyes become cloudy.

“Oh, no. It’s just… everyone must be busy.”

Because there are two owners.

There may be something he ordered me to do. That’s why he’s quiet.

Flora starts walking again, biting her still-fragile finger.

-Whew.

“Etch!”

The cold wind made me cough.

Wouldn’t a cough be the kind of sound that would wake up sleeping servants?

…But why haven’t I met anyone yet?

“No. It’s cold. For heating, someone else must have gone to get firewood…”

I went down the stairs and reached the hallway.

This is the place where there are the most servants coming and going. It is the place where the silence that has existed until now can be broken in an instant.

And, as expected, this silence was broken.

-Tong, tong, tong.

It wasn’t a human voice, it was the sound of a cup falling.

“…”

The cup fell on a food cart left in the hallway. It was the tool used by maids to bring their masters’ food in its entirety.

Because I had been eating so many snacks, I had become accustomed to seeing the maids bringing them to me.

But why is it left there like this now, with no one to turn it off?

Ripples begin to form in the disappearing pupil.

“There might have been an emergency… ”

Aren’t people already missing out?

The maids carrying the food carts may also have urgent work to do.

Yeah. That kind of thing…

“…”

-Kudduk.

The whitened fingernails begin to bend slightly.

Flora’s footsteps, biting her nails, do not stop.

Before I knew it, I was passing a food cart and heading towards a dark hallway.

-Crunch. Crunch.

-Clang, clang, clang, clang.

-Crack, crack, crack, crack.

-Blame. Ta-ta-ta-tat.

-Tut tut tut tut!

The footsteps are getting faster.

The slow pace gradually becomes faster.

Before I knew it, I was getting closer to the sound of running.

Even though her delicate legs were slightly swollen and sore.

And at these footsteps.

A very faint sound of water droplets was added.

Every time I run while lifting the hem of my dress, water droplets fall from somewhere.

The scattered water droplets flow down the darkest corridor, leaving marks as if lines were drawn on the corridor.

Exhaling with gasping breath.

Running as if he had forgotten the pain in his sore legs.

I even forgot that another red liquid was coming out of the nail I was biting.

Flora was walking down this silent hallway.

But it won’t be quiet inside this room.

Because it’s a room where people live, when you go in there will be someone who is either calmly reacting or reading a book.

So I opened the door.

But what welcomes her is…

This time it was static again.

“What is this?”

A room filled with all sorts of documents and money. It was truly a strange sight.

If you say it’s a joke, it’s so funny that you wonder who would have played such a joke.

No, is there anyone in the Duke’s household who would do such a prank in the first place?

does not exist.

There’s no way.

But even though she knew this fact, Flora deliberately got angry.

“Hey. Who the hell is that! What kind of weirdo would play such a prank on Carcein’s room?!”

-Clang.

Flora flinched and took a small step back as a metallic sound came from the purse she had kicked in frustration.

It just so happened that it irritated my sore leg.

My body, which lost its balance due to the stimulation of my sore leg, floundered and ended up falling on my butt while holding on to the drawer handle.

But at that moment.

The entire drawer fell out, spilling its contents.

-Thud! Boom!

-Thud, thud. Thud.

“…”

The eyes that were once filled with clear blue have now completely disappeared, as if they were trapped in the deep ocean.

“Huh, huff…!”

Why didn’t I notice?

Karsine never showed that he had applied medicine even once.

He always came out with the wounds he had sustained still unrecovered.

Even though I kept nagging him about why he didn’t apply the medicine, he never showed me how to do it in front of me.

…Yeah. That’s the exterior.

It is a denial of reality.

Just like my old self.

“Hehehe…!”

You think you couldn’t contact me because of the rain?

Because of the heavy rain and the river flooding, we arrived late and we haven’t had a proper conversation yet?

Karsene is smart, so it might have taken some time to convince him?

…Even that, he was just ignoring everything.

I was just denying reality like a fool or a child.

And what is before our eyes is a cruel reality that cannot even be denied.

“Carcein Brother…”

Now, he is not family.

no.

It can’t be done.

It’s as if I became someone who never existed.

-Dorruruk. Knock.

The circular ointment that had been rolling around on its own touched Flora’s swollen leg and fell over.

-Tiring!

▶Key Memorial: The ointments in the drawer have been activated.◀