The Damn Family Is Back Again

170 – 170. A Conflicting Approach (2)

At first, I was clearly very nervous.

I had come all the way to the Shatren estate, but I wasn’t sure what to say first.

Should I start by asking if my sister was looking for me, or ask where Flora was?

Was it not necessary to ask what kind of conversation Flora had with her?

All sorts of questions swirled in her mind, but she couldn’t decide how to bring it up. Even when Carsein finally arrived, the words that came out of her mouth were completely different from what she intended.

But she herself knew best.

The things she wanted to say were not those.

Was it because Arina unni came to this place to nag her?

No.

Was it because Flora came to the Shatren territory?

That wasn’t it either.

Was she worried about what kind of conversation Flora had with Carsein here?

That wasn’t it either.

“…I wanted to say sorry.”

She didn’t know in the past, but now she clearly recognizes it.

Carsein tried to revive the Shatren territory after noticing something. And it was herself who forcibly stopped Carsein’s actions and ruined the plan.

And, what’s more, Carsein was the one who received the consequences, not herself.

She’s aware of all this.

That’s why she came.

She wanted to apologize to Carsein, even if it’s now.

But in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.

“…You’re hitting the wrong person with your palm again.”

Claire clenched and opened her palm a few times, as if testing it.

It wasn’t a strong hit, but the fact that her hand acted on its own again remained unchanged.

So, not being able to convey her words to Carsein might be a blessing in disguise.

If she tried to persuade Carsein or tell the villagers about this fact, her impulsive self might have made another mistake, just like before.

“Well. It’s fortunate that I didn’t make a mess with my personality.”

Claire stopped walking for a moment and turned around.

The answer was already reflected in her eyes.

“Hmm. Is that so ────?”

“…Yeah.”

“What do you mean by ‘yeah’? We had a promise, didn’t we?”

“That… Please listen to what I have to say? I had unavoidable circumstances, so ────…”

“Enough! You broke your promise, so this time… Ah? Where are you running away to? Come back here right now!”

“If I get caught, I’ll just say something ridiculous again, so I won’t run away!”

“Carsein, you…! Just get caught!”

Even if it wasn’t herself, there were people who would help her younger brother.

Even if it wasn’t herself, there were people who would worry about her and sometimes scold her.

Claire watched that scene unfold, let out a dry laugh, and quietly turned back.

“Umm… Where is…?”

“Wake up, Flora?”

“…Little sister? Where is this place? Did you…! Did you not see where Carsein is?”

Claire abruptly cut off Floria’s words, calling out her name in a gentle tone.

“Did you come to see Carcsein again because you did something wrong?”

“…”

Floria, who had been flustered, silently closed her mouth.

It was because she had hit the nail on the head. Floria had come to see Carcsein because of her past mistakes.

“What did you do wrong? You can tell me, your sister.”

Claire said this to comfort Floria.

“I spread rumors that Carcsein was bad to the people of the Shatren territory… I also said that Carcsein was going to ruin this land… And… I secretly sold the items in Carcsein’s room and pretended to help those people…”

Floria trembled as she confessed her mistakes, one by one.

Each time, it was clear how much Carcsein’s situation had worsened.

The financial problems were still there, and the internal issues in the territory remained unresolved.

The only clue that had been buried was destroyed, like a rotten Rohéa seed, and disappeared.

It was infuriating, but Claire forced herself to endure and asked again.

“So, the reason you came here is because Carcsein might be having a hard time because of you, right?”

“…Yes.”

“And you went to see Lady Harnie?”

“Because if the big sister can’t gain the trust of the territory’s people, it will be extremely difficult to proceed with the business within the symposium… so I looked for someone to help.”

“And it turned out that the person who could help was Lady Harnie?”

“…That’s right.”

“I see. That’s how it was.”

Claire smiled wryly.

It was just a guess, but it seemed that she had the same thought as Floria.

However, that was the wrong method.

“…We can’t do that, Floria.”

“Sister…”

“That might make Carcsein’s situation even worse.”

Floria, who seemed about to shout, silently wiped away her tears again.

The words that might make Carcsein’s situation even worse were undeniable.

Because Floria was the one who had dragged Carcsein into the unpleasant past, without even knowing it, during the tea party where the Kelvia fruit was served.

“What do I do? Because of me, Carcsein is having a harder time… and it’s not like we can bring in someone to help?”

“I understand your heart, but we need to use a different method, Floria. If we collaborate with someone unknown in the symposium, Carcsein’s reputation will only worsen.”

“Ah…”

“We shouldn’t bring in someone unknown, but rather find someone who can see Carcsein’s situation and help. We need to persuade them well.”

Claire had also searched for someone to request help from, someone who could cooperate with Carcsein.

Although Lady Harnie’s side seemed to have become the correct answer somehow, that alone couldn’t solve all the problems in Shatren.

However, direct help was not possible.

Indirectly. In a way that differed from Lady Harnie’s.

If she truly wanted to help Carcsein, she would have to take a detour.

“Don’t worry, let’s go to Unnie’s place? Until Unnie calls us.”

“Okay…”

Claire consoled the youngest member, who was sulking, and tried to lift their mood.

***

It’s quiet.

But it’s not quiet. In my head, there’s a constant cacophony of voices.

Warm, soft, and peaceful – yet, it’s not.

The warmth seems to be a problem in itself.

The softness feels like I’m being tied down.

Peaceful? This situation is driving me crazy because I can’t adapt.

Yeah, sleeping on this lap is not ideal in many ways.

“Over there…”

Feeling like I couldn’t take it anymore, I swallowed hard and tried to make an excuse.

“Are you going to sleep with your eyes closed quietly?”

But, as expected, a sharp and decisive voice cut through like a knife.

Harinee seemed determined to keep an eye on me for hours in this state.

‘…How did it end up like this again?’

The cause was obvious.

A lie.

The lie that I didn’t sleep properly, which had become a fundamental problem, had once again put my face on this thigh.

‘Why doesn’t this lie work on Harinee at all?’

Other people wouldn’t notice my facade, but she somehow sensed that I didn’t sleep properly with a single glance.

I didn’t give off any signs, and it wasn’t a situation where I could be caught.

When Harinee came to find me, she said it was because of Flora, and her gaze was also drawn to Claire, so there was no time to notice such things.

…And yet, she somehow knew that I didn’t sleep?

How did she figure it out? It’s ridiculous.

“This isn’t the time to think about that.”

Yeah, now wasn’t the time to sleep.

I thought of a suitable excuse and decided to take a stronger stance.

“What are you doing? Don’t get up, just stay still –”

“You really have no sense of caution, Harinee.”

-Plop.

“!…”

“Look, if I make up my mind and push you like this, you can’t do anything.”

As I pushed her towards the back of the sofa, her flustered face finally appeared.

That’s right. Feeling threatened is normal.

It’s not like I’m going to let my guard down.

In this situation, putting my head on her thigh is dangerous, and I need to be aware of that.

‘If it’s this much, shouldn’t you understand and let me go?’

…I thought so.

Just a little while ago.

“Be careful from now on–“

-Zhjaak!

From noble mtl dot com

“Uhg!”

“What are you doing?! What’s going on?!!”

Another red handprint was clearly imprinted on my back.

***

“Ugh… I didn’t think it would be that severe.”

“Heh. It’s your own doing. Sudden movements like that will… make people’s hearts skip a beat. Look, it’s still racing.”

Haruni stroked my back, which was hit, and turned her head away. It seemed like she was muttering something, but I couldn’t quite catch it.

“You said you wouldn’t cover for me, didn’t you?”

“…Was that sincere?”

“Would I lie? You’ve seen me a few times… anyway! So, don’t do that from now on.”

“Yeah…”

Although it wasn’t a pleasant situation, I was able to avoid Haruni’s leg being placed on top of mine.

Now, I could finally bring up the main topic.

“What brought you to find me?”

“What?”

“Is it not to check if I was sleeping properly?”

Haruni narrowed her eyes.

“Isn’t it important whether you slept well or not? Don’t treat it like it’s nothing.”

“No… it’s actually not that important…”

“Ka. Re. Si. En?”

“…Yes. I’ll do it properly.”

Gulp.

The hellish staccato in Haruni’s voice was like a drumbeat on my back, saying she would slap me awake.

From now on, I had to make sure that Haruni wouldn’t say that sleep time wasn’t important in front of me.

“So, what’s the reason you came to find me?”

As I asked while watching her, Haruni let out a deep sigh.

“Flora told me to help you.”

“…What?”

What kind of nonsense is that?

Flora asked me to help her?

“It wasn’t that day, but a few days ago. She just said to help you, so I don’t know the details… but it seems like she thought you’d have a harder time because of her, so she needed someone to help you, and that’s why she sent me.”

So that’s why Haruni came to find me.

That was the reason.

“From your expression, I can tell there’s something going on, right?”

“Yes. It’s just that I’ve wasted your time for nothing, it seems.”

“Is that so?”

“You think that kid just talked nonsense, don’t you? Anyway, my grades aren’t a problem.”

“…I’m not worried about your grades, either. Just looking at what you’ve done so far, I know how amazing you are. But…”

-Hmm.

Harnie lightly grasped my hand.

“This time, it’s true… I want to ask for your help.”