The Damn Family Is Back Again

Chapter 198

198 – 198. A Step Back (14)

“Tell me more. A box, you say. What kind of box was it?”

“Well… I’m not sure what they were used for, but there were two boxes. One was a box filled with coins… and the other was empty.”

“Huh. Only those two boxes were destroyed in the room? What in the world… No, we must find the culprit first. There should have been enough guards. Is there anyone who stands out as a suspect?”

“I’m sorry. Since Mr. Karsein came to us, sweating profusely, and ordered us to take a break… we didn’t expect anyone to visit at this time…! Please be lenient…!”

“…Sigh. To think you’d barge in right when he had kindly suggested a rest, of all times.”

Arina frowned deeply, clearly agitated.

With that, the conditions were met.

▶Upon arrival at the party venue, three conditions have been achieved.◀

[ 1. Lower Arina or Claire’s intimacy twice in a row. ]☑

[ 2. Knowingly ignore someone’s secret approach to Karsein’s room and watch until the servants find out. ]☑

[ 3. A certain item is stolen and becomes irretrievable. ]☑

It’s best to get through Flora’s birthday episode with the party going off without a hitch.

Keep the attention low, and by performing urgent missions and event gimmicks, the completion can be achieved without trouble in about a day.

But, there’s no rule saying you must do it.

If you don’t want to set foot in this party venue for even a moment, and feel it’s a waste of time, there’s a risky but available way out.

▶Achieving the conditions adds new choices.◀

▶These choices can be selected at any desired time during the episode.◀

The gift theft incident.

This case requires choosing a rather tricky route, and the conditions are not easily satisfied.

However, once inside the game, it wasn’t too difficult.

Fending off servants and maids, skillfully avoiding the nobles who come to me, and checking from a hidden position was easier than in the game.

After this incident unfolds, three always-available choices are added, and you gain the legal right to move.

From noble mtl dot come

‘There’s a fair amount of risk, but I can’t afford to be swayed by choices right now.’

Precisely, I wanted to leave this place a second sooner.

“Karsein. Was there something important there?”

-Ding!

▶A choice appears!

“There was. Something very important.”

“…What?”

[ Solution. The birthday gift was there. ]☑

“The birthday gift I was going to give to Flora was there.”

“A birthday… gift?”

Arina narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Are you certain? You really left a birthday gift box in my room?”

-Ding!

“All the birthday presents for the Grand Duke’s household are gathered in the third-floor room. When the time comes, the servants will bring them accordingly. But why is your birthday present in your room on the second floor?”

▶Arina is suspicious. Please choose an option.

[ 1. Well, I moved the gift earlier when I went out for some air. ]

[ 2. Are you brainless? Don’t you remember me going out earlier? ]

[ 3. The servants moved it on my orders to take a break, so they left it there. That’s why it was in my room. ]

The correct answers for the existing options are either 1 or 3. There’s no difference between them except for the impact on attention and achievement points.

However, I chose an additional option once more.

[ Solution. Seeing you’re suspicious from the start, you must really want me to say I didn’t prepare a gift, huh? ]☑

“Seeing you’re suspicious from the start, you must really want me to say I didn’t prepare a gift, huh?”

In an instant, Arina’s eyes twitched.

It’s not suspicion by any means, but from my standpoint, it’s quite beneficial to use this.

Thus, this option becomes a valid choice to leave the party in a different way than the others.

“I didn’t go that far. Don’t overinterpret things.”

[ Solution. If it wasn’t an overinterpretation, you would have ordered a search for where the item went. At this rate, I might as well be the trash who didn’t prepare a birthday gift. ]☑

“If it wasn’t an overinterpretation, you would have ordered a search for where the item went. At this rate, I might as well be the trash who didn’t prepare a birthday gift.”

“Karsein. I’m telling you again. Stop spouting nonsense and shut your mouth right now.”

Arina’s anger surged visibly.

Saying one more word here would decrease the intimacy points.

But that doesn’t matter.

That’s what I’m aiming for, after all.

[ Solution. Sorry about that, Flora? It seems I’m the trash who didn’t even prepare a family gift. ]☑

“Sorry about that, Flora? It seems I’m the trash who didn’t even prepare a family gift.”

“…!”

“Karsein!”

[ Solution. (Standing up and leaving the party) A piece of trash who doesn’t deserve to attend the party shouldn’t ruin this enjoyable event. So, I’ll take my leave. Have fun without me. ]☑

-Thud.

“A piece of trash who doesn’t deserve to attend the party shouldn’t ruin this enjoyable event. So, I’ll take my leave. Have fun without me.”

“That brat!”

Arina’s voice thundered from right behind, “Can’t you just stand there for a moment?”

“What? What is it?”

“There’s a loud noise from over there… Oh my?”

“Next to Lady Arina is…”

“Do I feel like I’m beginning to understand the situation, or is it just my imagination?”

In an instant, the nobles’ eyes gathered.

“Sister? What is it? What’s happening?”

“What’s the matter? Why is there such a loud noise?”

Even Isabella and Claire’s eyes were drawn this way.

And finally.

“Ah, no… I… I…”

Flora, too, unable to speak properly, her voice trembling as she looked at me.

All eyes in the ballroom were on me.

‘So that’s why the attention meter has risen.’

There were no choices floating around, but it seemed okay to say this much. The main scene was over, and it was about time to reach the skip scene.

“What do you mean, no? Isn’t this the gift you’ve been longing for?”

Everything Karsein had was broken and ruined.

Suspicions arose that he hadn’t brought a gift, so he was bound to be scolded by his family.

And now, he had disappeared from the ballroom.

All of it, just as you wanted.

Right, Flora?

Like I did in the game, I didn’t look back and walked out.

-Ding!

▶You have taken the ＜Early Exit＞ route, not the original one.◀

▶The attention and achievement scores are now fixed.◀

[ Attention: 85% ]

[ Achievement: 60% ]

▶Since the achievement score has exceeded 60%, the episode is considered cleared.◀

▶You have cleared Episode VII. Flora’s Birthday.◀

▶You have successfully escaped from the ballroom.◀

The public’s attention score is high. As a result, a penalty is incurred.

[ Penalty: Due to this incident, the range of territories with which you can trade with Chatren is reduced. ]

This penalty is somewhat troublesome as it reduces the methods of investigating Chatren through trade goods with other territories.

‘But, this isn’t really a penalty, is it?’

After all, I’m not following a chosen route in the game.

The original plan was to pinpoint Chatren’s issues with my own hands, so strictly speaking, it’s as if I’ve left this place without any penalty.

Outside the building, a pleasantly cool breeze was fluttering.

***

In the end, I couldn’t decide on a gift for Karsein.

I had no idea what to take, nor could I decide what would be appropriate to give.

I thought about asking others, but it seemed like neither of my sisters nor my mother knew much either.

Perhaps Camilla, who had served Karsein for a long time, could help, but…

Camilla’s voice still echoes vividly in my mind.

– “That sin is unforgivable. You must carry it for life. The young master has already shown you mercy many times.”

Remembering the voice of Camilla, my dedicated maid, who coldly said there was no way, Flora simply couldn’t muster the courage to seek her out.

As a result, the information about Karsein was very limited.

There was only one thing I knew about him.

Never take the Kelvia fruit.

Let’s pack something.

Anything that fits well, let’s put it neatly in a box.

And so, an awkward gift box was completed.

Time passed.

I was to announce my debutante impressions along with the birthday celebration.

I memorized the impression speech that my eldest sister and mother had prepared for me. I made no mistakes and finished safely.

Then, a sudden thought occurred to me.

The nobles’ perception of Karsein was still very poor.

‘There he is.’

After finishing the speech, Flora immediately went to find Karsein.

“Excuse me, Karsein.”

“What?”

“The first dance. Won’t you dance with me? I have something to say too…”

Considering that the first dance of a debutante noblewoman is a customary practice among the aristocracy, I thought about asking Karsein to dance.

By doing so, he would declare his nobility here.

And it would serve as an announcement that he was chosen as my first dance partner.

Moreover, it would naturally lead to a question about a birthday gift.

I came here thinking it would be helpful, but…

“I refuse.”

I was flatly rejected.

Afterward, Karsein had a brief quarrel with his older sister. He waved his hands hurriedly, dismissing the idea that he could do such a favor.

I felt dejected when I was rejected, but still.

I thought it would be okay since I still had a gift to give to Karsein.

…But then.

“There’s a scoundrel who laid hands on Karsein’s belongings? What are you talking about?”

“I’m not sure about the details, but… it seems someone entered Mr. Karsein’s room and left it in shambles, everything broken and destroyed…”

“There was a box… they say.”

“A box?”

“…?!”

Suddenly, the conversation between the servant who had just arrived and the older sister made my head turn.

‘A box…?’

The mention of a box made me feel suffocated.

I vaguely remember.

It was the day of my own birthday party.

And it was when Karsein secretly took out two boxes from under his bed in his room.

“One of them… I’m not sure what it was for, but there were two boxes. One was filled with coins…”

One box was filled to the brim with coins.

“The other was empty.”

The other was empty because I had gradually stolen and sold the contents of the box myself.

Vividly, everything comes back to me.

That day, Karsein was greatly flustered and messed up his room.

After he went out and came back, not only did he get a scolding from his two sisters, but also from our mother. No, it wasn’t just a scolding…

-…I’m sorry. I wasn’t prepared.

I failed to get a birthday present, and I was scolded so severely that I ended up being grounded.

All these events fit together like a puzzle.

The past and the present overlap, the same pieces falling into place.

Could it be… not again?

“Are you certain? You really had a birthday gift box delivered to your room?”

…Huh?

By the time I came to my senses, my older sister and Karsein were already arguing.

“All the birthday gifts from the Bagrand Duke’s family are gathered in the third-floor room. The servants will bring them when the time comes. So, why is your birthday gift in your second-floor room?”

Big sister!

If you say that…!

With a nervous heart, I sneak a glance at Karsein.

But it’s already too late.

That eerily cold, expressionless face is fixed on Karsein.

“Seeing you’re already suspecting, it seems you want to say I didn’t prepare a gift, right?”

“I didn’t go that far. Don’t overinterpret.”

No, big sister.

That’s not it.

“If it wasn’t an overinterpretation, you would have ordered a search for where that item went. At this rate, I might as well be the trash that didn’t prepare a birthday gift.”

“Karsein. I’ll say it again. Stop spouting nonsense and shut your mouth right now.”

It’s my fault, isn’t it?

Back then, I…!

“I’m sorry, Flora. It seems I’m the trash who didn’t prepare a family gift.”

“…!”

“Karsein!”

The past superimposed on reality strikes directly at the heart. It feels as though my breath has suddenly stopped.

-Thud.

“Trash with no right to attend the party shouldn’t ruin this joyous event. So, I’ll leave. Have fun without me.”

“That brat!”

My heavy heart suddenly plummets.

Air refuses to flow in the heavily sunken lungs.