The Damn Family Is Back Again

229. The Source of Contamination (11)

At Karsein’s remark, the ears of the defeated perked up.

‘Rumors are…’

‘Right. There was that rumor!’

‘No matter how good the announcement is, it can’t be without flaws!’

The situation was already dire with grades hitting rock bottom.

He had received all sorts of criticisms from Princess Arshien and Prince Florence, resulting in significant point deductions.

Yet here was Karsein, who should have been at rock bottom himself, standing at the very top—an incredible source of jealousy and resentment arose among them.

Those who ought to be at the bottom must remain there.

Finally, like hyenas seizing their prey, they bared their teeth.

“Your Highness Princess. Your Highness Prince. We request a defense time!”

Only those with worthy grades were supposed to issue such warnings about attending defense time; however, since they couldn’t drag Karsein down now, there was no turning back.

Moreover, this matter connected to community affinity among performance metrics; thus anyone could voice their opinions as it strayed quite far from what had been previously explained.

Upon hearing those words, Princess Arshien began a brief conversation with Prince Florence.

“…I permit it.”

Before long, the declaration for Defense Time was passed.

‘It’s done!’

The cheers erupted as Defense Time was approved.

Now there was an opportunity to bare their teeth and bite back.

‘This time, I will definitely bring them down!’

‘Such a flaw must be exploited to make a significant impact!’

“How dare that commoner receive higher marks than us? Not a chance!”

Just moments ago, the shadows of defeat had loomed over the schemers, but now they unleashed their pent-up words as if capturing a water ghost.

“You are well aware yourself.”

“Why is it that rumors of the residents of Shatren fighting among themselves have spread?”

“The rumor has spread so widely that there are many who do not know about it.”

The key point was the rumor.

It all began with whispers so famous they flowed beyond the borders of their territory.

***

Indeed, as soon as they heard the word “rumor,” those who had kept silent sprang to their feet.

Considering their own scores, uttering even a single word seemed impossible; yet regarding this matter, voices were bound to rise. One by one, they stood up.

While they could not improve their own grades, at least they could not bear seeing Karsein above them any longer.

To Arshien and Florence’s eyes, this display was utterly ridiculous; nevertheless, Defense Time was permitted.

“Prince Carsein. There is nothing more important than the relationship between a lord and their subjects.”

“To think that you would allow the residents to fight amongst themselves. Isn’t that a disqualification for a lord?”

“No matter how much you identify and seek to improve the issues in Shatren, if you are unaware of the situation within your own territory, then this is clearly a problem for the lord.”

We set aside any points where Carsein has no flaws.

We emphasize elements from other categories that could lead to significant deductions, coaxing him into losing points.

“You haven’t forgotten, have you? That harmony with your residents also counts towards your score.”

“Moreover, since you’ve postponed your report until the final announcement day, remember that this will double your point deductions as well.”

And we leverage that promise Carsein himself had made to further amplify his penalties.

At this rate, Carsein’s score will inevitably plummet.

As nobles began to smile faintly while vaguely predicting his future,

Carsein smirked as if he had been waiting for this moment.

‘Just as I thought.’

‘He must have had something planned all along.’

Arsien and Florence noticed that subtle change and felt their anxious hearts ease.

“Hmm. You are all correct. It’s unacceptable for rumors of fighting among residents in my territory to circulate like this.”

“Does that mean you acknowledge it is your fault?”

One participant squinted his eyes defiantly as if trying to drive home his point with this statement.

From the moment he recognized the issue with these rumors, he would have nothing left to say.

It was time once again for him to act out stubbornly like in days past and cause an uproar.

This was a question thrown forth while promising some semblance of future certainty.

“That’s not it.”

“Oh dear. You shouldn’t be so stubborn.”

“Are you trying to insist that there’s no fault in failing to manage the residents?”

“No matter how much you claim to be a lord, if you cannot govern the people, then you have failed even the very foundation of managing your territory.”

“If the policies were forced upon them without the residents’ consent, then that’s nothing short of tyranny!”

The nobles stood up again, fiercely directing their ire at Karsein.

“Of course it is. But when did I ever acknowledge that rumor as truth?”

“…What?”

“It’s merely a rumor. Why do you dismiss the possibility that exaggerated tales have slipped into your ears?”

Karsein continued calmly.

“When we mention rumors, there was one that circulated not long ago. It was said that the strawberries and grapes from the Shatren territory were actually tainted by dark magic or perhaps poisonous fruits. Surely everyone remembers this?”

“Th-that…”

The nobles flinched.

It was something they all knew well. They thought they could use this information to undermine Karsein’s standing.

However, this incident would ultimately work against them. They had no choice but to intervene now.

“Wait a moment! That has nothing specifically to do with—!”

“It has everything to do with it. Please continue.”

Before their shallow ploy of separating two incidents could fully unfold,

Arsien swiftly pressed on.

“In fact, what grows in Shatren are indeed crops nourished by magical energy. But what’s wrong with that? Even if they contain magic, as long as proper cooking methods are followed, there’s no issue whatsoever. The fruits from Shatren were safe enough that they didn’t even require any special preparation at all. Yet still, rumors spread claiming they were toxic.”

The nobles fell silent when they found themselves in an unfavorable situation.

Karsein did not miss the opportunity.

“People who even consume wine infused with snake venom are now spreading exaggerated rumors that a mere spirit has been tainted by a trace of malice. Isn’t this a prime example proving that rumors are just that—rumors? I’m here to inform you once again that this is nothing but gossip. In reality, the rumors you’ve heard are false.”

At last, Shatren’s doubts began to unravel.

“How can you claim it’s false?”

“Just because you insist it’s a lie doesn’t change the facts, does it?”

Yet still, the pack of hyenas clung tightly to their prey and refused to let go.

“You’ve heard clearly what the residents of Shatren fight with.”

“What fertilizers they used against each other. Why they chose to betray their territory and use those fertilizers,” came the retort.

“Oh. And did they even go so far as to call them traitors? They were fighting quite fiercely.”

“Even if their lord momentarily intervenes, do you think they wouldn’t know how to fight in unfamiliar places?”

Then they organized themselves further.

“If it were merely gossip, would we have such detailed knowledge about why the residents of Shatren are fighting?”

Was there truly no basis for this?

In fact, he knew very well why they fought.

A rather sharp observation flew toward Karsein.

The defense on this matter seemed quite disadvantageous…

But Karsein answered with utmost confidence.

“Oh. That? I instructed them on that. I told them to pretend as if they were really fighting.”

“What—what?!”

“The fertilizer you mentioned. To investigate that, we needed to divert some external attention. So, I instructed them to pretend to fight.”

Perhaps this was not a defense time but rather an offense time.

***

“Your Highness the Princess. I would like to pose a question to His Highness the Prince. If someone were to harm another territory during the symposium and lower their score, would that person be punished according to regulations?”

Surely, he couldn’t have asked this without knowing.

The two exchanged glances.

Their interests aligned.

“Naturally, such actions would be strictly punished by the royal court.”

“The purpose of the symposium is for nobles to gather and resolve issues within each territory. While there is competition due to scores, what was just stated constitutes malicious harassment of others.”

“It should never happen; however, if such deeds were committed, it would undermine the very foundation of noble meetings. Therefore, they would face the highest level of punishment.”

As both expressed their positions, Karsein seized his moment and spoke up as if he had been waiting for this opportunity.

“There are those within the Shatren territory who are deliberately sabotaging it.”

“…What?”

“To be specific, there are individuals who embezzle funds sent from Duke Bagrand’s household or secretly sell harvested crops from their fields without reporting them back to their territory. Well, that’s just a light example.”

Karsein explained while resting his chin on his hand.

He added as if that was not all there was.

“Since Shatren began its decline from its glorious past, it has become extremely insular. They were quite wary of outsiders unless transactions took place at trading posts. Yet those residents have been blindly clinging onto something.”

“What is that?”

“This fertilizer.”

In Karsein’s hand lay a suspicious bag of fertilizer.

“As I surveyed the situation within the territory, I found something peculiar. Why would those who are wary of external interference bring in outside goods? They even seemed to have a firm belief that this fertilizer was absolutely necessary. Thus, I couldn’t help but investigate it further.”

“And then?”

“As I mentioned earlier, soil pH has a significant impact on crops. However, this fertilizer intentionally lowers the soil’s pH drastically.”

“Are you saying it’s a fertilizer that deliberately acidifies the soil?”

“Exactly. There was also a strong perception that this fertilizer had to be used, as if someone had exaggerated rumors about it. But that’s not all there is to it.”

“…That’s not all?”

Just after those words were spoken, Karsein sprinkled the fertilizer onto a pot he had brought separately.

Then he added a drop of Pestella’s rapid growth solution, and another effect of the fertilizer manifested right there.

-Crackling.

“…!”

“T-this is…!”

With an eerie sound, the stem began to grow in grotesque shapes.

When petals eventually opened to reveal hideous teeth, everyone present realized what they were witnessing.

Karsein swiftly drew his sword and struck down what had just been born.

-Screech!

The sight of it vanishing amidst its bizarre shriek was undeniable evidence that there was something wrong with that fertilizer.

“I believe creating such a fertilizer alone constitutes a grave sin,” one noble suddenly shouted from among the audience.

“Ha, that’s nonsense!”

A sly smile spread across Karsein’s face, as if he were certain of victory.

***

Count Retelvik gripped his cane tightly.

It was already incomprehensible that Karsein had resurrected Shatren.

Now talk of fertilizer? He must have realized something.

‘If we don’t cut off the tail here… then our lives won’t be guaranteed either.’

Count Retelvik narrowed his eyes and called out to the noble sitting right next to him.

“Hey. You.”

“Yes?”

“You need to step in and stop that.”

The man shook his head in disbelief.

“To intervene now would be tantamount to suicide. Besides, aren’t we just spectators? To doubt his abilities at this symposium…”

“I said stop it. Unless you want what happened three years ago on Waglou Mountain to come to light.”

From noble mtl dot com

“…!”

A heavy gulp followed the oppressive threat that hung in the air.

“Ha, that’s nonsense!”

The man shot up abruptly, shouting.

“Hey! You’ve been going on about fertilizer for a while now! Are you just trying to change the subject because you’re fighting in your own territory?!”

Other nobles, sensing the rising tension and receiving signals from someone, shouted in unison.

What kind of ridiculous excuse is that?

Are you trying to gloss over the fact that you’ve deceived the residents?

They attempted to refute Karsein’s claims, calling them absurd.

But Karsein, unfazed, simply asked,

“Hmm. So everyone who just stood up is from your faction? The Waglou faction.”

“…!”

“W-what does that have to do with anything?”

“The Waglou faction is quite close to Shatren. In other words, it’s in an ideal position to inflict damage on Shatren. With Mount Waglou nearby, crossing over it would be impossible. That makes you prime suspects for the crime I just mentioned. What do you think?”

At his words, the nobles of the Waglou faction erupted in outrage.

“Stop spouting nonsense!”

“How dare you accuse innocent people of being criminals!”

“This is nothing but baseless speculation! How could we ruin Shatren?”

“Just because we’re close doesn’t mean we’re guilty! It seems you’ve not changed your cowardly nature of shifting blame onto others!”

They shouted back as if daring him to present any evidence.

‘Perfect. That brat probably doesn’t have any proof.’

In this chaos where nobles from the Waglou faction were gathered and causing a ruckus, there was no evidence he could present.

How could that fool possibly know about their black market dealings concerning fertilizer?

Though his attempts using Marf had failed due to Lylpetten’s interference, this particular matter was beyond proof.

Defense Time was set to end just like this.

However.

“Then, all I need to do is prove that it’s not mere speculation. Your Highness, Princess Arshien. I wish to submit evidence.”

Count Letelvic’s expectations were completely off the mark.