The Damn Family Is Back Again

235. Hospital Visit (1)

After the battle with Marf, Karsein collapsed.

Not long after, the imperial side caught wind of the situation and burst into the room.

“Oh dear, am I too late…!”

The second prince Florence hurriedly turned around, sensing something was off as he arrived.

Inside the room and outside as well, chaos reigned; blood and remnants of beasts clung to the tips of swords.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he ordered for a physician to be summoned and instructed his soldiers to fetch the siblings from Duke Vagrand’s household.

-Click.

The door to the sickroom opened, and a palace physician stepped out.

“What happened?”

Claire asked anxiously, unable to leave her post in front of the sickroom door.

Though the physician had finally arrived, her unease lingered like an unwelcome shadow.

That fight had been exceedingly unfavorable for Karsein.

While she had supported him during their skirmishes together without realizing it was one-sided at first—once it became a one-on-one situation, victory was far from assured.

If that were true, then this victory must have come with significant risks attached.

In reality, after finishing that battle Karsein had been left utterly drained of mana.

Yet despite this grim reality, there was brightness in the physician’s expression.

“You did burn through your mana dangerously, but if you rest well, you’ll recover quickly.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Your body is so well-trained that there’s nothing to worry about.”

Though it had been critical enough to require surgery, he was no longer the frail Karsein of the past.

The body he had steadily honed through training was not weak. No matter what kind of medicine was administered, it would not go awry significantly, and it was robust enough that side effects were hardly a concern.

Karsein’s tenacious vitality accelerated his recovery speed, and even during the final stages of treatment, there were no complications whatsoever.

For an ordinary person, it wouldn’t have been surprising if they had succumbed at any point along the way.

“Ah. I see.”

Only after hearing that the surgery went smoothly did Claire let out a sigh of relief.

The palace physician had asked her to call him should anything arise. In truth, she laughed lightly as she left, feeling as though such a thing would be unlikely given Karsein’s condition.

From noble mtl dot com

“…”

As she stepped into the room following permission granted to enter, Karsein’s figure lying there caught her eye.

He had said everything regarding the surgery results and health status was fine.

With praises about how well-maintained his body was added in almost reverent tones, there truly seemed to be no issues at all.

Yet still, Claire felt uneasy.

A complex and frustrating emotion lingered within her heart—one that wouldn’t fade away easily.

Her past self kept resurfacing in her mind repeatedly.

Thus Claire watched over the sleeping Karsein for quite some time.

– Knock knock.

The sound of someone tapping on the door broke Claire from her thoughts.

Somehow, the sound of knocking seemed a bit urgent.

“Um, I heard that Karsein is seriously injured… Can I come in?”

That voice…

I recognized it immediately.

‘It’s his fiancée.’

Right now, there was only one guardian present.

So while I should be wary of outsiders, she didn’t need to be.

Claire got up and opened the door herself.

-Creak.

As the door swung open, I saw her violet hair.

A beautiful woman wore an expression full of worry.

Seeing that made me feel somewhat relieved.

“Come in.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”

Recalling my past self, I vowed not to act like that anymore.

Now, I was truly determined to treat my younger brother well as an older sister.

First and foremost, as Karsein’s guardian, it was my duty to take care of him. That’s where I intended to start.

However, Claire had no right to do so.

Instead of protecting him, she had tormented him and done nothing but harm; it was the job of a true guardian who would care for him properly.

The events following the symposium escalated dramatically.

According to Karsein’s presentation, the connection between the Shatren and Waglew factions was proven. Intentional disruptions by Shatren and groundwork aimed at sabotaging Karsein’s achievements were uncovered.

Furthermore, from the moment the existence of fertilizer—an undeniable threat to humanity’s very foundation—was revealed, the imperial family launched a search.

However, it was oddly unsettling that Arshien and Florence turned back.

It wasn’t wrong to dispatch troops in search of fertilizer as Karsein had claimed. It also wasn’t incorrect to consider that if they made a final desperate move, things could get complicated.

Yet, without troops in place, something felt off.

While it seemed plausible that the Waglew faction was stalling for time by feigning compliance with imprisonment, there was an unsettling feeling about it all.

If they actually had plans to escape from within the conference hall itself, then that space would become an empty shell.

Moreover, reports had come in about Count Retelvik and the Waglew faction engaging in suspicious activities. If they hadn’t simply entered prison but were instead plotting something deliberate?

That suspicion turned out to be spot on.

The two who had turned back returned to the conference hall only to witness plant-like monstrosities wreaking havoc everywhere around them.

Following Florence’s orders led them easily onto the trail of fleeing nobles from Waglew; soon enough they successfully apprehended those who had escaped captivity.

So said Harnié.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t capture one person alive.”

“The fact you couldn’t capture him alive means…”

“Yes. Count Retelvik ended up self-destructing at the last moment. I don’t know what he did with other nobles but he perished simultaneously.”

Perished simultaneously indeed.

Those people must have been hiding something after all.

“It feels like they were silenced somehow.”

It’s best to investigate this further…

“You were planning to look into this, weren’t you?”

Uh… it’s almost like she can read my mind.

Still, I have to test the waters a bit.

I scratched the back of my head and asked, “…Is that not allowed?”

“Of course it is. Just try investigating.”

Yeah. It definitely feels like a warning against doing so.

The way she smiles while saying that makes it even more frightening.

“Princess Arshien and Prince Florence have commanded a thorough investigation, so don’t even think about moving.”

Ideally, I’d prefer to see things for myself. Ugh.

‘Well… at least this is enough.’

That’s right.

I had collapsed after finishing my battle with Marf.

So I had no idea what happened afterward—the symposium or the outcome of the episode; everything was a blur until now.

When I opened my eyes and saw Harnié, I was just about to ask her all those questions.

Anyway, hearing that was enough to piece together what happened from when I started fighting Marf until being moved to the infirmary.

And on top of that…

■Reward

[ You have received the Shatren territory as a reward for clearing Chapter 2. ]

The status window was displaying a message, so there was no need to worry about a bad ending.

For now, it seemed better to focus on recovering my body a bit more.

“Ugh.”

“What are you doing right now?”

“I’m getting a little restless just being in the hospital room. I need to stretch out my body.”

To be precise, it could be called sensory recovery.

Even in Chapter 2, encounters with enemies had been quite frequent.

Enemies appeared whenever I triggered traps.

Thanks to occasional events in the territory, battles would break out from time to time.

However, in Chapter 3, the significance of combat would increase even further here.

‘What’s the reason? It’s obvious. Combat situations are inevitable.’

At that time, I had no idea that there were choices available for selecting powers from Karsein.

Three options were presented at this stage:

The authority to use the training grounds.

The authority to govern the Shatren territory.

And then there was one remaining option regarding another power.

When choosing options back then, I had no choice but to select the training grounds since picking either of the other two wasn’t possible; however, after entering Chapter 3, I realized this was all just bait.

‘Hmm… So for now, there’s nothing else I can do but stretch out.’

Stat management.

Building combat experience.

And there was nothing to skip, not even the mana training.

I had to stand firm in some way.

…But.

Why does my fiancée look so frightening?

“Kar. Sein?”

Her staccato call made me flinch and I asked nervously, “W-why do you ask…?”

“Karsein. Until now, you’ve been a seriously injured person lying in a hospital bed, right?”

“…Yes.”

“So should you rest? Or should you not rest?”

She firmly suggested I take a break, but this time I had something to say too.

“I’ve already fully recovered. Look at me. I’m perfectly fine. A few hours of sleep is all it takes to feel better.”

After resting well and feeling lighter in my body, why would I just sit still? The shoulder that had been injured? It healed quickly with an elixir. No matter how I looked at it, my body was perfectly fine.

Yet… my fiancée, who had been smiling until now, said something significant.

“Well then, you’ve slept soundly until now, haven’t you? How long do you think you’ve been asleep?”

“Um…”

A bad premonition crept over me.

“A day?”

She shook her head disapprovingly.

It was an answer that seemed to urge me to think again.

“Then… is it two days?”

She says no.

She warns me to think a little more carefully.

I swallow hard and ask, “Th-three days?”

Nothing is breaking down.

But I feel like I hear a crackling sound from somewhere.

Glancing cautiously at Harnié, I realize the reason for it.

Ah. That crackling sound was the result of daring to upset my fiancée’s mood and inviting her wrath.

-Crack!

“Ugh!”

“Three days? Are you kidding me? It’s five days, five! You’ve been asleep for five whole days!!”

The spikes on my back intensified.

The relentless spikes fell in rhythm with Harnié’s voice, striking down on me repeatedly.

“Ugh, wait a second. Harnié. That patient is—ugh!”

“And then what? A few hours and you’ll be fine? Make some sense here, please!!”

With her nagging came another series of spikes that provided more than enough reason for me to retreat back to the bed again.

“T-the culprit is Harnié…”

“What are you talking about?!”

-Slap!

After taking a hit, my senses snapped back to reality.

Five days, huh.

It makes sense if I had been asleep for such a long time.

Who in their right mind would wake up after five days of slumber and immediately think about training?

…That was me.

-Swish.

As I awkwardly turned my head, Harnié gently wrapped her arms around my face.

“Don’t make people worry like this.”

“…”

“When you come back all hurt like this, do you think it doesn’t turn my stomach?”

Her tone was strikingly different from before.

With an earnestness that filled the air, she made her plea.

I felt like I could respond easily enough…

But strangely, at that moment, I found myself unable to say anything at all.

“I’ll keep a close watch on you from the side, so don’t think about anything else and just rest. Got it?”

…I still couldn’t adjust to this.

To such kindness.

Every symposium usually stirs up a considerable wind, but this time it felt as if a typhoon had swept through.

After a fierce storm, chaos erupted as creatures emerged from somewhere within the conference hall, yet somehow the situation was managed fairly well.

Before long, news arrived that the notification letters had been delivered.

Isabella called Arina into her room.

“I heard you called for me, Mother.”

“Yes. Please sit down. I have the notification letter here, but there’s something else I want to discuss as well.”

As Arina settled onto the sofa, Isabella handed her the notification letter.

It was an invitation to check her grades directly.

Rustle.

With care, she unfolded the letter.

The rank marked with a B confirmed once again what her final score would be.

“Without relying on the head of household’s assistance to gauge your abilities, I found that generally speaking, most of you fell significantly in average ranks from two to three. Still, you needn’t worry too much; you performed well enough on your exams. You’ve worked hard.”

Considering the difficulty of this exam, it was undoubtedly a respectable rank.

Given how many had fared poorly—some even plummeting to rock bottom—the B rank stood out as quite impressive indeed.

In reality, there likely weren’t many above her in ranking at all.

Had it been someone else receiving those results at that moment, they would have jumped for joy without restraint.

But…

It felt insufficient. Boundlessly so.

[Overall profits were made and consideration for residents’ lives can be deemed commendable. Despite suffering damage from heavy rains and subsequent disasters, the territory showed slight signs of progress.]

However, the flow control aspect is disappointing. If there had been more thorough preliminary research, it might have been possible to divert the water to one side instead of enclosing it on all sides, thereby reducing the damage. It’s regrettable that the damage was greater compared to previous years.

In Florence’s own summary, she wrote:

“But how could you overlook such trivial details? Next time, be sure to investigate more thoroughly.”

When Isabella pointed out the same issue, Arina could only swallow her words in silence.

“I hear this is a modest award sent additionally from the royal family. It’s meant for you as recognition for your contributions in the conference hall.”

Seeing even awards given to contributors made Arina feel increasingly bitter.

Isabella took a sip of tea and advised Arina gently.

“It seems we can lift all restrictions placed on Carsein now.”

“…! Mother. What do you mean by that?”

“You once said something similar in the past, didn’t you? Arina.”

As a flustered Arina looked at her with wide eyes, Isabella continued calmly.

“The justification for returning these rights to Carsein has become sufficient now. Just look at how well he performed at the symposium.”