The Damn Family Is Back Again - Chapter 354



354. Family (24)

Arina sighed deeply at those words.

“I thought you would act with reason. But in the end, it’s because of him again.”

She clicked her tongue and acted as if it was always like this.

“…Tsk. Fine. It seems he spouted some nonsense again. Everyone, follow them. I’ll wrap things up and join you soon.”

Some of the troops mounted their horses and left the duchy.

They cannot be stopped. Anyway, we all know this is the limit.

But.

“Ha, damn it.”

Claire’s insides continued to boil.

Hearing such nonsense, my eyes couldn’t help but widen.

-Thud!

Claire grabbed Arina by the collar.

“…Miss Claire!”

“…!”

“Damn it. Nonsense? Who’s spouting nonsense now?!”

“Let go. Claire.”

Turn your back on us?

Was your goal to just take a bite and run away?

Do you not think of family at all?

Absolutely not.

“You’re the one spouting nonsense now. Instead of searching, you issued a warrant. And as if that wasn’t enough, you escalated it to a wanted notice and even authorized a shoot-to-kill order, and you call that family? You need to stop with the crazy talk and actions! You’re treating him like a criminal, not family!”

-Clack!

Claire’s hand fell limply.

She couldn’t keep holding Arina by the collar with her still-healing body.

“Then would you say the same after seeing this?”

No. It was precisely a rebuttal.

To Claire’s question.

A document was handed over to Claire.

“…What is this?”

“This is the evidence that explains why that guy is a criminal.”

“Karsein… a criminal?”

It can’t be.

It couldn’t be.

-Flap.

Claire’s eyes start darting around.

In the meantime, Arina began to speak.

“At first, I didn’t like him either. That’s true. Of course, it was hard for us to accept him. But as time went by, I tried my best to accept Karsein.”

-Flap.

“I provided him with all sorts of conveniences. If there was something lacking, I tried to fill it. But he either refused or got angry out of pride. I just couldn’t understand that.”

-Flap.

“If he was a lucky guy who came into our house, he would have led a peaceful and happy life. Sure, there were some minor incidents, but anyone picked up from the street would look at our family with envy. He came into a house where he could have everything. But now I understand what he was dissatisfied with.”

-Flap.

As she reached the last page, she concluded.

“Now, you understand, right? That guy turned his back on us. It’s true that he only used us and never saw us as family. With such ambition, he only thought about rising above his station.”

Even the sudden rise to power was a winter fortune for him, but he wasn’t satisfied with that.

Endless ambition forged a blade aimed at Bagrand.

The grace of the duke’s family, the touch of family. Karsein abandoned all of that and, together with Marquis Theresia, planned to bring down Bagrand and make it his own.

‘By now, Claire must have understood.’

No further explanation would be necessary.

Thus, Arina tried to ride back again.

“You really don’t know anything about Karsein, do you, sister?”

“…What?”

“It’s contradictory. Everything written here is heading in the exact opposite direction of Karsein’s actions!”

Once again, Claire shouted angrily.

“Turned his back on us? Did you forget that we ostracized him because he was a child picked up by the duke’s family? We treated him like a stranger, like a commoner, never once treating him as a brother. Do you know what happened because of that? Do you know what he went through in this house?!”

We made it so he had no choice but to turn his back. We bullied him, ignored him, didn’t believe in him, and only got angry. Without the helping hand that should have been extended as family, the servants naturally began to ignore him too, and he became thoroughly isolated within the duke’s family. It was strange that he didn’t turn his back.

“They say he sucked the marrow out. Then what about the things in his room? Where do you think that money came from? Don’t you know he ran himself ragged in the territory to earn it?! He earned that money with his blood and sweat without borrowing any power from the family. Can’t you see that when you look at it lying there like a bill?!”

He didn’t just suck the marrow out, he paid all the money. He left behind everything he gained from this house, abandoned it all, and left. He gave up a peaceful life itself.

“What kind of family is that? We thoroughly ignored him. We didn’t listen to anything. In this house, which is only wealthy but made life harder, how could we appear as family to him? Didn’t the reasons for his sudden change one day pile up and pile up until it happened?!”

We thoroughly ostracized him.

We didn’t listen to anything.

He couldn’t even live comfortably in his own house, unjustly bearing all kinds of lies and accusations.

And yet, instead of believing him, the so-called family got angrier, escalated things, and scolded and rebuked him.

To Karsein, did those people really feel like family?

Because they weren’t family.

Because he wasn’t accepted as family.

Because we made him that way, he left the duke’s family.

And to that Karsein.

To that Karsein who never received a single helping hand from family.

Such ambition could not exist.

“Think again. Think about whether what he really wanted was to swallow our family!”

“…Even with clear evidence, you still act like this. We have no choice but to talk after we behead the criminal.”

“If you chase him away now, sister, you will regret it. Definitely.”

“What?”

“Sister. You’ve never taken care of Carsein even once.”

“…!”

It was merely an appeal.

But it struck a painful chord.

“Can you name a single instance where you specifically listened to what Carsein wanted?”

“Of course─”

I thought there would be, naturally.

Strangely, my mouth wouldn’t open.

Even when I racked my brain, nothing came to mind.

What was there?

Had Carsein ever received anything he liked?

On his birthdays, there were usually accidents, so they passed by in a blur. Didn’t I fail to remember even before that?

No. There must be another day.

Yes. For example… anniversaries? During the empire’s annual events?

…

There was nothing. Whether it was an anniversary or an annual event, it always ended with a stern reprimand and a period of probation.

After that, due to past incidents, there were times when I was completely isolated or on probation for other reasons.

Then… there were the festivals.

If it was a festival spent with family…

…

There was nothing.

All I remember is the pile of stones crashing down.

Arina could only recall the past when she had tried to abandon Karsein at the place where the pile of stones stood.

“That…”

She couldn’t bring herself to speak for a long time.

“This is the last chance, sister. You just need to revoke all the orders you’ve given so far. Cancel all the commands and send him off with a wish for good health. Okay?”

The last chance.

It was the last chance to treat Karsein as family.

At the same time, it was also Claire’s last chance to persuade Arina.

But Arina was not persuaded in the end.

No, to be precise, she couldn’t be persuaded.

“What does any of that matter!”

Arina turned away, denying it, breathing heavily.

“I keep telling you, I’ve done everything I could for him. My efforts to accept him as a brother─”

“Lady Arina!”

A soldier approached, as if to stop this.

“Sorry. It’s an urgent telegram…”

“What is it?”

“There are signs that someone has entered the tomb!”

“…The tomb? Surely, not my father’s tomb?”

“Yes. From there, this…”

“Sister. Wait. That is…!”

“Of course.”

The flames of anger ignited once more in the blue eyes.

The item the soldier held out was something Arina had placed in the box for her deceased father.

No one could touch it, no one could reach it.

The only person who could reach it was their mother.

The fact that it came out like this… points to only one answer.

Arina, who had been in confusion, quickly regained her composure.

In a very, very bad way.

“Even now, will you claim that you have no ambition for Karsein? Claire.”

The situation, pieced together like a puzzle, worked as the worst justification for Karsein.

Claire tried to squeeze out the last of her strength to start a conversation… but it was of no use.

“This is all that b*stard’s doing.”

“You may never be able to return to the family again!”

“That guy betrayed us first.”

“Just this once, trust Karsein. Just once, take care of him as family!”

“…Now, to me, he’s nothing but an enemy.”

“You might not have anything left for you anymore! At first, Karsein thought of us as family too. That’s why he gave us something. Didn’t you receive anything from your brother Karsein?!”

The blue eyes, sparking with flames, even eroded past memories.

“There was nothing like that.”

Surely, there was a sense of emptiness.

When it disappeared, the unimaginable emptiness brought discomfort.

However… now that sensation had completely vanished from Arina.

-Ding!

▶Hidden Episode. Cleared the Forgotten Hair Tie.◀

▶Arina’s risk level has been completely offset, and no penalties are incurred during battles.◀

[ Arina Vagrand: 95% ]

[ The one who didn’t treat family as ■■ was actually me. ]

*

One day, two days. And three days.

Due to the backlash of excessively using mana, Claire had to sleep for three days straight.

Upon hearing from the maid that she had been asleep for three days, she jumped up and tried to go outside…

From noble mtl dot com

But from that moment, all actions were suppressed.

‘It’s all over…’

Nothing changes, it was just a waste of time.

As time passes, Karsein might get caught.

In the end, the future was not bright as long as she couldn’t persuade her sister.

But what she hated more than that was herself.

She becomes frustrated because she can’t do anything.

This helplessness was so severe.

All she could do was resent and resent again, biting her lips.

The fact that there was nothing she could do for Karsein.

That was the most frustrating thing for Claire.

To her, who was so frustrated, someone came.

“Miss Claire. It’s me.”

“…Heron?”

“There is a guest who has come to see you.”

A guest? What kind of guest in this situation?

Besides, she wasn’t in the mood to have any conversation.

Just as she was about to tell him to send them back.

Heron repeated.

“It’s someone you must meet, Miss Claire.”

…Must meet?

At those words, Claire lifted her head.

‘Heron isn’t the type to say such things easily…’

Does that mean it’s that important?

“…Tell them to wait a moment. I’ll be dressed and out shortly.”

Once I meet them, I’ll know.

The reason is secondary.

With that, Claire calmly finished dressing and came out.

And as she followed him, she encountered an unexpected person.

“Then, shall we have a conversation?”

-Click.

As Heron finished guiding and left, they were left alone.

The guest was an unexpected person.

“It’s been a while, Miss Claire.”

Claire expressed her doubt to the courteous noble.

“…Why are you here, Marquis Magnuel?”