I Have A Damn Family Again - Chapter 361

Chapter 361: Project Yggdrasil (1)

Harnie’s eyelids fluttered, then slowly opened, revealing her violet eyes.

It wasn't just her eyelids. Her entire body felt heavy, drained of energy. She needed rest.

She had been asleep for hours.

The sky outside was dark.

Night had fallen.

“…”

Despite sleeping for so long, Harnie was lying comfortably in a bed.

Clean and undisturbed, tucked away in a soft bed within an inn.

Someone had brought her here while she slept.

The memories of what happened before she drifted off came flooding back.

She had cried herself to sleep.

She had been preparing to say goodbye.

But…

He hadn’t left.

It wasn't a dream.

It wasn't a delusion.

It was reality.

“Haah…”

Harnie sighed, a wave of melancholy washing over her.

The future seemed daunting.

A sense of guilt gnawed at her, the feeling that she had held him back.

But at the same time…

A conflicting sense of joy bloomed within her chest.

She was happy he hadn’t left.

Even though she had become a burden.

Even though he had abandoned his goal, his escape, because of her.

A selfish part of her was relieved.

“Carsein…”

There was a light on outside. He was usually awake at this hour. Maybe she could talk to him.

Harnie dragged herself out of bed and into the living area.

“You’re awake.”

Carsein’s voice greeted her from the table.

“You must be tired. You should rest some more.”

Even now, he was more concerned about her than himself.

She wanted to be angry, but she didn't have the energy.

“…What are you going to do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb. You know how difficult things will be now that you’ve stayed.”

The portal to his world was gone.

Even if it could be reopened, the path ahead would be treacherous.

He was a fugitive.

Accused of heinous crimes, hunted by the entire Empire.

If he stayed here, he would live a life on the run.

Capture meant certain death. He would never know peace, never know safety.

But Carsein replied calmly,

“What else can I do? I have to eliminate the one who orchestrated all of this.”

“Don’t take this so lightly!”

Harnie’s frustration finally boiled over.

“You can forget about a peaceful life! You’ll be a fugitive, living in constant fear! And… and you could die!”

Why was he so calm?

His nonchalance made her even more anxious.

“Why… why are you doing this…?”

She felt a deep sense of responsibility.

She couldn’t deny that this was her fault.

She blamed herself for his decision, wondering what she had done wrong.

“Why would you stay… for someone like me…? I’m just… someone you would have forgotten after a single night… in your world…”

Carsein stood up and gently lifted her chin, his fingers brushing against her tear-stained cheeks.

“…!”

He was so close.

She hadn’t even noticed him approach.

‘Could it be…?'

She instinctively stepped back.

She wanted to distance herself from him.

But the more she retreated, the closer he came.

Until her back hit the wall.

She was trapped.

This had happened before.

Cornered, his breath warm against her skin.

But back then, it hadn't meant anything.

He had been oblivious, his mind occupied with logic and calculations, his heart untouched by emotions like love or affection.

He had been like a doll, focused solely on his goals.

But now… his eyes were different.

She shouldn’t get her hopes up.

It was wrong to even consider it.

It was her fault for making him stay, for giving him a reason to linger.

But she couldn’t help it.

She closed her eyes, surrendering to the hope that bloomed within her chest.

—

His lips gently pressed against hers.

Sweet.

So sweet.

It was different from the stolen kisses in the dead of night.

This kiss, initiated by him, erased all her doubts and anxieties.

The brief, clumsy kiss ended.

Their lips parted, and their eyes met.

After a moment that felt both fleeting and eternal, Carsein asked,

“Do you understand now? Why I stayed?”

“…”

It wasn’t a question.

It was a statement, disguised as a question.

Harnie blushed.

She shouldn’t be reacting like this.

She should be angry, scolding him, demanding to know why he hadn't left.

But those thoughts vanished.

She no longer wanted to blame him, or resent him.

Not now, not when her heart was overflowing with something else.

***

The heat that had flowed between them subsided.

But the awkward silence lingered.

Harnie was worried about him.

And that worry, turning into self-reproach, was something he had to stop.

He wanted to show her that he had a reason to stay.

He wanted to prove it, not just with words.

And to do that… he had to show her his true feelings.

He had gathered his courage.

It was clumsy, awkward…

But he thought it was the best way he knew how.

They had been pretending to be lovers, but they hadn't acted like one.

So, he had to do what real lovers did.

…A kiss.

A real kiss, not a pretense.

But… now, an awkward silence filled the air.

“…”

He glanced at Harnie, but she didn’t react.

He didn’t know how much time had passed.

She hadn’t said a word, and he started to worry, wondering if he had done something wrong.

What was he supposed to do?

He wished there was a formula for this.

It was too difficult.

He wracked his brain, trying to figure it out.

-Ding!

▶ Episode XLIV, The Five Treasures, is in progress. ◀

▶ The episode has been updated, as the five treasures haven’t been used. ◀

‘What?'

The episode was progressing? Here?

‘Wait a minute. This sudden episode update… it contains important information.’

The five treasures haven’t been used.

That was a crucial detail.

▶ This episode is now part of the EX Episode: The True Enemy. ◀

▶ Use the five treasures to stop Project Yggdrasil. ◀

Right. He should have questioned this earlier.

The five treasures existed, but what was their purpose?

They were supposed to create a portal to reality, but that portal had disappeared. And the treasures hadn't been consumed.

So, what were they for?

The answer had finally been revealed.

“Um… Carsein?”

Harnie’s voice startled him.

“…You said… only you can see it, right?”

She had been observing him, and she had noticed him staring at something in the empty air.

Normally, a question like that would have made him flinch.

He would have tried to deflect, change the subject, but, not this time.

‘This is good.’

He would reveal everything.

“Yes. I’m looking at a window floating in the air. It’s not the first time. It happens all the time.”

“All the time…?”

“You once scolded me for spacing out in the salon. I was looking at this. That’s how I knew the daggers were about to fly towards us.”

“Oh my…”

He had hidden so much from her.

She had never questioned him, never pressed him for answers.

Even after learning that he was an outsider, that he came from another world, she hadn’t said a word.

For his sake.

But now, he would reveal everything.

Everything.

To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.

***

The Shiren Villa was quiet.

But the sound of a young woman’s sobs echoed through the halls.

Once again, the door remained locked.

Her confinement continued, the period of “recuperation” stretching on indefinitely. Flora was trapped.

“Idiot… you idiot…!”

She had never had such a reliable family member.

Just being near her had given her strength.

A family member she could proudly introduce to anyone.

A family member who would inspire awe and admiration.

That person… was her eldest sister.

But now, it was just a memory.

Arina was no longer someone she wanted to call her sister.

She wasn't someone she wanted to introduce to anyone, someone she wanted to acknowledge as family.

That was who Arina had become.

“Stupid Arina! Idiot! You… you…!”

But her tears and insults wouldn’t change anything.

There was nothing she could do.

She had been confined to the Shiren Villa, under the guise of recuperation, but it was nothing more than surveillance.

The only news she received was that the warrant for Carsein’s arrest had intensified.

Flora’s helplessness had reduced her to tears.

If this had been the past, when she had simply turned a blind eye to reality, she would have continued to wallow in despair.

“…Haah… the youngest is crying again.”

“What should we do? She’ll take it out on us later…”

“What else can we do? Let’s go. We don’t want to provoke her any further.”

“True. We don’t want to face the butler’s wrath.”

The low-ranking knights assigned to guard Flora quietly retreated.

They often left when she cried, afraid of becoming the target of her frustration.

And that was exactly what Flora had intended.

‘Yes…! With them gone, I can finally escape!’

She couldn’t just stay here, waiting for Carsein to be captured.

She had searched and searched for another way.

She had pretended to cry, reading books day and night.

Her focus was intense. She had once taken nine days to finish a book that should have taken only three, but now she could devour it in a single day.

She had found a solution within the pages of the books she had once despised.

It wasn’t difficult to distract the servants and knights.

Flora slipped out of the villa unnoticed, clutching a document to her chest.

[Request for Review of Family Succession]

‘If I can just deliver this…!’

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