I Have A Damn Family Again - Chapter 235

Chapter 235: Hospital Visit (1)

After Carsein collapsed following the battle with Map,

it wasn’t long before the Imperial Family, sensing something amiss, arrived at the scene.

“Blast it, we were too late…!”

The Second Prince, Florence, having felt a sudden surge of unease, had immediately turned back.

The aftermath of the battle was evident both inside and outside the room. The tip of Carsein's sword was still stained with monster blood and gore.

Without hesitation, he ordered a physician to be summoned and dispatched soldiers to retrieve the Bagrand siblings.

-Click.

The door to the infirmary opened, and the Imperial Physician emerged.

“How is he?”

Claire, her anxiety a palpable weight in her chest, had been pacing restlessly outside the room. She rushed forward, her voice trembling slightly.

Even though the physician had arrived, she couldn't shake off her unease.

That battle had been overwhelmingly stacked against Carsein.

While she had been able to assist him with her magic, providing cover and support, once he was left alone to face Map one-on-one, victory had seemed uncertain.

He must have taken a considerable risk to win.

And indeed, Carsein's mana had been completely depleted after the battle.

But the Imperial Physician’s expression was bright.

“He dangerously depleted his mana reserves, but with sufficient rest, he should make a full recovery.”

“R-really?”

“Yes. He’s in remarkably good physical condition, so there’s no need for concern.”

While the injuries had been severe enough to require surgery, this wasn't the frail, sickly Carsein of the past.

His body, honed through rigorous training, had responded well to the treatment. The medicines had been absorbed without issue, and there were no adverse side effects to worry about.

Carsein’s resilient constitution, his tenacious grip on life, had accelerated his recovery, and the final procedures had been completed without complications.

If it had been an ordinary person, they might not have survived.

“Hah… That’s good…” Claire finally exhaled, relief washing over her.

The Imperial Physician told her to call for him if anything happened, but added with a chuckle that, given Carsein's constitution, he doubted it would be necessary. Then he took his leave.

“…”

With permission granted, Claire entered the room. Carsein lay motionless on the bed.

The physician had assured her that the surgery had been successful, and that he was in stable condition.

He had even praised Carsein's physical condition, so there was no reason to worry.

And yet, Claire felt a strange unease.

A complicated, suffocating feeling that wouldn’t go away.

Memories of her past actions kept surfacing.

Claire stood there for a long time, silently watching over the sleeping Carsein.

-Knock, knock.

A knock at the door broke her reverie.

The knock sounded urgent.

“I heard Carsein was seriously injured… May I come in?”

That voice…

She recognized it instantly.

‘His fiancée.’

There was only one guardian for Carsein at the moment.

While she should be wary of outsiders, there was no need to be wary of her.

Claire rose and opened the door herself.

-Click.

A woman with vibrant violet hair stood in the doorway, her face etched with worry.

Seeing her expression, Claire felt a pang of… something akin to relief.

“Come in.”

“Oh, thank you.”

As memories of her past self surfaced, Claire vowed never to repeat those mistakes again.

She had resolved to treat her brother properly, as a true older sister should.

Starting with caring for him as his guardian. That was where she would begin.

But Claire didn’t deserve that right.

That responsibility belonged to the one who had cared for him, protected him, in place of the sister who had done nothing but torment him.

***

The aftermath of the symposium was tumultuous.

Carsein's presentation had exposed the Waglu faction's involvement in Shatrain’s downfall. Their deliberate sabotage, their scheme to ruin Carsein’s evaluation, had been brought to light.

And with the discovery of the fertilizer, the undeniable proof that threatened the very foundation of humanity, the Imperial Family had launched a full-scale investigation.

However Arsienne and Florence, a sense of unease gnawing at them, had decided to turn back.

They had initially dispatched troops to search for the fertilizer, as Carsein had suggested, wary of the Waglu faction's potential for a final act of desperation.

But with the troops deployed elsewhere, something felt wrong.

They had initially assumed the Waglu faction had meekly complied with their arrest, intending to stall for time and deny everything.

But if they were planning an escape, the conference hall would be left vulnerable.

And there had been reports of suspicious activity from Count Retelvik and the Waglu faction. What if, instead of surrendering, they were planning something?

Their suspicions proved to be correct.

Returning to the conference hall, they found the place overrun by plant-type monsters.

Following Florence’s orders, they tracked the Waglu nobles, easily locating and apprehending the escaped prisoners at their hideout.

…Or so Harnie explained.

“Unfortunately, thanks to one particular individual, we weren’t able to capture them all alive.”

“Not all alive…?”

“Yes. Count Retelvik self-destructed at the last moment. I’m not sure what he did, but the other nobles perished at the same time.”

Died at the same time?

So those nobles had something up their sleeves as well.

‘It sounds like they were silenced…’

This definitely warranted further investigation…

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

…How did she know? She was unnervingly perceptive.

I decided to test the waters.

Scratching the back of my head, I asked,

“…Is that… a problem?”

“Of course it is. Don’t even think about it.”

The way she smiled as she said that made it terrifying.

“Arsienne and Florence have ordered a thorough investigation. You're to stay out of it.”

I preferred to handle these matters myself…

‘Well… this is enough for now.’

Yes.

I had collapsed after the battle with Map.

So I had no idea what had transpired afterwards, how the symposium had concluded, or the outcome of the episode.

I had only just woken up and seen Harnie, and immediately asked her what had happened.

In any case, hearing the details of the events that transpired between the battle with Map and my arrival at the infirmary helped me piece things together.

And…

■ Reward

[Chapter 2 Clear Reward: Shatrain Territory acquired.]

Seeing that message on my status window, I knew I didn’t have to worry about a bad ending.

For now, I needed to focus on recovering.

“Oof…” I groaned, trying to sit up.

“What are you doing?”

“I’ve been stuck in bed long enough. I need to… stretch.”

Or rather, I needed to regain my senses.

Chapter 2 had involved a fair amount of combat.

Enemy units had appeared when I triggered traps.

And there had been several combat events in the territories as well.

But Chapter 3 would involve even more combat.

‘Well, that’s obvious. Conflict is inevitable.’

I hadn’t known at the time, but Carsein had been given a choice of privileges.

Three options.

Access to the training grounds.

Authority over Shatrain.

And access to one other privilege.

I had chosen the training grounds because the other two options weren’t available at the time, but after entering Chapter 3, I realized it had been foreshadowing.

‘Right. I need to train.’

Stat management.

Combat experience.

Mana training. I couldn’t afford to neglect any of it.

I had to be prepared for anything.

…But…

My fiancée’s expression was terrifying.

“Car. Sein.”

The way she enunciated each syllable sent a shiver down my spine.

“Y-yes…?” I stammered.

“Carsein. You were seriously injured, and confined to bed rest, correct?”

“…Yes.”

“Then should you be resting, or not resting?”

Her tone left no room for argument, but this time, I had a rebuttal.

“I’ve already recovered. See? I’m fine. This kind of thing heals after a few hours of sleep.”

I felt perfectly fine after a good night’s rest. Why should I stay in bed any longer? The wound in my shoulder? Healed thanks to the Elixir. There was nothing wrong with me.

But… my fiancée’s smile was… ominous.

“You’ve had plenty of rest, haven’t you? Now tell me… how long do you think you’ve been asleep?”

“Um…”

I had a bad feeling about this.

“O-one day?”

She shook her head.

Think again.

“T-two days?”

Another shake of her head.

She was warning me to reconsider, carefully.

I swallowed hard and asked,

“Th-three?”

Nothing broke.

But I could have sworn I heard something snap.

I glanced at Harnie nervously, and understood.

Ah. That snapping sound… it was her patience, finally breaking.

-Slap!

“Oof!”

“Three days?! Are you serious?! You were asleep for five days! Five days!”

Her backhand spike had been upgraded.

It had become a rapid-fire attack, each slap perfectly synchronized with her words.

“Ow! W-wait, Harnie! I’m a patient— Oof!”

“And you’re telling me you’re fine after a few hours of sleep?! Does that make any sense?!”

The continuous barrage of backhand spikes, accompanied by her relentless nagging, was enough to send me scrambling back into bed.

“M-murderer… Harnie…” I mumbled.

“What was that?!”

-Slap!

…

…

…

The slap brought me back to my senses.

Five days…

If I had been asleep for that long… it made sense.

Who in their right mind would wake up after five days and immediately decide to go train?

…Apparently, me.

-Rustle.

As I turned away, embarrassed, Harnie gently embraced me.

“Don’t scare me like that,” she murmured.

“…”

“Do you have any idea how worried I was when you came back like that?”

Her voice, unlike before, was filled with genuine concern.

I wanted to reassure her, but…

I couldn’t speak.

“I’ll be watching you, so don’t even think about doing anything but resting. Understood?”

…I still wasn’t used to this.

This… kindness.

***

While every symposium brought its share of drama, this one had been a veritable hurricane.

There had been a bloodbath, monsters running rampant through the conference hall, but somehow, things had been resolved.

Soon, the official notices arrived.

Isabella summoned Arina to her room.

“I hear you called for me, Mother.”

“Yes. Sit down. I have the notice, but there are other things I wish to discuss.”

Arina sat on the sofa, and Isabella handed her the notice.

It was time for her to see her evaluation.

-Rustle.

Arina carefully unfolded the document.

A single letter, ‘B’, confirmed her final ranking.

“Without the guidance of their family heads, the average rank of the participants dropped by two or three levels. But you did well, considering the circumstances. I’m proud of you.”

It was a decent rank, given the difficulty of this year’s symposium.

This year’s symposium had been a trial by fire, and many had failed spectacularly, their rankings plummeting. A B rank, in this context, was a considerable achievement.

She was likely among the top few participants.

Anyone else would have been ecstatic.

But…

It wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.

[You generated a reasonable profit, and your consideration for the well-being of your villagers is commendable. Despite the flood and subsequent damage, your territory showed signs of improvement.]

[However, your flood management could have been better. With more thorough preliminary research, you could have minimized the damage by diverting the floodwaters in a single direction, rather than attempting to contain them. It’s unfortunate that the damage this year was greater than in previous years.]

Florence’s evaluation,

“But I’m surprised you overlooked such a simple detail. I expect you to conduct more thorough research in the future.”

Isabella echoed Florence's criticism, and Arina could only bite back a sigh.

“This is a small token of appreciation from the Imperial Family, for your contributions during the conference.”

Seeing the additional reward for contributions made Arina’s stomach churn.

Isabella took a sip of tea, then looked at Arina.

“I believe it’s time to lift the restrictions placed on Carsein.”

“…! Mother, what are you saying?”

“You made a promise, Arina.”

Isabella’s gaze sharpened as she addressed her eldest daughter.

“Carsein has more than earned the right to access those privileges. His symposium performance alone is proof enough.”

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