I Have A Damn Family Again - Chapter 79

Chapter 79: A Tiny Sprout (1)

Silence filled the carriage.

The only sound was the rhythmic clip-clop of hooves. No, perhaps even that sound was fading into the background, unnoticed.

"..."

My gaze drifted towards my hand. Held within it was a small, cylindrical container, likely holding a salve for wounded skin.

In short, an ointment.

'This is strange.'

Yes, it was undoubtedly strange.

"Ah, don't be hurt... Don't be hurt...!"

The memory of Flora rushing to my side and uttering those words upon seeing the shallow cut on my hand refused to fade.

Her face had been drained of all color.
Fear filled her eyes, fixated on the wound.

When I tried to ask her what was wrong,

"Don't be hurt..."

She simply repeated the same plea, tears streaming down her cheeks.

No matter how much I thought about it, it was strange.
It didn't make sense.

'And that's how I received this ointment.'

From that girl who used to hate Carsein so much.
From that girl who would torment Carsein at every opportunity.
The Flora who seemed identical to the third sister, the one who prevented me from eating proper meals and having anything of my own.

"If it hurts, it's no good, I hate it. So... please, apply it."

She had given it to me, sobbing.

At that moment, Flora's eyes were clearly filled with terror.
There was no mention of Flora suffering from any phobias in the game settings.

Moreover, she doesn't fear anything.
At most, she's a naive child consumed by the delusion that Carsein will steal her family away.

'What could it be? I've never seen her like this before.'

I had progressed through Chapter 2, adjusting Flora's affinity and navigating the episodes, but this time, despite my harsh words, her reaction was completely different.

Aside from one episode occurring earlier than expected, Chapter 2 didn't seem to have deviated significantly.

"You seem deep in thought?"

As I was reminiscing about Flora leaving my room without another word, Harnie subtly observed me and asked.

"Thanks to you, I've become the most sought-after fiancée, and it's driving me crazy. Are you really lost in thought?"

Was it because of what happened earlier?
Harnie's eyes narrowed.

Well, I suppose it would be frustrating for her, even though we suddenly decided to cooperate.

"Well, that was an unexpected situation. You didn't want to stay there for long either, did you?"
"Despite that, your lips are smiling. Unlike when you asked me to delay our outing."
"It's just your imagination."
"Don't tease me. I'm not going to let this slide either, so tell me."
"Tell you what?"
"Tell me what's on your mind."

I placed the ointment into my pocket and answered.

"It's not really a worry, but Flora has never acted that way before."
"Huh?"
"As I've mentioned before, I'm not close to any of my family members due to our discord. Especially Flora. You should be well aware of that after this incident, right?"

Harnie readily nodded.

"But it's surprising to see her do something she wouldn't normally do. That's all."
"What is it? Seriously. I'm racking my brains over important matters, and you're playing around."

Harnie pouted, seemingly disappointed that it wasn't a serious topic after all.

To be honest, although I said it jokingly, I might have overreacted a bit at the time.

'It felt like I poured out all the pent-up words meant for the third sister onto Flora.'

I didn't know those suppressed emotions would escape like that.
Flora is just a character in the game, after all.

'Harnie's right.'

Instead of dwelling on fragmented memories of reality, shouldn't I prioritize the important matters at hand?
Although she acted strangely while giving me the ointment, there were no specific notifications in the status window.

In other words, the progression route of the episode I had planned hadn't changed significantly.

'Now that I'm in Chapter 2, I need to focus on the episode branching first.'

I understand that the choices and the system are trying to control me, but my ultimate goal in this game is still to escape the Ducal Manor.

Therefore, everything is lacking.

The strength to protect myself, the capital to secure food, clothing, and shelter, and the ability to resist the choices presented by the game.

To survive in this aristocratic society and its rigid class system, I have no choice.

Until I escape the ducal manor and establish a foundation for survival on my own, my priority should be gradually defusing the death triggers by focusing on the episodes.

"Harnie. If I were to request an investigation into a certain territory─"

-Neigh!

Suddenly, the startled neigh of a horse losing its footing echoed.

The carriage, which had been moving at a considerable speed, shook violently, and I felt like I would be thrown off if I didn't grab onto something.

"Whoa there, boy! Calm down!"

And then again.

Due to the sudden stop after accelerating, the vibrations within the carriage intensified.

'Sudden stop event... Damn it. Come to think of it, this event is forcibly triggered the first time you ride a carriage after recovering in Chapter 2, right?'

This event has two variations.
One where you're with your family, and one where you're not.

I'm currently in the latter situation.

-Ding!

▶ If you fall in the shaking carriage, your HP will decrease depending on the severity!◀
▶ Be careful! Additional HP may be consumed if you have a status ailment!◀

It's just a matter of whether or not my HP is depleted here, but it's not ideal to lose HP unnecessarily as it increases the sleep time required for recovery.

Therefore, I tried to endure it moderately and maintain my HP, but...

I overlooked a crucial fact.

I wasn't alone in this carriage.

"Eek?!"
"...Harnie!"

Harnie lost her balance and fell.
She was falling in a dangerous direction, so it was clear she would get hurt.

Even before the thought of catching her could fully form, I was already moving.

-Thud.

Only one dull sound echoed from within the carriage.

I managed to prevent a major accident by firmly catching and holding Harnie.

However, based on past experiences in the game, if you were seriously injured, you would be taken back to the Ducal Manor for treatment.

Perhaps that's why I need to be cautious even with minor accidents like this.

Considering my already weak body and the significant amount of HP I lost, I can't rule out the possibility of Harnie being injured as well.

"Harnie. Are you alright?"
"Yes. Thanks to you..."

Fortunately, it seems she's not seriously injured.
My arm cushioned her head well.

"But, um... Carsein?"
"Yes?"
"You're... a bit too close. I think you can let go now..."
"Ah. I apologize."

I held her tightly to prevent any injuries, but I forgot we were in complete close contact.

As I loosened my grip on her waist, my vision was suddenly obscured.
It wasn't my hand, so it must be Harnie's.

...Did I do something wrong again?

"Um..."
"Ah, don't say anything!"
"Excuse me? No, did I do something wrong...?"
"I said don't say anything!"
"...Then can I just close my eyes?"
"Y-Yes! Do that!"

It seems this is the correct answer.

Since my eyes are already covered and I can't get up until Harnie moves first, what else can I do?

I decided to stay quiet and avoid doing anything that might result in a backhand.

"Ahem. You can... open your eyes now."

As soon as I heard her voice saying I could open my eyes, I cautiously peeked through my eyelids. Harnie had turned her back and moved away from me.

"W-Was that... intentional?"
"...You mean throwing myself to prevent you from getting hurt?"
"No. No. Of course, you wouldn't do that. Sigh... Why am I always thinking these unnecessary things...?"

What is going on?

After I adjusted my disheveled clothes, a voice came from outside the carriage.

"I-I apologize. Young Master Carsein, Lady Harnie...! The horse suddenly went wild, and I couldn't control it...!"

The Duchy's coachman had come to apologize.

A choice appeared, asking whether or not to reprimand him, but Harnie shook her head, indicating she was fine.

Honestly, I felt the same way.
He must have been flustered by the runaway horse, and I didn't want to scold him. What fault does the newly appointed coachman have?

'Moreover, this event was pre-determined.'

Whenever a player rides a carriage for the first time, the same problem occurs. The system has this setting in place, so the coachman is truly innocent.

This event will happen again on the way back.
To prevent HP loss due to this, it's better to resolve it this way.

"We're fine. More importantly, are you alright?"
"Yes? I-I'm perfectly fine. We can depart immediately!"
"Then let's rest for a bit. We're not in a hurry, so let's stop by the nearby village, have a drink, and compose ourselves."
"Oh, Young Master..."
"Go ahead. It's better to be at ease than anxious."

The coachman bowed his head and headed towards the village.
He tried to hide it, but I suspect he's going to tend to his injured arm in the village.

-Ding!

▶ Due to your choice, the sub-episode 'Unexpected Spark' will begin!◀

The reason the carriage had to stop suddenly was due to a trigger activating the event.

In this event, a nobleman causes an accident, injuring a commoner, and then shamelessly shifts the blame onto them. As this situation repeats, the commoners grow enraged and devise a plan.

Their plan is to harass the nobles by using a prepared device whenever their carriages pass by.

Therefore, it's a mistake to think that managing Carsein's HP is all that matters.

Although it's a sub-episode, I need to minimize conflict with them by altering the main episode's branching through this.

"Carsein?"
"Shh. Keep your voice down."

I cautiously stepped out of the carriage.
While the coachman wasn't looking, I approached the startled horse, which was still snorting nervously, and dug into the ground.

'Found it.'

◆ Lung of the Swamp Wyrm Tellumos
[ Detects approaching objects at high speeds and emits a sonic wave audible only to animals. ]
[ Even if Tellumos itself is dead and only the lung remains, this effect does not disappear. After emitting a sonic wave, it shrinks and requires time to recharge. ]
...
...

As I did in the game.
I decided to take this first.

***

After the coachman returned with a knight escort, having treated his arm, the carriage continued towards the party venue.

Since we weren't in a rush from the start, we arrived at a reasonable time, and I entered the venue with Harnie, pretending to be a couple.

Unlike Claire's coming-of-age ceremony, the guards let us in immediately. Perhaps because of Harnie's beauty, even those who didn't recognize my face could roughly guess.

The party venue was filled with boisterous chatter.

However, it felt...
Inappropriate to call it a party.

Here and there. Even the people in the distance.
If you looked closely, they were all paired up.

Yes, this place felt like...

'Instead of enjoying a party, it's more like a gathering place for couples.'

Aside from the fact that nobles were gathered here, seeing men and women paired up like this, it was hard to think otherwise.

"Oh my. Lady Harnie has arrived."
"But who is that man next to her? This time it's not a maid, but a man."
"A man... could it be? Her fiancé?"

Groups of eyes from all directions focused on me.

It was just a hunch, but those were the eyes of hyenas eyeing their prey.

A few couples stepped forward as examples and started questioning me.

"Well, well. It's a pleasure to meet you, Young Lord Carsein. It seems the rumors about you being Lady Harnie's fiancé are true? Thank you for gracing us with your presence."
"We were quite curious ourselves. We heard that the two of you were lovers who even had secret rendezvous unknown to the public."
"Since you've arrived here personally and kept your promise, you wouldn't mind answering a few playful questions, would you?"

So my feeling about hyenas gathering was correct.
I was right.
I thought it was a gathering of nobles for a party, but instead, I was brought to a hyena den.

Naturally, my gaze shifted to the woman escorting me.

'This isn't just about helping each other out, it's almost like we have to create a staged performance.'

Showing the nobles at the party that we're a couple is just about making an impression, so simply being together should suffice.

However, didn't she say it herself?
That she took a bit of a risk to avoid suspicion.
That's why she had to force me to attend this party.

The fact that she's this indebted to the people here means she likely took a considerable risk.

As if she knew what I was thinking, she blinked rapidly and then quickly averted her gaze, a bead of sweat trickling down her temple.

'Alright. Let's hear what kind of risk Harnie took.'

If it's manageable, I can just play along...

"We heard that you begged and pleaded with Lady Harnie to accept your proposal, Young Lord. Is that true?"

What the hell?
Is this the level of the first question?

"We heard from Lady Harnie that you whisper sweet nothings in her ear every day."
"One day you cherish her like a fragile glass doll, and the next day you melt like butter, yearning for her affection."
"It got worse because you couldn't meet during the secret rendezvous period, right? The rumor about you sneaking to her house because you missed her so much sounded like Romeo and Juliet."

The following questions were just as absurd.

This is unbelievable.

'They've turned a guy with zero dating experience into a legendary lover, haven't they?'

This was an exaggeration of epic proportions.
There's no way to refuse these questions. I have to accept them, and I have to play the role of the one who's submissive and eager to be with her.

'Sigh. So you've caused this much trouble, huh?'

And now you're trying to avoid my gaze as if you want to back out?
No way. Now that things have come to this, you have to play along properly too.

"...!"
"Oh my, oh my."

I pulled Harnie closer, embracing her shoulders.

"Any man would be the same. Who could possibly wait patiently when they have the most beautiful woman in the Empire by their side?"

Did the suspicion in their eyes subside a little?
No.

Their gazes were filled with the desire to ask more questions.
This isn't going to end with just one line.

...Just you wait, Harnie.
Once this is over, I'm going to make you pay for this properly.

'This situation escalated this much... I can't help it. I tried to avoid this kind of thing as much as possible because it damages me as well.'

Well, let's see those goosebumps rise.
This is the ultimate cheesy line straight out of the morning dramas the third sister used to watch.

"Oh dear, Harnie. Why did you tell people that?"
"W-What...? What are you talking about...?"
"You should have told them that the bars separating us are the vast enemy called the world. That if you could, you'd keep me locked in your heart and gaze upon me every day."

At that moment, I could feel Harnie's skin break out in goosebumps.