I Have A Damn Family Again - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Troublemaker at the Training Grounds (3)

Confined to solitary confinement, Emma couldn’t sleep, even though it was late.

She couldn't sleep.

Not after what had happened that evening.

—There have been rumors of embezzlement in the duchy.

—It’s absurd. Rumors of someone embezzling money from the Duke’s estate, and it just so happens that someone comes into a large sum of money at that time?

—I heard you bought some expensive clothes recently. Suspicious, isn’t it?

Carsein had come to her cell and accused her of embezzlement.

It was impossible.

How could he possibly know?

He was a peasant, a nobody who was confined to his room, eating scraps. There’s no way he would have access to that kind of information.

So she didn’t understand.

What did he know? How had he learned about this?

Emma clutched her head, her mind racing.

‘If he knew about the missing funds, he would have told the Duchess. She would have launched an investigation.’

But that hadn’t happened.

Carsein hadn’t said anything…

—Really? I also heard that some of the knights suddenly replaced their entire equipment. Another coincidence, is that it?

—Bullshit. Don’t you think I know you’re taking my monthly allowance and using it to supplement their salaries?

—Managing the funds is Arina’s job, but keeping records and allocating funds is the head maid’s duty. You could easily manipulate the records.

He knew exactly what was happening.

Carsein knew where his allowance was going.

‘Damn it…! How…!’

His last words sent a chill down her spine.

—Last month, when the estate funds were running low… There were discrepancies in the ledger, weren’t there?

She had embezzled money.

She had to cover a shortfall.

But to have a flaw in her records… It wasn’t something she could dismiss as a simple mistake, not even to Carsein.

He clearly had evidence.

She had to get out of this cell.

But it would be too late by then.

‘There’s no other choice…!’

—Tap, tap.

“Hey, guard, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Huh?”

She knocked on the bars, and the guard appeared.

As she had expected, she recognized him.

“Can you call these knights from the first squadron for me?”

“Call them? You’re under arrest. The only time you’re allowed to talk to anyone is during interrogations.”

“I know, but… There’s an emergency back home.”

She smiled, pulling out a gold coin.

“It’s a favor from the head maid. Just… look the other way.”

“W-What? No, I can’t…”

“Don’t worry, I just need to send a message. It’s better to ask knights I know personally for these kinds of things.”

“Hmm… If that’s the case…”

The guard eyed the gold coin, his mouth watering. He took the bribe and went to fetch the knights.

A short while later, one of the knights arrived.

“What’s going on? It’s the middle of the night.”

“Are we alone?”

“Of course. We’re not going to announce our meeting to everyone.”

She gulped and spoke,

“How’s Carsein doing?”

She had a bad feeling about him, especially after his outing.

He had learned about the missing letters after his meeting with his fiancée, and now he was acting strangely.

“I was just about to tell you.”

“What?”

“He’s at the training grounds. I don’t know what he’s thinking.”

Emma’s heart sank.

“He… He’s at the training grounds?!”

“What the… Why are you yelling?”

“…”

Emma clutched the bars, her body trembling.

‘Could he… Could he really know something?’

She had thought she had covered her tracks perfectly.

She had mentioned the embezzlement, her connections with the knights… And now, he was at the training grounds?

A wave of dread washed over her.

There was no time.

“…Get rid of him.”

“What?”

“I don’t care how you do it. Frame him, make up a story, anything. I’ll protect you when I’m out of here! Just make sure you report everything he does to me!”

The knight chuckled, rubbing his thumb and index finger together.

“Protection? I think this is more important, Head Maid.”

“You…!”

“It’s easy to make it look like the knights are bullying him. But reporting his every move… that requires effort, you see?”

He was greedy, demanding more money even after accepting the bribe.

Emma gritted her teeth.

But she was desperate.

“Fine. I’ll double your usual payment.”

“Triple would be better, but… double is fine, I guess.”

“Fine! Fine! I’ll give you what you want, just make sure you get rid of him! Understand?!”

“Acknowledged. Don’t try to back out of the deal later. It’ll be bad for you.”

The knight smiled, satisfied with his leverage.

‘It doesn’t matter. As long as I get rid of him, that little threat…’

He had to be eliminated.

Even if it meant creating more problems.

Carsein Bagrand.

He was a threat to her existence.

***

It was winter.

The season of biting winds, cozy blankets, and reluctance to leave the warmth of home.

But the boy’s body was burning with heat.

He was running laps around the training grounds, his body drenched in sweat.

“He couldn’t even keep up at the beginning, and he’s still running? How many laps does he have left?”

“Five, I think. Four after this one.”

“At this rate… hmm… He’ll be at it for a while.”

The knights watched Carsein, their voices laced with amusement.

“…”

Mark, the vice-captain, who had finished his laps first, watched him intently.

It was impossible.

It was a simple task for the regular knights, and even the apprentice knights. It might be a bit challenging for the trainees, but they had been training since they were young.

That was why they had been promoted from trainees to apprentices.

But it was too much for a pampered noble.

Especially one who had never trained or who had been inactive for a long time.

‘We’re supposed to adjust the intensity, to make sure it’s not too strenuous…’

But Carsein wasn’t giving up.

He was lagging behind, his untrained body struggling to keep up.

The training regimen was too intense for him.

‘…And that’s not all.’

Mark glanced to the left.

Carsein, four laps to go, stopped to catch his breath, and a group of knights sneered.

“Serves him right! Let him suffer!”

“He’s pretty resilient, for someone who used to crawl around in the dirt.”

“How long can he last? He underestimated our training regimen. He never trained with us before.”

“Yeah, his legs were shaking this morning. He’s only been here for two days, and he’s already like this. I bet he’ll quit soon.”

It wasn’t just the intensity of the training. They were subtly sabotaging him.

Bumping into him.

Swinging their arms and hitting his side.

Pushing him aside and overtaking him.

He was subjected to physical and mental pressure, on top of the demanding training regimen.

Three days.

“Mark, which side are you on?”

One of the knights approached him, holding a betting sheet.

“What’s this?”

“Come on, it’s just a bit of fun. It’s a tradition for new recruits.”

They were betting on how long Carsein would last.

Would he be able to complete the one-week training period?

It was a cruel tradition, but even Mark, as the vice-captain, couldn’t stop it.

‘No… Maybe it’s better this way.’

If he endured the entire week, despite their hostility…

If he achieved the impossible…

It might help dispel their suspicions.

The odds were heavily stacked against him. No one had ever succeeded before, so they were betting on which day he would quit. The most popular choice was, of course, the next day.

Mark looked at the dismal odds, then turned his attention back to Carsein.

—Gasp… Gasp… Gasp!

He was still running, his breaths ragged, his body struggling. But…

—Slide.

“What? Are you serious?”

“Mark, the underdog supporter!”

“You’re crazy, man!”

He hadn't complained, not even once.

It was unexpected, and it made Mark reconsider.

“This is for the cost of our next team dinner. Are you sure about this?”

“It’s just for fun.”

“Well, yeah, but… Don’t blame me if you lose all your money! Haha.”

The knight grinned, thrilled with his easy win.

“If you’re already exhausted from this, how do you plan to survive our training regimen?!”

“Mark, that’s cheating!”

“Shut up, let him bet. There’s money on the line.”

Three laps to go.

The knight’s voice, urging Carsein to continue, echoed through the training grounds.

Carsein, who had stopped to catch his breath, looked up.

His face was etched with exhaustion, but he wiped his sweat and started running again.

He finished the course.

“Wow, he’s persistent. He actually finished it.”

“Yes! I’m going to treat everyone to a fancy dinner with the money I won!”

“I only bet a little… Damn it, why does he have to have such stubborn determination?”

“Useless, absolutely useless.”

He had endured the third day of training.

He collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.

‘Yes, that’s it.’

He had earned the right to be questioned.

He had shown his determination, his resilience.

It was time to ask him why.

Why had Radiel defended him?

What had happened that day?

***

“Gasp… Gasp…”

I finished the last ten laps and collapsed onto the ground, my body aching.

My mouth was dry, my breaths shallow.

‘I’m exhausted!’

I had expected it to be tough, but I hadn’t realized they would subject a trainee to the same training regimen as the knights.

My body was sore, my muscles screaming in protest. I was already dreading tomorrow.

‘But… This is the right choice.’

■Carsein Bagrand■ - Age 18
Lv. 7 (SP: 0.15)
▶Strength: 2.59
▶Agility: 3.35
▶Stamina: 4.01
▶Health: 2.00
▶Immunity: 1.03
▶???: 0.20

Even though I had a few new status ailments, like "gasping" and "exhaustion," they weren't dangerous, and my stats were increasing significantly.

Carsein’s frail body was getting stronger. I was moving further away from the "poor health" death ending.

But that wasn’t the end.

▶Successfully completed the third day of training!◀
▶Mark Redelstein’s affinity has increased!◀
[Current level: -6%]

If Carsein couldn’t last more than half of the one-week training period, Mark’s affinity would remain negative.

He was the only one who wasn’t completely hostile towards Carsein. If I couldn't win him over, I wouldn’t be able to use the training grounds.

So, clearing the third day was a relief…

▶Rewards increase based on the number of days you complete!◀

The longer he endured, the better the rewards. He couldn’t give up on this.

The training was grueling, but the rewards were crucial.

Because they were directly linked to the death triggers.

That was why he had to complete the entire training period.

But something he had been dreading since he first arrived at the training grounds was happening.

‘Damn it, I finally understand why Carsein lost so much HP every time he got hit in that mini-game.’

My ribs ached.

I had expected them to target me, since Emma had bribed them, but even the knights who simply disliked Carsein were joining in.

It was worse than I had imagined.

It was no wonder Carsein’s HP bar had plummeted so rapidly in that mini-game.

I couldn’t endure this much longer.

If I continued like this, I would collapse before the week was over.

And that meant game over.

I would die, and the game would end.

But it wasn’t going to happen.

“Huh? Who’s that?”

“Wait, isn’t that…”

“Oh my god…!”

The knights, who had been snickering, scrambled to their positions as they saw someone approaching.

“Everyone, fall in!”

Not just the regular knights, but even the apprentice and trainee knights…

Everyone had to be a proper Bagrand knight at this moment.

“Salute!”

Mark’s order echoed through the training grounds.

—Ding!

▶Isabella has arrived at the training grounds!◀
…
…

‘There it is.’

I had raised her affinity high enough that today’s planned harassment would be cancelled.

But that was all.

I sat up, my breaths still ragged.

The woman walked past the knights and stopped in front of me.

Isabella’s eyes widened in shock.

It was understandable.

Her son, the young master of the Bagrand family, was lying on the ground, exhausted from training.

“Did you subject him to such rigorous training?!”

Her face was contorted in anger as she glared at the knights.

They closed their eyes, bracing for her wrath.

They knew punishment was inevitable.

And this was my opportunity.

“How dare you subject your master to such inappropriate training—”

“I requested it.”

“…What?”

“This training… I’m doing it because I want to.”

[4. I asked for this, Mother.]

As I made my choice, Isabella’s expression shifted from shock to confusion.

▶Mark’s affinity has increased!◀
[Current level: 0%]

The status window announced that Mark’s affinity was now positive.