I Have A Damn Family Again - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Claire's Coming-of-Age Ceremony (2)

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have any work for you.”

What would have happened if other maids had heard those words?

“Whoa, seriously?! Is there really such a sweet gig?”

“Wow, a personal maid who doesn’t have to do anything! I’m so jealous.”

“I’ll do it! I can definitely do nothing!”

The overworked maids of the Bagrand duchy would have jumped at the opportunity to reduce their workload, even if it was just a little. If they could rest without having to work, they would have accepted without hesitation, their mouths watering at the prospect.

They would have been delighted to get paid for doing practically nothing, while also being able to neglect that annoying young master.

However, Camilla couldn’t accept this.

“You were released because they didn’t have enough evidence, right?”

“Y-yes…”

“That could be true. Just like my sister and Mother said, it’s possible another maid was responsible. But I don’t believe it. In my mind, you’re still the culprit.”

Claire’s icy words echoed in her ears.

“So I’ll be watching you. I’ll make sure you’re serving Carsein properly, without any mistakes. Understood?”

A clear warning.

She was telling Camilla that if anything like this happened again, she wouldn’t be so lenient.

This situation couldn’t continue. It absolutely couldn’t.

She had to work properly, as a maid, as Carsein’s personal maid.

“Y-you’re cleaning right now! There’s plenty of work for me to do…”

Camilla said, her voice trembling with fear. Carsein took the rag back, his expression unchanged.

“I told you I didn’t need anything.”

No. It couldn’t be.

Filled with anxiety, Camilla tried to take the rag back.

“What are you doing? Let go.”

“Cleaning isn’t a task for nobles. It’s something I should be doing, as your maid.”

“Ha.”

Carsein sighed, then repeated his previous words.

“I said I don’t need anything. I can do it myself. Why should I ask for your help?”

Camilla’s heart sank.

No, this couldn’t be happening.

If she was known as the maid who let her master do chores, if word reached Claire, it would be over.

There was no other choice.

—Thud!

“Master! I’m sorry! I was wrong!”

She had to kneel.

***

[1. (Push Camilla away) You’re kidding, right? I’ve been eating the food you gave me, food that’s worse than this rag! You think a simple apology will fix this?!]
[2. (Hold onto the rag) Get out. I’ll never forgive you for what you did.]
[3. (Indifferently) What?]

The choice window appeared the moment Camilla knelt and apologized.

Option 3, unlike option 2, was different from the choice I had made before. It seemed I was following the correct branch of the story.

But I didn’t have to act indifferent.

“What? What did you do wrong?”

“M-Master…”

“Just get out if you’re going to spout nonsense. You’re disturbing my cleaning.”

I didn’t want to hear this.

You just have to avoid triggering any death flags. That’s all.

I turned away, and Camilla grabbed onto my trousers, wailing.

No, more precisely…

“I… I’m the one who did it!!”

She confessed.

—Ding!

[1. Did what?]
[2. (Kick Camilla) I told you to get out! Stop bothering me!]

The second set of choices.

If I kept pressing her, I could get a full confession out of her.

I could make her admit to filling the bathtub with cold water, poisoning the food, and everything else she had done.

But I wasn’t Carsein.

I twisted the choices, and a decent line came out.

“Did what? Just get out if you’re going to talk nonsense. You’re annoying.”

She knew.

She knew that I had showered in that cold water, that I had washed my own clothes in the middle of winter, and that I had eaten the heavily salted food.

So why was she pretending not to know?

‘This is why.’

I glanced towards the door as I heard footsteps approaching.

“I’ve brought your meal, Master.”

Emma, the head maid, had arrived with my food.

She stared at Camilla, her eyes fixed on the kneeling maid, a smug smile spreading across her face before she quickly masked it.

“Why are you kneeling, Camilla?”

“W-well, that’s…”

▶Head Maid Emma has arrived. How will you respond?◀
[1. She’s kneeling because she did something wrong.]
[2. Shouldn’t you be kneeling too, Emma?]
[3. Hmm… I’m curious too.]
[4. I don’t know. Ask her yourself.]

Today, Emma had brought my meal instead of the other maids. That’s why I hadn’t pressed Camilla any further.

If this conversation continued and Emma overheard, it could lead to a bad ending.

‘I’ve avoided the dangerous scene…’

The choice window had appeared.

I could answer right away, but I decided to wait one turn.

Until she said that line.

“Did you scold Camilla, Master? No, she’s already been wrongly accused and imprisoned…!”

Yes. I had been waiting for this.

“How could you! You’re bullying innocent maids again!”

“You want to tell Mother? Go ahead.”

“What did you say? Master, are you sure you should be talking to me like that?”

“Of course. Because I didn’t bully her. I was simply cleaning my own room. I’ll make it clear. I cleaned it myself, I didn’t order her to do it.”

“But why is Camilla kneeling…? ”

I showed Emma the rag I was holding, and she looked bewildered. I immediately selected a choice.

[4. I don’t know. Ask her yourself.]

“How would I know? Ask her yourself. She came here 30 minutes early and started acting like this. What am I supposed to know?”

It was time to counterattack.

“But why would you assume that I scolded her? Don't you know I’m being falsely accused here?”

“...!”

“Wow. I never accused Camilla of anything. I was just cleaning my room, and now I’m the bad guy for scolding an innocent maid?”

Emma glanced at Camilla, her voice sharp,

“Is what the master is saying true?”

Camilla, after a brief silence, nodded slightly.

Emma’s face hardened instantly.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

How did this happen?

These thoughts were probably racing through her mind.

Emma said something she clearly didn't want to.

“I apologize. It seems I’ve made a mistake. I misunderstood.”

Her contorted face was a sight to behold. But was that all? A simple apology? As if I would stop there.

“A misunderstanding? Aha, you’re saying this can all be dismissed as a simple misunderstanding.”

This went far beyond a misunderstanding.

She had made assumptions and judged without any evidence. An innocent person was almost falsely accused.

This wasn’t a misunderstanding.

Emma, realizing this, couldn’t refute me.

“…I apologize.”

Before she apologized, a frustrated groan escaped her lips. Her pride was hurt.

But what about what Carsein had endured?

“Is that all?”

“Master Carsein, I have apologized for my mistake.”

“So that’s it? Nothing more?”

“I’m not sure what you’re…”

“Emma, it seems you didn’t bow when you entered my room. Am I mistaken?”

“…!”

“Heh heh. It’s no wonder my food was tampered with. The head maid sets a bad example, right?”

I chuckled, bringing up the incident with the poisoned food, as if I was privy to everything happening in the duchy.

So apologize again.

Sincerely.

And make sure that this never happens to my food again.

These three sentences were forced out by a single statement.

The Bagrand duchy was one of the most prestigious families in the Pesselus Empire.

Even if he was an adopted son, he was still legally recognized as a member of the family. He wasn’t someone a mere head maid could question or defy.

Carsein’s meal was the perfect spice for this situation. It implied that she was the one who had disrupted the hierarchy by tampering with his food.

She couldn’t argue. Emma finally bowed.

“I apologize, Master Carsein. Please forgive my rudeness and suspicion.”

I’ll stop here for now.

She had to apologize to a peasant, a person of lower status, and she even had to bow. She must have swallowed her pride completely.

This incident would be deeply etched in her memory, and she would probably seek revenge someday.

After all, in the game, she was one of the villains who tormented Carsein relentlessly.

But it was fine.

I knew exactly what she was thinking.

I had learned from my countless trials and errors.

***

Emma left, her face twisted in bitterness. But I wasn’t alone yet.

Camilla was still there, kneeling, her body trembling.

“You… you knew, didn’t you, Master?”

“Knew what?”

“What I… did to you.”

I couldn’t ignore this.

I dried my hands with a towel and sat down at the table.

“Camilla, how long does it usually take to clean my room?”

“Excuse me? Well… A-about an hour.”

“Including the bathroom and making the bed?”

“You always keep the bathroom clean, Master, so it doesn’t take much time except to fill the bucket with water… And making the bed takes about five minutes, so it’s the same.”

“Then just wash this rag and sit here for 30 minutes before leaving.”

“Master…!”

Camilla looked startled, her eyes wide with fear.

I decided to be direct.

“You’re scared of Claire, aren’t you?”

“Th-that’s…!”

“There’s no need to make excuses. You were suspected because of her in the first place. So if you follow the time limit, there won’t be any problems, right?”

“…”

Camilla seemed to be shrinking under my knowing gaze.

“What… what should I do? Please, give me something to do!”

So that was her motivation. I had been wondering what Claire had done to make her so afraid, but now I understood.

‘It must be about her duties as a maid.’

Camilla’s desperate need to do something suggested that Claire had threatened to fire her if anything like this happened again.

I had to solve this myself.

First, I needed to calm her down.

“Just pretend to work for 30 minutes and then leave. That way, you can avoid Claire’s suspicion.”

Next Chapter

Index

Previous Chapter