The Damn Family Is Back Again - Chapter 275



275. Afterparty (3)

Everything was fine.

When Carsein, perfectly fine, was seen reading a book on the bed.

She thought there would be no more worries and felt relieved.

He said he was healing from his injuries.

Seeing it with her own eyes left no room for doubt.

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So Isabella held a brief sense of anticipation.

After all, Carsein was also her child.

She hoped he would share how much he had suffered. How he had been scared being trapped in a dark place. How boring it was to be in the hospital. She wished for such cute complaints or childish whines.

There were feelings I had while riding in the carriage, but I hadn’t done anything for Karsein.

But, to say sorry?

To say I wasted time?

That wasn’t what I came to hear.

“What happened, Karsein?”

Isabella approached, taking Karsein’s hands in hers.

“Did someone come to you and whisper something strange? Or were you threatened, or falsely accused?”

It was fine that Karsein didn’t whine or act spoiled when I entered the sickroom. This child had matured significantly.

However, there was no reason for an apology.

“Who on earth said such a thing? Who babbled nonsense about wasting time?”

Above all, what mattered most was that Karsein was hurt.

Above all, what mattered most was that Karsein had gotten up safely.

Wasting time?

Taking the Duchess’s time?

Even going so far as to bow their head and say sorry?

Absolutely not.

What wrong could there possibly be with Karsein? It was clear that for an innocent child to make such a judgment, someone’s influence must have been involved. That person needed to be caught and dealt with.

“Is there still a remnant of that wretched maid’s influence? Or was there some insolent knight who spoke carelessly? Who is it? Let’s hear who dared to speak such words to my son, the child of the Duke of Bagland. I will uproot them without leaving a single hair behind.”

Isabella urged Karsein to answer as if she couldn’t wait.

However.

The response that came back, unfortunately, was:

“I’m sorry, but that was my own judgment.”

“…What?”

“No one told me such a thing. I wasn’t threatened, nor was there anyone trying to frame me. It was purely my own thought, a conclusion I came to on my own.”

It was a decision Karsein had made unilaterally.

Isabella blinked rapidly, seemingly flustered.

“Why… did you think that way?”

Then Karsein replied without changing expression.

“Didn’t you already interrupt me to the point of exhaustion during the morning greeting?”

“What…?”

Isabella’s pupils trembled.

“Countless times. You’ve always interrupted. Not just when I was entrusted with important state affairs, but even right before meetings with my vassals, I came to disturb you. And.”

Carsein showed the wounds on his body. Unlike the fresh ones, these scars were well-healed, remnants of the past.

“I stole time like this during last year’s martial arts tournament, which I stubbornly insisted on participating in. So, wouldn’t the same thought cross your mind this time?”

Isabella covered her mouth with her trembling arm.

Indeed.

It was all because of one person.

Who did she apologize for?

Why did she feel like she was stealing time?

Why was she bowing her head?

It was all because of one person.

-…Next time, don’t get hurt. If you come here, the Duke’s affairs will be delayed. Carsein.

No one else but herself.

Isabella had shown that she was the one being robbed of time.

“Let’s leave it at that. I don’t want to steal any more time. I dislike the thought of being scolded by Arina or hearing Claire’s nagging. If I’m going to take care of someone, I should focus more on the youngest, Flora, shouldn’t I?”

It was self-sabotage.

*

-Click.

“…”

Isabella emerged with a gloomy expression.

When she entered Carsein’s hospital room, seeing him reading a book in good spirits had filled her with relief and a strange sense of anticipation.

That vibrant face.

Now, it had transformed into one shadowed by deep gloom.

“I… said such things to that child…”

Her eyes squeezed shut.

When Carsein longed for a parent’s touch more than anyone, she had uttered the insane words of wasting time.

Having spent a year forgetting that incident, she had subjected him to the same experience, no different from the last.

How could she be so ignorant?

How could she be so indifferent?

How could she not even recall what she had done to her own child?

This time, the serious advice from the old butler had struck true once again.

The more it did, the more vividly the past emerged.

—Thud. Thud.

Isabella beat her chest in anguish.

“I have always relied on you for help… How could you be so indifferent…!”

Now, it was merely a thing of the past, but at that time, Isabella had blindly depended on that child to sustain her remaining life.

Drowning in the sorrow of losing her husband, her vision blurred.

Her only son, who had gone missing at the same time as her husband, left her deaf to the world.

For Isabella, with her eyes and ears completely covered, the news was an unspeakable despair, both as a wife and as a mother.

So, she denied it.

While the world buzzed about how Kahn was a confirmed dead man, merely a body not yet found, she outright rejected that reality.

It was not death. It was a disappearance.

The absence of a body meant he might still be alive.

She denied it again and again, wandering throughout the empire.

However, as time passed and she still could not find Kahn, Isabella’s mind grew more and more desolate.

At some point, she could see no one but Kahn’s face.

She wandered solely in search of Kahn.

The last wish of her husband, who had never asked her to find him, echoed endlessly in her mind.

Yes.

Her sanity had finally begun to unravel.

Unaware of this fact, she rummaged through every corner. The empty ducal residence was in a state of stagnation.

Then, like a ray of sunlight, that child descended.

—Who… are you?

With dark blue hair and wall-like eyes.

Delicate hands tightly clutching a doll.

Though they were stained here and there… that child was undoubtedly her lost son to Isabella.

Of course.

My child could not be dead.

Only then did a sense of calm fill her heart.

Day by day, with Kahn, she found the strength to live again.

—

Food, if it was food. Clothes, if it was clothes. Even the house I could not distinguish. Every object in the world returned from monochrome to color, becoming discernible once more.

Slowly, health began to recover.

The tasks that Arina had taken over were returned to me.

As the Duchess, I took on daily responsibilities, including those of my late husband, pushing myself harder.

And then… at some point, I began to see Kahn differently. Soon, as the illness was cured, I came to realize the reality I had been avoiding.

The child I had cradled and cared for was not Kahn.

I understood why the other children had shouted that he was not Kahn.

The color of his hair and eyes. The position and shape of his features. Even his mannerisms and habits. Everything was different.

Only when a proper world came into view did Isabella realize she had brought home a completely different child.

I had been mistaking a stranger for Kahn.

From that moment on, an awkward atmosphere lingered.

I no longer comforted him as I used to, and even when I reached out my hand, he hesitated to take it.

Moreover, he didn’t even mix his words properly. Naturally, he was not my son born of my womb.

Yet, Isabella did not cast the child out of the Duke’s household.

Instead, she gave him the name Karsein and formally registered him in the Duke’s family to protect him.

She even allowed him to freely use the surname of the Bagland Duke.

The reason was… painfully clear.

Because of that child, I was able to rise again from a world filled with despair.

It was because of the child I had mistaken for Kahn that I could prevent losing the children who remained in the sorrow of losing my husband and son.

Despite being a complete stranger, he accepted all of this, giving me the strength to overcome the arduous trials and face reality.

Isabella Bagland had been saved.

By none other than.

Karsein.

“But, I… as a mother, I may not be able to care for you properly…”

A wave so intense it pierced to the bone drenched Isabella’s entire body.

– Thud!

“Haah, haah…”

“Mom? What’s wrong? Why are you like this?”

“Mom…!”

Flora and Claire rushed over with startled expressions.

—

—

The two daughters, supporting their mother whose strength had given out in her legs, were filled with worry.

“It’s okay. I’m, I’m fine.”

“Mom, you’re getting older, so lean on us a little.”

“Right! We’re at the age where we can help you now.”

Watching her daughters rush forward to offer help, Isabella’s heart ached even more.

That child.

She had reached out for salvation since she was just ten years old.

“Uh, Mom? Why are you crying?”

“Don’t cry. Mom, what’s wrong?”

She couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.

– Dding!

▶ Isabella’s character-specific hidden episode. ＜Miraculously Erased Mental Illness＞ has been cleared. ◀

▶ Changes have occurred in Isabella’s intimacy settings. ◀

[ ■ ■ ■■ ■easy ■even if I’m your ■■■■ ■■■ : 80% ]

*

Isabella, who had been shedding tears endlessly, finally stopped.

As her breathing calmed, Claire cautiously asked.

“Mom. Are you okay now?”

“Yes. There’s nothing wrong, so you don’t have to look at me like that.”

Isabella nodded.

But her voice was still locked away.

“You can go now. You need to see Carsein, right?”

“But…”

“It’s okay. Flora. I just… remembered some old times. I couldn’t help but think of your father’s face.”

“You were thinking of Dad… that’s why you cried.”

Flora didn’t catch on, as she spoke in a roundabout way, but Claire sensed it faintly.

‘Mom… won’t cry anymore when Dad’s name comes up.’

Was it shortly after her mental illness had been fully cured?

She had heard from Heron that she needed to be stronger. That she couldn’t crumble. That she couldn’t show weakness to her children, and so she tried to stand back up.

So that was a clear lie.

—

—

Then why did she cry while telling lies?

Perhaps it was related to Carsein. This makes the puzzle fit together easily.

‘I see. Mom also…’

In the same way. It seemed she had wronged Carsein.

Quickly, Claire urged Flora to hurry up.

“Flora. Let’s go quickly. If we stay like this, Mom will suffer more.”

“Why would she suffer when I’m right here?”

“There are times when Mom wants to rest alone, you know? If our youngest keeps this up, she won’t be able to rest.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“Yeah. Just like your little sister said, we’ll take a short break and come back, so hurry up. If we stay like this, Carsein will be waiting, right?”

“Ugh, okay. I got it.”

Only then did Flora set aside her worries and follow.

Just as they were about to head outside.

Isabella stopped Claire in her tracks with a trembling voice.

“Um… can I ask you for a favor? Claire.”

“Hmm? What kind of favor?”

“…I have a gift for Carsein.”

At the mention of a gift, both of them sighed briefly, “Ah.”

The two had rushed over empty-handed as soon as they heard the news.

“Do you all remember the test papers from when you were little? It was the same for your birthdays, but whenever you received praise, you would also get a gift, right?”

“Ah. That…!”

“When I was starting my new boutique, I received some funding, I think?”

“I… I got delicious chocolates and a dress back then.”

There were many memories of being wrapped up in studying hard… but still, receiving gifts from their mother felt good.

“Right. It’s just like that time. Carsein has won second place in the martial arts tournament this time, so you should convey that he wants to give her a reward. Saying it’s a gift should be fine.”

The sisters’ expressions, which had been anxious about the hospital visit gift, brightened significantly.

‘That’s right. That’s right. It’s time for Carsein to receive praise from Mom too, isn’t it?’

‘With second place in the martial arts tournament, he can receive anything!’

With such joyful hearts, they hurried their steps.

But the answer they would hear was not so bright and hopeful.