The Damn Family Is Back Again - Chapter 311



311. As if he had never existed (8)

-Swoosh.

The dark clouds covered the sky.

The clouds, spitting out heavy rain, showed no sign of clearing.

Rather, they were getting stronger.

If it were the usual Duke’s household, anyone would have sighed at the sight of this heavy rain.

Seeing the rain, the maids in charge of cleaning would sigh first, wondering how to clean up. The maids in charge of the Duke’s aesthetics would wipe the sweat off their brows, relieved that they had managed to save the carefully tended flower beds before they were ruined.

The laundry maids, who had predicted the rain early by looking at the dark clouds, would raise their noses and shoulders in pride. And to those laundry maids, others, almost like family, would give a brief scolding, asking why they were acting like that.

And then they would say.

They were more worried about the servants and workers outside than themselves.

When the servants, drenched from the rain, appeared, they would always take care of them as usual.

A towel to dry their bodies, a blanket handed over with a warning not to catch a cold, a drink to warm their weary bodies. The maids and the cook would bring food to fill their stomachs in time.

If Heron, Shayden, Tasha, or other superiors found out, they would break out in a cold sweat, but they would pretend not to see and breathe a sigh of relief.

Yes. The duke’s house had to be quite lively.

There didn’t need to be loud noises.

There would be whispers here and there.

Men and women having secret meetings.

People caught dozing off or sighing unknowingly, all kinds of scenes would unfold.

The sounds of the duke’s house had to fill every single one of those.

However.

Now it was too quiet.

Most of the staff were gone, so all those small noises were absent, and now, except for one place, there was no sound at all.

Towards that place.

Someone added another noise with their footsteps.

“…”

This hallway was particularly dark.

In other places, the bright moonlight would come in, and people would cheer, understanding why this was the duke’s house, but not here.

It was dark.

Even from the outside, no light came in.

It felt gloomy, isolated, and hidden.

Even just a few meters away, the atmosphere changed drastically.

But the person walking here thought.

This place should have been bright as well.

Just like the other rooms, the moonlight should have come in here too.

-Kururung!

The sound of thunder briefly drowned out the noise, but it did not cut off.

Because of the thunder, it could be heard even more clearly.

It was the sound of crying.

“…”

The source of the crying was a room darker than the already dim hallway.

The maid knew that place well.

She hastened her steps.

She headed towards the darker, more secluded room.

She headed towards the most desolate room at the end of the hallway.

She headed towards the room of a boy who once thrived on solitude, waiting for an opportunity.

Naturally, the door was open.

“Sob, sob…”

The neatly tied golden pigtails were undone.

The hem of her dress was dirty, as if it had been dragging on the floor.

Moreover, one knee was swollen, likely from a painful fall.

“I was wrong, brother. It was all my fault.”

Her voice was hoarse.

She could barely make a sound.

Tears had dried and crusted on her once smooth skin, and her breath hitched with every inhale.

In short.

She was a mess.

It was hard to believe she was the youngest daughter of the duke, who was showered with love by her mother and sisters.

However, her ears were open.

“What should I do, Camilla?”

The sound of rain. The sound of thunder.

And the sound of crying filled the duke’s house.

In that place, her ears were wide open to the sound of footsteps, another noise.

She might have hoped for someone, but…

She knew it wasn’t him, it wasn’t Carsein.

She couldn’t avoid reality any longer.

“Tell me, Camilla. What should I do?”

“…”

“Answer me. What should I do?”

Flora asked, looking pitiful.

If that is an order, Camilla must answer.

She must answer the question of the master she serves in the ducal house.

However, Camilla cannot answer.

“Sob, sob…! Say something, please…”

Once again, tears well up in her eyes, which have lost their pupils.

She crawls over and clings to his leg as if frustrated.

Even if she didn’t finish her sentence, she knew what she was asking.

The owner of this room.

Someone who would know about Carsein Bagland.

Camilla Deol is the most suitable person Flora Bagland is looking for right now.

However.

Camilla closes her eyes gently.

“Why… aren’t you answering?”

“…”

“You know, you are Carsein’s personal maid.”

“…”

“I haven’t even properly apologized yet… Where did he go…?”

Even if she asks pitifully, there is only one thing to say.

“I’m sorry, Miss.”

“…”

She cannot tell.

Because that is her master’s will.

Although she serves the ducal house, the only master Camilla Deol serves is Carsein Bagland.

‘I’m truly sorry, Miss.’

My master is Young Master Carsein.

-Srrk.

In the end, Flora, unable to hold on, collapses.

Camilla, who dared to refuse her master’s order, carefully carried the exhausted youngest lady to her room and laid her on the bed.

“…Have you come.”

Sheiden appeared as if he had been waiting.

“Her leg is swollen, probably from bumping it, but that’s not the reason she’s asleep like this. She’s exhausted from crying.”

“Yes. She must be tired. You should go rest as well.”

“Yes, Master Shaiden.”

Camilla gives a short bow and leaves the room.

Looking at Flora, who had fallen asleep from crying, Shaiden sighs.

“…Even though we lost the Duke and Young Master Karn, Lady’s condition improved miraculously because Young Master Karsein was here.”

But now that he’s gone again…

“Sigh.”

Shaiden tightly closed his eyes.

*

A day passes.

Two days pass.

Three, four days.

Almost a week has gone by.

“They said they would send a letter…”

Isabella couldn’t hold back her curiosity and called the servants.

“Is there any servant from the Duke’s house?”

“No. There is no one from the Duke’s house…”

“What about the letter?”

“Um… The maids are preparing for this winter’s cold.”

“…Any other news?”

“Uh… There are some reactions from the retainers. Other than that, there are some news from the territory due to the heavy rain.”

The messenger and letter manager asked if they should bring it, but Isabella refused.

That wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

“…”

After dismissing the servants, Isabella glanced at the calendar again.

There is plenty of time.

The preparation period for Karsein’s coming-of-age ceremony was originally set generously, so consuming that much time wouldn’t be a problem.

“…It’s really strange. Claire wouldn’t handle things this oddly, and Flora wouldn’t forget something like this.”

There were plenty of letters from other places, but none from the Duke’s house.

Also, although many people have come here, no one has been sent from the Duke’s family.

That was truly strange.

Even Claire, who was said to have moved first.

And Flora, who followed, saying she knew where her little sister had gone.

For some reason, it means that there has been no news from the Duke’s family.

“Mother.”

Just then, Arina opens the door and comes in.

Her expression brightened slightly, thinking that perhaps the news had been delivered to Arina first.

“…You haven’t heard anything either, Mother.”

Arina was the same.

In fact, the reason she came here coincided exactly with Isabella’s.

At this point, it’s natural to be worried.

“I checked just in case, but they say there hasn’t been an accident.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Thanks to the knights who blocked the Duke’s territory when the monsters appeared, we were able to find out various things. The river overflowed, but the carriage heading to the Duke’s family went normally.”

It’s a relief that the daughters weren’t in an accident.

“That means there’s a problem within the Duke’s family…”

Isabella skimmed through the piles of documents several times.

There was no urgent news among them.

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There was nothing dangerous, let alone something worth seeing even in an emergency.

If the monsters appeared but the knights were able to roughly solve the problem, then it’s not an external issue.

Then what on earth is the problem within the Duke’s family?

“…Could it be a fight?”

“A fight? Who do you mean?”

“Well… if it’s a reason like having trouble with Carsein… I’m sorry. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand…”

“Don’t think it’s strange. That’s about the limit for me too.”

There was a similar incident in the past.

Before an important schedule, there was a time when news was not delivered because of a fight with Carsein.

“At that time… all three of them were so angry that they didn’t say a word, so no letters or anything were delivered.”

“In the end, Mother had to come back and mediate.”

There was only one answer.

“What should we do, Mother?”

“We must go back.”

Isabella answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“The delay in time and the fact that the children haven’t sent any news must have a reason. It’s okay to postpone the coming-of-age ceremony preparations, so let’s go for a while.”

“I think the same. That’s why I’ve already prepared the carriage.”

“Yes. We must hope they are not seriously injured.”

We’ll know when we get there.

If it’s a fight between the children, we must reconcile them.

Thus, the last carriage departs.

In the end, everyone is expected to leave here and gather at the Duke’s house.

However, at the moment of boarding the carriage,

Isabella suddenly felt as if she heard Carsein’s voice.

– It’s not necessary.

“…!”

Why is that answer, which made her heart ache so much, heard now?

Because of that, she missed her step on the carriage’s footboard.

“Mother? What’s wrong?”

“…It seems my legs suddenly lost strength. Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Isabella reassured and boarded the carriage again.

But her inner thoughts were different.

– It’s not necessary.

Strangely, those words seemed to keep echoing in her mind.