The Damn Family Is Back Again

345. Family (15)

Isabella soon drank the decoction given by Shaiden and fell asleep. Taking advantage of the quiet surroundings, I had the opportunity to slip out of the Duchess’s room.

But I couldn’t move any further from here.

▶The waiting time until the next exploration exists in proportion to the number of clues found in the Duke’s mansion.◀

▶A timer will occur. Hide to avoid pursuit until the next information appears.◀

Due to the status window creating a waiting time, I was in a position where I had to endure in the Duke’s mansion.

Is a helper not a helper for nothing? Just in time, Shaiden provided information. The sun had set, and he suggested that I should not easily go out as the guards would become more stringent at night to protect the Duchess.

“But, there are places to hide, young master.”

As the attending physician, he would not be suspected. His room would be sufficient as a hiding place, so how about staying there until the guards are relaxed?

Harnié gladly expressed gratitude for the readily offered suggestion.

Thus, I was able to stay in the attending physician’s room during the waiting time with peace of mind.

…But my heart still felt like it hadn’t left that place.

“…Why did I do such a foolish thing?”

Even thinking about it again, it was an incredibly foolish action.

No matter how much Shaiden asked, there was no need to leave a note for Isabella.

Even though I found and handed over the necessary note, there was no need to embrace her like that.

…Even if I handed over the orb that I had accurately recalled from a distant past memory and birthday, there was no need to include the title of ‘mother’.

There was even less need to let it slide, thinking it would be okay just once.

Wasn’t it just an emotional reaction?

When you think about it rationally, it doesn’t mean anything.

I should have ignored it and moved on.

…That would have been normal.

If it were the old me.

My eyes fell on the fourth piece of Karn’s note, which I had already deciphered once.

“…You can’t not notice this.”

No matter how much I think about it. Think and think again.

That’s the only answer that comes out.

To be blunt, Isabella was not a good mother.

She was just a woman who, bound by madness, neglected the child she had picked up and didn’t take proper care of.

Even after completing the adoption. Even though she lived a wealthy life instead of in the slums. Even though she gave the child a new name and allowed them to enjoy a luxurious status.

She only inflicted wounds on the child with whom she shared not a drop of blood.

That was true not only for Karsein but also for me.

The foster mother, who was no different from Isabella, seemed uninterested in what was happening in the house.

She seemed unaware of how the family relationships were falling apart, and it was questionable whether she even cared in the first place, as she was so cold.

As if a line had been drawn. As if, because there was no blood relation, we were strangers. She was just a person who tried to solve everything with money and fill the lack with material things.

To an outsider picked up from the streets, she appeared only as a bystander.

But…

After going through the experience twice, I could finally see a little.

The fourth note fragment.

This was something that could never be obtained in the first place.

Because… it could only be had if Isabella handed it over herself.

Even if the other three note fragments were somehow obtained, the last fourth fragment was not. Just as missions occurred in the study or the lampstand, it was only up to the third note.

Although it somehow possessed magical power, that was information according to the system message. It appeared as information recorded according to the previous note. It could not be seen with the eyes of Wederos.

Also, the location here is Isabella’s room. It wasn’t something that could be done by rummaging through anything, and if a mistake was made, falling into the abyss was a moment away.

Moreover, even if all other factors were combined.

Even if all possible cases within the calculation range were mobilized.

Impossible.

There was no way to obtain this note.

…Nevertheless, this note is here. In my hand.

I should have thought it was strange from the beginning.

A person suffering from the severe madness called Elbern Syndrome, a person who couldn’t even distinguish friend from foe, flailing at the air.

A person hugging a doll, calling it their son, asking where he had gone.

Such a person, a person who didn’t know what was what.

Just in time, seeing me looking for Karn’s note, calling me at a very suspicious timing, and not only that, grabbing me as I was about to leave the room as if there was still something left, and taking out the item I wanted from a specific place called a drawer, is that possible?

…No.

It would be impossible.

Unless they had regained their sanity.

Isabella’s hand was trembling slightly. The tremor that couldn’t be hidden was finally seeping out little by little.

On the surface, there was nothing unusual about her face, but her eyes were trembling imperceptibly. It seemed as if something might spill out of those blue eyes at any moment.

However, her lips did not tremble. At the precise moment she called my name, they never trembled.

…Yes.

Isabella must have been awake at that moment.

She held onto me, unaffected by the madness, fully conscious.

There were countless ways to keep me tied here.

She could have called anyone. If she had grabbed me and screamed, they would have come quickly.

It wouldn’t have been strange if she had pretended to be mad or shown signs of being in critical condition, and it would have been fine if she had caused a commotion to attract the knights’ attention.

Even without going to such lengths, just saying that Carsein was here would have been enough. After all, this is the Duke’s residence.

But Isabella did not hold onto me.

Without using any means, she pretended to be suffering from madness and hid the fact that she was sane.

Instead of calling the knights to capture me, she revealed the existence of this note. She let me know that she had kept it in the drawer and tried to help me.

After that… she drank the decoction and quietly closed her eyes. As if she wouldn’t hold onto me.

This fourth piece of the note… it was evidence that encompassed all of that.

“…Clumsy. Too much.”

Because of Isabella, I finally realized what kind of person my stepmother in reality was.

She always tried to solve everything with money, the worst possible way, but it was the only way she knew.

I thought she was just someone who neglected me and didn’t care… but she never failed to ask if I had eaten or if I had returned safely.

She often asked if I needed anything, if there was something I wanted, and what kind of work I wanted to do at the company. These questions sometimes provoked the youngest’s jealousy or the eldest’s inferiority complex…

But at least there was no malice in those questions.

Knowing nothing at all, it was merely the worst choice, not out of malice towards me.

Isabella was the same.

She always spoke such words, but never directly tried to harm Carsein.

I vaguely recall the time when I was organizing the things in Carsein’s room.

As I meticulously sorted and priced the debts to be repaid, the person who accounted for the largest portion was undoubtedly Isabella.

Even including the ointments and medicines Flora had stocked, and Claire’s clothes and accessories, they didn’t come close to that amount. Even adding the rewards Arina had indifferently handed over, Isabella’s contributions were overwhelmingly significant.

…And when I was organizing my own room.

The most numerous items were those given by my foster mother, telling me to use them.

It was no different.

From my reality.

…Was that why?

I don’t regret it at all. Doing such a foolish thing.

Rather than calculating that this side was better if Isabella had a chance of waking up… it felt like something in my heart was relieved.

Just like with Flora. This time too, my blood did not cool.

*

Isabella drank the decoction of sleep-inducing herbs and fell into a deep sleep.

She will not wake up again. No more thrashing or struggling in madness, no more wandering with unfocused eyes in search of Carsein.

But the madness continues to gnaw at Isabella endlessly.

She doesn’t even remember when she last returned to her senses. In the past, when she suffered from madness, she occasionally returned to her senses, but since the relapse, she has never come back to her senses.

It has worsened significantly, and become much more dangerous.

If this continues… Isabella might completely succumb to madness.

However, today was different.

“Thank you, Carsein… for calling someone like me ‘mother’… someone like me, someone like me…”

Isabella had been repeating the same words over and over again.

It’s common for voices to slip out while sleeping. Since she was forced into sleep, it wasn’t unusual for her to call out for Carsein in her sleep.

In severe cases, she would have nightmares and even have seizures in that state… which often sent chills down Shaiden’s spine.

But this wasn’t a dream, it was a memory.

A memory that accurately recalled the conversations and actions of that time.

It was clear that she had regained her sanity in that moment.

“My goodness. Then all of that was…”

Wasn’t it all an act?

Even though she had regained her sanity and was facing Carsein, Isabella had deliberately let go of his hand.

Now, Shaiden understood why Carsein had said those words.

Why he had called her ‘mother’ and embraced her.

He too had known. He had known that Isabella had regained her sanity.

“Oh dear…”

Understanding the whole situation now, it was heartbreaking, truly heartbreaking.

Shaiden let out heavy sighs.

And someone who had been watching this situation from outside also…

Quietly wiped away tears, holding back their emotions.

A single strand of pink hair settled in front of Isabella’s room.

*

“…”

A visitor came to Heron.

Originally, it was not a particularly welcome guest.

Even though the person was deeply connected with the Duke of Vagrande, he was not a very pleasant guest for Heron.

However, the arrival of this unwelcome guest meant that some answers had been reached.

“It seems you have made up your mind, Marquis Magnuel.”

“…”

Marquis Magnuel.

He was originally a supporter of Arina Vagrande.