The Damn Family Is Back Again

4 – 4. The Result of Evil (1)

▶Maid Camilla brought dessert.◀

[1. Come in.]

[2. (In anger) What dessert?! Don’t try to pull off some sh*tty trick and get lost!]

[3. Pretend to be asleep under the covers.]

[4. (Open the door and rush out) You can eat that garbage yourself!]

The choices appeared, signaling the start of the first episode.

Yes, that’s how it really happened. After the scene was briefly skipped during the tutorial, the first episode started immediately in Carsein’s room.

The maid’s remark about bringing dessert.

I am not in a state to eat anything, as I am sick beyond measure and have lost my appetite. However, the correct answer is still option 1. It was telling her to come in dumbly.

First… I don’t think I can continue the test because of my condition.

“Come in.”

While still lying under the covers, I said those words, and the maid cautiously opened the door and entered.

Since choosing the option, my head has been spinning. I can’t handle it like this.

“Damn it, my vision is blurry from dizziness. I have to lean against the wall.”

Muttering in the direction of the headboard of the bed, I leaned against the wall, and in the meantime, with a rustling sound, the dessert kit with the pudding and a drink approached me.

These were the desserts given to me, placed on the table in front of me.

“I will go out. Call me when you finish.”

The maid Camilla replied and left, pulling the cart.

There were two puddings and a drink on the table, and Karsein, who was forcing herself to endure the cold, must have been like that in the game.

Although a simple mini-game was played here, it was difficult for her stomach to pretend to be fine with her own sick body. It was as if she couldn’t even remember when she found her clothes in the morning.

▶ The timer will end. ◀

▶ Since maid Camilla endured until she left, the penalty disappears. ◀

From the moment Camilla entered with the cart, a timer appeared in front of my eyes, and during that time, I had to hide the fact that I was in pain. And I succeeded.

The problem is what comes next.

Karsein, unable to endure any longer due to her cold, collapses, and this episode ends.

So in reality, this was just before my body collapsed.

But. A shining fork caught my eye.

“It was a memorial…”

Logically, how could a fork emit light when it’s not a natural luminescent object? There are occasionally shining objects in this game. It was an item called “Memorial” that shows a scene from the past when clicked.

In this game, full of absurd bad endings, it provides clues to help the player choose the right options.

Although this episode is expected to end with this, I wonder if there is any significance…

“Still, it’s better to check.”

My body, burning like a fireball, was stiffer and slower than when I walked to the restaurant. But still, I moved reluctantly and touched the fork. The memorial shone brightly and projected a scene like a film.

What I saw was an empty room of a duke. In there, the duke seemed to have brought in a maid.

The duke tried to hand her something from his pocket, but he suddenly withdrew it and didn’t give it to her.

“I guess I don’t have money to give this time.”

“What? What is this…”

“After handling the job like that, you have the audacity to say you did it?”

Camilla asked in confusion when she heard that they suddenly couldn’t pay the money that she thought she would receive soon.

“What are you talking about? I did everything as instructed.”

“Recite what your task was.”

“I filled the bathtub with cold water instead of hot water and sprinkled enough salt for the meal. Wasn’t that it?”

The essence of today’s events is revealed. The meal with salt sprinkled by Carsein, and the water that Carsein would bathe in. It was all Camilla’s doing.

“Then why would the youngest miss feel upset! Carsein casually emptied half of the soup. And on top of that, he bathed with cold water and didn’t say a word. Isn’t it natural to be suspicious of you?!”

“What? But I…”

-Snap.

“…!”

“I’ll give you another chance. It’s a Ligomos series awakening agent and stimulant. Take this dessert made with these drugs. If you fail even this, then it’s really over.”

Han Yoo-jang threatened Camilla by directly placing two bottles of medicine in her hand.

That was the end of the scene illuminated by the memorial.

The fiery body returns. I regained consciousness along with a blurred vision.

The scene was quite different from what I saw in the game. Well, it wasn’t much different from the scene of the memorial seen in the game, but there was quite a bit of additional content.

In the game, the scene was simply Han Yoo-jang placing the medicine bottle in Camilla’s hand, and as a player, I would focus on the information that Camilla was the culprit rather than that.

I didn’t know that the awakening agent and stimulant, which would make the nerves restless when consumed together in that pudding and drink, were included. Let alone that she received a bribe and did the job.

Unless you touch that food, the flow of the game will remain the same. But…

“I can make good use of this.”

I am not Karsein, I am Kim Minhyuk.

Whether it’s the possibility of escaping from here or the possibility of clearing the game, if there is even a slight clue given, I will never refuse the opportunity to find it.

Plop.

I immediately picked up the fork and stabbed right into the center of the pudding. Then, reluctantly, I put it in my mouth and chewed before gulping down as much of the drink as possible.

Stimulants and enhancers. They were consumable items in the game.

If you only consumed one, it could be used as a medicinal herb, but if you took both at the same time, it would stimulate your nerves and make you more sensitive. Karsein, who fell for that, got angry and had seen a bad ending.

Well, it didn’t matter either way.

Because of the cold, there was no need to be sensitive or cautious. Is there anyone who would get angry in a situation where they are currently suffering from cold symptoms?

So, even if there was infinite malice lurking in the seemingly harmless pudding and drink, it wouldn’t have any effect.

-Glug. Glug.

I emptied about one-third of the drink and swallowed one pudding. This should be enough.

“Ugh… I can’t take it anymore…”

Now, it was really my limit. As I watched the fork fall to the ground, my body also plummeted to the floor.

I couldn’t feel the pain well, so I didn’t know. I just felt regretful that I couldn’t see the contents of the status window that appeared in front of me.

▶CHAPTER 1 – Episode I Cleared!◀

▶You have successfully achieved results beyond the choices.◀

***

Even during breakfast, there was a lot of dissatisfaction.

Something was definitely wrong.

It was because Karsein didn’t react to anything, whether it was the cold water in the bath that the maid had prepared, or the indifferent reaction from mother, or even the heavily salted meal.

Because there was no response. I felt like the perfect opportunity had slipped away.

So I was dissatisfied. I even doubted whether the maid was doing her job properly.

Then Emma, who had been working as a nanny since she was young, spoke up. She said she would produce the desired result.

How much time has passed since then? Emma smirked and told me that everything was ready, so I should go up to Carcine’s room as usual. This time, I firmly made it clear that I wouldn’t budge without getting angry.

“Emma, you’re amazing as always!”

Thanks to her, Flora, who had been full of complaints during mealtime, had a much lighter step.

Excitedly walking, almost skipping, she found herself right in front of Carcine’s room.

“Let’s see… you said you prepared dessert, right? Yeah!”

Remembering what Emma had told her, Flora opened the door with a bright smile.

“Did you enjoy the dessert I prepared~?”

Her voice was truly annoying.

Since it was obvious what was in the prepared dessert, her mocking tone seemed to ask how she could eat it without getting angry.

At this point, she will definitely get angry with herself. She will raise her voice, strut around, and get angry.

I was certain that would happen, without a doubt.

“What? Why isn’t it here?”

Carcine’s figure was not visible in the room. He wasn’t on the bed, nor was he sitting at the table. Carcine, who should have been suppressing his expression as usual, was nowhere to be seen.

That couldn’t be right. Unlike Carcine’s maid, Emma wouldn’t lie.

I wondered what was going on. Upon closer inspection, I could see a foot sticking out from under the table. It had been hidden.

“Hmph, what’s this? Did you hide it because of me?”

It wasn’t even a game of hide and seek. It was so obvious that he was showing himself while pretending to be hidden, and it irritated me even more.

Flora pondered how she could make use of this as she approached the table.

But.

“Uh, uh…?”

The expression of the girl, who had been excited at the thought of taking medicine, instantly stiffened.

Her neatly folded eyes trembled as if in confusion, and her smiling lips quickly curled down.

She didn’t get angry or raise her voice.

She didn’t even show a face that was trying to endure.

He lay on the floor, stretched out between the bed and the table, unable to show any reaction, such as making a facial expression or speaking, at all.

Carsein had collapsed.

“I, I don’t know… I don’t… I don’t know!”

The frightened girl took a step back. One step, then another. And before she knew it, she turned her back and left the room.

-Thud!

Carsein’s door closed with a heavy sound.

***

“I think the meal is over, so I’ll get up now.”

“Mother? Already getting up?”

“There’s still some work to be done. I want to finish what I started.”

“But, Mother. You just came back after a long time. It’s okay to rest a little longer.”

In response, Isabella shook her head.

After Karsein and Flora, their mother also left, and there was no reason for the two to stay behind.

Although their mother said she would start working again after a long absence, the two daughters knew it in their hearts.

Since Karsein left, Isabella’s eating speed had gradually slowed down. Her gaze became distant, and her responses became brief.

Because of that brat who left his seat for the first time. That’s why their mother left her seat.

Unable to hold back her discontent, Claire immediately changed direction as soon as she left the restaurant. Arina, who had been watching her, called out to Claire.

“Claire.”

“Don’t stop me, sis. Mom finally returned from her territory, and she could have at least stayed until the end of the meal.”

If only she had stayed in her seat until they finished eating, the meal wouldn’t have ended so awkwardly.

“That’s why I have to say something. Don’t stop me.”

“I’m not trying to stop you. I’m saying let’s go together.”

“Huh?”

“I have the same thought. We should know how to show basic courtesy.”

The sisters, who had the same thought, walked side by side towards Karsein’s room.

“Karsei─”

“Hey, Karsein. Are you inside? I’m coming in!”

Arina tried to knock on the tightly closed door, but Claire, who couldn’t even hold that back, opened the door and went in.

“Hey, where did you go, kid? You can’t be taking a shower right now.”

“There’s no way Karsein has plans. And it looks like he was just eating dessert at the table.”

“Well, that’s true. Then where the hell… huh?”

Suddenly, something caught Claire’s eye outside the table. It was Karsein’s shoes, sticking out.

“I can’t believe it. What on earth are you doing on the floor while eating dessert?”

“Hey, what are you doing on the floor?”

The two sisters, walking briskly, had their eyes wide open, just like the fortune-teller.

“Ka, Karsein!”

“Is anyone else outside? Go and call for Shayden!”