The Faded Gift (3)
In the end, it had all been a lie.
Those claims that he felt wronged every single time. The warnings about what would happen if he were cast out. Even the things he'd brought up in the carriage.
All of it was nothing more than a scheme to drive a wedge between our family and tear us apart.
Behind a façade of hollow lies, Karsein had tried to deceive our family yet again.
So Flora fully intended to punish him for it.
She had no idea how he'd managed to sweet-talk Arina into warming up to him, but shattering that goodwill had been laughably easy. All it took was tearing up the documents he was supposed to receive and leaving the pieces in their eldest sister's room, and the two of them split apart without any effort at all.
It wouldn't be long now before Arina's fury came crashing down on Karsein.
Unable to contain her rage at the sight of the torn scraps, Arina had soon scooped up a fistful of them from the basket and set off somewhere.
Just to be safe, Flora had followed her.
"Where is Karsein?"
There was no 'just to be safe' about it. Arina was brimming with the intent to deliver judgment upon him.
A scene Flora relished with all her heart.
And yet, at the same time, she couldn't help but anticipate it. What kind of punishment would he receive this time? How would all his pathetic efforts to curry favor be trampled into the dirt?
She could hardly imagine it.
She simply wanted to watch the downfall of a lowborn wretch who'd dared, without even knowing his place, to claw his way into the House of Bagrand.
And if she happened to stoke the flames along the way, well — that would only make it all the more satisfying.
Flora smirked and trailed after Arina.
It took rather a while, though. When she went to his room, he was nowhere to be found, his lips pouted in some feigned grievance. By the time she checked their mother's chamber on a maid's tip, he'd long since left.
So Arina went from servant to servant, asking after Karsein's whereabouts, and Flora shadowed her in secret — until, at last, he appeared close by.
"Karsein. So this is where you were."
Arina glared at him with a voice soaked in fury, her gaze murderous.
Flora didn't need to look behind her to know what came next, but she intended to savor the show anyway. Swelling with anticipation, she slipped behind the railing and watched the two of them.
Arina's hand rose.
Flora was certain that in that instant, a bliss as sweet as soaring through the sky would wash over her.
Crack!
Arina's palm scraped roughly across his skin. A red flush bloomed across Karsein's cheek.
Flora wore the happiest smile in the world, her expression one of a long-stuck knot finally loosening.
Oops. But I can't let my guard down! Who knows what sweet-talking nonsense he'll spew to trick our eldest sister again!
Nodding to herself a couple of times, Flora poked her head out from behind the railing and began eavesdropping on their conversation.
"However upset or sulky you may have been, to see you disregard someone's sincerity like this — you truly haven't changed, Karsein."
"What the hell is it this time?"
"Ha. Playing dumb, are we? The excuses that spill out of that vulgar, dull head of yours are as pathetic as ever."
The scraps of paper crumpled in Arina's fist went flying through the air. The very pieces she had torn with her own hands were now being cemented as Karsein's fault, complete and undeniable.
"I have fully acknowledged my own wrongs. And yet you defiled the sincerity I sent you in this manner. What, was unwrapping the certificate of the ban's repeal such a chore? Not content with that, I suppose you plan to claim you never even received the training grounds permit you're holding in your hand?"
Flora involuntarily covered her mouth.
She'd never heard her eldest sister's voice so glacial with rage.
Anger had seeped all the way to the roots of her hair; even her breathing wavered. It was a sight almost impossible to believe from the eldest sister who had never once lost her composure.
A little frightened, Flora still couldn't resist sneaking a peek at Karsein's reaction.
He must be furious, right? Any second now he'll start screaming.
But Karsein showed no anger at all.
He didn't shout, didn't protest his innocence.
What...? Why? Why isn't he reacting at all?
Not the slightest tremor. Not a flicker of change in his expression as he stared straight ahead.
No. It was more than that.
As if nothing had happened at all... He was calmer than even their ice-cold eldest sister when she faced down nobles.
"You really never change. After enduring something like this so many times, you still start by suspecting me."
"Even when every circumstance points to you doing exactly that?"
Flora, wearing a look of utter incomprehension, crept a little closer to drink in more of their exchange.
And then—
"When did you send it?"
"What?"
"I asked when you sent that thing to me."
"This morning. I ordered Heron to deliver it directly to your room."
"Then I suppose we could just ask Heron, couldn't we? Whether it ever actually arrived in my room or not."
A shiver of dread ran through Flora in that instant.
"...!"
It lasted only a heartbeat, but Karsein's gaze flicked toward this side, and Flora met his eyes unmistakably.
It was that same look. The one from the dining hall — the look that seemed to see straight through her, as if he knew she was the culprit.
It was only a glance. Just the barest flick of his eyes in her direction.
And yet she couldn't bear to hold that expression in her sight a second longer.
Flora yanked her head back as if fleeing.
Wh-what was that? What is it? That look, what the hell...
Chillingly, Karsein had been smirking toward her even in the midst of all that.
As if he knew everything.
Her heart pounded like mad.
"Flora? What are you doing here?"
"S-Sister..."
Claire, who had just arrived, bent down to Flora's eye level. And at that very moment, two voices drifted up to them.
"Is that... Arina and Karsein talking...?"
Bewildered, Claire hurried down from the railing.
And then she saw it.
"What on earth is going on between you two..."
Karsein, a fresh wound carved into one cheek — and Arina, glaring at him with eyes blazing like coals.
Claire immediately called over a nearby maid.
"You there — someone go fetch Shayden and Mother, now!"
With Claire's sudden intervention, it wasn't long before another family meeting was convened at the House of Bagrand.
The moment Arina's palm had cracked across Karsein's cheek, the attention of the entire ducal house snapped toward them at once.
The commotion in the middle of the corridor quickly gathered the ears of every maid and attendant, and the onlookers only multiplied by the minute.
How did things come to this...
Claire pressed a hand to her forehead, her heart a tangle.
She knew, all too well. She had promptly dismissed the crowd and ushered the two of them into a room to keep the incident from snowballing further, but that was a stopgap and nothing more. This brief lull meant little — the moment either of them let their attention slip, even for an instant, the bickering could reignite.
But Isabella could not come to this room. She had left the ducal residence only a short while ago to tend to the territory's administration.
Mother, please. Please hurry, even a little...! If this goes on, something terrible is going to happen!
She had summoned an attendant and ordered him to relay the news to her mother with the utmost urgency, but there was no telling when she would arrive. Never had Claire imagined that she, of all people, would be the one forced to mediate a fight between her elder sister and her younger brother, and now she could only stamp her feet in frustration.
Just as she was pacing and waiting—
The door opened.
Claire's heart, which had been clenched tight with worry, spun her around in joyful hope.
But alas, at the entrance where she had so wished to see Isabella, other guests had arrived instead.
"I heard someone called for me."
Shayden, the chief physician, had rushed over with his medical bag in hand.
Still, her disappointment didn't last — because right now, traces of blood still clung to the corner of Karsein's mouth, not yet wiped away.
Claire entrusted Karsein to Shayden without delay.
"The injured one is Karsein. When I got there, he was bleeding from the mouth. I came late, so I'm not sure, but... it looks like Arina hit him."
"Hmm. I see no visible wound on the outside, so it would appear the injury is inside the mouth. Understood."
But Karsein refused the treatment.
"Not necessary."
"Karsein. Don't be stubborn."
"What's the big deal about a cut inside my mouth?"
What he needed right now was someone to prove his innocence — not treatment for some trivial wound inside his mouth.
Karsein's eyes turned toward the door.
Isabella had yet to arrive, but there was one more person in this room already.
Heron — the veteran butler of the House of Bagrand.
Declining Shayden's offer of treatment, Karsein stepped forward and squared off directly against Arina.
"Since Heron is here too, shall we have this out properly?"
"Karsein, enough. Please? What good comes of fighting with Arina endlessly!"
"Enough? Enough of what? She shows up out of nowhere and suspects me all over again for no reason — so tell me what's wrong with proving my innocence straight out?"
Claire had once stood where he stood now, and so she found herself unable to offer a single word in rebuttal.
"Don't worry. I don't swing my hand first, unlike some people."
"Mind your insolence. We are waiting for Mother to arrive."
"And why would we need to wait? We can settle it right now."
"Ha."
Karsein sneered back and fixed his gaze on Heron.
Arina, too, snorted as if his audacity had left her breathless. He had finally revealed his true colors — clearly, he meant to see this through to the very end.
"Heron. I have a few questions. All you need to do is answer. That's acceptable, isn't it?"
"...My lady."
"He's come out swinging like that, so my patience has limits."
Two irreconcilable claims collided, in a situation that could easily spiral into open strife within the house. Arina made it plain that she intended to settle this matter once and for all. From here, there was no turning back.
"Ask your questions."
Heron's voice was heavy and low. Faced with a future he could already see all too clearly, he answered with a weight upon his heart.
"I'll go first. It'll be quicker to explain the circumstances of why I came looking for you in the first place."
Arina, with nothing to hold back, claimed the floor first. When Karsein answered with a silent nod, she began at once.
"Heron, this morning I handed you a document. Do you remember?"
"Yes. I remember it well."
"And what order did you give along with it?"
"You ordered that it be delivered to the young master, Karsein."
And that was that.
This morning, Arina had handed Heron the document with explicit instructions to deliver it to Karsein. The moment this was confirmed, she rounded on him.
"Do you still deny it, Karsein? You disregarded my sincerity. True, you had been wronged — but I tried to make amends for it. And then, that document—"
Arina pointed a finger at the paper clutched in Karsein's hand.
"That is the training grounds permit Mother issued. You should have received the certificate of the ban's repeal from Heron, so going out of your way to refuse it and request this from Mother instead — that alone was already a provocation. Fine. I held my temper that far. But—"
Tap. Flutter-flutter.
The scraps of paper fell from Arina's hand.
"You tore this up, trampling my sincerity entirely — mocking it. From that point on, you crossed the line completely. Am I wrong?"
Her blue eyes, steeped in fury, trembled.
"Apologize even now, and I'll let it go. Karsein."
Arina made it clear that this was the end. She had given him a chance, and she warned him sternly: if he would not beg forgiveness even now, then she would deliver punishment.
But Karsein did not beg. He held his ground.
"I'll say it again. I haven't done anything wrong."
"Ha. Even now, no hint of remorse."
After what had happened yesterday, she had been prepared to let things slide, at least somewhat, if only he would apologize here. But his stubbornness remained unshaken.
She would grant no further mercy.
"Then prove it. Why you tore up something that was delivered to you with such effort at sincerity — and where, exactly, your justification for doing so could possibly lie."
She had thought him far more mature lately. He hadn't caused trouble anywhere — not just within the ducal residence, but outside as well — and she had genuinely believed he'd finally learned his place.
But nothing had changed.
So Arina resolved herself. She would set Karsein straight, right here and now, before he walked any further down the wrong path. Even if the punishment proved rather harsh, she would discipline him without an ounce of compromise — without seeking even the smallest common ground.
"Finished?"
Karsein scoffed and unfolded his arms.
"Your statement's done, so now it's my turn to ask, right?"
The future was obvious, after all. Karsein would turn to Heron with a pitiful look and plead his case.
I gave you a fair chance, Karsein. It was you who refused to take it.
But contrary to her expectations, Karsein's question did not turn to Heron.
"Let me confirm your claim. Arina. You sent me that document, and I — using the incident at the Snowflower Festival as my pretext — defiled and trampled your sincerity. Given that I obtained the training grounds permit from Mother and tore up your document, the circumstantial evidence is more than sufficient. Is that about the shape of it?"
Karsein asked it clearly, staring her down without a single tremor in his gaze.
"...Yes."
She affirmed it first. She didn't know why he was reciting her own accusation back to her so precisely, but there was nothing incorrect in it.
And then Karsein said something strange.
"Then one more question. The correspondence addressed to me that comes to the ducal residence — have you ever, even once, laid eyes on it?"
"What?"
The question was off.
It was hard to see it as the natural conclusion of a neatly assembled argument and evidence.
"What does that possibly have to do with anything? That seems rather beside the point at hand."
"No. I've never once strayed from the point at hand. It just so happens that things meant for me seem to be arriving only after passing through someone else's hands — doesn't it?"
"...What are you talking about, Karsein?"
"Heron. From this moment, I command you."
Holding Arina's gaze dead-on, Karsein turned to Heron.
"Reveal that truth — the one known only to you and Mother — here and now."
At the word truth, every member of the family turned to look at him.
Heron squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them.
"The young master Karsein has, all this time, never once received the correspondence that was meant to reach his own hands."
"That's... what do you mean? He never received his correspondence?"
Wondering if she had misunderstood, Arina asked again.
"Precisely as I have said. Letters that should have been addressed to the young master Karsein were vanishing — somewhere within the ducal house."
"That's impossible!"
Arina shot to her feet, kicking her chair back.
"Unless someone held this house in utter contempt, no one would dare commit such a contemptible act—!"
But her outburst lasted only a moment.
One by one, the things that had happened to Karsein recently began to surface in her mind.
A bathtub filled with ice-cold water. Stimulants and aggravants. A water pitcher full of sand.
And then—
The Kelvia allergy.
All those sinister incidents rose to the surface of her mind in an instant.
Arina swallowed hard and asked.
"Heron. My document... did you deliver it to Karsein directly?"
A brief silence fell.
Then Heron opened his mouth with difficulty.
"The young master was asleep, so I could not deliver the document to him in person."
"Th-then the document? What happened to the document? You couldn't possibly have torn it all up yourself!"
Claire demanded to know where the document had gone, but what came back was a truth none of them had ever imagined.
"I instructed the maids of the utility room to deliver it the moment the young master awoke."
"...What did you say?"
A violent wave crashed against one side of Arina's chest.