A Tiny Sprout (6)
“W-what are you doing here...?”
“First, would you mind letting me up?”
“Let you... up?”
At the request to free his body, her gaze naturally drifted downward.
His arms. Wrapped around her.
With Karsein's body curled around hers.
What on earth was going on?
She'd been so happy, rolling around in bed hugging something soft and warm, thinking she could sleep a few more hours—and it had turned out to be Karsein?
Her cheeks burned crimson.
The flush that had covered her pale skin spread across her whole face in an instant, radiating a scorching heat.
“Kyaah!!”
“Kgh—!”
Shoving him away, Harnie let out a scream.
“Y-you! You were pretending you hadn't done anything, and in the end you—!”
“Ugh... if we'd done that, the Oath Jewel would have activated.”
“Th-then... what happened? Why was I in the carriage like that...?”
“Honestly. You're asking me? You fell asleep first because you were tired.”
Karsein, who had been shoved off the seat, sat up rubbing his back.
“I fell asleep? Me?”
“Don't you remember? You came into the carriage from the banquet hall and told me to wait, saying you'd pay me back properly.”
“...”
She combed through her memory, and it was true.
He had been teasing her at the time, so she'd grumbled, hurriedly finished organizing the Shatren Territory report, and meant to repay him right then.
And then...
Nothing. Her memory simply stopped there.
Which meant she'd fallen asleep just like that.
How long had she slept? When she moved to check the time, Karsein abruptly placed his pocket watch before her eyes.
Th-three hours? I slept that long?!
Her groggy mind snapped wide awake.
She had borrowed his shoulder for three whole hours, and instead of thanking him, she'd assumed he was some kind of pervert and shoved him flat over with her hands?
This was, pure and simple, the height of ingratitude.
Harnie asked in a trembling voice.
“Um... Karsein? Would it... be all right if I asked you a few questions?”
“Go ahead.”
He answered with a look of mild irritation.
“Well... my body was leaning against yours, wasn't it...?”
Karsein let out a long sigh, scratched his head, and shook his—no.
“Th-then... did I fall asleep while holding onto you...?”
She hoped not. She wanted desperately to believe she hadn't.
And yet, from the circumstances alone, her intuition already told her that was exactly what had happened.
And he nodded.
Her burning cheeks had been fluttering here and there, and now her violet eyes began to waver in much the same way.
Unable to find any words, her mind a swirl of chaos, her purple eyes darted all over as she searched his face for a reaction.
“Wh-why did I think that? Even with the contract, you'd never... you don't even think of me that way to begin with... I was just out of sorts... no, wait, that's not the point! I...!”
She stammered and fumbled, but only one thing needed saying.
“I-I'm sorry!”
To the person who had caught her firmly when she stumbled.
To the person who had lent her his shoulder so she could sleep in comfort.
She begged forgiveness for harboring such strange suspicions against him, and for shoving him over and knocking him down besides.
At that, a cross-shaped vein popped up on Karsein's forehead.
-Flick!
“Ow.”
He gave her forehead a light knuckle rap.
“Forgiveness, nothing. If you know you were wrong, then stop helping me at the cost of wearing yourself down to the point of cutting into your sleep.”
“Y-yes... huh?”
Harnie, still rubbing her forehead, jerked her head up as if she'd misheard.
“Karsein. What did you just say...?”
He answered with a faint smile.
“The Shatren Territory investigation report. Thank you, Harnie.”
As if he'd known all along.
As if there were no need for her to explain.
It was the reply of someone who understood exactly what all of this meant.
“I should be heading back now. Harnie.”
“...”
Harnie bowed her head low. Her cheeks, which had finally gone pale again, were slowly flooding once more with the heat of embarrassment, tinged pink.
Wondering if he'd startled her too badly, Karsein gave an awkward smile and boarded the carriage without another word.
In that moment, Harnie stole a glance upward, and only upon seeing him climbing in did she hurriedly call out.
“T-take care getting home, Karsein! And thank you for today—...ou.”
Embarrassing as it was, she still had to say thank you.
“You as well, Harnie.”
Thankfully, the words seemed to reach him—Karsein paused for a moment, replied, and climbed back into the carriage.
Watching the carriage recede into the distance, Harnie kept her eyes fixed on it until his figure had vanished entirely.
Once Karsein was gone, Harnie pressed both hands to her flushed cheeks to cool them, and when that wasn't enough, began fanning herself with her palms.
“Whew... my face is still burning...”
Perhaps because she'd shown him such a state, the heat simply refused to die down—or so Harnie guessed at the cause.
“...I never did ask him why he investigated Shatren Territory all the way to the end.”
He had said only thank you; far from pressing her with questions, he hadn't even asked a simple one before leaving.
Which meant he must have already guessed most of it on his own.
“Why does that sting so much?”
Her cheeks puffed out on their own.
When he'd caught her trying to sneak him the Shatren Territory report.
He hadn't asked how he knew.
Seeing a single sheet slip from her sleeping fingers wouldn't have been difficult, after all.
From his side, it should have been a perfectly satisfying transaction.
And yet, strangely, she felt unsatisfied.
Was it because her intent had been seen through so completely?
Or was she annoyed that he'd anticipated it in advance, and so hadn't even been surprised?
And if it's neither of those...
If you know you were wrong, then stop helping me at the cost of wearing yourself down to the point of cutting into your sleep.
Karsein's voice echoed through Harnie's mind.
“Ngh...!”
Her cheeks flared up all over again.
It was all the worse because Karsein had been watching her closely the entire time.
Don't help me at the cost of your own sleep—the fact that he'd pinpointed it that precisely meant he'd missed nothing.
He had noticed exactly that she was yawning in the morning.
He had remembered her saying she was short on sleep because of work.
Which meant he'd also been quietly observing her spending every spare moment in the carriage focused on that report.
And then...
-Did you sleep well?
His voice, the very first thing she'd heard upon waking.
She'd been so flustered by how close he was that the scene had carved itself deep into her memory.
“Uwaaaaah—!”
Flailing both arms at the empty air, Harnie tried to scrub the memory from her head like a cloud drifting through it.
She forced herself to deny the strange thought creeping in—that Karsein seemed somehow different today.
Right. It's just his consideration. That's why I keep feeling like I lost somehow—it's because of his consideration!
Because what she'd received had grown larger than what she'd given.
Because she hadn't been able to properly repay him yet.
“H-hmph. Next time, I won't lose.”
Feeling this absurd spite in all the wrong places, Harnie mistook the lingering warmth on her body for residual embarrassment, clenched her fist, and promised herself a rematch.
In the meantime, Mina came bounding up, eyes sparkling.
“My lady. Goodness, really.”
“Mina?”
“I told you from way over there that your bathwater was getting cold. How long were you planning to stand there staring?”
“It took me that long?”
Harnie asked, tilting her head. Somehow, Mina's voice hadn't seemed to reach her at all.
Of course, the truth was that Mina had deliberately stayed quiet and approached slowly.
Because her lady's gaze had been utterly glued to that carriage, refusing to let go.
And what did that mean, exactly?
As a woman herself, Mina couldn't help but sense it.
“Young Master Karsein is quite the catch, isn't he?”
“Hmm? Mm. Well, he is...? I mean, he does look after even the littlest things...”
She's caught it!
Mina broke into a sly, knowing smile.
“Pardon? I only said that because he's reliable in our business dealings. What do you mean, little things?”
“Eh?! N-no, it's...! There was that thing!”
“What thing? Did he look after something else for you on top of it, my lady?”
“N-nothing! Nothing like that. Wasn't my bath getting cold? I'll go bathe right now!”
Harnie thought she'd slipped away cleanly without being caught—but Mina's sharp eyes had picked her apart long ago.
Those two flushed cheeks.
The faintly reddened tips of her ears, and her wavering eyes.
And the one shoulder—the very one Karsein's arm had been wrapped around—that she kept touching without realizing it.
One could safely say that on this side, a tiny sprout had already begun to sprout.
“Coming with you, my lady!”
Our poor lady, who's never once had a proper romance—if she ends up with that man, mightn't she finally get to spend a little happy time?
Indulging in a fantasy drifting a bit far from reality, Mina trailed after Harnie.
“Whew.”
“Is the water temperature all right?”
“Mm. It's perfect.”
Feeling as though her weary body were melting away entirely, Harnie sank into the bathtub, had Mina attend her, and allowed herself a small stretch of rest.
She closed her eyes and soaked in the sense of freedom for a moment—until, quite suddenly, a worry surfaced.
“The Eastern Noble Conference... it looked like the preparations were underway, didn't it?”
After the great unification of the Pecellos Empire, the Imperial Family had taken a hard line, seeking to root out the entrenched noble factions whose extravagance and indulgence had drawn the ire of the empire's citizens.
The ones actually defending the empire were far more often commoners than the sons of nobles, and shielded by that fact, the aristocracy had done nothing but live in ease within the realm.
And so the Crown declared:
If you are nobility, then act like it.
It had issued a warning: show us that you are worthy of the rights you enjoy.
As nobles of the empire, what initiative did you take up, what measures did you propose, and what results did you achieve?
Every year, each house would have to prove it before the eyes of the Imperial Family itself.
The stage for that proof was none other than the Eastern Noble Conference, held once every year.
“And he chose Shatren Territory, of all places...”
What Karsein had chosen was a territory.
What institutions would he introduce to transform the lives of the territory's people?
What opportunities could he create for lives sinking ever deeper into poverty?
How would he prevent the crimes that swelled with each passing day, and ease the grievances piling up against the nobility?
He had declared that he would take direct, binding responsibility for governing a single territory and prove himself through it.
Choosing a territory, in itself, wasn't a bad move.
After all, among the nobility, territories were the most common subject presented at the Eastern Noble Conference.
But for Karsein alone, it could be a terribly poor choice.
“I did the investigation myself, and even as flattery, its condition was nowhere near good.”
Shatren Territory.
It had once been among the more prosperous lands of House Bagrand—but no longer.
The moment a single hand reached into it, it plunged into decline, and the residents hurled ferocious condemnation at Karsein, the one who had given that order.
Afterward, when Arina intervened and the order was rescinded, they had tried to recover—but they never regained their former prosperity.
Not even now, in the present day.
Even if she imagined herself in his position, trying to revive Shatren Territory from within that situation, she doubted she could arrive at an answer easily.
“...It surely won't be easy. Restoring Shatren Territory, one of the most flourishing lands House Bagrand ever held.”
Before he could produce any results, the backlash from the territory's own residents would be tremendous.
How could it be otherwise, when the very man who had wrecked their lives appeared and announced he would revive this land?
Worse still, she could see little opening anywhere for the situation to turn around.
At least, that was how it looked from everything Harnie had investigated and compiled.
And that was precisely why she could smile again.
“But you took that report with you anyway, without backing down... so you must have already thought of something, haven't you?”
This was the man who had once overturned an entire trial, spinning out an outcome no one could have predicted.
There had been no trace of anxiety in his voice as he accepted the Shatren Territory report and said thank you.
He, too, must have anticipated that he would be assigned to revive Shatren Territory—and so had already drawn up his plans and prepared his alternatives.
“I'll be waiting to see what way you astonish the world next, Karsein.”
“...You're late.”
By the time he returned to the ducal estate, the night had grown deep and dark.
Which meant—
That blade was about to fall.
▶ The Late Return Event has occurred! ◀
▶ You will inevitably encounter one member of the ducal family! ◀
“As expected.”
It had shown up right on cue, never once disappointing.
The Late Return Event.
A thoroughly aggravating mechanic built into the game system for the sole purpose of suppressing free movement.
A penalty forcing you to run into a family member.
He'd experienced it firsthand—it was a massive nuisance, since extra dialogue options could pop up, and repeated occurrences even shaved down Affinity.
Of course, he could still exploit it the way he used to, but that only applied to Chapter 1, while an enemy named Emma still existed.
Now, it was nothing more than a penalty.
“Normally I'd have to make a fair exchange and bring something back with me... but even so, I don't consider this a loss.”
[ Shatren Territory Report ]
Having gained something like this, how could it possibly be a loss?
If anything, this round had gone far more in my favor than the system's.
To deal with the return event gracefully, I entered through the mansion's main gate.
Before long, a family member appeared.
Since the night was still chilly, someone had apparently covered them with a blanket while they waited.
Affinity: 43%
▣▣▣▣▣□□□□□
Hm? Did I have a family member at a number like that?
Isabella had passed that figure long ago.
Arina's had dropped once, so there was no way hers had climbed that high again.
As for Flora... well, I hadn't seen it since her Guilt Gauge appeared. At best, it wouldn't be very high.
Then that leaves Claire?
I had no idea what had raised it, but Claire was the reasonable bet—her last displayed Affinity had been 37%.
The moment I stepped inside, I could already picture it: just like the second time, she'd nag me about why on earth I was so late.
I figured I could swagger in with some line about having been out with my fiancée.
...That was what I'd assumed. Until I looked again at the person standing before me.
Why is SHE here?
Unlike Claire, her build was far smaller, and her hair wasn't anywhere near pink.
Rather than marching over to berate me, she was nodding off right in front of me.
Yes. The family member standing before my eyes was, absurdly, not Claire—but Flora.
Flora Bagland
Affinity: 43%
▣▣▣▣▣□□□□□
Whenever these forced encounters with family members occurred, it had almost always been Arina, Claire, or Isabella I ran into.
Even when it was Flora, she was never dozing off alone like this—she'd be at Emma's side.
Watching Flora sleeping soundly, I found myself wondering why on earth she was like this.
Well, nothing to be done. As long as I clear the event, that's what matters—I'll wake her up, give her whatever she wants to move things along, or if it comes to it, eat the Affinity loss partway through.
Back in the day, I'd have grumbled inwardly about how it just had to be Flora's Affinity taking the hit. Now, I couldn't have cared less.
But at that very moment—
The Status Window chimed, and Arina's voice rang out alongside it.
“You do come home quickly, don't you. Your little sister fell asleep out here in this cold wind, all because she was waiting for you.”
It was, truly, an unpleasant voice.