The Damn Family Is Back Again

12 – 12. Claire’s Coming of Age Ceremony (2)

“Sorry, but I don’t have anything for you to do.”

What would the other maids have thought if they had heard this?

-Wow, amazing! Is there really such a sweet job like that?

-Unbelievable. A dedicated maid who doesn’t have to do anything. I’m so envious.

-I’ll do it, I’ll do it! I’m confident that I can do absolutely nothing!

The maids, who were busy in the Duke’s mansion, would have gladly accepted any reduction in workload and made such comments without hesitation if they could rest without doing any work.

Get paid for doing nothing. Avoid work as much as possible. It’s a fair situation to leave an unpleasant young master alone.

They would have gladly accepted and their smiles would have reached their ears.

However, Camilla couldn’t do that.

“You were released because there wasn’t enough evidence, right?”

“Yes, yes…”

“It’s possible, just like what your sister and mother said. Other maids might have done the same. But I don’t believe it. In my mind, you’re still the suspect.”

Claire’s cold voice still echoes.

“So, I’ll keep an eye on you. I’ll make sure you take care of Karsein perfectly, without missing anything. Got it?”

A clear warning.

If the same thing were to happen again, it was a strong recommendation not to let it pass like this.

Therefore, this situation cannot continue. Absolutely, it must not continue.

As a maid, and moreover, as Karsein’s exclusive maid, she had to do her job properly.

“You, you were cleaning just now. There’s plenty of work for you to assign…?”

Camilla trembled, speaking in fear.

But then, Karsein took the mop again without any change in expression.

“I said it wasn’t necessary.”

No way.

It couldn’t be.

With anxiety building up, Camilla tried to take the mop from Karsein’s hand again.

“What are you doing? Let go.”

“Cleaning is not something nobles do. It’s something I, like a noble’s maid, should do…”

“Ha.”

Karsein sighed once and repeated the words from before.

“That’s why it’s not necessary. I can do everything with my own hands, so why should I borrow yours?”

Camilla’s heart sank.

This can’t be.

If it continues like this, she will be driven away.

If rumors spread that her own mistress is doing the maid’s work, there will be no turning back.

There is no other way.

-Thud!

“Master, I’m sorry. It was my mistake!”

He should have kneeled down.

***

[1. (Pushing Camilla) What nonsense are you spouting? I’ve been eating worse food than this rag you call a meal! Do you think an apology like that will solve anything?!]

[2. (Not handing over the rag) Leave. I will never forgive what you’ve done.]

[3. (With a sullen response) What?]

As Camilla kneeled down and admitted her mistake, a new dialogue option appeared.

Considering that Option 3 was different from Option 2, it seemed to follow a branching path chosen before.

But there was no need to show a sullen response.

“What? What did you come here to say you did wrong?”

“M-Master…”

“If you came here to say something so absurd, just leave. You’re disrupting the cleaning.”

I have no desire to hear that.

You just have to avoid triggering a dead end.

As I turned away, Camilla grabbed onto the hem of my clothes and pleaded.

No, more accurately…

“I admit it! It was me!!”

She confessed.

-Chime!

[1. What’s the matter?]

[2. (Kicking Camilla) Stop bothering me and get out!]

Is this the second option?

If I continue to press here, I might be able to get Camilla’s confession.

I could get her to admit intentionally using cold water for the bath, putting medicine in the food, and everything she has done so far.

But I’m not Karsein, am I?

By mixing up the options a bit, a good line came out.

“What’s the matter? If you’re going to say something irrelevant, it bothers me, so just leave.”

There’s no way I don’t know this.

She showered with the cold water she received, personally hand-washed laundry in winter, and ate food heavily salted.

So why pretend not to know when she knows?

“It’s because of this.”

I shifted my gaze towards the door as I heard footsteps getting closer.

“I brought your meal, my Lord.”

Just then, Hanjang brought the meal.

Hanjang fixed her gaze on Camilla, holding the tray. Then, as if catching on to something, she smirked and quickly changed her expression.

“Why are you kneeling? Camilla?”

“Um? Well, um, that’s…”

▶Hanjang Emma has arrived. How will you react?

[1. I must have done something wrong, so I’m kneeling.]

[2. Don’t you also have to kneel down to me? Emma.]

[3. Well, I’m also curious.]

[4. I don’t know either. Ask yourself.]

Today is the day when the housekeeper brings the meal instead of the other maids. That’s why I deliberately didn’t question Camilla.

If this conversation had made even the slightest progress and reached my ears, I might have seen a bad ending soon.

“I’ve passed the dangerous scene.”

First, the choices appeared.

I could answer right away here, but I’ll wait for one turn here.

Until that line comes.

“Did the Duke scold Camilla? No, just being suspected and locked up in a solitary cell is an unfair situation…!”

Yes, I waited for that.

“This is too much. Are you going to persecute the innocent maids like this again?”

“If you want to tell my mother, go ahead.”

“What did you say? Duke, are you allowed to be so confident right now?”

“Of course. Because I didn’t persecute anyone. I was just cleaning my own room myself. I’m saying this clearly, I didn’t order anyone to clean it, I cleaned it myself.”

“No, then why did Camilla kneel…?”

When I showed Emma the cloth I was holding, she looked bewildered, and I immediately used the choice.

[4. I don’t know either. Ask yourself.]

“Do you know? Ask yourself. You came here unexpectedly 30 minutes earlier than usual and started saying things. What do you expect me to know?”

Now it’s my counterattack point.

“But why do you think I scolded Camilla? Don’t you know how unfair this situation is for me?”

“…!”

“Yeah. I never accused Camilla of being the culprit. I was just scolding a perfectly fine maid who was cleaning the room. How did I become a bad master?”

Emma asked Camilla with a hint of doubt.

“Is what the Duke said true?”

Camilla’s head nodded slightly after a brief silence.

Emma’s expression hardened in an instant.

This isn’t right.

How did it end up like this?

Such thoughts raced through Emma’s mind.

Emma reluctantly uttered words she didn’t want to say.

“I made a mistake. It seems like I misunderstood.”

Her distorted expression seemed forgiving. But is that all, just an apologetic attitude? I can’t stop here.

“Misunderstanding? Ah, that’s just a word to end it all as a mere misunderstanding.”

To see it as a misunderstanding would be crossing the line.

She speculated and judged on her own accord.

Considering cause and effect, it was a situation where an innocent person almost became a scapegoat.

That can’t be seen as a misunderstanding.

Emma herself seemed to realize that, but she couldn’t refute it.

“…I’m sorry.”

Before the words “I’m sorry” could come out, a voice filled with anger and frustration suddenly emerged. It seems like his pride has been hurt.

But wait? Isn’t what happened to Karzain more than that?

“Is that all?”

“Lord Karzain, I have already apologized for my mistake.”

“So, is that it? Nothing more?”

“I’m not sure what you mean…”

“Emma, it seemed like you didn’t bow when you entered my room. Could it be that my eyes were mistaken?”

“…!”

“hehehe. From the beginning, even the housekeeper is like this, bringing such things to my meal. Isn’t that right?”

I smirked, as if fully aware of the Duke’s situation, and pointed out the previous meal.

So, apologize quickly.

Sincerely.

Make sure something like this never happens in my meal again.

Those three sentences forced themselves into existence.

It’s none other than the Bagrand Duke, a family that even the mention of their name would make people gasp in the Pescelos Empire.

Although they only had one adopted son who had just finished his military service. How dare a housekeeper like you doubt and approach someone like me?

In this case, Karzain’s meal is equivalent to the perfect seasoning for the main dish. The incident at that time even created a neat harmony, suggesting that it was all your fault for disturbing the current hierarchy.

There’s no way to refute it. Ultimately, Emma lowers her head.

“I apologize. Lord Karzain, please forgive my rudeness and suspicion.”

For now, let’s leave it at this.

To ask forgiveness from the commoners rather than the nobility, and to bow down to the point of bending one’s waist, one must lower their dignity to the utmost.

Perhaps this incident will be deeply engraved in Emma’s mind as an unforgettable scene. She will surely seek revenge someday.

That woman was one of the villainous characters who relentlessly tormented Karsein even in the game.

But it’s alright.

I have already seen through it.

Through dozens, hundreds of trials and errors.

***

Emma left with a bitter expression on her face. However, I am not alone in this room yet.

Camilla is still here.

She was trembling and kneeling in that state.

“Your Grace… You…you already know, don’t you?”

“What?”

“The actions I took…towards Your Grace.”

Leaving it like this is not an option.

I wiped my hands on a dry towel and sat in front of the table.

“Camilla. How long does it usually take to clean my room?”

“Well? Um… usually, I finish it in about an hour, Your Grace.”

“And including cleaning the bathroom and tidying up the bedding?”

“Since Your Grace keeps the bathroom clean and I hardly spend any time other than when I fill the water…tidying up the bedding also takes about 5 minutes…”

“Then wash that mop and sit here for 30 minutes before leaving.”

“Do, my lord…!”

Camilla exclaimed anxiously, jumping up and down.

I threw a straight ball at her from here.

“You’re anxious because of Claire, aren’t you? Isn’t that right?”

“W-Well…!”

“No need for excuses. In the first place, it’s because of Claire that you became suspicious. So as long as you follow the rules, it shouldn’t matter, right?”

…”

Camilla starts to stammer, as if she knows everything.

“What should I… do? Please let me do something.”

Now her true fear emerges.

I didn’t know how Claire was pressuring her, so I just pretended to sleep, but now I can guess.

“It must be about her duties as a maid.”

She seems so restless, as if she’ll go crazy if she doesn’t do something. It’s highly likely that Claire threatened to kick her out if something like this happens again.

I have no choice but to handle this myself.

First, let’s calm down her anxiety.

“Just pretend to be asleep and leave. That way, you can avoid Claire’s suspicion.”

“But… I’m sorry, but I find you very uncomfortable. Don’t make me say it twice.”