Damn Family

Under the scorching sun, the circular grandstands were filled with cheering spectators.

The arena was brimming with the heat of battle and the ecstatic cheers of the crowd, as the martial arts tournament, the essence of the spectacle, was underway.

In this place where everyone came with their desired weapons to fight 1-on-1 and victory was all that mattered, there were only winners and losers.

And in that place,

Carsein set foot as well.

-KLANG!

“Guh!”

The opponent couldn’t withstand Carsein’s attack and fell down.

Immediately, a sword was pointed at his neck.

It was the moment of conclusion.

“Ugh.”

“This is… How can someone fight so uncoolly in a martial arts tournament?”

“You should swing harder, you know? And when you’re fighting, bump into each other too! That’s what makes it fun!”

“It’s boring!”

Even though he had won, boos rained down on Carsein.

They said it was boring, but the real reason was obvious.

Maybe their bets didn’t win, or maybe the person they wanted to see didn’t participate.

There could be many reasons.

But the most likely one was that they wanted Carsein to lose disgracefully and drop out soon.

“The referee is announcing the winner. The victor is Prince Carsein.”

“…”

The referee announced the result with an awkward expression.

The host announced the winner with a reluctant look.

The audience booed again with “Woo-oo-oo!”

Carsein had no supporters in the arena.

-Tsak.

Carsein put away his sword and silently returned to the waiting room.

His expression was utterly hollow.

Even though he had won, he wasn’t particularly happy.

Even though he had defeated his opponent fairly, it was frustrating that the boos still came back.

The awkward expression of the referee and the reluctant announcement from the host made him feel even more disillusioned.

But it didn’t matter.

After all, he hadn’t participated in this tournament with any particular purpose.

With the ban on entering the training hall and not being able to hold a sword, participating in the martial arts tournament was just because he could hold a sword. There was no more value to it.

But he didn’t want to fall behind with his sword.

The sword he had seized himself was his only solace, and he wanted to prove through this sword that he learned from Radiel and Mark that he wouldn’t lose and would win.

That was the only wish of this boy who had nothing.

“…Looks like my left arm got cut.”

As Carsein was leaving the arena, he finally felt the pain in his left arm.

He wouldn’t be able to properly compete with an injured body.

He would need some treatment.

While he was heading towards the waiting room,

A voice came from a sparsely populated area.

Thinking it wouldn’t mean anything to listen to it, he tried to walk past,

“Apologies for disturbing you, Princess Arina. Since Prince Carsein did not get eliminated, there is a possibility that the two of you will meet in the next match, so I came to inform you.”

“…What now?”

“Well, that’s why I’m telling you.”

It was undoubtedly Arina’s voice.

The mention of Carsein’s name.

It didn’t matter up to that point.

But,

“If talk about Prince Carsein continues to surface, it might make your position ambiguous, Princess. Even if he is your adopted brother, he is still a man after all.”

“…”

“I think you need to show your skills properly, Princess.”

Due to Marquis Magnuel’s request, Carsein had to hear this conversation to the end.

Carsein laughed bitterly and denied it.

‘Frankly, that’s nonsense. How could I threaten Arina’s position, or the position of the head of the Bargrand family?’

No matter what, he was the legitimate eldest daughter and the adopted son.

Not only his position within the family, but comparing the legitimate heir candidate who was a strong contender to inherit the family business of the Bargrand family and the commoner who was tacitly treated as such, was completely wrong.

So, Arina wouldn’t be concerned.

Arina was smarter than him. She was the next head of the Bargrand family. She was a model noble.

She wouldn’t accept such a suggestion.

She would surely point out Marquis Magnuel’s great misunderstanding.

‘Yeah, how could I become a duke?’

Swallowing his saliva, Carsein completely denied Magnuel’s argument.

But…

Why?

Why is Arina’s voice of denial not coming right away? Why is her voice, which should have sharply criticized Magnuel, delayed for so long?

‘Could it be…’

…Really.

Does she really think I’ll take her position?

Along with unease, Carsein swallowed his saliva and turned his head.

“Huff. Alright. You mean I should put on a decent performance, right?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“But if I use too much force, the kid might get seriously hurt, so I hope you understand. After all, Mother would worry too.”

“Of course. I believe Princess Arina will handle it herself. Oh, I’ve taken up too much of your time. Let’s get ready.”

The fading footsteps of the two.

Listening in on their conversation, Carsein sat down helplessly.

“Haha… I never imagined it would end like this.”

“Was… was that what you wanted?”

-“Don’t mind your grades. Just don’t cause trouble and do your best in the match.”

-“Anyway, no one expects anything from you? Meow~long!”

-“If you’re going to get hurt and come back, why bother participating? Are you stupid?”

No one expected anything.

None of the family members even mentioned the head of the family.

But then,

One of the top candidates for the Bargrand family,

Was doing something ridiculous like this to restrain him.

-Gwak.

“…Yeah, I’m useless.”

Let’s lose disgracefully in the next match.

That’s probably what she wants.

Forget the pain in his left arm from the previous match, Carsein headed towards the arena.

***

Time passed.

It was time for the next match.

The announcer introduced the two participants in the upcoming match to the audience.

Although it was obvious who the winner would be, he thought it would be purely entertaining to watch him lose disgracefully.

“Oh, fate works in mysterious ways. Truly, such a pitiful match!”

The audience’s attention was drawn by the announcer’s seemingly sympathetic reaction. What kind of match could be so pitiful? Everyone was filled with anticipation as they listened intently to the announcer’s voice.

“This match is between internal factions. Two very close people are meeting!”

“Oh my. Internal factions.”

“Is it a fight between comrades? Or between allied houses?”

The audience was intrigued by the mention of internal factions.

The announcer, smiling slyly, announced the first participant’s name.

“Princess Arina of the House of Bargrand, riding a wave of victories after the symposium!”

People chuckled upon hearing that.

‘Aha. So that’s what ‘pitiful’ meant.’

“Hehe. It makes sense. They did say it was an internal faction match.’

‘The match between a princess and another participant is so predictable.’

‘What a tragic fate indeed.’

The nobles cheered enthusiastically at the seemingly destined matchup.

In response to their expectations,

The announcer, struggling to keep a straight face, introduced the next participant.

“And facing off against her is none other than Prince Carsein, the only son of the House of Bargrand!”

Carsein appeared as usual.

He seemed to have not even treated the wounds from the previous match.

“Now, it’s a heartbreaking match between family members. Who will be the victor in this match? Let’s start the match now!”

The announcer concluded his introduction.

The match began with the sound of a horn. Considering the opponent’s style, he should have rushed forward and swung his sword first, but now he stood there blankly.

Seeing this, Arina sighed.

“Tsk. Doing such a foolish face. If he rushes forward and quickly finishes it, it would be better.”

“…”

“Whatever. I’ll take care of it.”

-Bat!

In an instant, Arina closed the distance and swung her sword. Carsein instinctively blocked it.

“Hmm. This much can be blocked, huh? I was wondering how much strength to use, looks like it was just right.”

“…”

“I hope you can block at least a few hits. Carsein, as a member of the Bargrand family, you can’t afford to lose face. Also, I don’t want to hurt you.”

Arina approached closely, pushing off the ground and swinging her sword. However, it looked impressive but wasn’t exerting much force.

Several more attacks followed.

It wasn’t a tense exchange but a one-sided assault. Anyone could see that.

Continuously blocking her attacks, Arina kept demanding,

“Defend your left side.”

No, it’s not the side.

This is about lifting your elbow to force a sidestep.

-Pak!

“Pianjin Sword Technique of Peselros. Twist your lower body to the side. Then, your leg will fly, so firmly press your arm against your thigh.”

Wrong. Instead of twisting your lower body to the side, push your shoulder to counterattack, and you can immediately create an opening. Blocking with the scabbard during the following kick would be much easier.

“Basalder White Lotus Technique 8th form. It’s a rather strong thrust, but it’s hard to endure with mana. Hold the sword firmly with both hands and block it.”

Perfectly wrong. With a rigid thrust, twisting the tip of the sword with a blunt weapon would create an opening.

However,

Carsein silently fulfilled Arina’s wishes.

During several exchanges, he attacked one-sidedly, then feigned a weak counterattack, creating quite a convincing scene.

Of course, all of this was scripted in Arina’s mind.

“Time to wrap up this silly play. I’m exhausted, so let’s finish this quickly. Go rest, Carsein.”

She didn’t mention the final strike.

But Carsein clearly saw it.

The four consecutive strikes as she charged forward.

Then, spinning her body to deliver the finishing blow, it was Arina’s signature technique.

Receiving that head-on… would probably result in retirement.

As Arina mentioned, he wouldn’t be seriously injured.

“…Finally over.”

Arina, you said you wanted a performance, right?

Then this is better.

Carsein clenched his teeth and loosened his grip on the sword.

“! You…!”

Before Arina could yell at him to use his sword, the clang of metal echoed throughout the arena, and a red liquid splashed into the air.

-Puluk.

The sword flew far and stuck into the wall of the arena.

Carsein’s body collapsed, deeply embedded in the sand.

-Waaaaa!!!

The audience cheered for the magnificent conclusion.

Everyone cheered without discrimination.

But at that moment,

Confusion flashed in her blue eyes.

“Call a doctor! Someone, call a doctor!”

A hair tie was visible.

It was the hair tie Carsein had given as a gift in the past.

But under the sunlight, reflecting brilliantly, it was now stained with blood and no longer shone.

***

▶The memorial of the hair tie stained with blood has ended.◀

▶The timer will reset in 20 seconds. Time will return to normal.◀

“Kuk. Kuku. Hahahaha!”

Laughing aloud after seeing the memorial,

“Hah. So that’s what you meant?”

A cold chill covered his entire body.

“Why does such a memorial exist? Indeed, I was right to step down.”

Recently, the family members had been acting a bit different.

He had noticed it slightly,

But realized it was just a meaningless fantasy.

Because he was just an adopted son.

Because he was a child picked up from outside.

Because he had to become family with someone he didn’t know due to his mother’s mental illness.

Even because he had to be criticized like a stranger due to someone else.

So, he had only thought of them in a negative light.

But, the real reason wasn’t like that.

When he thought about it carefully, he had felt a sense of mystery when he helped with a business project and his name was mentioned among employees for a project.

-“He seems quite smart. His grades are excellent.”

-“Especially, since he can explain things clearly enough to tutor, his grades are undeniable.”

-“Wouldn’t it be good to pass on the initial business to him early on?”

At that time, he dismissed it as nonsense.

Coincidentally, he heard the eldest daughter’s voice.

-“Do you think such a project would work for our company?”

Why would he react so strongly?

Everyone knew he couldn’t join the company as a regular employee.

He had wondered about this.

Seeing this memorial, he understood the answer.

After that day, the eldest daughter would often send subtle glances his way whenever the company needed to get involved in business.

“Yeah. I didn’t do anything wrong or have any reason to be disliked.”

You were worried that I might take your position.

Because you think that position might waver just because I’m a man.

That’s why you disliked me?

I understand now.

Now I know what I need to do.

▶The timer has ended!◀

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry for the pointless talk. But, I’ll take this.”

-Clink!

Tearing off the hair tie forcefully, a few red strands of hair came along.

“Ouch! What are you doing right now!”

“This gift looks so poor now. I’ll give you a new one today.”

According to what you want.

I’ll erase all traces of myself and leave.

From this damned family.

***

Coming down from the room where Arina was preparing, Claire was waiting with her arms crossed.

“Why are you so late?”

Regardless.

All I have to say is one thing.

“Isn’t it about to start?”

“Huh? Yeah, it is.”

“Go sit down. Things are going well with Arina.”

“Really? Well, that’s good then.”

Claire sat down with a dazed expression.

Things are going well.

No, they will get even better soon.

Time passed.

Most of the guests had arrived.

“Hello, Duchess.”

“Oh, welcome, Lady Harnier.”

“…”

“Flora. Come on, greet her. She’s Carsein’s fiancée, right?”

After exchanging small talk, Harnier whispered in his ear.

“Why didn’t you ask me to go together? Fool. It would be safer if we went together.”

“There’s no danger. No, perhaps it’s better this way.”

“Huh?”

“Just wait and see.”

Soon, the birthday party’s star, Arina, appeared.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.”

Indeed, she was the eldest daughter of a great aristocratic house that would inherit the Bargrand family. There was no hint of hesitation or confusion in her speech.

The applause was uniform at the beginning and end of her speech.

Only the family’s additional remarks remained.

“Our eldest sister is the best! She’s awesome!”

Well, this kid is fine saying this.

The gift box was also a big one, and it’s interesting to wonder what’s inside.

“Happy birthday, sis.”

Claire presented a simple yet formal gift along with her congratulations. It seemed to be a highly anticipated new product.

“As a mother, I am happy to have such a wonderful eldest daughter.”

Isabella presented her gift with a mother’s perspective, and this one seemed to be related to the Bargrand family.

‘So, it’s my turn now. Perfect timing.’

Arina glanced at him as if she remembered the incident earlier.

Don’t worry.

Even without glaring at me like that, I prepared the gift you wanted.

“Oh, I made a mistake. I accidentally ruined the gift I brought today with my own hands, didn’t I?”

“Ruined? What do you mean…”

-Thud-thud.

The decoration of the hair tie broke off and fell.

The ribbon was already broken and unusable.

At that moment, the atmosphere in the party hall rapidly chilled.

Everyone knew that the hair tie was always worn by Arina.

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