The Damn Family Is Back Again

364. Yggdrasil Project (4)

‘As expected…’

As soon as she brought up the story she had almost told at the mausoleum, Carsein’s expression stiffened.

Of course it would.

To Carsein, this might be a reverse scale.

The fact that his relationship with his family deteriorated might have been due to someone else’s intention.

The notes from the mausoleum and Harnié’s experiences can prove this.

However, whether Carsein can accept this is a different matter.

He had to endure long periods of suffering in that house.

He had to be in a place of solitude, not only from the outside but also from within.

He had to suffer the greatest wounds from the people who were closest to him, his family.

Unable to trust anyone, he harbored feelings of hatred.

As he himself mentioned, the sins of Baghrand do not disappear.

The time of pain endlessly gnawed at Karsein, and placed in the seat of solitude, Karsein had to be shut away in loneliness. The greatest emotional wound inflicted by none other than his family still remained unhealed.

Thus, he was broken.

Trusting no one.

Feeling no emotions.

Consumed by the obsession that nothing in the world would welcome him, he accepted the monster of reason.

Because of none other than his family.

It was because of Bagrand that he saw a deeper abyss.

Therefore, it was something that should never be spoken aloud.

That was the reason he had to suppress and hide it until Karsein left his original world.

But…

‘I must speak.’

Even if it touches the reverse scale.

At least now, he must bring up that story.

“I heard… that Lady Flora was confined in the Shiren Villa by the order of Duke Arina’s proxy.”

Perhaps, with this one sentence, Karsein would have vaguely understood what he was trying to say.

The message from the status window.

The target to be escorted from the Shiren Villa.

And Flora, who was confined in that Shiren Villa.

The three clues smoothly directed Karsein’s actions.

Move to the Shiren Villa and escort Flora.

…It was an unbearably harsh order for Karsein.

So, it had to be said.

“I know, Karsein. I know how much you’ve suffered, how lonely and painful it was. I know well how cold the resentment you hold towards your family is.”

Harni could empathize, having gone through similar experiences.

“The Duke of Bagrand’s family drove you into the most hellish place… Yes. That fact cannot be denied. Moreover, it was their fault for treating you as less than family while pushing you to such extremes. That will never disappear.”

It seemed clear why Karsein had become so broken, an emotionless doll.

“I watched too. I don’t deny it. I saw up close the wounds you received from the Duke’s family and how much you were broken. But just think a little differently. Even now, at this point in time, do they still see you the same way they did in the past?”

Their past was truly dreadful.

But the present?

He would know too.

“Before entering the mausoleum, it was Lady Isabella who pretended to be mad and handed over the remaining memo with mana to avoid detection. Thanks to that, you survived.”

If it weren’t for Isabella, they would have been caught long ago.

“Before coming to the Duke’s family, there was no way to pass due to the Kelvia allergy. In the meantime, it was Lady Flora who sprayed the neutralizer to clear the path and handed over the remedy to move to another place. Thanks to that, you haven’t been affected by the allergy until now.”

Without the remedy Flora provided, Karsein, who couldn’t resist the Kelvia allergy, might have wandered without finding a path and been captured somewhere.

“Although Lady Arina’s condition hasn’t changed… you know well that Lady Claire also directly helped you…”

Karsein was let go.

He made his own path, blocked the soldiers himself, and rebelled against Arina.

Without Claire, escaping from the Duke’s mansion and securing additional funds to survive until now would have been impossible.

Surely, he knew.

“It’s different. This is different. I even met your family temporarily, and every time I did, I didn’t hesitate to ask them to help you. Surely, the relationship between you and your family was gradually improving. Karsein.”

“…”

“And because they knew this fact, they reached out to the Duke’s family to break this relationship. To somehow bring you down to the bottom. To completely ruin your relationships with your family. Because that’s the only way to remove you. Because that’s the only way to completely destroy the family ties.”

“…”

Karsein remains silent.

Cold. Silent. Just quiet.

As if he doesn’t even know if he’s hearing these words.

‘No. Karsein must never forge that sword into Vagrand.’

Harnie became more desperate.

“Do you remember the third book we saw in the study?”

The memoir of Knight Royban. A book that was criticized by the public as nonsense or claimed to be a novel.

“The contents of that book are real. Arkshus Felscrime is a real person. Because, because… it was an actual incident that happened in the Marquis of Theresia.”

“…”

“Arkshus Felscrime. That person… uses all sorts of methods to destroy and divide a family’s relationships. He has the power to disguise himself perfectly, so you can’t tell where he’s hiding or who he’s hiding as. So, so…!”

He was immovable. There was no change. He just stared at her with an unchanging face.

The more he did, the more anxious Harnie became.

“It was a thoroughly planned event. They forged the sword waiting for this moment. They are trying to use you to bring down the Duke of Vagrand. Because that was my mother’s…!”

At the moment when she was trying to persuade him by forcibly bringing up a painful memory.

Karsein gently hugged Harnie.

“You don’t have to say any more.”

“…Yes?”

Harnié asked back in a bewildered voice.

“At the Marquis of Theresia’s house, 11 years ago, there was an attempted murder reported where a mad woman tried to stab the Marquis and his son with a knife. In reality, only the Marquis was injured.”

“…!”

“But Roivan’s memoirs said something. There were traces of some kind of intervention. Wasn’t it a criminal who couldn’t be caught that did all this?”

“No way…”

Harnié’s eyes widened.

Now she seemed to understand what Karsein was trying to say.

Karsein, who had gently let her go, answered with a sly smile.

“There’s no need to bring up painful memories for such things.”

There was a sense of ease in that smile.

‘…I see.’

She seemed to understand why he had been silent.

He had known from the beginning.

Without any need for hasty explanations, he had already reached a conclusion.

There was no longer the cold chill that surrounded him.

Instead of a cold gaze, he wore a relaxed smile.

The blade of revenge had long since been broken.

The hatred towards his family had long since subsided.

It was not the chill of reason’s monster, but the warmth of emotion that lingered.

“Let’s go. To the Shiren villa.”

There wasn’t a speck of revenge towards his family in his words.

*

The Duke’s family is chasing me as a criminal.

Those who had been biding their time, waiting for an opportunity under the orders of Bagrand, are all after me.

I have become a public enemy and a traitor to the Empire.

The noble society will never protect me.

As long as Arina remains intact, the Duke’s family will be even more relentless.

Yes. It is highly likely that this was a meticulously prepared plan.

A plan prepared for this very moment.

It was right to assume that they had thoroughly prepared from the very first step.

I have already laid out the events up to the present like a chronicle and connected them in a series.

Starting from the main episodes, the actions of the characters, the issuance of choices, and the restrictions imposed on me.

The incidents caused by the episodes. The benefits excluded from someone because of this. There was an endless extension to this.

If I only looked at it as episodes, I couldn’t see anything.

If I only interpreted it as the progression of a single chapter’s big story, I couldn’t read it.

It seemed to have no center.

But if I thought that all of this was connected.

If I assumed that my actions were determined by someone.

If all the time up to now was composed of some plan.

It was a single plan connected by uncontrollable cornerstones.

One could tell it was a plan that would send chills down one’s spine. One could see the uncontainable ambition scattered about. Even if one had countless riches, it was clear that they were not satisfied and sought to grasp even more.

Yes. It makes no sense for there to be nothing at the center of the plan.

At the very least, there must be something to be gained.

‘Just like that guy who twisted my life and swallowed an entire corporation whole.’

Then what about this world?

This world that overlaps completely with my reality?

It’s a perfectly plausible story.

At least, if the foundation laid to control the world was to lead the sole heir of the Kingdom of Wederos down the path of vengeance and bring down Vagrand.

The one who made the plan was a monster beyond imagination.

It took a whole day of analysis and countless reviews of this absurd conclusion to finally understand.

All the incidents across the empire were manipulated by his hand.

The entire Peselos Empire was lifted and shaken in his grasp.

Everything was contributing to the achievement of the Yggdrasil Project as a piece of the puzzle.

Realizing that made me break out in a cold sweat.

He is absolutely not an ordinary human.

He is an unbelievable psychopath and at the same time, a genius of the century.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the success rate of this Yggdrasil Project converges to 100%.

I could vaguely understand what kind of person Velian, who planned the Yggdrasil Project, was…

But even he had one misconception.

A success rate converging to 100%? That’s literally a story for when it converges.

Plans don’t always succeed.

They can falter at any time, and they can break at any time.

“Ugh?! Who’s there…! Ugh!”

-Thud.

Especially if the plan involves messing with Ji-eun.

The success rate of that plan is 0%. You b*stard.