50 – 50. The Troublemaker of the Smoke Room (3)
Emma, trapped in her cell, couldn’t fall asleep even though midnight had come.
More accurately, she couldn’t sleep.
Because of what happened in the evening.
“Have there been any embezzlement cases involving the duke recently?”
“That’s absurd. There were rumors that someone embezzled money from the duke’s estate. But isn’t it suspicious that someone suddenly came into a large sum of money at the same time?”
“Why? I heard Emma recently bought expensive clothes. It’s enough to raise suspicions, isn’t it?”
Cassein, who had come uninvited, immediately blurted out stories related to the embezzlement.
It goes without saying, but that’s impossible.
How could Cassein possibly know?
There’s no way that the trash-like food they were eating, cooped up in their rooms without even being able to leave, would reach Cassein’s ears.
That’s why.
Emma couldn’t figure out what Cassein knew and how he gathered that information.
She had no idea.
Emma, who was in turmoil, grabbed her throbbing head.
“If he knew that his money was leaking, he would have told the duchess long ago. He must have heard rumors that I got involved in the finances.”
But that didn’t happen.
Cassein didn’t even mention this fact…
“Oh? There were some knights of the duke who suddenly replaced their equipment. Is that also a coincidence?”
“Bullsh*t. You think I wouldn’t know that the money that should have been assigned to me from the duke is being added to their salaries because it’s in your hands?”
-Financial management is Arina’s responsibility. However, bookkeeping and allocation are the rights of the treasurer. You easily manipulated the records, didn’t you?
I knew it all too well.
From Noble mtl dot com
Where the money allocated to Karsein Bagrand flows from and to.
“Damn it…! How on earth…!”
Karsein’s last words send a shiver down Emma’s spine.
-Last month, I had to use the estate funds urgently. It definitely left a hole in the books, didn’t it?
I did take money in a hurry because of an urgent matter.
But to leave a flaw in the otherwise perfect books. Even if the opponent is Karsein, it cannot simply be covered up as a mistake of the treasurer.
This is an undeniable situation where the embezzlement case of the duke’s funds holds direct evidence.
I must escape from this prison as soon as possible.
But by then, it would be too late.
“I can’t…!”
Knock, knock.
“Hey, guard. Can I have a word with you for a moment?”
“Huh?”
As Emma tapped on the window, the guard appeared.
As expected, he was one of the palace guards who recognized her.
“Can you bring the people I’m talking about from the First Knight Division?”
“What do you mean by ‘bring people’? You’re currently imprisoned. You forgot that the only time you can exercise authority is during the council?”
“I know that. However, urgent matters can arise in my homeland as well, right?”
Emma grinned and pulled out the gold coins she had hidden in her pocket.
“As the head of the family, I’m asking you a favor. Take it and let it go.”
“Huh? No, well…something like this…”
“Don’t worry. I want you to deliver a letter. It’s better to ask the knights who have manners for this kind of thing. So I’m calling for them.”
“Um…if it’s something like that…”
The guard, drooling at the sight of the gold coins, alternated between looking at Emma and the coins, then took the coins and called someone over.
After the guard left, a knight appeared after a while.
“What on earth is going on? This late at night.”
“No one is around, right?”
“Yes. Isn’t that obvious? We don’t need to advertise that we’re meeting each other.”
Upon hearing that, Emma swallowed her saliva and got to the point.
“Karceine, how is that bastard doing?”
Something didn’t seem right after going outside.
After talking to her fiancée, she realized that the letters had been disappearing, and she needed to know how he was doing.
“Oh. I was just about to tell you that.”
“Huh?”
“That bastard Karceine came as the commander. I don’t know what he’s thinking.”
Emma’s heart sank at those words.
“Kar, Karceine came as the commander?!”
“Surprise. Why are you suddenly screaming?”
“…”
Emma tightly gripped the window bars, trembling.
“No way… No way, does she really know something?”
I didn’t think that was possible.
I thought I fooled her perfectly. I was sure she wouldn’t find out.
The embezzlement, the connections with the knights, and now she even came here herself to the training grounds?
A sense of unease suddenly surged in Emma’s mind.
Now, there’s no time.
“…Drive her out.”
“What?”
“Drive her out, by any means necessary. Frame her in any way you can. I’ll take care of the consequences as long as I can leave my cell! And report to me every single thing she does every day!”
Upon hearing those words, the knight chuckled and made a circular shape with his thumb and index finger.
“Seems like this is more necessary than a shield, Your Highness.”
“You…!”
“It’s easier to manipulate public opinion by harassing the knights, but the report you’re asking for right now requires even more effort. Are you okay with that?”
Even though he was a knight, the man who shamelessly flaunted his greed made Emma feel disgusted.
But it couldn’t be helped, as it was an urgent matter.
“Fine. I’ll double the previous allocation.”
“If it’s triple, then it’s a deal. Double is a little too…”
Emma shouted at the knight who appeared calm, as if digging his ears.
“Fine, I get it! I got it! I’ll give you what you want, so definitely get rid of that guy, chase him out of the training ground. Got it?!”
“Understood. If you say anything else later, it’ll be trouble~.”
The knight whistled and made a gesture of counting.
‘Whatever. As long as I can get rid of the one who knows the truth.’
If necessary, even if it brings unbearable consequences.
Cassein Baghdad.
For Emma, he had become someone who should no longer be a nobleman.
***
It was winter.
With just one gust of cold wind, the body shivered, and it was a deep winter when you didn’t want to go outside, covered in a warm blanket.
Even in such a season, heat soared fiercely from the boy’s body.
Jumping, moving both legs in the center of the field, he ran through the training ground drenched in sweat.
“You couldn’t keep up from the beginning, and you’re still running? Does anyone know how many laps are left?”
“Maybe five laps. After I finish this one, there will be four left.”
“With that speed… hmmm. Looks like he’ll keep going for a few more minutes.”
The knights watched Cassein and exchanged various conversations.
“…”
First, the squad leader, Mark, who finished running in circles, watched Cassein intently.
From the beginning, it was an impossible task.
For official knights, of course, it was just another day. Even for apprentice knights, it might be a bit more challenging, but they were still those who had been training their bodies since childhood.
For that reason, they could complete their training period and become apprentice knights.
But for noble young lords, it was much more difficult.
Especially for those who had never used their bodies or had long periods of inactivity, it was even more so.
“Originally, the principle is to reduce the intensity of training to not burden the body too much…”
Carsein didn’t give up.
Despite having an untrained body, trailing far behind the knights.
Despite undergoing physically demanding training as a novice.
“…That’s not all.”
Mark glanced to the left.
As Carsein, leaving four wheels behind, momentarily paused at the starting line to catch his breath, a group nearby sneered at him.
“hehehe. Pathetic. Shouldn’t you suffer a bit?”
“Maybe because I used to crawl on the ground, I can endure quite well?”
“How long can you endure even if you try? You underestimated the daily routine of knights and challenged us. When you first arrived, you never worked with us.”
“Yeah. That’s why my legs were trembling this morning. It’s only been two days, but if it’s already like this, it seems like I’ll drop out soon.”
If it was just a matter of the training intensity being too much for his body to handle, he could endure it. But they retaliated against Carsein during training, without him knowing.
Bumping into his shoulders as they passed by.
Deliberately swinging their arms wide and grazing his side.
Purposely pushing him and going ahead, claiming they were being obstructed.
Beyond the training intensity that doesn’t match their level, they are enduring physical and mental pressure. It has been more than a day or two, going on for three days.
“Mark, where are you headed?”
A fellow knight approached Mark and asked.
In his hand, he held a betting board, indicating how long Karceine could last.
“Why are you doing something like this?”
“Well, it’s fun. Besides, those who are going through the initiation ceremony are all tough anyway.”
To be precise, the bet was about whether Karceine could last the one-week initiation period.
They wanted to make a bet during this period and have a drinking party.
It was certainly not a good tradition, but even Mark, the deputy commander, couldn’t stop this tradition.
“No. Maybe it’s better not to stop it.”
If he could endure a whole week in the face of their resistance.
If he could turn the impossible into possible.
At least he could remove some of the suspicions.
The odds were overwhelmingly in favor of failure. Since there was virtually no chance of success in the initiation, the discussion shifted to betting on the duration, and the most likely day turned out to be the next day.
As Mark watched the pitiful odds, he turned his head back to Karceine.
-Huff, huff…huff!
No matter what he tried to see, all he could see was a weak boy running with short, labored breaths. But still.
-Swish.
“Oh? Are you serious?”
“Mark turned out to be a double agent…”
“No matter what, that’s not it, dammit!”
Even in a situation where he became the laughingstock of his fellow knights, he never complained. That’s what led to Mark’s touch being reversed.
“This is for the dinner party. Are you really okay with it?”
“Just for fun.”
“Well, yeah. That’s true, but don’t regret being the only one to pay for it later. hehehe.”
As if questioning whether it’s right to make such a fuss, the fellow knight had a look of disbelief.
“If you’re going to get tired just from this, are you saying you’ll train our way?!”
“Ah, Mark. This guy is so stubborn.”
“hehehe. Let it go. We bet money on it.”
With three laps remaining, the voice urging them to run again echoed loudly in the training ground, causing Carcain, who had stopped, to raise his head.
With an expression that seemed to say he was exhausted, he wiped away the sweat streaming down and started moving his legs again.
And so, Carcain succeeded in completing the race.
“Hey, you’re tough. Really tough. In the end, you finished it all the way.”
“Yeah! Let’s use the money we bet today for a great dinner party!”
“I’ll also contribute a little from behind… Sigh. Why don’t I have that kind of perseverance?”
“In any case, it’s not helpful at all.”
In the end, they stubbornly finished the training for three days.
Gasping for breath, he sprawled out on the field.
“Yeah. You have to do at least that much.”
Only then does it become worth asking.
You have to have that level of tenacity to be able to ask why.
Why is Radié trying to embrace you?
What on earth happened that day?
***
“Hoo, gasp.”
After completing the last lap, I collapsed onto the training ground, gasping for breath, automatically stretching out on my back.
My mouth wouldn’t close. Something was flowing, so watery that I couldn’t tell if it was saliva or water.
“I’m exhausted!”
I expected a certain level of strenuous living, but to apply the knights’ training methods directly to trainees… Seriously, feeling the sensation of eggs being laid all over my body every day, and enduring the pain, I start to worry about what kind of aftermath will come tomorrow morning.
“Well, it’s still… right.”
■ Karcein Bargrand ■ – 18 years old
Lv. 7 (SP: 0.15)
▶ Strength: 2.59
▶ Agility: 3.35
▶ Endurance: 4.01
▶ Stamina: 2.00
▶ Immunity: 1.03
▶ ??? 0.20
Although there are additional signs of exhaustion and fatigue in the current condition, it is not a huge threat, and I can see that the stats are significantly increasing.
Karsein’s weak and frail body is growing. The most important thing is to distance oneself from the deteriorating health bad ending.
Of course, that’s not the end.
▶Successfully completed 3 days of training!◀
▶Mark Radeltein’s intimacy is increasing!◀
[Current value: -6%]
If Karsein can’t endure more than half of the 7-day training period, Mark Radeltein’s intimacy cannot recover from the negative value.
Currently, the only one who has less hostility towards Karsein to this extent, if even he can’t handle it, then naturally, entry into the training ground becomes impossible.
So, if today, which is the fourth day, passes, one can be reasonably relieved…
▶Rewards increase proportionally to the number of days completed in the training period!◀
Rewards become better as the number of days endured increases. This is something that cannot be given up.
No matter how tough it gets, can’t you just let it slide? one might think, but the rewards in the training ground are not to be taken lightly.
Because it’s directly linked to the Dead Trigger.
Just for that one reason, it is necessary to complete the training period.
However, what was feared from the moment of entry into the training ground has happened.
“Damn it. Why does Karsein’s HP decrease so much every time he gets hit in this mini-game?”
The side that was hit and couldn’t dodge properly still throbs.
In the game, Karsein could have easily avoided it with just analysis, but now that he has become a real body, he couldn’t move like that.
Since I received Emma’s fortune, I expected those who would pressure me. But even knights who openly dislike Karsein are mixed in with public opinion, so the feeling was quite intense.
To the point where I can understand why the HP bar decreases rapidly every time Karsein is hit in the game.
Of course, I can’t endure like this.
From Noble mtl dot com
If it had been a regular training, I would have continued, saying it’s better than juggling part-time work and studying. But it’s too dangerous for me to endure any more physical suffering.
With even pain accompanying it, no matter how much I try to endure with my mental strength, there’s a chance I might give up before the remaining four days are over.
If that happens, it will naturally be game over.
I will die and it will end with a bad ending.
But, that won’t happen.
“Huh? Who’s coming again over there?”
“Wait, is that person by any chance…”
“Oh no…!”
The knights who were laughing suddenly discover the figure of someone walking towards the main gate and nervously take their positions, breaking out in cold sweat.
“Attention, everyone!”
Not only the apprentice knights or the trainee knights, but even the official knights are no exception.
All of them must be knights of the Bagrande Duchy at this moment.
“Salute!”
Following the command of Deputy Commander Mark, the knights line up in a row.
-Ding!
▶ Isabella has arrived at the training ground!
…
…
“She’s here.”
Since we have established enough familiarity, the post-training conversation that would have taken place today does not continue any longer.
But it should only go up to this point.
I, too, stood up, my body that had been sprawled out on the ground while catching my breath.
The woman who passed by the knights checked my appearance and quickened her pace.
Isabella, who had come up close, was astonished.
Of course, that’s to be expected.
As the son of the Duke of Bagrand, I trained and fell to such a mess.
“Did you train them until Carseine reached this point?”
With a distorted face, Isabella instilled tension in the knights.
The knights closed their eyes tightly, sensing that the Duchess would soon be angry.
I will receive severe punishment along with criticism.
So, this timing is a golden opportunity for me.
“How can knights receive improper bandit training from their master?”
“I wanted it.”
“What did you say?”
“I am receiving this training because I designated it and wanted it.”
[4. It’s what I wanted, Mother.]
When she chose the option, Isabella’s astonished face turned into a look of doubt.
▶Mark’s intimacy is increasing!◀
[Current value: 0%]
Finally, the status window indicated that Mark’s intimacy had returned as a white box.
