The Damn Family Is Back Again

6 – 6. The Result of Evil (3)

Claire, who was full of spirit just a moment ago, quickly had a distorted expression, and Arina frowned as if she was completely displeased.

“It’s better to give a straight answer to what you mean by that. Carsein. Are you saying that even though this meal was made under our strict supervision, you won’t eat it?”

It was an attitude of wanting to hear the answer in a different way.

I’m sorry, but my answer was not wrong.

“Why are you asking when you already know?”

I shot back curtly.

Under the surveillance of the two sisters, I meant that I wouldn’t eat this clean food that was like the hands of the maids.

Then, Claire, who had made a cold sound, couldn’t hold back and cursed.

“Hey, you bastard. Are you kidding? What kind of attitude is that towards someone trying to help you?”

“Karsein. I’ll let it slide if you admit you were wrong this time. But there won’t be a second chance.”

The two walls glare at me fiercely, threateningly. They want me to take back the words I just spoke.

I repeat once again, I haven’t done anything wrong.

This was self-defense, the right attitude. That’s why I won’t back down.

“I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“This…!”

As I stubbornly retort, Claire’s hand shoots up as if she’s about to draw her sword. If she had swung it down, it would have landed right on my cheek.

“…Unni.”

“There’s no point in raising your hand against scum like him. It will only dirty your hands. Besides, you’re still a patient. If you get hurt, it will only make Seiden busier.”

The other hand blocks the second’s hand that was about to strike, eliminating the possibility of a confrontation. But seeing her worrying about the physician instead of considering me a patient was truly absurd.

“Oh, right. We were stupid! We were trying to provide you with a meal because it seemed like a bastard like you couldn’t even take care of yourself!”

“That’s right. We were stupid. There was no reason to call the physician and worry about your meals. It seems like it was a self-inflicted wound to leave behind a sumptuous feast and not eat it because of malnutrition.”

“Keep eating the food full of sand and salt. Let the maids eat it if you don’t want to. It may be a feast that would break the legs of commoners like you, but it’s a waste to put it in the mouth of an ungrateful scum like you. I don’t understand why I called the precious physician, kitchen manager, and maids for you.”

Ariana, who had a sharp tongue, also delivered a cold blow before leaving.

Left alone in the room, I let out a bitter laugh.

“Hah, it’s a waste to put it in the mouth of an ungrateful scum? Hoping that I would fall down after not even eating the food that was provided out of pity?”

It was laughable, indeed.

“Well, what do you know? You’re just like my two older sisters.”

A chuckle escaped involuntarily.

Seeing Arina and Claire, who showed a high level of resemblance in their roles, made me chuckle involuntarily.

Both of them were nobles, so they had never experienced hunger. Both of them grew up in wealthy households and had grown up healthy. So, there was no way for them to understand.

But I, who had lived like a beggar, understood the heart of a beggar better than anyone else. I knew very well about Karsein’s physical condition.

That is not something this body can eat. No matter how much delicacies are gathered, no matter if it stimulates appetite through sight and smell, it must never be eaten.

“It’s not that I don’t eat it, you bastards. It’s that I can’t eat it.”

Unaware of anything, I laughed and laughed at the two who brought out food that made my mouth water to the point of breaking my legs.

***

“You tried to help, what?”

I was impressed by her stiffly raised head, as if saying, “Are you joking, telling me to eat this?” And yet, she confidently confronted me as if she had done nothing wrong.

Still wearing a dissatisfied expression, Claire walked down the corridor with determination.

Then suddenly, small wrinkles appeared on her dress.

“Sister.”

When I turned around, the cute youngest was holding onto my skirt.

“Why, Flora?”

Claire smiled brightly and lowered herself to Flora’s eye level. In response, Flora hesitated to say something in Moorish, then shook her body and looked away with a shy smile.

“Um, no. It’s nothing.”

“What is it? If you have any worries, tell your sister right away.”

“Well… I forgot what I was going to say. hehehe.”

“Eui-ge.”

As Claire watched her mischievous younger sibling laughing, she gently stroked their adorable head.

But then, suddenly realizing that they were near Karceine’s room, she tightly held their hand and headed in the opposite direction, just in case.

“Flora, do you want to stay with me today?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well, you didn’t eat properly earlier. I wanted to make sure you eat something.”

The scene of Karceine collapsing in his room came to mind, and Flora, who hadn’t eaten properly either, felt uneasy.

But Flora strongly opposed the idea.

“Today is supposed to be embroidery practice day. That’s why I can’t be with you, sis.”

“Oh, I see.”

Embroidery practice. That was a relief. If the teacher was right next to her, Flora wouldn’t collapse like Karceine.

“Then can I at least take you to your room?”

“Yes, Claire sis!”

After taking Flora to their room, just as she had promised, Claire was visited by the physician, Shaden.

“Shaden? What’s the matter?”

“I heard that the two young ladies went to see Lord Karceine themselves today. That’s why I came.”

“…”

As soon as Karceine’s name was mentioned, Claire’s eyebrows sharpened. She recalled what she had heard earlier, and it was to the point where she didn’t even want to hear what it was.

“Tell me. What is it?”

“I came to ask if you had eaten, Your Grace.”

As soon as the topic of food came up, Claire’s impression grew sour. She replied sarcastically, irritation seeping back into her mind.

“He wouldn’t eat even if I brought it. Do whatever you want, whether he faints or not.”

“Pardon? Are you saying he didn’t eat at all?”

“He said he wouldn’t eat it. He refused to eat the properly prepared meal that my sister and I made in the kitchen, from the head chef to the maidservants’ hands. What can I do about it?”

Shayden was greatly surprised by this.

“No, if it’s to that extent, he must be severely hungry. Are you saying he really refused to eat?”

“Yes! I told them to prepare a table full of the finest dishes. It was a clean meal that my sister and I checked from the kitchen to the moment it was touched by the maidservants. And he refused to eat it, what can I do?”

What else could she do? He rejected the meticulously prepared dinner, ensuring that no foreign substances entered. And on top of that, he even had the audacity to tell her to eat it herself. Even when given another chance, he still refused to admit his mistake and stubbornly shut his eyes.

It was becoming unbearable to even think about.

“Goodness. Miss, aren’t you worried about His Grace?”

“Worried? That’s nonsense. He’s like this because he didn’t eat.”

It was a worry that others wouldn’t have. He was a duke, living in a cozy room in the mansion, wearing luxurious clothes, and having a sumptuous feast every day that most people couldn’t even dream of. Why worry?

With a voice filled with irritation, Claire answered, but Shayden was once again taken aback.

“Where would a patient who just woke up find the strength for that? Those things shouldn’t be put in the mouth of a sick person.”

“If it looks like I’m in such bad shape, just prescribe something under my name. It’s not like anyone would say anything about using medicine of that level in the mansion.”

“It’s not something that can be solved by medicine. You don’t even have the energy to digest. If you were to consume it just because you’re hungry, it would be even more dangerous.”

“…What?”

The moment she heard that it would be more dangerous to eat it, her mind went blank.

“Wait, it becomes more dangerous? What does that mean? Then all the food that my sister and I brought…?”

“If you eat greasy and hard-to-digest food, it might actually cause discomfort in your stomach. It’s food that you shouldn’t eat at all! At times like this, you can only have a little bit of rice soup.”

After finishing her words, Shaden said that now was not the time and hurriedly went to check on Karcein’s condition.

She didn’t know. She thought that feeding him good food would quickly restore his health. That’s why she asked for more attention.

But instead, it became poison?

Claire’s fist trembled.

“…you there.”

“Yes, Miss Claire.”

“Go to Karcein’s room right now and stop him from eating. Quickly!!”

The maids rushed to Karcein’s room.

“Miss Claire?”

“Oh, he probably didn’t eat it. He said he wouldn’t eat either. I’ll go to the kitchen and let them know about the rice soup.”

“Start with easily digestible food. He needs to eat slowly for a while.”

“…I understand.”

Shaden finally felt relieved, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. In contrast, Claire seemed somewhat complicated.

And.

-Crack!

“Ow…!”

Someone’s fingernail broke.

Not long after Claire and Arina left, the maids swarmed in.

I checked the food, wondering if they had eaten any, but thankfully they hadn’t. Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

“Now we know.”

If we force greasy and hard-to-digest food into the weak patient’s stomach, it becomes poison, not food.

In the end, all the food that was supposed to be compensation disappeared, one by one, into the hands of the maids. In the end, even the food cart disappeared, leaving no trace.

But soon, another dish arrived in my room.

This time, it was food that the patient could eat properly.

“How pitiful.”

The scent of the food wafted from Karsein’s already emaciated body, making it hard to resist. They were the kind of food that made you want to eat even if your eyes were spinning.

Instead, what was in front of me was just a tasteless dish.

Nevertheless, as I scooped up a spoonful of the tasteless dish and put it in my mouth, these words naturally came out.

“…It’s disgustingly delicious.”

Even though it was so bland, why does it taste so good? That’s when an unpleasant memory came to mind.

I drooled over the common hotdog that others ate, felt envy over a single triangle kimbap, and my nose twitched when I ate the discarded lunchbox on my first day working at a convenience store.

I wondered why customers left the sweet and sour taste of stir-fried kimchi, which I complained about, and why the single piece of ham disappeared as soon as I put it in my mouth, and why the remaining side dishes were gulped down so quickly that there was no time to savor them.

The memory of feeling full for the first time. The memory of tasting the true flavor of untouched food for the first time.

I couldn’t forget the feeling of fullness in my stomach even now.

In that house, there were many times when someone in the family touched the food, but I couldn’t even taste it.

“…Ah. What is it, already.”

When I regained consciousness, the bowl was empty.

▶Hunger status has been fully restored!

Along with the appearance of the hunger restoration status message.