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~Chapter 40~
At the same time, Camilla’s face changed.
“Who told you to bring Nina here?!”
Camilla bit her lip. This was never what she wanted. Nina was far too young to learn such a dark truth.
‘I taught her everything I could, so she’ll be even more useful than me. In exchange, just give me a chest of gold coins.’
Camilla still had dreams about that day—the memory of being sold without hesitation, abandoned by her own mother. Even with memories from a past life, being rejected by her birth parents still hurt.
And now, Nina had heard that their mother ordered the kidnapping.
‘Just because you treat someone kindly doesn’t mean kidnapping them isn’t a crime.’
“Oh, uh?! She was a prisoner too… Shouldn’t we let her go now?”
“Not until after we finish questioning this woman.”
So this was what she meant by “not smart.” Camilla felt a headache coming on.
Just then, Nina got up and walked straight to the woman.
“Say it again. Did our mother tell you to kidnap me and my sister?”
“N-no, miss! Look at her! She’s the real villain! She made me do it!”
But her words didn’t convince Nina at all.
“…Ha. You called me ‘you’ before, but now I’m ‘miss’? Do you think I’m stupid?”
This was the same woman who accused Camilla of being an Everitt spy, calling her the lady boss just before.
“N-no, please believe me!”
Nina ignored her and looked at Camilla.
“…Sister. What is going on?”
“…Nina, do you remember anything?”
Nina started crying as she explained.
“I-I was riding in the carriage when they took me. They locked me in a room, and I was really, really scared. What about you?”
“…It was the same for me. I was on my way back to the mansion when they caught me. Earlier, they gave me medicine so I couldn’t move, and then made us meet like this.”
“What?!”
Nina was shocked and furious.
The woman squeezed her eyes shut. Getting Nina to blame Camilla was her most important job, but it had all failed.
Camilla looked at the woman.
“So? I don’t think the Baroness will forgive you for this mess. Isn’t it better to take my offer?”
The woman trembled at the thought of betraying the Baroness, but finally lowered her head.
“…I’ll follow you.”
‘Good.’
Now all they had to do was wait for the Grand Duke’s Leonid Knights to find them.
“By the way, what day is it?”
“Huh? It’s the 6th, miss. It’s already five in the afternoon.”
At those words, Camilla’s heart dropped. It was already the 6th—Dane’s birthday.
‘I wanted to wish him a happy birthday.’
She remembered how she was so busy after the Baroness barged into the Grand Duke’s house that she couldn’t even get a proper dress.
Camilla looked down at herself. The dress from the Grand Duke’s house wasn’t bad, but it was wrinkled and the hem was torn.
‘I can’t show up for his birthday like this.’
She had wanted the Grand Duchess to introduce her at the ball, maybe even dance with Dane. But now it all seemed like a mirage.
‘Don’t think about it.’
Now wasn’t the time.
“Where exactly are we?”
“…In the basement of a mansion on Sepia Alley.”
The woman answered quietly.
‘Sepia Alley…’
Camilla knew that was an area between House Everitt and the Grand Duke’s house, a place full of empty shops and not much security.
‘They really wanted to frame Everitt for this.’
“First, we need to get out. Lead the way.”
The woman went first, most of the mercenaries behind. Nina and Camilla walked in the middle.
Howin stood right in front of Camilla, ready to stop the woman if she tried anything.
“Nina, are you okay?”
“Yeah. But… was there a boy caught with me?”
‘A boy?’
Camilla glanced at Howin. He shook his head.
“The younger miss was alone when she arrived.”
“Really? Dicky…”
Nina hung her head sadly, then shook it.
“No, maybe it’s better if he wasn’t here. That means he escaped!”
‘I doubt that…’
If Nina was kidnapped on the spot, the boy might have ended up like the knight who was with Camilla. But she didn’t say anything.
But the name bothered her.
“Nina. Dicky…?”
Even the Baroness had mentioned that name. It might have just been a bluff, but it still worried her.
“Yeah, he’s the servant who helped me borrow a carriage that day. He was waiting for me when I came back.”
Nina said she saw him and stopped the carriage that day. It was suspicious.
“…What does he look like?”
Camilla had thought the story was starting earlier than in the original, but now wondered if Dicky was actually Drake.
“Um, Dicky is—”
Before Nina could finish, they reached the front door.
The woman holding the lamp stopped, then quickly locked the door with a hard face.
Click.
“What are you doing?! Open the door!”
Howin yelled, but the woman ignored him and locked the bolt.
At that moment, she threw the lamp onto the floor.
Crash!
Oil splattered everywhere, and suddenly red flames spread quickly.
“You have no idea how scary Glamis is!!!”
Tears welled in her eyes as she laughed madly.
“Damn, fire!”
“Ha! Hahaha! If we all die here, at least my family will be safe!”
The mercenaries tried to put out the flames with their coats, but the fire spread even faster to the walls and ceiling.
Camilla tried to beat the flames with a carpet, but it didn’t help—the fire only got worse. Thick, choking smoke filled the hallway.
All they could hear was the madwoman’s laughter through the flames.
‘Damn it.’
Camilla shouted,
“Keep your heads down! The air is cleaner near the floor! Don’t breathe the smoke—Is there a back door?!”
“N-no?! Let’s just go!”
“You, carry Nina!”
Howin grabbed Nina and started running. The mercenaries covered their mouths and followed like crazy.
Camilla gritted her teeth and ran.
‘She’s burning everything to destroy the evidence.’
It was the worst. But if they survived, there were enough witnesses on their side.
But the smoke was spreading too fast.
And the end of the hallway was a dead end.
“Cough! Cough! Damn it!”
“We’re all dead if this keeps up, boss!”
‘No. We have to survive somehow.’
Camilla quickly looked around.
‘That…!’
She spotted a rusty air vent. Camilla grabbed a metal rod and started banging on it.
“Can you do something with this?!”
Howin rolled up his sleeves.
“Step aside, miss! Hrah-yap!”
Screeeech!
With a breaking sound, the old bars finally broke.
But the hole was small—only a child could fit through.
“Nina first!”
Camilla said firmly.
“No! I have to go with you!”
Nina shook her head, tears in her eyes. But the smoke was already stinging her nose.
Camilla swallowed and shoved her sister’s shoulders.
“Go! Bring help, Nina!”
“No! I have to escape with you!”
“Stop being stubborn, silly!”
Nina grabbed Camilla’s hand and clung tight. Camilla could feel her little sister’s hands shaking.
“Help us! Please, help us!”
Nina’s crying voice echoed through the basement.
Just then—
Boom!
A huge crash shook the ground behind the wall.
The sound of stone collapsing, and then a beam of light cut through the smoke.
Bang!
Through the broken wall, knights in armor rushed in like a wave. A strong voice rang out:
“Move aside!”
The first person Camilla saw was a boy with golden hair and bright blue eyes.
Camilla stared, stunned, as her heart leapt in her chest.
‘Dane.’
