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~Chapter 48~
After the day Ares dragged her to the arena, Camilla never got her strength back.
She was drowning in self-hatred and felt like she might die. She wanted to give up on everything. The only thing that pulled Camilla back up was a single sentence from Sonya.
‘Didn’t you say you had something important scheduled on the last day of this month?’
‘…Yeah, I did.’
‘Then please get up. You promised you’d be good to me when you took me as your maid, right? You taking care of yourself is you being good to me.’
After the trial, everyone in the house knew Camilla had been severely punished. She also knew her position in the house was now even lower.
Even so, Sonya was still loyal to her. Camilla nodded.
On the day Sonya said she had a cold and covered her mouth with a cloth, she helped Camilla. They switched clothes.
Camilla escaped the mansion dressed as Sonya and took a merchant’s carriage. That’s how she managed to arrive at the cafe right on time, as Dane had told her.
‘This is the only place near Madam Solik’s dress shop.’
It was also the only place that served the iced tea Dane mentioned.
She knew now that the baron would never let her go.
Before, he would have gotten rid of her if she was useless. But now, it was different.
He was ordering her, who had proved her usefulness, to become an active partner in crime.
‘No.’
She no longer even dreamed of standing next to Dane.
But she couldn’t let the family’s evil go on. Without realizing it, she had worked for an evil family. Now, she might even have to make real poison.
‘Who cares about the original story anymore.’
Now that the business had the Empress Dowager’s protection, there was only one powerful connection she could trust—the Grand Duke’s family.
So even if it was shameless, she had to tell everything to the boy who promised to protect her.
But more than anything—
‘I want to see him.’
She wanted to see Dane and talk to him. She wanted to say she was sorry for not telling him, and ask if he was disappointed in her.
So she sat by the window, waiting for the promised time.
When it was time, she waited, thinking maybe he was just a little late. But after an hour passed, her chest started to tighten.
‘Did something happen?’
Yes, there must have been trouble at the Grand Duke’s house. Maybe she should take a carriage and go there herself.
Just as she got up from her seat, she heard footsteps.
Step.
“Wow, you actually showed up?”
“…Eugenia?”
Even though her hood was pulled down low, orange hair peeked out.
Eugenia saw Camilla and scoffed.
“I don’t know what you did for Dane, but I see you’re shameless enough to go after your own sister’s fiancé.”
“Eugenia, did Dane send you? Where’s Dane…”
Camilla wanted to know if something had happened to Dane. But Eugenia cut her off.
“Dane’s not coming.”
“…What?”
“Why would he want to see some illegitimate girl who lied to him? Stop dreaming. The message from the young master is to never see you again.”
That’s a lie.
Camilla’s heart dropped. As she stood there, shocked and at a loss for words, Eugenia whispered coldly.
“Honestly, he wanted to tell you himself, but I stopped him. There’s no need for him to come all the way here just to say that.”
Eugenia put a brooch with a red jewel on the table.
“Still, since he owes you, you get one favor. If your little sister wears this brooch, that’ll be the sign, and he’ll grant you one wish.”
Eugenia turned away, adding,
“Now, Dane’s fiancée is your sister.”
“Eugenia, wait.”
Camilla wanted to see Dane. She still had something she needed to give him.
‘I have to at least give him this.’
She clutched a document in her hand—a secret file describing the baron’s business and who was backing him.
“Can I at least give him a letter? Please, let me—”
But Eugenia’s eyes flashed angrily.
“You, come here.”
She snatched the file from Camilla and pulled her into a dark alley. Camilla, still weak, couldn’t resist.
Eugenia yelled, her face red.
“Enough already! Because of you, the honor of House Escalus is in ruins! Do you know what people are saying about Dane now?!”
Camilla flinched. Her words stabbed into Camilla’s heart. Camilla looked down, swallowing hard.
“He’s not even sick, but sometimes he just gets weak! I always worried about that!”
‘That’s right.’
Dane had only just recovered from being sick. If she told him the Mowin family’s secrets—protected by the Empress Dowager—what would happen to him?
‘It’d be like asking the Grand Duke’s family to fight the Empress, just for me.’
How selfish was she, wanting that from Dane, who had only just gotten out of bed?
“You’re a scandal all by yourself. You shouldn’t be anywhere near Dane!”
Eugenia pressed her fingers to her forehead, then glared coldly at Camilla.
“If you try to approach Dane again, except through this brooch, I swear on Dunburton’s name, I’ll never forgive you.”
With that, Eugenia turned and left with the documents. Camilla just stood there, staring at her.
Waaah! Waaah!
A baby’s cries filled the Grand Duke’s mansion.
Doctors rushed back and forth. It was a premature birth. The Grand Duke feared this might be the last time with his wife. Dane waited nervously outside the room, too.
When the baby’s cry finally came, father and son hurried inside.
“How’s Renelia?!”
“She’s out of danger. The anesthesia for the birth was a big help.”
Dane and the Grand Duke both breathed a sigh of relief.
‘Thank goodness. Camilla helped us again. But…’
Of all days, his mother’s labor started on the day he was supposed to meet Camilla.
Dane couldn’t leave his struggling mother. He secretly asked a trusted servant to meet Camilla for him.
If his mother’s early labor hadn’t happened, Dane would have gone to her himself.
He’d even prepared a ruby brooch, to give her as a promise for the future.
But in the end, Eugenia was the one who had to give Camilla the brooch and tell her they’d meet another day.
Later, when Eugenia finished, she went to Dane.
“Is the Duchess okay? And the baby?”
“…Thankfully, Mother is okay. We still have to watch her, but my new little sister is healthy.”
The new baby was a little sister. Eugenia let out a sigh of relief.
“…That’s good.”
“Yeah, it is. And, Eugenia, how did it go?”
“Is that really important now?”
“Camilla’s medicine saved Mother. What about her? Did she accept the change in meeting day?”
Eugenia spoke quietly.
“You said her medicine helped?”
“Yeah. Once again, I owe her. Did she accept the new date?”
“…She said this would be the last time she’d ever see you.”
Dane couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“What?”
“If she ever needs your help, she’ll use the brooch through your sister to send the signal.”
“That’s it?”
He couldn’t believe it.
“Dane, think about how she must feel. She lied to you.”
“I don’t care about that—”
“But she does! She felt really sorry to you!”
Eugenia closed her eyes.
At the very end, Camilla had grabbed Eugenia’s arm and whispered:
‘…I’m sorry for holding onto you. But please, will you tell Dane one last thing?’
“She said… she wants you to be happy.”
‘Please be happy.’
Eugenia looked down, her eyes sad.
“If you really care about her, give her some time.”
‘But honestly, she doesn’t have much time left.’
Dane just stood there, in shock.
