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~Chapter 49~
“……Time, you say.”
At those words, which made no sense at all, Dane let out a hollow laugh.
“I have to go now.”
No matter what, he had to go to the Mowin barony and see Camilla.
Be happy—wasn’t that clearly a final goodbye?
“Are you crazy, Dane?! The Grand Duchess is sick right now…!”
“They said her life is not in danger, so it’s fine.”
If his mother had heard this story, she would have told him to run to Camilla immediately.
Even if it wasn’t for long, Camilla had been taken in as her disciple. Dane knew his mother well enough to be sure of that.
“Dane!”
Eugenia’s scream echoed behind him, but Dane was already running down the hallway.
He ran like a madman. Just as he threw open the front gate—
“Young Master.”
The knights called out to him from behind. Then they walked forward and blocked his path.
“What is this supposed to mean?”
His own family’s knights were stopping him. At the same time, a low and heavy voice rang out.
“I gave that order. Stop.”
Dane turned his head. The Grand Duke was walking toward them with calm steps.
“Mother is sick. What do you think you’re doing?”
“She will understand.”
The Grand Duke looked down at Dane with heavy eyes.
“Dane. Isn’t it time you came to your senses?”
“…What do you mean?”
“From the start, a young lady from the Mowin family was a losing match for us.”
His voice was quiet, but the contempt inside it was clear.
At his obvious attitude toward Camilla, Dane’s fingertips turned white.
“The barony and our family cannot even be compared. Even so, for your sake, I stepped outside family interests and accepted a Mowin daughter as your fiancée.”
“You mean the younger sister, not the older one.”
The Grand Duke snorted.
“No matter how capable she is, a bastard child is unacceptable.”
“Father. Just now, her medicine saved Mother.”
Dane’s voice shook.
“And you know what else she has done for us, don’t you?!”
“She was treated well enough as a benefactor. You are my son. I can no longer allow you to act as you please.”
This was no longer a father speaking, but a Grand Duke crushing him with authority.
“The engagement ceremony is over. Devote yourself to Lady Nina Mowin.”
For a moment, Dane could not say anything. His throat burned painfully.
“Don’t you love Mother as well? Don’t you understand what it means to love someone?”
The Grand Duke’s eyebrow twitched slightly. Soon after, a cold smile touched his lips.
“You are still far too young. Renelia was outstanding enough to be called a divine physician, and her family background was flawless.”
“So did you love Mother because of that? Because of her family and reputation?”
“Dane!”
The always-composed Grand Duke flared up in anger, as if a forbidden nerve had been touched.
“You seemed to be doing better lately, caring for your attendants—but you’re no different from when you were sick!”
He glared sharply at his son. Dane had always been his weak point, but now he had regained his health.
That meant it was time to make him do what should have been done long ago. Seeing Dane as if he might rush to the Mowin estate at any moment, the Grand Duke gave a cold order.
“Enough. From this moment on, you will take charge of the business in the port city of Bellua. Pack your things and go immediately. Prove your worth as my successor.”
“Haha. Is this exile?”
Handing him control of a faraway port city that took a week by carriage—
This was not an opportunity. It was exile.
Dane replied with cold eyes.
“If it is an order, I will obey.”
Only then did the Grand Duke turn away.
“Go cool your head and prove yourself.”
As the Grand Duke walked away, Dane stood there without saying a word.
Rage flowed through his entire body like blood.
“We will escort you, Young Master.”
The knights moved to follow him, but Dane knew they were no different from his father’s eyes.
‘They’re afraid I’ll run to Camilla right away.’
“Forget it. I’ll go on my own.”
Over a knight’s shoulder, he saw Eugenia fidgeting anxiously.
Without looking back at her, Dane walked away with a straight posture.
‘Prove my worth, huh.’
That was exactly what he wanted.
He would prove everything—and return to Camilla no matter what.
Camilla smiled quietly.
Several days had passed since her meeting with Eugenia, but there was no news of the Grand Duke’s family investigating or destroying the secret business.
Of course, Dane neither sent a letter nor came to see her.
‘Because Dane left for the port city of Bellua.’
The entire capital was watching Dane now, so his movements were widely known.
He really had come that day to say goodbye.
Now Camilla thought that it was good she had wished for his happiness back then.
‘What right did I have to ask Dane to fight a terrible war for me?’
Was opposing the Empress Dowager something simple?
Even if she had done him a favor, how was asking him to risk his life any different?
“I really was selfish.”
Admitting it made her heart feel lighter.
Camilla lifted the brooch Eugenia had given her.
The red color—neither Dane’s eye color nor her own—looked like a flame.
“Once. Just once. I can use this one time when I escape.”
Even that was not something she could use right away.
Dane was no longer in Escalus.
Her head understood that.
But her heart hurt more than ever.
Camilla felt as if black flames were burning her from the inside.
‘Why was I born into the Mowin family?’
Was the suffering of her past life not enough?
Why was she born into a villain’s family, only to help with their crimes?
‘Ah… should I just end everything?’
Her body could not die from poison.
But there were many other ways to harm herself.
“Hey, Sonya—”
She would send Sonya on an errand for a moment. Then she would prepare the end.
Filled with that impulse, Camilla lifted her head.
And what she saw was Sonya’s cheek, red and badly swollen.
“…Sonya, what happened to your face?”
“A-ah, miss. It’s nothing. I just fell…”
Camilla felt her vision spin.
“No. That’s not it. This is an order. Tell me the truth.”
Sonya lowered her head and began to explain in a trembling voice.
After Camilla lost her standing in the household, Sonya had been bullied by the other maids and servants. They pulled at her clothes, dumped useless errands on her, and whispered words meant to crush her spirit. Sonya endured it all—but now it had turned into direct violence.
As Camilla listened, her head boiled.
The despair that had driven her to give up her own life vanished, replaced by fury.
“Those crazy bastards…”
This corrupt family, backed by the baron’s power, now treated even a maid as disposable after Camilla fell.
What would happen to Sonya if Camilla died?
‘She would be cut loose.’
Even worse, Sonya’s hidden identity was that of a spy for the Everett family.
By staying close to Camilla, she passed indirect information to Everett, hoping it would one day damage the Mowin family.
Camilla had even planned to warn Sonya first before escaping.
‘But I was planning to escape in a completely different way.’
Self-blame turned slowly into resolve.
‘If I’m going to die anyway…’
“Who was the one who hit your face?”
“…Miss?”
“Tell me.”
After forcing an answer out of Sonya, Camilla turned and stepped into the hallway.
Ignoring Sonya grabbing at her, she walked straight up to someone in the middle of work.
A woman standing in the hallway, giving orders and supervising the cleaning.
The head maid.
The same woman who had frightened Camilla in the underground prison when she first arrived at the mansion.
‘If you betray the family, there is only death. So be useful and obedient, miss.’
That head maid was still acting as the household’s loyal dog, watching over the servants.
“…What is it?”
The head maid—who had slapped Sonya—looked at Camilla with displeasure.
It was a look she never would have shown when Camilla had the baron’s full trust.
Camilla smiled softly.
Then she strode forward—
And slapped the head maid across the face.
