Chapter : 09
“Why… Why isn’t it here!”
“I’m sure this is the right place…….”
“Dig a little deeper over there!”
The servants searching through the rose garden became increasingly frantic.
At 카밀라’s command, the maids and servants who had come to find the ring they themselves had hidden hurriedly moved their hands.
“Why on earth isn’t it here!”
“Damn it!”
They had already been searching this place for more than two hours, yet they hadn’t found so much as a single piece of wire, let alone the ring.
“It hurts…….”
Their hands were already covered in scratches and puncture wounds from the thorns of the roses.
“What are you doing! Dig faster!”
“…All right.”
But they had no room to worry about wounds on their hands.
If they failed to find the ring by the end of today, they had no idea what kind of disaster would befall them.
Judging by the 카밀라 they had met earlier, she seemed more than capable of making them disappear from this ducal household without a trace.
Or, if she really did cause a commotion by attempting suicide as she had said……!
“…It’s not here.”
“Not here either.”
A considerable amount of time passed again. The sun was already beginning to set, and darkness was creeping in.
“This is driving me crazy!”
“I’m sure this is the right spot!”
Completely exhausted, they all collapsed onto the ground.
Where on earth had the ring gone? Could one of them have secretly dug it up and sold it?
They eyed one another suspiciously for a moment before quickly shaking their heads.
None of them was stupid enough to smuggle a noble family’s jewelry outside and sell it.
Precious jewelry could immediately be traced back to where it had come from simply by examining the craftsmanship.
It was obvious that they would be accused of theft if they were caught. Who would dare do something like that?
“Get up.”
“Let’s search some more.”
“Damn it!”
The maids and servants got back to their feet.
They had to find the ring somehow. Once they found it, they needed to take it to 카밀라 and beg her forgiveness over and over again.
“You there, what are you doing here?”
Just then, someone slowly approached them.
“B-Butler.”
It was Butler 루브.
“I asked what you’re doing.”
“Th-That is……”
루브’s normally smiling face had gone cold.
At the sight of his expression, none of them could easily continue speaking.
They couldn’t exactly tell him that they had stolen 카밀라’s ring, hidden it here, and were now searching for it because they couldn’t find it.
“Follow me.”
루브 abruptly turned around after leaving those words behind, and the servants’ faces went pale.
Realizing that something had gone terribly wrong, they silently followed the butler with their mouths firmly shut.
Unlike the terrified servants behind him, however, a faint smile had already appeared at the corner of 루브’s lips as he walked ahead.
‘She really has changed.’
In fact, he had already figured out the situation roughly.
Yesterday, he had happened to pass nearby and seen 카밀라 digging up the ring here.
Only then had he understood why 카밀라 had spent so much time tearing apart this place a few months ago.
That was why he could also make a reasonable guess as to why these people were acting like this now.
Just as Head Chef 젤라드 couldn’t even raise his head in front of 카밀라, these people had clearly been caught doing something by her as well.
Butler 루브 continued to laugh silently, clearly finding the situation amusing.
Crack!
“Stole it?”
“……”
That was a desk an artisan had spent five years making.
루브 looked at the desk whose corner had cracked under the grip of Duke 소르펠 and sighed inwardly.
Would it even be possible to repair it?
“So the reason 카밀라 tore up the rose garden like that last time was……”
“Yes. It seems she was looking for the ring.”
Crack!
As he watched the desk completely break apart and fall to pieces, 루브 quickly calculated the cost of ordering a new one.
Meanwhile, Duke 소르펠’s thoughts were becoming increasingly complicated.
“I can’t understand it.”
Why didn’t she tell me?
“She could have simply told me the truth about what happened……”
At the time, he had summoned 카밀라 after she damaged the rose garden and asked her why she had done it, but the girl had firmly kept her mouth shut without offering a single excuse.
In the end, he had sent 카밀라 away after warning her that she would receive severe punishment if she caused another disturbance.
“Why on earth……”
The incident at the dining hall was the same, and so was this incident.
After failing to find an answer for a long while, Duke 소르펠 looked back at 루브.
“Bring 카밀라 here.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
As he watched Butler 루브 leave the room, Duke 소르펠 let out a quiet sigh.
He remembered the first time he had met 카밀라.
A young child who couldn’t even properly meet his eyes.
He had thought nothing of it. A strange man had suddenly taken the place of her father, so it was only natural that she would feel awkward and uncomfortable.
‘I was the same.’
He hadn’t tried to approach a child who refused to let him get close.
There was no difference between them when it came to feeling awkward.
He had thought that by allowing her to enjoy everything she could possibly have as the duke’s daughter, he was doing everything he could for her.
‘But…….’
What kind of treatment had his daughter actually been receiving within the ducal household?
Knock, knock.
After a while, the door opened and 카밀라 entered the room.
“Father, I heard you wanted to see me?”
Despite the bright smile on her face, 카밀라 was anything but at ease inside.
Feeling strangely uneasy, she lightly tightened her clasped hands.
As far as she could remember, there had never been a time when the duke had summoned 카밀라 separately like this and it had turned out well.
Had something happened again without her knowledge? Could 라비 have already caused some kind of trouble?
‘Ugh, what on earth is going on?’
Seeing Duke 소르펠’s stiff expression made 카밀라 even more nervous.
“I heard you lost a ring.”
“…Pardon?”
But the words that came from Duke 소르펠 were completely unexpected.
‘What?’
Had word reached even Duke 소르펠? Already?
‘That’s strange.’
If they had been in their right minds, they would never have admitted that they had stolen the ring.
It was a genuine crime.
She had assumed that even if someone caught them, they would somehow make up an excuse for why they were digging through the rose garden.
‘They’re pretty capable.’
Unaware that the servants who had caused all this trouble had been caught by Butler 루브 immediately, 카밀라 briefly admired the ability of whoever had interrogated them.
‘Anyway, this means something I don’t know about hasn’t happened, right?’
Judging from Duke 소르펠’s voice, it didn’t seem as though he had called her there to scold her.
‘But…….’
The atmosphere was a little strange.
He didn’t seem angry, but at the same time, there was something strangely gloomy about him.
She was the one who had lost the ring, so why was the atmosphere on his side so depressed?
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
A moment later, Duke 소르펠’s voice came again.
“Why didn’t you tell me right away back then?”
By ‘back then,’ he was probably referring to when 카밀라 had lost the ring and searched through the rose garden.
Knowing what had happened at the time, she could only find his question absurd.
‘Would you have believed me if I told you?’
The expression on Duke 소르펠’s face that day was still vivid in her memory.
He had clearly been asking with his eyes, ‘What trouble have you caused this time?’
Looking into those eyes filled with contempt, irritation, and resignation, what could she possibly have said?
‘It would have gone exactly the way they said.’
Even if she had told him the truth, he wouldn’t have believed her.
He would have listened more closely to the tearful accounts of the maids and servants, and in the end, 카밀라 would have once again been branded as a child who told lies.
‘Who could I blame?’
She was the one who had kept her mouth shut and made a pathetic mess of things all by herself.
‘But more importantly…….’
She still couldn’t understand.
‘Why is he taking this so seriously?’
Normally, this was something that could have been dealt with simply by giving orders to the servants below him.
Hadn’t that always been how things concerning 카밀라 were handled?
She couldn’t understand at all why Duke 소르펠 had gone to the trouble of summoning her separately and asking for the full story.
“You should have told me sooner.”
Duke 소르펠 clicked his tongue repeatedly.
He almost seemed…… regretful.
‘Regretful?’
This man?
About 카밀라?
For more than twenty years, she had watched this man kill 카밀라.
Countless times, she had seen him remain cold and indifferent, turning his back on 카밀라 without hesitation.
Recently, she had felt that their relationship had improved just a little.
Really, just a tiny bit…….
‘But I know perfectly well that we’re not that close.’
Reminding herself that she still shouldn’t let her guard down, 카밀라 lowered her head apologetically.
“I didn’t want to make you worry about something unnecessary.”
“Unnecessary?”
Duke 소르펠’s voice rose slightly, and 카밀라 gave him a sorrowful smile.
“You’re already busy with work. I didn’t want Father to become even more tired because of me.”
“……”
“I’m sorry. It’s because I’m lacking…… I tried to solve it on my own somehow, but……”
“Why are you apologizing!”
Duke 소르펠 instinctively raised his voice, then immediately realized his mistake.
Seeing 카밀라’s expression become dejected like a child who had been scolded, he hurriedly continued.
“카밀라.”
“Yes.”
“From now on, no matter what happens, tell me first.”
Unlike usual, Duke 소르펠’s voice was remarkably gentle.
‘What is this?’
His eyes were the same.
Faced with the tender gaze of Dukea side of him she had never seen before looked at him with an even more wary heart.
