Chapter : 07
“I told you I was fine now, yet you went out of your way to bring it.”
Seeing that reaction, Duke Sorpel clicked his tongue as if he found it bothersome.
However, everyone present could see the fact that the corners of his lips were subtly raised.
“I’m so jealous, Duke.”
“I suppose this is why everyone says you should have a daughter. Haha, I only have sons, so I can’t experience this kind of amusement.”
“Even though I have a daughter, she’s never once made me a cup of tea for me, let alone brought me a snack.”
“Same here.”
“Not every daughter is like Miss Camilla.”
As Duke Sorpel listened to everyone throwing in their own comments, he slowly scooped up some sherbet and brought it to his mouth.
As always, it tasted wonderful today as well.
“It’s truly amazing. After causing so much trouble everywhere she went, I wonder if she has finally come to her senses?”
Flinch!
At that moment, a young vassal spoke while unable to take his eyes off the wine sherbet, as though he was genuinely amazed.
He was Viscount Ersha, the youngest among the vassals.
“…….”
Duke Sorpel’s gaze turned toward him.
“Seeing her make something like this and give it to the Duke, I suppose she must have felt really sorry about the trouble she caused at the party last time.”
As Duke Sorpel’s expression gradually grew colder, the people around them repeatedly gave Viscount Ersha meaningful looks, silently telling him to shut his mouth.
But Viscount Ersha failed to notice until the very end.
“You.”
“Yes?”
“Didn’t you say you couldn’t drink wine?”
“Me?”
“You probably don’t like desserts made with wine either.”
“No, I actually really like wi—”
“You absolutely hate wine.”
“No, I never said anything like that—”
Duke Sorpel firmly cut off Viscount Ersha’s protest and ordered the butler.
“I cannot ignore my daughter’s sincerity, so I shall eat that myself. Bring it over here.”
“Yes, Duke.”
“Ah, no……”
As he watched the sherbet that had been sitting right in front of him disappear, Viscount Ersha could not hide his bewildered expression.
At that moment, his eyes met Duke Sorpel’s.
“Th-then… please enjoy it……”
‘What did I do wrong?’
Only after seeing the ice-cold gaze of Duke Sorpel did he realize it.
He had just done something terribly, terribly wrong.
He desperately sought help from those around him, asking them what had happened, but everyone simply avoided him and shook their heads.
“What should we make tomorrow?”
[I have a special sauce I developed myself. I’m thinking of making canapés with just a little of it on top.]
Camilla shook off Chef Jellard, who was clinging to her arm and begging her to please teach him the recipe, and left the kitchen.
‘Huh?’
While Camilla was discussing tomorrow’s food with Ferol, the ghost chef, she suddenly stopped.
Someone familiar was standing on one side of the hallway.
“What are you doing there?”
It was Rabi.
She wanted to simply walk past him, but their eyes met directly.
What was he doing alone in the hallway at this late hour?
“…….”
As Camilla stared at him blankly, he strode toward her.
Could he have been waiting for her?
“What are you doing?”
“What do you mean, what am I doing?”
Wasn’t that something she should be asking him?
What was he doing, standing in her way and suddenly throwing such a question at her?
“I’m asking what you’ve been doing every night. Why are you suddenly making such a fuss doing things you never used to do?”
Seeing Rabi’s gaze briefly flick toward the kitchen, Camilla finally understood what he was talking about.
“Making food? Why?”
At Camilla’s question, Rabi’s brow furrowed slightly.
“What are you plotting?”
“Plotting?”
“I’m asking what you’re suddenly up to.”
Watching Rabi ask the same question again, Camilla clicked her tongue.
“Mind your own business.”
What a pointless meddler.
Camilla tried to walk past him just like that, but she had no choice but to stop when he spoke again.
“Do you really think doing that will make the Duke accept you as family?”
Rabi’s voice was unusually harsh.
Was it fair to say that it was filled with emotion?
This was not his usual cynical self.
Had he been drinking?
There was no smell of alcohol, though.
“Do you really think you can earn that man’s recognition with something as trivial as that?”
Watching Rabi, who looked both pathetic and angry, Camilla tilted her head in confusion.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
Whether she made food and brought it to the Duke or picked flowers and gave them to him, what did any of that have to do with Rabi?
‘Weren’t we originally the kind of people who just lived our own lives?’
It really was completely unnecessary interference.
“They won’t accept us.”
“…….”
Us?
‘Us…’
Camilla remained silent for a moment.
‘He must be talking about himself.’
Perhaps he had seen a reflection of himself in her recent attempts to win Duke Sorpel’s favor.
Rabi, desperately struggling to somehow catch his attention.
And himself.
“Don’t do pointless things. It won’t do you any good anyway.”
“I know.”
“…You know?”
“Yes, I know.”
Camilla’s answer was so short and calm that it was enough to make the person who had been worked up feel embarrassed.
“I have absolutely no intention of becoming their family.”
“What?”
Family?
That sort of thing wasn’t important.
There was only one reason she was doing all of this.
“Because I don’t want to die.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Because I want to live.”
“What are you talking about?”
“That’s all.”
“Hey!”
With those words, Camilla walked past him.
She could feel Rabi staring at her with confused eyes, but she simply pretended not to notice.
‘Yes. That’s all.’
Family?
‘Forget it.’
Chapter: You Should Return What You Received
“What lovely weather today.”
[…….]
[…….]
“A cup of coffee would be perfect.”
[…….]
[…….]
“Should I go for a walk?”
[…….]
[…….]
“…….”
All right. I get it.
“Why? What is it? Why have you two been acting like that since earlier? If you have something to say, just say it already.”
Camilla, who had been enjoying a rare moment of relaxation while sitting in a chair by the window, eventually had no choice but to look at the two ghosts staring intently at her, Ferol and Derin.
[What did you mean by what you said yesterday?]
“Yesterday?”
Camilla pretended not to know and asked back.
[You told your older brother yesterday that you wanted to live.]
[Miss Camilla, what did you mean by that?]
Derin, who seemed to have already heard the entire situation from Ferol, continued carefully, his usual smile gone.
[Are you perhaps ill?]
[What do you mean, you want to live? What exactly were you talking about?]
They were talking about the conversation she had with Rabi last night.
How was she supposed to explain this?
“Everyone wants to live. I just meant it like that.”
After thinking for a moment, Camilla answered lightly as though it were nothing important.
She couldn’t tell them everything about her circumstances.
What if she said, ‘I know the entire future, so I’m desperately struggling to survive right now’?
‘They might both decide they can’t help a crazy woman and leave.’
Still feeling their questioning gazes, Camilla turned her attention back toward the window.
As she looked out at the flowers in full bloom, something suddenly occurred to her.
“I have something to ask you, too.”
[……? Please ask me anything.]
“Do you know about the ‘Flower Garden Incident’?”
Perhaps they knew something, since they wandered all around the Duke’s household.
[The flower garden? What flower… Ah……!]
“It really is huge.”
Looking at the endless field of roses stretching out before her, Camilla once again realized just how impressive the Sorpel household was.
What kind of garden was this huge?
“Is this the place?”
[Yes, this is it.]
As she heard the answer from Derin, the ghost butler, Camilla stared quietly at the ground beneath her feet.
Before she had completely possessed the body of Camilla Sorpel, there had been a small…
No, an absolutely infuriating incident.
Several months ago, Duke Sorpel received a report.
He was told that Camilla had dug up the rose garden and made a complete mess of it.
The Duke let out a deep sigh and thought, ‘She must have lost her temper again and destroyed everything around her.’
Yet perhaps there was still a small part of him that hoped otherwise, because he called her in and asked why she had done it.
But as always, Camilla kept her mouth firmly shut in response to Duke Sorpel’s question.
She couldn’t even properly meet his eyes.
‘So frustrating!’
This incident was one of the events that occurred every time her life repeated itself, and the outcome was always the same.
‘Every time I watched it happen, it made me so furious!’
It was enough to drive her crazy.
This was what had really happened.
Several maids and servants who disliked Camilla had stolen one of the jewels she treasured.
And it wasn’t just any jewel.
It was a keepsake from her deceased mother.
The maids who had stolen the ring, which was set with a red ruby, took turns speaking as though they were playing an amusing game.
‘We hid it somewhere in that rose garden, so go find it.’
‘Oh my? Are you going to hit us again?’
‘Have you already forgotten what the Duke said? He told you that if you caused trouble or made a disturbance around us even one more time, he would lock you in your room.’
‘Do you think the Duke will believe you or us?’
‘Aren’t we really good at pretending to cry now?’
‘All you have to do is say you’ve never seen a ring like that, Miss.’
‘No! It would be better to tell him that you went out wearing it, lost it, and are taking your anger out on us.’
In the end, Camilla had no choice but to search through the rose garden alone to find her mother’s ring.
She searched again and again, forgetting even that her hands were becoming a mess from being pricked by the thorns.
But she ultimately found nothing.
After Camilla had made a complete mess of the flower garden, Duke Sorpel heard about it and summoned her.
She was scolded by him, and that was how the incident ended that day.
And through Derin, the ghost butler who had witnessed everything that happened that day from beginning to end, Camilla was able to pinpoint exactly where the maids had hidden the ring.
Thud!
Camilla used the small shovel she had brought with her to dig into the ground.
Before long, she was able to find the ring in the exact spot Derin had shown her.
“…….”
Clutching the dirt-covered ring tightly, Camilla looked down at her hand.
There were still small scars remaining.
They were the wounds she had received from being pricked and scratched by rose thorns when she had searched through this place before.
“It was you.”
You were the ones who started this first.
A sharp glint flashed in Camilla’s eyes as she carefully put the ring away.
