When the Duke de Walte learned that his youngest daughter had refused dinner, his eyebrows rose. Honestly, this situation was quite unexpected.
“...So she's not coming?” he summarized gloomily.
The maid nodded fearfully.
“And why?” asked the Duke.
The poor maid tried to convey the young lady's words as accurately as possible.
“The Lady... She said she still had some things to do...”
Hearing this feeble excuse, the duke's eldest son sneered contemptuously. “Things to do?” What things could she possibly have if Camilla had only returned to the estate a couple of hours ago? Just a pathetic excuse to avoid meeting her relatives.
“And what things does she have?” Yufil decided to inquire.
The maid paled even more. The answer awkwardly slipped from her lips:
“T-today, the Lady was planning to take a bath and didn't want anyone to disturb her...”
“...”
Silence fell in the living room.
The heir of the de Walte family couldn't hide his indignation. Was this a joke? Or had this girl become extremely brazen? With this act, she directly showed that greeting her own family meant nothing to her.
The guy wanted to send the maid for Camilla again, but the Duke stopped him.
“Enough.”
“Father...!”
“I've said what I said. There's no need to waste more time on this.”
In the end, Yufil had to give in. With the masters' permission, the maid hastily withdrew.
The Duke de Walte and his eldest son were left alone in the dining room. Various dishes crowded the table, many of which Camilla liked. The chefs had specially tried on the occasion of her arrival. However, the only lady of the ducal house had unexpectedly preferred to stay in her room.
Victor de Walte looked gloomily at the stairs. The usual mask of indifference on the family head's face wavered.
This year, the man turned forty-nine. For his age, he looked quite good. One could say he was an older version of his son. His blue hair was perfectly slicked back, and his perceptive brown eyes could make anyone shudder.
In his youth, Victor de Walte was a kind and cheerful person. The real life of the party. However, with the death of his wife, everything changed. Now he was a cold-blooded man, more like a block of ice.
The Duke never had warm feelings for his daughter. He was especially irritated by how much she resembled his late wife. Every time he looked at her, it reminded him of a painful trauma from the past.
However, some changes in the girl's character still attracted his attention.
Before this, Victor met his daughter extremely rarely. Camilla was remembered by him as an annoying and whiny girl, always running after her father and brother. A year ago, she threw a tantrum when Victor was about to send her away from home for treatment.
And now... She didn't even greet him. This was indeed a bit unusual.
Yufil snorted contemptuously.
“She's somehow strange now.”
“Hm?” the Duke asked calmly, starting to eat.
Without waiting for the girl, they began dinner without her.
“Seems like that hospital really knocked the sense out of her.”
All his life, Yufil had never cared about his younger sister. He wasn't interested in her affairs or anything like that. But at the same time, he couldn't stand being disrespected.
The girl should always remember that everything she has, she has only because of them.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The Duke de Walte sighed.
“Who does she think she is?” he continued to grumble discontentedly, “In a couple of days, she'll come running herself, crying and begging for forgiveness...”
Yufil could have continued discussing his sister behind her back, but his father interrupted him.
“Enough. If you have so much free time, better devote it to your studies. No need to think about someone so useless.”
The young man was forced to agree.
“Yes, Father...” he muttered discontentedly.
Actually, there had been cases before when Camilla staged something like “boycotts”. In this way, she tried to attract the attention of her father and brother. But it never lasted more than a couple of days. Usually after that, the girl always came running to apologize first. Even now, the Duke and Yufil remained confident that everything would happen exactly the same way.
Soon they turned the conversation to another topic.
“Father, I heard...” the guy cleared his throat, “They say that crazy one will soon return to the capital...”
“Tsk!” the head of the family cut him off, “Don't speak of Her Highness like that.”
“But...!”
“You never know when someone might be eavesdropping,” the Duke reminded him softly, “You'd better not create problems for our family with your careless remarks.”
“Yes, Father...”
Sigh. Nevertheless, the heir's curiosity didn't subside at all. After a couple of minutes, he impatiently asked again:
“So, the rumors about her return are true?”
“Who knows,” the man shrugged, “I haven't received any news from the Imperial Palace.”
“But if it is true...” Yufil persisted, “Does that mean civil war will start soon, right?”
Victor glanced sideways at him.
“Our empire is not in a position for that right now,” the Duke stated impassively, “Better not speak of things you don't understand.”
“Father!” the guy exclaimed, “I'm your heir. How can I understand it if you don't explain anything to me?”
The Duke de Walte exhaled tensely.
“I suppose you already know everything anyway,” he remarked.
In fact, this hadn't been news to anyone for a long time. The empire stood on the threshold of great change — everyone expected an outbreak of civil revolution. Therefore, the Crown Princess's return was perceived with even greater tension.
Currently, the Dark Army was equal in strength to the Imperial Army, if not superior. It consisted of former criminals, bandits, and knights unjustly removed from their posts. In other words, all those whom the rest of society had turned away from.
They all flocked to Kaena de Ronan, who was the only one who patronized such people. Individually, they were just the dregs of society and criminals. But together... A truly serious threat to the empire's security.
If the Dark Army rose against the Imperial Family, hundreds of thousands of innocent people would suffer.
In reality, everything had long been heading towards a coup. Ever since the Crown Princess's personal army began to form. Such was the mood in the country: everyone was just waiting with bated breath for the mad heiress to act.
Kaena de Ronan would attempt to seize power, and it would happen very soon.
“In any case, we must support the Emperor,” the Duke declared, “When it's all over, the de Walte family will become one of the saviors of the empire. His Majesty will surely not forget our help.”
“But... Are you sure the Emperor will win?” Yufil hesitated.
“Of course. On the side of the imperial family are hundreds of noble houses. And the
Crown Princess has only a bunch of thugs... What can they do?”
With these words, the Duke de Walte calmly began to carefully cut his steak.
“...”
Yufil bit his lip uncertainly.
“Just remember what I said. At the right moment, we must send our troops to the Emperor. You will lead them on behalf of our house.”
“Yes, Father.”
“In the future, when you take my place, you will need the Emperor's support,” the Duke wiped his lips with a napkin, “So you need to secure it before it's too late.”
In the Ruwens Empire, where aristocratic families numbered in the hundreds, it was extremely difficult to stand out among them. Meanwhile, those favored by the imperial family got everything. The de Walte family was not so famous in high society. In his entire life, Victor had met the Emperor only once. And this war was an opportunity to prove their family's worth to him.
“What about that girl?” Yufil suddenly asked.
“Hm?”
“How much longer are we going to support her?” the guy inquired directly, “When I inherit the ducal title, will she still continue to live here?”
The Duke de Walte understood his hint.
“You mean...?”
“Father, let's marry her off! After all, she's already reached a suitable age.”
That was true. The Duke de Walte, who generally thought little about his daughter, had completely forgotten about this. Camilla turned seventeen this year, which meant, according to the empire's laws, she was considered an adult. Most girls her age were already engaged or married.
A rare exception was Camilla, who had rarely left the estate since childhood due to her poor health. They simply hadn't had the opportunity to find a suitable candidate for this role.
Having finished her education, at seventeen she continued to lead an extremely carefree life. Meanwhile, the girl had already recovered from her illness and was ready to fully integrate into high society.
Sooner or later, this stage had to come.
“We must give her away to another family as soon as possible!” Yufil insisted.
The family heir couldn't wait for this annoying girl to finally disappear from his sight. The younger sister, whom he hated, irritated him with her very presence.
“I know,” Victor sighed, “But she is still a member of the de Walte family. We can't marry her off to just anyone. Our reputation depends on it.”
Yufil snorted discontentedly.
“Then...?”
“I will order the butler to draw up a marriage list,” the Duke informed, “There's no need to rush in this matter. First, we will hold viewings, as is proper.”
Yufil had to agree with this.
Despite the fact that Camilla was completely useless, she still bore their surname. Consequently, this should bring at least some benefit. Her future husband must certainly have connections and a position in society, for the benefit of the de Walte family. “As you say, Father. Have you already figured out how we will determine the candidate?”
Victor de Walte nodded.
“Next week, Camilla will start going on blind dates.”