"Your Grace, you have returned!"
When the carriage pulled up to the mansion, the butler bowed his head in greeting to his master. The Duke de Walte stepped down, rubbing the bridge of his nose, a little tired after the long trip.
The evening at the imperial banquet hadn't gone at all as he had expected.
Arriving a little late at the start due to traffic jams, the man was surprised to find that by the time he arrived, everyone was in a panic. Servants were hurriedly wiping blood from the parquet floor, and the Empress herself was on the verge of fainting.
As it turned out, the cause of the commotion was the Crown Princess. True, she had already left. Previously, the Duke had never met her personally, since, unlike other members of the imperial family, the girl did not like attending social events. Spending all her free time on the battlefield or in her domains, she could rarely be found in the palace.
And yet...
According to eyewitnesses, the Crown Princess truly made a terrible impression. Anyone who encountered her face to face remembered that meeting for the rest of their life. If, of course, they were still alive...
In his heart, Victor de Walte felt relief that he had managed to avoid this moment.
In general, even after the commotion caused by her arrival was resolved, an unpleasant residue remained among the guests for the rest of the evening. The nobles tried their best to maintain strained smiles, but all conversations boiled down to the same thing.
In the end, the banquet ended in complete confusion. Even good music and luxurious decorations couldn't save the spoiled atmosphere. The Duke chatted with old acquaintances, drank some wine when the event had already come to an end.
The Emperor and Empress hastily thanked everyone for their visit and withdrew. The rest of the guests followed suit.
Spending the night in a hotel room, the Duke set off on the return journey early in the morning. He had been away from home for almost a full day, and the head of the family inquired about what had happened at the residence during this time.
As they walked along the stone path to the main entrance, Victor continued to question the butler:
"How are things at home?"
"Your Grace, nothing noteworthy occurred during your absence," the butler reported, "The young lord has not yet returned from his studies, and my lady... She is also behaving as usual."
"Hmm?"
Noticing that the butler hesitated at the last words, he clarified:
"Tell me."
The Duke's personal servant sighed. As expected, nothing escaped his master's perceptive gaze. The butler simply didn't want to disturb his master immediately upon his return.
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"Well... This morning, my lady and her maid went somewhere. And when they returned, they locked themselves in the room for a long time."
"Hmm... Anything else?"
"Oh, yes," the servant recalled, "My lady also asked for the doctor to be called. He left just before your arrival."
"You say she summoned Xavier?" the Duke frowned.
"Indeed..."
"What's the matter? Is she unwell?"
"I... I'm not sure," the butler felt guilty for not thinking to stop the physician and ask him about it, "Shall I go and find out?"
"No need," the Duke replied coldly, "I'll do it myself."
The master's sudden decision surprised the butler. For the first time in several years, Victor de Walte himself decided to check on my lady in her room.
Immediately upon his return, the Duke headed to that wing of the estate where his youngest daughter lived.
***
At the moment the knock came at the door, I nearly had another heart attack that day. Barely containing the agitation in my voice, I weakly answered:
"Y-yes?"
"Camilla."
When I realized it was my father, my heart finally sank.
"I'm listening, Father."
"I was told you summoned Xavier today," he responded impassively, "Is that true?"
"Y-yes. I was feeling a little unwell this morning, and I decided to get checked by the doctor just in case."
"I see."
I couldn't believe my ears. For the first time in seventeen years, my father decided to inquire about my health? Had this man's conscience finally awakened?
But, as it turned out, I was too quick to jump to conclusions. Because just a few seconds later...
Sigh.
"Don't summon the doctor without reason anymore. Xavier is a respected physician in the empire. He has no time for your foolishness."
The Duke's detached tone at that moment infuriated me. I couldn't believe that when his own daughter was ill, he only cared about this? That I would be "burdening" another person with my worries? After all, the family doctor turned out to be even closer to him than I was.
Suppressing my inner anger, I responded restrainedly:
"I understand, Father. I promise it won't happen again."
His footsteps retreated. In the end, he spoke to me through the door and didn't even deign to enter the room. Of course, in this situation, that only worked in my favor. But at the same time... I was a little disappointed that I didn't even have to come up with any excuses to keep him out.
He really couldn't care less about me.
I smiled bitterly. After all, I should have expected this, especially considering what heartless people I was dealing with. I wouldn't be surprised if those two didn't even come to my wedding or funeral.
I don't know why I put these two events in the same sentence...
In any case, as soon as the danger passed, I turned back to the girl on my bed. Just a couple of minutes ago, she had briefly regained consciousness. I was surprised that this happened so quickly after all the procedures were finished.
It seemed that with such strong health, I really shouldn't worry about her future.
The commoner had regained consciousness for only half a minute. And during that time, she managed to utter only one word.
As soon as I saw her eyelids slightly open, I immediately rushed to her. Amazingly, in an almost completely unconscious state, her golden eyes stared intently at me.
"You... Who are you..."
Barely moving her lips, she couldn't even find the strength to utter a sentence. I grabbed her hand.
"It's alright," I said convincingly, "You don't have to be afraid. I won't hurt you."
She mumbled incoherently, trying to say something. She clutched my hand.
"What's your name? Where is your family?" I continued asking questions.
"..."
But before she could utter a single word, the commoner lost consciousness.
"Oh, it seems she's still too weak..."
Well, that's not surprising.
I made her more comfortable and covered her with a blanket. Then, resting my chin on my fist, I couldn't help but look at her. At one glance at her face, shining with purity and childish innocence, my heart fluttered. This commoner looked more like an angel than an angel itself.
"I wonder what your name is?" I quietly murmured, looking at the sleeping girl.