It was deep night. In the room of the duke's youngest daughter, it was dark. The girl herself was quietly sleeping on her bed.
At that time, a shadow flickered in the semi-dark room. Kaena de Ronan looked at the sleeping girl for a while. There was a strange expression on her face.
"If not for circumstances, I could stay here without a second thought..." — a thought flashed through her head.
Noticing a stray wheat-colored strand that had fallen onto her forehead, Kaena carefully brushed it aside.
The Crown Princess took a deep breath. She walked over to the table, took a sheet of paper and a pen, and then began to write something. The moonlight streaming from the large windows entered the room, outlining the contours of her face. A soft smile wandered on the girl's lips.
"For now, I must return. There are matters I need to deal with first."
Having finished writing, she also silently placed the pen on the table.
The next moment, a slight coolness seeping through the open windows announced that the Crown Princess had left the duke's estate.
***
When I woke up the next morning, the sun was already high above the horizon. During the night, my throat had become dry, so I got up to pour myself a glass of water.
And then I noticed that it was incredibly quiet in my room.
"Hmm? Where did she go?"
Usually, the commoner always slept on a cot next to my bed, but today she wasn't there. Moreover, I discovered that the girl wasn't in the other part of the room either. I started looking for her everywhere, but she seemed to have vanished. This alarmed me.
Maybe she had gone out somewhere?
Thinking this, I calmed down, deciding she would be back soon.
I walked over to my dressing table to pour water from the carafe, and there I found something resembling a note.
"Hmm? What's this?"
As soon as I picked it up and began to examine it, my eyebrows involuntarily rose. This handwriting... Each letter was like a separately crafted work of art. I wondered who could have left such a magnificent letter for me.
But be that as it may, the main thing was its content.
"I'll be away for a while. When the time comes, I'll come back for you."
At that moment, I felt my heart sink.
I hadn't expected the commoner to leave so suddenly, without even telling me.
"At least she could have said goodbye..."
It felt like a needle of disappointment pierced my heart. Just yesterday, she promised she would take responsibility for me, and she looked quite serious. And this morning, she simply up and disappeared. Although we hadn't even dated, I had a strange feeling of being abandoned.
Catching myself at this thought, I laughed ruefully.
"Well, most likely, they were just empty words."
It's not that I didn't expect something like this. Actually, I had long been used to relying only on myself and not hoping for other people. But for some reason, it was especially painful that she was the one who did this to me...
I sighed, feeling some emptiness in my chest. Then I tried to pull myself together.
"On the other hand, saving her was my initiative from the start. So, essentially, she owes me nothing."
"Yes, that's right. She and I are just strangers."
Looking at the situation this way, I felt a little better.
"But what did she mean by 'when the time comes, I'll come back for you'?"
Being in a state of depression, I stood motionless in one place for a while. It seemed that time around me had stopped. But at that moment, the voice of my maid was heard. "My Lady, it's me."
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I raised my head for the first time in a long while. Elisha entered the room.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, my Lady. Oh..."
When the maid greeted me, she looked surprised. When she spoke again, she was worried.
"My Lady, you don't have a very good complexion. Are you feeling alright?"
"What, my complexion?"
I was momentarily confused and touched my face. Looking in the mirror, I saw that I was indeed a little pale.
Well, they say correctly that a person's psychological state is always reflected on their face.
However, I didn't want the maid to worry unnecessarily, so I replied with a smile:
"Yes, I'm fine."
Hearing my answer, Elisha sighed with relief.
"By the way, my Lady. I haven't seen the commoner since morning. Do you know where she is?"
When the maid mentioned this, I tried to look as calm as possible.
"I don't think she'll be coming back anytime soon," I said slowly.
Hearing my answer, Elisha flinched and bowed her head low.
"That means..." she muttered, as if she had guessed everything herself.
I confirmed this with a weak smile.
"Yes, she's gone."
***
In recent days, the servants had been involuntarily alarmed by the sudden change in the young mistress's behavior, as she spent all her time secluded in her room.
"My lady is acting strange."
Although Camilla had previously preferred to stay in her room, she would still occasionally go for a walk or do some of her own things. But in the last few days, she had refused to leave her room and had even started eating less. Such behavior certainly seemed unusual.
"So you're saying she became like this after that commoner left?" the Duke de Walte frowned.
"That's right, Your Grace."
The butler daily reported to the head of the family on the situation in his house.
"The last time I saw my lady, she looked quite unwell."
"Unwell? What do you mean?"
"She had a pale and haggard face."
Victor de Walte sighed heavily. He dismissed the butler.
"Alright, you may go."
As soon as the door closed and his subordinate's footsteps faded, the Duke furrowed his brows. Was this commoner worth all this trouble?
At the thought that his daughter was currently not in the best condition, the Duke felt strange. For a moment, the thought even crossed his mind to visit her. But then...
"Annette."
The Duke de Walte's eyes hardened as he thought of his wife. On his desk, in a frame, stood a portrait of the late Duchess. Every time he looked at it, the man felt pain. And now, her blue, lake-like eyes watched him from the canvas.
The Duke sighed heavily.
In the end, he decided to just leave things as they were.
***
While the summer breeze entered the room through the slightly open windows, Elisha witnessed her mistress lying on the couch, sighing from time to time.
More than a week had passed since the commoner left the estate. There had been no news from her.
Elisha was so alarmed by the sight of her unhappy mistress that she spoke cautiously:
"My Lady, the weather is nice today."
"Hmm... Seems so."
But her weak response made the maid look at her with even more pity.
"For the first time in a long while, I see her so lifeless."
This sight reminded the maid of the "former" Camilla, whose emotional state was unstable and who often fell into despondency. But since she returned from the hospital, nothing like this had happened.
"Could parting with the commoner have affected her so much...?"
Fearing that at this rate, her mistress might fall into a severe depression, Elisha decided to do something.
The maid understood that this idea might be too presumptuous, but she couldn't just sit idly by and watch her mistress literally wither away before her eyes.
"My Lady, how about a short walk outside? There's no strong wind today, and the sun is warm in the garden."
Hearing the maid's suggestion, the duke's youngest daughter reacted without much enthusiasm.
"I don't really want to go out."
The lady's indifferent answer somewhat confused her, but Elisha didn't give up trying to achieve her goal.
"Uh... Then maybe call the dressmaker to the house? You love dressing up so much!"
"Some other time."
"And what about food? I can buy you your favorite treats."
No matter how many options the girl came up with, nothing worked on Camilla. She was genuinely touched by the maid's intentions to cheer her up, but she really didn't need it. Right now, she just wanted to be alone.
"Alright... Then I'll leave you alone."
As soon as Elisha finally gave up and said these words, a weak smile appeared on the ducal lady's face.
"Thank you."
Camilla's smiling face looked both sweet and sad. This made her personal maid even more dejected.
"Well, since it's turned out this way... I just hope my lady gets better soon."
***
A week had passed since I started spending time within the walls of my room.
"Most likely, the Duke is now actively making plans regarding my upcoming marriage."
An involuntary sigh escaped my lips. For the last few days, I had been brainstorming with all my might, but no matter how much I strained my brain, I couldn't come up with a way to avoid the engagement.
No matter how I looked at it, I only had one option left.
Soon, I would have to run away from here.
Despite the fact that in case of my escape, there could be no question of a leisurely life in luxury, I could still get some money by selling the jewelry currently at my disposal.
I think I could still somehow earn a living by starting my own business. And that meant I would have to work for the rest of my life...
Just the thought of it made me want to climb the walls.
"Even though I was reborn as a millionaire's daughter, what's the point in the end?!.."
Continuing to sigh in resentment at my miserable life, I suddenly heard a noise outside the mansion.
There were shouts from knights, which was very unusual, and the sounds of horses galloping at full speed. Something was wrong here.
A rather unusual phenomenon for this mansion, where it was always peaceful and quiet. Although no, there was only one reason why the knights would gather in battle formation. The Duchy was in danger.
I didn't think anyone could actually attack us, as there were no prerequisites for it. But still, why were the knights moving in groups?