Focused on the noise outside the mansion, I didn't immediately hear someone knocking insistently on my door. A lump of anxiety unconsciously rose in my throat. Finally, I went and opened the door.
"My Lady!" on the threshold stood my personal maid, with an extremely agitated and pale face.
"What is it?" I inquired immediately.
Honestly, I didn't like what was happening at all.
Elisha's eyes were as big as a deer's.
"Oh, my lady, it's... It's..." the panicked maid groaned, breaking off mid-sentence repeatedly.
In the end, I couldn't stand it and rushed to the first floor myself. The situation must have been really bad, as the Duke's knights had taken up positions with the intention of defending our estate. Even the mansion's staff gathered at the entrance.
Judging by this, my expression became more and more puzzled.
I ran outside. As I stood at the entrance to the mansion, a group of marching knights was visible from afar. The person standing in front of their formation was the Duke's knight-commander. Hilton Ramsey. Since this man was leading the knights, I finally understood that the situation was serious.
Upon seeing me, the knight's anxious eyes lit up.
"My Lady!"
He hurried and quickly approached me.
"Sir Hilton, what's happening...?" I asked in an agitated voice.
"My Lady, please, you must leave the estate immediately."
His words caught me off guard.
"What?"
"His Grace sent us an urgent message," he reported seriously, "Right now, enemy troops of the Crown Princess are moving towards our mansion. In the worst case, we'll have to fight. Therefore, the Duke's first order was to ensure your safety."
"..."
My eyes widened. Emotions prevailed over reason. I was so shocked that for a while I couldn't control myself.
"Crown...? Crown Princess?" I asked again, faltering.
It seemed to me that the Duke's subordinate had gotten something wrong. Crown Princess? That's just impossible. The main villainess of this novel was supposed to be dead. What was this resurrection from the dead?! I would sooner believe that the cold block of wood that was my father actually loved me. That's how absurd it was.
But the knight-commander looked extremely serious, and apparently didn't have time to explain all this to me.
"My Lady, you must be safe. If you stay here, you'll make the Duke worry!"
I couldn't even find words and remained silent.
"..."
What was happening seemed so unimaginable to me.
"Please, leave immediately!" he repeated to me once more.
After a minute of silence, during which I was simply in a stupor, Elisha reacted first. Being a competent maid, she hastily grabbed my hand and declared with complete readiness:
"I'll make sure my lady is alright."
The knight nodded to her with a serious face.
"I'll immediately order a carriage prepared."
I felt as if in a fog when I was made to return to my room, supported by the maid, like a little chick. Elisha closed the room door and looked into my eyes:
"My Lady, please, pull yourself together!"
After these words, I shuddered and finally came to. Although I still didn't fully understand what was happening, to avoid causing extra trouble, I decided to just do as I was told. I nodded silently to her in agreement.
Elisha very quickly chose clothes and brought them to me. They were quite different from what I usually wore. The dress design was comfortable and simple. Changing hastily, I got into a carriage that bore no emblem of the Duchy.
Knights who were to escort us lined up around the carriage.
At that point, I finally deigned to inquire:
"And where are we going?"
My personal maid, who had followed me, said:
"My Lady, we're going to travel to the empire's border."
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"The empire's border?"
At this news, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. Why on earth would the Duke decide to send me abroad? Was it related to the sudden attack on us? I was in real confusion, and my thoughts kept flowing in a negative direction.
"It can't be that this old man crossed someone influential...?"
Even if so, I was surprised that the matter was so serious. His daughter even had to flee. Although not so long ago my main problem was financial well-being after leaving home, now, apparently, my own life was at stake. After my rebirth, my "luck" just wouldn't stop.
In reality, with all these thoughts, I was trying to push out of my head the thoughts about the Crown Princess that I had first heard from the knight. They were so incongruous in my mind that it was easier for me to think of any other reason.
When I was in a somewhat detached state, the knight-commander, who slightly lifted the curtain and looked inside the carriage, asked:
"My Lady, are you ready?"
I shuddered and only nodded my head slightly.
"I can't go with you, as I must stay and defend the Duchy. But you will be accompanied by the three best swords of our house."
"Alright."
The gray-haired knight readily nodded to me and lowered the curtain.
"We can depart!"
At that moment, the horses stirred, and the carriage started moving.
I felt like I was on pins and needles. With an alarmed gaze, I watched as the de Walte residence became more and more distant. For some reason, I had the feeling that I was seeing this place for the last time as it was.
Leaning one hand on the window, I silently watched the passing landscape.
Elisha, who sat opposite me, couldn't help but notice my nervousness and tried to calm me. I lifted my gaze when her warm hand was placed over mine.
"I well understand what you're worried about. But don't worry, everything will be alright, my Lady!"
I smiled weakly at her words. Yes, I really did feel better when at least one familiar person was near me.
"Thank you, Elisha."
The carriage quickly entered the Yurishina forest. From here began the fastest route to the empire's southern border. If we were lucky, we could reach the border before midnight. We were just lucky that the Duke's residence was so close to this place.
For a while, the carriage fell into silence. Then Elisha suddenly spoke.
"My Lady, I just wanted to say that it was a pleasure serving you."
I looked at her in confusion:
"What are you talking about?"
"Just in case... I want you to know," a weak smile appeared on my maid's lips.
Suspecting something was wrong with her words, I resolutely shook my head.
"You yourself said everything would be fine, right?" I retorted, "So save those words for another occasion."
Elisha stared at me and blinked in confusion for a few seconds. Although she had recently tried to bring me to my senses, she was obviously no less nervous herself. And understandably so. Completely out of the blue, all hell had broken loose. Everyone was out of place. All we could do was put on a brave face and support each other.
I gently patted the maid's hand, as if soothing a child. She hesitated for a moment, then firmly pressed her lips together and tried to smile.
"Yes, everything will be fine," she nodded, agreeing with my words.
I knew it would. At least, I believed it.
Leaving the residence, we traveled all day across the endless green land. Wherever you looked, there was grass, trees, and sky. The carriage rolled along a poorly paved dirt road, shaking and jolting from side to side. It was like the rhythm of a cradle. Such a long journey in a shaking, enclosed space had tired me considerably.
In the end, relaxing a bit, I decided to lean against the wall and rest. I leaned my head against the window and closed my eyes. It seemed to me, just for a moment. But as soon as I opened my eyes, the carriage shook violently. Startled, I cried out in surprise:
"What happened?!"
Our carriage suddenly stopped in the middle of the forest road.
"Beware! We're under attack!" one of the knights escorting us shouted from outside.
My face turned sharply pale.
"Under attack? What does that mean?"
Stunned by the sudden turn of events, I was speechless. Nevertheless, it seemed the words about an attack were true. To protect myself from the monstrous clang of metal and screams, I covered my ears with my hands. Elisha and I, in terror and fear, crouched on the floor and didn't dare even look out the window. I closed my eyes tightly, and my whole body trembled uncontrollably.
"Let this end!" — I prayed for only one thing.
And, as if answering my prayers, no more than ten minutes passed before the warlike roar of the knights and the terrible sounds of the slaughter ceased. This meant one side had won. However, I didn't dare guess which one. In fear, the maid and I held our breath, as if in the middle of a minefield.
Thus, some time passed.
The ominous silence became more and more unbearable.
Finally, Elisha, who had been sitting with her face buried in her skirt, slowly raised her head. Since there was no other option, the only thing left was to check what had happened. The maid's eyes were full of anxiety. Nevertheless, she somehow found the courage to stand up first.
"My Lady, I'll go out and see what happened..."
I immediately shook my head negatively.
I wanted to scream at her, "Are you crazy?!"
I was afraid to be left alone in this carriage. But the maid looked more determined. The girl understood that my safety and care for me rested primarily on her shoulders.
Of course, I wanted to dissuade her from this crazy venture, but it was too late.
"My Lady, I'll just check what happened. Don't you dare go out!" the maid closed the door without waiting for my answer.
I snapped my mouth shut, not having had time to make a sound.
After her departure, Elisha never returned. The next five minutes dragged on excruciatingly. I was afraid to imagine what had happened. In the end, I realized myself that continuing to sit here wasn't an option. At this rate, I might simply die here from exhaustion or hunger.
"Well, whatever will be, will be."
Swallowing, I pulled the carriage handle. Then, still not looking ahead, carefully stepped onto the ground. The first thing that almost immediately caught my eye — the grass around wasn't green. Everything around was flooded with scarlet liquid. As if I had instantly found myself in hell.
My worst expectations were exceeded tenfold.
Especially when I belatedly realized that I had stepped on someone's hand. Crying out in fright, I recoiled when I understood that beneath me lay the body of one of the knights who had escorted our carriage. More precisely, the whole clearing was littered with the bodies of our soldiers. They were piled on top of each other like bags of sand.
"Wh-why... Why is everything like this?!"
My stomach, which had been tense since the start of the journey, painfully cramped. I tried to hold back the nausea rising in my throat. The terrible sight before my eyes completely stunned me.
At some point, my gaze fell on a body in a maid's uniform. The girl in a blood-spattered dress, with a wound in her stomach, lay among the other bodies like a lifeless doll. Then my legs finally gave way.
"No... Not this..."
I was choking as tears welled up in my eyes from pain. It seemed to me it couldn't get any worse, and I was about to go mad. Maybe this was just a monstrous dream? And when I woke up, everything would be alright? This naive hope faded in my soul with each passing moment.
"Camilla?" a familiar voice unexpectedly touched my ears.
I raised my head and slowly turned. At that same moment, my heart stopped.
Behind me stood a person I hadn't expected to see here at all.