~Chapter 36~
‘What did I just hear?’
Her heart started pounding anxiously.
It wasn’t excitement, but fear that wrapped around Camilla.
She felt as if a warning was ringing—she shouldn’t change the original story any more.
But Dane didn’t stop there. He bent down and kissed the back of Camilla’s hand.
“Camilla Mowin. I love you.”
That confession fell on her like a hammer.
“Camilla?”
Camilla was trembling and stepping back.
‘This is completely off from the original story.’
It was fine that Dane got better. She thought she’d only bent the plot a little.
But this—this was just scary.
“What about Nina?”
“…I know you’re worried about your sister, but why are you bringing her up right now?”
Even while changing the story, Camilla never felt guilty toward Nina.
She thought, Dane will fall for Nina anyway, and even if I run away and Nina ends up in a tragic story like in the original, Dane will save her.
She had always believed that.
But now Dane was confessing his feelings to her.
‘Is it because I saved him from his illness?’
At that moment, two memories came to her—her talk with the Duke, and…
‘You were adopted, weren’t you?’
That senior who confessed so desperately, then acted betrayed and angry when he found out she was adopted.
He spread rumors about her at school after hearing it from her foster brother.
Dane didn’t know anything about her. He just thought of her as his savior.
“I… I never had those feelings for you.”
“Camilla.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.”
“Camilla!”
Camilla turned away and ran down the hall to her room. When Carrie, startled, asked what was wrong, Camilla sent her away, then hid under her blanket and covered her ears.
‘No…’
Nina had been kidnapped, and now Dane was saying he liked her. All the things she’d changed pressed down on her, making it hard to breathe.
Camilla squeezed her eyes shut.
She remembered what the Duke said at the end of their talk.
‘Lady Mowin.’
The Duke declared in a heavy voice,
‘You’re still an honored guest of House Escalus, and I’ll grant all your requests today. But let me make one thing clear.’
‘What is it?’
‘The former head of House Everitt, who tried to assassinate the Grand Duke, was born out of wedlock.’
Camilla froze at those words.
‘After that, House Escalus never recognizes people born out of wedlock as proper nobles. I don’t plan to change that rule.’
When Camilla looked at him with shaking eyes, the Duke smiled kindly.
‘You may be a guest, but I’ll never let you be Dane’s partner.’
‘The Duke knew about my background.’
She wanted to say she never wanted to be Dane’s partner anyway.
But when her heart dropped at his words, Camilla was shocked at herself.
She kept her expression calm, politely replied, and left.
Then Dane confessed his feelings.
Hot tears rolled down Camilla’s cheeks.
‘What do I do…’
For a moment, she wanted to reach for Dane’s hand.
But the fear that followed made her tremble.
How could I even think about that, when my sister’s been kidnapped and the original story is falling apart?
Still, pressing her aching chest, Camilla realized—
‘I liked Dane.’
She’d dared to have feelings for that young boy.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t hurt this much.
Camilla covered her mouth and cried quietly.
After she finally finished crying, she wiped her eyes and stood up.
‘I have to fix everything.’
Crying would stop here.
She didn’t care if she trampled on her own heart.
Camilla started packing. She had more things than before—gifts from Dane and the Grand Duchess—but only packed what she needed and decided to leave the rest.
“Oh, miss?”
“I’m calling for a merchant’s wagon. Can you help me, Carrie?”
“Y-you’re leaving right now? The Grand Duke’s house will lend you a carriage…”
“Yes, but there’s no time.”
She didn’t want to run into Dane.
She knew it was cowardly to leave without a proper goodbye, but she needed to get back to the mansion as soon as possible.
She had to check if Nina was in the basement.
After asking Carrie to handle the carriage, Camilla sent word to the Grand Duchess’s maid, wanting to say goodbye only to the Duke’s wife. Soon, the maid came to guide her.
Knock, knock.
“Grand Duchess, excuse me…”
As she opened the door, Camilla was startled. The Grand Duchess wasn’t alone.
Dane was there, too. Maybe they’d been chatting.
Dane looked at her with calm eyes.
Camilla ignored his gaze and bowed to the Grand Duchess.
“Thank you for all your kindness. I’d like to return home now.”
“Actually, I wanted to keep you here until I gave birth.”
“Pardon?”
“Well, even after that, I’d have reasons to keep you here for my recovery, and more after that, but… It seems your mind is made up.”
The Grand Duchess kindly patted Camilla’s shoulder.
“I’ll send a knight to escort you home. Travel safely.”
“Thank you for your thoughtfulness.”
“I hope you find your sister. Even if it’s not at the next party, I’ll always be your chaperone.”
Her gentle words made Camilla smile, too.
She said her goodbyes and turned to leave—but Dane followed her.
“You’re leaving now?”
“…Yes. Stay well, Dane.”
Dane, looking at her, clenched his fist and whispered,
“If I hadn’t gotten better, you wouldn’t be leaving now, would you?”
“What?”
Camilla felt her hand go cold at his next words.
“Then it would have been better if I hadn’t gotten better.”
“What are you saying?”
Now Dane was ignoring all her hard work and the efforts of everyone, even the doctors.
“Take that back.”
“Am I wrong? If I stayed sick, you’d still be here with me.”
“Dane!”
Camilla shouted, her anger rising.
“Do you know what I changed for you—!”
Nina might be in danger because of the butterfly effect. She hated Dane for acting like this.
“I don’t know. You never told me.”
“What?”
“You always acted like you knew everything.”
Camilla flinched.
“I liked that certainty in your eyes. That’s why I never asked. But now, you don’t look so sure.”
“What are you saying?”
“Do you have any guesses about your sister’s kidnapping?”
With Camilla looking pale, Dane pressed her.
“Tell me. And let me help.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Even if you leave me, I want to be your shield.”
Camilla couldn’t breathe. She turned away from Dane.
“I don’t need your help right now.”
By now, Carrie had probably arranged the wagon.
Just then, Dane grabbed her wrist.
“What does that mean? There will be a time when you need my help?”
Camilla swallowed dryly and looked at him.
“Yes. From the start, I only got close to you because I needed your help.”
“What?”
She was leaving anyway.
Even if she was brave, the Duke would never allow her to stay by Dane’s side.
Camilla forced a twisted smile.
“Now that I’ve gotten help from you, there’s no need to stay as your friend.”
“…You!”
“Am I wrong? You owe me a huge debt, don’t you?”
With that, she pushed their relationship from friendship to debtor and creditor, and Dane snapped.
“You never thought of me that way before.”
“No, I just used you.”
At that moment, an unfamiliar voice interrupted them.
“Wait. What’s going on here?”
Eugenia was standing in the hallway, looking at them with trembling eyes.
Oh hoo~