~Chapter 25~
“Dane.”
For some reason, Camilla felt uneasy.
To her, the young duke in front of her was only a way to escape. Even if he treated her as a friend now, they would go their separate ways someday.
But she couldn’t stand it.
“Dane won’t end up wandering outside like your uncle. You won’t be lying here like him, either.”
‘I feel so upset.’
At the baron’s house, Camilla always had to hide her feelings.
With the baron, baroness, and especially Ares, she couldn’t show emotion.
Even to sweet Nina, she always had to act like a strong and reliable older sister.
To Sonya, she had to be a master worth following.
‘I wasn’t supposed to get emotional.’
“Dane, why do you always act like someone who has already given up?”
“What?”
“Don’t you trust me to save you?”
She hated how Dane acted like he might just disappear at any moment.
She felt angry.
She wanted to let her feelings out.
Camilla glared at Dane with red eyes.
‘I know how to treat you.’
In the original story, Dane nearly got treated, but ended up dying.
Camilla knew all the cure’s ingredients, but she needed this world’s medical knowledge to know the right doses.
‘That’s why I needed a real diagnosis and the Grand Duchess’s permission.’
Dane didn’t know it, but they were just one step away from a real cure.
If she could learn medicine from the Grand Duchess, Dane could truly get better.
‘So why do you act like you’ve already given up?’
Her feelings were out of control, like she really was just a young girl.
“Don’t give up. If you think of this like chess, then in this battle with your illness, I’m your best knight.”
Dane stared at her, surprised. Her shaking shoulders looked so small. Dane quietly opened his mouth.
“…I never said I gave up.”
‘Oh.’
“It’s just, whenever I come here, I think of my uncle.”
For some reason, Dane gave an awkward smile.
‘Did I guess wrong and overreact?’
Camilla’s cheeks turned hot.
“But you’re not wrong. When I come here, sometimes I think maybe I should just give up and end up like him.”
Dane stood up. Then he took Camilla’s hand.
Now, there was a playful look on his face. He gently wiped away the tears under Camilla’s eyes with his fingers.
“Did I really seem so hopeless? So you’re the knight, and I’m the queen?”
“No, that’s not…”
She couldn’t say he looked hopeless.
Dane grinned at her confusion.
“You’re the first person who’s ever cried for me.”
Camilla’s eyes got bigger. Maybe people had cried for Dane, but his parents never showed it, and others never dared get close.
As she was about to comfort him, Dane spoke again.
“Did you know? The knight is the only piece that can attack the queen from outside her range.”
Camilla was startled.
“But that only happens when they’re on opposite sides.”
“Yeah, that’s true. But I don’t like being on anyone’s side. So I don’t want you to be the knight and me the queen.”
Dane still held Camilla’s hand and whispered,
“I’ll never give up. So be my sword and fight with me.”
The sharpest sword for fighting sickness.
Camilla’s eyes widened.
Dane quickly kissed the back of her hand, then knelt on one knee and swore,
“I’ll be your shield.”
Back in her room, Camilla sat in shock.
‘I’ll be your shield.’
She couldn’t forget those words.
That was what Dane said to Nina when he confessed to her in the original story.
‘Is this… a confession?’
Camilla shook her head. Dane was still young.
When he grew up, those words would mean something else.
‘But… it made me happy.’
Not enemies, not just allies, but a sword and shield that worked together.
That thought made her happy, but her heart also sank.
She knew the story would change, but she never thought her own feelings would change like this.
‘Why am I like this?’
Getting close to Dane was only supposed to help her escape.
But she had actually shown her real feelings to a side character.
For that one moment, she couldn’t control herself.
And she got a confession—a promise to be her shield. The best kind of friendship.
“Maybe I’ve gotten too close.”
She only needed to be close enough for Dane to let her escape, but now she’d gone too far.
Camilla shook her head.
“Things will change when Dane finds a close male friend.”
In the original story, at his birthday party, Dane met Ian, another side character, and made him his friend.
Camilla remembered that and tried to calm down.
‘Get it together. I need to do what I came here for.’
She looked at her desk.
She’d left her herb samples, medicines, and papers with her name on purpose. She’d even spread them out to be obvious.
All of it was bait—to catch the fish called Marie.
‘If I want to get that girl thrown out, this is the best way.’
Marie left Camilla’s room with her herb samples hidden in her clothes.
She got to the greenhouse and saw a maid leaving with a basket of herbs in her dirty hands.
“Hi, Carrie!”
“M-Marie?”
Carrie, who spoke awkwardly, jumped in surprise. They started working at the mansion at the same time, but Marie was clever and became trusted by the head maid, while Carrie, in charge of the greenhouse, was always scolded for being slow.
“What do you want?”
Marie smiled and leaned in to whisper,
“Carrie, I saw you take some herbs before. You’re stealing from the duke’s house, aren’t you?”
Carrie’s face turned white.
“N-No! I didn’t sell them! My little brother is sick, so I just took a little… Only a little…”
Carrie couldn’t get medical help like the other workers, so she stole a little, using what she’d learned by watching others.
‘But now she’s been caught.’
Marie gave a short laugh.
“Remember when you got a warning for killing a plant? If you get caught again, you’ll lose your hand.”
Carrie clutched the basket and shook.
“No, I-I have nowhere else to go… Please don’t tell the head maid…”
Marie clapped her hands softly.
“Then do what I say. It’s easy.”
“W-What…?”
“In a few days, something will happen in the greenhouse. When it does, say you saw Miss Camilla sneaking around at night. Say it was definitely her.”
“N-No! I can’t do that!”
“Oh, Carrie.”
Marie lowered her voice and grabbed Carrie’s hair. As Carrie tried to scream, Marie covered her mouth and whispered,
“If you don’t, I’ll put proof that you stole herbs right on the head maid’s desk.”
Despair filled Carrie’s eyes.
“So, what will you do?”
When Marie let go, Carrie caught her breath and finally nodded.
“…Okay. I’ll say I saw her.”
Marie smiled and patted Carrie’s shoulder.
“Good. I trust you. And remember, you didn’t see me today.”
With that, Marie disappeared into the greenhouse.
Carrie bit her lips, about to cry.
‘W-What do I do?’
Soon, something big would happen in the greenhouse.
And the girl who came with the young duke to the greenhouse would get the blame.
‘She seemed so kind…’
Carrie buried her face in her hands.
But it was too late—she had already done something wrong. If Marie even whispered a word, it would all be over.
Carrie walked away from the greenhouse, feeling stuck in a nightmare.
“Sounded like you and Marie had an interesting conversation.”
Carrie froze.
‘T-That voice!’
She looked up, shocked.
“Will you tell me what it was about?”
Behind the bushes, Camilla stood with a charming smile.
