EWGEW 04

Chapter 04

“Thank you, Resilia. Thanks to you telling everyone the story, I was able to clear some of the injustice done to me.”

Camilla lifted the corners of her lips and took a sip of tea. The scent of rosemary spread softly through her mouth, which felt quite pleasant.

‘Of course, there is another reason why I am really happy.’

At that thought, the corners of her lips naturally relaxed.

Seeing Camilla like that, Resilia leaned her upper body slightly toward her and picked up her teacup. Her fingers were long and elegant.

“It was quite a rare thing. Honestly, I found it rather satisfying. Don’t you think?”

Her tone was calm but full of laughter.

Unlike at the tea party, Camilla had changed into more comfortable clothes, so she looked quite different. At the tea party, she had looked elegant but somewhat intimidating. Now, she gave off a more languid and alluring impression.

Resilia laughed again and lightly clapped her hands.

“Exactly, Camilla. Look at Baroness Barotien walking right into the trap herself. Again.”

What had happened at the tea party had certainly been the highlight. Tielin had been unable to stay still, while Camilla had sat there calmly.

Afterward, everyone at the tea party avoided bringing up the subject and turned their attention to other topics. But did they really forget what had happened?

Probably not a single person there had forgotten the conversation between Camilla and Tielin.

“By next week, Baroness Barotien will probably shut herself inside her house.”

Thinking of Tielin Barotien, Resilia narrowed her eyes softly.

Today’s tea party had been a place the Barotien family could never have dreamed of attending. Resilia remembered what Yuelan had said. Tielin had been extremely happy when she received the invitation. Apparently, she had smiled brightly with that innocent, lovely face of hers.

She must have attended with her hopes held high.

But who could have imagined that she would fall this far?

Now, it would be difficult for her to appear in high society anymore. One of the most important virtues expected of a noble young lady was chastity. This was even more important for a noble family from the outskirts rather than a central noble family.

All of this had been planned by Camilla.

“What are you saying? Camilla, helping you was my pleasure.”

As she said this, Camilla and Resilia exchanged glances. Their eyes were filled with laughter and endless joy at how well their plan had worked.

There was an obvious reason why Resilia had spread such a low rumor in front of the noble ladies and young ladies at Lady Desti’s tea party.

It was because Camilla had come to Resilia and asked her to do it.

‘Please, Resilia. I’m so, so wronged….’

Resilia could not ignore the sorrow in Camilla’s trembling voice. The inappropriate relationship between Tielin and Atony was not a baseless rumor. It was a clear fact.

Camilla was the victim, yet she had to hide herself away like this.

Thinking of her unfortunate situation, Resilia had frowned deeply. So she willingly helped Camilla.

And the result was a huge success.

Of course, if Tielin had not walked into the trap herself, it might have been a little less entertaining.

But could that really happen?

People did not change easily.

Tielin had not been able to break her old habits either.

Resilia took another sip of tea and spoke.

“Camilla, you must have been very hurt.”

Even though everything was over, the fact remained that Camilla had gone through something terrible.

That ‘Camilla Elkasir’—proper and, in a good way, elegant and wise, but in a more direct sense, rather introverted and frustrating at times.

How difficult must it have been for someone like her to throw ice water on her fiancé and his mistress, and then come here to talk about it?

And she had even directly joined in planning this whole thing.

That was not something the ‘Camilla Elkasir’ Resilia knew would have done.

At least, the Camilla Elkasir that Resilia had known before.

For the proper Camilla to change into such a different person, she must have been deeply shocked.

‘It must have been really hard if it was enough to change someone that much….’

Thinking so, Resilia offered her a gentle word of comfort.

“Hmm, but you will soon meet a good person. Camilla, you are beautiful, and the Elkasist family is one of the most prestigious families in the Empire! You can tell me about it too. Once some time passes, this trial will be far behind you.”

Everyone in high society knew that she had loved Atony.

No matter what reckless things Atony did, Camilla had always smiled lovingly.

Without saying anything, quietly.

It must have been because she loved Atony.

As Resilia said this, Camilla gave her usual eye-smile. When she smiled with her eyes, her long purple eyelashes trembled softly.

Camilla tilted her head slightly.

“It’s all right, Resilia. Thank you very much.”

It was an innocent smile similar to the one Tielin had shown earlier.

Camilla swallowed back the words that lingered in her mouth.

Of course it wasn’t all right.

Camilla narrowed her eyes.

Getting revenge on that bastard Atony was the first thing she had to do. In the end, Atony had become unable to set foot in high society. It was obvious that this would leave a major stain on his reputation.

Behind the teacup, the corner of her mouth formed a sharp sneer.

But only Camilla herself knew about it.

As she put down her teacup, she remembered that moment.

The moment she had awakened after several months.

It was a peaceful noon.

As always, Camilla Elkasist’s personal maid stayed beside her mistress, who lay unconscious as if she were asleep.

Warm sunlight from the window shone pleasantly onto the woman lying on the bed. Her purple hair was spread widely across the white bedsheets.

Even though its owner was unconscious, the purple hair had not lost its shine.

That was thanks to Maya, her personal maid, who brushed it every day.

Between her naturally parted purple bangs, her round forehead was visible. Beneath it was her high nose. Her slightly parted lips were pink, and her skin was white and smooth. Her eyelashes rested upon her skin like waves.

She looked so vivid that it seemed she might open her eyes and get up at any moment.

‘But… already….’

Maya made a face as if she were about to cry.

Then she firmly shook her head.

“Miss, the sunlight is especially nice today.”

As always, Maya picked up the brush and brushed Camilla’s hair.

She wished her mistress would wake up soon.

“Miss Camilla, please wake up soon.”

Under Maya’s careful brushing, the soft strands of hair wrapped gently around her hand.

Camilla of Elkasist.

She was the legitimate daughter of the prestigious Count Elkasist family.

But one day, without warning, Camilla lost consciousness and collapsed.

No one knew why she had collapsed.

Even skilled physicians and priests could only shake their heads.

They said that there was nothing wrong with her body.

Remembering their words, Maya raised her eyes.

Her mistress was not simply lying there.

There was no way her mistress could be perfectly fine.

But no one believed what she said.

That made Maya so frustrated and resentful that she bit her lip.

She had been lying still on the bed for months….

‘This is definitely—.’

Maya lowered her eyes sadly before she could finish the thought.

Would she wake up today?

Would she open her eyes tomorrow?

Maya waited only for Camilla to wake up.

She alone stayed by Camilla’s side.

After brushing Camilla’s hair, it was time to wipe her face with a soft towel.

Because she had to be careful not to damage her skin, Maya nervously dropped a few drops of scented oil into a bowl of water.

She dampened the towel just enough and brought it toward Camilla’s face.

Then, suddenly, Camilla, who had been lying peacefully on the bed, began to convulse.

Her tightly closed lips opened wide as she gasped for breath.

“Ugh-, ugh-! Haaah-, ahk!”

Her hurried breaths were mixed with terrible cries.

Camilla struggled wildly.

It felt as though her body was burning.

The terrible pain made it difficult even to breathe, let alone scream.

“Ah, Miss! Miss!”

Maya screamed.

If her mistress bit her tongue, something terrible might happen.

Thinking that, Maya’s hands trembled as she carefully placed the towel between Camilla’s teeth.

“Ughh-, mmph-, n, mm-, s!”

Several desperate groans escaped her.

Her back curved like a bow. Strength filled her fingertips and toes. Her eyes were opened wide, showing just how much pain Camilla was suffering.

Camilla had gripped the bedsheet so tightly that the joints of her fingers had turned white.

Camilla gasped as if she might stop breathing at any moment.

Maya could do nothing but pace helplessly beside her.

She wanted to call a physician, but Camilla had no other maid besides her.

Maya could not leave Camilla alone in this condition.

“Ugh-, ugh! Aahh, s! M-, mm-s!”

All Maya could do was press down on Camilla’s arms and legs beside her, trying to keep her from hurting herself.

Then, suddenly.

Camilla stopped struggling.

There were no more screams.

Maya suddenly stood up and headed toward the door.

“I’ll, I’ll get a physician! I’ll bring a physician, Miss!”

Even as she left the room, Maya kept looking back at Camilla.

There was no one outside Camilla’s room, just as expected.

Maya bit her lip as she stared at the empty hallway and then looked back at Camilla.

‘Miss. Miss—.’

She had to show her mistress to a physician as soon as possible.

With only that thought in mind, Maya hurried down the hallway.

It was an action completely unlike her usual self, who always moved quietly while watching other people’s reactions.

‘Miss, Miss has awakened.’

She could hardly believe it.

She quickened her steps toward the only physician in the mansion whom she could trust, while being careful not to attract anyone’s attention.

After Maya left, the room was filled only with Camilla’s quiet breathing.

As always, Camilla lay still with her eyes closed.

Only the disordered bedsheets and blanket showed that she had just awakened.

To anyone looking at her, Camilla seemed as though she would never wake up.

And how much time had passed?

Camilla slowly opened her eyes.

Her pale pink eyes appeared between her long, thick eyelashes.

As she slowly blinked, her long, fine eyelashes fluttered as if dancing.

The ceiling she stared blankly at was incredibly ornate.

There were elaborate murals.

And not only murals—jewels that gave off brilliant light were embedded throughout the ceiling.

Blink. Blink.

The sight before her was unfamiliar, so she frowned slightly.

Several days of working late.

Days when she had mechanically kept hitting the keys on her computer.

Had it been about three days since she had last gone home?

Her daily life had been so busy that she had even slept briefly at the office whenever she needed rest.

Work kept coming.

Work. Work. Work.

Whenever she finished one task, it became two.

When she finished two, they became three.

She had been exhausted from the endless tasks she had to deal with.

Then, when she hurriedly drank some cold water to catch her breath—

At that moment, she suddenly could not breathe at all.

A sharp pain followed, as if someone were stabbing directly into her heart.

She had gasped and struggled through the pain that felt as if it were tearing her body apart.

Her vision gradually blurred.

Then everything went black.

‘What on earth is going on?’

She was looking around blankly when the door opened.

“Miss Camilla!”

‘Camilla?’

At the sudden voice, she frowned.

A woman and an old man she had never seen before were shouting toward her.

They seemed to be calling her.

‘What is that?’

She frowned.

If they were not calling her, they would not be looking at her so directly.

‘What are they talking about, calling me Miss?’