Penny exclaimed as she peered through the curtains to see what was going on outside.
âMadame has returned!â
âAlready?â
âWhat do you mean already, My Lady? The Commander is already enraged?â
Camilla has returned from her hunt.
It was because Cedric, who was enraged about a feud with the Grandson, sent a guy to chase her.
âDoes my uncle still consume a lot of alcohol?â
âYes. Not only My Father, but I, too, My Lady, am quite concerned.â
âReally?
Doesnât he like it? Since heâll be receiving more orders?â
âMy lady, you really.â
Penny had a bitter smile in response to my joke.
Penny was the daughter of one of the Westâs most delectable breweries.
Although the scale is not very large, Selinaâs biological mother had given Pennyâs father the exclusive right in the Countâs territory for his brewery.
âMadam will go to the Grandson family and beg them, right?â
The Old Count Grandson, who fell in the garden, was still unable to get up.
Camillaâs rejection would have been more humiliating for him than injuring his fragile body.
It seems that you still donât know my mother, Penny.â
Sheâs not the kind to do anything like that.
Camilla and the butler were spotted exiting the carriage and entering the main castle through the window.
âHeumâ¦â¦â
âIâll have to prepare myself to be hit.â
âGo and get my uncle.â
âMy Lady, to your room?â
âYeah, thereâs something I must tell him.â
Penny seemed perplexed, but she quickly left without asking any further questions.
âIâll be right back!â
She now seemed to feel that all of my orders were reasonable.
Pennyâs attitude toward me had changed from the outset, which was good to see.
While I was pleased with Pennyâs development, I felt pity for Cedric, who was still ignorant.
* * * * *
âMy Lady.â
Not long after Penny left, William announced someoneâs visit.
It had to be Charles, because he didnât state his name.
âCome on in.â
The little boy poked his head out through a small opening door when my permission was granted.
âMy Lady?â
âCome here.â
These days, Charles was taking orders from me and keeping an eye on the people in the castle.
From the chef to Cedricâs situation, and even a specific maid.
âYou didnât notice anything strange?â
âYes, itâs still quiet. Perhaps itâs because Madam has been on the hunt ever since.â
I was afraid Cedric would be poisoned.
In the original, he died after eating poisoned food prepared by Camilla.
At the dinner where everyone was present.
Selina was going to get engaged to the Old Count Grandson at the moment.
Camilla announced their engagement, and Cedric, who had been away from home and was unaware of the situation, was going to oppose.
Blood was pouring out of Cedricâs nose, eyes, and ears as he died.
Of course, there was no dinner to announce the engagement because the marriage to The Old Count didnât happen.
Nonetheless, I was concerned.
âHow will I know when Camilla plans to kill him? Since everyone in this castle is on Camillaâs side.â
Cedric was the biggest issue.
Despite the fact that he had seen the poison, he didnât appear to be disbelieving Camilla or kicking her out.
âTsk tsk, thatâs why he died.â
In the original book, there was a reason why he, the Commander of the White Eagle Knights, was killed like a dog.
And thatâs because of his personality!
I couldnât get rid of my worries.
âWhat should I do now that Madam has returned? Do you want me to keep an eye on Dmitry in the dining room?â
Dmitry was the chef.
As I was worried about Cedricâs poisoning, I pushed Charlesâ back.
âCharles, Iâll call you later. I now have visitors who have come to see me.â
âYes, My Lady.â
Not long after I sent Charles out, I heard a squabble outside the door.
âLord Spencer, please take a step back for a moment.â
It was a manâs voice I had never heard before.
âIâm escorting Lady Selina under Commander Cedricâs orders. Without his consent, Iâll never leave her side.â
âYou dare to speak back against me, Crawford family butler!â
âIâll never leave her.â
âOh no⦠I guess Iâll have to call the guards!â
âYou are free to call them whatever you like.â
William was adamant, and he was about to raise his sword.
I hurriedly opened the door and exited.
What I immediately faced was an old man who had just begun to lose his M-shaped hair.
âSo this man is the butler.â
Next to him, Camilla was staring at me with her arms folded.
âCan this mother speak with you for a moment, Selina?â
âYe-yesâ¦â¦â
Camilla visited me as soon as she arrived at the castle, as I had expected.
This revealed her aim.
Camilla, who had just passed by William and shut the bedroom door, gave a cold gaze.
The two mads next to Camilla approached me like dreadful reapers with a wink.
From the left and right, the maids gripped my arms hard.
âLe-le-let goâ¦â¦!â
âLady, you should keep still!â
I looked at Camilla with a terrified expression on my face, tears streaming down my cheeks.
Camilla broke the ice-cold quiet with a smirk.
âDid you go to the monastery just for that purpose, Selina?â
âYe-yes? Wh-wh-what do you meanâ¦â¦â
âYouâve been flirting with men there.â
âGasp.â
I took a deep breath and pretended to be terrified.
âAnd because it isnât enough for you, you dareâ¦â¦ to bring a jerk like that inside my castle?â
Camilla pulled out a small whip hidden in the breadth of her skirt as she approached me one step at a time.
Maybe she was thinking about hitting me hard and locking me up.
Then the maids and the servants will guess what Iâve done wrong.
âSuch presumptuous things!â Now that Cedric is so upset, Camilla needed an incident to rebuild her status.
And I was the scapegoat.
By scolding and humiliating me, the legitimate daughter of the family.
That was Camilaâs method of seizing her power all the time.
âHow can she act like a villain without making an error like that?â
It seemed unusual and a bit amusing to me.
Everything was so expected.
âWhere on earth did you learn such dirty things? That is something I never taught you.â
âWh-wh-what Iâ¦â¦â
âIâm talking about the Toono, Selina, who you see every night.â
As expected, Camilla was watching me while she was away.
To be specific, my night out.
âDidnât you have an intimate meeting at the guard post every night? Donât you even feel ashamed as a grown-up lady?â
It looked like Camilla had no doubt that I and Valhail had done an immoral thing.
âHowever, not every night.â
Yes, it was an intimate meeting, but did I touch his hand or kiss him?
If I had never expected Camilla to come out like this, I would have been really upset.
Iâm not even sure whether Iâve ever attempted kissing him.
âN-n-no mother. Itâs not l-l-like thatâ¦â¦â
âThen tell me. âDid you intend on flirting with him and then fleeing the house?â
âTha-tha-that thought n-n-neverâ¦â¦â
I shook my head and trembled.
Because my arms were clenched together, the motion seemed meaningless.
âWhere the hell did you learn to do that? Your marriage arrangement was ruined since you didnât behave correctly.â
So youâre blaming me for everything thatâs gone wrong with Count Grandson?
âYou really make the most of the situation when you get the chance!â
Camilla was a villain with so much for me to learn.