The daughter of Count Storm, Camilla Storm, is hated.
The villainess who interfered with the destined love between the Second Prince of the Sonnenlicht Kingdom, Julian, and the daughter of a baron called Liselotte, she was an selfish, treasonous and utterly obsessive witch.
Even after she departed from Grenze and returned to the Montchat mansion nearby the duchyās biggest city, things hadnāt changed.
The rumours about Camilla continued to swirl, especially amongst the younger servants.
āHey, did you hear? Apparently, that villainess drove one of the maids in Grenze to tears and even threatened to have her fired!ā
āI heard about it. It seemed that the Master managed to stop her being dismissed, but she was still demoted and lost a lot of her pay! I heard that she is assigned to being a scullery maid now.ā
āSpeaking of the Master, it seems that things have been strange with him ever since he came back. Itās as if heās eating less food than beforeā¦ After that woman caused such a scene in Grenze, he must be feeling depressed.ā
āEhh, no wayā¦ That Master of all people? Ah, Iām worried, itās supposed to be my turn to take care of that woman todayā¦ā
āAh, I feel sorry for you. Although, I actually have a good ideaā¦ā
ā
-Somehow, things are even worse than beforeā¦
A few days after returning from Grenze, in the Montchat manor.
Camilla tapped her foot on the ground as she sat, clutching a letter from Therese in her hand.
The cold and distant attitude of the servants hadnāt changed at all. Actually, ever since getting back, no one seemed to want to meet Camillaās eyes at all.
It seemed that gossip about everything that had happened in Grenze had managed to find its way back here already. Aloisā number of meals had been reduced from eight to seven, but if anything that seemed to just heighten fears about Camillaās growing influence.
The servants had become even more fearful and skittish around Camilla than they had before. They made their excuses and escaped as soon as their work was done even more eagerly than they had in the past.
And it seems that misfortune always flows in torrents, symbolized by the letter from Therese she held in her hand.
Prince Julian and Liselotteās engagement was completed without a hitch. His Royal Majesty and His Highness Prince Eckhart even proclaimed he was happy how āAfter not being misled by a worthless woman of poor character, the Prince has found happiness with a wonderful new womanā as he blessed themā¦ Isnāt that lovely?
āWorthless woman of poor characterā, that could only be talking about Camilla.
Back when she was in the capital from what Camilla could gather, the First Prince Eckhart had always been happy about his brotherās proposed marriage with the daughter from the family of Count Storm. He was a serious person who was more focused on building the power of the royal family instead of caring about love and romance. He often frowned when he heard the stories about how Prince Julian loved a girl from the relatively low ranked Ende family.
In fact, Prince Eckhart and Prince Julian had been known to clash on this issue. Thereās no way he really blessed their engagement.
Although sheās sure of that, thereās no way for Camilla to make sure of it as she is now. Thereās no way to really tell exactly whatās going on in the Royal Court since all the information she had to go on were the letters from Therese and the newspapers full of gossip that cast Camilla as a villainess.
And whatās moreā¦
āFather and Mother want to adopt Thereseā¦!?ā
Since Camilla was thrown out, Count Storm has no heir.
If Camilla were to marry Prince Julian, his plan had been to adopt a second child. If that engagement didnāt come to fruition, he was planning to find a son-in-law from somewhere else.
However, Camilla became the most hated person in the kingdom suddenly, banished to become the wife of the āToad of the Swampā, hardly a fitting man to be his son-in-law. Her parents were also at an age where it would be difficult for them to have another child.
Naturally, they want to secure the line of succession somehow. Thatās where Count Stormās younger brother Neumann came in. More specifically, his only daughter, Therese.
She understood the reasoning. It was necessary for her familyās social standing to survive.
-But, this still makes no sense!
She crushed the letter in her hand as she chewed her bottom lip.
An image of a haughty Therese laughing in triumph floated through her mind. Her laughter will never stop at this rate. Although Therese had impressive looks, influence and popularity, there was one area where she couldnāt match Camilla until now. That was her status as the daughter of a Count.
-ā¦I was thrown awayā¦
Her parents abandoned the possibility that she would ever return to the capital. Otherwise, why else would they adopt Therese, whom Viscount Neumann dotes on so much?
Camillaās father Count Storm and her uncle Viscount Neumann were as close as brothers could be.
They had been close as children and even after his brother married into the Neumann family, they always made time for one another. The Count loved his cute little brother and the Viscount always felt he could rely on his older brother.
Camilla remembered that her uncle would always come to visit her father whenever he had a favour to ask or was in some sort of trouble. Camilla, an only child, had been envious of their relationship as siblings.
It wasnāt just once or twice that Count Storm reached into his own coffers to bail out the financially struggling Neumann family. The Count even offered marriage counseling to him about the state of his sickly wife.
The Viscountess was always frail and bearing a child had come at great difficulty. It was stunning that she managed to give birth to Therese at all. To the Viscount and his wife, Therese herself was a miracle. Having seen that intense love for their daughter with his own eyes, Count Storm could hardly be unaware of it.
Yet still, the Count decided to take his brotherās precious daughter as his own.
There must have been some incredible form of compensation.
-ā¦No.
Camilla sighed as she scrunched up the crushed letter in her hand into a ball.
-I canāt just take any letter she writes as truth.
The letter was written by Therese after all, who makes no attempt to hide her hatred of Camilla. Until she heard it directly from her parents themselves, this letter was as worthless as Therese herself, as far as she was concerned.
-Bear with it! Bear with it for now! Donāt just believe this nonsense so easily!!
āI am not depressed at all! Can you see this!?ā
As she yelled that out to invigorate herself, Camilla threw the scrunched up letter into the fireplace.
āWhen I make Lord Alois into a handsome man, I shall definitely return to the capitalā¦!!ā
Camilla remained determined, repeating that vow she had etched into her heart. Then, just as she didā¦
There was a knocking on the door as if someone had been waiting for their moment.
āā¦Mistress!ā
The knocking continued, but the girlās voice passed through it very well. Or, rather, it should be said that it overpowered it? It was a shout that came from the depths of her belly, like a soldierās cheer on parade.
āMaid Nicole has been chosen as the replacement to serve you, Mistress!ā
-ā¦..She came again.
The moment she heard that voice, Camillaās burning resentment faded away into a sigh.
She had come again today as well. The one who had been taking care of Camilla since she returned from Grenze ā That problematic maid.