A day has passed.
Two days, then three days… and before she knew it, a week had passed. As the days went by, Camilla's face quickly deteriorated.
"W-Why…!?"
Why wasn't she waking up?
Camilla felt frustrated.
This has never happened before. Has she ever spent a long time in this world before? She began to feel more and more anxious.
'No way…'
She didn't think so.
'Staying here like this…!'
Camilla shook her head. Just thinking about it made her feel terrible.
She knew all too well how Camilla's life would end in this world.
Camilla continued to rub her neck, which was still intact.
Knock, knock.
After a few moments, there was a knock on the door and someone stepped inside. It was Donna, her personal maid.
"Miss?"
Donna gasped at the sight of Camilla on the ground with her arms and head hanging limply.
"What is it?"
But then Camilla lifted her head, and Donna let out a short sigh of relief.
"The chef made the snacks himself."
"Snacks?"
"You haven't eaten a full meal in a while."
Due to the incident in the dining room, a large number of kitchen maids were replaced. At that time, the maids who fooled around with Camilla's food were kicked out without any severance pay.
In addition, the Duke had ordered the staff to pay attention to the food Camilla eats.
"I don't want to."
However, as there was no sign of returning to her main body, Lee Sia, Camilla had completely lost her appetite and had barely touched her food lately.
No matter how appetizing the food was, the chef became fed up after she only took a bite and left it alone. In the end, the chef made the snacks himself.
"Please have a taste, Chef Jellard had put so much effort."
"…"
Donna's voice is full of concern. Camilla was about to drop her head back down on the bed when her gaze turned to Donna.
She's probably the only one here who really cares about Camilla.
She stood by Camilla's side even when she was arrested for attempted murder.
She was also the only one who shed tears over Camilla's death.
'She was always indignant at the other maids' behavior.'
Whenever something like that happened, Donna would run around saying that she had to tell the duke right away.
In the end, she kept her mouth shut at Camilla's behest, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She didn't mind fighting the maids and grabbing them by the hair, hoping that she could resolve the injustice her master was facing.
Donna would come back with a black eye, but still grinned saying that she had gotten one more punch in.
It was difficult to ignore such a person like that.
"Okay."
Unable to resist her request, Camilla pushed herself up and straightened her posture.
Donna's face lit up when she saw that.
Donna hurried out and re-entered with a person who was waiting outside.
"If you'll excuse me."
He was a man in his mid-40s with a slightly thin build.
With a slight bow to Camilla, he set the food down he had been carrying on the table.
"It's apple pie."
It was a pie topped with sugary, thinly sliced apples.
"Please try it."
The chef's tone as he offered the pie was full of pride. No, one could say it's full of arrogance.
She didn't say it out loud, but the way the chef looked at her was unkind, bitter even.
He resented the Duke's orders to personally take care of Camilla's food, and it showed on his face.
Camilla's eyebrows shot up.
'Oh?'
Unlike Donna, who fidgeted when she realized she was getting uncomfortable, Chef Jellard's demeanor remained steadfast. If anything, it made her gag.
He didn't like it. The thought of his beautiful piece of work going into that brat's mouth made his stomach churn.
It felt like such a waste to see his own food be consumed by someone who didn't know good taste.
'Just eat whatever you're given.'
Chef Jellard's insides turned when he saw the food he had sent Camilla be returned to the kitchen.
How dare she leave her food like that!?
'They were reprehensible though…'
Not long ago, the maids were kicked out of the mansion after they were caught tampering with Camilla Sorpel's food.
Although he was angry at them for messing with his food, in all honesty, he could see why they did that.
She's not even a real lady.
The sight of that girl, from an unknown village, being picky about her food was agitating to say the least.
If it wasn't for the Duke's orders, he couldn't care less if she starved or not.
"I put my heart and soul into this."
"…"
Camilla's gaze shifted back to the chef.
'Sigh.'
Meeting Chef Jellard's disgruntled gaze, Camilla let out a small sigh.
His expression, which seemed to have no intention of hiding his discomfort, was not a problem for her.
'I'm used to it.'
Having been in the entertainment industry for a long time, she knew how to ignore the people who disliked her.
But that's not the problem now…
'He's loud.'
She felt like her head was about to explode at this point…
[Hey! I've told you so many times before! Food truly shines when others eat it!]
Who the hell is that loud, old man?
[It doesn't matter how good the food is! If no one eats it, it's garbage!]
Camilla let out another small sigh as she looked at the boisterous old man who stood next to Jellard.
'These aren't even my eyes.'
These aren't even her eyes from the real word, so why can she see him?
What had been invisible to her as a bystander had suddenly become visible.
Camilla was once again in despair when the realization hit.
No matter how she looks at it, she thinks she has completely entered this place…
'Ah, fu…!'
She cursed.
She didn't know who it was but she wanted to curse at the being who put her in that woman's body.
'What should I do now?'
[And this pie! You're short of 1 gram of cinnamon! It's only 1 gram but don't you know how big a difference it makes!? And Camilla doesn't like apples! How many times have I told you to respect the person's taste?!]
Wow, he's loud.
Camilla frowned slightly and took a bite of the apple pie, wanting to get it over with and send them out already.
She then put the fork down, almost as if she wanted to throw it.
"What's wrong?"
"Take it away."
"Was there something you didn't like?"
Jellard, who was expecting to see Camilla admiring the pie after she had taken a bite, frowned at the unexpected reaction.
"It's bad."
"Pardon me?"
"It's not good."
"W-What?!"
Jellard's face crumpled.
How dare she - she, who doesn't know a single thing about taste - say such things and that the food I make is tasteless?!
"This is ridiculous! I'll say, this pie-"
"There's less cinnamon. By 1 gram. I can't believe you served a dish that doesn't even cover the basics of baking. Take it and go."
"What?"
Cinnamon?
"And I don't like apples."
"W-Well…"
"Shouldn't you take the person's taste into consideration? What's the point if you're the only one who's satisfied? If no one eats it, it's just garbage."
"...!"
That was something his teacher, who passed away a long time ago, used to say…
Camilla narrowed her eyes at Jellard's confusion.
"Aren't you going to leave?"
Only then did Jellard came to his senses and, with a red face, grabbed the food he had put down and hurried outside.
'You need to get out as well.'
She waved her hand at the old man, who was looking at Camilla in mild surprise, who just said everything he wanted to say.
For a moment, his and Camilla's eyes met. The old man's eyes widened even more.
'What? What is it? Is this your first time seeing a person who can see ghosts?'
Guess he's never seen one before.
'Ah, whatever,'
Camilla slumped back into bed.
* * *
[What's wrong, Ferrol?]
As the old man left Camilla's room, another ghost came to his side. It was an old man of his age, dressed in a neat suit.
[We made eye contact.]
[You made eye contact?]
[I swear our eyes met!]
[Calm down and explain it to me slowly. What are you talking about all of a sudden?]
[I made eye contact with the kid in the room.]
[Who? Miss Camilla?]
[What? "Miss"? Do you still think you're a butler?]
[Just because I'm dead doesn't mean I've forgotten my duties.]
The butler ghost, Derrin, grinned.
[Since the Duke accepted her as his daughter, we must respect her. That being said, did you really make eye contact with her?]
[Yes, I'm telling you.]
[Hmm.]
Both men gazed at Camilla's door.
They've been watching her for a long time but they've never seen the signs…
[Are you sure?]
[It really happened. She even waved a hand at me.]
[She waved a hand?]
Derrin, the butler ghost, rubbed his chin in interest.
[Let's wait it out and see. We've got all the time in the world, after all.]
At that, Ferrol, the elderly ghost dressed as a chef, nodded.
Soon, the two ghosts quietly disappeared from the scene.
* * *
'Let's live.'
She had to live.
Three days have passed since then.
And in the end, Camilla had no choice but to accept it.
'It's hopeless.'
Returning to her original world seems like a lost cause.
There's no telling what will happen in the future, but going back seems hopeless right now.
She decided not to waste anymore time on the matter.
'Let's just live.'
Camilla, who had been lying there like a corpse, scrambled to her feet. Staying like that would bring her to death's door.
"I'll have to change my reputation first."
Over all her countless lives, Camilla has sometimes refused to participate in Ravi's plans to assassinate the eldest son, Ludville.
'However…'
The outcome was no different, as there were too many people who saw her as an eyesore.
The moment Ravi's wrongdoings were discovered, they made Camilla out to be a sinner.
They gave false testimonies and had lumped her with Ravi.
No matter how many times she yelled that she didn't do it, no one would listen to her.
Everyone listened more to those who bore false witness testimonies than to Camilla.