[The Divine Egg should not be left unattended for so long.]
[That's right.]
When did Derrin come again?
[It should take precedence over anything else.]
[That's right.]
[It's a lifelong regret in our family so hurry and wrap it up—]
Stop, stop!
"I got it."
She hastily shut the mouths of Herschel, who was rambling on, and the butler ghost, Derrin, who was agreeing with him.
"I'll find the Divine Beast's egg. As soon as possible."
[R-Really?]
"But first, I need to prepare something."
[Prepare something?]
Derrin's face went from pleased to grim. He suspected that Camilla would find another excuse to put off the search for the Divine Beast's egg.
'Well, people won't believe me.'
She's been meaning to get started for a while now.
She couldn't think of anything better than this.
"Ahem…"
Camilla touched her neck and cleared her throat. And then…
"AHHHHHHH!"
She screamed with all her might so the whole mansion could hear.
[…!]
[…!]
The sound startled Herschel and Derrin, who quickly stepped to one side.
Swoosh!
"Lady! What's wrong!?"
A few moments later, the door opened and Donna came running in.
"Wh-What is it?"
"Miss Camilla?"
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"What was that scream? What happened?"
The other maids and servants who had been waiting on the same floor came running.
The Duke's men were certainly a lot quicker to act than before.
"Are you alright, Miss?"
When Donna saw Camilla, who was shaking and blue-faced, she rushed over to her and asked if she was okay.
The other servants and maids looked worried, wondering what was going on. Had there been an intruder?
Several servants were seen rushing outside to call for the soldiers.
But Camilla can only shiver and say nothing. She couldn't even hold the glass of water Donna offers her.
"Camilla!"
In the meantime, the Duke of Sorpel burst into the room, as if he had heard the news.
Camilla's trembling body calmed as if it were a lie as she faced the Duke of Sorpel.
Instead, her expression was blank as she looked at him. Then her eyes narrowed, and a tear rolled down her cheek.
"Camilla!"
"Father…"
"What's wrong!?"
"Are you okay?"
"What?"
Camilla squeezed the Duke of Sorpel's hand as he came closer. She sobbed as she spoke.
"In my— in my dream, father…"
"Dream?"
"Fire… big fire… heuk…"
"…"
"A lot of fabric in father's office…"
"Fabric?"
"There's a big fire--- heuk, but even if I tell you to come out, even if I pull you out, you won't come out, you're in the fire--- heuk…"
The faces of those gathered in the room turned. All this fuss over a dream?
Among them, Ravi was the one with the most unappealing expression on his face.
He looked at her as if she was going to keep doing all kinds of crazy things, as if she hadn't already done enough.
'Why is he here?'
He didn't come out last night, claiming to be busy in his lab.
Ludville was standing quietly to one side. Was her scream that loud?
She screamed to make as much noise as possible, but she became a little embarrassed.
"You came in to rescue me from the fire…"
At that moment, the Duke of Sorpel opened his mouth.
A slight tremor could still be felt in Camilla's hand as she gripped his own tightly.
Duke Sorpel's eyes softened at the sight.
The fact that Camilla jumped into the fire to save herself, even though it was a dream, was very touching.
"I'm so surprised, heuk, I'm sorry."
"No, no, you must have been very scared."
The Duke of Sorpel stroked Camilla's hair with a pleased expression.
'Okay.'
She didn't care if others thought it was silly. All she needed was the Duke of Sorpel.
'Although, this isn't what it's for.'
There was something that came to mind after her meeting with Laila this afternoon.
Around this time, a large fire breaks out in a textile mill run by the Sorpel family.
It wasn't the family's main business, but it kept the Duke of Sorpel busy and out of the house for a while.
She didn't know the exact date, but it happened not long after Lila transferred— perhaps within a week.
Swoosh!
"Duke!"
Just then, the door burst open with a loud bang, and the aide, Jakter, rushed inside.
"What happened?"
"We've got a problem."
"Problem?"
The Duke of Sorpel's expression changed in an instant as he glared at Zakter for barging into Camilla's room without knocking.
He knew it wasn't going to be a simple matter if he had to come so late at night.
"A major fire broke out at a textile mill in the Berg region."
"A fire?"
Camilla, who was listening to Zakter, was very flustered. Wow, what timing.
"Yes, thankfully it's late in the night so there were no casualties, but it's going to put the factory out of commission for a while now."
"Hm, let's go to the office first."
"Yes."
The Duke of Sorpel stopped in his tracks as he and Jakter made their way outside, his gaze falling on Camilla, who had finally stopped crying.
He remembered what Camilla had said earlier. She said that the piles of fabric in his office were on fire.
So did the others. They all stared at Camilla in amazement.
It wasn't just the house that burned down, it was the fabric that was stacked there!
But people soon went back to what they were doing, thinking, 'Oh, it's a coincidence,' or at least a little mystified.
'I'm curious, too. It's fascinating.'
How did she get the timing right?
Camilla flashed an awkward smile as she slowly sipped the water Donna handed her.
* * *
[Groundwork?]
"Yes."
[…?]
[What kind of groundwork?]
Herschel and Derrin didn't understand what Camilla was saying right away.
What did she mean, the screams she made last night to find the Divine Beast's egg? They couldn't understand at all.
"What would people say if I suddenly found the Divine Beast's egg?"
[They'll be very pleased.]
"…"
She wonders if everyone becomes that simple when they die.
"They'll be very pleased for a while, but what about after that?"
[After that?]
"How did you know where the Divine Beast's egg was, and how did you find them?"
[Hmm.]
[Perhaps.]
"Then what am I supposed to say?"
[That's—]
"What if I told the truth that the late Sir Herschel told me? Wouldn't they say that Camilla Sorpel finally lost her mind?"
[…]
"That's why I need to lay the groundwork."
[You're going to tell them that you saw the place where the Divine Beast's egg is in your dream?]
"Yes."
[Well, will people believe that?]
[I'm thinking the same thing, Miss Camilla.]
Camilla nodded obediently.
She didn't expect people to believe me right away when she told them that she had seen a fire in a dream and she guessed right.
"So I have to lay more groundwork."
[More?]
[How?]
Camilla merely smirked at Herschel and Derrin's questions. Just then, the carriage they were riding in screeched to a halt.
"Lady, we have arrived."
Through the door the coachman opened for her, Camilla slowly stepped out of the carriage. In front of her was a small shop.
They looked through the window of the store and saw a display of baby products.
[Why here?]
"I'm going to buy some materials to lay in the groundwork."
[Materials?]
Camilla made her way to the store, leaving a puzzled Herschel and Derrin behind.
Then they asked her a final question.
[By the way, yesterday. How did you know there was going to be a fire in the textile factory? Is it really a coincidence?]
[I'm wondering that too, Miss, how on earth did you know?]
[It's a coincidence, right?]
[It makes too much sense to be a coincidence.]
Camilla's performance as she sobbed that she was having a dream was superb.
The acting was so realistic that even Herschel and Derrin, who watched the whole thing from the sudden screaming, were tricked as well.
The most surprising thing was how Camilla knew about the fire at the factory. She couldn't have just blurted it out.
"Ah! I'm so busy."
Camilla could feel the two ghosts' prying eyes on her, but she hurried into the store, pretending not to notice.
* * *
"Welcome, Count Shairon."
"Is the Duke inside?"
"Yes, they're waiting."
Rube, the butler, who was waiting for him at the entrance, greeted him politely.
Shairon. The oldest and closest vassal family to the Duke of Sorpel.
The reason for his visit to the Duke today was the fire at the textile mill that had occurred a few days earlier.
His normally relaxed face had visibly stiffened.
As someone in a position to manage and be responsible for the factory, this was inexcusable.
Luckily, the damage wasn't too bad, but it took quite a while to get the factory up and running again.
'Phew.'
Letting out a short sigh, he quietly followed behind the butler, Rube.
"Hm?"
A moment later, Count Shairon's steps came to a halt. Someone was walking down the hallway toward his office.
Count Shairon bowed his head lightly in greeting.
"Long time no see. Lady Camilla."
She smiled and replied graciously.
"Yes, it's been a while. Count Shairon."
Seeing his expression harden, Camilla allowed a faint smile to tug at the corners of her mouth.
"You must be here about this factory fire."
"Yes."
A sigh escaped his lips at the word fire, and he looked at Camilla with a bit of surprise in his eyes.
Did she know that the factory that caught fire was under his management?
He thought she wasn't interested in the family business at all.
"Don't worry too much."
Camilla comforted him. Drawing on her previous experience, she also gave him a subtle comment.
"I eavesdropped and found out that they're planning to double the size of the mill and build a new one."