It has been several days since the Duke's youngest daughter returned to the family estate. Nothing suspicious happened, and in general, the girl behaved as usual... If you can call it that, of course.
— What did you say she was doing today?
Despite the fact that at first the duke's eldest son considered the sudden change in his sister to be just a temporary performance, her strange behavior continued. Even a week later, Camilla did not deign to fall on her knees and beg her relatives for forgiveness. Instead, she seemed to completely ignore them.
Based on this, Yufil interrogated the maid to find out the details of her unusual behavior. The young maid who was assigned to look after Camille recalled the events of the past few days:
— My Lady... she is.... I didn't do much.
— What? — Yufil was discouraged, — How is this possible?
— well... — the girl hesitated, — The lady wakes up in the middle of the day, then has breakfast and spends the whole day in her room. Oh, yes! Sometimes she makes purchases.
— Shopping? What kind of purchases? What is it? — he asked eagerly.
— Uh... The lady mentioned that this season is coming to an end, and therefore she needs new outfits. Several sought-after designers from the capital were invited to the estate. The lady made several orders from them. In general, it came out to about two hundred thousand gold...
— WHAT?!
Yufil de Walt was so surprised that he even got up from the table. He couldn't believe his ears.
The Duke's eldest son had never thought that his sister could be capable of something like this. Throughout her life, in order to gain the recognition of family members, Camilla behaved extremely restrained.
Despite belonging to the ducal family, the girl dressed and behaved extremely modestly. There were also no special delights in her chambers. At first glance, one might have thought that this was the daughter of some poor baron.
Camilla never made rash purchases, and in principle very rarely spent money from the family budget. The girl believed that in this way she would be able to please her father and brother. Other noble ladies "spend" millions on themselves — while she is different from them.
The Duke and Yufil have long been accustomed to the fact that Camilla does not need anything. And now suddenly, on her return, she spent so much money on some outfits at once! Is the girl completely out of her mind?!
The heir of the family gritted his teeth.
— no! I have to see for myself!
Yufil de Walt resolutely left the table and headed for the door. He decided that he had to witness his sister's strange behavior with his own eyes.
***
Lately, I've been enjoying my luxurious stay-at-home lifestyle, lying alone on my huge bed.
I had so much free time that I didn't know where to put it. In the end, it even became a problem. Before that, I was not used to doing nothing and not feeling guilty about it.
I won't have to work for the rest of my life. I still couldn't fully grasp it.
After all, is there any greater luck than being born the daughter of a millionaire?
Having received this golden spoon, I was definitely going to take full advantage of it. After a couple of days, I finally found the strength to get out of my room and start exploring the territory.
The de Walt Residence was indeed a very picturesque place. Most of all, I liked the backyard, where there were lush bushes of white roses. By the way, the whole garden was planted exclusively with these flowers, as white roses were the favorite flowers of the late Duchess.
Considering that this is the world of the novel, the nature here was much more beautiful than in the real world. Actually, just like people. But isn't that a plus?
Tired of lying in my room, I decided to move my body outside. There was just a suitable nook in the garden. Isn't it an idyll to lie in the shade in hot weather and sip cold lemonade?
I think that's when I learned the meaning of the word "paradise".
From time to time, the servants brought me soft drinks and delicacies. I enjoyed the view in front of me and the blissful idleness. Elisha, Camilla's personal maid, was with me the whole time.
This girl had served the duke's youngest daughter since childhood and always followed her like a shadow. I don't have many memories of us together. However, it seemed to me that she was not a bad person.
Therefore, I did not prevent her from staying with me any longer.
"M-my lady, are you sure you can do this...?"
The last few days have been stressful for the maid. Immediately after returning from the hospital, her mistress began to behave strangely. At first, Elisha just chalked it up to another change in her mood. But it seems that this is no longer a joke...
This time, the girl went so far as to take several employees of the estate without asking them to run around and do her errands, distracting them from their main work.
The maid looked around anxiously.
"I am the daughter of this family," I replied lightly, "so my actions are quite natural.
"And if His Lordship is displeased...?"
— Well, let it be. I don't care.
In the end, having accepted my position, Elisha sighed and did not try to dissuade me. I liked people like that. They are obedient and do not ask unnecessary questions. Perhaps in the future we have every chance to get along with her.
On the other hand, even though I knew I might get into trouble, I didn't care. Since I wasn't trying to win the favor of anyone in this house, there was no need to restrain myself. The former Camilla had already stayed away for years, while her relatives shamelessly took advantage of their position. So you could say that now I'm doing the same thing for her.
— My lady, look at this cloud, it's such an unusual shape! — The maid suddenly pointed to the sky, — It looks like sheep's wool.
I raised my head and also looked at the sky, where fluffy clouds were floating.
"You mean my brother?"
Elisha giggled in embarrassment.
— My Lady, don't say that...
— You're right," I agreed, "I shouldn't have compared this beautiful animal to that duck.
Elisha almost burst out laughing again. But at the same time, remembering the discipline of the servants, I restrained myself and looked around just in case.
Knowing the character of the duke's heir, he would definitely not leave alone if someone gossiped about him in the manor. And why did I get such a "stuffy" brother?
We giggled together for a while, and casually the thought came to my mind that I was really lucky. You can say that I turned into the unloved daughter of a noble family in an easy mode.
Unlike standard short stories of this genre, here only my father and brother did not consider me a human being. At least, I've never experienced neglect from servants before.
They didn't treat me with warmth, but they didn't despise me either. Rather, they just didn't care. My existence was a matter of indifference to everyone in this house.
But... It's not that bad.
I didn't know what I would do if these people hated me too. The cursed child who took the life of their beloved mistress. Thank the gods, that didn't happen. My life here has been quite bearable.
Top. Top.
Thinking about my current situation in the mansion, I couldn't help but hear footsteps approaching.
As expected, it was worth mentioning the jerk, as he immediately showed up. The guy with the blue hair came swiftly to my place of rest. I didn't even notice him at first. At least until his shadow loomed over me.
— What are you doing? My older brother asked sharply.
He watched indignantly as I lay on a chaise longue, and the maid additionally fanned me with a fan. The sight literally screamed, "she's settled in too well."
"As you can see," I replied nonchalantly, "the weather is good today. Why not spend time outdoors.
— Don't you have anything better to do than hang around here? — Yufil complained, — As a member of the family, you should be at least useful in some way...
— I'm sorry... — I dared to interrupt him, — But didn't you say that I was useless? Now I'm just confirming your words.
Yufil clenched his fists. Apparently, I dared to cross some invisible boundary in our communication. He was almost screaming:
— Hey, do you think you can do whatever you want forever?!
— hm. Who knows? We cannot look into the future.
— So that's it! I'll tell you," he exclaimed triumphantly, "your days in this house are almost numbered. I suggest you start packing your bags right now.
For the first time, I took off my sunglasses and looked at my brother.
— What do you mean?
The heir grinned with satisfaction.
— My father and I are already looking for a groom for you," he said, "As soon as everything is decided, you can forget about a quiet life. Will you still laugh when you marry a rich old man?
At that moment, I was thinking. In fact, given the place I found myself in, I should have anticipated something like this from the very beginning. Traditionally, girls from noble families played the role of a bargaining chip in marriages of convenience.
However, I did not expect that these two would want to "fuse" me so quickly. It's only been a week since my return, and they're already looking for a new way to get rid of me. However, I didn't mind too much.
— And how will you choose it? — I asked.
— Father has already arranged everything. You will go to meetings with candidates, and I will accompany you. And at my discretion, I will inform my father about the most suitable candidate.
Oh, so my opinion doesn't even count? How "wonderful."
As he said these words, Yufil watched my expression expectantly. He knew that Camille was afraid of leaving her father's house more than anything in the world. Obviously, at this point, my former mask of indifference should have "crumbled".
The guy expected me to immediately throw myself at his feet, apologize and beg for mercy.
After all, in reality, when Yufil said that he didn't care about me, it was a lie. Deep down, he felt satisfaction every time he rejected a little girl who yearned for his love. It was revenge for the fact that he had lost his mother because of me.
He was used to seeing his younger sister like this. But... What's the point of me giving it to him now?
I knew that even if I begged him, he would only humiliate me once more. This decision was inevitable.
So...
— Okay.
I replied calmly, pulling my sunglasses back over my eyes.
— what?
— If I really marry a rich old man, wouldn't that be wonderful? I'll just wait until he dies and take all his inheritance for myself.
Eufil de Walt stared at me in amazement.
— You... Are you serious?! "What is it?" he asked.
The guy couldn't believe his ears. Timid Camilla, who has been dependent on relatives all her life, really won't blink an eye before such a step?
— Quite. Now I depend on you and my father. Wouldn't it be great if I finally had my own money?
— ...
Yufil swallowed. He thought until the last moment that I was just bluffing.
— Please let me know in advance when the viewing will take place. I will prepare myself so as not to embarrass the honor of our family.
My older brother was so confused that he couldn't even say anything. Muttering something unintelligible, he slowly walked back. I followed his silhouette with my eyes.
— This... We'll see about that! — I heard a faint threat.
When Yufil left, it was like my corset was taken off. I immediately exhaled.
— My Lady, are you really going to do this...? — the anxious maid addressed me.
I stared at her in surprise.
— Are you crazy? Of course not!!!