Chapter 4: Coming up with a plan

Camilla continued staring at the knights practicing. She could feel the heat of the flames they were using and hear the practice of wooden swords hitting against each other. She did not want to get in the way; she just watched and observed them from the sidelines.

'I shouldn't throw a temper tantrum just because of one small hiccup. I need to think of something,' she told herself as she turned around and walked away. I need to keep a small journal with me and write down what I need to do," she muttered. She walked back inside the mansion and headed straight for her room until she felt a slight tug at the back of her dress.

She stopped in her tracks and turned around to see who tugged on her dress; there, she saw Oliver. Seeing her younger brother tug her dress confirms that he is a kid. "Do you need something?" She asked him in a low tone while he looked away from her gaze, "If you don't want to get married to the prince, how about you run away..." he mumbled with a slight glare. 'What a child,' "I can't run away, Oliver. If I run away now, the King'll eventually find me." She tells him and puts her hand on top of his red hair.

"But-!" It looked like he wanted to protest the entire situation. "I... I know you begged your father to let you marry the King, but your reaction at breakfast... you looked scared," he tells her with genuine worry. "You're sick as well. I was told you are sick, so don't go somewhere that will hurt your health!" Camilla knew that Oliver got along with the original Camilla, but she could have never guessed how he truly cared about her as a sister. 'To be honest, I don't even remember what illness Camilla has. Is it just a lie to grab pity points from the empire? Or is it to make her seem pathetic?' Camilla isn't sure.

"Oliver," Camilla said his name in a gentle voice. She turned to face him and put her hands on his shoulders, "I promise you I'll be okay." Camilla can't tell him what will happen to her when she marries. No brother should have to worry about their sisters' safety. "Oliver, you are only sixteen. Enjoy your youth and live your life well," she turned away from him and began walking away, "but you're only a year older than me..." He whispered for only himself to hear.

Camilla entered her room and closed the door behind her, 'I should find a piece of paper. Or maybe I have a small journal somewhere hidden,' Camilla started rummaging through her drawers to find a piece of paper and a fountain pen. Once she found some, she sat before her vanity table and began writing what she knew, what had already happened, and what would occur. She will then figure out a plan afterward.

-𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝑒𝓂𝒶𝓁𝑒 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝒹, 𝒜𝒾𝓈𝓁𝒾𝓃𝓃, 𝓌𝑜𝓃'𝓉 𝒶𝓅𝓅𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑒𝓂𝓅𝒾𝓇𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝒶 𝒻𝑒𝓌 𝓂𝑜𝓃𝓉𝒽𝓈 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓃𝑜𝓌.

'So I have time before she makes her first appearance before the crown prince.' Camilla thought to herself as she went to write down what else she needed to know.

-𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑒𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝓁𝑒 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝒹𝓈: 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝓇𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓃𝒸𝑒, 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓁𝒹𝑒𝓇 𝒷𝓇𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑒𝓂𝓅𝒾𝓇𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝑜𝓅 𝓂𝒶𝑔𝒾𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓃. 

-𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝑜𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁 𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝓂𝒶𝓃𝓎 𝑒𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈, 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒷𝒶𝒹. 𝒞𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒶 𝒹𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝒶 𝒽𝑜𝓇𝓇𝒾𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝒾𝓃 𝑒𝒶𝒸𝒽 𝑒𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔.

-𝒯𝑅𝒴 𝒩𝒪𝒯 𝒯𝒪 𝒦𝐼𝐿𝐿 𝒪𝑅 𝒜𝒮𝒮𝒪𝒞𝐼𝒜𝒯𝐸 𝒲𝐼𝒯𝐻 𝒜𝐼𝒮𝐿𝐼𝒩𝒩!!!

-𝒟𝑜 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓉𝓇𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓅𝓂𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒.

-̴S̴̴h̴̴o̴̴u̴̴l̴̴d̴ ̴I̴ ̴g̴̴e̴̴t̴ ̴f̴a̴̴t̴̴h̴̴e̴̴r̴ ̴o̴̴n̴ ̴m̴̴y̴ ̴s̴̴i̴̴d̴̴e̴?

'let's... put that last thought away. Why would he want to help the daughter who supposedly killed her mother at childbirth? I know it's not my fault, but... he doesn't look like the person who would help me in the future.' Camilla couldn't help but think to herself. She doesn't know what her father is thinking. But she does know that in every novel ending, her father was never by her side. Frankly, the book never does talk about Camilla's family since she is the villainess, not the heroine.

Camilla lightly tapped her finger on top of the vanity table, thinking of what else to write down on the paper. After a few minutes, she realized that she would write down what deaths she would face in the future and how she could avoid those possible endings.

-𝐼 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒻𝒶𝒸𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝒷𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝓊𝒾𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑒.

-𝐼 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝒷𝒶𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓉𝓈.

-𝐼 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒𝒹.

-𝓅𝑜𝒾𝓈𝑜𝓃𝑒𝒹.

-...𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽𝓈 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓂 𝒶 𝒷𝒾𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓉𝑒𝓈𝓆𝓊𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓌𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝒹𝑜𝓌𝓃.

Camilla set down her fountain pen and looked over at the paper. She will have to be careful of her actions in the future when it comes to the male leads. She will have to live as quietly as a dead mouse in the palace and will wait until Aislinn appears in front of the crown prince. 

She is a Duke's daughter, so she won't have to beg for money from her father. But she might think of a way to make her own money. She's not clever and unsure she can run her own business here. She will have to earn her way up to power, which she can do while she spends her time alone at the palace.

She turned around and looked out the window and saw that the sun was already setting; she wondered how long she was stuck in her thoughts and figuring everything out while alone in her room. The maid didn't even come to her to tell her it was lunchtime and dinner. She doesn't mind, though. She's used to not eating.

Why though? Why is she used to not eating? █ █████████ █████ ███████'█ ███.

She winced and shook her head. 'I should get ready for bed,' she thought as she went to her closet to take out a cotton nightgown and began changing and lying in bed. She should get enough sleep. Her nightmares start tomorrow at the palace: goodnight, Camilla.