Chapter 33. Selfish motives

Yufil de Walt slammed his fist on the table in exasperation. The servant next to him recoiled in fright.

After recent events, the heir to the dukedom was so outraged that he could barely concentrate on his work. The younger sister, whom he hated, still haunted him.

For a whole year, the guy's life seemed perfect. The annoying fly that had been circling around him all this time had finally disappeared. Yufil could calmly prepare to receive the title and fulfill his duties as heir. But...

As soon as Camille crossed the threshold of their house again, all the peace that had been there before instantly collapsed. What was happening now, Yufil could only call lawlessness.

And although Camille had suddenly changed now and was no longer stalking him, it didn't make the problems any less. The girl found a new way to annoy him every day.

Not only was she wasting their family's fortune by making a bunch of useless purchases. Not to mention the fact that she began to completely ignore her relatives, showing open disrespect towards them. But her latest prank drove a decisive nail into the guy's patience.

Although the de Walt family did not have much influence and had only a monetary advantage, it was still the residence of the duke. It wasn't a place where everyone could come and go as they pleased. Therefore, Yufil was even more outraged that his sister had turned their house into a courtyard!

And how else to explain the fact that she brought a girl into the house, about whose origin she knew absolutely nothing? Moreover, she left her to live in her own room. Thus, this scoundrel found herself in close proximity to the ducal family.

This commoner pretending to be an innocent lamb could very well be a murderer sent by another noble family. After all, many aristocrats wanted to get their hands on the property of the de Walt family, and in particular their diamond mine.

Only an impenetrable idiot like Camille wouldn't know that.

Yufil couldn't believe that his father had actually made such a mistake. By leaving this dubious person here, they were all in danger. Even if she's not a murderer, the girl from the street doesn't deserve to be here!

— I've had enough!

The guy resolutely got up from the table. Since Camilla returned home, Yufil has already turned a blind eye to many of her actions. It seems that because of such condescension, the girl completely forgot her place.

"Obviously, my father and I were too kind to her. And that's what came of it!"

Since the duke is inactive, Yufil, as the heir of the family, decided to take control of the situation into his own hands.

Today, he intended to put an end to his younger sister's outrages.

***

— Your hands don't look the best... It's good that I thought to borrow the ointment from Dr. Xavier!

Almost immediately, I noticed that the commoner's hands were covered with abrasions and scars. Of course, I put it down to her hard work in the field. She must have had neither the money nor the time to take care of herself.

"Actually, I just don't care..."

Kaena was surprised when the duke's daughter suddenly offered to treat her old scars. According to the girl, the ointment prepared by their family doctor was so effective that most of the flaws would become invisible after the first application.

The princess tried to refuse this offer, but Camilla was already sitting in front of her and diligently applying the medicine. Kaena was watching her closely.

— Why are you doing this? — She frowned.

— well... You're a girl after all, — she explained uncertainly, — and hands are the first thing people pay attention to.

"So what?"

Kaena couldn't figure out what she was thinking. If the ducal maiden was aware of her parentage, then she must also know about the terrible things she had done. The girl received her first scar during the first battle at the age of thirteen. After that, she just stopped paying attention to such things.

When you kill people, you can't leave your hands clean. All these scars from various types of weapons served as a reminder of how much she had to go through. To be honest, Kaena never gave a damn about how she looked.

But this woman, for some strange reason, did not think so.

— Ahem... I'm also a little worried.

— Wh-what?

Kaena stared at Camille in shock when she said those words. To hear such a thing was as incredible as if someone had confessed their love to her. Impossible.

— Do you worry about someone often? — the princess decided to clarify. For some reason, this question suddenly bothered her a lot.

— no... In fact, you're the only one.

— what? — Repeating it a second time, Kaena felt stupid.

— I mean, I've never had to save anyone before... So you're the first.

After the commoner's question, I thought about it myself. It's been a year since my rebirth, and I still haven't had a single loved one in this world.

My only friend, with whom we were lucky enough to reincarnate in the same universe, was thousands of kilometers away from me. Besides, Jeremy is getting married soon... I don't think a family man will have much time for me.

What can we say about the connections of the real Camilla.

All her life, she was too concerned about her relatives and therefore did not make any attempts to make acquaintances. Most of the society did not even know that the Duke de Valt had a daughter. I was like a shadow of this family.

Thus, my inconspicuous existence suited me up to a certain point. Now that I really thought about it, I felt a little sad.

"This poor girl has devoted herself to people who don't give a damn about her... I really don't have any memories of myself."

Our acquaintance with the commoner happened purely by chance.

And indeed... Why did I do that? Perhaps it's only now that I've realized the true reason for my impulsive act.

I smiled faintly when it suddenly occurred to me that I had saved the girl solely because of my selfish motives. I just wanted to become a significant person for someone. Being a savior in someone's eyes wasn't so bad.

The commoner stared at me dumbfounded when I suddenly began to smile at my own thoughts.

Our idyll, when we just stared at each other in silence, lasted for several seconds. After that, a man whose existence I had hardly thought about for the past few days boldly burst into the room.

Ah... That jerk still hasn't left me alone. This time, he didn't even bother to knock on the door first.

I wrinkled my forehead.

Sometimes his behavior reminded me of my younger brother from a previous life, who liked to come into my room only to drop something or turn off the light. I couldn't believe that a grown-up guy like Yufil could still do such things.

— What do you need? — I asked calmly.

— Are you still asking? I demand that this beggar get out of our house immediately! — he shouted.

When Yufil angrily pointed his finger at the commoner, she gave him an unkind look.

— It won't work.

— what?

— Father has already given his consent for her to stay here.

— And? I don't agree with that!

— well... I don't think many people care.

My older brother choked with indignation when I said this to his face. Probably because the Duke's attitude towards me had become more loyal lately, I could afford a little more.

— I don't want to listen to you. Go away.

God. In the old days, this guy would do anything to get Camille to leave him alone. So why is he doing this now?

As if I haven't had enough to worry about lately. He was the only one missing.

I frowned slightly, feeling a sudden headache.

— How dare you send me away?!

Not wanting to calm down, Yufil continued to get on my nerves. However, since his position in this house was still higher than mine, I couldn't just rudely kick him out the door.

Wanting to resolve this issue diplomatically, I spoke neutrally:

— I've already said everything. Don't make me repeat myself. If you still have any complaints, then discuss them with your father.

— ...

The heir to the dukedom ground his teeth in hatred. He found it humiliating that this girl dared to tell him what to do. However, since he had come here to teach her a lesson, he wasn't going to leave so easily. "Well, wait, brat! Do you think that since your father didn't do anything to you, you can get away with it?!"

Yufil resolutely headed towards Kaena, intending to drag her out of the estate with his own hands. But the next moment, he couldn't even grab her by the collar. Yufil shuddered. He met the princess's gaze and saw that her golden eyes were filled with hatred.

"I didn't notice it before, because I didn't really look at her, but what kind of look does she have..."

The young man's head was all muddled. Since childhood, moving in the circle of secular society, Yufilu had met with a variety of people. But even he had never seen such piercing eyes.

The woman standing in front of him did not look like a simpleton in front of a noble lord at all. At that moment, she reminded him more of a predator threatening his life.

Yufil's gut told him that it was dangerous.

The duke's son, who was afraid of the humble commoner, involuntarily swallowed. Then he blushed, as if he was offended by his own reflexes. A desire arose in him to get out of here as soon as possible.

However, wanting to preserve his dignity, Yufil just pretended to change his mind.

— Tchk. It hurts that I waste my time on someone so insignificant!

With these words, Yufil de Walt quickly retreated, as if fleeing. The Crown Princess watched him go and smiled wryly.

"This cockroach... He will need to be swatted first."