Chapter 30
What Camilla said just now wouldn’t register, so I stared blankly at her—until a bulb lit up in my head.
“Oh, but that—it’s a misunderstanding…”
“If you can’t carry yourself with dignity, what do you think the employees would think?!”
“No. but…”
Though clearly, Camilla couldn’t hear anything.
“And besides…!”
She shuddered, horrified by her own imagination.
“What if Amoide was bitten?!”
At the end of the day, she still thought about her own son first.
“Ah, yes.”
I kept my mouth shut.
It might not mean much for her, but even so, would she care if I told her that I was the one who was the most in danger in front of the snake? And that the reason my clothes were torn like that was because it actually burrowed into my dress?
“What if Amoide collapsed after getting bit by that venomous snake?!”
‘But Madam, what about me?’ I wanted to ask that, but I was afraid of what she’d reply.
“It was an accident, Mother… I didn’t expect this either…”
I tried to make an excuse, but it seemed like Camilla still wasn’t even listening.
“Don’t take walks anymore, what use are they for my son’s health! You’re just walking around meeting snakes. What the hell are you doing…?!”
As I continued to listen to her, I felt something stab at my heart.
[ You’ve been having your communal nights together all this time, but it’s the first time you came back in this state… ]
Rona’s words from last time suddenly came into my mind.
“…But, he did regain some strength.”
“What?”
I breathed out a sigh and winced. “Please look at this. It’s a wound that was left by your son.”
“…Amoide?”
“Yes. He never approached me outside our communal nights together, but with what just happened…”
[ I’m sure your efforts are paying off, Milady! ]
I heard Rona’s voice again. I was so overcome by embarrassment earlier when I first heard it, though now, it felt like I gained a very efficient weapon.
“Isn’t it because he regained his strength that my chest is like this?”
Saying so, I placed my hand over my chest like a theater star.
“I didn’t realize back then, but—bam! Oh? I was pushed against a wall! Bam!”
“…Bam?”
Camilla covered her mouth with both hands, aghast. “I never taught my son to do anything like that.”
She raised her brows in an effort to keep herself calm.
“Of course.”
I nodded fervently and sympathized with her.
“Of course, Mother never taught her son such a rough method of courting.”
“Rough…?”
“Though… I wonder why this is happening? Isn’t this the result of my supervision over his meals and exercise?”
This time, I was the one speaking without letting the other person catch a break. I said all that without pausing, so I was a bit out of breath by the end.
“Who was it that dragged him out of the room after he collapsed?”
I went on with my moving speech.
“Who was it that changed his tasteless diet to the point that he now empties his plate?” I said, staring directly into Camilla’s eyes.
“That was me. It’s all the result of my efforts.”
I said each word with force.
“And, I can’t believe we could see these noticeable results in such a short period of time. I’m not asking you to praise me, but it’s not right to corner someone like this because of an unpredictable accident…”
I did my best to look pitiful in front of Camilla.
In return, she was taken aback by the outpouring of my words. It was exactly how she had explained to me about Amoide’s supposed loss of strength.
It was the second time in this room that Camilla looked like she had bitten off more than she could chew.
I maintained eye contact with Camilla after saying everything that I did, calming myself down in the process as I leveled my breathing.
“This is all for your precious son. If you’re going to tell me to stop these efforts after just a crisis or two, then you shouldn’t have let me be in charge of Amoide’s health in the first place, Mother. I’m disappointed that you don’t have any confidence in me.”
“Disappointed…?”
Ah. I regretted saying that just now because Camilla’s face suddenly twisted up.
“You’ve gone too far.”
At this point, I decided to take it down a notch.
“…Of course, I don’t think that’s what Mother was really thinking.”
I spoke again in a much more calm tone.
“Someone must have shaken Mother’s resolve.”
The time it took Camilla to call for me was too fast, no matter how I thought about it.
As soon as I came back to my room, news broke out quickly, leaving only enough time for me to bathe and put on my clothes.
Even though she knew everything that happened in the mansion, considering the size of this Ducal estate, the time frame should have been longer. Besides, the place where Amoide and I took a walk was quite far from the building where Camilla resided.
There was definitely someone around Amoide and me to observe our behaviors at all times.
“….”
“Right, Mother?”
I spoke earnestly with a hand on my chest.
Ba-dump, ba-dump.
I could feel my racing heartbeat under my hand. It was proof that Camilla still very much kept me on my toes.
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