“Camilla — how much further is it?”
“Almost there. Just a little more.”
The place Camilla had led her was far from the Hardeion estate — quite some distance on foot.
Camilla had said she didn’t want to reveal who the father was. So, to put Camilla at ease, Ivelina had left behind both the estate staff and her escort.
Past the lake near the estate, another half hour of walking.
A vast and dense forest came into view. It was near sundown, and the trees were too thick to let any light through — inside the forest, it was dark as a closed room. The gray shadows pooling at its edges had a quality almost ominous.
She rubbed the goosebumps from her arms.
“Camilla, do we still need to go further?”
“Yes. Just a little. A few minutes more.”
Camilla went ahead and led her into a path that ran through the trees.
The path wound inward, and then Camilla turned onto a narrow trail that branched off to the right.
Ivelina stayed close behind, not wanting to lose sight of her.
Camilla walked at a slow, steady pace ahead of her.
“You know, Ivelina.”
“Yes?”
“I always envied you.”
“Why?”
“You had your parents’ love. Kate and Dorothy — they all adore you.”
Camilla had brought up something entirely unexpected.
The trailing edge of her voice was hollow, with a faint, dry bitterness underneath.
“What do you mean? Kate and Dorothy were so worried about you.”
“…I doubt that.”
Camilla shook her head slowly.
Ivelina looked for the right words.
“What makes you think that?”
“Just. I envied that everyone loves you without you having to do anything to earn it.”
She watched Camilla’s back carefully.
‘Is this from everything the child’s father has put her through?’
Or perhaps it was the pregnancy itself — hormones affected emotions in ways that were difficult to predict.
“I don’t know. I was discriminated against compared to Jacqueline quite a lot. You know that.”
“That’s true. And even so — you’re so unclouded about it. How do you manage.”
Camilla was saying things she never usually said. The meaning behind the words was difficult to read.
Ivelina kept her attention on Camilla while scanning the surrounding trees.
The forest on either side of the narrow path was completely black. Something could have stepped out from among those trees and she wouldn’t have known until it was upon her.
For a while, Camilla walked in silence, looking only forward.
Ivelina followed quietly, keeping her mouth closed — Camilla wasn’t herself today, and she didn’t want to say the wrong thing.
But this trail only continued deeper into the forest. Whether it was truly a path or not was becoming less clear — there were no other walkers, no sign of anyone.
“Camilla, this feels rather dangerous.”
“We’re here. Could you wait here a moment? I’ll go get him.”
Camilla still didn’t turn around. She kept her face forward as she spoke. Something about the air around her felt wrong.
“By — by myself?”
“Yes. Just a moment.”
“A-all right. Be quick. It’s a little frightening to wait alone out here.”
“I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”
She was frightened. She was easily frightened.
Everything around her was dark and eerie, and she fixed her eyes on the direction Camilla had gone.
Then — from the forest on the right, the sound of leaves dragging hard against each other. Two men stepped out.
They didn’t look like hikers. They moved toward her slowly and with purpose.
She instinctively stepped back.
“Is this the one?”
“Looks like it. Gold hair. Green eyes.”
One of the two men picked at his own jaw with the short blade he was carrying. The other was slight, but his eyes had yellowed whites threaded through with burst capillaries.
“Oh. Not bad. I expected a noble lady to be dull-looking.”
“Right. That face — and the Duke’s wife, no less. Lucky man.”
They spoke crudely as they closed the distance.
“What — what is this. Stay back. Don’t come any closer!”
They ignored her entirely and went on talking between themselves.
“Hey. Is this job solid, though? I’m a little uneasy about a duke’s wife.”
“We’re fine. We just do what we’re told.”
“Hmm, though — it’d be a shame to let her go just like that. What if we—”
“Don’t. The man said bring her untouched. If we break that agreement, do you want to be the one paying the penalty?”
“Pity. Next time, then.”
‘The man.’ Who was he?
She wanted to know, but they weren’t going to tell her. Pushing might only make things worse.
She inched backward. But the more she retreated, the faster they closed in.
She looked around quickly.
Camilla was nowhere. There was no one to call for help.
“Hey. Noble lady. Looking for your husband?”
“……”
“Nobody comes here. Heheh.”
The yellow-eyed man snickered. The large one licked his lips and reached for her.
“No!”
She spun around and ran with everything she had. She grabbed her skirts in both hands to keep from tripping over them and ran forward, hoping to find anyone, praying to reach someone.
“Ugh — let go!”
A hand seized her hard by the shoulder. Ragged, uneven nails dug into the flesh.
“Let — ‘mmph—'”
Something large and heavy was pressed over her mouth and nose. Her consciousness began to thin. Her body went weightless, then limp.
* * *
Through the fog of fading awareness, a rattling sound.
The sound of carriage wheels on uneven ground.
In an instant, the last image before she had lost consciousness returned to her.
‘Two men. They were threatening me.’
She forced her heavy eyelids open.
Nothing but darkness before her.
‘Someone — help me—’
She tried to scream. Her voice was stopped by something fitted over her mouth.
“‘Mmph! Mmph!'”
Slowly, the darkness before her eyes began to lighten. A dark shape resolved itself across from her.
“‘Mmph! Mmph!'”
The person sitting across from her was Camilla.
None of this made sense.
She pushed her body upright from where it had been slumped against the bench. Her body refused to cooperate properly. Her hands were bound behind her back.
If Camilla had rescued her, what was the gag for? What were the bindings for?
“You have a lot you want to say, I imagine. Ivelina.”
Camilla’s face held no expression whatsoever. The only thing unusual was a faint, crooked angle at the corner of her mouth.
A shadow fell over her. Camilla rose and reached toward her.
In a swift motion, the gag was pulled free.
“What is the meaning of this!”
“I’m asking myself the same thing. Why did you trust me?”
“What?”
“Ivelina. You’re too good and too foolish.”
Camilla pressed her brows together sharply as she spoke. Her eyes held nothing but contempt.
“…Camilla. What have you been saying this whole time—”
“That’s why I dislike you. Nothing weighs on you, and it drives me mad.”
“If you have a grievance, say it plainly. Not — whatever this is!”
Camilla let out a short, humorless laugh at the urgency in her voice. Then she began to laugh in a way that sounded genuinely unhinged.
“Camilla! Stop this and think. You’re carrying a child. Is this worth—”
“I’m doing it for the child.”
“What do you mean?”
“My child needs a father. And for that — you need to die.”
“…What?”
Camilla stroked her slightly rounded belly with a slow, possessive hand. The expression on her face as she looked down at it was unsettlingly tender. Like someone in a trance.
“You asked who the father was.”
“……”
“Who do you think? The father of this child — my child.”
