Volume 1, Chapter 50 – The Final Day

As the first light of dawn gradually illuminated the land, the ground was already blanketed by the heavy snowfall from the night before. Moments later, the sun was quickly obscured by clouds, and fine snowflakes began to fall once more, returning the world to silence.

Feeling something pressing against her, Yisi tried to turn over but found her body too numb to move. She instinctively opened her eyes and saw Camilla curled up under the covers beside her.

Ah…

Right, that’s what happened.

Blinking at the sight, Yisi quickly shook off the grogginess of waking up. Last night, after bringing the filthy Camilla back to the mansion, there hadn’t been time to prepare a bath, and both Camilla and herself were utterly exhausted. So, they had simply gone straight to bed.

Yisi couldn’t help but take another glance at Camilla, whose head was nestled against her chest. Though tear stains and dirt still lingered on Camilla’s face, she looked completely at peace, her breathing accompanied by soft, adorable snores.

Yisi didn’t want to wake her, but leaving her face covered in dirt wasn’t ideal either…

Of course, this was all Yisi’s doing. But back then, if she hadn’t taken such a forceful approach, Camilla would never have realized her own change—she hadn’t truly wanted to leave.

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The outcome had proven it. Camilla had finally voiced her true feelings, and Yisi had passed judgment on Camilla’s future. By any measure, this was the best possible result.

The only thing Yisi wanted to criticize was herself. How could she have made such an arrogant declaration in front of everyone—”From now on, Camilla is no longer a doll”? Almost instinctively, a wave of embarrassment made her want to crawl into a hole and hide.

So, she pulled the covers over her head.

Only to find herself face-to-face with Camilla, who had just woken up. Their eyes met in the darkness beneath the blankets.

Though they had already done far more intimate things (referring to the kiss in the bath), Yisi still had a gentleman’s sensibilities. A situation like this—two people sharing a single blanket—would undoubtedly be considered sexual harassment, or worse, if her body weren’t that of the Count’s eldest daughter.

Yisi could only awkwardly greet her.

“Uh… m-morning…”

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“Mm. Good morning, Onee-sama.”

As it turned out, Camilla wasn’t angry or flustered at all. On the contrary, she immediately wrapped her arms around Yisi’s neck, planted a light kiss on her cheek, and then—without a trace of shyness—threw off the covers, turned her back to Yisi, and began changing clothes. They hadn’t undressed before sleeping, so changing into fresh outfits was the first order of business for the morning.

“I heard this is how close nobles greet each other, so I thought I’d try it… You don’t hate it, do you, Onee-sama?”

“N-no, of course not.” Yisi’s face flushed at being “attacked” by a beautiful girl like Camilla. “But, uh… maybe let’s stick to simpler greetings for now.”

“Mm, I understand. And… I’m sorry, Onee-sama. For running off on my own yesterday.”

“It’s fine. If anything, I should apologize. If I’d acted sooner, you wouldn’t have left in the first place. More importantly, are you hurt? I used a lot of force yesterday.”

Camilla’s movements paused for a brief moment at Yisi’s words—though Yisi didn’t notice, as she’d politely turned her head away.

“My arm hurts a little, but it’ll heal soon.”

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“That’s good—achoo!”

At an inopportune moment, Yisi let out a tiny sneeze. But this seemed to remind Camilla of something, and she suddenly clapped her hands together.

“Ah! The winterbloom! I need to brew it into tea right away! Today’s the hostage exchange, and if Onee-sama doesn’t recover from your cold soon, there won’t be time later!”

No sooner had she spoken than Camilla finished dressing, hastily wiped her face with a handkerchief in front of the mirror, and dashed out of the room with quick, light steps.

Yisi could only stare blankly as Camilla left, then let out a helpless chuckle.

“Since when was Camilla like this?”

“Her tone hasn’t changed much, but it feels like something’s completely different now.”

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Maybe that composure earlier was just an act. Maybe, deep down, she was just as embarrassed as I was.

The thought popped into Yisi’s mind out of nowhere, and she burst into laughter.

“Yeah, right.”

With a self-deprecating sigh, Yisi threw off the covers—revealing the pink bedsheet, now stained with dirt from both of them, and the blankets smeared with a mixture of tears, snot, mud, and blood.

“Sigh… So much happened in just one night. There’s still the question of why Assef, who’s colluding with demons, tried to assassinate me… but Owen will be here soon. I need to get up.”

Today was the hostage exchange. She needed to prepare herself to face Count Pescia.

Yisi rubbed her face, forcing her expression back into its usual cold, impassive mask, then stretched with a long yawn.

“Let’s hope everything goes smoothly.”