Chapter 15. That Day

The air in the castle seemed to freeze for a moment. It was only natural that the atmosphere turned tense since I had unknowingly defended the young duke of our enemy family.

“Camilla, you’re not seriously thinking about marrying him, are you?”

“You’re not, right, Sis?”

The eyes of the two troublemakers following Father’s words were not ordinary. I quickly came up with a plan to calm them down.

“We agreed to discuss the postponed engagement after the debutante ball. The young duke just arrived in the capital, and the debutante ball is soon.”

“That’s a relief.”

Father still seemed dissatisfied. Even though it was an imperial decree, the thought of sending his beloved daughter to such a family made him grind his teeth.

I gently reassured Father to ease his worries.

“By the end of the month, everything will be as you wish, so don’t worry too much.”

Yes. Since we had agreed to break off the engagement after a month, it was just a temporary arrangement.

Although I found Aster somewhat appealing, I didn’t like him enough to endure all the negative conditions.

With my family opposing so strongly and the Blanche family as the opponent, there was no room for reconsideration.

Father, somewhat calmed, muttered softly.

“So, you met the young duke.”

“Yes. He even came with me today to choose a dress for the debutante ball.”

Father looked at me in surprise. The men of the Blanche family, who lived and died by their pride, never set foot in salons, which they considered places reeking of women’s perfume.

In contrast, Father was known as a devoted husband. When Mother was alive, he always accompanied her to salons and helped her choose dresses. The Duke of Blanche used to badmouth him for embarrassing men.

So, hearing that his son had gone to a salon with me was surprising. Just the act itself was like the Duke of Blanche spitting in his own face, and Father looked pleased.

“Well, that’s quite something. It seems he’s less petty than the rest of his family.”

“At least, he felt completely different from Paris.”

I replied, pleased that Father seemed to have a favorable impression of Aster. But at the mention of Paris, Father’s face hardened.

“Oh. Now that I think about it, that bastard dared to set foot in my estate.”

He must have been informed about the morning’s commotion. I answered nonchalantly.

“I handled it well. He was practically dragged out, so don’t be angry.”

“That’s my daughter. The Duke of Blanche must be fuming right now.”

Father laughed leisurely, clearly pleased with the thought.

The two dukes were like cats and dogs. They were just too different. Of course, comparing the Duke of Blanche to a cute cat was an insult to cats.

Meanwhile, Eddie and Cathy, having lost interest in the conversation, had disappeared somewhere. As Father headed to his room, I naturally followed. There were still things I needed to discuss.

“Camilla, I’ve placed too heavy a burden on you. The Duke of Blanche is likely determined to push through with the marriage.”

“Fortunately, the young duke seems reasonable. Besides, he doesn’t seem to get along with the Duke and Duchess of Blanche.”

“They don’t get along?”

“Yes. I’ve met with Paris and Helen alternately, and both of them subtly encouraged me to break off the engagement.”

“Hmm.”

Father stroked his chin, deep in thought.

“Well, he’s not the child of the current Duchess, so he must be a rather awkward presence.”

Seeing this, I carefully spoke.

“So, I was thinking, if I use him, I might be able to uncover the true details of that day.”

When I cautiously mentioned ‘that day,’ Father stopped in his tracks. He spoke sharply.

“Are you seriously considering marrying into that family just for that?”

“Not necessarily marriage, but I thought I could use him.”

From Aster’s actions so far, he didn’t seem to be someone who moved for the sake of his family. Starting with the offer of the former Marchioness of Letia as a chaperone, not to Helen but to me, and the Blanche siblings’ interference.

Considering all circumstances, Aster seemed to be an heir without backing. And he appeared to be on particularly bad terms with the most influential person in the Blanche family, the Duchess.

‘Did Mother ignore my words? This is the last warning, Paris.’

I realized for the first time that the word ‘Mother’ could sound so cold because of Aster. If he checked the carriage wheels every time, he must have faced numerous assassination attempts even in his childhood.

“Aster Blanche seems very interested in me. If I play my cards right, I might be able to find out what happened that day….”

Just as I was about to explain my plan, Father let out a deep sigh and grabbed my shoulder.

“As I’ve said before, I will handle that matter.”

“Father.”

“You were a victim that day. You haven’t even fully recovered from the aftermath.”

It was always like this. Father said it was for my sake, but he hadn’t overcome that day’s events either.

It had been ten years already. That tragic accident that took my mother, whom we thought would be with us forever.

I raised my voice to persuade Father, who was once again being defensive.

“That’s why I want to uncover the truth even more. The investigation wasn’t properly conducted back then. The only family capable of such a deed is the Blanche family.”

“Even so, the fact that the investigation didn’t proceed smoothly means it wasn’t a simple matter. It was a well-planned act, carried out while I was away. If you start digging carelessly, you might get hurt.”

“I’m not a child anymore.”

“Camilla, I think it’s fortunate that I didn’t lose you that day. So, don’t feel guilty about it anymore.”

Father’s voice was incredibly warm. I knew it was sincere advice, but sometimes emotions were hard to control.

I answered with a tearful face.

“But if I could remember what happened, I could avenge Mother properly.”

Thinking about that day still made my eyes well up. I was a miraculous survivor of that accident and a crucial witness.

But at that time, I couldn’t do anything. By the time I came back to life, the trial had already concluded as an accident.

Moreover, the shock of the accident had caused about a month’s worth of my memory to vanish. If I had remembered, I could have requested a retrial.

Of course, Father didn’t want me to stand trial. He prevented me from giving any testimony about the accident.

It was to protect his young daughter, who couldn’t even remember the incident properly due to the shock. Even though he himself was suffering from losing his beloved wife.

As I trembled with anger, Father gently patted my head.

“Camilla, I’ve told you many times, it wasn’t your fault. Don’t you believe your father now that you’re all grown up?”

“It’s not that….”

“The reason we lost the trial wasn’t because of you. Even if you had testified, the Blanche family would have found another reason to discredit your testimony.”

Father’s voice took on a growl as he mentioned the Blanche family.

It was a trial that caused quite a stir at the time. It was also the only trial where the Francis family lost to the Blanche family.

The accident happened so suddenly, and Mother’s death was an unbearable pain even for my rational Father. Moreover, with his young daughter hovering between life and death, it was understandable.

While the entire Francis household was in chaos, it would have been easy for the perpetrator to destroy evidence.

The twins were very young at the time of the trial, so only Father and I remembered that tragic event. Looking at Father’s sorrowful eyes, I forced a calm smile.

“Yes. I know it wasn’t my fault. And I also know how much you love me.”

“Good. If you understand, then don’t bring it up again. Unless you truly like that man, I won’t stand by and let revenge mix into the most important decision of your life, choosing a spouse.”

By then, we had reached the bedroom. After comforting me once more, Father went inside. I stared at the closed door for a long time. It was a day filled with many thoughts.

* * *

The next day, after having lunch, I leisurely made my way to the Red Knight Order. I needed to discuss the exorbitant dowry the Duke of Blanche demanded from Francis.

Fortunately, I had contacted him in advance, so Aster was waiting in the Vice Commander’s office.

When I briefly explained what had happened yesterday, Aster looked troubled.

“I never imagined that Father would propose such an outrageous condition to the Duke of Francis.”

“So, it wasn’t agreed upon?”

“No, of course not. In fact, I had a disagreement with Father about the engagement yesterday.”

Aster rubbed his face wearily, as if just thinking about it exhausted him.

“I told him we would discuss the engagement again in a month. I will renegotiate the dowry.”

“So, the Duke of Blanche acted on his own. You had no part in it?”

“Of course not. From the start, it was an engagement strongly opposed by the Francis family. If it weren’t for the imperial decree, it would never have happened.”

Aster seemed very displeased with the Duke’s unilateral actions. It was clear he hadn’t expected his father to try and turn the marriage into a business deal as soon as he returned.

I felt somewhat relieved to know that Aster wasn’t involved in this. Seeing this, Aster emphasized again.

“Just to be clear, I have no intention of marrying you for the dowry.”