~Chapter 7~
At Camilla’s request for a new personal maid, the Baron smiled with fatherly benevolence.
“Very well, my daughter—choose whomever you like.”
Two neat rows of servants stood before her, heads bowed in humility.
Camilla walked slowly between them, her gaze sharp and appraising.
I expected him to assign one of his own, not let me choose. How convenient.
It suited her perfectly—what she needed now was not the Baron’s pawn, but her own.
Her eyes caught on a girl with tangled black curls and worn shoes. Her lips were pressed tight with tension, yet her violet eyes shone vividly even in the dim light.
Found her.
“You there. What’s your name?”
“Sonia, my lady.”
Camilla knew her.
‘I’ll help you escape, my lady!’
‘Sonia! No—don’t!’
Sonia—the loyal maid who had tried to help Nina flee the mansion in The Downfall of Nina—only to be caught by Ares and meet a gruesome end.
She had harbored vengeance toward the Mowin family all along. More importantly, she was an Everett spy. Yet, in the novel, when her mission clashed with her mistress’s peril, she chose Nina over her orders and paid with her life.
The most faithful of hearts, Camilla thought.
She smiled and turned to the Baron.
“I’ll take this one.”
As they ascended to her chambers, Sonia glanced at her uncertainly.
“My lady, may I ask… why did you choose me?”
Camilla replied easily, “Because your eyes are lovely.”
The girl’s face flushed crimson. “Then I’ll do my best to make you even lovelier, my lady!” she declared with eager resolve, and Camilla couldn’t help but smile.
It was true—Sonia’s eyes were beautiful—but that wasn’t the real reason. What Camilla truly sought was that unwavering devotion Sonia once gave Nina.
“Sonia, I’ll treat those who serve me well,” she said quietly.
The girl blinked, startled by the words.
“In return,” Camilla continued calmly, “you’ll be loyal to me—completely. Do that, and I’ll grant you whatever reward you desire.”
Something in Camilla’s gaze held a quiet, commanding gravity. Sonia nodded as though spellbound.
“Yes, my lady.”
Then came a loud, angry pounding at the door.
Thud. Thud. Bang!
“Hey, you!”
The door burst open, revealing Ares, seething with rage. His eyes swept over Camilla from head to toe.
“So it’s true—you’re to dine with the Baron now?”
“Yes,” she said lightly, “that’s right.”
“You—how dare you—!”
In the past, such words would have reduced her to trembling silence. But that Camilla no longer existed.
“Do you have anything else to say?”
She mirrored his earlier arrogance, her eyes tracing him from boots to collar. For a heartbeat, Ares was speechless. Then he scoffed.
“What?”
“I asked if you have nothing to say. I nearly died, after all. Don’t you think an apology is in order?”
Ares stared at her, incredulous. The timid, pliant girl he used to mock was smiling now—cold and poisonous as nightshade.
The change was so jarring that for an instant he felt something twist in his chest, a strange heat curling low in his stomach.
He swallowed hard, then sneered.
“Why? You expect me to apologize for pushing the family dog?”
There it is, she thought.
“Actually, yes,” she answered sweetly.
“What—!”
He raised his hand to strike. That familiar gesture—so casual, so cruel—had once filled her with terror. But she would not endure it again.
“Cover your nose, Sonia.”
Both of them froze, startled. Sonia, however, was quicker on the uptake; when Camilla silently mouthed Be loyal, the girl instantly obeyed.
Camilla slipped a small vial from her sleeve and threw it to the floor.
Crash!
The glass shattered, spilling a sharp-scented liquid that spread across the carpet in a shimmering pool. Ares wrinkled his nose at the stench, just before he grabbed Camilla by the hair.
“What do you think you’re—trying to make a fool of me?”
“You’re the fool, Ares.”
Her unflinching defiance only stoked his anger.
“You insolent little—whatever trick you pulled to dine with us, keep your head down if you want to live.”
He yanked her hair roughly, his eyes flashing.
“The Baroness hates arrogance most of all—especially from girls who don’t know their place.”
“Worried about me?”
“What?!”
“How sweet of you.”
Her mocking smile made his cheeks burn red with fury.
“You—!”
He swung his arm, but before he could strike, his body locked in place. His arm went numb, his legs heavy. With a dull thud, he collapsed to the floor.
“What the hell…?”
Camilla’s voice was smooth, almost amused.
“Strange, isn’t it? That drowsiness creeping in?”
Ares tried to speak, but his lips barely moved. His limbs were like lead, his head sinking lower and lower.
Hemlock—also known as poison carrot, she thought coolly.
The very herb that killed Socrates. Deadly if misused, but a perfect paralytic in the right dose.
“Since you refuse to apologize,” she said, looking down at him with icy disdain, “I’ll offer my own kind of recompense.”
Her gaze darkened, cold and merciless.
“Come into my room uninvited again, and you won’t walk out alive, you worthless bastard.”
Ares slumped onto the rug, unconscious.
Camilla exhaled softly and chuckled.
He might’ve bruised something on the way down, but it’s still better than falling off the stairs.
“Sonia.”
“Y-yes, my lady?”
The maid’s face was pale, but her eyes gleamed faintly with admiration.
“Let’s drag this scoundrel to the garden.”
“…Understood.”
Later that day, Ares was discovered half-asleep on a garden bench, feverish and incoherent. For several days he lay bedridden with a severe cold.
When the Baroness demanded to know why he’d been napping outdoors, he turned red and stammered out no excuse. Admitting he’d been outwitted by the girl he’d bullied would have been more humiliating than silence.
Sonia, barely concealing her delight, brought Camilla the news.
Camilla sipped her tea and smiled faintly.
“It was necessary to break him, just once.”
Her goal remained unchanged—to survive this mansion and escape the death awaiting her.
But not yet.
She was still too young, too dependent on this house. For now, she needed to endure—and to survive in this grotesque den of vipers, she would have to tame them one by one.
Ares, now cowed, would keep his distance. Her next step was clear: to win the Baroness’s favor.
In the original story, the old Camilla had gained renown by creating countless poisons and remedies. But those poisons had fueled the Glamis family’s atrocities.
“This time, I’ll make no poisons. Only medicines.”
She would craft what her father could sell, but never anything monstrous.
I can do this, she told herself.
Two years passed.
In the laboratory, Camilla ground herbs with practiced ease when Sonia’s voice called from the doorway.
“It’s time for dinner, my lady.”
Camilla slipped a small vial beneath her sleeve and rose calmly. Over the years, she had built the Baron’s trust—but now it was time to face the Baroness.
Soon, that infamous ‘party’ from the original story will begin.
Straightening her dress, she made her way to the dining hall.
“Sister!”
Nina greeted her with radiant eyes.
“Are you feeling better? You said you were in pain!”
“Nina.”
At the Baroness’s cold tone, the girl flinched, murmuring apologies.
Camilla approached gracefully. “Good evening, Sister,” she said with measured poise, and hid a faint smirk.
Not quite the elegance the Baroness desires, but charming nonetheless.
The Baroness’s eyes flicked to the far end of the table—the lowest seat.
So, another battle of pride, then.
Camilla obeyed without protest, expression serene.
Let her think she’s won.
Moments later, heavy footsteps echoed.
“Everyone, sit.”
The Baron entered, his gaze sharp.
“Father,” Camilla greeted.
“Oh, Camilla! Why are you standing there?”
“I was hoping to propose something, Father. I’ve been studying the medical texts you gave me, and I’ve conceived a new formula.”
The Baron’s eyes lit with satisfaction.
“Excellent. A new medicine, then? Not one already on the list?”
“Yes, Father. I’ll explain it after dinner.”
He nodded, pleased, and leaned closer.
“And regarding your previous ointment—the anesthetic—it’s been approved. We’re expecting an important guest soon, someone who wishes to discuss business.”
An important guest?
Camilla’s thoughts raced.
That wasn’t in the original story…
Whatever it was, the ripples of her actions had already begun to change fate.
