Walking down the vast halls with refined and dignified movements while her exquisite white and purple dress gracefully fluttered, a beautiful young woman brushed aside her crimson red hair as she flapped her fan in a sophisticated manner, a beauty truly worthy of the lord's love.

"Fufu" She chuckled lightly as she looked around her future house.

The estate in Sundgard was far from the Carmine household estate in Belmont, it was more fitting of the name Fortress City. Barely having any windows or paintings, it's walls were thick and sturdy, while a number of armoured knights roamed about, keeping a watchful eye.

But even with all those trivialities, the estate itself was still beautiful. Intricately designed plate armours lined the halls while luxurious items decorated the inside of the rooms. The outside as well was nothing to scoff at, vibrant flowers and tall trees brought the gardens to life while the walls, though imposing and without paint, was a thing to behold.

It was a perfect example of luxury and practicality coexisting. Meaning that the estate managed to become a formidable fortress that was easy to defend and hard to invade, without having to sacrifice the beauty of it.

[Such a lovely place, I just can't wait to live here.. Ah! But more importantly..]

After learning that her sister had cooped up inside her room since yesterday, Camilla decided to pay her a visit, despite having prior plans with Jorgé.

Having a general idea as to what caused this rare development, she couldn't help but feel a little pity for her sister.

[Oh dear sister, I'm sorry.. but I had to let you learn just how tenacious your opponent really is]

Camilla had already seen through the relationship between Larc and Juliette, she knew that the young lady held strong feelings for her servant, and that those feelings were somewhat reciprocated by Larc. But even though she was aware, her sister wasn't. She had enticed Claudia to accompany her here in the Carmine territories, knowing full well just what she would witness. Camilla had deemed it necessary in order for Claudia to finally affirm her feelings for Larc and resolve herself.

[But..] She paused for a while before smiling wryly.

[It seems that we both fell in love with troublesome men, I guess we truly are sisters.]

Muffled sniffling could be heard from with, as well as the occasional sighing.

*Knock* *knock* *knock*

"Claudia? Are you awake?" She asked in a sweet, caring voice.

"......"

"......"

"......"

After a while of silence, Camilla decided to once again call out to her sister.

"Sulking won't do you any good, you know? Please open the door."

"....."

"....."

"....."

Having had enough, Camilla gestured towards a guard standing watch beside the door. After offering a light bow, the guard produced an ornate brass key from his pocket and gave it to the first Princess.

"Thank you" Camilla whispered as she effortlessly opened the door wide opened.

[!!]

Shocked by the sight before her, Camilla could only shake her head in exasperation.

What welcomed her was the dark and gloomy atmosphere that had built up inside the room. Although the room was relatively clean, there was an aura about it that was somewhat malicious, probably because of the window blinders that were sealed shut, not allowing one spec of the afternoon sun to shine through.

Looking around, She caught sight of a lump of blankets and pillows sprawled atop the bed, wriggling around as if to hide away.

"Haaah, what am I gonna do with you." She whispered as she slowly walked and propped herself on the bedside.

Looking over the weird moving mass, she placed her hand on it and gently pulled the sheets back.

Feeling somewhat sorry for what she had put her sister through, Camilla ran her fingers through the head of crimson hair that appeared with great love and gentleness, much like how a mother would comfort her child.

"I know how you feel, Claudia."

Hearing her sister's sweet and caring voice, a small figure meekly peeked out of the blanket. Her ruby like eyes glistened with tears making them puffy, while her lustrous crimson hair, typical of the royal family, was now disheveled and unkept.

".. How could you possibly know how I feel, Onee-sama.." She asked in a weak voice. "You and Brother in law have always been together.. so how could you know.."

"Ahh, but that wasn't always the case, you know?"

"Huh?"

Confused by her sister's words, Claudia couldn't help but tilt her head to side.

"You see, I know how it feels to see the man you long for hold another woman in his arms." Camilla answered as she brushed Claudia's unkept hair.

".. I wasn't Jorgé's original fiancé, you know?"

"Eeehh?? Are you serious, Nee-sama??"

Seeing Claudia's reaction, a small smile appeared on Camilla's face as she chuckled lightly.

"Haha, yes it's true. You see, when Jorgé and I first met, he was already engaged to someone else."

[Ara.. remembering it is somewhat displeasing to me.]

I was eight years old at that time, barely old enough to join in on high society gatherings. It was one of the annual balls that mother held at the end of the year, many a number of aristocrats would attend and try to curry favour with one another, frankly speaking it was one of the balls that I always hated to attend.

Unlike most noble girls of my age at the time, their idea of fun was so much different that my own.

They liked tea parties, I found them tedious.

They liked dressing up and playing dolls, I found it creepy.

They liked talking about how they were going to marry some highborn lord, I found them pitiful.

You see, my enjoyment; my fun, came at the expense of other people. Playing tricks on them, causing them trouble.. seeing their despaired faces, those things were fun to me, this party however, was not.

Amidst the sea of people that were my playthings, one thing caught my eyes. His silver blonde hair that glistened under the sun looked beautiful. His stature, his movements, his gestures, they all looked so mature, unlike the crude children that pestered me, this boy was a noble in truest sense.

The main thing that drew my attention however, was his different colored eyes. One was a deep sapphire blue that resembled the ocean, looking as if it was going to pull me in, while the other was a dull but calming shade of gray.

Intrigued by him, I approached and introduced myself. What I saw afterwards sent an incredible shock to my entire body, one that I have yet to feel.

He introduced himself as well and, to my delight, was apparently the son and heir of Duke Carmine, one of Father's closest friend as well as a very high ranking noble in the kingdom

[If it's him, I wouldn't mind being his fiancé] I remember thinking as he took my hand and invited me to a dance.

After that, we would have a few more encounters with one another, each time growing closer and closer, and each time I would feel something strange within me.

Love had always been a strange thing to me, I always thought that it was a troublesome thing, that it makes one weak. Often times I would use it to cause trouble for people around me. Like that time when I learned that Earl Howard's second son had a crush on me, or that time when I found out that a married maid was having an affair with one of the guards, or the time when I saw father flirting with his concubine when he was supposed to be with mother.

Many a times I saw the love people held for other people, and many a times I used that love to bend them to my will, and it made me happy.

So when the day of his sister's birthday came, and I saw him crossed arms with another girl that was apparently his fiancé, I felt angry, angry that he didn't tell me that he already had a fiancé, sad that I won't be able to hold him, and for the first time in my life, I felt sorry.

[So this is how all those people felt when I toyed with their love] I remember thinking to myself.

Being the first Princess, it was impossible for me to become a mere concubine, even for a Duke, so the chance of me being able to be with him as anything but he's wife was non existent. I felt my chest tighten and a stinging pain assaulted every fibre of my being.

[I want to kill her.]

[How dare you touch him.]

[He's mine.]

[Give him back.]

[Give me back my love.]

Looking at the two of them, bad thoughts surfaced from my mind. Thoughts and feelings that I never knew was possible for me to feel.

Almost losing control, I walked towards the two of them, only to be met with Jorgé's gaze. It was the same gaze that he showed me during our first meeting, but somewhat seemed sadder.

It was as if he was saying "So you now know how it feels to have something important to you taken" and "what will you do now?"

He had seen through my true self.

During our short time together, this boy that's caught my eyes had seen through what even my own parents had a difficult time seeing. He knew my true self, but instead of feeling repulsed or off, he accepted me.

Resolving myself, I did what any sensible maiden would do given the situation. I convinced my father that uniting our house with the Carmine house was the best possible course of action. Then I dug some dirt from some high ranking nobles and convinced them to help me, after that all that's left was to dig some dirt from that thief's family, and if there weren't any, fabricate one and pressure them into annulling the engagement.

Everything curiously fell right into place without much trouble, almost making me think that Jorgé himself had something to do with it, but the rest is history.

[I'm rooting for you, Claudia.]