When the Duke de Walt found out that his youngest daughter refused dinner, the eyebrows on his face crept up. To be honest, this situation turned out to be quite unexpected.

— …So she's not coming? — he summed it up gloomily.

The maid nodded, startled.

«And why is that?» The Duke asked.

The poor maid tried to convey the words of the young mistress as correctly as possible.

— L-lady… She said she still had some things to do…

Hearing this ridiculous excuse, the Duke's eldest son sneered contemptuously. «Business»? What business could she have if Camilla had returned to the manor just a couple of hours ago? A pathetic excuse not to meet with relatives.

«And what's her business?» — Yufil decided to ask.

The maid paled even more. The answer came awkwardly from her lips:

«T-the lady was going to take a bath today, and she didn't want anyone to bother her…»

— …

There was silence in the living room.

The heir of the de Walt family could not hide his indignation. Is this a joke? Or has the girl become impudent to the extreme? By such actions, she directly showed that greeting her own family means nothing to her.

The guy wanted to send the maid for Camilla again, but the duke restrained him.

— Let him go.

— Father…!

— I've said it all. There is no need to continue wasting time on this.

In the end, Yufilu had to give up. With the permission of the gentlemen, the maid left.

The Duc de Valt and his eldest son were left alone in the dining room. There were piles of various dishes on the table, many of which Camilla liked. The servants made a special effort to celebrate her arrival. However, this girl unexpectedly chose to stay in the room.

Victor de Walt frowned at the stairs. The familiar mask of the indifferent head of the family on his face trembled.

This year the man turned forty-nine years old. He looked pretty good for his age. You could say he was the older version of his son. His blue hair was perfectly smoothed, and his penetrating brown eyes could make anyone shudder.

In his youth, Victor de Walt was a kind and cheerful person. The real soul of the company. However, with the death of his wife, everything changed. Now he was a cold-blooded man, more like a block of ice.

The Duke has never had warm feelings for his daughter. He was particularly annoyed that she looked so much like his late wife. Each time, by her very appearance, the girl reminded him of the painful trauma of the past.

However, some changes in her character still attracted his attention.

Before that, Victor rarely met with his daughter. But Camilla was remembered by him as a clingy and crybaby, always chasing after her father and brother. A year ago, she threw a tantrum when Victor sent her to the hospital. And now… She didn't even deign to greet him. It really was a little weird.

Yufil snorted contemptuously.

— She's weird these days.

— Hmm? The duke asked calmly, starting to eat.

Not waiting for the girl, they began to have dinner without her.

— It seems that in that hospital she was pretty brainwashed.

All his life, Yufil did not take care of his younger sister. He was never interested in her affairs or anything like that. But at the same time, he could not tolerate disrespect in his side. A girl should always remember that everything she has is only thanks to them.

The Duc de Valt sighed.

— And who is she pretending to be? — the guy continued to grumble discontentedly, — She herself will come running in a couple of days to cry and ask for forgiveness…

Yufil could have continued discussing his sister behind her back, but his father interrupted him.

— That's enough. If you have so much free time, then it's better to devote it to studying. There's no need to remember someone so useless.

The young man was forced to agree.

— Yes, Father… — he muttered discontentedly.

In fact, there have been cases before when Camilla arranged something like «boycotts». In this way she tried to attract the attention of her father and brother. But all this lasted no longer than a couple of days. Usually, after that, the girl always resorted to apologizing first. Even now, the Duke and Yufil remained confident that everything would happen exactly the same way.

Soon they turned the conversation to another topic.

— Father, I heard here… — the guy cleared his throat, — They say that this psycho will soon return to the empire…

— Shh! — the head of the family pulled back, — Don't talk about Her Highness like that.

— But…!

«Even the walls have ears, » he reminded him ingratiatingly, «It's better not to create problems for our family with frivolous statements.

— I get it…

Sigh. However, the heir's curiosity has not subsided at all. After a couple of minutes, he asked impatiently again:

«So the rumors about her return are true?»

«Who knows, » the man shrugged, «I haven't heard the news from the imperial palace.

— And if it's still true… — asked Yufil, — We are all waiting for a war, right?

Victor looked at him sideways.

«Our country is not in that position right now, » the Duke said, «it's not worth opening your mouth once again to no avail.

— Father! — the guy exclaimed, — You yourself said that I am your heir. How can I manage things if you don't tell me anything?

The Duc de Valt exhaled tensely.

«You seem to know everything already, » he remarked.

Actually, this has not been news to anyone for a long time. The country was on the verge of big changes — everyone was waiting for a state revolution to happen. Based on this, everyone perceived the return of the crown Princess with even greater tension.

At the moment, the Black Guard has equaled the strength of the Imperial Army. Former criminals, bandits and knights who were unfairly removed from their posts served there. In other words, all those people — from whom the rest of society has turned away.

And they all went to Cayenne de Ronan, who was the only one who patronized such people. Individually, they are just scum of society and criminals. But together… A truly serious threat to the security of the empire.

If the Black Guard goes against the Imperial family, hundreds of thousands of innocent people will suffer.

In reality, everything has been going to a coup for a long time. Back then, as the personal army of the crown Princess had just begun to form. That was exactly the mood in the country: everyone was just waiting for the first step from the crazy heiress.

Cayenne de Ronan will try to seize power, and it will happen very soon.

— In any case, we must support the emperor, » the duke said calmly, «When this is over, the de Walt family will become one of the saviors of the empire. His Majesty will definitely not forget our help.

— But… Are you sure that the emperor will win?

— Of course. There are hundreds of noble families on the side of the imperial family. And the crown Princess only has a gang of thugs… What can they do?

— …

Yufil bit his lip uncertainly.

«Just remember what I said. At the right moment, we must send our troops to the emperor.

«I understand, Father.

— In the future, when you take my place, the emperor's support will certainly be useful to you, — the duke began to eat again, — You need to enlist it before it's too late.

In the Dallas Empire, where aristocratic families numbered in the hundreds, it was extremely difficult to stand out among them. Meanwhile, those who were in favor of the imperial family received everything. Rod de Walt was not so well known in secular circles. In his entire life, Victor had only one meeting with the emperor. And this war is an opportunity to prove to him the importance of their family.

«What about that girl?» Yufil asked suddenly.

— Hmm?

«How much longer are we going to keep her?» — the guy directly clarified, — When I inherit the title of duke, will she still continue to live here?

Obviously, it was about Camille. The Duc de Valt took his hint.

— Do you want to…?

— Let's get her married! After all, she has already reached the right age.

Really. The Duc de Valt had forgotten about it. This year his daughter turned seventeen, which means she is considered an adult. Most girls her age were already engaged or married.

A rare exception was Camilla, who rarely left the estate due to poor health. They did not have the opportunity to find a suitable candidate for this role.

After graduating, at the age of seventeen, she continued to lead an extremely carefree life. Meanwhile, the girl had already recovered from her illness and was ready to fully join the secular society.

This stage was bound to come sooner or later.

— We have to give her to another family as soon as possible! — the guy insisted.

Yufilu couldn't wait to get this annoying girl out of sight. The younger sister, whom he hated, irritated him with her mere presence.

«I know, » Victor sighed, «but she's still the daughter of the de Walt family. We can't pass her off as just anyone. Our reputation depends on it.

The heir grunted with displeasure.

— Then…?

«I have already selected several suitable families, » the Duke warned him, «There is no hurry in this matter. As it should be, first we will arrange a viewing.

Yufilu had to agree with this.

Despite the fact that Camilla is useless, she still bears their last name. Therefore, it should bring at least some benefit. Her future husband must have connections and a position in society, for the benefit of the de Walt family.

— So be it. Father, have you already figured out how we can identify the applicant?

Victor nodded.

— Starting next week, Camilla will start going on blind dates.