When the Duke de Walt found out that his youngest daughter had refused dinner, the eyebrows on his face went up. To be honest, this situation was 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 young lady's words as correctly as possible.

— Lady… She said she still had some things to do…

Hearing this ridiculous excuse, the Duke's eldest son sneered contemptuously. What kind of business could she have if Camille had returned to the manor just a couple of hours ago? It's just 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 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 is this girl being arrogant to the extreme? By this act, she directly showed that greeting her own family meant nothing to her.

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

— That's enough.

— Father…!

— I've already said everything. Don't waste any more time on this.

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

The Duke de Walt and his eldest son were left alone in the dining room. A variety of dishes were piled on the table, many of which Camille liked. The chefs did their best on the occasion of her arrival. However, the only lady of the ducal house unexpectedly chose to stay in her room.

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

This year the man turned forty-nine years old. He looked good enough 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 friendly 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 especially annoyed that she looked so much like his late wife. Every time he looked at her, he was reminded of the painful trauma of the past.

However, some changes in the girl's character still attracted his attention.

Before that, Victor had met with his daughter extremely rarely. Camille was remembered by him as an obsessive and whiny girl, always running after her father and brother. A year ago, she threw a tantrum when Victor was going to send her away from home for treatment. And now… She didn't even greet him. It really was a bit unusual.

Yufil snorted contemptuously.

— She's kind of weird now.

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

Without 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 never took care of his younger sister. He didn't care about her business or anything like that. But at the same time, he couldn't stand being disrespected. A girl should always remember that everything she has, she has only because of them.

The Duc de Valt sighed.

«And who does she think she is?» — he continued to grumble with displeasure: — In a couple of days she will come running to cry and beg for forgiveness…

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

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

The young man was forced to agree.

— Yes, Father… — He muttered discontentedly.

In fact, there have been cases before when Camilla staged something like «boycotts». In this way, she tried to attract the attention of her father and brother. But it didn't last more than a couple of days. Usually after that, the girl always came running to ask for forgiveness 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 crazy woman will soon return to the capital…

— Hush! The head of the family rebuked him, «Don't talk about Her Highness like that.

— But…!

«You never know when you might be overheard,» the Duke reminded him ingratiatingly, «You better not create problems for our family with your frivolous statements.»

— Yes, Father…

Gasp. Nevertheless, the heir's curiosity did not abate 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 received any news from the Imperial palace.

«But if it's true after all.» — Yufil asked, — This means that soon we will have a civil war, right?

Victor looked at him sideways.

«Our empire is in the wrong position right now,» the Duke stated dispassionately, «It's better not to talk about things you don't understand.

— Father! — The guy exclaimed, — I'm your heir. How can I understand this if you don't explain anything to me?

The Duc de Valt exhaled heavily.

— I suppose you already know everything, — he said.

In fact, this has not been news to anyone for a long time. The Empire was on the verge of great changes — everyone expected the outbreak of a civil revolution. Therefore, the return of the Crown Princess was received with even more tension.

At the moment, the Dark Host was equal in strength to the Imperial Army, if not superior to it. Former criminals, robbers and knights who were unfairly removed from their posts served there. In other words, all those whom the rest of society has turned away from.

They all went to Kaena de Ronan, who was the only one who patronized such people. Individually, they were just the dregs of society and criminals. But together… A truly serious threat to the security of the empire.

If the Dark Army marches against the Imperial Family, hundreds of thousands of innocent people will suffer.

In fact, everything has been heading for a coup for a long time. Back when the Crown Princess's personal army was just beginning to form. That was the mood in the country: everyone was just waiting with bated breath for the mad heiress to act.

Kaena de Ronan will attempt to seize power, and it will happen very soon.

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

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

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

With these words, the Duke de Walt calmly began to carefully cut his steak.

— …

Yufil bit his lip uncertainly.

— Just remember what I said. At the right moment, we must send our troops to the emperor. You will lead them on behalf of our house.

— Yes, Father.

«In the future, when you take my place, you will need the emperor's support,» the duke wiped his lips with a napkin, «so you need to enlist it before it's too late.

In the Ruvens Empire, where aristocratic families numbered in the hundreds, it was extremely difficult to stand out among them. Meanwhile, those favored by the imperial family got everything. The de Walt family was not so well known in secular circles. Victor had met the Emperor only once in his entire life. And this war is an opportunity to prove to him the value of their family.

«What about that girl?» Yufil asked suddenly.

— Hmm?

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

The Duc de Valt took his hint.

— You mean…?

— Father, let's get her married! After all, she had already reached the right age.

And that's right. The Duke de Walt, who in principle thought little about his daughter, completely forgot about it. Camille turned seventeen this year, which means, according to the laws of the empire, she is considered an adult. Most girls her age were already engaged or married.

A rare exception was Camilla, who had rarely left the estate since childhood due to her poor health. They simply 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 integrate into secular society.

Sooner or later, this stage had to come.

— We must give her to another family as soon as possible! Yufil insisted.

The heir to the family couldn't wait for this annoying girl to finally disappear from his sight. The younger sister, whom he hated, irritated him with her mere presence.

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

Yufil snorted in displeasure.

— Then…?

«I will order the butler to draw up a marriage list,» the Duke said, «there is no need to hurry in this matter. First, we will arrange a viewing, as it should be.

Yufil had to agree with this.

Even though Camilla was completely useless, she still carried their last name. Therefore, it should bring at least some benefit. Her future husband must certainly have connections and a position in society, for the benefit of the de Walt family.

— Whatever you say, Father. Have you already figured out how we can identify the applicant?

Victor de Walt nodded.

— Next week, Camilla will start going on blind dates.