The Duke was displeased with my statement that the commoner would stay on our estate for a while longer. He probably thought I'd deliberately set this up to keep her here.

Although I didn't see any point in it.

Who would break an arm on purpose? It hurts like hell!

Unfortunately, I had a similar experience in my previous life. Slipping on the ice rink, I only slightly dislocated my arm, but I remembered those terrible feelings for the rest of my life.

What can we say about a commoner? Her injury was much more serious than mine. She had only recently recovered from poisoning when she immediately received a new injury. What an unenviable fate.

I sincerely admired the steadfastness with which she endures all these hardships and does not even show that she is in pain. The commoner's stamina was much stronger than mine.

I returned from my conversation with the Duke in a slightly depressed mood. Deciding that the injury of a commoner was another trick of mine, the man scolded me severely. He even intended to kick the girl out of our mansion immediately, and I barely managed to convince him to change his mind.

But, of course, Victor's patience was running out. Next time, my trick of crying and unobtrusive memories of my mother might not work, and then I really wouldn't know what to do. One could only hope that by then the commoner would have recovered enough to be able to leave on her own.

I sighed. Okay… Since I started all this myself, I'll have to deal with the consequences.

I entered the room and tried to behave as usual. But the commoner still noticed the slightest change in my mood and asked:

— Has something happened?

I collapsed wearily onto the bed.

— Nothing special.

But the commoner didn't believe me. Suddenly, she appeared right in front of me.

«what? When did she get here?»

While I was blinking absently, I still had to answer her.

— My father… he… ahem. scolded me a little.

— what?

The commoner's face instantly changed. An expression I had never seen before appeared in her eyes. For some reason, that look made me nervous. But just as I was about to say something, she beat me to it.

«Is it because I keep staying here?» The commoner asked quietly.

— No, it's not like that! I quickly sat up in bed.

I didn't want her to feel guilty about the situation. So I hurried to assure her:

«I wouldn't say it's that serious. It's just that we'd better stay out of his sight for a while…»

— …

The silence on her part was even more disturbing than the words.

— I see.

The girl sighed and sat down next to me.

«Have you ever thought about killing them?»

This phrase was dropped so easily that I almost choked on air.

— «Kill»? What do you mean?

«If there are people you don't like, you can just get rid of them,» she said reasonably.

— What are you talking about? I've never thought of such a thing…!

— why?

— What do you mean, «why»?

I stared at her blankly.

«Well, apart from the fact that it's morally wrong, I still don't want to go to jail…»

— To prison? She frowned, «Who would dare put you in there?»

I smiled mirthlessly.

Despite the fact that I got into a bloody romance, where crimes and murders took place every now and then, there were still laws here. And there was also a separate prison for aristocrats. Although the conditions there were a little better than in a regular prison, I still didn't want to go there.

Who in their right mind would want to go to jail?

Especially since I'm just an insignificant daughter of a nobleman. I don't have any influential connections, and I'm unlikely to be able to pay off the deadline with money. Therefore, even if we consider the situation hypothetically, prison is an extremely perilous place for such a small person as me.

After all, I'm not the main villain of the novel. Only Kaena de Ronan could kill people right and left, and people would still thank her for keeping them alive. No one in their right mind would dare to charge her with any article.

At least, that was the case until recently. But now the justice of the gods has overtaken her too. No one's sins go unpunished. And what about me? If possible, I didn't want to get my hands dirty with someone else's blood.

However, it would take too long to explain all this, so I just answered like this:

— well… After all, they are my relatives. There are quarrels in every family from time to time. But this does not mean that everything needs to be solved by violence.

«So you don't want them dead?» — the commoner summed up.

— Sort of.

I didn't really care. These people, with whom I happened to be under the same roof, I did not consider my family. And at the same time, my dislike was not so strong that I wished any of them dead.

Rather, it would be enough for me to simply rid myself of their presence.

— All right, — the commoner nodded, «I understand you.

— what?

She smiled.

«As long as you're with me, you won't have to worry about going to jail someday.»

***

Usually, the Crown Princess was always good at keeping her true emotions under control.

It was the only way for her to survive and not go crazy in the atmosphere where she grew up.

But now Kaena found that the emotions she had previously been perfectly able to contain were starting to get out of control. And all this is only due to one fact.

«Did someone dare to offend this woman?»

When her mother died and she decided to embark on the path to becoming the next empress, the young Kaena made a decision. She promised herself that she would never let any weaknesses get the better of her. For her, there was only a path to the goal and nothing more.

And yet the feelings that possessed her now were exactly what she had previously so diligently denied.

But she couldn't stop herself from continuing to follow them.

«I think you're a good person. And don't you ever doubt it.»

«Are you feeling well? You should take a hot bath and eat some warm soup.»

«I like your smiling face. So smile more often!»

Ever since her mother died, no one had treated the Crown Princess like that. At first, it put her in a stupor and even alarmed her. But then… Kaena suddenly realized that she could no longer imagine herself without it.

In such a short time, her nature has undergone drastic changes.

When she was with this woman, she was overwhelmed with a feeling of happiness. But as soon as she left somewhere, she felt such a feeling of emptiness that it was unbearable to endure. Even now, when Camilla had only fallen asleep, the princess felt lonely.

Moonlight streaming from the large windows penetrated into the room, outlining the contours of her face. Although the appearance of the duke's youngest daughter could not be called special, but in the eyes of Kaena, she was the most beautiful creature in the world.

She involuntarily held her gaze on the girl's face. Soon, Camille's lips, which were as red as pomegranate seeds, moved slightly, muttering something in her sleep. The Princess couldn't help but smile at the sight. She reached out to brush away a stray strand of wheat.

Despite the fact that Kaena understood that this was poison for her, this poison was too sweet for her to resist. She realized this at the moment when, for the first time in a long time, she lost control of herself so much.

In the end, when the princess came to her senses, her right arm was already broken. In fact, it was only a temporary measure to prolong her stay here.

Without saying anything all this time, Kaena said softly:

«I wish I could just kill them.»

Kaena categorically disliked this woman's relatives. And if the opportunity presented itself, she would have gotten rid of them long ago. However, the matter was complicated by the fact that she still had to hide her existence. And the Duke's death in his own home would undoubtedly cause quite a stir. But most importantly…

«…There are quarrels in every family from time to time. But this does not mean that everything needs to be solved by violence.»

Apparently, despite their disgusting attitude towards her, this woman still cared about her father and brother. Kaena did not understand this. In her eyes, Camilla was always gentle and caring to the point where she sometimes seemed a little awkward. Obviously, some unscrupulous people could abuse her kindness. The Princess clenched her fists.

«These nobodies. Even if she's worried about them, I still have to…»

Caena de Ronan did not have time to finish her thought, as she suddenly felt the presence of someone else. The princess's gaze moved to the window, and her body disappeared in the blink of an eye.

— Ahhh!

— Who are you?

The uninvited guest, who was instantly grabbed by the throat, tried to resist, but the crown Princess did not even move. The deadly aura surrounding her intensified even more.

— I asked, who are you?

— I… *Kha*

When Kaena squeezed her hand tighter, the man twitched even more, but still managed to squeeze out an answer.

— Your Highness, it's me…!

When the dark hood fell off his head and Kaena could make out his features, she involuntarily frowned.

— Jacob?

And then Kaena let go of the man's neck. After that, he collapsed to the floor like a limp doll.

— Cough, cough! Despite the fact that he had just been nearly strangled, the man's eyes shone with happiness, «Your Highness, I am so glad that you are alive!»

In the darkness, one could make out the figure of a tall man with disheveled black hair.

The princess, who was glaring at the desperately coughing man in front of her, coldly said:

«How did you know you could find me here?»

The Knight of the Dark Host took a deep breath and, embarrassed, replied:

«Your Highness, but it was you who sent us the message…»

— Oh, that's right…

Kaena frowned, as she had completely forgotten about it. On the first day of her stay at the de Walt residence, the princess gave her people a secret sign. With the help of dark magic, she created a raven that was no different from ordinary birds, but nevertheless had a specific timbre of voice, and with this signal, Kaena sometimes transmitted messages to her people.

If the raven cawed once, it meant that the princess was in mortal danger. If there are two, then this is a notice of an urgent gathering of the Dark Army. If three, it is a call for an immediate attack, and so on.

The raven that Kaena sent cawed four times. This was done so that her subordinates could track her location, but they did not do anything without her further instructions. After that, the crow princess did not give any more signals to her people. And that's why she's frowning now.

— So what? What's your business with me?

The man stared at her.

«Your Highness, what do you mean?» «We've been waiting so long for you to finally contact us!» When you didn't answer for so long, we thought something might have happened to you, and then I did…

— Get to the point, — the princess demanded.

— This…» The knight hesitated, «We have received a report on the recent actions taken by the Empress. Apparently, a coronation is going to be held in the palace in the near future…

The corners of Kaena's lips curved into a wry smile.

— yes. As expected, Mother is terribly impatient.

Less than a month had passed since the «death» of the previous crown princess, as the coronation of the new one was about to take place. If you think about it, this case was no different from the previous one, which happened twelve years ago.

Then the knight spoke again.

— I heard that the coronation is being rushed as soon as possible, according to the advice of the First Minister and some other officials.

Kaena didn't say anything, instead continuing to stare at him.

«Your Highness, the situation does not require delay. You need to get back as soon as possible… The subordinate's voice gradually faded away.»

Under normal circumstances, the princess would have left this place immediately… However, she did not take a single step, remaining standing in place.

As the silence in the room dragged on for too long, the commander of the third division of the Dark Host looked confused. Knowing that his mistress had been on her way to the throne for twelve long years, he was surprised that, being one step away from victory, she could experience any hesitation.

«Your Highness?»

When the puzzled voice sounded, Kaena furrowed her brows.

— Be quiet.

— what?

— You'll wake her up.