CAMILLA''S POV


    I checked Marie''s room first and I found her lying face first on therge bed. She always slept like the dead which I


    found ironic knowing now that the real Marie was supposed to be... dead. I wanted to go in and check on her but at


    the same time didn’t want to risk waking her. There was still a lot I didn’t know and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to


    control my emotions around her.


    I took a step back and made to leave when I got a whiff of something so bad, it smelled almost rotten. The smell


    nearly knocked me off my feet and I was about to take a step in to investigate when someone cleared their throat


    next to me. I looked up and found Peggy. She had a warm smile on her face as she analyzed me.


    “Is everything okay?” she asked and I nodded slowly. “If you want to see Marie I think you are better offing


    tomorrow. You know how she can be once she falls asleep. I wouldn''t want you to wake her up and have her go bat


    shit crazy on you.”


    I forced a small smile on my face. “Of course, just let her know that I came looking.” I noticed she was still staring at


    me. “How long has this smell been in your room?”C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.


    “I don''t know a few days maybe,” she shrugged dismissively. “I was going to look into it but I lost track of time and I


    never seemed to be able to get to it.”


    “You don’t have to do it,” I ced a hand on her shoulder and gestured to the wideness of the hallway. “You are in a


    pce and you are lucky because apparently, I am Queen. I''ll have someone look into it tomorrow. I don’t even know


    how you manage with this, it is horrible.”


    “Thank you, Cami, you are amazing.”


    I gave her a warm smile and a tight bear hug before finally walking away. I felt her eyes on me until I turned down th


    next hallway and I stopped the first maid I saw to give her the order. I knew they wouldn''t be able to do it tonight,


    but at least I had done my part and delivered the instruction. To avoid an iplete reading experience, visit


    Jobn''i''b. I was exhausted and just wanted to climb in bed and fall asleep. I was desperate for a few seconds of


    ignorant bliss where I could just forget about everything and be trapped in my own dream world.


    I was making my way up the stairs when I noticed Rykering the same way I was. “I thought you would have gone


    to bed by now.”


    “lI would have but I saw Peggy walking the halls. It seemed like she was looking for something but she told me she


    was looking for you,” my brows furrowed. “I told her that you had probably gone up to sleep.”


    “That''s weird because I saw Peggy. I went to Marie''s room and Peggy met me there. She didn’t say anything about


    looking for me. She even asked me toe backter to talk to Marie,” I ran my hands down my face in frustration.


    “What the hell is going on?”


    “This is one of those times that I wished I had an answer for you. We just do our part and try our best to figure out


    what is happening.”


    I ced my fingers on either side of my temple and exhaled deeply. We were already at the door to our room but I


    felt so exhausted that I wasn''t even sure if I could take the next steps by myself. Ryker didn’t push, didn''t say a singls


    word, he just ced his hand on the small of my back and gently led me in. Once we were in, he helped me out of m


    clothes and put me into one of my mostfortable night gowns.


    He pulled the pins out of my hair and carried me into bed. All I had to do was curl up into his side while he ran his


    fingers through my hair. The air was thick with silence and worry as both our thoughts swirled like dark clouds over


    us.


    “I''m sorry that I didnt tell you I got my memory back,” I whispered. “If I did, perhaps we could have gotten to the enc


    of this sooner.”


    “It''s okay,” he pressed a kiss to my head. “What is done is done, all we can do is focus on what we have right now anc


    we can make do with it”


    “I love you.”


    “I love you too.”


    Ryker was out of bed by the time I woke up. I managed to drag myself out of bed and towards the field for training.


    Thankfully, Loris was the only one out there and I could finally train properly without having anyone asking a million


    different questions. It felt good to be able to let go of my powers and explore the true extent of it.


    “I knew you were pretending the first day,” Loris said after training and I raised a brow. “I know you, your majesty, an


    I have been training you for years now. I know what your powers look like, I know what you look like when you are


    trying. You were not trying that day at all. You didn’t even look like you moved an inch.”


    I gave him a small smile and a shrug. “I didn''t feel like showing off. I had no reason to do so.”


    “Is it really about showing off or you just didn’t want her to see?” he asked but I stayed silent. We both knew the


    answer to that and I had no intentions of giving it to him verbally. “It doesn’t matter anyway, what matters is that yo


    were able to train today. Your powers have grown incredibly.”


    “Thank you, I have a very good teacher”


    “You are a very good student,” he dusted his clothes as he stood to his feet. “If you would agree, I would prefer if our


    training sessions remained private. Your powers have grown inexplicably and I think we would need a bigger and


    more private ce”


    I knew part of it was because he knew I wanted to be alone during training. He was never going to answer if I had


    asked him directly but we both knew what it was. I gave him a small smile and gave a curt nod to show that I


    appreciated it. Without another word, he bowed and walked away leaving me alone in the garden.


    Once he was gone, I made my way into the house fully prepared to throw myself into work when I saw Peggy walking


    down the halls. I realized it was a good enough time to catch her unawares and ask a few questions so I rushed over


    to her. I was aware that I was still in my training clothes but I didn’t want to risk losing her.


    “Hey, do you have a second?” I asked and she nearly jumped. She ced a hand on her chest as she tried to calm


    her breathing. “I am sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. It''s just been a while since we sat down to have a conversation


    Do you think we could talk over breakfast?”


    She had a small smile on her face and nodded without hesitation. We walked to the dining room and I was relieved


    when I found it empty. She took the seat next to me and all the maids were quick to ce our food in front of us.


    “How have you been enjoying the pce?” I asked and she shrugged. “I know I have been really busy. I never realize


    just how hard it was to be Queen. I just wanted to check up on you... and Marie.”


    Her brows furrowed and she stilled slightly. “We are good. Marie is getting used to the pce life. I keep telling her


    that we will have to return but she isn’t very happy about that. You may have noticed but she doesn’t exactly like the


    town.”


    I was grateful for the opening and I jumped in before it passed. “Is it because of what happened to her?” she stilled.


    “I know you don''t like talking about it but I am Queen now and I could get justice for her. If you told me what


    happened then maybe I could-"


    “I don''t think Marie would be happy if I told you. I already said too much before and we are lucky that she doesn’t


    know about it”


    I could see her already pulling back but I couldn''t have that. I stood from my seat and grabbed both of her hands in


    mine as I squatted in front of her. If any maid were to see us like this, it would be the gossip of the century. I was the


    Queen, I knelt for no one but in this situation, I was willing to overlook it as long as I got what I wanted.


    “Marie is your daughter and you want to protect her but she is my sister,” the lies burned my throat but I needed to


    get them out. “l want what is best for her and she will be d in the long run. They don''t deserve to get away with


    what they did. They hurt her and I want to make sure that they pay. That is why I was given this position.”


    She sighed but I could see that I was winning her over.


    “Let me help, Marie. Let me make it right for her”


    “l already told you the summary of what happened. They took her into the woods and my girl was not the same. She


    was beaten within an inch of her life, she was-" her voice caught in her throat. “It was a miracle that she managed to


    run because of how badly she was hurt”


    “I thought you said she was beaten,” I cut in and Peggy froze. “if she was beaten then how did she run? Was she


    found instead? Did someone take her to the hospital?”


    She seemed confused. “What are you saying? She wasn''t found, she was- she was hurt. She was beaten, no, she was


    in the-you''re confusing me.”


    “Peggy,” I reached out for her but she pped my hand away hard and I hissed. “I just want to-"


    “I cannot talk about this,” she stood to her feet abruptly, ignoring the food she left behind. “I am sorry, Cami. Som


    things should be left to rest.”