Escape from the evil lady (GL)
Chapter 107 - 15. Regrets about the past

Chapter 107: Chapter 15. Regrets about the past

Despite the fact that I hurried after Yufil almost immediately, but somehow I still managed to lose sight of him. In the end, the guy just disappeared into the crowd of people in the middle of the street. So at first I had to spend a considerable amount of time trying to find him.

«I’m sorry, but have you seen a guy here...?»

I approached people passing by with the same question, but in the end, I was left with nothing. Until I finally got lucky.

«A guy with blue hair who looks like an aristocrat?» — asked one of the passers-by, to whom I turned, — Well, I think I saw how someone like that could enter that place...»

— Thank you very much!

Finally, after an exhausting half hour of searching, I finally got a clue about the whereabouts of this arrogant brat. I went into an unremarkable bar near the city center, which a passerby pointed out to me. It was the most common low-level place where they sold booze. After searching inside with my eyes for a while, I finally came across the one I was looking for.

— Brother! There you are!

The heir to the dukedom himself was sitting alone at the bar. Having already emptied a single glass of alcohol, he reacted to my presence only with an exasperated sigh.

— Why do you still keep following me?

— How come? You just went off somewhere! How could I just leave you?

As I approached, I discovered with undisguised surprise that the alcoholic drink my brother had previously consumed turned out to be nothing more than... Beer! At first, I couldn’t even believe my eyes. Hadn’t Yufil treated him with obvious disdain before, calling him «low-grade swill for commoners»? So what has suddenly changed now?

— Brother, you... Do you really drink beer? — I asked uncertainly.

I quietly sat down next to him at the counter.

— Pf... What’s the difference?

The guy chuckled and took another sip from the large mug.

— But... Didn’t you say before that that you would never drink something like that?

— Right now... None of this matters to me.

Yufil de Walt, who was looking gloomy right now, was clearly not in a good mood. And yet...

— Brother.

«What’s that again?» The duke’s successor glanced at me with obvious annoyance.

«Come with Jeremy and me,» I said, «are you really going to stay in a place like this?»

«.....»

Yufil sighed heavily.

«What difference does it make to you what happens to me?»

Well, it’s worth noting that this was indeed a fair point. In fact, I really didn’t care too much about the fate of this jerk. And the reason I followed him in the first place was to preserve my own sense of calm.

In the end, I was sure that with his character, the guy would get into some kind of trouble first, and even worse, into the clutches of the Empress. So it would have been much safer if Jeremy and I had followed him. But if I were to put it bluntly, it would look like I’m talking about some kind of unreasonable child who can’t take care of himself on his own... Which, in fact, it was.

Meanwhile, watching the mixed reaction on my face, the heir to the dukedom sipped another glass of beer.

— After all that you’ve already done... — the guy smiled gloomily and looked at me: — Are you really going to continue playing the role of a caring sister?

«.....»

His sudden lunge at me left me speechless for a moment.

«What are you talking about...?»

Yufil continued to stare at me with hatred.

— You probably haven’t thought about it before, but Dad... he is... He really cared about you.

When he finally said that, the guy turned away again and didn’t look at me anymore.

— Even though Father risked his life back then, but he still chose to return to the manor to save you. And how, in the end, did you repay him?

— .....

Unexpectedly, when Yufil started blaming me for our father’s death again, at first I was confused and couldn’t even pull myself together. But then...

«Yes, he really cared about me so much that he deliberately ignored me all these years,» I smiled coldly, «Not to mention the fact that he locked me in the hospital for a whole year and didn’t remember my existence until he needed it. Are you talking about this concern?

After my words, the guy abruptly turned his head and stared at me.

«What do you even understand?» Yufil growled in annoyance, «Back then, Father only sent you away to save your reputation!

— what?

— Do you even know what rumors were circulating in society about you at that time? — He continued in a raised voice, — Because of your constant eccentric antics, people called you ’crazy’ and ’the duke’s spoiled bitch.’ But you’ve probably never even heard of something like this, because your father was always covering for you and not letting gossip like that get around you, right?

— ...

When I hesitated and didn’t know what to say for a while, Yufil added in the meantime:

— Especially after that incident, your father decided that it would be better for you to stay away from the capital for a while, so that all these rumors would settle down in a year and you could get married with dignity. You managed to avoid the greatest disgrace only because of this. And you still dare to be so ungrateful?!

«That incident...?»

When my face showed a clear lack of understanding about what was happening, my older brother just chuckled coldly.

— Are you really saying that you could have forgotten about it? — He declared, — I will never believe it in my life! After all, after that... Even I was ashamed to be in the company for a while.

«...»

«The party at the Earl of Everly’s estate,» he said, «was just another time when you disgraced our family. Still can’t remember?

At that moment, after a little digging in the remote corners of the memory of the previous owner of this body, I actually managed to find something there. In fact, I hadn’t focused much attention on such things before, such as digging into the real Camille’s past, because from the very beginning of entering this world, all my thoughts were focused only on the problem of my own survival. However, now...

It’s probably the first time I’ve really «dug» so deep.

A party at the Earl of Everly’s estate. I have several fragments of memories about this event. It was the Count’s birthday party, to which the Duke de Walt brought his son and daughter. Due to her ill health, the Duke’s youngest daughter rarely took part in public life, and yet, almost every one of her appearances eventually made a «vivid» impression.

Camilla, who was obsessed with winning the favor of her relatives, hated having any other ladies with her older brother. It was an absolutely childish reaction from an immature person who put Camilla and the duke’s heir himself in an awkward position. Every time her brother got close to a girl, Camilla immediately threw a tantrum right in the middle of a social event. To make matters worse, she could even harass the poor girls, threatening them to keep them away from her brother...

This was a side of the original Camille’s personality that I hadn’t even known about before. In the end, it even became a little more clear to me why this guy felt such hostility towards his younger sister. As it turned out, it wasn’t just the «guilt» of their mother’s death. However...

«I remember,» I finally said softly.

Yufil chuckled, still watching my face.

— As expected. You’re a completely ungrateful girl who...

— ...But anyway, all your life, you’ve been making me look like the only one to blame.

When I suddenly interrupted him, the guy stared at me in surprise.

«What...?»

— Let’s assume that my previous behavior really could not be called decent, but... Have you ever wondered why this happened?

«...»

— Because you and Father have neglected me all these years, didn’t you think that I no longer had any choice but to attract your attention in this way?

— What are you talking about? — Yufil muttered irritably.

Although this sudden revelation about Camilla’s past and the claim from the duke’s heir had initially unsettled me somewhat, I quickly gathered my courage.

More precisely, when it came to the «heroic» sacrifice on the part of our father, it just pissed me off.

Well, as it now turns out, it was another «template» trope from similar novels. When a father who pretends to be cold, but in fact internally still worries about his «unloved» daughter. Well, I couldn’t help but admit that I really should have thanked the Duke for coming back and not abandoning me in a similar situation. And yet... I still couldn’t think of any way to justify his previous behavior with such an excuse.

«Does this mean that one noble act can erase all that terrible past?» I strongly disagreed with this.

— ...At least that’s how it looks to me. Even though you say that my father took care of me, what does it matter if all the years of my life in this house it was I who felt rejected?

— ...

The guy involuntarily opened and closed his mouth when we suddenly switched places, and now I was in the «attacking» position.

However, all these endless arguments about the past somehow didn’t bother me too much. Was there really any point in arguing about it now?

— Anyway. Even if you don’t want to have anything to do with me in the future, I’m not going to insist on it. However, right now, the three of us are still in a precarious position. Even I can’t predict what might happen tomorrow. So is it really necessary for us to be hostile right now?

— .....

— I’m not saying this because I care about you. I just don’t want any unnecessary problems that might arise if we split up. It’s not that hard to endure and sit in the shadows for a couple of years, right?

Yufil remained silent, as if speechless at that moment.

— Anyway... — finishing my impassioned speech, I cleared my throat, — I only said what I had to. If you change your mind, Jeremy and I will be waiting for you.

— ...

Throwing out these words, the duke’s youngest daughter turned away and resolutely left the bar. For some time, Yufil de Walt continued to sit at the bar in silence. At this time, the waiter turned to him:

— Sir, would you like more...?

The heir to the dukedom, belatedly hearing the employee’s question, shook his head.

— no... There’s no need for that.

Sighing heavily, the guy still got up from his seat to leave the bar, hoping deep down that he would not regret it later.