Chapter 3

The moment Camille heard that Kevin Hayes had arrived, she hurried toward the front garden, her earlier weakness seemingly forgotten. A faint blush colored her pale cheeks, and she smoothed her dress as she approached the black luxury car.

From a hallway window, Evelyn watched a tall, handsome man step out of the vehicle. His dark suit fit perfectly, and although his expression remained composed, there was something unexpectedly gentle about the way he acknowledged Camille waiting to greet him.

Camille reached him before anyone else. "Kevin! I'm so glad you're here," she greeted him brightly, her eyes shining with excitement.

Kevin offered her a small smile. "You shouldn't be running around when you're still recovering," he replied, his voice calm but considerate.

Camille laughed softly and fell into step beside him as they approached the mansion. Just before entering, Kevin happened to glance toward the windows. His footsteps faltered.

For one brief moment, he saw a slender figure standing behind the glass, her pale face partially hidden by the shadows. He could not make out her features clearly, but something about her eyes sent an inexplicable chill through him.

They reminded him of a memory he had never been able to forget.

Two years earlier, Kevin had suffered severe injuries during an attack. While drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness, he remembered seeing a pair of frightened yet determined eyes watching over him. He had spent countless nights trying to piece together those fragmented memories.

When he looked again, the figure had disappeared.

Kevin frowned slightly before forcing himself to dismiss the thought. He had nearly died that night, and his memories remained unreliable. There was no reason to question what everyone had told him.

Beside him, Camille noticed his distraction.

"Kevin?" she asked, following his gaze toward the window. For an instant, her cheerful expression tightened, but she quickly recovered. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," Kevin replied, turning back toward her. "Shall we go inside?"

Camille immediately resumed her pleasant conversation, although she glanced toward the window once more before following him through the entrance.

Evelyn had stepped away from the glass the moment Kevin looked up. 

She had no desire to meet the man whose marriage agreement was apparently being transferred to Camille without her consent.

Marcus, who had been standing beside her, watched the couple disappear into the mansion with obvious satisfaction.

"Look at them," he said. "Camille understands what it means to put the family's interests first. She's willing to take over the responsibilities you neglected, including the marriage alliance with the Hayes family."

Evelyn kept her eyes lowered.

"Besides, this is a family decision," Marcus continued firmly. "We don't need your permission to make arrangements that benefit everyone. You should be grateful Camille is willing to accept the responsibility."

Evelyn's fingers tightened against the windowsill.

Marcus glanced at her and felt a flicker of guilt.

His younger sister had once been lively, demanding, and almost impossible to control. Now her cheeks were hollow, her shoulders seemed painfully narrow, and she stood with her head lowered as though even speaking required more energy than she possessed.

Three years of farm discipline had clearly changed her. Perhaps it had been changed her than he had expected.

"Listen, Evelyn," Marcus began, his tone softening slightly. "I know the Fenrir farm wasn't comfortable, but everything we did was meant to help you understand your mistakes."

The mention of the farm made Evelyn's entire body stiffen.

For an instant, she was no longer standing in the mansion. She could almost hear the crack of a whip behind her and feel the cold ground beneath her knees as a guard ordered her to keep working.

Her hands began trembling uncontrollably.

Marcus noticed the movement but mistook it for anger.

"There's no point getting upset whenever someone mentions it," he said impatiently. "You need to accept what happened and move forward."

Before Evelyn could respond, Camille's voice floated up from the entrance hall.

"Marcus! Could you come here for one second? We need your help with something."

Marcus immediately turned toward the staircase. "I'm coming."

He gave Evelyn one final warning look before leaving her alone.

Only after his footsteps faded did Evelyn slowly sink into a crouch beside the window.

She wrapped both arms around herself, lowered her head against her knees, and tried to control her breathing.

During her three years at the prison farm, she had often curled into this position when she was frightened. Whether she was hiding from the guards or trying to endure another freezing night in the cattle shed, holding herself tightly had been the only comfort available.

She remained there until the trembling finally eased.

When Evelyn eventually stood, she made her way toward her old bedroom, hoping to find somewhere familiar where she could rest.

Instead, she discovered that the room no longer belonged to her.

The furniture had been rearranged, Camille's belongings filled the shelves, and the photographs that once showed Evelyn with her parents and brothers had been replaced with pictures of Camille smiling beside the Fenrir family.

Even the framed photograph from Evelyn's eighteenth birthday was gone.

She stood in the doorway, looking around the room where she had spent most of her childhood, and felt as though she were visiting a stranger's home.

Almost every trace of her existence had been erased.

A maid approached and explained that another room had been prepared for her.

They crossed the courtyard and entered a four-story building connected to the main mansion by a covered passageway. It housed the estate's domestic staff, and the maid led her up several flights of stairs to a small room on the top floor.

"I'm sorry, Miss Evelyn," the maid explained. "The other guest rooms haven't been prepared, so you'll have to stay here for now."

Evelyn looked around.

The room contained a narrow bed, a wardrobe, a wooden chair, and an old bathtub behind a folding screen. There was no private bathroom, and the faded curtains barely covered the window.

Still, it was clean and dry.

Compared with the filthy cattle shed where she had sometimes been forced to sleep at the farm, it felt almost luxurious.

"Thank you," Evelyn said quietly.

The maid hesitated, apparently expecting a complaint, but Evelyn simply sat on the edge of the bed.

After the maid left, Evelyn examined the clothes Walter had brought her. She wanted nothing more than to wash away the dirt and exhaustion of the past three years.

Unfortunately, when she checked the bathtub, she discovered there was no running hot water. A small notice beside the door explained that residents had to collect heated water from the downstairs kitchen.

Evelyn rested briefly before taking an empty bucket and making her way back downstairs.

As she crossed the courtyard, she noticed Marcus and Camille standing near the garden, discussing arrangements for the celebration. Kevin was nowhere in sight, and Evelyn had no interest in discovering where he had gone.

She lowered her head and continued walking.

"Evelyn?" Marcus called, noticing the direction she had come from. "Why were you in the servants' building?"

Before Evelyn could answer, Camille stepped forward with an apologetic expression.

"Marcus, it's my fault," she explained. "I've been staying in Evelyn's bedroom because of my health. Now that she's home, I should give it back, but everyone has been so busy preparing for the celebration that we haven't had time to arrange everything."

She turned toward Evelyn with a gentle smile. "Are you going for a hot shower? Why don't you come to my room and use the bathroom for now? You must want a proper bath after such a long journey."

Evelyn tightened her grip on the bucket. "No, thank you. I'll manage."

She had already learned how easily Camille could turn an ordinary conversation into another reason for Marcus to criticize her. The less contact she had with Camille, the better. But Marcus immediately frowned.

"Camille is trying to help you," he said sharply. "Why do you insist on embarrassing everyone?"

Evelyn did not answer. She simply moved to continue toward the kitchen. Her silence only made Marcus angrier.

"Fine. If you dislike Camille's kindness so much, then she can keep the bedroom. You were sent away because of your own mistakes, and clearly three years at the farm haven't taught you enough humility."

Camille looked distressed. "Marcus, please don't be angry. Evelyn is probably upset because of what I said about Kevin earlier. I understand why she wouldn't want to speak to me."

Marcus's jaw tightened. "The marriage agreement is a family matter, not something Evelyn gets to control. We've already decided that you will marry Kevin, and she needs to stop behaving like a spoiled child."

Camille lowered her head, tears gathering in her eyes. "I never wanted to cause trouble between you two. Maybe I should just give up on Kevin."

"Absolutely not," Marcus replied, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You haven't done anything wrong."

He turned toward Evelyn, his expression hardening. "From now on, stay in the servants' quarters and think about your behavior. Don't wander around the mansion while we're entertaining important guests."

Then he called over a passing servant. "Tell the kitchen staff not to provide Evelyn with hot water. If she insists on being difficult, she can learn to manage without special treatment."

Evelyn stood motionless as Marcus guided the tearful Camille back toward the mansion.

She looked down at the empty bucket in her hand, feeling an exhaustion that went far beyond her aching muscles.

She had returned home believing that the worst three years of her life were finally behind her. Instead, she had discovered that her family no longer had a place for her, and every attempt to remain quiet only gave them another reason to punish her.

Evelyn slowly returned to the servants' building.

Inside her small room, she placed the bucket beside the bathtub and sat on the narrow bed, staring at the unfamiliar walls.

There was nothing left here that she wanted to fight for.

Once Kevin's visit was over and the family had finished its celebration, she would leave the Fenrir estate.

This time, she would not wait for anyone to come looking for her.