The memories were truly pathetic. The original Lady Camilla had been so incredibly desperate for Damon’s love and attention.

When the original Camilla visited the camp, Brie would give her dirty bandages to wash and heavy buckets of water to carry.

"Camilla swallowed her noble pride to please Brie," the new Camilla thought, remembering the sad, tearful scenes from the book. "The original girl washed the dirty floors and fetched the water, foolishly thinking it would get her much closer to Damon. She thought if she helped the army physician, Damon would finally love her and praise her."

Camilla let out a very soft, quiet breath through her nose.

"What a lovestruck idiot," Camilla insulted the female lead in her mind. Her internal voice was filled with disgust. "She allowed a simple camp doctor to treat a nobleman’s daughter like a common kitchen maid just for the tiny hope of a man’s smile. How completely pathetic."

Camilla rolled her eyes slowly toward the white canvas ceiling of the tent.

"Since I’m here," Camilla thought to herself, completely rejecting the physician’s ridiculous demand, "why should I indulge her foolish games?"

Camilla moved.

She pushed her body away from the edge of the desk. She walked slowly and gracefully around to the back side of the desk. She walked to Damon’s seat and sat there.

She lowered herself comfortably into the General’s large command chair. She rested her arms gracefully on the armrests. She leaned back, looking completely relaxed and totally in charge. She looked across the desk at the physician.

"Whether you are busy or not," Camilla spoke out loud. Her voice was incredibly calm, cold, and dripping with aristocratic authority. "Has absolutely nothing to do with me."

She looked down at the empty ceramic bowl sitting on the desk. Then, she slowly lifted her eyes and looked directly at Brie.

"Isn’t it your job?" Camilla asked smoothly, tilting her head slightly to the side. "You are the employed servant of this military camp. If you need water for your medical duties, you should fetch it yourself, or train your assistants better. Do not bring your dirty bowls to my husband’s private desk."

Brie stood completely frozen in front of the desk.

The arrogant, demanding look on her face instantly shattered. Her eyes widened in absolute, pure shock.

She stared at the woman sitting confidently in the General’s heavy leather chair. She thought to herself, her internal voice filled with sudden, massive confusion.

"Why is she different today?" Brie wondered in her mind. She could not understand this sudden change.

In the past, whenever Brie made a demand, the original Camilla would immediately look nervous, nod her head quickly, and rush off to do the chore, desperate to prove her worth to the camp.

"She’s even refusing me," Brie thought, her pride feeling a sharp, sudden sting. "She is talking to me like I am a common maid. How dare she sit in the General’s chair with such arrogance?"

Brie realized her normal bullying tactics were not going to work today. She needed to change her strategy. She needed to use manipulation instead of direct orders.

Brie forced her shocked facial muscles to relax. She put a very sweet, highly fake smile onto her lips.

She chuckled nervously.

Heh, heh.

The sound was hollow and completely lacked any real humor.

"My Lady, please do not misunderstand my intentions," Brie said softly, acting like a caring, helpful older sister.

Brie took a small step closer to the desk. She leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice as if she were sharing a very important, highly beneficial secret.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for you to impress the General," Brie whispered sweetly, trying to manipulate Camilla’s supposed desperate love for Damon. "The General values hard work and dedication to the army above all else. He respects women who are useful."

Brie pointed gracefully at the empty bowl.

"If you do well," Brie continued to promise, her voice full of fake encouragement. "If you show him that you are willing to help the medical tent and fetch the water, the General will even like you much more, won’t he? He will finally see you as a valuable part of his camp."

Camilla sat completely still in the chair. She listened to the physician’s sweet, manipulative lies.

Camilla shook her head slowly from side to side. A very small, highly amused smile touched her lips.

"Miss Brie," Camilla replied smoothly, her voice completely calm. "You just saw it all this morning. You were standing right there on the training field."

Camilla uncrossed her arms. She placed her hands flat on the smooth wooden surface of the desk.

"My husband and I have a very good, very close relationship," Camilla lied flawlessly, using the events of the morning to completely crush Brie’s manipulative argument. "You saw us walking together. You can clearly see it in his eyes that he couldn’t even let go of me for a single second. He helped me down from the carriage himself."

Camilla kept her eyes locked onto Brie’s face, watching the physician’s fake smile begin to strain and crack around the edges.

"That is exactly why he wanted me to accompany him to the camp today," Camilla bragged smoothly, twisting the truth to fit her narrative. "He simply could not bear to be apart from me for the entire afternoon. He specifically told me to wait for him right here in his private tent."

Camilla paused. She let the weight of her words sink into the quiet room.

Then, Camilla moved.

She leaned forward slowly. She pushed her body up slightly from the leather chair, holding the edge of the desk for solid support. She closed the physical distance between them, bringing her face much closer to Brie’s across the table. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Her eyes turned incredibly cold and highly dangerous.

"So..." Camilla whispered softly, her voice dropping into a deadly, quiet tone. "...are you slandering our relationship?"

The threat hung heavily in the air.