Hearing her name, Camilla stopped tapping her fingers. She slowly lifted her head from her hand. She looked her way, staring at the new young woman in the white medical apron.

"Yes?" Camilla asked calmly. She did not recognize this assistant.

Mildred walked smoothly toward the large desk. She stopped a few feet away. She turned her body slightly and gestured her hand gracefully toward a small wooden shelf sitting right next to Damon’s desk.

Resting carefully on the center of the wooden shelf was a beautiful, highly detailed figurine. It was a small statue of a rearing warhorse, carved completely out of solid, dark green jade. It looked incredibly expensive, very fragile, and perfectly polished.

"This is the general’s most prized possession," Mildred explained, pointing at the figurine horse. Her voice was full of deep, fake reverence.

Mildred began to weave a very careful plan. She wanted to trick Camilla into holding the fragile object.

"He was gifted this specific horse by the King himself," Mildred said smoothly, looking Camilla right in the eye. "It was given to him during the last great war as a strict reward for his extreme hard work and his bloody victories. The General values it more than anything else in this entire camp. He cleans it himself."

Camilla sat in the chair. She looked at the figurine on the shelf. She did not say a word. She just listened patiently to the assistant’s story.

Mildred took a small step closer to the desk, lowering her voice as if she were sharing a very important family secret.

"The old duke, his grandfather, had specifically instructed beforehand," Mildred lie, using Duke Carson’s name to make the trap sound completely legitimate and believable. "The old duke commanded that if you ever come to visit the military camp, you should help the General clean this specific figurine."

Mildred smiled her fake, sweet smile again.

"The old duke said that a wife cleaning the King’s gift will bring incredible, endless good luck in your marriage," Mildred finished her ridiculous story. "It is a very high honor, My Lady. It will make the General very, very happy to see you caring for his most prized treasure."

Camilla sat perfectly still. She looked at Mildred’s smiling face. She looked at the object. And then, she thought about the old Duke she had just had dinner with last night.

Inside her mind, Camilla completely burst into an uncontrollable laughter.

Camilla laughed in her thoughts as she looked at the absolute, pure stupidity being displayed right in front of her face.

"Oh, another one," Camilla thought to herself, rolling her eyes deeply in her mind. Her internal voice was filled with a mixture of intense amusement and profound disappointment.

She easily saw right through the entire, pathetic lie.

"Duke Carson did not say anything remotely like that," Camilla analyzed the situation instantly. "According to Uncle Murry, he only told Damon to bring me here to watch him train. He never mentioned a figurine. This silly little medical assistant is trying to trick me. She wants me to hold the statue so it will break. It is the exact same strategy that Miss Brie just tried to use with the cracked bowl."

Camilla crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back into the chair.

She looked at Mildred’s face. The young woman thought she was being so incredibly clever and sneaky.

"So," Camilla thought, her internal voice turning cold and highly insulting. She judged the entire military camp in her mind. "Damon really spends all of his days out here in this dusty camp dealing with these completely unintelligent bitches." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

She shook her head slowly, feeling genuine, deep pity for the General.

"That is so low of him," Camilla continued to mock her husband’s environment internally. "He is supposed to be the smartest, most powerful man in the kingdom. But he is sharing a daily workspace with women who try to assassinate their enemies using ceramic bowls and fragile desk ornaments. The scheming here is worse than a kindergarten playground. They are so incredibly..."

Camilla ran out of suitable words for the two women. They were simply too stupid to insult properly. In her life in the modern world, her enemies used sniper rifles and poison darts. These historical women were playing with toys.

But Camilla was never one to refuse a fun game. If the assistant wanted to play, the Black Widow would gladly participate.

"Very well," Camilla said out loud. She uncrossed her arms and put a very sweet, totally innocent smile onto her face. She acted completely tricked by the story. "If grandfather instructed it, then I must absolutely obey. I want to bring good luck to my marriage."

Mildred’s eyes lit up with absolute, greedy victory. She could not believe the Lady had fallen for the stupid lie so easily.

"Excellent, My Lady," Mildred said happily.

Mildred turned to the wooden shelf. She reached out carefully with both hands. She gently picked the figurine up off the wood.

Mildred turned back around. She held the horse out over the open space between the shelf and the desk, presenting it directly toward Camilla.

"Then I will leave it safely to you, Lady Camilla," Mildred said, keeping her sweet, fake smile firmly in place.

Camilla did not tell the assistant to bring it closer. She played along perfectly.

Camilla stood up smoothly from the seat. She walked slowly around the edge of the large desk. She stopped just a single step away from Mildred.

Camilla looked at the jade horse. She stretched out her right hand, opening her palm, fully preparing to collect the figurine from the assistant’s grasp.

Mildred watched the Lady’s hand approach. The plan was working perfectly.

Mildred waited until Camilla’s fingers were just one single inch away from touching the object.

Then, Mildred deliberately acted.

Before Camilla’s hand could firmly grip the figurine, Mildred completely opened her own fingers.

Mildred let go of it entirely.

She completely released the highly prized jade figurine, allowing it to drop freely through the empty air, completely unsupported.

Mildred expected the horse to crash violently onto the floor. She expected it to shatter into a hundred tiny pieces. She was already planning to scream and cry, blaming the clumsy Lady for destroying the General’s most treasured gift from the King.

The figurine began to fall rapidly toward the ground.

As soon as she saw Mildred’s fingers open early, Camilla’s body moved entirely on lightning-fast instinct.

Camilla quickly dropped her center of gravity. She bent her knees and shot her right hand downward with blinding speed. Her arm blurred through the air.

Smack.

Camilla’s hand closed tightly.

She firmly, securely caught the figurine.

She caught it perfectly in the palm of her hand, stopping its fall when the fragile stone horse was literally just one single inch away from hitting the floor.

The figurine rested completely safe and perfectly intact in Camilla’s strong grip.

Mildred stood completely frozen in place. Her hands were still held out in the empty air.

Mildred stared down at the floor. She stared at Camilla, who was currently crouching slightly, holding the unbroken figurine safely above the wood.

Mildred’s jaw slowly dropped wide open. Her brown eyes bulged out of her head in shock.

She could not process what had just happened. No normal human being could possibly move that fast. It was completely impossible.

The command tent fell into a state of absolute, dead silence.