The head maid blinked in surprise. The sudden change in topic confused her. Her angry face turned into a blank mask.
"Food?" the head maid repeated. She sounded like she did not understand the word. "You... you just woke up from nearly drowning. You are accused of hurting the General. And you are asking about food?"
"Yes, food," Camilla said, nodding her head. "I am very hungry. My stomach hurts. What do you have?"
The head maid looked at Camilla like she was an unknown being who crawled out of the pig of hell. She slowly crossed her arms. "There is chicken," she replied shortly. "The cooks made roasted chicken for the staff."
Camilla's eyes lit up. She smacked her lips together. The thought of hot, perfectly marinated roasted chicken sounded like the best thing in the world.
"Chicken," Camilla said, smiling for the first time since she arrived in this world. "I want one."
The head maid's face turned red with anger again. She stepped closer to the bed. "Are you mad, My Lady? Our Lord is severely hurt! He fell from his horse because of you! The entire household is in a panic! The doctors are with him right now in t he barracks! You cannot just sit here and..."
Camilla raised her hand and scratched the side of her head. She looked incredibly bored. She did not care about the General right now. She only cared about her stomach.
"Look," Camilla interrupted, waving her hand to shoo the woman away. "If he is hurt, the doctors will fix him. I am not a doctor. I cannot magically heal his broken bones. But I can eat. Just get going and tell them to prepare my food."
The head maid opened her mouth to yell, but she stopped. She looked at Camilla's cold, calm eyes. There was something different about the young Lady today. The original Camilla would have been crying on the floor, begging for forgiveness. This new Camilla just wanted lunch.
The head maid let out a loud, angry huff of air. She turned around sharply. Her dress swished loudly on the floor. She marched out of the room and slammed the door behind her.
"Finally," Camilla muttered.
She threw off the blankets and stood up. She could not walk down to the dining room in a long, silly nightgown. She walked over to a large wooden closet in the corner of the room. She opened the heavy doors.
Inside, there were rows of beautiful, expensive dresses. They were full of lace, ribbons, and heavy skirts. Camilla frowned. She pushed the big, heavy dresses aside. She searched for something simple. Finally, she found a plain, light blue day dress. It did not have too many buttons or tight strings.
She pulled off the scratchy nightgown and quickly put on the blue dress. It felt much better. It was light and allowed her to move her legs easily. She did not bother to fix her hair. She just ran her fingers through her messy hair to push it out of her face.
She opened her bedroom door and walked out into the wide stone hallway. She followed the smell of roasted meat.
In a few minutes, she found the main dining room downstairs. It was a huge room with a very long wooden table in the middle. Tall glass windows let the afternoon sunlight shine into the room.
At the end of the long table, a silver plate was waiting for her. On the plate was a large piece of golden, roasted chicken. There were also some cooked vegetables and a piece of fresh bread.
Camilla did not wait for anyone to pull out her chair. She grabbed a heavy wooden chair, pulled it out loudly, and sat down. She did not care about table manners. She picked up a large chicken drumstick with her bare hands. She took a huge bite.
The meat was juicy and warm. The skin was perfectly crispy. Camilla closed her eyes and chewed happily. "This is actually very good," she thought. "At least the food in this novel is not terrible."
She ate wholeheartedly. She did not use a knife or a fork. She just used her hands, pulling the meat off the bone.
While she was eating, she noticed she was not alone in the large room.
Standing in the corners and near the doorways were four young maids. They were supposed to be cleaning the room, but they were not working. They were holding their dusters and staring at Camilla. They were whispering to each other, but they were not trying to be quiet. Camilla could hear every single word they said.
"Look at her," one maid whispered loudly, pointing a finger. " How could she eat like an uncivilized person, enjoying her meal when the General is so badly hurt?"
"She is a monster," another maid replied, shaking her head. "She tried to kill our Lord, and now she is stuffing her face like a pig."
"I heard the General might lose his leg," a third maid added with a fake gasp. "And his wife does not even care. She has no shame at all."
Camilla ignored them for a few minutes. She finished the first drumstick and placed the clean bone on the edge of her silver plate. She licked the tasty grease off her fingers. She swallowed her food.
The chicken was a little bit dry, and she needed something wet to help it go down.
She turned her head and looked directly at one of the whispering maids. The maid was holding a small silver tray against her chest.
"You," Camilla spoke. Her voice was clear and loud enough to stop the whispering. "Is there soup? I am thirsty. Bring me a bowl of hot soup."
The maid froze. She looked at her friends, then looked back at Camilla. She frowned deeply, showing her disgust.
The maid walked slowly toward the table. She picked up a clean, empty white bowl from the center of the table. She did not hand it to Camilla politely. Instead, she took the bowl in a very rough, disrespectful manner. She slammed the bowl down onto the table right in front of Camilla. The bowl made a loud, sharp clack against the wood.
The maid stood there, glaring down at Camilla. She crossed her arms.
"The General had a terrible accident," the maid mumbled loudly, making sure Camilla heard every word. Her face was twisted into an ugly scowl. "He is in serious pain , and she still has the mood to eat and drink to her heart's content."
The maid leaned closer, her eyes full of hate. "Such a woman... such an ill-mannered woman is not worthy of being the General's wife. You are a disgrace to this household."
The dining room went perfectly quiet. The other maids held their breath, waiting to see if Lady Camilla would start crying like she usually did.
Camilla slowly stopped chewing. She swallowed the piece of chicken in her mouth.
She picked up a clean white cloth napkin from the table. She carefully and slowly wiped the grease off her lips. Then, she wiped her fingers, one by one. She placed the napkin down neatly next to her plate.
Camilla slowly turned her head. She looked up at the rude maid. Camilla did not look angry. She looked completely, incredibly bored. She looked like a disappointed teacher looking at a very bad student.
She leaned back in her heavy wooden chair. She rested her elbows on the armrests and put her hands together under her chin.
"Tell me the truth," Camilla spoke. Her voice was calm, flat, and completely dry. "Is that really it?"
The rude maid blinked, confused. "What... what do you mean?"
Camilla sighed a deep, heavy sigh. She looked around at the other maids standing in the corners.
"Is that all the outdated lines you villains have?" Camilla asked, shaking her head in pity. "Seriously? 'Not worthy of being his wife'? 'Ill-mannered woman'? 'Disgrace to the household'?"
Camilla let out a short, sarcastic laugh. She looked back at the rude maid.
"I have been reading novels like this for ten years," Camilla said, leaning forward slightly. "Those lines were boring five years ago. They have no originality. They have no spice. If you are going to insult me, at least try to be creative. I expected so much more from this story."
The rude maid's face turned pale. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. She did not understand what Camilla was talking about.
"Now," Camilla said, her voice turning cold and sharp, like the edge of a newly sharpened knife. "Take this empty bowl, walk to the kitchen, and bring me my soup. Do not spill it. And do not speak to me with those boring lines again, or I will show you what 'ill-mannered' truly looks like. Go."