Chapter 162: Chapter Hundred And Sixty One

The young woman did not wait for an explanation.

She reached out roughly and snatched the fluffy white cat straight out of Camilla’s gentle hands.

Because of her sudden, aggressive movement, the cat let out a loud, unhappy meow of protest. The cat’s claws scratched lightly against the silk of Camilla’s green dress as it was pulled away.

Camilla did not fight back physically. She simply let her hands drop. She looked at the angry young woman with completely calm, flat eyes.

"She was..." Camilla replied softly, opening her mouth to explain that the poor animal had been trapped deep inside the sharp, thorny rose bushes.

But the young woman’s nervous maid, who was standing right behind her mistress, did not allow Camilla to finish her sentence. The maid wanted to cause trouble to please her angry boss.

"I saw them, Lady Elora!" the maid spoke loudly, pointing an accusing finger at Camilla. She completely twisted the truth of the situation. "I saw the lady and Lily struggling in the dark rose bushes! She was doing something to the cat!"

Camilla stared at the lying maid. Her eyes narrowed very slightly.

The young lady in the pink dress was Lady Elora. She was Damon’s cousin from the main Benson family estate. She snapped her head back to look at Camilla. Her face was twisted into an ugly offended scowl.

"Just because Lily scratched you the last time?" Elora shouted loudly, her voice echoing sharply against the stone walls of the garden. "You tried to hurt my cat just to get petty revenge?"

Camilla stood perfectly still. She looked the angry girl up and down. She looked at the expensive, sparkling jewels in her hair and the ridiculous, massive pink skirts.

Inside her mind, Camilla’s memory quickly pulled up the files from the original web novel she had read.

"Lady Elora," Camilla thought to herself, her internal voice completely cold and full of disgust. She easily recognized the character.

"She is Damon’s cousin," Camilla’s thoughts continued, analyzing the spoiled girl. "She was spoiled completely silly by the extended family since she was a baby. She always hated the original Camilla."

Camilla remembered a very specific cruel incident from the book’s past Chapters.

"Previously, this exact girl deliberately lured that little kitty into the room," Camilla recalled clearly. "She purposely made the cat scratch the original Camilla on the arm. It caused the original Camilla to bleed and have to be treated by doctors for a week. And Elora just laughed about it. What a terrible, mean-spirited girl."

Camilla looked at the fluffy white cat. The cat was currently squirming uncomfortably in Elora’s tight, rough grip.

Camilla did not pretend nor did she act scared of Damon’s cousin.

Instead, Camilla smiled.

It was a very slow, calm, and highly unsettling smile. It did not reach her dead eyes.

"Lily is such a wonderful animal," Camilla spoke out loud. Her voice was incredibly soft, smooth, and completely unbothered by the loud shouting.

She took a slow, casual step forward on the stone path. She looked directly into Elora’s angry eyes.

"What a terrible shame," Camilla continued smoothly, shaking her head slightly in fake pity, "that you are her mother."

Elora blinked in surprise. She did not expect the usually weak, crying Lady Camilla to speak back to her with such calm disrespect.

"One day," Camilla said, her voice dropping into a dark, quiet whisper, "she might just die a very sad death because of your complete negligence. Leaving a small animal alone outside during a loud, busy ball with people everywhere is incredibly stupid."

Elora felt a sudden chill run down her spine. The calm, dead look in Camilla’s eyes was actually terrifying.

Elora quickly moved back, taking a large step away on the stone path. She held Lily tighter against her pink chest, trying to act brave.

"Stop it!" Elora sneered loudly, trying to cover up her sudden fear with more anger. "Why are you scaring Lily with your crazy words? You are a crazy woman!"

Elora lifted her chin high in the air, looking down her nose at Camilla. She wanted to remind Camilla of her low place in the family.

"In my eyes," Elora insulted her directly, her voice full of toxic arrogance, "some people in this family are even lower than animals. You are nothing but a burden to my cousin Damon."

Camilla let out a soft, highly amused chuckle.

She found the spoiled girl’s insults completely pathetic.

Camilla slowly folded her arms securely over her chest. She stood tall in her beautiful emerald-green ball gown.

"I think you are absolutely right," Camilla replied smoothly, nodding her head in complete agreement.

Elora frowned, confused by the agreement.

"Because," Camilla continued, her voice dripping with sharp sarcasm, "Lily is definitely higher, smarter, and much better company than someone like you."

Elora’s face instantly turned a bright, burning shade of hot red. She felt deeply, profoundly insulted. Her pride could not handle being called worse than a pet cat by a woman she considered trash.

"What are you trying to say?" Elora demanded loudly, stomping her foot hard against the stone path.

Camilla did not flinch. She just kept her calm, amused smile perfectly in place.

"I said what I said," Camilla answered simply.

She did not bother to explain it further.

Elora let out a short, harsh, mocking laughter. She decided to use her ultimate weapon. She decided to bring up the marriage.

"Camilla, who do you actually think you are?" Elora asked, her voice mocking and cruel. "You walk around acting so proud and mighty tonight. Do you think you are a real Benson?"

Elora pointed a finger at Camilla’s face.

"If your grandfather didn’t save my grandfather many years ago," Elora yelled, stating the harsh truth of the political arrangement, "did you really think you would have ever married Damon? Do you think a great, powerful General would ever choose a weak, useless girl like you on his own?"

Elora rolled her eyes dramatically toward the dark sky.

"You are a completely fake wife," Elora sneered. "You are just a debt we had to pay. You are not even worthy of licking Lily’s fur."

The garden was completely silent for two seconds. The maid standing behind Elora smiled a wicked smile, happy to see her mistress putting the Lady in her place.

Camilla stood perfectly still.

She processed the harsh, cruel insult. The original Camilla would have burst into tears and run away crying to her bedroom.

But the Black Widow did not have time for that.

Camilla slowly unfolded her hands. She dropped her arms loosely to her sides. She completely relaxed her shoulders.

She looked at Elora’s angry face. She looked at the white cat struggling in the girl’s tight grip.

Camilla decided it was time to teach the spoiled cousin a very painful lesson. She had a magical weapon, and she was not afraid to use it to shut this noisy girl up.