Chapter 145: Chapter Hundred And Forty Four

The bright morning sunlight streamed happily through the large glass windows of the master bedroom. It hit the soft white pillows on the bed, creating a warm, golden glow in the quiet room.

Camilla woke up with a long, loud yawn. She kept her eyes closed for a moment. She stretched her body slowly, pushing her arms high above her head and pointing her toes toward the end of the mattress.

She felt incredibly comfortable. The thick wool blankets were soft and warm.

Then, her brain fully woke up. She slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at the tall wooden posts of the bed and the beautiful ceiling.

She completely stopped stretching. She lowered her arms to her sides. She blinked twice, looking completely confused.

"Why am I on the bed?" Camilla asked herself out loud. Her voice was thick with sleep.

She clearly remembered last night. She remembered sleeping on a thick blanket on the floor.

She quickly sat up. She looked down at the hard wooden floorboards near the wardrobe. Her makeshift bed of blankets and pillows was completely gone.

"Did he carry me up here?" Camilla wondered in her mind. "While I was asleep?"

Before she could think about his strange actions any longer, a sudden, terrifying thought crashed into her mind like a heavy stone.

"My money!!!" Camilla exclaimed loudly.

Complete panic set in instantly. If Damon had carried her to the bed, he might have looked around the room. He might have been really suspicious. If he had looked closely, he might have found her hidden treasure.

She did not wait another second. She threw the warm blankets off her legs. She jumped out of the bed so fast her bare feet slapped loudly against the wooden floorboards.

She rushed quickly across the bedroom. She went straight to the wardrobe standing against the wall. She grabbed the brass handles and pulled the doors wide open. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Her heart was beating very fast. She pushed her heavy winter dresses aside. She reached her hands deep into the dark corners of the wooden shelf.

Her fingers touched cold steel. She felt the leather handles of her twin daggers. Right next to the weapons, she felt the stack of paper bank notes.

She pulled the items slightly into the light to check them. Everything was exactly where she had left it. Nothing was missing.

Camilla let out a heavy sigh of relief. Her tense shoulders dropped. She closed her eyes for a second, thanking her lucky stars.

She carefully put everything back into the dark corner. She arranged her winter dresses perfectly to cover the secret pile. She closed the wardrobe doors securely.

She walked slowly back across the room and fell heavily onto the soft mattress of the bed. She laid flat on her back. She stared up at the wooden ceiling.

"Seems he believed me last night," Camilla said to herself quietly. She thought about her dramatic acting when she tackled him to the floor. "He didn’t notice a single thing."

She smiled a small, highly confident smirk. She felt very proud of her own quick thinking.

"Why won’t he?" she asked the empty room. "I’m a very good actress."

As she lay there feeling victorious, she tried to lift her left leg to cross it over her right.

Suddenly, a sharp, dull ache shot through her thigh and her lower back. Her muscles felt incredibly tight, stiff, and sore. She moved her arms, and she felt the same heavy soreness in her shoulders.

Camilla frowned deeply. She rubbed her sore shoulder with her hand.

"This body is weak," Camilla complained softly. She felt a deep sense of frustration.

When she was the Black Widow, she could fight five men at once, run for miles, and wake up the next day feeling perfectly fine. Her old body was trained to absolute perfection. But this historical body was small, pale, and entirely untested.

"How can I be this tired after one short fight?" Camilla asked herself, thinking about the brief battle with the giant mercenary yesterday. She had only done one kick and one stab, but the physical effort had completely drained her muscles.

She sighed heavily. "Truly, This Camilla is fit for a pampered life."

She sat up slowly on the edge of the bed. She massaged her sore leg with her fingers, trying to get the blood flowing. She knew this weakness was a massive problem. If she ever needed to fight a real, long battle to protect herself, Damon or her brother again, this fragile body would completely fail her.

"I think it’s time to schedule some physical training for myself," Camilla decided firmly.

She remembered her past life. She remembered her rigorous, bloody training schedule.

"In my former life," Camilla thought to herself, staring blankly at the floor, "my mentor would bring me to a dark, hidden underground arena to train. I would spar with other deadly assassins from other dangerous factions. It was the only way to get truly strong. You have to fight real people to learn real speed."

She tapped her finger against her knee. She needed a place to train. She needed a place with space, weapons, and strong men to fight against.

"But where will I find somewhere as large as that?" she wondered in her mind. "And where would I find suitable opponents to fight with in this peaceful upper city?"

She could not fight the house maids. She could not fight Uncle Murry.

The perfect answer suddenly slammed into her brain.

"Damon’s camp," Camilla said out loud. Her eyes lit up with brilliant excitement.

The military camp had huge dirt training arenas. It had racks of wooden practice swords. And it was completely filled with thousands of strong, aggressive soldiers who trained every single day. It was the absolute perfect place to build her physical strength.

But her bright smile quickly dropped into a frown.

"But I went there yesterday," Camilla remembered, feeling a wave of annoyance.

She had gone there dressed as the black shadow assassin. If she showed up wearing those same disguise today, Damon would definitely recognize her. The entire camp would go crazy trying to catch the champion who took the reward money.

She could not use that disguise ever again.

And she certainly could not walk into the training arena wearing a yellow silk dress as Lady Camilla. Damon would send her straight back home in a carriage.

Then, she strengthened her resolve. She was a master of disguise. She had infiltrated heavily guarded buildings before. A dusty army camp would not stop her.

"I will just have to look for a better disguise," Camilla stated with firm determination.

She got off the soft bed immediately. She went to the washroom to wash her face and prepare for the day.

An hour later, Camilla was ready to leave the mansion. She did not call for Uncle Murry. She did not order the grand carriage. Instead, she dressed herself in a very simple, plain brown dress. She wrapped a thick, dull grey shawl around her shoulders and over her head to hide her beautiful red curly hair. She looked like a completely normal, poor servant girl going out to run errands for the kitchen.

She slipped out the back door of the mansion and walked quickly into the busy streets of the capital city.

First, she needed to change her physical shape. She walked to a small, quiet clothing shop. She bought several long, thick strips of strong linen cloth. She needed these to bind her chest tightly so she would look completely flat, like a young boy.

Next, she needed to fix her hair. Her long red curls were far too recognizable. She could not just wear a hat again; a hat might fall off during a hard training fight.

She walked into the crowded, noisy central market. She passed stalls selling fresh bread, colorful fruits, and shiny metal pots. She kept her head down, looking for a very specific type of shop.