Camiel's inspiration to always be on top came from her father. He would be the one person Camiel despised with all her heart, yet he was undoubtedly the replication of whom she ended up becoming, in the near future.

It had been an arduous heartwrenching struggle for Camiel to become the head maid of the Duke's castle. All her life Camiel only experienced poverty and abuse; so this shift in scenery brought about an otherworldly greed within her.

Unfortunately in the original story, luck was with her... and the rest is history.

Do I have any advantage? She knows the laws of the nobles and the laws within the alleyways... can a couch potato like me, even hope to defeat a badass like her?

Clearly, I can't. Unlike the original Ria, I'm not a masochist, thank you very much.

What I can change, however, is the amount of power and authority she has in this castle. My only chance of accomplishing this cannot be done alone.

It's very hard with a five year old's body, mind you.

The best way would be a source of permanent power supply. Arguably, that would be magic. Ria always had an abundant amount which grew massive and ended up annihilating the dukedom capital as well as the forest surrounding it.

And that is precisely why I am against this.

Besides, while magic may be a better display of power, it doesn't necessarily apply to authority and/or acceptance.

If anything, I might end up accelerating the villainess's death flag, even before the heroine arrives.

But then, there is the other option; and by that, I mean, my worst nightmare.

It's a co-operation tactic, that's what it is; and guess what? It is humiliating!

Basically, I need to recruit Ria's sh*t a$$ father to my side and indirectly gain temporary authority for the time being. So long as I can meddle my way into his tiny bird brain and get him to realize Camiel's true colors, not only will I not gain the wicked stepmother I didn't desire, but I'll also somewhat prevent Melane from dying via poison.

The main obstacle is the Duke's current stand on his daughter. Obviously Camiel will instigate him with everything she's got. And being the nobleman that he is, he will most likely believe her.

I'm pretty sure not all nobles are as gullible as the duke. Somehow I'm beginning to understand why there were a lot of negative reviews when I wrote this sickly novel. Urgh...

Duke Trevor was created based on my best friend's cheating ex, not by appearance, but based on personality. That infuriating guy messed up our friendship, married her and then isolated and abused her until she died.

Of course, I had to tone it down when I made duke Trevor.

One, the audience's age group and two, his wife would be the prime example of my adoptive mother. Then for the final touch, just sprinkle some fantasy, drama, misfortune and death.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts once again.

"Who is it?" I asked, a little nervous.

"It is bedtime, young miss."

Ah...

"Come in."

The door swung open and a crowd of maids rushed in. The two butlers closed the door from the outside and they would open it again after I was all dressed and tucked up nice and toasty in my bed.

Right, right... I do remember mentioning something like that in my drafts. Mmm, but I thought this part was removed?

Tonight, however, the maids were very anxious and fidgety. They insisted on me sleeping before they left. Of course I played along and they were pretty sweet to sing me a lullaby and read bedtime stories. In the middle of the third story, I tested my acting skills.

They called out my name a few times, but I only made a "Mhmm" sound once. Satisfied, the herd of Camiel's crew left.

Don't fall asleep, Sam. Don't fall for the warm and soft bed tactic. Keep your head in the game!

It's not that I didn't think of notifying Melane about her husband's probable affair... I just have a hunch that it will probably end up adding fuel to the fire. Melane does have an incurable disease inhabiting her after all. Who's to say she won't side with them?

One after the other... all, useless adults around me. Let's just hope my acting skills hold up until the very end... oh dear Lord, help me.

...

I clenched my fists tightly. No use, my heart was still pounding. I motioned myself to relax, yet I couldn't help but be vigilant.

I cannot get caught. If I do, its game over.

The two maids definitely weren't lying, but knowing Camiel's character, there is no way she will actually fully ever trust her own henchmen. Slowly, I went down the stairs. My breaths felt heavier with every second. Huffing and puffing, I carried on.

Looks like I didn't lose everything coming here...

The closer I crept towards the Duke's study, desperately hoping nobody's gonna catch me, the faster I actually wanted to run away.

It was tough to nudge open the giant door. Thankfully neither of them seemed to have noticed. And although I prefer not to pry into other people's personal lives, but I needed to sneak a peek into this one... for survival's sake.

Lo' and behold.