Chapter : 10
“Miss.”
“What?”
“The Duke sent someone to ask if you would like to have tea with him.”
“Tea?”
“Yes.”
“All right.”
Recently, Camilla had often been having tea with the Duke of Sorpel. Whenever she stopped by his study to place flowers there, she would enjoy refreshments with him.
Since it was not a bad development, Camilla was more than happy to spend time with him. After all, she needed to increase the amount of time they spent together somehow and win his favor.
But……
“Come in.”
“……”
Why the hell was that guy here?
A little while later, when Camilla went to see the Duke, she found someone who had arrived before her and was already spending time with him.
“You’re here?”
It was Ravi.
“What are you doing standing there? Come over and sit here.”
What an insufferable bastard.
Unlike when they were alone, Ravi was even smiling as he invited her to sit down. Camilla clicked her tongue inwardly and took a seat.
He looks pretty happy, doesn’t he?
Ravi’s expression as he drank his tea looked brighter than usual. Had something good happened?
Come to think of it, something was suspicious. He might make time to be alone with the Duke, but there was no reason for him to deliberately have tea with her.
“Father.”
“Hmm?”
As expected, Ravi seemed to have something to say. He put down his teacup. It was obvious that he was trying to suppress the smile that kept threatening to escape.
“I’m going to present a paper this time.”
Ah.
So it’s that day.
Only then did Camilla immediately understand what was going on.
This was something that had happened without fail every time she had watched over this world.
Once a year, the Magic Tower selected those who had achieved outstanding results and allowed them to present their work in front of a gathering of numerous mages. For mages, it was a very prestigious and important occasion.
It makes sense that this fox-like bastard can’t even control his expression in front of the Duke.
His pride was practically written all over his face.
But what could she do? Camilla clicked her tongue softly inwardly.
It should be about time.
She glanced toward the door.
Bang!
As if he had been waiting for the right moment, someone hurriedly opened the door and entered the room.
The person who entered without even remembering to knock was none other than Jakter, the Duke’s aide.
“Your Grace!”
His face was so radiant that he looked as though he might burst into a huge grin at any moment.
“What is it?”
“It’s a great victory, Your Grace! A great victory!”
“What?”
“We’ve received word that Lord Ludville has finally discovered the rebel army’s headquarters and completely wiped them out!”
“……!”
“And it was all according to a strategy personally devised by Lord Ludville!”
“Is that really true?”
The Duke of Sorpel shot to his feet, smiling brightly. The war against the rebel army, which had tormented him for such a long time, was finally reaching its end.
“Yes. The Imperial Family has already received the report first. His Majesty the Emperor was also greatly pleased and apparently sent Lord Ludville a personal letter.”
“Ha… hahaha!”
“As expected of our young master! Haha!”
The Duke of Sorpel and Jakter looked at each other and laughed for quite some time.
This is how it goes.
Camilla clicked her tongue once again inwardly and subtly turned her head to look at Ravi.
The atmosphere surrounding him had completely sunk compared to a moment ago. He was trying hard to pretend to remain calm, but the slight trembling of his fingertips was visible.
What did you expect, anyway?
It’s always been like this.
What terribly rotten luck.
The Duke’s eldest son, Ludville, was absolutely not doing this on purpose. Ravi was simply ridiculously unlucky.
It’s even more unfortunate that the presentation and the victory celebration are being held on the same day.
The Magic Tower’s presentation, where Ravi would be taking the stage, and the victory celebration for Ludville were, unfortunately, being held on the exact same day.
There was no way around the fact that everyone in the ducal household would be focused on the victory celebration rather than the presentation.
“I’ll take my leave now.”
“Hmm? No, why? Why don’t you stay a little longer?”
“No. I just remembered that I have something to do.”
“All right, all right.”
The Duke of Sorpel saw Ravi off as he stood, wearing a pleasant smile.
“I’ll be going as well.”
Camilla also quietly rose from her seat and left the study. Even as she did so, the Duke of Sorpel and Jakter remained busy exchanging laughter.
Click.
“……”
The moment the study door closed, Ravi’s face turned cold. He bit down firmly on his lip.
He had thought that this time, he would finally be able to receive proper recognition……
Was even this not enough?
The thought that he had wasted several months on such research made him feel empty.
Should he have simply learned more offensive magic and traveled around the battlefield instead?
How pathetic.
“Big Brother, you’re more impressive than I thought.”
At the very moment his mood was sinking lower and lower, a familiar voice pierced his ears.
“You’re even giving a presentation.”
Camilla had somehow approached his side and was looking at him with wide eyes.
“Are you making fun of me?”
“I’m serious.”
“……”
“You can only do that if you’re a mage who has achieved really good results and worked hard.”
“What do you know……!”
Tap.
“You worked hard.”
“……”
After lightly patting him on the shoulder, Camilla walked past him.
Ravi stared blankly after her.
“What the hell is wrong with her these days?”
“Miss! This one suits you so well, too!”
“Oh my… This is the first time I’ve seen someone look so good in this dress!”
The designer from the dress shop who had come to the Sorpel ducal residence, along with the maids attending Camilla, were busy showering her with compliments.
While listening to their flattering words, Camilla carefully examined her reflection in the mirror.
Even I have to admit I look pretty.
The red dress, resembling the colors of a sunset, created a strangely captivating contrast against Camilla’s exceptionally pale, bloodless skin.
“You’ll be the most beautiful person at the party, Miss!”
The ducal residence was currently in chaos because of the preparations for the suddenly scheduled party. The Duke’s eldest son, Ludville, was about to return after achieving a great victory against the rebel army.
They’re throwing a party immediately without even giving him time to rest.
Wasn’t it normal to let someone who had returned from the battlefield rest comfortably?
Camilla shook her head as she watched everyone preparing the party to coincide with Ludville’s return.
Well, I suppose this is a form of politics, too.
A festival was also scheduled to be held throughout the territory on the day of the party.
It seemed to be intended to widely publicize the achievements of the Sorpel ducal family, and especially those of Ludville.
She had also heard that parties and festivals like this were necessary to soothe the sorrow and grief of those who had lost loved ones on the battlefield.
“The jewelry is so beautiful, too!”
The jewelry prepared along with the dress was all uniquely designed and beautiful.
“I’ll make you look absolutely gorgeous that day!”
Camilla chuckled as she watched Donna clench her fist enthusiastically.
“I’m counting on you.”
It might be a good idea to stand out a little that day, too……
“Don’t cause any trouble.”
A cold voice came from behind her.
When Camilla turned around, Ravi was standing there with a displeased expression, apparently having arrived without her noticing.
“Why did you come all the way here just to pick a fight with me?”
“You have a history. Last time, you—”
“Guilty.”
“What?”
“I admit it. I was pretty good at grabbing hair back then.”
Camilla moved both hands as if she were grabbing someone by the hair, making Ravi frown even more deeply.
She had definitely become strange.
Normally, when he said things like this, she would blush, make an annoyed expression, or become dejected. But now, she simply kept grinning.
“Did you get your clothes prepared, Big Brother?”
“What clothes?”
Ravi’s face quickly hardened.
Was she asking whether he had prepared an outfit to wear to the victory celebration?
Had she already forgotten what was happening that day?
“The clothes you’re going to wear to the presentation.”
“…Forget it.”
At Camilla’s follow-up remark, Ravi turned his head away curtly, trying to hide his embarrassment.
She’s crazy.
It was absurd. He found it ridiculous that Camilla had completely forgotten about his work, and that the fact that even she did not care about his presentation had momentarily hurt his feelings.
Why should it matter to me whether that idiot forgot about it or not?!
“You’re going to be compared.”
“I said forget it. What does clothing matter?”
“Suit yourself. I told you.”
“You’d better not do anything that embarrasses you at the party—”
“Guilty.”
Scritch, scritch.
“……”
I’m tired.
Ravi let out a small sigh and left the room. Even he wasn’t sure why he had come here in the first place.
Camilla ignored Ravi and continued looking over the other dresses and jewelry.
“Hey, Ravi.”
The day of the presentation had arrived.
Ravi hurried out of the house early in the morning and headed for the Magic Tower. After completing all his preparations in his research room, he entered the presentation hall.
“……”
As Ravi entered, someone quickly approached him.
The person approaching with a sly grin was Jyle, who would also be presenting at the event.
Ravi had no idea why the guy who always glared at him with murderous intent whenever he saw him was suddenly approaching as though they were close friends.
“Are you all ready?”
“Well, more or less.”
“You? Doing something ‘more or less’?”
“Tell me what you want.”
At Ravi’s question, Jyle’s smile grew even wider.
“My parents are over there.”
He put an arm around Ravi’s shoulders as if they were close friends and pointed toward where people were sitting.
“That’s my younger sister.”
The people there were unmistakably a family.
Among them, the girl who appeared to be his younger sister was quite beautiful and was receiving plenty of attention from the men around her.
“Who’s coming from your family today? Everyone’s coming, right? Hmm… Looks like no one’s here yet.”
Jyle deliberately looked around before giving a smug grin, and Ravi finally understood what he was trying to do.
“Surely no one’s actually not coming, right? If they’re family, of course they should come to an important occasion like this.”
He clearly knew everything. He already knew what was happening at the Sorpel ducal residence today, and yet he was deliberately acting this way.
“What? Is really no one coming?”
Jyle acted surprised with his entire body as though he genuinely had no idea, but Ravi wasn’t even angry. What an immature bastard.
“It’s none of your business.”
“How is it none of my business? I’m just feeling sorry for a friend who couldn’t even invite his family to such an important occasion.”
“……”
“I suppose…”
Jyle’s voice dropped lower.
“Now that the real son is coming back, they wouldn’t have any attention left to spare for some fake son.”
