"Oh-!"
"Brother Ravi~"
"Why aren't you addressing me properly?"
"I said it right."
"No you didn't."
"Tsk."
She feigned friendliness due to her embarrassment about yesterday.
"But you're glad, aren't you?"
"What?"
"Your younger sister is lighter than you thought."
"…"
"Weren't you surprised when you carried me yesterday? Your younger sister is so light… okay, okay."
Stop staring.
Ravi's face grew increasingly serious the more Camila continued.
Yes, she did annoy him a bit yesterday. But was it necessary for him to openly display his dissatisfaction?
Ravi's countenance changed inexplicably as he grumbled about a merciless brother.
'What is he on about?'
Just as she was about to ask what was wrong, Ravi's gaze fell behind her.
Naturally, Camilla's head snapped back as well.
"…!"
It was Ludville. Ravi's mood sank deeper at his arrival.
Camilla, too, found him uncomfortable and awkward, but she managed to keep a smile on her face.
"Welcome, Elder Brother."
"…"
"Isn't the weather great today?"
Ludville nodded wordlessly in response to Camilla's greeting.
"Hey!"
"…?"
Then, Ravi called out to Camilla, a little too loudly. Why? What? What was he doing raising his voice all of a sudden?
"Why are you discriminating?"
"Discriminating?"
"Why are you disrespecting me?"
What did he say?
"Why are you being impolite to me but showing respect to Brother Ludville?"
Wow, what a childish little man.
'Are you arguing with me now?'
Camilla looked at Ravi in disbelief.
He's always saying "Hey!" when addressing her. Is her name "Hey!"?
"Isn't it obvious?"
He's been calling her "Hey, you" and treating her like shit for the same reason, hasn't he?
"What's obvious is that you only respect Brother Ludville!"
"You're my biological brother."
"What?"
"Because you're my family."
What's with that expression?
'Why are you surprised?'
No way… Did he not think of her as a real sister all this time!?
'Hey, you rotten bastard!'
Camilla gritted her teeth as she watched Ravi's eyes widen, struggling to form words.
Why was he surprised to hear her call him her brother? Was it really surprising? Seriously?
'What's with that laugh?'
Ravi's mouth suddenly twitched, and Camilla's embarrassment intensified. What was funny about what she said?
'Huh?'
For a moment, something felt off. Camilla winced when she turned her head slightly.
'What's up with him?'
The atmosphere around Ludville was frigid as his expression turned icy.
The atmosphere wasn't bad until now, was it?
Ravi, on the other hand, appeared to be in a better mood than he was initially. A grin spread across his face as he gazed at Ludville.
'What is it?'
What was wrong with them?
Camilla sighed deeply as she watched them, whose moods kept changing into polar opposites.
* * *
"Father, what's wrong?"
The men in this house are in a terrible mood today.
Duke Sorpel, seated at the dinner table, wore a deep frown that seemed unwilling to dissipate.
"It's nothing."
"…?"
She didn't think it was nothing.
Camilla's discomfort is evident as she clicks her tongue in response to his answer.
When she didn't break her gaze, the Duke of Sorpel let out a short sigh and spoke simply.
"That jerk is coming."
That jerk?
"Don't get me started."
Tsk, Duke Sorpel's face contorted with irritation as he clicked his tongue.
When Camilla still looked puzzled, Duke Sorpel explained the situation in a little more detail.
"Jévillon; he's coming. We have some business to discuss."
'Jévillon? Jé— Ah!'
One of the Three Guardian Families, along with the Sorpel Dukedom.
"It must be very important for the Duke to come in person."
She's heard that there are many joint projects, and that the family heads meet periodically.
It must be very important for them to come here in person—
"No way. He's just coming here to play around."
Camilla smiled awkwardly at the undeniable statement.
It's not that they weren't but Duke Sorpel and Duke Jévillon like to tease and push each other around as if they were rivals.
"But…"
Uncharacteristically, Duke Sorpel glanced at Camilla.
"Pedro is coming as well."
Pedro? Who's that— Ah.
'The son of Duke Jévillon.'
She was perplexed as she had never addressed him by his given name. The cheeky red-haired bastard!
"I see he's coming, too."
One of the top five most annoying people in the world was that guy, Pedro.
'When I really look at that guy— hmm?'
The moment Pedro's name was uttered, the eyes of the three men sitting at the dining room table turned to Camilla at the same time.
'Phew.'
I know, I know… what's wrong with them.
'Even though she liked him, did it have to be that guy!?'
Anyway, she has weird tastes.
Camilla has had a longtime crush on Pedro.
The love— no, obsession she showed to Pedro was so excessive that no one could fail to recognize it.
She followed Pedro around, stole his things, and threw away letters he'd received from other women without his permission.
'Isn't that stalking?'
Stalking is a crime, man! What's so good about that red-haired bastard!?
Anyway, he's the cause of the altercation between her and the lady by pulling her hair at the party the other day.
At the time, Camilla had the courage to ask Pedro if he wanted to go to the party with her.
'That was a huge step of courage.'
Camilla was the one who's been chasing after Pedro, but hasn't been able to speak to him directly.
This was because she was afraid of being rejected, or that even their current shallow relationship would fall apart after being turned away and ignored.
She worked up the courage to ask first, but unfortunately, the results were not good.
Pedro declined her request, very politely and with a hint of regret in his voice, saying he had a partner.
'But…'
At the party that day, it was a young woman named Juella Bakes who was escorted in by Pedro Jévillon, whom Camilla had the worst relationship with.
She sneered at Camilla from the moment she walked into the party. She then approached Camilla and spoke to her.
'I heard you asked Lord Jévillon to escort you but were turned down.'
'It was because he had already made a prior engagement to Lady Bakes—'
'No.'
'What?'
'It was two days ago when I asked him to be my partner.'
'Ah—!'
'Oh dear, Pedro… If he didn't like you, he could've just said so.'
'…'
'What kind of man would want to be partners with a fake lady? You can't covet someone who's out of your league.'
The last words were spoken softly, like a whisper, but it was loud enough for Camilla to hear.
And with that, Camilla grabbed Juella Bakes by the hair, who was giggling with the other ladies around her.
'That was the famous incident at the party.'
Camilla, of course, did not reveal the entire story to others, and in the end, as always, people assumed that it ended with an uproar because of her temperament.
It was obvious as to why she didn't say it.
'She didn't want them to know that she fought because she was called a fake lady.'
She didn't want to utter the words "fake lady" and disclose it to the Duke of Sorpel or the rest of the family.
In the end, the Duke of Sorpel was forced to make material reparations to the families of the daughters who were wronged by Camilla.
'Did you have to grab her by the hair for that?'
If you're going to grab somebody's hair, you could've at least grab his red hair. Stop freaking people out.
Of course, everything Juella Bakes said that day was a lie.
It was true that she has a prior engagement with Pedro, but she made up a story to mock Camilla.
'Sigh.'
Anyway, unlike the original Camilla, she didn't like the red-haired guy.
However, the Duke of Sorpel, Ludville, and Ravi don't know that yet, and they have every reason to worry.
In fact, the three men were looking at Camilla with a hint of concern in their eyes.
Their faces revealed their inability to guess what kind of bizarre thing she might do.
"Don't worry."
Camilla smiled and folded the bread she was holding in half.
"I folded it."
She then took a big bite out of the bread and mumbled.
Gulp.
"Don't worry, I've given up on him."
Everyone in the room looked surprised at the unexpected declaration, but their faces soon softened. 'I'm sure you did.' was what their expressions read.
"They'll use business as an excuse and rub salt on the wound with their Divine Beast."
Despite wondering what was so boastful about having a Divine Beast, the Duke of Sorpel's expression was filled with despondency.
The situation of the family who lost their Divine Beast was frustrating.
'That's right… I need to find the Divine Beast.'
Looking at Duke Sorpel reminded her of Herschel, whom she met at the cemetery.
She wasn't a good swimmer either…
"Camilla."
"Yes?"
"Is something bothering you?"
The three men's eyes turned to Camilla when she released a long sigh unexpectedly.
"It's just… I'm upset because Father is upset."
She ignored Ravi's exasperated look that read 'You're doing all sorts of things now!'
The Duke of Sorpel's mouth twitched at the sight.
"Nevermind, just eat. The food will get cold."
"Yes. You eat as well, Father."
It was then that Chef Jellard arrived with several new dishes, which he carefully set down in front of the Duke of Sorpel.
"What are all these?"
"Lady Camilla has specially requested these for you."
"Camilla?"
The Duke of Sorpel's eyes widened as he studied the food before him.
"The colors…"
It's all a bit of a mess.
Strange colored drinks with unknown ingredients and desserts that look like dots.
"It's black beans."
"Beans?"
"Black beans are good for hair loss."
"Hair loss?"
Camilla smiled at the Duke of Sorpel, who asked further explanation.
"They said it's not genetic, but it can't hurt to be cautious."
"…?"
Well, being bald isn't a bad thing, either. Herschel, for example, whom she met at the grave—
'He had a shapely head.'
She thought that handsome men can't shave their heads and still look good.
Her gaze flicked to Ludville, who also had a lot of hair.
'Do I have to feed him, too?'
Ludville blinked under Camilla's gaze.