"Oh, I wish summer wasn't coming."
[Miss…]
"I'm just kidding."
Walking past the lakeshore, Camilla smirked at Derrin, the butler ghost, who seemed to take offense at her words.
"But do you really need to follow me to the Academy?"
[Herschel is waiting with bated breath.]
She guessed so.
He's been waiting for this for so long, she can't even imagine how hard it is. A day will feel like a year.
'I understand how you feel, but—'
Can it really be done?
The water is cold, and she really wasn't that good of a swimmer.
The lake looks pretty deep, but can you safely find and retrieve an egg if you don't know where it is?
[Don't worry, as I told you before, I've already identified where the egg of the Divine Beast is. Just follow me.]
"…"
As if guessing what Camilla was thinking, Derrin reassured her once more.
'I've never been afraid of water, but—'
She's shot commercials and movies underwater many times.
'Well, whatever.'
Glancing away from Derrin's pleading eyes, Camilla resumed her pace, hoping to get in the water and retrieve the egg as soon as possible.
"Tell me."
"I have nothing to say."
Hmm?
Camilla was just leaving the dense forest when she heard a sound that stopped her in her tracks. A man was grabbing a woman and talking to her.
"Let's have some tea."
Uh.
'What's with that old-fashioned line?'
Not even the neighborhood asshole says that line these days. Why did it feel embarrassing to hear that?
Camilla shook her head in disbelief. She tried to keep her footsteps as quiet as possible to avoid the spot.
Whack!
"I don't want to do that."
The woman shouted firmly, shaking off the man's grasp, while Camilla moved further and further away from them.
"Ha! You don't even know your place—!"
Hold on.
Place?
'Why is he saying that here?'
Camilla's stride came to a halt.
She thought this was just a case of a guy chasing a girl he liked? Her gaze snapped back to the two of them.
"Is your family so great?"
The man grabbed her by the wrist again.
The woman was a little freaked out by his words and actions, she didn't know what to do at the moment.
"Get your hands off me!"
The man didn't budge despite her rejection. Instead, he smirked and pulled her toward him.
"Ah!"
The woman's body collapsed under the force of his violent behavior.
The woman on the ground was unable to pick herself up. The man's mouth curled into a wicked grin as he noticed.
"Don't you know who my family is? How dare you… Just say thank you and follow me. Enough of this—"
"Perhaps it's you as a person and not your family that's the problem."
"…!"
"You slept through language class, didn't you? That's why your choice of words and comprehension skills are terrible. It's not that she doesn't like your family, she just doesn't like you."
Turning sharply, the man, Jude, flinched as he faced the owner of the voice.
"Ca- Camilla Sorpel?"
"I don't have to thank you for recognizing me, do I?"
Jude looked panicked and quickly scanned Camilla's surroundings.
Then, for a moment, his face relaxed as if he realized something.
"Are you here alone?"
"Yeah, so what?"
A sneer crossed Jude's face at her answer. It was obvious that he was looking down on her.
"Heh, you're inserting yourself in a conversation you know nothing about."
It didn't matter if Camilla didn't have eyes to see. It was kind of a no-brainer that he has a nasty temper even to the Duke.
"You still don't know your situation, do you? Mind your own business and get lost."
"My situation—"
Camilla smiled wryly.
"Shouldn't you be more concerned about your situation than mine?"
"What?"
"Jude Hevely, second son of Count Hevely. Twenty years old… Twenty, really? You look older than your age. You're a child of an illegitimate concubine and have been acting spoiled from an early age."
"What are you jabbering about!?"
Jude's relaxed face contorted. But Camilla was unfazed, and continued to speak.
"Three years ago, on March 15, you were reported for forcibly harassing Viscount Savely's daughter and threatening to kill her. You're such a good-for-nothing… Anyway, the Count spent a huge amount of money to cover it up. On July 3, last year, you were caught trying to kidnap Baron Xylun's second daughter with your friends. What a pathetic life you have."
"…What are you doing?"
Jude's eyes shook constantly.
He couldn't understand how she could know something that only his father and family knew.
The events that came out of Camilla's mouth had long since been silenced at great expense, so how could------!
"How do you even know that!?"
"I know. I wonder, too."
Camilla turned her head slightly to look at Darren beside her.
How do you know so much about someone else's children?
[That… That bastard…! Miss, that guy…!]
Although his agitation seemed to have subsided, Derrin's expression was still grim.
'Derrin, who are you?'
Are all butlers like this?
"I asked how you know that!?"
Wow… the fact that it can't be recycled makes her angry.
Camilla smirked, even as she locked eyes with Jude, who glared at her as if he were going to kill her at any moment.
"You don't even know the situation."
"What?"
"Is your family so great?"
"…!"
Jude's face reddened as he realized she'd been echoing his own words from earlier.
"You're just an orphan sponging off a Duke!"
Wow… how childish. Then, she'll just be childish, too.
"I'm telling on you."
"What!?"
"I am telling the person who took in this orphan and raised her."
Look at his face. He's scared of the Duke.
In the meantime, Camilla was relieved to know he was troubled enough to not speak…
'But what should I do?'
It's not her.
When she said she was going to tell the Duke about it today, Jude immediately flinched.
"Ha…"
But after a while, Jude's expression relaxed again.
"If you know what I've done… then, you know what happened, don't you?"
The man with the wicked grin took a step closer to Camilla.
"That I never paid for the crime. Will it be different this time?"
Wow— she's never been surprised by the same person three times. No matter how stupid they are, it's amazing how stupid they can get.
"Stop it! She's done nothing wrong!"
A woman's urgent voice came from behind her, but Camilla didn't turn around to look at her.
"What should I do with this little girl?"
She was too busy thinking about what to do with that guy.
'Well, there's no one around to witness this.'
She doesn't even have a reputation to lose.
So Camilla threw it. What exactly? The bracelet.
"Huh? Uh… Argh!"
"Oh."
The bracelet, which fit snugly around her wrist, stretched and turned into chains, binding Jude tightly.
She was a little nervous about throwing it because it was a gift from Ravi, but she was very pleased with the result.
"W-What is this!? Release me immediately! Get this off me now! Hey! Ugh!"
God he's loud.
"Argh! Wh-What are you doing!? Ugh!"
She lifted her arm, and Jude's body jerked upward. Soon he was dangling from the top of a nearby tree, and he cried out pitifully.
"L-Let me go! Please let me go!"
"If you keep being noisy, I'll really release you."
"Loosen it!"
"Really? Do you want me to release you? If I do that from that height then…"
"…!"
Jude swallowed hard, but he understood immediately.
"Looks like you don't want to die. By the way…"
How can she do it?
She knows how to use the bracelet but she had no idea how to release someone tied by it.
'Brother Ravi, if you told me, you should have told me properly!'
Well, who knew she'd be using it so soon.
Camilla was internally panicking, but she still gave him an easy smile as if she could release him at any moment.
It was then.
When it happened. "Jude? What are you doing there?"
"You never came back, so we came…"
"Didn't you say you were good on your own?"
When others showed up. It was three men.
Their arrival causes Jude's face to light up as he hangs from the tree.
"Hey! Get her! Now!"
Quick on the uptake, the men quickly grasped the situation and surrounded Camilla.
"Oh my god…"
Unaware that his colleagues would be around, Camilla regretted throwing the bracelet so soon. She also blames her own stupidity for not asking Ravi how to remove the bracelet beforehand.
'When I get back today, I'll have Ravi show me how to use it properly.'
To do so, she needs to get through this situation unscathed.
Camilla backed away slowly, watching the men approach.
She's been racking her brain trying to figure out how to fix the situation, but she couldn't think of a single way to do it.
Will she be safe if she runs away? It's already late, and there aren't many people left in the Academy.
"Oh!"
"Ugh!"
"…?"
Camilla, who had been unconsciously stumbling backwards, lost in thought, was suddenly puzzled.
The three men, who had been slowly approaching her as if they were teasing a rabbit, stopped walking at the same time.
Their expressions were very stiff. What's wrong with them?
'What is it?'
Puzzled, she continued to back away. She wanted to put as much distance between her and them as possible.
However…
Bump.
"…?"
At that moment, she bumped into something behind her.
Camilla's eyes widened quickly as she quickly turned her head to see if it was a tree. But there was something so unexpected standing behind her.
"Elder brother?"
It was Ludville.
"What are you doing here?"
That was something she wanted to ask.
"What brings you here?"
"I was just passing by."
Where on earth was he going to have to pass through this place?
Camilla stared at Ludville in disbelief for a moment. But she doesn't think there's ever been a better time to welcome him.
Grab!
Camilla unconsciously grabs the hem of his robe, and Ludville, who glances up, asks in a calm voice.
"Is it them?"
"Pardon?"
"Who made you cry?"