"Miss"
"What is it?"
"The Duke has sent someone to invite you for tea."
"Tea?"
"Yes."
"Alright."
Recently, Camilla had been enjoying tea with Duke Sorfel quite often. Every time she visited his office to arrange flowers, they would share snacks together.
This was a pleasant development, and Camilla welcomed the time spent with him, knowing she needed to win his favor.
"Come in."
"..."
But why was that guy here?
Moments later, when Camilla arrived to see the Duke, she found someone already there spending time with him.
"Did you come?"
It was Ravi.
"What are you doing? Come sit over here."
What a smug guy.
Unlike when they were alone, Ravi smiled and invited her to sit, causing Camilla to click her tongue inwardly as she took her seat.
'He seems in a good mood?'
Ravi's expression while drinking tea looked brighter than usual. Was something good happening?
Now that she thought about it, something felt off. Ravi wouldn't normally choose to have tea with the Duke instead of making time for himself.
"Father."
"Hmm?"
Ravi seemed to have something to say as he set down his teacup. He was clearly trying to suppress a smile.
"I'm going to present my thesis this time."
'Ah.'
So that was it.
Camilla finally understood the situation. This event happened every year when she observed this world.
The Magic Tower selected those who performed well annually to present in front of numerous wizards. For wizards, it was a very honorable and significant occasion.
'It's understandable that the sly fox can't manage his expression even in front of the Duke.'
His pride was evident.
But what could she do? Camilla clicked her tongue inwardly again.
'It's about time he arrived.'
She glanced at the door.
Suddenly!
As if on cue, someone burst through the door without knocking. It was Jackter, the Duke's aide.
"Duke!"
His face radiated joy as if he were about to burst into laughter.
"What's going on?"
"It's a great victory! A great victory!"
"What?"
"Lord Rudville has finally located the rebel base and wiped them all out!"
"...!"
"And it was all thanks to Lord Rudville's own strategy!"
"Is that true!"
Duke Sorfel jumped up from his seat with a bright smile. The long-standing war against the rebels was finally nearing its end.
"Yes! A report has already gone to the royal family! His Majesty is very pleased and has sent a personal letter to Lord Rudville!"
"Haha!"
"Our lord is indeed impressive! Haha!"
Duke Sorfel and Jackter laughed heartily at each other.
'So this is how it goes.'
Camilla clicked her tongue once more inwardly and turned her head slightly to look at Ravi.
The atmosphere around him had noticeably darkened compared to earlier. He was trying hard to remain calm, but she could see his fingertips trembling slightly.
'What were you expecting?'
It had always been like this.
'That unlucky guy.'
Rudville, the Duke's eldest son, wasn't doing it on purpose; he just happened to be extremely unlucky.
'It's even sadder that both the presentation and celebration party are on the same day.'
Ravi's presentation at the Magic Tower coincided with Rudville's victory celebration party. Naturally, all attention from the Duke's household would be focused on the victory party instead of Ravi's presentation.
"I'll take my leave now."
"Huh? No, why? Why not stay a bit longer?"
"No, I remember I have something to do."
"Alright then."
Duke Sorfel smiled pleasantly as he saw Ravi off.
"I should also be going."
Camilla stood up and left the office as well. Meanwhile, Duke Sorfel and Jackter continued exchanging laughter.
Tap.
"..."
The moment the office door closed, Ravi's face fell cold. He bit his lip tightly.
He had thought this time he would finally receive recognition.
'Was it really too much to expect?'
He felt empty after spending months on that research. Shouldn't he have just learned combat magic and roamed the battlefield?
Pathetic.
"Brother, you're more impressive than I expected."
Just as his mood sank further, a familiar voice pierced through his thoughts.
"You're even having a presentation today."
Camilla had approached Ravi with wide eyes, looking at him curiously.
"Are you teasing me?"
"I'm being serious."
"..."
"That's something only those who have achieved great results can do through hard work."
"What do you know...!"
Thud.
"You did well."
"..."
After lightly patting his shoulder, Camilla walked past him while Ravi stared blankly after her.
"What's up with her lately?"
---
**Later Scene:**
"Miss! You look amazing in this dress!"
"How can someone wear this outfit so well? I've never seen anyone pull it off like you!"
The designer from the Duke's household and the attending maidens were busy showering compliments on Camilla as they admired her appearance in front of a mirror.
Camilla checked her reflection while listening to their flattery.
'Even I think I look pretty good.'
The red dress, reminiscent of a sunset, contrasted beautifully with Camilla's pale skin, creating an intriguing allure.
"You will be the most beautiful person at this party!"
The Duke was currently overwhelmed with preparations for an unexpected celebration party because Lord Rudville was returning after achieving a great victory over the rebels.
'No time for rest; they're throwing a party right away.'
Isn't it normal for someone returning from battle to be given some time to relax?
Camilla shook her head at those preparing for the party in line with Rudville's return.
'Well, I suppose this is part of politics too.'
On the day of the party, there would also be festivities within the territory. It seemed like they wanted to widely publicize what Duke Sorfel—especially Rudville—had accomplished.
Moreover, such parties and celebrations were necessary to quell grief and sorrow for those who had died on the battlefield.
"The jewelry is beautiful too!"
The jewels prepared alongside her dress were all uniquely designed and stunningly beautiful.
"I'll make sure you look absolutely gorgeous that day!"
Seeing Donna clench her fists excitedly made Camilla smile slightly.
"I'm counting on you."
It certainly seemed like standing out that day would be beneficial.
"Just don't cause any trouble."
At that moment, a cold voice interrupted. Turning around, she found Ravi standing there with an unhappy expression on his face.
"Why are you here causing trouble?"
"You have a history of it."
"I admit it."
"What?"
"I admit it; I used to grab your hair sometimes."
Ravi frowned even more at Camilla's playful gesture of mimicking grabbing hair with both hands.
She had definitely changed.
In the past, she would have blushed or shown annoyance at such comments from him; now she just laughed instead.
"Did you get a new outfit for yourself?"
"What outfit?"
Ravi's face quickly hardened. Was she asking if he had prepared an outfit for the victory party?
Had he forgotten what was happening that day?
"The outfit for your presentation."
"…Forget it."
But at Camilla's next words, Ravi turned away gruffly in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.
'This is insane.'
He felt absurd realizing that Camilla had completely forgotten about his presentation and that she didn't even care about it anymore.
Why should he care whether she remembered or not!
"It'll be compared."
"I said forget it; what does clothing matter?"
"If that's how you feel then fine; I definitely warned you."
"You'll embarrass yourself at the party!"
"I admit it."
Fidgeting with his hands again in frustration made him sigh softly as he left the room. He didn't even know why he had come here in the first place.
Camilla ignored Ravi as he walked away and continued looking at other dresses and jewelry.
---
**On Presentation Day:**
"Hey, Ravi."
On presentation day, Ravi hurried out early in the morning toward the Magic Tower after finishing all his preparations in his lab before heading into the presentation hall.
"..."
As soon as he entered, someone quickly approached him. It was Jayle, who was also presenting this time and wore a broad smile on his face as he came closer.
Ravi couldn't understand why Jayle suddenly wanted to act friendly when he usually glared at him whenever they met.
"Did you prepare well?"
"Well enough."
"You must have done quite well then."
"What do you want?"
At Ravi's question, Jayle's smile grew even wider.
"Our parents are over there."
He casually threw an arm around Ravi's shoulder and pointed toward where people were seated.
"That's my sister."
The family members clearly looked like relatives; among them was a younger sister who stood out for her beauty and attracted attention from nearby boys.
"So who is coming from your house today? Everyone should be coming right? No one has arrived yet?"
Feigning nonchalance while looking around made Jayle grin broadly as he realized what he was doing now that Ravi understood his intentions clearly.
"You're not saying no one is coming?"
Jayle acted shocked as if he genuinely didn't know anything about what was happening today at Duke Sorfel's household despite being fully aware of everything already—what an immature brat!
"This doesn't concern you."
"Why wouldn't it? I feel sorry for my friend who can't even invite family members to such an important event."
"..."
"Well…"
Jayle lowered his voice slightly now.
"The real son…"