At first, she was going to ignore it, but......

[My wife is very sick. I needed a large sum of money, and at the time, Ersh—that man—said that if I helped him with his work, he’d contribute to the treatment costs. Even knowing it was a crime, I pretended not to know and shut my eyes.]

Who doesn’t have a story? Just because you’re cornered, does everyone make the same choice? In the end, it’s the result of your own choice—so what do I care—

[There are a lot of people saying this and that about my death, and my son is having a very hard time.......]

“.......”

[Please. I’m begging you.]

Those words that followed made her feel uncomfortable.

“That kid, right? His dad.......”

“Yeah! That guy from the news!”

“They said he killed his wife... Ugh, that’s disgusting!”

“And they said the kid almost died too. Poor thing.”

“But doesn’t the kid feel kind of... creepy? The vibe.......”

Because she knew too well how sharp people’s words were, how painful they were.

In the end, she couldn’t turn away from the child.

So she asked Jainer. To go find the child. To become that child’s sponsor.

And she told him to do it in front of countless people.

“But why is that man stepping in too?”

Somehow, the Duke of Escra mentioned the child. He said he would sponsor him in the name of House Escra.

It was unexpected, but she didn’t refuse. If they were going to help anyway, it seemed better to extend a firm hand.

But then......

“I’ll pay the child’s sponsorship funds.”

“I didn’t know.”

“...What?”

“That our house is known as so poor we can’t even sponsor one little brat. I’ll find out which bastards spread that ridiculous rumor and tear their limbs—”

“That’s not it...!”

In the end, it wrapped up with House Escra taking full responsibility for all sponsorship funds for the child.

Even the child’s mother’s treatment costs.

“Well, I guess.......”

They said they were wealthier than even Gracia’s imperial family, so sponsoring a single child would be nothing to them.

“But, my lady.”

“What?”

“Are you expecting a message from someone?”

Seeing Camilla keep checking the communication orb since earlier, Dorman looked at her with a puzzled gaze.

“No.”

“...?”

“It’s just.......”

Camilla let out a short sigh.

“There’s nothing.”

“From who?”

“Everyone.”

“...Pardon?”

“My father, and Ravi.......”

They’d always contacted her without fail every few days, but at some point, both of them had abruptly stopped.

“Why don’t you contact them first?”

“It’s fine.”

She knew they were busy people, so it felt awkward to contact them first. She didn’t even have any particular business, and she worried she’d just be bothering them.

“Well, they’ll contact you.”

KNOCK KNOCK.

“Sis, let’s go for a walk.”

Just then, the door opened and Dive came in.

“Sure.”

Camilla glanced at the communication orb one last time, then walked out slowly with Dive.

*****

“Why do you look like that? Something going on?”

The Duke of Jevillan and the Duke of Sephra, visiting the Sorpel residence for the first time ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) in a while, looked at their longtime friend’s stiff expression with puzzled eyes.

“What’s remembering my expression supposed to mean?”

“Anyone can see it’s a face that says, ‘I’ve got worries.’” 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The Duke of Sorpel lightly shook his head.

“Nothing’s going on.”

But the Duke of Jevillan and the Duke of Sephra didn’t believe him.

He was trying to act calm, but the two men who had watched him for years noticed right away.

That he was currently sunk in something deep.

“If it’s like this.”

After a brief sigh, the Duke of Sorpel slowly opened his mouth.

“If Camilla’s biological father shows up, what should I do?”

“Biological father?”

“Did he show up?”

At the unexpected words, even the Duke of Sephra, who had been silent the whole time, widened his eyes and asked back.

“I said if!”

The irritated retort came back, but neither of them believed it.

“Biological father... that’s unexpected.”

“The girl’s seventeen, isn’t she? That’s sudden.”

“I said if! If!”

“So what kind of man is he?”

“Has he already met the child?”

Watching the two of them not even pretend to listen to him, another long sigh spilled from the Duke of Sorpel.

“What does he do?”

“That isn’t the important part.”

“How is that not important? Do you have any idea how much property that kid has? Don’t do some random guy a favor—if she says she’s going to her biological father, tell her to hand over the Mana Stone mine you gave her and then go.”

“.......”

“.......”

“Why are you looking at me like that!”

When the Duke of Sorpel and the Duke of Sephra stared at him like he was pathetic, the Duke of Jevillan snapped.

“Why is money coming up here?”

“Losing your daughter is annoying enough, but if you lose money too, it’s even more annoying.”

“Don’t talk like she’s already been taken!”

Seeing his friend even give off a faint Killing Intent, the Duke of Jevillan discreetly averted his eyes. He should stop teasing here.

“So. What kind of man is he? Did he show up looking like a beggar or something?”

“...If only.”

If Camilla’s biological father were someone who had nothing, his mind would be far more at ease.

That man is Camilla’s biological father.......

Recently, he’d received a report from BLACK SHADOW, whom he’d assigned to Camilla.

That the Duke of Escra in the Gracia Empire was Camilla’s biological father.

The moment he heard it through Rube, he couldn’t react for quite a while.

Because it was a problem he’d never even considered once.

Was that why?

Was that why she kept hesitating to come back here?

After Marquess Gabuel—the one behind it all—died, passage between nations with the Gracia Empire had become smooth again.

And yet, the Duke of Sorpel couldn’t immediately go and bring Camilla back.

Because it seemed like the child didn’t want it......

What if she never comes back like this?

Lately, he couldn’t even contact Camilla. He was afraid she might say she wasn’t going back.

Another long sigh escaped the Duke of Sorpel.

“Feels like the atmosphere’s brutal.”

“.......”

Petro and Arsian, who had come to the Sorpel residence with their fathers, couldn’t help but be puzzled by the heavy mood hanging over everything.

And the place where that mood had peaked was the training grounds.

The two of them went to the training grounds where House Sorpel’s knights trained, but they couldn’t get any closer.

“The cause is... probably that person.”

Many people were training, but the training grounds didn’t even carry the sound of rough breathing. Even while training, everyone kept watching one person’s mood.

Ludville.

He was silently watching the knights training from one side of the grounds.

His eyes, which always looked indifferent, had sunk even colder than usual.

Just meeting that chilling presence made everyone hold their breath.

“Sir Ludville, over there.......”

At the two men’s arrival, someone who looked like an adjutant spoke to Ludville carefully.

Like a statue, he slowly turned his head.

Only then, under that gaze, did Petro and Arsian approach Ludville.

“It’s been a while, Brother.”

Petro greeted him with easy familiarity.

Arsian, on the other hand, looked at Petro like he was sick of him. How could “Brother” come out that naturally when they’d barely even met?

“Is something going on?”

“Hey.......”

Even Petro tilted his head faintly, like Arsian was hopeless, at the way he jumped straight to the question.

“No. Nothing. Don’t mind it.”

Ludville lightly shook his head, drawing a clear line.

With that air of refusing to allow even a shred of interest in this matter, neither of them continued with more questions. They didn’t want to irritate Ludville.

“By the way, I don’t see Brother Ravi either.”

“...Magic Tower.”

“Ah... he must be busy.”

Even to that question, Ludville didn’t say much.

There was no reason to tell them that Ravi hadn’t come home for a whole week.

After hearing that Camilla had found her biological father, Ravi hadn’t returned home from that day on.

At first, he hadn’t understood why. Why it was such a shock, such a big deal, that she had a biological father.

But as the thought took hold—that the reason Camilla still wasn’t coming back might be that biological father—Ludville’s mood sank more and more.

If she didn’t come back like this? No, if they didn’t let her go on that side?

“...War, then.”

At his quiet mutter, Petro and Arsian’s eyes widened. War? What was he suddenly talking about?

But after that, not a single word followed from Ludville, and only their questions deepened further.

*****

“That guy is still doing that?”

“Yes. He hasn’t taken a single step out of the laboratory.”

Kador, the deputy head of the Magic Tower and Ravi’s mentor, clicked his tongue briefly.

No matter how busy he was, the guy used to come home without fail—yet for the last few days he’d holed up in his laboratory and vanished without a word.

“He’d been quiet for a while.”

This wasn’t the first time. In the past, he’d sometimes been like this.

Whenever something built up, or whenever he had to swallow dissatisfaction alone, he would shut himself in the Magic Tower for days and never come out.

But there hadn’t been anything like that recently......

“So what set off that damned temper this time?”

Kador clicked his tongue again.

It always made him laugh—how someone with the greatest magical talent would constantly compare himself to others and suffer over his own shortcomings.

“Well, I guess.......”

If he had someone like that in his family, he might’ve been the same.

The person Ravi used as his comparison was none other than the empire’s youngest Swordmaster, Ludville Sorpel.

You see what you are—growing up with a brother who could be called a genius of the century without exaggeration, his standards couldn’t help but be high. Kador understood that.

Even when his disciple produced remarkable magical achievements, he was always stuck in his laboratory with an inferiority complex, and Kador didn’t say much.

What could he say to a disciple who felt his own insufficiency and struggled to push himself further somehow?

Ravi, trying to escape psychological pressure, threw himself into research without any clear purpose, and sure enough, the results weren’t good.

Not just unimpressive—if anything, it felt like he was backsliding. The vicious cycle repeated.

It was unfortunate, but Kador couldn’t offer advice carelessly.

Realizing that you can’t produce satisfying results by only driving yourself mercilessly—that was something you had to learn on your own.

Not long ago, when Ravi still wouldn’t come out, Kador had secretly sighed, thinking the guy was digging himself into another hole again.

But that wasn’t it.

At the time, Ravi had looked very comfortable. For the first time, the guy who was always wrapped in an oppressive pressure, as if he were being chased, looked at ease.

And the magical growth he’d shown then had been enough to surprise even Kador.

So why is he like this again all of a sudden?

WUUUUNG—!

Kador cast magic and vanished on the spot.

A moment later, he appeared in his disciple’s laboratory.

“.......”

He found Ravi right away.

Seeing his disciple lying on the bed with his forearm covering his eyes, Kador clicked his tongue again, tsk tsk.