“Welcome. You all worked hard coming such a long way.”

At the Emperor of Fable’s greeting, Duke Kais Escra answered with nothing more than a brief bow of his head.

And a bland, uninterested gaze on top of it. He was broadcasting with his whole body that the Emperor’s welcome meant nothing to him.

At that, the others who came with him hurriedly stepped in, speaking to the Emperor in his place and pouring out congratulatory words.

“....”

In the meantime, Duke Kais Escra’s eyes swept the surroundings for a moment, then stopped dead at one spot.

Right where Camilla was.

When he saw Camilla standing there blankly, the corner of Duke Kais Escra’s mouth lifted slightly.

...He’s smiling?

Did you just smile? In this situation, you have a smile in you?

Seeing Duke Kais Escra looking like he was stifling a chuckle as if her flustered face amused him, heat surged up in Camilla in an instant.

Why did he even come?

You. You’re not someone with that kind of free time. You were the type who skipped meals all the time because you were “busy” every day—how did you even get here?

“Is that him?”

“Yes!”

“That man is the Gracia Empire’s....”

Everyone in the hall turned their attention toward him.

At the appearance of the man who held the Gracia Empire’s real power in his hands, people’s eyes lit with excitement.

Consort Jabiela was among them.

He’s finally here.

He was her only way out. The very man she had been waiting for with such desperate longing today was Duke Kais Escra.

Of course, she knew. She knew that because of him, everything she’d planned for so long had turned to dust.

She already knew exactly whose hands the Gracia Empire’s First Prince had died by, too.

The one who had ruined her long-term plans—Duke Kais Escra.

But the one she needed most right now was also him.

Politics has no such thing as an eternal enemy.

If she could make him her ally, she’d have nothing left to fear. Gaining his power was no different from putting the Gracia Empire at her back.

No matter what, I have to make him mine.

Consort Jabiela started walking toward Duke Kais Escra.

“Hm?”

But she had to stop at once. Because he was already moving first, approaching someone.

“No, why....”

The place he was heading was exactly where Camilla stood.

Seeing that, confusion filled Consort Jabiela’s face.

Why her, of all people?

She had never liked Camilla.

No—more accurately, she’d seen her as beneath notice.

Since even her origins couldn’t be properly known, she hadn’t felt she was worth dealing with at all.

Recently, Camilla had been drawing eyes here and there, but what did that matter? Common blood didn’t vanish just because people looked at you.

Then why?

Since Camilla had once gone to the Gracia Empire as part of a delegation, she might have become a familiar face.

But as far as Consort Jabiela knew, Duke Kais Escra was not the kind of man who would approach someone first and pretend familiarity over something that minor.

Hadn’t she just seen it? The way he couldn’t even be bothered to properly return a greeting in front of the Emperor of Fable.

“Camilla.”

But the next moment, when he called Camilla’s name warmly, no one could hide their surprise. Consort Jabiela’s eyes widened even further.

What is this?

Was there something between those two?

“It’s been—”

Regardless of what people thought, Duke Kais Escra was about to finish his greeting, but he didn’t get to complete it.

Slide.

Because three people stepped in at lightning speed and blocked the space in front of Camilla.

“F-Father?”

It was the Duke of Sorpel. And beside him, Ludville and Ravi were there as well.

The three of them blocked Camilla completely without hesitation and stared steadily at Duke Kais Escra.

“....”

Duke Kais Escra responded to the three of them with the same indifferent gaze he’d used on the Emperor of Fable.

The air the four of them gave off was so heavy that everyone nearby quickly held their breath.

Can I run away?

Feeling her head start to ache, Camilla pressed her brow hard with her fingers.

How was she supposed to resolve this quietly—

“I came to see my daughter, and there are more obstacles than I expected.”

Hey. You insane bastard.

At Duke Kais Escra’s words—dropping a bomb like her worries were a joke—Camilla’s mouth fell open.

Meanwhile, he only grinned at the three men, who were now letting out an even colder presence.

Chapter. The One Without a Name

“So you all knew from the beginning. That I met my biological father.”

“....”

“....”

“....”

At Camilla’s question, the three men—starting with the Duke of Sorpel—clamped their mouths shut and couldn’t say a word.

“I could tell you knew. You’re not even punks, and you kept pretending not to know and hiding it from an innocent kid this whole time?”

“Could you shut up for a moment.”

Who’s an innocent kid? And who are you calling punks? The guy who tossed a bomb into the party hall and cackled?

Did you leave your mind back in the Gracia Empire? What is this supposed to be?

In the end, before Duke Kais Escra could spew any more nonsense, they had to rush him back and get him home.

Was he always this obnoxious?

Instead of fanning the flames, he was sitting right there poking at them, and Camilla looked at Duke Kais Escra with an incredulous stare.

“What? Are you happy to see your dad again after so long?”

“I told you to shut up.”

Did he actually come here with his mind missing? What is wrong with him?

“Camilla.”

At that moment, the Duke of Sorpel called to her quietly. Startled, she lowered her head without thinking.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you first.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

Stop butting in, you—

Leaving Duke Kais Escra behind, still frowning like something bothered him, Camilla continued.

“I didn’t want to make pointless trouble.”

At Camilla’s words, the Duke of Sorpel let out a short sigh.

“We also didn’t want to acknowledge it.”

He didn’t want to hear it. The Duke of Sorpel was afraid of Camilla bringing up Duke Kais Escra.

Afraid she might say she wanted to go back to him.

“I’m sorry.”

“Is finding your bloodline something to apologize for?”

Duke Kais Escra cut in again.

“How much did you grab her for pointless things since she was little, that she’s turning herself into a sinner over something this small?”

“Who’s turning into a sinner?”

“Look at you. That’s exactly what you’re doing. Was this what you were so desperate to go back for?”

“Enough. More importantly, when are you leaving?”

“They said it’s fine for me to stay here.”

“Ah, come on!”

Those people? You shameless— I knew you’d traded manners for nothing, but are you really going to do this after coming all the way here?

“I’m saying this because I heard something.”

“You heard something? What—?”

Instead of answering, Duke Kais Escra shifted his gaze to the Duke of Sorpel. For a moment, a bleak chill flickered through his eyes.

Before coming here, he had received an investigation report about Camilla.

It was dozens of pages long, and Duke Kais Escra read every single line without missing a single letter.

The Ducal ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) House of Sorpel’s unwanted burden.

It said this and that, but in the end, the core was this.

A child who grew up with nobody’s attention from early childhood, raised under everyone’s disregard and contempt.

That was what the report said.

Recently, evaluations had changed a lot, but until not long ago she had been someone everyone turned away from.

He’d even heard that she was disrespected by the house maids.

If even the lower ones treated her like that, doesn’t that say it all?

The moment he read that report, he couldn’t stop the anger rising.

Then again....

Who could he blame? It was all his fault.

He was the one who hadn’t even known Camilla existed. What right did he have to say anything, to resent anyone?

Still.

It was hard for him to have anything good to say to the Duke of Sorpel. While she was being judged like that, what was he doing?

“I’m sorry, Father.”

“Camilla!”

“Why are you apologizing?!”

“You....”

When she apologized in Duke Kais Escra’s place, this time the Duke of Sorpel, Ravi, and Ludville all furrowed their brows.

“For once, we agree. A daughter shouldn’t be apologizing instead of her father.”

Watching the three of them, Duke Kais Escra lifted the corner of his mouth again. Camilla poked him in the side like stop it already, but he didn’t react.

“Daughter? Where is your daughter here?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? Then I’ll tell you.”

“Is there any need to cram useless things into your head?”

“Guess your brain’s smaller than I thought.”

CRACKLE!

Sparks flew between the Duke of Sorpel and Duke Kais Escra.

Camilla let out a short sigh at the sight. A real headache came rolling in.

Even when she lived as Sia Lee, she’d often suffered from migraines. It felt like it was starting again.

“Both of you, stop and drink your tea. Tea.”

“....”

“....”

“Or I’m leaving.”

“I’ll drink.”

“Drink.”

As Camilla tried to stand, the two men on either side grabbed her at the same time, and without hesitation they began sipping their tea.

“As expected.”

Someone who had been quietly watching the whole situation let out admiring exclamations. It was Count Alton, who had come here with Duke Kais Escra.

“Lady Camilla truly must be at Lord Kais’s side. Do you know how hard it was for me after you left, miss?”

He dabbed at the corner of his eyes, pretending to sob.

“Lady Camilla, come with us.”

“What are you talking about?!”

At that, Ravi sprang to his feet.

“There are tons of people here who’ll turn this place into a mess if that brat isn’t around!”

“As if it could be a bigger mess than that man?”

“We’ve got Arsian on our side!”

...Why is that name coming up here?

Even as they kept snarling at each other, Camilla gave up trying to stop them and only kept letting out sighs.

*****

“You’re Ravi?”

On his way to the laboratory, Ravi stopped when he heard someone call him.

Duke Kais Escra was standing there, looking at him—like he’d followed him out at some point.

Does that man not age?

The instant Ravi saw him, he recognized him.

That it was the same man who had suddenly barged into his life long ago.