Ch.8282. Camilla, Dorothy, and Lily

# “Hot!”

From early morning, the training grounds reserved exclusively for the direct line of the Hart Ducal Family—located in the innermost part of the estate responsible for the western border of the Empire—was filled with shouts of exertion.

Though only two people were present in the training grounds, the atmosphere felt completely full.

The one creating this atmosphere was the youngest of the Hart family.

Dorothy Flamma Hart.

Originally, Dorothy had aimed to become a knight like Briana and Seraphina. With mentors to learn from and abundant support, she had been steadily progressing on her path to knighthood.

However, after returning to the mansion following the academy attack incident, Dorothy’s training methods changed completely. Instead of her previous systematic approach, she began pushing her body to the extreme with high-intensity training every single day without fail.

Anna, her personal maid, worried about her health and tried to dissuade her, but Dorothy remained resolute. She continued training relentlessly day after day, as if this was the only way to become a knight.

Today was no different. After nearly pushing her physical conditioning to the limit, she had been repeating basic sword training for two hours straight. Sweat poured down like rain, and her arms trembled, but the determination in her eyes remained unchanged from when she first began.

One more time.

Dorothy steadied her trembling arms as best she could and brought her sword down from above. Seeing the tip of the sword waver, she bit her lip and called out once more. The catalyst for her extreme training regimen was none other than her first brother, Gilbert.

Dorothy, who had always viewed Gilbert negatively during his years as a good-for-nothing, had recently come to many realizations after seeing how completely he had changed. In particular, Gilbert’s training routine before he left remained deeply etched in her mind.

The ascetic physical conditioning that wrung every muscle in his body and the tediously repetitive basic training.

He had been diligently performing all the fundamental training required of a knight.

Only after witnessing his training did Dorothy understand. How he had acquired such incredible piloting skills and swordsmanship worthy of becoming Briana’s exclusive disciple.

It was a shock, a ripple effect, and an awakening.

A mentor to learn from?

Abundant support?

Those weren’t what mattered. In the end, it was Dorothy herself who had to absorb all of it.

Briana, whom she admired so deeply, had stood on battlefields at a young age.

Would she have had mentors to learn from there? If not that, would she have received abundant support?

Dorothy shook her head. While Briana’s innate talent certainly contributed to her becoming the Empire’s greatest swordswoman of her generation, it must have been her bone-deep effort beyond that talent that made it possible.

This obvious and clear truth was something Dorothy had only realized after observing Gilbert.

“Phew…”

“Well done, my lady. Please have some water.”

As Dorothy finally achieved her target and collapsed to the ground panting, Anna, who had been standing to the side, approached with a towel and water. Having exerted herself to the point where even responding was difficult, Dorothy tried to regulate her ragged breathing and gulped down the water.

Normally, Anna would have scolded her for lacking grace, but not this time. She knew well that Dorothy was in no state to hear nagging after such grueling training.

Moreover, these days Dorothy had become obsessed with following in her brother’s footsteps. To put it bluntly, she was almost fanatical about it. After starting to imitate his training methods, she began taking interest in his every move.

It was similar to how she used to follow Briana’s footsteps. Anna, who had watched Dorothy since childhood, was certain of one thing:

Dorothy, who had previously looked at her brother as if he were vermin, now viewed him as an idol.

Her reaction when Anna had casually asked about him recently confirmed it, though Dorothy herself would never admit it.

Anna, secretly smiling at her lady’s adorable behavior, brought up news about her brother that she had recently received from the main house.

“By the way, my lady. I hear the first young master will be returning soon.”

“Hmm? My first brother?”

Despite still panting heavily, Dorothy’s face lit up at the mention of Gilbert. Though she tried to appear disinterested, her eyes urged Anna to continue.

Seeing this cute reaction, Anna briefly considered teasing her a little. For a moment, she thought about keeping Dorothy in suspense.

But she knew that would surely result in Dorothy pestering her all day. Remembering Dorothy’s surprisingly stubborn personality—how she would remain upset for a long time once offended—Anna proceeded to share the news about Gilbert that Dorothy was so curious about.

“He sent a message saying he’s returning to the mansion for Demeia Academy’s break. He only sent a brief message saying he’s coming back.”

“Hmm. Just that one sentence, ‘I’m coming back’?”

“Yes, that’s all that was written.”

“That’s so like my brother. I can almost hear his voice. Ahem. ‘I’m coming back.’ Something like that, right?”

Dorothy imitated Gilbert’s voice and giggled.

“You seem happy. Are you glad the first young master is returning?”

“Me? Anna, are you feeling unwell? Why would I be happy about my big brother coming back? I’m not at all pleased about that good-for-nothing returning.”

Dorothy’s face suddenly hardened as if she had never been smiling. She seemed to want to show that Gilbert’s return wasn’t welcome at all, but she didn’t realize this was having the opposite effect.

Anna didn’t point this out and simply nodded with a smile.

“Of course, my lady.”

“Anna. You know that smile is quite irritating, right?”

“You’re imagining things, my lady.”

As Dorothy and Anna continued their banter, someone suddenly rushed into the training grounds. It was one of the mansion’s servants, whose duties included announcing visitors.

“My lady! Lady Dorothy! You must come quickly!”

“James? What’s the matter all of a sudden?”

“He’s here!”

“Who’s here? You’re not making sense. Explain properly.”

Dorothy tried to calm James, who was speaking breathlessly. Normally, a servant behaving this way would be scolded by the head butler or head maid, but judging from James’s expression, it seemed to be an urgent matter.

After taking several deep breaths, James finally recovered enough to announce his purpose.

“The first young master. Master Gilbert has just returned!”

At that moment, both Dorothy and Anna’s expressions froze.

He certainly had a talent for making unexpected returns.

***

Gilbert realized one major misconception the moment he arrived at the mansion. More accurately, he had known it intellectually but hadn’t truly internalized it.

The life of social hierarchy that he hadn’t known as a modern person.

He had lived in South Korea, a country where visible class systems had disappeared and where everyone was essentially equal. Of course, if one dug deeper, there were other forms of status created by wealth disparities, but at least it wasn’t embedded in the state system itself.

That’s why he couldn’t empathize with it.

Gilbert hadn’t realized that returning to the mansion without notice, thinking he was being considerate, would actually be a huge burden on the household staff.

But seeing the maids frantically bustling about and the butlers running everywhere to announce his arrival, he finally understood his mistake.

In a hierarchical society, misplaced consideration can become poison.

It was comparable to a battalion commander suddenly showing up for “encouragement.”

When he thought of it that way, he felt chills down his spine. He finally realized what a terrible thing he had done.

Camilla was marveling at how lively the place was, but Gilbert couldn’t deny that he had deliberately withheld the date of his arrival.

The influence of the original Gilbert sleeping within him refused to be underestimated.

All Gilbert could do was keep his mouth shut and maintain an expressionless face until the head butler arrived.

“Welcome back, young master.”

The head butler, who had come to greet them, bowed excessively to Gilbert. He seemed to be adopting a submissive posture in advance, perhaps thinking the previous Gilbert might have flown into a rage.

“Hmm. It’s been a while, Edward.”

“There were shortcomings in welcoming you, young master. I beg your forgiveness for this old man’s sake.”

Edward Knox Grey, head butler of the Hart Ducal Family.

He was a man from the distinguished Grey Baronial Family, which had served the Hart Ducal Family for generations.

The Grey Baronial Family normally served the Hart Ducal Family, which guarded the border, but could readily serve as combat personnel in emergencies.

Particularly, the head of the Grey Baronial Family who served as head butler had to be more exceptional than any knight of the Hart Ducal Family. Edward, the current head butler, was considered the greatest among all the heads of the Grey Baronial Family throughout history.

In his youth, when he followed Count Lithuania to battlefields, he had made a name for himself as an outstanding giant knight comparable to Delmont, the head butler of the Tristitia Ducal Family.

Even though he was bowing now, he was by no means someone to be treated carelessly. Of course, the previous “Gilbert” wouldn’t have cared about such things, but the current Gilbert was different.

Knowing how formidable the man before him was, he maintained proper etiquette.

“The fault is mine for coming without notice.”

“…You’ve changed a lot since I last saw you.”

Though it sounded like a barbed comment, Gilbert didn’t point it out. It was true, and he knew Edward was sizing him up.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I’ve been very rude. The Count has instructed me to bring you to him as soon as you’re ready. Would you like to go right away?”

“That would be best.”

“Very well. But the person who came with you seems to be… the Lady Tristitia, if I’m not mistaken…”

“Pleased to meet you. I am Camilla Alacer Tristitia.”

What did I just witness?

Gilbert felt bewildered watching Camilla introduce herself so normally. Usually, such a greeting wouldn’t be surprising, but the fact that it came from Camilla made it noteworthy.

For Gilbert, it was astonishing that Camilla, the epitome of impulsiveness, could give such a normal self-introduction.

“Indeed, I’m glad this old man’s eye for detail hasn’t failed. Welcome to the Hart Ducal Family.”

“Thank you for your generous welcome, Sir Edward. I’ve heard much about you from Delmont.”

“Delmont… you heard about me from him?”

Edward’s expression suggested he had heard a nostalgic name. He had a deep relationship with Delmont, the head butler of the Tristitia Ducal Family, in many ways. They had been active on battlefields during similar periods, and above all, they shared the commonality of following one lord and ultimately becoming head butlers.

If one had to define it, they were both comrades in adversity and rivals.

A faint smile appeared on Edward’s face at hearing the familiar name after so long.

“It seems that friend is still going strong.”

“He’s so strict with his nagging. I can’t imagine Delmont ever losing his vigor.”

“You speak truly. Ah, I’ve kept you waiting too long after welcoming a guest. Lady Tristitia, would you also like to see the Count?”

“I couldn’t intrude on a long-awaited father-son reunion. I’ll go separately after Gilbert meets with the Count.”

“Haha. Then, I’ll prepare some tea for you in the meantime. Let’s head to the reception room first.”

Gilbert inwardly shook his head as he watched Camilla transform into a noble lady from a powerful family and follow Edward. They say a woman’s coyness is formidable, and it seemed this applied even to the tomboy Camilla.

After watching Camilla leave for the reception room, Gilbert headed to Count Lithuania’s office, where he would be waiting. Though Camilla’s behavior had been surprising, what mattered now was meeting his father, the Count of Lithuania.

Retracing the path he had taken before leaving for the academy, Gilbert arrived at the Count’s office and took a deep breath. Unlike before his departure, it no longer looked like the entrance to purgatory.

Well, let’s go.

With a somewhat lighter heart, Gilbert knocked on the office door and heard Count Lithuania’s voice.

“Enter.”

Gilbert opened the door without delay and saw Count Lithuania sitting at his desk, attending to his work.