Ch.8484. Camilla, Dorothy, and Lily

Gilbert left the office after receiving full authority over the Sigurdians from the Count of Lithuania. This was the moment when one of the prerequisites for clearing the main scenario had fallen into his hands.

His plan for clearing the scenario began with obtaining this authority. Having complete command would allow him to take proactive action rather than responding passively.

Since there was no way to prevent the war itself, the Count of Lithuania would reorganize the army to deal with the Sigurdians.

For Gilbert, who wanted to clear the main scenario and minimize casualties, joining the reorganized army was necessary, but without command authority, the problem would become much larger.

To prevent bloodshed and clear the main scenario, his independent action was absolutely essential.

But when did the military ever tolerate individual actions?

Moreover, being part of the army meant strictly following the chain of command. No matter that he was the eldest son of the Hart County family, he couldn’t disobey a commander’s orders.

If he were to disobey a commander’s orders, it would affect military discipline, which would in turn negatively impact morale.

What would happen if they encountered the Sigurdians in such a situation?

Obviously, the Empire would suffer significant casualties.

That’s why Gilbert, even though he thought it was a long shot, requested full authority over the Sigurdians from the Count of Lithuania. If his independent actions as commander didn’t affect the entire army, they could be treated as part of the operation.

Of course, if he, as the authority figure, made unilateral decisions, that would create its own problems, but it carried less risk compared to what was mentioned earlier. At least he wouldn’t have to disobey a superior’s orders.

However, Gilbert had thought the Count of Lithuania wouldn’t delegate full authority to him.

Logically, it was impossible for a youngster with no official war experience to lead an army into battle. No matter how capable his advisors might be, if the commander didn’t listen, it would all be meaningless.

So he had been skeptical about receiving full authority, but fortunately, the Count of Lithuania had delegated it to him.

While obtaining the authority was his goal, Gilbert still wondered what the Count’s reasoning was.

Of course, whatever the Count’s intentions, he had no complaints. The best course of action was to receive command authority from him, and since he had achieved that goal, there was no need to think too deeply about it.

Shaking off these thoughts, Gilbert headed to the reception room where Camilla was waiting. He didn’t want to leave her alone, as there was no telling what trouble she might cause.

By the way. Lily, was it?

He recalled the message from the servant who had come just before he received full authority from the Count of Lithuania.

The message was that Lily had come to the Hart County residence.

When Gilbert first heard this, he thought he had misheard. After all, for her, the Hart County residence was the worst place, the source of childhood trauma.

Hadn’t she said that after that incident, she never came near Bismarck again?

That’s how terrible this place was for Lily—a traumatic location that continued to haunt her.

Yet suddenly today, she had come to the Hart County residence.

Why would she visit a place she found so horrifying?

Gilbert couldn’t even begin to guess her intentions.

Wounds carved into the heart during childhood don’t easily disappear.

They say childhood memories fade as one grows, but what if they leave intense marks during that period?

Surely they don’t fade but follow and torment one for life. That’s what trauma is, and that’s why Lily hated Gilbert.

Yet for some reason, Lily had come here. He didn’t know what change of heart she might have experienced. Come to think of it, she had been deliberately avoiding Gilbert recently.

Perhaps his straightforward apology had been effective.

Thinking that he might have done the right thing for once, Gilbert arrived at the entrance to the reception room.

“So what kind of relationship do you have with my eldest brother?”

“I told you, we’re travel companions!”

“That’s what I’m asking—what kind of relationship is that?!”

Gilbert, about to enter the reception room, paused at the sound of Dorothy and Camilla’s conversation from inside. Even at a glance, the atmosphere didn’t seem particularly pleasant.

What’s going on now?

After briefly considering whether to go to his room instead of entering the reception room, Gilbert sighed and stepped inside.

***

Upon hearing that Gilbert had returned, Dorothy immediately washed up. On the surface, her reason was that she couldn’t let her incompetent eldest brother find fault with her.

Anna, knowing the truth, smiled at Dorothy’s inability to be honest, but Dorothy was serious.

With Anna’s help, Dorothy put on clothes she had recently purchased and checked her appearance in the mirror several times before nodding in satisfaction.

“Anna. Is my eldest brother meeting with Father?”

“Yes, the Count summoned the eldest young master immediately.”

“And you said someone came with him. Who is it?”

Before leaving the room, Dorothy took one last look in the mirror and noticed a slightly disheveled strand of hair, which she carefully smoothed with a comb. She hadn’t dried her hair properly because she had prepared in such a hurry.

“I heard it’s Miss Camilla from the Tristitia County family.”

“Ah, I see. Camilla from the Tristitia County… What did you say?”

Dorothy’s body froze as she was combing her hair. He returns without notice and brings a woman with him?

A thorn of irritation sprouted in Dorothy’s previously calm heart.

“That hopeless eldest brother still hasn’t come to his senses! He returns home after half a year and brings a woman with him?”

“P-please calm down, Miss.”

Anna hurriedly tried to pacify Dorothy, whose eyes had begun to blaze with anger. She had mentioned Camilla’s presence without thinking, but it seemed to have been a mistake.

The problem was that she had overlooked how Gilbert was perceived in Dorothy’s mind after the series of events.

Dorothy was probably worried that he might revert to his old ways because he had brought a woman with him.

“This won’t do. Let’s go to where this Miss Tristitia is!”

However, Anna couldn’t help but think it was problematic that Dorothy’s concern was developing into violence.

But Dorothy, already fired up, was unstoppable. She flung the door wide open and headed straight for the reception room where Camilla was.

In the reception room, Camilla was elegantly sipping tea. No matter how much of a tomboy she might be, she had been thoroughly educated in the basic etiquette expected of a noble family’s daughter.

Although she usually ignored such things out of laziness, this was the mansion of the Hart County family, a renowned noble house even within the Empire. Even Camilla knew to maintain a minimum level of courtesy.

Upon arriving at the reception room and seeing Camilla drinking tea, Dorothy couldn’t help but groan. She had stormed into the reception room with determination, but now that she saw Camilla, she couldn’t think of what to say.

Moreover, seeing that elegant figure, she understood why Gilbert had brought a woman with him.

This damned brother of mine has developed such high standards…!

Dorothy clicked her tongue and approached Camilla.

“Hello. Pleased to meet you. I am Dorothy Flamma Hart, the third daughter of the Hart County family.”

“Ah! So you’re Gilbert’s sister! Nice to meet you! I’m Camilla Alacer Tristitia.”

As if her previous demeanor had been an act, Camilla returned to her usual energetic self. Dorothy was slightly taken aback by the sudden change in atmosphere, as if someone had flipped a switch.

“Ah, yes, pleased to meet you too.”

“That Gilbert… having such a cute little sister and not saying a word… I’ll have to have a word with him when he returns.”

Seeing Camilla clench her fists in determination, Dorothy felt a headache coming on. What kind of person was she, that the supposedly changed Gilbert would bring a woman home with him? It was quite a spectacle.

She couldn’t put her finger on it exactly, but this woman called Camilla was quite irritating. Setting aside what kind of relationship she had with her eldest brother, she kept getting on Dorothy’s nerves.

At first glance she seemed frivolous, but there was an inexplicable dignity to her actions. Was this what it meant to be the daughter of the great Tristitia County family?

Dorothy looked at the still-flighty Camilla with slightly lowered eyes.

“By the way, Gilbert’s sister! I have something to ask you!”

“What are you curious about?”

“Yes, yes! Of course I am! What was Gilbert like at home? Rumors say he was a good-for-nothing delinquent, but from what I’ve seen, he’s not like that at all!”

Camilla folded her arms and nodded.

Having occasionally heard her father talk about Gilbert, not just rumors, Camilla couldn’t help but be surprised when she first saw Gilbert at the academy.

The Gilbert she had heard about until then was a complete waste of a man, impossible to associate with.

A worst-case delinquent who knew nothing useful, who harassed women and bullied the people of his domain.

She had thought that perhaps the word “delinquent” had been created specifically for Gilbert.

But those thoughts were overturned when she actually met him.

Starting with the entrance mock battle, the comprehensive evaluation, the Resistance subjugation battle, and the recent academy attack incident.

Gilbert had widely proclaimed to the world that he had changed.

People who didn’t believe it at first gradually acknowledged that Gilbert had changed as time passed.

That he had become a person with outstanding abilities who cared for the greater good of people.

And that change was incredibly interesting to Camilla. It was like watching a hero’s epic from a story, and she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

That was also why she had decided to go to Bismarck this time.

She wanted to observe up close what he was worried about and how he would overcome it.

“The rumors were true. Regardless of how he is now, he was someone impossible to associate with.”

“That Gilbert? I can’t imagine it since I’ve never seen him like that… Even now, when I think of Gilbert, all I can imagine is him saying, ‘Stop talking nonsense.'”

Camilla’s imitation of Gilbert, lowering her voice, was quite comical.

Of course, Dorothy didn’t laugh.

“By the way, Miss Camilla, what kind of relationship do you have with my eldest brother? I wasn’t informed that you would be coming.”

“Gilbert and me? Hmm…”

Dorothy’s eyes narrowed. Was their relationship so complicated that she couldn’t answer easily?

“Ah! We’re travel companions!”

“Excuse me?”

*Crack*

Dorothy’s pleasant smile cracked. This was a kind of counterpunch she hadn’t expected.

“So what kind of relationship do you have with my eldest brother?”

“I told you, we’re travel companions!”

“That’s what I’m asking—what kind of relationship is that?!”

Travel companions? What kind of relationship was that?

Dorothy felt like her mind was going blank.

Was she indirectly saying they were in a deep relationship?

The clever Dorothy frantically tried to interpret Camilla’s words.

But all the answers she came up with pointed to some kind of romantic relationship.

“What do you mean, what kind of relationship? Travel companions are travel companions!”

“If you just keep saying ‘travel companions,’ how am I supposed to—”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Just as Dorothy’s voice was rising, the protagonist of the conversation appeared in person.

Seeing Gilbert with the same expressionless face she had seen at the academy, Dorothy finally unleashed the anger she had been holding back.

“You delinquent brother! What on earth have you been doing outside?!”

Dorothy’s angry figure, pointing accusingly, Gilbert sighing deeply, and Camilla watching them with sparkling eyes and a smile—all three were now gathered in one place.

***

Knock, knock!

“Enter.”

With the Count of Lithuania’s permission, the door opened, and a young woman with pink hair flowing behind her entered.

The Count, who had been reviewing documents, gave a faint smile to his old friend’s daughter whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“It’s been a while, Lily.”

“Have you been well?”

Lily Roseus Nobilitas.

This was the moment she met the Count of Lithuania after more than a decade.