Wressley of the Foreign Office by Rudyard Kipling

Wressley, a studious and ambitious official, falls hopelessly in love with a shallow girl and tries to impress her by writing a dense philosophical treatise. The story follows his slow realization of her disinterest and his own misjudgment. The plot is satirical and bittersweet, focusing on misplaced effort and intellectual vanity. Kipling deftly mocks both bureaucratic ambition and romantic delusion. A sharp, ironic tale of heartbreak and misplaced genius.