A Gift on the Day of Birth
Three days had passed since Edgar received an entire mansion as his so-called birthday present. Today was none other than Edgar’s actual birthday. Though the Bilhark family was not among the most powerful houses, as the eldest son of a noble lineage, the estate still saw its share of unfamiliar faces arriving to offer their congratulations. Among them were several prominent families known for their heavy influence.
They’ve come in droves just to make an impression.
Edgar, guiding his small frame alongside his parents, greeted the guests arriving on the first floor. The reason these people—who usually paid him no mind—had suddenly descended upon the estate under the pretext of his birthday was obvious. Word had long since spread that the childhood friend personally chosen by the Grand Duchess herself was none other than the young heir of this family.
The adults really do have it rough.
To a child, a birthday might simply be a joyful day filled with well-wishes from others, but the circumstances for adults were quite different. Edgar did not particularly scorn or view this negatively. He simply thought it must be exhausting.
“How wonderful, my son. So many people have come to celebrate you today.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Katria could hardly have failed to notice their true intentions. She simply couldn’t bring herself to shatter her ten-year-old son’s innocence, so she spoke in this roundabout way. Edgar, pretending not to notice, simply smiled innocently and nodded.
My hair’s not going to survive this.
Every person who passed by praised the beauty of his hair, and with permission granted, they would reach out to stroke it before moving on. The crimson locks that symbolized the Bilhark bloodline were a rare sight in other regions, which explained the attention. By now, Edgar had given up trying to keep his hair neat. He could always fix it once everyone had left.
“Lady Helene is running late. Darling, did she send any word?”
As the stream of guests began to thin, Ransel asked, unable to hide his anxiety. Nearly everyone gathered in the hall—save for a few families—had come in hopes of meeting the Grand Duchess. If she failed to appear in this situation, even if they couldn’t openly complain, they would surely whisper behind her back and spread idle rumors.
“She probably will. I’ll stay here, so why don’t you head up first?”
“I suppose I must. We can’t leave the guests unattended.”
Though this wasn’t a strictly formal occasion, Ransel still had a duty as the family head. At the very least, he needed to greet the visitors and leave a fresh impression. With that, Ransel excused himself and headed straight up the stairs to the second floor.
“Even if the young lady doesn’t come, don’t be too disappointed, alright? Edgar.”
“Don’t worry, Mother. And Ariel will definitely come.”
“Such confidence.”
Edgar knew better than anyone that nothing in the world was truly certain, yet today he could say it with conviction. If anyone would miss today’s birthday party, it would not be Helene. She would have sent a letter in advance. And the sword she had promised as a gift would have arrived with it. Though not a man, Helene was someone who kept her word and took responsibility for what she said.
Click. Click.
Almost as if in response to Edgar’s confident words, just as the last of the visitors seemed to have arrived, two women appeared beyond the wide-open doors of the estate, walking hand in hand. The moment their eyes met, mother and daughter smiled at the same time. Edgar waved his hand in delight.
“Sorry we’re late, Katria.”
“Happy birthday, Ed!”
Each greeted the other at their respective eye level. Ariel bounced around as if it were her own birthday, looking exactly like a little black rabbit hopping about.
“Thanks. That dress looks pretty on you today.”
“Ah, you noticed!? I didn’t wear it just to get a compliment from you!”
“Who said anything?”
It was impossible to tell exactly where this young lady’s temper flared up. He had simply offered a sincere compliment, so why was she reacting like this? Still, since her lips weren’t pouting like usual, she didn’t seem truly upset. Even though she wasn’t angry, did she really need to respond so sensitively? Edgar’s confusion only deepened.
“Hehe, listen to this, Ed. Our daughter may say that, but in truth…”
“M-Mom! What are you saying!”
What was this? Was there some hidden story behind it? Unfortunately, Ariel’s near-scream cut the conversation short, but Edgar simply nodded slightly, deciding to save the question for later.
At that moment, a sharp, blood-red gaze pierced his chest. Edgar flinched without meaning to.
“If you ask Mom about it while I’m not around, you’re dead!”
“Okay, I won’t ask.”
“Really?”
Ariel placed both hands firmly on her hips and asked again with a deliberately stern expression. Edgar wondered if he should even pinky-swear, but he settled for nodding once more.
This is exactly why I dislike sharp little kids.
Shaking his head with a sigh, Edgar confirmed that no more guests were coming and closed the estate doors. Still, since they had come all the way to celebrate his birthday, he decided he shouldn’t tease her any further.
As he guided the two of them up the stairs to the second floor alongside Katria, Ariel suddenly tapped his shoulder.
“Hey, Ed. Are any of your friends here today?”
“Friends? Hmm…”
Unfortunately, Edgar had almost no one he could truly call a friend. He knew there were children of similar age in other families, but he had rarely met them. The few he was acquainted with were either already adults or significantly older than him.
“Not really.”
“Really? Heehee.”
“…?”
The unexpected reaction left Edgar dumbfounded. His childhood friend was laughing at the fact that he had no close companions? He simply could not understand what was going on inside this spoiled young lady’s head.
I bet Ariel has lots of friends.
Due to the relationships between their families, she probably met several children her age regularly. Among them, it was likely that one or two shared her heart and had become true friends. Since he had never heard otherwise, he could only guess.
The four of them reached the second floor and stopped before the door to the hall. The members of other families who had been chatting outside quickly bowed their heads in greeting the moment they spotted Helene. Among them were people from powerful houses whose faces even Edgar remembered.
She really is incredible.
So this was what it meant to be close to someone like her. Edgar hadn’t become friends with Ariel because of her family’s status, but at this level, he supposed there was no avoiding the rumors that would circulate. A family counted among the top three—or by some accounts, the top two—most powerful in the empire. Only now did he fully realize how luxurious and welcome it was to live under their protection.
Creak.
The moment the hall doors opened and they stepped inside, the conversations between the guests gradually died down until the entire space fell into complete silence. Afraid of seeming rude to Helene, most tried not to stare directly, yet nearly everyone kept stealing glances at Edgar’s group.
“Is that not Lady Robeheim? It is an honor to see you again like this.”
The first to break the silence was a sturdy-looking man who appeared to be in his forties. Helene searched her memory for his face, then let out a soft “Ah,” as recognition dawned.
“It’s good to see you. You must be… the head of the Ardelta family, yes? My memory isn’t the best, so I apologize for not remembering your name as well.”
“Haha, my name is Maltred Ardelta. It is not a particularly grand name, but I would be grateful if you could remember it from now on.”
Though he wore a kindly smile, the Ardelta family was a count’s house with considerable influence in the region. For the head of such a family to laugh heartily at someone who couldn’t even recall his name showed just how overwhelmingly superior the other party’s status was.
Watching this, Edgar offered the forgotten family head a bitter smile and a silent word of comfort. Even if he pretended otherwise, the man was probably burning with frustration inside. People with ambiguous power and authority tended to have especially high pride, after all.
“As it happens, the heads of several other families have been eagerly awaiting your arrival, Madam. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, might we have a moment of your time?”
Maltred attempted to escort her with a rather aggressive attitude. In a situation where the others were merely watching for an opening, his plan to seize the initiative and pull her into their midst was obvious even to Edgar. But the other party was the mistress of the Robeheim family. A woman who had navigated countless social circles and received such invitations more times than she could count. She knew exactly how to gracefully decline.
“Thank you for the thought, but I must decline. Today I am here not as the mistress of Robeheim, but as the mother of my daughter’s friend attending his birthday party.”
“Ah… I-I see. How thoughtless of me to impose.”
Though she had spoken indirectly, the underlying message was clear: Why are you mixing public and private affairs and making a scene? The true protagonist of today was the young heir of the Bilhark family celebrating his birthday, and she was simply the mother of his childhood friend who had come to offer her congratulations. She had not come here to become fodder for gossip or the target of other families’ power struggles.
When Maltred, his face pale, hurriedly apologized, Helene simply smiled silently and shook her head. It was an implicit answer that no further words were necessary. Maltred quickly bowed and retreated in haste.
“Katria, let’s leave the children to themselves and have a chat between us. My body isn’t feeling very well today, so I doubt I’ll be able to mingle among the crowd.”
“Understood, Madam.”
Helene had spoken loud enough for everyone nearby to hear on purpose. In effect, it was a stern warning not to approach her. If anyone still dared to come near after the mistress of Robeheim had said this much, they had either thrown their sense of tact into the deepest sea or had already grown tired of life.
“Ariel, let’s go play over there. They say there’s lots of delicious food today.”
“Okay!”
Edgar quickly took Ariel’s hand and slipped away. Their eyes briefly met Helene’s on the way, but she simply smiled without a word and waved to the two of them.
The eyes of the other family members watching from the sidelines sparkled. If they could not shoot the general, they would shoot the horse. To them, the two children who had left their mother’s side looked like enormous warhorses.