7. A Good Day

Elanie was humming as she signed documents.

Lately, her half-brother, Ronald, whom she had hated to death, had been remarkably quiet, with his fatal flaws, such as gambling, promiscuous life, and the like, popping up one after another.

“I always knew he wasn’t of good character, but he used to clean up his messes quite well…”

Thanks to that, despite having the Empress on his back, his influence had weakened considerably.

“Ronald was unmarried, so he had quite an influence in high society, though lately, even public opinion has turned completely against him. I wonder if he’s finally learned his place and given up the throne for good.”

Elanie muttered, shaking her head.

“Either that or my advisor is particularly capable.”

“You’ve noticed.”

Fred, standing next to her, smiled broadly.

“I’ve received a lot of help from Laria.”

“Well, I did notice the shifting public opinion in social circles.”

“Then, His Majesty’s corruption will soon come to light.”

He spoke kindly, with a gentle tone.

“Then, the Princess’ authority over the budget will increase. It’s for the future of the empire.”

“… I’ll correct it.”

Elanie put down her pen and fiddled with her fingers before speaking.

“It’s not that my advisor is capable, it seems that my lover is capable.”

“I’ll correct it as well.”

Fred, quickly catching on, took her hand discreetly as he replied.

“It’s not for the future of the empire, it’s for the future of the princess.”

The intertwined gazes of the two grew increasingly intense.

“In that case, this evening, stay at the palace…”

“Ah… sorry.”

He responded with a devastated face.

“This evening… it’s Duke Icard’s birthday.”

“Ah, right. I heard about it but forgot.”

“She’s throwing a grand birthday party for that d*mned guy, so I might have to go and see.”

In truth, Fred had never forgiven Evan, not even once. Forgiveness wasn’t a part of his nature.

“I don’t particularly want to offer birthday wishes, but I want to see Arienne…”

However, he couldn’t help it when Laria was happy with that lunatic. Besides, Arienne was too beautiful to wish misfortune upon.

Frankly, the gorgeous features, bright red eyes, and sleek black hair were all too reminiscent of the Icard blood, which initially disappointed him. Nonetheless, the bright, beaming smile resembled Fred and Laria, no matter who looked at it.

Eventually, he bought a plethora of gifts not for Evan but for Arienne and headed towards the Duke’s residence.

* * *

Sven spent his days happily, attending Neo who came back with great enthusiasm.

Neo had once run away to Duke Icard’s residence, but after something went wrong, he returned with a sullen expression and had never left Sven’s side since.

He had once harbored endless ambitions to overturn the world with black magic. Nevertheless, upon realizing that this world was already overturned, he found peace in his heart. Making the most of his happiness in this beautiful world became his new goal.

‘To live as happily as possible, I need a lot of money.’

Sven’s Bestian Information Guild had transformed from a black magic-following guild to a capital-following guild. Under Laria’s guidance, they dabbled in various activities and eventually opened their eyes to business.

Thus, Sven joined forces with Seymour, and they were thriving in various business ventures.

“Well, then… it seems Baron Litshua has succeeded once again.”

He mumbled as he read Seymour’s letter.

“At this rate, we might even conquer the continent.”

After failing in love once, Seymour, believing that eternal happiness lay only in wealth, threw himself more diligently into his business endeavors.

Sven placed Seymour’s letter back on the table and then unfolded Laria’s letter.

Now becoming the true mistress of Icard, Laria no longer needed to involve herself in business matters. However, Sven remained dedicated to carrying out her directives.

The fact that this world had been overturned once because of her, the bond that had grown between them over the years, and the fact that she was currently the most influential person in the Capital were all reasons why Sven remained loyal to Laria.

“Anyway, so…”

Sven stroked his chin and chuckled mischievously.

“That’s what tonight is about…”

* * *

So, it was Evan’s twenty-third birthday.

He had never really cared about his own birthday until he turned twenty. Perhaps it was a habit he had picked up from childhood. For his twenty-first birthday, he had caused a ruckus at Baron Ravonis’ residence.

Even then, he had stumbled around in disarray, moving to Podilin to find his father.

Still, that didn’t mean he had properly celebrated his twenty-second birthday either. At that time, Arienne’s delivery was imminent, and everyone was on edge, making it impossible to prepare for any kind of party. So when his twenty-third birthday approached, I declared to Evan—

“Let’s have a birthday party.”

“…Huh?”

“I don’t want to just let this birthday pass by.”

“Forget it.”

Evan replied, somewhat dejected.

“I’m not a kid anymore…”

“These are things you never got to experience as a kid. Let’s experience them all at once.”

As I persisted, Evan, though reluctant, eventually stopped opposing me further. Of course, I had no intention of inviting distant relatives to come and offer gifts or anything of the sort, but that didn’t mean we wouldn’t throw such a party.

Arienne just needs to receive it…

‘It would be nice to have a small gathering among family members. Just a modest celebration, just for the Duke’s mansion to shine for the whole day.’

So, for his birthday, the mansion was bustling with excitement. The orchestra played celebratory tunes all day, sparkling decorations were arranged everywhere, and all immediate family members were invited.

“I have arrived, you guys.”

Lady Olivia arrived first from Livienne, accompanied by a parrot and a dog.

“Evan’s birthday party. I never thought I’d live to see the day. Anyway, I’ve brought plenty of gifts.”

It was a large gift box that seemed like something a child would go wild over. He accepted the gift box somewhat sheepishly, while I raised an eyebrow at the dog Lady Olivia was holding.

“Aunt, what’s with the dog?”

“It’s just… My emotional scars were too deep to keep a cat. Would that demanding creature like to play with me?”

That demanding creature seemed to refer to Neo.

While I was examining the dog, he opened the gift box that Lady Olivia had brought and was startled, hastily closing the lid.

“Great, Great Aunt!”

Evan, who rarely showed signs of being flustered, had a visibly flushed face.

“What.”

Lady Olivia chuckled.

“I bought it at a high price. It wasn’t easy to acquire, you know?”

“Why on earth would you…?”

“Don’t discard it. Even though it may not seem like much, I paid a thousand gold for it.”

“Haa…”

Evan muttered in disbelief.

“What kind of dog is a thousand gold? Buying something like this for a thousand gold…”

“How did you know its name? Say hello. This is my new friend, Thousand Gold.”

“Woof woof!”

“….”

So, Lady Olivia’s dog was named Thousand Gold.

“What’s up?”

I couldn’t resist my curiosity and opened the gift box again, only to hastily close it after checking its contents.

“It’s a birthday gift, after all. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten this. Can you two get something like this with?”

“….”

“….”

“I’ll wait for the second news.”

Lady Olivia giggled and walked briskly to her seat with Lucifer and Thousand Gold.

“I’m afraid someone might see. Let’s quickly take this to our room.”

I quickly handed the gift box to Lisa and urged her.

“Take it to the room immediately, and don’t open it under any circumstances.”

The next person to arrive was Fred.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t prepare a birthday gift. You know I can’t afford to buy a gift for a kidnapper, right?”

“…Brother, you said you forgave him.”

“I did forgive him. But I won’t forget.”

“If you didn’t bring a gift, just go back immediately…”

“Instead, I bought a gift for Arienne. Is Arienne over there with the nanny?”

“… Don’t go, your seat is over there.”

Paying no attention to my words, Fred rushed to Arienne and was busy telling her all kinds of jokes.

“Coochie coo, it’s Uncle, Uncle!”

No matter how formally composed he appeared in public, he was nothing but a human toy in Arienne’s presence.

Fortunately, the child, who always smiled brightly at everyone, chuckled at the human toy. The last person to arrive was Father. He greeted Lady Olivia and glanced at Arienne, then shuffled around Fred before approaching us.

“Ahem, Evan.”

Father slightly avoided Evan’s gaze, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“Happy birthday.”

It was a simple remark, but for some reason, it made us all feel strange.

“It feels like I’m saying it for the first time.”

“….”

“I thought I would just allocate a budget. I felt sorry for being a bad father because I’ve never personally chosen a birthday present.”

When I was pregnant, for some unknown reason, the two of them had grown quite close. However, that was one thing, and the past events weren’t erased. So, it was inevitable that everyone would feel strange in front of Evan’s birthday.

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to take care of him, Laria.”

Father first expressed his gratitude to me slowly, then handed Evan a long box.

“I’ve carefully chosen it for a long time.”

“This is…”

When Evan opened the box, there was a set of adult and child-sized swords that looked quite expensive.

“If I could go back to the past, I would have personally trained you in swordsmanship.”

We all had to remain silent. We knew what Evan’s swordsmanship training meant. He wouldn’t have wanted to entrust it to someone like Ludva and wanted to personally teach his son, who closely resembled his own talent…

“You need to teach Arienne directly.”

While it would take several more years for Arienne to wield these swords, it was nonetheless a very symbolic gift.

“…Thank you.”

“Thank you for coming into our lives, Evan.”

“….”

“I’m sorry for saying it late.”

“Father.”

Evan looked at Father and smiled.

“Don’t apologize anymore. Don’t regret it either. You don’t need to do that anymore.”

As the two father-and-son seemed to be completely free from their past, tears inexplicably welled up in my eyes. Father seemed embarrassed, clearing his throat a few times before quickly rushing over to Arienne.

After that…

Honestly, though it was Evan’s birthday, everyone’s attention naturally gravitated toward Arienne. She continued to smile brightly, her sparkling presence lighting up the beautiful dining hall as she swayed to the music.

“Whose daughter is she to be so beautiful…”

Seeing her being surrounded and loved by so many people filled me with pride. Unlike us, Arienne would grow up in a truly harmonious household, receiving plenty of love.

“Happy birthday, Evan.”

I whispered to Evan as I sat next to him.

“I’ll celebrate your birthday like this for the rest of my life.”

“Actually…”

Evan scratched his ear, looking somewhat awkward.

“When you suggested having a birthday party, I didn’t really think much of it, but now that I’m being celebrated, it feels nice.”

I was glad that Evan could openly express his feelings and say ‘it’s nice.’

“Thank you, Laria.”

He gently held my hand.

“Thank you so much. How did a woman like you come into my life?”

The warm gazes met each other. It was such a warm evening. And that night…

Swen had secretly prepared a carriage, and Evan was kidnapped, his eyes blindfolded and his hands tied. Of course, he willingly went along with my clumsy kidnapping act.

“Is this your birthday present, Laria?”

“….”

“I’ve always been waiting, and now my wish is coming true. Is it that secluded village you secretly purchased?”

Evan’s voice was filled with anticipation, so I sighed and replied.

“…We can’t stay there for long because of Arienne.”

Then, Evan asked anxiously,

“Did you take the gift from Grand Aunt?”

“Of course.”

That was how we spent a rare and intimate moment together… well, anyway. It was a nominal kidnapping and confinement. And Lady Olivia’s insight once again proved to be accurate.

“Uugh.”

Inside the returning carriage, Evan began to feel the morning sickness.

__