Chapter 30 – The Birthday and the Burden
“S-So… all of this is mine?”
“Yes! Every single bit of it is yours, my lady~!”
A week had passed since the trial ended.
I sat on my bed, blinking in disbelief.
Even now, the door kept opening as the maids carried in more and more things.
The first things I noticed were the piles of colorful clothes—
soft silk dresses lined with cotton, cute little one-pieces, and even a frilly pink blouse that looked like something a princess would wear.
Then came white ankle socks, shiny little shoes, and—oh dear—dozens of toys and plush dolls.
‘There must be at least fifty of them…’
Trying to stay calm, I managed to ask,
“Um… but why are all these coming to me?”
“Well, it’s because your birthday party is in two days! People who were invited are sending you their gifts early!”
I jumped up on the bed in shock.
“But—but this much?! I only wrote eight invitations!”
I’d made them for Miel, Soya, Owen, Arwin, and the kitchen couple—
and of course, for the Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince, who had already said they were coming.
Two invitations were still blank under my pillow—
I’d been thinking of giving those to Joe and Wendel, to make sure they stayed on my side.
“Well, actually…”
“Should we tell her?”
Miel and Soya exchanged awkward glances, then spoke at the same time.
“The truth is, a bunch of people sent letters asking if they could be invited—so the Duchess gave them permission!”
“W-What?!”
“Don’t worry! She screened out anyone weird before saying yes.”
Miel smiled, clearly amused by my stunned expression,
then picked up a fluffy bunny doll from the mountain of gifts.
“It’s nothing strange, really. After all, both Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and His Highness the Crown Prince are coming to your party!”
“Okay, but…?”
“Because of that, everyone in the capital is curious about you! And since you’re now officially sponsored by House Abner, people want to know what kind of child you are.”
‘Then… how many people are coming exactly?’
If this many presents were arriving two days before, what would happen on the actual day?!
As I sat there fretting, Soya tilted her head.
“My lady, what’s wrong? Weren’t you super excited about your birthday party?”
“Yeah! I saw you debating whether to send ten or twenty invitations!”
“Well, yes, but—there can’t be too many people!”
Miel and Soya blinked in confusion.
“Why not?”
“Because if there are too many people, we’ll need too much food!”
I pointed toward the garden outside.
“And they’ll trample the grass, too!”
Cold sweat trickled down my forehead.
Finally, I whispered the real reason.
“And in fancy parties, you’re supposed to give every guest a return gift. I read that in a book…”
“…”
“But I don’t have any money…”
My gaze dropped to the mountain of presents.
“I only wanted ten people to come… but now I’ve already received all these gifts…”
“…”
“It feels wrong. Rude, even. Like I’m being greedy…”
A strange silence filled the room.
I kept staring down at my knees until—
“My lady, you’re not being greedy.”
Miel suddenly scooped me up into her arms, her voice firm.
“And who told you you’re not allowed to accept gifts? Where did you even hear something like that?”
I blinked up at her.
“Who are you to refuse to give Hiana the spell formula? You really have no shame, do you?”
“Just let her be, brother. You know she’s selfish and mean—nothing’ll fix that.”
“Enough, both of you. You’re scaring Hiana.”
But those words—“You have no shame”—
I’d heard them so many times before.
“We took you in when you had no parents, raised you, made you a lady of our house.”
“While you were enjoying that life, did you ever think about what the real daughter—Hiana—went through?”
I’d thought they loved me.
But after Hiana came back, everything shattered.
“If only you hadn’t said you wanted to see the sea on your fifth birthday—”
“We could’ve found Hiana sooner!”
It was ridiculous.
On my fifth birthday as the adopted daughter of House Longton,
the Duke had asked what I wanted.
I’d said I didn’t want any gifts—just to see the sea.
He’d smiled, and the next day, the whole family went on a short trip.
“You know how much I care for you, don’t you? You must become a great scholar and make me proud.”
Back then, I thought that was love.
And I’d been so happy.
I didn’t know that, while we were away,
Hiana had shown up at the mansion—
in rags, mistaken for a beggar, and thrown out.
She was sold off soon after, becoming a slave in another kingdom.
When she finally returned, I was twelve.
And from that day forward, I was the sinner who had “ruined” her life.
“Ugh, don’t remind me what day it is.”
“Yeah, it’s bad luck.”
My birthday became the most hated, cursed day in the entire Longton household.
Even the family dinners stopped after that.
“I-I guess maybe I shouldn’t have a birthday party after all.”
My voice trembled.
My hands and feet went cold.
“Honestly, I don’t even need one. It might not even be my real birthday anyway… I don’t know when I was born. I don’t have parents, so…”
“My lady!”
Miel hugged me tightly, snapping me back to reality.
She looked shocked, even hurt.
“Of course it’s your real birthday! When you were found at the orphanage, there was a piece of paper tucked inside your blanket—with your name and birthday written on it!”
I froze.
That was the first I’d ever heard of it.
Anne—the headmistress—had never told me that.
“And besides,” Miel said, her voice firm again, “I think you’re misunderstanding something.”
She smiled softly.
“This isn’t just your birthday party.”
“That’s right,” Soya added. “It’s a celebration for all of us. We’re celebrating that you were born—and that you’re here with us now.”
“…”
“Everyone’s so happy that someone as kind, smart, and lovely as you came to live here, my lady.”
Miel gently placed her warm hand over mine.
“So no more talk about being a burden, okay? The only burden here would be not celebrating you.”
I tried to respond, but the words caught in my throat.
For a long while, I said nothing.
No matter how much they comforted me, the uneasiness in my chest just wouldn’t go away.
“Is she asleep?”
“Yeah…”
Miel and Soya looked down at the sleeping Annelia, who was hugging her bunny doll tightly.
She had cried herself to sleep, without opening a single gift.
“I’m so angry,” Miel whispered, voice trembling.
“How could anyone treat a child like this? To make her say she’s ‘ashamed’ of receiving kindness?”
“Miel…”
“You see it too, right? She must’ve gone through something terrible at that orphanage.”
Soya pressed her lips together.
“I… I think so too.”
Miel’s eyes welled with tears.
“She’s so smart for her age… She must’ve understood everything. Felt every little hurt.”
“Don’t worry,” Soya said quietly. “We’ll take better care of her. And that Anne woman—our mistress already plans to deal with her.”
Miel’s head snapped up.
“She’s bringing that woman here?!”
“Yeah. The Duchess found out she might’ve… hurt Lady Annelia.”
Miel grabbed Soya’s arm, alarmed.
“When? What if the young lady sees her?!”
“That’s why…”
Soya glanced back at the sleeping child.
“They’re planning to bring her on the night of the birthday party.”
“What?!”
“They said it’s the only way—to avoid upsetting the young lady.”
The two maids exchanged a worried look, then turned back to Annelia.
“Maybe we should sleep in the second-floor lounge that night,” Miel whispered. “Just in case she wakes up and gets scared.”
“Good idea. But she’ll probably be exhausted from the party and sleep straight through.”
At least, that’s what they hoped.
Still, both women couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling building in their chests.
As they watched over the sleeping Annelia,
a strange, cold sense of foreboding filled the room—
the kind that told them something bad was coming.
