“Lady Erika, everyone says they will become my friends. I am really happy.”
“…Yes, congratulations.”
This time, I held out my hand to Lady Sestia.
“Lady Sestia, you will become my friend too, right?”
“Pardon? But I…”
“Everyone makes mistakes.”
Sestia couldn’t answer right away.
I didn’t miss the dark expression on her face.
She was trembling in fear.
I didn’t know what it was, but still.
***
The party ended successfully.
On the way back, Erika stopped Sestia.
“Wait, come see me for a moment.”
Sestia followed behind Erika.
Erika led Sestia to a secluded place, then after checking that no one was around, she spoke.
“Lady Sestia, you are not really planning to become friends with the Young Lady, right?”
“N-No. How could I possibly… with someone like her…”
“That is a relief. At least you know your place. After getting on the Young Lady’s bad side, how could you possibly become her friend? Do you not agree?”
“Yes, Lady Erika.”
“Then you can say you will not become her friend, right? Of course, you know the reason well.”
“Pardon? What do you mean…?”
“Why are you pretending not to understand? You are not that stupid.”
Only then did Sestia understand, and her face turned pale.
“Do I really have to do that?”
“Of course. Can you not do even that much for me?”
Sestia answered unwillingly.
“…Alright.”
“Now, go and say it. The Young Lady is over there.”
At the place Erika pointed to, Ivelotte was seeing off the departing children.
Erika pushed Sestia forward.
With a wicked smile.
***
I looked at Sestia as she approached hesitantly.
I had just turned back after seeing off the invited guests, when Sestia came up to me.
She was still trembling in fear.
The word [Fear] hanging above her head made that clear.
“Um, my Lady.”
“Yes?”
“I do not think I can be friends with you after all. I do not want to be friends with someone who abandoned her late mother. S-Sob, I am sorry.”
At that moment, Erika stepped in again.
“Lady Sestia, your words are too harsh. How could you say something like that?”
Once again, Erika apologized to me.
“My Lady, I am truly sorry. Even though I tried to stop her, Lady Sestia made another mistake.”
I looked back and forth between the two of them.
Their emotions were sharply different.
One was consumed by excessive fear, while the other was triumphant as if she had seized an opportunity.
“It does not seem like something you need to apologize for, Lady Erika.”
I looked at Sestia.
“Lady Sestia, could you spare me a moment?”
“A-A moment?”
Sestia glanced at Erika.
“My Lady, I will properly advise Lady Sestia. Please speak with me instead.”
“Lady Erika, covering for someone is not always the right answer. Do you not agree, Lady Sestia?”
“But Sestia is my friend…”
I cut her off mid-sentence.
“I said I want to speak with Lady Sestia. Lady Erika, please leave now.”
“My Lady… I cannot leave Sestia alone and go. If it is alright, please let me come along as well.”
“I-I also want to go with Lady Erika.”
I quietly looked at the two of them.
“Then, I will ask you directly.”
The two looked at me with puzzled expressions.
“Lady Sestia, why do you keep watching Lady Erika’s reactions like that? As if she is holding something over you.”
As if struck at a weak point, Sestia’s face turned pale.
Erika answered instead.
“What do you mean? Lady Sestia watching my reactions. That is not true, right, Lady Sestia?”
“P-Pardon? Yes.”
“Hmm, I see. Alright. You may go now.”
“Was that why you called Lady Sestia over?”
“Yes, I wanted to ask in case she needed help, but since she says she does not, I have nothing more to say.”
Sestia’s eyes wavered.
“Then, I hope both of you return safely.”
Erika caught hold of me as I turned.
“My Lady, if it is not rude, may I come visit you often?”
“Of course. We agreed to be friends, did we not?”
“Ah, thank you. I will come see you again soon.”
“Yes, see you next time. Lady Sestia, you should come visit too.”
“M-Me too?”
“If you are Lady Erika’s friend, then you are my friend too. Right, Lady Erika?”
“Yes, of course.”
Anyone could tell that her smile was forced.
Even though I had the body of a child, my mind was that of an adult, so Erika and Sestia’s behavior felt childish to me.
They might have said those things hoping to hurt me, but it didn’t affect me at all.
Their thinking really was just at a child’s level.
I saw the two of them off and returned to my room.
Licia greeted me with a smile.
“My Lady, did you enjoy the party?”
“Yes, very much.”
“Did you make many friends?”
“Yes. I even told them to come visit.”
“Oh my, you did? You did well.”
I held Licia’s hand and headed toward the main building.
Because the Grand Duke had called for me.
‘Why did he call me?’
With that question in mind, I knocked on the door to the office and went in, and the Grand Duke was approving documents.
Without even looking at me, he gestured for me to sit in the chair.
The Grand Duke, who had briefly set down the documents, looked at me.
“Did you enjoy the party?”
“I did. Thank you.”
He quietly looked at me as I expressed my thanks.
“As long as you enjoyed it, that’s enough. Take this.”
The Grand Duke handed me a document.
“What is this?”
“It’s your birthday gift.”
“A birthday gift?”
As I looked at the document, my eyes widened.
“A diamond mine?”
“I transferred it under your name, so it’s yours now.”
My heart started pounding.
How could I not be happy when I now had property of my own?
I barely managed to suppress the corners of my lips from rising.
“Thank you for the gift. I will gratefully accept it.”
At that moment, the word [Daughter] appeared above the Grand Duke’s head.
‘Daughter?’
Did that mean he acknowledged me as his daughter?
I couldn’t understand his thoughts at all.
“Study diligently. You are the only Young Lady of this House.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“You may leave.”
“Yes.”
After bowing in greeting, I left the office holding the document transferring the diamond mine.
I practically ran out of the main building and, heading toward the east wing, burst out laughing loudly.
“What kind of jackpot is this! A diamond mine! This is insane, seriously insane!”
I hurried back to the east wing and showed off the gift I received from the Grand Duke to Licia.
“So His Grace has given you a diamond mine, my Lady.”
Unexpectedly, her reaction was lukewarm.
“I thought you’d be more excited, Licia…”
“I am. I just do not like that it is only one mine.”
“What?”
“He should have given you at least ten diamond mines. What use one?”
‘That seems a bit excessive.’
I shook my head at Licia’s grand expectations.
“My Lady, Young Master Alex and Young Master Valdes have sent gifts.”
“Gifts? Those two?”
“Yes, go ahead and open them.”
I opened the gift box from Alex first.
Inside the box was a dress.
It was a pink dress.
I opened Valdes’s gift as well.
Inside was a small dagger for self-defense.
It was a gift very much like Valdes.
“What’s this?”
“These are from Sir Jeff and Melissa.”
The gift from Jeff was a flower-decorated headband, and the gift from Melissa was a rabbit doll.
“Would you like to open the rest of the gifts as well?”
I looked at the pile of gifts stacked in one corner of the room.
There were so many that it felt like it would take forever to open them all.
“I’ll open them later. I’m too tired right now.”
“Then I will prepare for your bath.”
“Okay.”
I took a bath, changed into my pajamas, and lay down on the bed.
After Licia turned off the lights and left the room, Shiro flew over and kissed my forehead.
[Happy birthday, master.]
[Happy birthday to you.]
