Chapter 74
“Young Master!”
The voice of Lily echoed from outside. Alesia tilted her head and turned around. Lately, Lily had practically become Alesia’s personal maid. For her to be looking for Kaon was unusual.
“Took longer than expected.”
Even more unusual was Kaon. He muttered as if he had known Lily would call for him, then stood up from his seat. He motioned towards the door with a tilt of his chin.
“It looks like it’s ready. Let’s go.”
“What do you mean all of a sudden?”
Alesia, taken aback by his sudden words, asked again, but Kaon simply shrugged without answering.
“Miss, please hurry!”
Alesia frowned, but with Lily urging her from outside, she couldn’t very well scold Kaon. Reluctantly, she set the incomplete spellwork aside on the corner of the desk and followed Kaon out of the room.
Lily, waiting in front, greeted her with a beaming smile. It seemed her voice had been excited earlier, and now her face was openly bright. While it was certainly better than her usual gloomy demeanor, her expression was somewhat unsettling as she kept smiling to herself.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll find out when we get there.”
Kaon led the way, responding curtly. He didn’t seem to have any intention of explaining.
“Lily?”
“Yes?”
Alesia asked Lily, who was walking behind her, but with Lily’s nonchalant face, it seemed she wasn’t going to open her mouth either. At this point, there was no way around it. The only choice was to follow them wherever they were leading.
The two of them guided Alesia to the banquet hall on the first floor. Alesia looked around, unfamiliar with the surroundings. She had not been here since her first visit to Ferdinand, and now it seemed different.
Ferdinand was still a land embroiled in war with the monsters. The castle, situated near the monster forest, wasn’t a place where outsiders could be invited casually, and with the family’s current situation, they couldn’t throw a grand feast. As a result, Alesia had never had a reason to visit the banquet hall.
‘So the banquet hall is this spacious.’
Alesia had a sudden realization as she took in the sight of the hall. Her first day at Ferdinand had been filled with extreme tension, and she had to work hard not to show it. Moreover, at that time, she had been the target of many suspicious stares. She hadn’t had the mental space to take in her surroundings.
This was the first time she was properly observing the hall, and to her surprise, it was much larger than she had imagined. Unlike the dazzling palace banquet halls, which had a much grander atmosphere, the Ferdinand banquet hall exuded an elegant charm that seemed to boast the castle’s history.
Passing the smooth marble floor that reflected the light, they entered the farthest part of the hall. Behind a column, another corridor appeared.
‘It’s too dark to see ahead.’
Unlike the brightly lit outer banquet hall, once they entered the corridor, nothing was visible. Kaon had already disappeared ahead, and Lily, who had been walking behind her, came forward to guide her.
“Lily, where are we…?”
Alesia asked, but as she stepped forward into the darkness, she stopped in her tracks.
One by one, lights started to appear in the darkness, just like stars emerging in the night sky. The flickering candles gradually illuminated her surroundings, and with each light, the faces of the maids who had been with her appeared.
Alesia stared at the scene in a daze. The sight of the darkness gradually brightening before her eyes was like magic. Even though the maids lighting the candles were certainly not wizards, it felt magical.
Finally, after a large chandelier was lit, the room was completely bright. Though smaller than the banquet hall they had passed through, the ballroom was far from modest in size.
“What is this…?”
“Everyone, scatter the flowers!”
Alesia, who had been frozen in place, barely opening her mouth, was pushed from behind by Lily. As she stumbled forward, flower petals scattered above her head with each step she took.
“Though late, happy birthday!”
“This handkerchief was embroidered by me, you must use it!”
“We’re so happy that Miss Alesia has come to Ferdinand!”
“Are you going to stay with us for a long time?”
The maids, scattering petals from a basket they had no idea where they had gotten them from, each offered a heartfelt word.
‘Birthday.’
Among the chaos, that word pierced her mind. Alesia, almost being pushed by Lily, finally reached the end of the red carpet and came face to face with Kaon, who had been waiting for her.
“Though late, happy birthday. Actually, I had prepared this before you collapsed, but…”
Kaon looked quite embarrassed and awkward, his eyes, resembling the early morning sky, couldn’t meet Alesia’s gaze as he quickly looked away.
Alesia could tell how he knew about her birthday without asking. He must have entered the room where he had given her the gift.
“King!”
“I haven’t finished yet, Koda.”
Alesia looked down at the familiar sound. Madeleine was holding Koda a bit further away. Koda, with a large ribbon on his head, looked like a gift itself. Koda was wagging his tail and welcoming Alesia as she approached.
Now that they had become quite friendly, Alesia’s face naturally brightened, but suddenly, she realized something and quickly lifted her head.
“…You knew, didn’t you?”
“Ah, well… I happened to find out somehow.”
Kaon’s casual tone and his certainty that Alesia wouldn’t be afraid of Koda showed that he had likely known about it for quite a while.
“I’m sorry for not saying anything, but I thought Koda would want to wish you well too.”
Alesia almost wanted to sarcastically comment on Kaon’s skills as a knight for being so stealthy, but when he said he brought Koda along because he thought Koda would want to congratulate her, all her frustration vanished. ‘Congratulations.’ It was such a foreign word to her.
“Miss, you should’ve told us earlier. We would’ve gone ahead and congratulated you.”
“Madeleine…”
“Now, we’re close enough for me to say this, right? I, Madeleine, was really hurt.”
Madeleine, whose words didn’t match her bright smile, beamed kindly at Alesia. The warmth in her smile made Alesia bite her lip.
Her birthday had always been the most painful day for her. Born with expectations and recorded as a day of failure for the family, her birthday was nothing but a reminder of her family’s failed experiment. Her parents’ research journals surely recorded it as such.
Her birthday reminded everyone of the Duke and Duchess’ failure. So, instead of congratulations, she had to endure mockery, and while the rest of her family received birthday wishes, she could only watch with envy.
Thus, the only person who had ever wished her a happy birthday was herself. No one in Ingelos had ever celebrated her birth.
“Next year, I’ll invite all the knights, so know that. Since you’re a patient, I kept it small this time.”
Kaon, seeming to shake off his awkwardness, responded brusquely. But it was clear that, despite the awkwardness, he truly wanted to celebrate her birth. Even after this, he seemed to be promising even more celebrations.
“This is a gift. I should’ve given it to you earlier, but the timing wasn’t right.”
Kaon, scratching his cheek, turned around. There was a large table behind him, filled with various items. It was clear these were the gifts prepared by Ferdinand’s household members.
Kaon took out a cage placed at the front of the table. When he opened the door, a small bird with white and blue feathers flew out and landed on Kaon’s shoulder.
“It’s a talking bird, you know? I’ve taught it a bit, and it’s smart.”
There was a brief flash of pride in Kaon’s expression as he looked at the tiny bird. He then gave a dramatic look before speaking.
“Watch this. Now, say it.”
“Say it!”
“No, I mean the words I taught you. Say it.”
“Say!”
The round, cute bird opened its beak, and every time it did, Kaon’s handsome face became more contorted.
“No… no, that’s not it? It was doing great… Hey, it’s supposed to say, ‘Congratulations.’”
“Congratulations!”
“Crazy…”
“Crazy!”
Kaon muttered a curse with a resigned expression as the bird faithfully repeated his words. Unable to contain her laughter, Alesia burst into laughter. Though belated, this was her first genuinely happy birthday.
08. I Want to Live Here!
As the late afternoon turned to evening, Kaon, running along the walking path to stretch his legs, immediately changed direction when he heard a commotion coming from the main gate.
“No one is allowed to enter here carelessly!”
“You insolent fools! I won’t forgive you!”
The sharp voice sounded childlike, but the tone was anything but. The gatekeeper, standing atop the wall and looking down, shook his head in disbelief.
“What’s going on?”
As Kaon approached, another gatekeeper let out a long sigh.
“Young Master, that child has been causing a ruckus, demanding we open the gates. They keep saying they’re from Ingelos, but we didn’t receive any prior notice. The assistant said the same.”
“They’re from Ingelos?”
“Yes. We checked just in case, but there’s no such message.”
“I told you clearly! I won’t let you off, you fools! How dare you treat a great mage like this!”
The already sharp voice rang out even louder with frustration. Just by listening to it, Kaon could tell how much the gatekeepers had suffered.
“Open the gate. I’ll check it myself.”
