Chapter 21
“Yeah, yeah. That’s it. Trying to get even a little more attention.”
“Think whatever you want.”
When I just sat there quietly without reacting much to what they were saying, the three of them seemed to lose interest and instead started provoking me even more.
“Or maybe you’ve finally come to terms with reality. Even your birthday party is this shabby.”
“Right. If you’ve got nothing, at least you should have some tact.”
“Think however you like~”
At my words, the ones getting more worked up and making a scene were them.
“Hey!”
“Huh~”
“Are you seriously crazy?”
“What’s there to be crazy about? If anything, you’re the crazy ones for coming to a birthday party Grandma approved and causing a scene like this.”
“You’re calling us crazy? You mongrel!!”
As if this was their moment, Rett and Karl raised their voices even more.
“Mongrel or whatever—you can call me whatever you want. But you do know this is a party Grandma herself hosted, right? You also know what could happen if you say the wrong thing here.”
Only then did Rett and Karl clamp their lips shut.
“This again with ‘Grandma, Grandma’ every time! Do you really think Grandma will dote on you just because you act like that?”
“Well, who knows. But I’m not sure Grandma would like you two making a fuss in this situation.”
Smiling, I called over a servant who was passing nearby. The servant, who happened to be carrying pudding in transparent cups, offered one to me.
“Mmm, it’s good. It’s a party, after all—shouldn’t everyone eat their fill? Go on, eat up.”
As I ignored their words and calmly ate my pudding, the two of them began trembling with rage.
“Th-that little—!”
“And you know, even if you were dragged here against your will for my birthday, coming dressed like that is a bit much… As children of a noble house, it’s not really appropriate.”
Indeed, neither of them was properly dressed.
The two finally looked down at their outfits and puffed out their cheeks in embarrassment.
No matter how friendly the gathered nobles were to our family, they were still nobles who loved to talk.
Showing up in everyday clothes to such a place was unthinkable.
It seemed Rett and Karl realized something from my words, as they glanced toward Caleb. Unlike them, Caleb—who had also taken part in needling me today—was at least properly dressed.
“Ahh…”
“Hyuuung…”
Rett and Karl whined, but Caleb merely shrugged.
“Oh. Grandma.”
That was when it happened.
Grandma entered the party hall a bit earlier than before. Father was with her.
In the past, Grandma and Father had already been inside the hall. Grandma had been furious at me for arriving late, and Father had been busy calming her down.
Oblivious, I had been busy greeting the nobles and opening presents, not even paying attention to Grandma. Back then, my birthday party mattered more than anything else. The people who came to celebrate me, the piles of gifts—I couldn’t look away.
But this time was different.
As I sat quietly in my chair, Grandma looked me over with a rather strange expression.
“You’re already here. How unexpected.”
“You personally hosted the party, Grandma, so I had to come early!”
I flattered her, acting grateful while praising her for preparing the party.
“Yes. That’s a bit better.”
As I smiled and chatted lightly, Grandma seemed satisfied with the praise and relaxed her stiff expression slightly.
That didn’t mean she looked at me fondly the way she did others.
“My daughter… I’m sorry.”
As expected, Father, who had been beside Grandma, hurried over to me.
“Huh?”
“I should have come to you first.”
“No! It’s okay, Dad. I got ready and came just fine on my own.”
“I see… But why are you just sitting here like this? It’s your birthday.”
Worried that something might have happened while he was gone, Father looked at me with a very troubled expression.
“Yeah! I was just sitting.”
“You didn’t even open your presents?”
“Yeah. I just wanted to stay here.”
“Huh? Just like that? No other reason?”
“Yeah! Just because!”
I smiled brightly at my still-worried father.
“If that’s the case, that’s a relief… But you’re not hiding anything from Dad, are you?”
“Of course not!”
Since I was hiding the issue with the twins, I felt a little—no, quite a lot—guilty, but it wasn’t technically a lie, so I nodded firmly.
“I see… Still, Dad was wondering…”
Just from Father’s hesitant expression, I could tell what he was thinking.
“Don’t worry. Anyway, thank you for hosting the party, Grandma!”
Since there were things that needed to be said, I bowed slightly and greeted Grandma.
“Hmph. You’re acting as if you’re a completely different child.”
“They say people change as they grow older.”
“What an amusing thing to say.”
Grinning widely, I quickly grabbed Father’s hand. There was still time before that incident from the past happened.
“Dad! Anyway, let’s go back now.”
“Already? But you haven’t opened all the presents yet, and we haven’t cut the cake.”
“Yeah! This is enough.”
So let’s hurry and go, Dad.
Dad can’t be here. If he is, that incident will inevitably happen.
It’s something that happens to Dad, not me—something I can’t do anything about.
“Still…”
“Come on.”
After looking quite troubled, Father finally nodded, as if he saw no other choice, and let himself be slowly pulled along by me.
“Mother. Amanet wants to go back, so there’s nothing we can do.”
“You intend to leave just like this?”
“Yes.”
When Father answered firmly, Grandma’s face stiffened as she looked at us.
“There truly isn’t a single thing about you that pleases me, to the very end.”
“Mother…”
“I didn’t like it, but since it’s your birthday I even hosted a party—and now you want to leave the moment it begins? That’s why I dislike children. So fickle.”
As if she didn’t want others to hear, Grandma bent down and whispered toward me.
“I like Grandma.”
“Hah. How shameless.”
“Yeah! That’s why Amanet is lovable.”
“Hmph.”
“Then this lovable Amanet will be leaving now.”
After greeting Grandma once more, I dragged Father along. If they thought it was just a child’s whim, so be it.
No matter how I thought about it, there was no other way.
But Grandma suddenly grabbed my shoulder.
“Are you disregarding my sincerity?”
Nothing is more awkward than the guest of honor leaving midway through a party. Grandma held onto me until the end—not because of me, but likely because she was more concerned about the eyes of those around us.
“No! If that were the case, I wouldn’t have come at all! But I’m sleepy, Grandma.”
“Hah—hah!”
What could she do when a child stubbornly insisted she was sleepy? And on top of that, she worried about being seen as a cruel grandmother forcing her drowsy granddaughter to stay, leaving her unable to act either way.
“Sh-should I hold you, Amanet?”
“Yeah!”
Like a sulking child, I quickly jumped into Father’s arms. Naturally, Grandma’s hand fell away from my shoulder.
“……”
As if she had many things she wanted to say but couldn’t, Grandma’s lips trembled before she looked off somewhere else.
That was when a smile spread across the lips of Uncle Behel, who had been watching us from a step behind.
‘It’s not time yet.’
Originally, this was supposed to happen much later. Was that incident trying to force itself to occur anyway?
“Dad! Let’s hurry and go.”
It was something that would happen to Dad, not me. So I urged him again.
“Mmm. Mother, we’ll be going now. Amanet doesn’t seem to be feeling very well.”
“If she’s unwell twice, she’ll be committing all sorts of rudeness. Do you know what an inconvenience this is to the people gathered here?”
“I’m sorry.”
It’s best to just apologize and move on. As long as we can avoid this place.
“Hmph. Fine. I understand your daughter’s intentions well enough. But Leocal, I still have something to say to you.”
“I’ll come see you after taking Amanet to her room.”
“That won’t be necessary. It’s just a simple question.”
A father who wanted to leave, and a grandmother who was determined to keep him there.
Amid that tense standoff, Grandma finally spoke first.
