Chapter 36
Edmund stared at me for a long moment before asking back:
“…You… didn’t know when my birthday was?”
“……”
His words jabbed at my conscience like little needles.
And the way he looked—just the tiniest bit sulky—made me feel even worse.
He normally never acts that way.
“Uh, well… yeah? I didn’t know.”
I mean, in the original story, of course they didn’t spell out the final boss’s exact birth date.
At best, I only remembered the assassination event happening around this time.
When I admitted I didn’t know, Edmund snapped his head away.
So obvious—he was upset.
‘Uhhh…’
Then, he muttered something that made my conscience hurt even more.
“…But I know yours.”
“What, what?”
“Your birthday.”
“……”
Strangely enough, Cassia’s birthday happened to be the same as my real one.
“How do you even know that?”
“I asked your nanny.”
“Oh…”
When did he ask her that, and why?
Thanks to him, I felt like the neglectful guardian-teacher who didn’t even know her own student’s birthday.
The guilt stung sharper.
I forced myself to sound as kind and warm as possible.
“So, when’s your birthday, Edmund?”
“……”
But Edmund just pouted, refusing to answer.
That’s when Willace, who’d practically been blending into the wallpaper, crept close and whispered in my ear:
“It’s tomorrow.”
“What?!”
This time, my shock was real.
Tomorrow? As in, literally tomorrow?!
I whipped my head toward Edmund—he looked even more sulky.
This was… yeah.
‘This one’s on me!!!’
Of course he had the right to pout.
To make up for it, I quickly opened my mouth.
“Edmund! Tomorrow I’ll ask the head chef to bake you a wonderful cake!”
But Edmund shook his head.
“You’re going to tell the chef to bake me a cake just because it’s my birthday? You can’t do that.”
Well, that’s true.
I’d have to say I wanted cake instead.
“Even so, the three of us—you, me, and Willace—we could still celebrate together, couldn’t we?”
That finally caught his interest, just a little.
But he wasn’t going to give in so easily.
“I don’t really like cake. I’m not a kid—I don’t like sweet stuff.”
Liar!
You love sweets!
But of course, I couldn’t just call him out like that.
By now, I knew Edmund’s personality and way of speaking pretty well.
When he talks like that, it always means he has something else he really wants to say.
‘What a stubborn little boy—he’s never straightforward!’
He can’t hide his feelings, but he’s never honest either.
Just as I expected, after a short pause Edmund finally voiced what he really wanted.
“You said before that gifts should be something the person actually likes. I don’t like cake.”
In other words, what he really wanted was something else.
So I went straight for it.
“Then what kind of gift would make our Edmund happy?”
I smiled brightly at him, and annoyingly enough, Edmund just frowned back.
“Stop treating me like a child.”
How am I supposed to not treat you like a kid when you’re puffing up your cheeks like that?
The only reason I’m not pinching them right now is because of sheer self-control.
“I’m not treating you like a child. I just wanted to ask gently because I felt guilty, that’s all.”
“……”
“So tell me, okay? Please?”
I winked at him and added a “pretty please.”
At last, Edmund sighed as if he had no choice and finally spoke.
“Actually…”
And the gift he wanted was something I absolutely did not expect.
That day, as usual, I went to Edmund’s room with food that everyone believed was laced with poison.
The maids waiting outside figured that, as always, I’d be out again soon with empty dishes.
But today was different.
“—!!”
“—!”
Suddenly, loud arguing burst out from inside.
Crash! Clatter!
The sound of dishes breaking.
The maids couldn’t just stand there anymore—they rushed inside without asking permission.
Thankfully, the door wasn’t locked.
“Milady! What happened?!”
“Are you all right, milady?!”
No one asked about Edmund’s safety first.
Even their concern for me wasn’t true worry—it was just curiosity about what was happening.
Inside, the room was a wreck.
The serving cart had been overturned, food scattered across the floor.
Plates smashed, glass shattered.
The food hadn’t been touched at all—it had just been thrown.
‘So… Edmund’s finally resisting!’
‘Makes sense. Who would calmly eat poison forever?’
‘We’ll have to report this to His Grace.’
Just as they pieced it together, my furious shout rang out.
“How dare you disobey the Duke’s orders! You need to be taught a lesson!”
I snapped at the maids.
“Clean this mess—and bring me the biggest, strongest lock you can find!”
The maids exchanged nervous glances.
What kind of cruel punishment was I planning?
Once the room was cleared, I personally locked Edmund’s bedroom door shut—
with a heavy iron lock that couldn’t be cut even with a saw.
Clang!
Then I pocketed the key myself and gave a cold order:
“Until I say otherwise, no one is to approach this room. Don’t even bring him meals. Let him starve until he learns the value of food.”
The servants didn’t dare disobey, but that didn’t stop them from whispering behind my back.
“Good lord, how cruel can she get?”
“Even when Moretti locked him up, he still got food.”
“Well, why don’t you go tell the young madam that?”
“……”
No one could oppose the “tyrant of the villa.”
So until further notice, Edmund was “locked” alone in his bedroom.
At least… that’s what everyone thought.
In truth, Edmund was nowhere near his room.
Suppressing a smile, I climbed into the carriage.
Willace—serving as coachman today—helped me up with a sigh, muttering just loud enough for me to hear:
“You really are bold, my lady.”
“Well, it helps when I’ve got someone to assist me.”
I covered my grin with a fan and took my seat.
The nanny climbed in too.
No one suspected anything, since I often went to town with only her for company.
‘No one would imagine who’s really inside my carriage.’
Once we’d gone a fair distance, I stood and opened the seat cushion.
It lifted like a lid, revealing an empty compartment for storage.
“Come out, Edmund!”
The nanny gasped as Edmund popped his head out from hiding.
“All clear? No one saw?”
“No one. Just the nanny and Willace.”
I beamed. Edmund grinned back.
We smacked a quick high-five—celebrating our successful plan.
“Perfect!”
Yes—
because the gift Edmund asked for yesterday was unexpected, but also made perfect sense.
“I want to go outside. Just once, even just for a day. I want to walk around freely.”
At first, I thought he meant escaping the villa completely.
‘What, give up the Cohen signet and run away? No way, right?’
But that wasn’t it.
“Not forever. Just for a day. I want to be outside, even if only for a little while.”
“…Hmm. If I stand in for you, I doubt they’d notice you were missing. It’s doable.”
“But I don’t want to go alone.”
So picky!
“Then what about with Willace—”
“Do you think Willace could sneak me out alone without anyone noticing?”
“He could use magic—”
“……”
Edmund froze for a moment, then burst out angrily:
“It’s supposed to be your gift! If I sneak out alone, then it’s not a gift from you, is it?!”
Ugh—teenagers are impossible to deal with!
And so, after our little staged play in front of the staff, Edmund and I finally set out together.
His face glowed with excitement—looking, for once, like a boy his own age.
It was so cute I couldn’t help laughing out loud.
