FMLDM 48

Chapter 48

The One and Only Ring

At the center, a banner with “Happy Birthday” written on it dangled from strings and fluttered, greeting me.

“Birthday?”

Only then could I guess that this must have been the original Calypse’s birthday. Calypse, too, had never celebrated a birthday once in his childhood, so he hadn’t known when it was. But how on earth did Macaron know, when even the person himself didn’t, and prepare all this? From both sides, Macaron, Coral, and Kai approached slowly, carrying a three-tier cake. The low-pitched birthday song Macaron sang sounded more like a funeral dirge, but aside from that, it was perfect. With a tiara crown on my head, blowing out the candles, my eyes grew damp. Macaron made a joke, perhaps deliberately trying to make me laugh.

“If we hadn’t held today’s birthday party, it could have been a disaster.”

That joke hit right at my taste, and I chuckled. He naturally led me outside the mansion. In the garden stood a massive dome-shaped glass greenhouse I had never seen before.

“That definitely wasn’t here yesterday…?”

I stared at Macaron in disbelief, and he smiled with a dangerously charming curve of his lips.

“They say wives like surprise events, so I prepared one.”

That was something only recorded in the Moon Night Encyclopedia… He couldn’t have seen that, so he must have asked someone around him for advice. I took his large outstretched hand, and warmth flowed through me. Inside, a burst of colorful flowers bloomed, looking straight at me, like the sunflowers at the East Annex. The difference was that unlike the all-yellow East Annex, here the colors were dazzling, as though arranged by a professional. As I gasped, he plucked a flower.

“No, why ruin such a pretty flower…”

Before I could say more, he crushed the petals, squeezing out its juice.

“Hair dye?”

“I heard you enjoy playing disguise.”

Playing disguise…?

“And who… told you that?”

Macaron glanced toward Coral, whose face turned red. Imagining the two of them discussing it back and forth made me chuckle. In fact, when I developed the makeup changer filter, I had thought that hair could be altered the same way. But in the Empire, hair dye was so expensive and limited in supply that I had given up quickly. Yet… seeing this greenhouse, hope bloomed again.

Then Macaron brought out a case with a solemn look.

“Could it be… a ring?”

But how did Macaron know my ring size? Well, being such a meticulous pharmacist, he could probably guess with just a glance. Already gulping down kimchi broth in anticipation, I even prepared to hold out my finger. But… what emerged when he opened the case was a mysterious liquid.

“It’s a skin-soothing product. Excellent moisture, calming effect, and most importantly, regeneration.”

As he gave a whole commercial-like speech, I quickly hid my hands behind me. I remembered offhandedly mentioning that I wished to add a skin-soothing product into the changer. I had only said it once in passing, but he remembered—and even created a perfect prototype. With added ingredients I hadn’t even considered. Macaron seemed to know my preferences better than I did myself.

“Not just soothing, but regeneration too…!”

I had no choice but to admit he was a genius pharmacist.

“This is truly a jackpot item!”

As I stared endlessly at the product in his hand, he smiled proudly. I must be wicked, because seeing him satisfied made me want to tease him.

“It’s my birthday—don’t you have any other presents?”

“…Is there something you wish to receive?”

Those pure red eyes, which I was certain no one else had ever seen, made teasing all the more tempting. Every time he looked flustered, discovering a new expression felt like stumbling upon diamonds in a treasure hunt.

“Who could see that face and not say the same?”

I wiggled my fingers in front of him.

“Like, maybe a ring… or a ring… or maybe… a ring.”

But Macaron looked even more flustered than I expected, stammering.

“A-a ring will come later…”

Honestly, he looked like the kind of man who would fetch me a star if I asked.

“Just kidding, haha. I like this more than a ring.”

I held the cosmetic case to my face and blinked cutely. But Macaron’s expression darkened.

“Why? Did my cuteness not work?”

I resolved to stop acting cute from now on.

In truth, the gift Macaron had worked hardest on for Calypse’s birthday was a ring. Fiesta. The only one in the world, with a rare aquamarine set at its center, hand-crafted by a Frant craftsman—traded at an exorbitant price. It was said to hold protective power, making it even more valuable. A few years ago, it had once appeared at auction in the Empire, but at the time he hadn’t had the desperation. Now, with that desperation, Macaron mobilized even the Shadow Knights—who had never once been used for private matters—to obtain it.

“My proposal, outshone by changer materials…”

He muttered softly, but Calypse’s attention was fixed entirely on the cosmetics and dyeing flowers. When Calypse had mentioned rings earlier, Macaron’s heart had skipped a beat. He thought she might have discovered that he’d secured Fiesta.

“Would that have been better? At least then…”

But Calypse seemed to care nothing for rings, only falling in love with flowers and vials. Macaron even felt jealous of the hair dye. He agonized over whether to give her the ring at all. Just then, Calypse kissed him lightly on the cheek. His gloom vanished instantly, and his red eyes glowed dangerously.

At that moment, tap tap—the children’s footsteps approached. Macaron looked toward them with regretful eyes. I laughed at his expression, which made him sigh even longer.

After returning to the mansion, the chefs had prepared a grand dinner, followed by brilliant fireworks painted across the night sky by the mages he had hired.

“All this… just for the day I was born?”

It was a birthday I would never forget. I had always wanted, just once in my life, to spend my birthday receiving blessings from everyone. My eyes grew damp, and a tear slipped down. Thankfully, the dark night concealed it. Struggling to ignore the heat rising inside me, I heard him whisper into my ear.

“Thank you.”

“…?”

“For staying by my side.”

He promised me eternal love, and that from now on, only good things would happen.

“If only that could be true.”

But then, with the final burst of fireworks, he froze me in place.

“Tomorrow, I plan to invite nobles to the mansion to celebrate your birthday.”

“…Nobles?”

Usually, nobles held birthday parties either to flaunt their power or pursue other motives. Tradition in the Empire was to spend the first day with family, and the next with nobles. But Macaron, who had never once shown himself in public, hosting such an event was shocking. Soon, I guessed his intention: he meant to show he was prepared for the Crown Prince Selection. To wash away rumors of him being a monster, and other prejudices, such an event was essential—especially for someone who had lived in seclusion for so long. But I had never expected him to use my birthday as the pretext.

If the nobles learned Macaron had married—and who he married—how would they react? They might turn away, disappointed, narrowing his prospects. A daughter of a baron, a divorcée—that title was acceptable as a duchess, but as an empress? Problematic. For him to host a social event under my name meant only one thing: he was declaring me as his Crown Princess. Which meant he was proclaiming he would make me Empress. He must have staged such a risky move to warn the nobles who scorned me.

“Your Highness, I know your intentions, but… this requires caution.”

Suddenly sobered by reality, I scolded myself for having been carried away with joy moments ago. At that instant, his red eyes pierced me.

“My lady has borne too much for me. Until now.”

Emphasizing until now, Macaron spoke as if promising such times would never come again.

“Now it’s my turn to bear that burden. And I have the power to do so. So leave all the worry, all the effort… to me.”

Perhaps worrying was presumptuous of me. His red eyes were filled only with me.

“If it’s truly a burden for you, I’ll cancel it. But if you’re doing it for my sake, then stop. Because that’s not for me.”

Honestly, I was afraid. Afraid of the path I walked hand in hand with him. Afraid of his resolve, one that had never existed even in the original story, and the future it might change. But… even so, I wanted to believe. That at the end of this road, there would be a future with Macaron. That Kai and Coral would follow us down it.

“I will follow Your Highness’s will.”

From morning, the mansion bustled with nobles who had received Calypse’s birthday invitations. After Yves styled my hair, I activated the White Swan Changer I had prepared. For the dress, I chose one from the gifts Macaron had given me yesterday. A backless bell-line gown that accentuated my curves, exuding elegance. Yves kept gasping in awe. When I stood before the mirror, I understood why.

“Clothes really do make the woman.”

Lastly, I opened a ring case—and Yves nearly fell over.

“Oh my, my lady. How on earth is that ring here…!”

Lately, Yves had been looking into wedding rings, so she seemed to know well about the one Macaron had given me. Her eyes sparkled as she stared at it.

“My lady, this is Fiesta!”

“Fiesta? What’s that?”

“The one and only ring in the world!”