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Chapter 36
Edmund stared straight at me, then asked again.
“…You didn’t know when my birthday was?”
“…….”
It felt as though his words had turned into sharp needles, pricking at my conscience again and again. Part of it was also because Edmund, asking like that, somehow looked a little dejected. He wasn’t usually like that.
“Uh, r-right? I mean?”
As if the original work would ever clearly spell out the final boss’s birthday down to the exact month and day. At least there had been an assassination event around that time, so I knew it roughly.
When I admitted I didn’t know, Edmund sharply turned his head away. It was an obvious display of hurt feelings.
“Uuugh?”
Then I heard Edmund mutter something that made my conscience hurt even more.
“I know, though….”
“H-Huh? What?”
“Your birthday.”
“…….”
Strangely enough, Cassia’s birthday was originally the same as my own.
“How do you know that?”
“I asked your nanny.”
“Ah….”
When, and why, did he even ask that? Thanks to that, I felt like I was the only one acting like an indifferent guardian and teacher toward Edmund. My conscience just kept getting stabbed.
I tried my best to speak in a gentle, kind voice.
“So, when is our Edmund’s birthday?”
“…….”
Edmund just pouted and didn’t answer properly. At that moment, Willes—who had practically blended into the wallpaper—slipped over and whispered in my ear.
“It is tomorrow.”
“What?!”
I was genuinely shocked.
Tomorrow? As in, tomorrow?!
When I turned my head in astonishment, I saw Edmund looking even more sullen than before.
This was… this was…
‘I messed up!!!’
No wonder Edmund was sulking.
I opened my mouth to make up for my mistake and to soothe Edmund.
“Edmund. Tomorrow, I’ll ask the head chef to make you a wonderful cake!”
But Edmund shook his head.
“You’re going to tell the chef to make a cake just because it’s my birthday? You can’t do that.”
That was true. I’d have to say I wanted cake myself.
“Still, the three of us—you, me, and Willes—can celebrate together, right?”
That seemed to tempt Edmund a little. But he didn’t give in easily.
“I don’t really like cake. I’m not a little kid, so I don’t like sweets.”
Don’t lie!
You like sweets!
But I couldn’t say that outright. I decided to be patient. I was confident I knew Edmund’s personality and way of speaking fairly well by now. When he talked like this, it meant the real point was coming next.
‘What an honest-to-a-fault dishonest kid!’
He wasn’t good at hiding his emotions, yet he wasn’t very honest either.
After waiting a little, just as I expected, Edmund began to confess what he really wanted.
“You said it before. That a present should be something the receiver likes. I don’t like cake.”
Saying that while liking cake basically meant he wanted a different present.
So I decided to be direct.
“Then what kind of present would make our Edmund happy?”
As he looked at my brightly smiling face, Edmund irritatingly furrowed his brows.
“Don’t treat me like a child.”
He was puffing out his cheeks in anger—how was I not supposed to treat him like a child? The fact that I wasn’t pinching those cheeks was proof of my self-control.
“I’m not treating you like a child. I just want to ask more gently because I feel sorry, that’s all.”
“…….”
“So tell me. Okay?”
I winked and begged him. Finally, as if he couldn’t help it, Edmund opened his mouth.
“Actually….”
And the present Edmund wanted was completely different from what I had expected.
Today, too, Cassia was just entering to feed Edmund a poisoned meal.
The maids waiting in front of the door assumed, as usual, that after some time Cassia would come out with empty dishes.
But today was different.
“—!!”
“——!”
They heard the sound of arguing from inside.
Then—
Crash! Clatter!
The sound of dishes falling and shattering rang out.
They couldn’t just stand by in this situation, so the maids rushed into the room without asking for permission. Fortunately, the door wasn’t locked and opened right away.
“Miss! What is going on?”
“Are you all right, Miss?!”
No one asked first about Edmund’s safety.
Even those calling for Cassia were less genuinely concerned and more intent on watching how the situation would unfold.
Inside the room was complete chaos.
The trolley Cassia had brought was overturned, and all the dishes of food had fallen to the floor. Some fragile porcelain and glassware were smashed into pieces, scattered everywhere, and the food itself had been thrown aside without a single bite taken.
‘T-This! Edmund is finally resisting!’
‘Well, it was strange that he’d been obediently eating poison all this time.’
‘We’ll have to report this to the Duke.’
Just as the maids finished assessing the situation, Cassia’s furious shout rang out.
“How dare you defy the Duke’s orders?! I’ll teach you a lesson!”
Cassia commanded the maids.
“Clean this mess up, and bring the biggest, sturdiest lock you can find!”
The maids rolled their eyes, wondering what kind of punishment that cruel mistress intended for Edmund.
After the scattered dishes and food were cleared away, Cassia personally locked the door to Edmund’s bedroom with a heavy iron padlock—one so tough it would be hard to cut even with a saw.
Click!
Then she took the key herself and issued a cold order.
“Until I give permission, no one is to go near him, and don’t bring him any food either. Let him starve—then he’ll learn how precious food is.”
Though the servants had no intention of disobeying the order or even attempting to, they still gossiped about how cruel Cassia was.
“My goodness. Does she really have to be that cruel?”
“She locked him in the room a few times before, when Moretti was around too.”
“But back then, they still brought him meals.”
“Then why don’t you go tell the young mistress that?”
“…….”
For the sake of Edmund, who was soon to die, there was no one who could stand up against Cassia, the tyrant of the villa.
In the end, until Cassia gave the order, Edmund had to remain locked alone in his bedroom.
‘Edmund is locked in his bedroom.’
—that was what everyone in the villa believed.
The truth, however, was completely different.
I suppressed the smile that was trying to escape as I boarded the carriage. Willes (Marco) escorted me so I could get in comfortably. Having been assigned today as both porter and driver, he let out a small sigh and muttered so only I could hear.
“You are truly bold.”
“That’s because I’ve found someone to help me.”
I covered my mouth with my fan as I got into the carriage. The nanny climbed in with me.
The carriage I was riding in left the villa amid the maids’ send-off. It wasn’t unusual for me to go to a nearby city with just my nanny, so no one suspected anything.
‘That someone else might be riding in my carriage.’
Once we were far enough away, I stood up. The seat I had been sitting on could open at the cushion, and inside it was empty, made to store luggage.
“Come out, Edmund!”
As the nanny stared in shock, Edmund popped his head out from inside the carriage seat.
“Is it okay? No one’s watching, right?”
“No one. Just the nanny and Willes.”
I grinned broadly.
Edmund grinned back.
We lightly high-fived, celebrating the success of our plan.
“Nice!”
Yes.
What Edmund had wished for yesterday was unexpected, yet at the same time deeply understandable.
“I want to go outside.”
At first, I thought he meant escaping this villa entirely.
‘Huh? Giving up the head of the household’s seal and leaving? No way?’
But that wasn’t it.
“Even just for one day, I want to freely walk around outside.”
“……Hmm. If we look for a way, it might not be impossible. If I stay behind, it probably won’t be noticed that you’re gone.”
“I don’t want to go alone.”
So demanding!
“Then with Willes—”
“Do you think Willes could go out with me alone without the servants noticing?”
“We could use magic.”
“…….”
Edmund went blank for a moment, as if he’d lost his words.
Then he suddenly burst out angrily.
“It’s your present! If I go out alone, then it wouldn’t be a present from you anymore!”
Teenagers are really hard to deal with!
And so, after putting on a whole performance in front of the servants, Edmund and I ended up leaving the villa together on a little outing.
Edmund’s face was flushed with anticipation befitting his age after so long.
It was so cute that I ended up laughing out loud a little.
