Chapter 63
63
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The day Hestia siblings were scheduled to visit after a long time.
I went out to the garden early to wait for them.
"Your Highness, why are you out here waiting?"
Gray knelt on one knee before me, flustered.
After he kissed the back of my hand, Victory bowed gracefully.
Victory had also recently been learning the etiquette of a lady's greeting.
"I greet Your Highness, Ruelle's new star."
"Hello, Victory. Nice to see you."
When I lightly kissed her on one cheek, Victory, still a little smaller than me, blushed and asked.
"Did I do well with my greeting today, Your Highness?"
"Yes, Victory. Shall I ask the attendant to praise you later?"
"Yes!"
While Victory was still acting like a baby, Gray frowned.
"Victory, I told you, it's not praise if you ask for it."
Victory pouted.
"But if Your Highness spreads the word, Father will praise me."
"If you had just stayed still, I would have told him."
I burst into laughter at the sight of the two bickering familiarly, and Gray finally came to his senses.
"I apologize every time, Your Highness. I'm ashamed that my sister acts like a baby in front of you like this."
"It's okay. Victory is still a baby. I'm almost seven years old, with less than three months left."
I deliberately raised my shoulders, and Victory pouted again.
But Gray smiled brightly and agreed.
"That's right, the glory of Divination awaits Your Highness."
The wind was quite chilly, so we moved to my room.
As soon as Gray entered the room, he gestured to the attendant.
"I have prepared a gift, hoping that Your Highness will safely complete the seventh birthday celebration and Divination."
"Again……?"
Not just because it was my birthday, but Gray brought gifts at every opportunity.
When he felt burdened to offer gifts repeatedly in his own name, he did not hesitate to use the Marquess's name or Victory's name.
'He often gave Rosa gifts before, but not to this extent…….'
With a sorry heart, I looked at the ornate box the attendant was carrying.
It was a luxurious item, with silk added to a wooden box.
"Gray, you're not going to give me another birthday present later, are you?"
Then Gray widened his eyes as if genuinely surprised.
"Your Highness's birthday is still three months away, are you telling me not to prepare anything until then? That would be disregarding me, who will become the first contributor under Your Highness's reign, and our family Hestia, which has the largest merchant guild in this country……."
"……It's not quite disregarding."
I cut off Gray's familiar repertoire at that point.
Inside the box that the attendant opened with a smile were necklaces and hairpins that closely resembled the 'Tears of Baha'.
"They are not Sacred objects, but I thought it would be nice to use them together. There is no artisan in Ruelle with such skill, so I asked Grand Duke in advance to prepare them in Nigel."
"Oh my……."
No matter how rich they were, no eight-year-old would bring such gifts to a friend.
'Each of those necklace beads has a thumbnail-sized jewel in it……!'
I said with a serious face.
"But Gray, if I receive such valuable gifts for free, it will be a burden to His Majesty the King."
"You know that His Majesty the King assigned a royal knight as my swordsmanship teacher this year, right? He gave me such a privilege, so I must repay him."
Then repay it to my mother……!
Having nowhere to turn for help, I looked at Victory, but she went even further.
"Your Highness, put it on quickly! I asked them to make more beads in advance, in case the necklace becomes too short when Your Highness grows up."
Victory's eyes sparkled as if she wanted to be praised, and this time Gray reacted.
"That was a great idea, Victory."
He praised his sister for once and took out the necklace with a beaming smile.
"Hoo……."
Then, he came behind me, who was sighing, and fastened the necklace.
Victory clapped her hands and rejoiced.
"It's so pretty, Your Highness! Be sure to wear it during the Divination!"
Beatrice, who was watching, also joined in.
"Shall I put on the hairpins for you too?"
While the Hestia siblings watched with satisfaction, Beatrice decorated my hair with glass beads to her heart's content.
"You look really pretty, Your Highness."
Gray leaned down and whispered in my ear.
"It's a hundred times prettier than when Victory tried it on. It really suits Your Highness's black hair."
Don't lie, you.
'Anyone can see that she's prettier.'
I could only sigh deeply in front of the siblings, who were as pretty as the finest porcelain dolls in Ruelle.
Finally, Gray asked worriedly.
"Don't you like it? Then I'll get a different design……."
"I like it!"
Victory flinched, perhaps because I spoke too loudly.
Gray was looking at me suspiciously, so I chattered fussily.
"Look, it goes so well with my bracelet."
As I showed my wrist, Gray nodded as if acknowledging it.
"It's really pretty, but it's light so it doesn't hurt my neck, it's the best. Glass crafts are indeed from Nigel."
"……Are you serious?"
Gray persistently confirmed, but I had to prevent the disaster of returning the gift.
I nodded my head wildly.
"Yes! I'll definitely wear it to the Divination. Ea will like it very much too!"
Gray finally smiled.
"It's a pity that it's not a public Divination. How proud would I be if the God called Your Highness."
Why would you be proud……?
That alone remained questionable, but I closed my mouth to stop this conversation.
'They just arrived…….'
I'm already tired.
* * *
"Where is Yan?"
After a while, when Victory excused herself to look around the library, Gray asked.
Yan had been suspiciously busy lately, and he hadn't told me the reason either.
I shrugged.
"I don't know. He goes out often these days."
He even didn't come back all night some days.
I was so worried at that time…….
"There must be something important."
Gray was filled with a strange conviction.
I looked up at him in bewilderment and said.
"But you don't have to use such polite language with Yan, Gray. Father even says 'You rascal' to Ibiza."
Gray gave an inscrutable smile.
"Can Ibiza change his appearance? Can he have wings and then not have them, or can he become smaller or bigger?"
I asked back in confusion.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Did the Imperial Magic Tower develop such magic?"
Gray obediently shook his head.
"The Magic Tower probably doesn't have such magic yet. Even if they did, they wouldn't go around bragging about their new technology."
"Then why are you saying such strange things?"
I tilted my head and asked again, but Gray just kept smiling.
"Because he's a Magical creature, just in case."
"There, there you go again."
I finally realized what Gray was trying to say and interrupted.
"The conclusion that Yan is a Magical creature has not been reached yet. Even the Temple of Shamash doesn't know."
"Yan is a Magical creature."
Gray, who rarely contradicted me, made a point of answering.
"He is the legendary bird of the God Shamash. The more Yan grows, the more he resembles that bird. His tail is getting longer and longer."
I sighed and added.
"Even so, it's much shorter than that bird."
"It will definitely become that long."
At this point, Gray's belief in Yan was almost blind faith.
'If he knew that Yan could even talk, he would go crazy.'
Just then, a knock sounded from outside.
"It's Yan!"
I quickly ran to the window, and Gray, who was next to me, opened the window.
"You came, Yan? Where did you go? Are you hungry?"
Even if he had grown a little, Yan was still small enough to fit on my two hands.
No matter how much I stroked him and asked, there was no answer.
'Well, he can't talk with Gray here.'
As I thought that, Gray rummaged through his arms and took out a small box.
"Yan, I made candied fruit with dried blueberries and honey. Would you like some?"
Did he make it on purpose to give to Yan?
'But Yan doesn't really like sweets…….'
But Yan suddenly answered.
"Not fruit. Make it with sunflower seeds next time."
Even so, he picked out a blueberry from the box that Gray was holding out and ate it.
'Hey, how can you suddenly talk?'
I was so surprised that my eyes popped out, but somehow I was the only one who was surprised.
"Yes. If there is anything else you would like to eat, please tell me. I will find it and bring it, even if it's from abroad."
Then Yan answered as naturally as Gray.
"……Ikan Mountain Honey Wine."
Wine?
While I was dumbfounded, Gray spoke again.
"Yes. I'll try to get it by next week."
……What are you guys?