Chapter 35

✿

My gift was wrapped in a dark blue ribbon on a white background.

As I moved the box slightly, my father and Aaron’s eyes moved along with my hands.

It’s very well-balanced, but I think it’s cute.

When I saw the red-like ruby gaze, I was looking forward to my father’s reaction to receiving my gift.

“Father.”

“Oh, uh… Yes?”

When I called my father, my father, who stuttered uncontrollably, coughed once, and then returned to his usual expression.

“Happy birthday. This is my present.”

I smiled and handed over a large box and a small box to my father.

“….Thank you. I told you not to prepare every year.”

That’s what you say, but I know my father who cherished me for years when he actually received my gift.

‘My father has a very warm side, too.’

Laughing inside, I pointed to the large box. The small one was the main gift.

“I’d like you to open the big one first.”

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

Rustle~

My father untied the ribbon carefully.

“…It’s a shirt.”

When the lid was opened, what was revealed was a white shirt and a dark navy blue shirt that was almost black.

It’s a present I bought with Aaron last time.

“Yes, I wanted to give you a uniform as a present, but I don’t think you’ll wear it often. Since you wear shirts often, I chose a pretty one. Do you like it?”

“Yeah. I like it so much. I’ll wear it.”

When I asked, my father touched the shirt with his finger for a while and answered with a smile on his face.

“I’m glad! I was thinking between dark green and this color, and I chose this one.”

My father’s answer filled my heart with pride.

Thanks to my father who likes hangers so much that he disposes of all clothes, I struggled to find the one that suited him best.

Now all that was left was a small box.

“You know, the small box. It’s not something great, and you might be disappointed.”

I scratched my cheek and said, my father must already have a lot better than my present.

I prepared hard, but I couldn’t help being a little worried.

“You’re the one giving it to me. How could that be possible?”

“Yeah. Father would be happy to receive it even if you gave him a stone, the same goes for me.”

I was embarrassed by the encouragement of my father and Aaron, so I smiled shyly and nodded my head.

“Then open the small box!”

My heart beats faster than when he opened the box containing the shirt.

Soon, a small lid opened and the present I had prepared was revealed. It was a red ruby brooch.

“This, it’s a… brooch.”

My father’s long fingers picked up the brooch a little bigger than half of his thumb.

The main gift I prepared and an artifact I made.

“Yes. I made my own spell and carved magic, but I may be lacking a little.”

My father, who listened to what I say, had not spoken for a long time.

‘Are you disappointed?’

I wiggled my pinky finger. How worried have I been?

Soon, my father slowly opened his mouth.

“…Thank you, Erita. It’s the most precious gift I’ve ever received.”

Only then could I smile brightly.

This time, learning magic engraving was worthwhile because I wanted to take responsibility for creating artifacts from start to finish.

Originally, I only engraved magic on jewels, and the work was entrusted to someone else.

So I could be confident that it might be a little crude than selling it, but it had my sincerity.

“Aren’t you going to ask what magic was engraved?”

I asked in an excited voice in response to my father’s reaction.

“May I ask what kind of magic you engraved?”

“Of course! First of all, I carved shield magic. You’ll be able to prevent most attacks three times.”

“Shield?”

“Yes. Actually, I wanted to engrave something permanent, but it was a bit difficult to engrave with other spells…”

So it was a little disappointing.

Shield magic could save his life at an important moment.

However, I couldn’t give the other couldn’t spells either, so in the end, the number of shield magic was limited.

It was time for me to soothe my disappointment.

“…What about the other magic?”

Hearing Aaron’s question, I regained my energy and opened my mouth.

“The other one was teleportation. You could use this whenever you want! Of course, it shouldn’t be too far away…”

I think it’s about the distance from the mansion to the square. This was the other magic I couldn’t give up.

Unlike the shield, it could be used as much as you want by injecting magical energy.

My father was also a magic swordsman, so there was no need for me to recharge the magic with my own.

“Do you like it?”

I looked at my father with a little expectation. I hope my father likes it as much as I worked hard on it.

“I… Like all of them… Receiving something very precious. Wasn’t it hard to make this?”

At the low whispering voice of my father, I smiled and shook my head.

“Not at all. It wasn’t hard at all, thinking that I’d give it to my father.”

Of course, I was a little disappointed because I made a few mistakes in my work.

Anyway, I was more proud that I succeeded safely.

At my answer, my father’s eyes, who were slowly wiping the brooch, curved beautifully.

“Thank you so much. I’ll cherish it.”

When I saw my father’s reaction, I couldn’t help but feel proud.

As I turned my head with a bashful smile, my eyes met with Aaron, who was looking at me.

“My sister, you’re amazing.”

Aaron’s voice wrapped around my ears was sweet.

In fact, I said it was my father’s birthday gift, but I thought what if Aaron was disappointed.

Fortunately, seeing Aaron looking at me with soft eyes, he didn’t seem like that.

Of course, he didn’t say anything, but he was there too.

It’s not completed yet.

“You could look forward to it too!” I smiled playfully at him.

“Yeah, I’ll be looking forward to it.”

At my reaction, Aaron paused for a while and smiled brightly enough to make me ashamed of everything and nodded.

It was then.

“Now then, can I go get some food?”

We burst into laughter at Evan’s question as he leaned out of the kitchen.

✿

As Evan, who was confident, said, my father’s birthday dinner was more brilliant than usual.

All the foods that came out one by one were all delicious.

It feels like I’m at a fancy restaurant.

“Did you enjoy your meal?”

It was around the time I was knocking on my stomach that was full.

I nodded at Evan’s words, who had come to clean up the dishes.

“It was really delicious. The meat with that sour sauce was the best.”

“Haha, isn’t it? It’s a special sauce I developed a while ago.”

“It was delicious, Evan.”

Following me, my father also spoke briefly to him.

“I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve heard such a word from my master. It’s worth the preparation to say that you are satisfied! This old man is overjoyed.”

Evan, whose eyes widened in surprise for a while, soon smiled, holding his white mustache. Evan, who had been talking for a while, left, saying he would clean up now.

“Shall we go to the drawing room? I’ll make tea for you today!” I got up first and spoke brightly.

Usually, the maids brewed tea for me, but today’s my father’s birthday.

“Of course.”

We left the empty plates behind and moved to the drawing room.

It was a time when we were drinking tea and talking about small things.

Knock, knock~

A knock on the heavy door was heard.

“Master, this is Terban.”

“Come on in.”

It was Terban who opened the door and entered.

“I’m sorry to disturb the conversation, but I think you should come out for a while.”

Terban’s expression, with his head bowed in a neat posture, seemed somewhat embarrassed.

“What’s going on?”

“We have a guest in the mansion. He was wearing a shabby robe, but he had an invitation to the dinner…”

“Had an invitation?”

“Yes. I know it’s late, but he asked me to tell you.”

With those words, I could understand why Terban had that expression on his face.

It’s been a long time since dinner was over.

The situation was nearly two hours late. It would be very rude in the first place.

It could have been unpleasant for my father.

“…Hhmm.”

I slowly rolled my eyes and looked at the other side.

However, surprisingly, I couldn’t find any displeasure in my father’s face.

In fact, there was only a little surprise.

Although my father is on the blunt expressionless side…

“Then let’s go.”

Father readily answered, got up from his seat.

“Do I have to go with you?”

I don’t know what the relationship is between my father and that person, so it’s kind of bad to follow him recklessly.

“Will you join me?”

After contemplating for a while, I soon nodded and stood up.

“Then I’ll go with you.”

I followed in my father’s footsteps alongside Aaron.

The drawing room is on the same floor as the front door, so as soon as we left the room, I could see a person wearing a brown robe standing at the entrance of the mansion.

Judging by his height and size, he seems to be a man.

It was an appearance that didn’t seem to be a nobleman at all.

The curiosity about him grew bigger and bigger.

“Master, it’s this person.”

After Terban bowed his head to us and the man, he took a few steps back.

At the same time, the person who raised his head, who had bowed down, flinched for a moment, then slowly pulled back his robe and opened his mouth.

“It’s been a while, Aslan.”

His wheat-coloured hair glimmered down through the curled-up robes.

The man’s face, which was soon revealed, was an unexpectedly handsome man.

A face that looks like Fern’s age.

But it was his eyes that caught my attention.

A little similar to mine, but different at the same time.

‘…He also have purple eyes.’