“After the coming-of-age ceremony, the days in the Duchy became quiet and ordinary. Delina, who was sitting at her desk writing something, put down the pen she was holding.

“I’m done.”

In front of Delina were several letters. Delina neatly sealed the letters and pulled the strings.

“Did you call, Miss?”

Suddenly, Betty entered the room. Delina handed the letters to Betty.

“Can you send these letters to each respective family that’s written here?”

“Yes, understood.”

Taking the letters from Delina, Betty checked the names of each family. Delina added,

“These are the families that sent engagement proposals back then.”

“I see. In that case…”

“Yes, replies. Reject them all though.”

Engagement or marriage—she hadn’t completely disregarded such thoughts. However, she felt it wasn’t the right time for her now, and there was no young noble she urgently wanted to meet.

“Understood. I will make sure to send these properly.”

“Yes, please.”

While Betty organized the letters, Delina leaned back in her chair. Seeing her like that, Betty spoke up.

“And there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“About Miss’s birthday gift.”

“…Right, that time has come again.”

Delina’s face quickly became weary at Betty’s words. In fact, this birthday was significant as it marked the transition to adulthood, and for weeks now, Felic had been making a fuss about it.

“Yeah, that’s right. He has given you something extraordinary every birthday.”

The first birthday gift she received, Zen, was cute. Every year, Belleon, who seemed to be studying how to surprise Delina, gave her unique and unexpected gifts.

“Yeah, because every year he has given me something unusual.”

Although he emphasized small and subtle gifts, what came back was always something that effortlessly overwhelmed her expectations. Therefore, her birthday always had a different meaning.

“His Highness said that if you have any specific gift you want, you can tell him.”

“…Do I have to say it now?”

“Yes. If there’s nothing you can think of, he also said that he would prepare something on his own.”

“No, no. That won’t do.”

To avoid preparing another unreasonable gift, she used the excuse of thinking hard about it, and until now, she hadn’t said anything. But now she had to say whether she liked it or not.

“Yeah. Let’s be specific this time.”

It seemed better to talk about something that seemed impossible to obtain, rather than speaking vaguely and making a big deal out of it. Delina, frowning and thinking repeatedly, opened her mouth.

“People.”

“People? Are you talking about people?”
“Yeah. But there’s a condition. Like His Highness, handsome, wealthy, and powerful.”

“…….”

“It must be someone like that. If not, it’s absolutely not acceptable, convey that.”

“Understood. I will relay that.”

‘Where would you find someone like that?’

Delina, who knew better than anyone that it would be impossible, became excited. Betty, who made a strange expression at her words, soon lowered her head.

“Are you okay, Delina?”

“Yeah. It’s just a slight muscle pain.”

When Jen asked worriedly while walking down the corridor, Delina, who was massaging her shoulders, forced a smile. Calix, who was beside her, was also looking at Delina’s shoulders.

“Didn’t I tell you not to hold back and come at me? This is nothing considering you were sparing yourself against the two of you.”

Now even Calix and Jen found it challenging to face Felic one-on-one. Having challenged the two, she was mentally prepared.

‘Besides, he told me to come at him without holding back.’

She knew that the two didn’t use their full strength. Nevertheless, Delina couldn’t touch them, and she ended up being beaten up alone.

“It seems a bit early, but how about having a meal together? If we go straight, there’s a restaurant.”

When Delina suggested, the two nodded. After walking a bit, they saw the restaurant, and the servants in front approached the three.

“Miss!”

When the door opened, Belleon and Felic sitting at the dining table appeared. Felic’s eyes lit up when he saw Delina entering the restaurant.

“Have you arrived?”

“Yeah. But… didn’t His Highness come early too?”

Delina, surprised to see Belleon in the restaurant earlier than expected, asked. Felic answered instead.

“He has some business today, so he decided to eat early.”

“Oh, I see.”

The three sat down without saying anything. Then, looking at Delina, Felic, who was murmuring to himself, opened his mouth.

“By the way, Miss. I heard from Betty.”

“Huh? What?”

“About Miss’s birthday gift.”

Ah.

It seemed that Betty’s story had been conveyed to Belleon by now. However, for some reason, Felic looked quite pleased.

“I was really surprised. I didn’t expect Miss to want such a gift.”

“…?”

“As a birthday present, a fiancé. It’s perfect as a birthday present in the year of becoming an adult.”

Cough.

After Felic’s words, Delina, who was drinking water, choked. Delina, who was coughing, managed to speak.

“Why does that connect to a fiancé?”