“I’ll call you Bunny when we’re together. See you soon at the secret base!”

“I’ll be waiting. Always.”

Evelia waved her hand vigorously as she climbed into the carriage.

Next to her, the knights of the Artina Order were hurling obscenities and giving the middle finger to Marbas, and Enril was flapping his wings excitedly, tightly clutching the bag of treasure Ageres had given him.

The carriage carrying them left, and the imposing gate engraved with lavish basreliefs slowly closed.

Ageres’ gaze followed until his little friend’s extended hand was no longer visible through the gap.

“My lord. Did I perform my role as a butler well today?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know?”

Facing Ageres’ gaze full of displeasure, Marbas bowed his head dejectedly.

“I will accept the punishment…”

Marbas does have a sense of propriety. He knew well that he hadn’t performed his role as a butler properly today.

Unable to control his emotions, he had complained to the lord’s precious guest, and poured out nasty words like tobacco to the knights who were his servants.

‘Soon, the lord’s energy will choke me, or make me kneel, or perhaps the lord will hit me himself….’

Expecting the impending punishment, he closed his eyes tightly. But surprisingly, no assault came.

‘…?’

Slowly opening his eyes, Marbas tried to gauge the lord’s mood. Isn’t he silently walking away?

‘Did he dismiss me without even scolding because there’s no need?’

Marbas’ meaning is to occupy Ageres’ loyalty. Marbas, who had turned pale, hurriedly ran up and kneeled in front of Ageres.

“My lord, I made a mistake! I’ll accept any punishment, but please don’t dismiss me…”

Ageres waved off Marbas’ words.

“The child laughed, so it’s fine.”

“So did I do well…?”

His little friend was in a position where it was hard to make even one comfortable friend to quarrel with. It’s nice to be coddled by everyone, but it wouldn’t be bad to have one friend to growl at without restraint. Ageres muttered a small praise as he moved his steps.

“It wasn’t bad.”

‘What, this peanut can also be useful?’

How long has it been since he last heard that he wasn’t bad from the lord’s mouth? Marbas’ lips curled into a pleasant arc. He thought he should be a little kinder to the peanut next time he met him.

“Ah.”

Ageres reached out to Marbas. Thinking that perhaps the lord’s mind had changed, he hunched his shoulders.

“Hand it over.”

“Yes? What?”

“The candy. The one the child gave earlier.”

“Yes?”

When Marbas did not move, Ageres’ beautiful eyebrows twitched slightly.

With tears in his eyes, Marbas reluctantly took out the single piece of candy he had received as the only gift today and placed it on Ageres’ hand.

A single yellow candy lay innocently on his large palm. Ageres muttered ominously.

“There should have been two, right?”

“I was just about to take it out and give it to you…”

Marbas’ lips pouted sadly.

There was not much difference in welcoming the New Year compared to the past seven years.

The members of the Artina family spent the first day of the year together in the reception room. They prepared all of Evelia’s favorite things, like a warm fireplace, sweet cocoa, crispy cookies, and more.

While many noble families would host grand parties on the first day of the year, the Artina family was powerful enough not to have to boast such formalities.

Therefore, it’s unlikely that they would attend or host New Year’s parties to show off their family’s prosperity. Unless it was a party hosted by the royal court.

No matter how splendid the feast was, there could be nothing as valuable as the time spent with family.

However, the mood of Hugo, the head of the Artina family, was rather uncomfortable.

‘What’s that on the first day of the new year?’

The only thing that was not pleasing on the first day of the New Year, which was otherwise perfect. Among all the things that were the same as last year, there was one thing that had changed. Hugo said, raising his eyebrow.

“Are you not going?”

“Why should I?”

“This is my house.”

“I can’t help it because my little one is in your house.”

Arkan couldn’t remain silent when he referred to his younger sister as ‘my little one’. Arkan rebutted, lightly pushing Enril, who was spinning around trying to bite its tail, to the side.

“Why is our Eve your little one?”

“She’s my sister. If the spirit doesn’t want to be eaten, shut up.”

When Enril pressed Undine’s tail with its front paw, a water droplet splashed.

“What are you all talking about, devil, big brother, spirit, and dragon? The young lady is our knight’s young lady.”

Amidst everyone claiming a sense of intimacy with the most beloved child in the world, Evelia ended the argument with a single sentence.

“Eve is Eve’s Eve. If you all want to receive favor from me, do well in the New Year! Gifts and bribes are all welcome!”

She spread her short arms wide open, expressing her love for gifts and bribes with a bright face.