“Thank you all for coming.”

Guinevere spoke casually, as everyone present was younger than her.

Then, looking at one spot, she said:

“Oh, I didn’t realize Her Majesty the Empress had come as well.”

The Empress smiled gracefully and nodded in acknowledgment. She seemed grateful to be recognized.

“Today is my son’s 14th birthday party before he leaves for the academy, so it’s a special day for me.”

William swallowed hard. He was worried about what his mother might do in front of so many guests, felt embarrassed, and also experienced a strange mixture of anticipation and self-loathing.

‘What is she going to say?’

He was a useless child anyway. At 14 years old, he still couldn’t move even a speck of magic, cast aside from Guinevere Rodante’s attention…

“Children are meant to leave the nest someday, but I never thought that day would come.”

However, contrary to William’s thoughts, Guinevere’s words were entirely unexpected.

“I never thought the day my son would leave would come…”

And then, to everyone’s shock, a tear rolled down Guinevere’s cheek.

“M-Mother!”

Larisa quickly scurried over and handed Guinevere a handkerchief.

“Thank you, Lara.”

Guinevere dabbed at her tears with the handkerchief and cleared her throat. Just mentioning departure reminded her of the day William had attempted to take his own life. The tears flowed automatically, beyond even her control.

The shocked guests murmured among themselves, but Guinevere paid them no mind.

‘What, have they never seen someone cry before?’

She remained dignified, having stunned not only the guests but William as well.

“Ahem, anyway. I hope that whenever my son leaves my care, he will be safe and sound. Now, let the party begin.”

Guinevere raised her glass and exclaimed:

“Happy birthday, William!”

The people cheered. William felt embarrassed, somehow on the verge of tears, wanting to hide while simultaneously feeling overwhelmed.

“Willy-willy, snap out of it. You need to cut the cake!!”

Larisa, eager for cake, shook William’s arm. William quickly blinked back his tears and awkwardly walked over to cut the cake.

Then, befitting a knight academy admittee, he sliced through the 14-tier cake in one clean cut.

“Wooooow!!!”

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Guinevere marveled at William’s showmanship.

‘Acting all shy, and then…’

William presented the first slice of cake to his mother and gave the second slice to Larisa.

With that done, he had nothing left to do, but somehow felt as if he had completed a grand ceremony.

However, the ceremony was just beginning.

“May I have a slice as well?”

When the Empress held out her plate, William had no choice but to cut her a slice.

Then the nobles began lining up behind the Empress. William started cutting and distributing cake while receiving everyone’s congratulations.

The 14-tier cake was so enormous that there was enough for everyone. After William finished distributing all the cake without even taking a breath, the gift-giving ceremony began.

Guinevere was first.

“I pray for your safety, William.”

People thought it was an appropriate and unremarkable greeting for a son who had been admitted to the knight academy, but Guinevere’s true feelings were much deeper.

Guinevere quickly retreated before tears could flow again.

Due to the expectant looks from everyone, William had no choice but to open the box.

He was startled and quickly closed the box before anyone could see. Inside was a ring. Unmistakably a woman’s ring. And certainly a diamond one at that.

‘Why would she give me something like this?!’

Larisa was second.

“William, thank you so much for becoming part of my family. Happy birthday.”

“Huh?”

‘We’re not family yet.’

William was flustered. How should he respond? That they weren’t family yet? While William hesitated, Larisa quickly handed him her gift and left.

The gift was a bouquet. Larisa had clearly picked and arranged it herself, as all the flowers were from the garden.

William smiled slightly.

Before he could dwell on his feelings, it was the Empress’s turn.

“Congratulations on your admission to the knight academy. It’s reassuring to see a future knight who will receive the royal appointment. And happy birthday as well.”

After the Empress finished her greeting, the lady-in-waiting behind her presented the gift.

“Thank you.”

Upon opening the gift box out of courtesy, William found an impressive-looking sword inside.

‘Should I pretend to be happy?’

William, considering it was Her Majesty the Empress after all, thanked her once more out of politeness.

“A sword. Thank you.”

After all the formalities were finished, Hedel was the last in line.

“What is it?”

“What do you mean?”

William asked with a suspicious expression.

“…Are you giving me a gift?”

“Are you saying you won’t accept my gift?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

William’s mood, which had softened due to the unexpected birthday party, sharpened again. Why this sudden confrontation?

“I thought you had left.”

“I’m not leaving! Why would I? After enduring here all this time!”

Hedel threw the gift box at William. William caught it reflexively and eyed it warily.

‘This won’t explode when I open it, right?’

“It’s just a normal gift.”

William cautiously opened the box. Inside was an advanced alchemy book that he had been unable to obtain no matter how hard he tried.

“Ah…”

Hedel turned away without waiting for a response. William hesitated before quietly saying:

“Thank you.”

*

Even after the party ended and all the guests had left, gift boxes were still piled high in the lobby. Servants were constantly carrying gift boxes to the largest reception room.

William and Larisa sat in front of the fireplace, opening gift boxes they hadn’t had time to open during the party.

“Look at this, Willy! It’s a cute music box.”

“You can have that one.”

“Why do you keep telling me to take them? They’re all birthday gifts for you.”

“Logically, these can’t be meant for me.”

There were quite a few gifts that seemed suitable for girls Larisa’s age. It seemed some had given up on winning William’s favor and were aiming for Larisa instead.

Finding their strategy clever, William made a mental note of the names of the nobles who had sent gifts for Larisa.

Guinevere, who had been watching from the doorway, quietly moved away.

‘This should be enough to ensure William isn’t disrespected within the mansion, at least.’

She had deliberately not left everything to the butler, instead bustling about the kitchen, garden, and every corner of the house. To let everyone in the mansion know how much attention Guinevere was paying to this party.

Judging by the more respectful attitude of the servants towards William, it seemed to be having an effect.

As she moved away from the reception room, Hedel, who had been quietly by her side, spoke up.

“Why did you cry earlier?”

“I don’t know.”

How could she explain tears that came unbidden? Guinevere had something else she wanted to say to Hedel.

“What was that gift?”

“Pardon?”

Hedel feigned ignorance.

“The alchemy book. Why did you give him something like that?”

Hedel carefully gauged Guinevere’s expression as he spoke.

“Master, you saw how much William liked it too.”

Guinevere said nothing. But her displeasure was evident. Hedel sighed and said:

“Once he goes to the academy, he won’t be able to keep it nearby anyway, and he’ll do whatever he wants out of sight. Isn’t that much okay?”

Guinevere grumbled.

“What’s so good about alchemy anyway.”

“Of course alchemy isn’t as good as magic, but isn’t it admirable that he wants to learn? It’s not a completely useless discipline, and it has its own systematic…”

“Shut up.”

Hedel closed his mouth. He hadn’t really expected to persuade her in the first place. It was something that she hadn’t thrown him out the window. As Hedel quietly retreated, Guinevere muttered softly.

“How is it okay that he hurts himself if he messes up.”

Did I hear that wrong? Hedel asked with wide eyes.

“…Was that the problem?”

“What?”

“You didn’t like that William was hurting himself?”

Hedel rubbed his eyes. Even after rubbing them again, Guinevere still wore a displeased expression. He said with a bewildered look:

“Then you should have said so earlier…”

“What are you talking about.”

“You never say anything and just frown all the time, so everyone misunderstands.”

Guinevere had changed a lot lately. That’s why Hedel felt he could push back a little. He didn’t know what had changed her, but he didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

“William probably thinks you’re displeased that he’s spending time on alchemy instead of studying magic.”

“…”

Guinevere had nothing to say. Hedel’s guess was correct. But for some reason, Hedel smiled and said:

“Let’s go tell him now. If William knew your true feelings, he would… Ow ow ow!”

Guinevere grabbed Hedel’s ear as he tried to turn back immediately.

“Ow, why are you doing this!”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“Ow, let go!”

True feelings? Hedel’s guess was right. She had disapproved of the time spent on alchemy rather than magic and had reprimanded him numerous times. Those times had simply disappeared.

“Master, you really have a bad personality, you know? If you just talked to him, William would surely be happy. That kid is secretly quite sensitive.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Hedel, unaware of Guinevere’s feelings, grew frustrated, but Guinevere kept her mouth shut and dragged Hedel by the ear.

What right did she have to speak now, after driving the child to attempt suicide three times? Just because she had returned to the past didn’t mean her past transgressions had never happened.

At least, not for Guinevere. In her memories, William had suffered for a long time. She had no desire to be forgiven, nor any thought of forgiving herself.