“Wouldn’t anyone prefer to have a rising light rather than one who has lost their glory?”

‘You’ve been saying “let’s see, let’s see” for a while now.’

I might end up with rotten ears at this rate.

I brusquely brushed off the hand gripping my shoulder.

Though the Crown Prince’s grip strength was considerable, the muscle power honed through cleaning and cooking was not to be underestimated either.

I smiled brightly and clung tightly to Kashar’s side.

“My lover is very jealous!”

He just got rejected earlier, yet he’s spouting such nonsense.

Every time I smiled sweetly, the Crown Prince’s brows furrowed.

‘You think you’re the only one who can play dirty.’

I used Kashar as a shield to cover my body.

“Oh my, there’s a rock here!”

As I slightly tilted my body, I could see the Crown Prince’s back within arm’s reach.

I pretended to fall and brushed past him slightly. A piece of tin foil stuck to Valentide’s bottom.

“I think I’m feeling dizzy from being out too long. Darling, shall we head back to the castle?”

Clinging tightly to Kashar’s arm, I looked around to see Jeiana and the Crown Prince all wearing strange expressions.

I laughed and bid farewell to everyone.

“Take care!”

Valentide’s expression crumpled.

Before he could say anything to me, his escort stepped forward.

“Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress is looking for you.”

“…Tch, alright.”

The Crown Prince clicked his tongue and grabbed the reins.

Just as he gracefully mounted his white horse.

Poot-!

“…??”

Poot, poot poot, poo-poot-!

Intense farting sounds echoed throughout Nike Street.

“Oh, oh my.”

“Pfft-!”

A noblewoman standing by the fountain dropped her fan into the water.

A couple having tea on a second-floor balcony spat tea in each other’s faces.

A passing child,

“Mom, that big brother farted!”

“Shh, shush!”

“The sound is so lou… Ugh-!”

The lady hurriedly picked up the child and left the street.

All eyes in the street were focused on the Crown Prince.

“My goodness. They say a man’s charm is in his bottom, you might need to do some hip exercises.”

I covered my mouth with my hand and widened my eyes in surprise.

“But don’t worry too much! Your Highness isn’t a rabid dog, nor of such low status that someone needs to rescue you. Of course, you should still use your strength wisely!”

Both your defenseless bottom and unfiltered brain!

‘It’s a fart bomb, you fool.’

What I had stuck to Valentide’s bottom was a fart bomb.

I had picked it up from the stationery section thinking kids these days study too much, but I forgot to give it away and ended up bringing it out.

‘He’s been my enemy from start to finish anyway.’

It felt satisfying to get back at him like this at least.

“That’s not what I…!”

No matter how you heard it, it sounded like an excuse.

Unable to bear the glares of the people, Valentide trembled.

His reddened face looked like it might burst at any moment, but the farting didn’t stop.

Poot. Poot. Poot.

Children running by giggled at the rhythmic sounds.

“Wooow, it’s rabbit farts!”

“No, it’s acorn farts!”

After the group of children who seemed to love fart talk passed by, there was nothing but silence.

The Crown Prince kicked the innocent horse’s side.

Neigh-!

The unexpectedly struck horse galloped across the street.

As the hidden escorts followed suit, the tin foil that had escaped from the Crown Prince’s bottom fluttered down.

‘Well done, fart bomb.’

The back view of one who had completed their mission was this beautiful.

I was very much looking forward to seeing what headline would appear in tomorrow’s social newspaper.

‘I should ask Dracu to take care of the newspaper.’

While I was excited, Jeiana still couldn’t recover from the shock.

“What did I just see… No, what did I just hear…”

She was so surprised that she was babbling incoherently.

“Lady Enders, perhaps you should head home first?”

“…Yes. I need to go rest a bit.”

Jeiana, who had become mentally weak, staggered through the crowd.

Now only Kashar and I remained.

‘This is bad.’

Kashar didn’t know that I had gone out today.

‘I heard he was supposed to be in another territory today!’

Whether the meeting place had changed or what, we had accidentally encountered each other in an unexpected location.

“Ah, haha. Good afternoon, darling!”

At my greeting, Kashar narrowed his eyes. Then he muttered.

“Maybe I should put shackles on you.”

It was a magical statement that instantly stopped my empty laughter.

‘…That was in the original work.’

Kashar had put shackles on the female protagonist’s ankles.

Having read that scene in the book, I couldn’t dismiss those words as a joke.

“You’re the one who told me not to cheat. And why that specimen of all people.”

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Kashar finally narrowed his eyes.

“This works out. I’ve always wanted to kill that bastard.”

Kashar’s solution was always extreme.

“It’s not cheating!”

“Then?”

Surprise gift or not, the important thing now was to avoid being confined.

“I just ran into him while going to buy a gift!”

He may have hit on me, but I certainly got my revenge.

At my outburst, Kashar blinked.

“…A gift?”

“Yes. It’s your birthday soon, isn’t it?”

His birthday that even he had forgotten about.

“I haven’t celebrated it since I was Crown Prince.”

“Still. It’s the day you were born.”

I wanted to give him a warm birthday that he had never experienced, even when he was Crown Prince.

The Emperor didn’t properly look after Kashar after Empress Viviana went mad.

‘I wonder why she went mad.’

Though I didn’t know the reason, it was true that the Empress’s mental illness had made his childhood lonely.

“I want to make it a special day for you.”

I grasped his hand and exclaimed.

“Of course, you should have a birthday feast too!”

Above all, what was most meaningful was the warm birthday meal and time spent together on a special day.

“…I’m looking forward to it.”

His eyes, now cleared of murderous intent, turned towards me.

Kashar stroked my hair, gathering it to expose my nape.

“I’m not sure if you’ve already chosen a gift, but.”

His lips moved along my nape.

I had thought this before, but he seemed to have an obsession with necks.

“I prefer cliches. For example.”

Kashar’s gaze lingered briefly behind me. Ludvion was standing there.

A cold gaze was issuing a warning from somewhere I couldn’t see.

My mouth felt dry.

His eyes, which had returned before I knew it, were trapping me.

“Something like ‘I’m the gift’?”

He grasped the pendant I was wearing and activated a spell.

A bright light enveloped us.

“…Gasp!”

I found myself lying on Kashar’s bed.

In an instant, he climbed on top of me and crashed his lips into mine.

“It’s fine to give it early.”

“Wait a moment…!”

There were only 8 hours left until Kashar’s birthday.

I curled up as I felt his lips covering mine.

The heated time passed too quickly to gather my thoughts. I was being swallowed up just as fast.

And at 12 o’clock.

“Happy birthday.”

The bell announcing midnight rang.

It was the chime heralding a long dawn.

And so Kashar’s birthday dawned.

As I struggled to open my eyes, I saw Kashar holding me.

Below his collarbone, I could see his chest muscles and well-defined abs.

The excessive ecstasy chased away any remnants of sleep.

‘…Yesterday.’

The R-rated content in books was nothing. It was a first experience that made me look back on how ignorant I had been.

‘I didn’t know it would be like this.’

Everything was too vivid.

Even the sweet words he had whispered to me.

And the words I had said most often were.

‘Stop…!’

My face burst into flames.

‘Was it really your first time?!’

Maybe it was all a lie.

Feeling like I might never be able to get up at this rate, I struggled with all my might.

Even removing the arm wrapped around my waist felt like a task.

“Why are you squirming so much.”

He had been awake and watching me, though I thought he was asleep.

I had to blush alone under his gaze, which showed not a hint of sleepiness.

“I’m busy!”

“This early in the morning?”

“Because it’s morning, I’m busy!”

It was a shout to steel my resolve.

Though my whole body creaked, I escaped from his embrace through sheer willpower alone.

“The birthday person isn’t supposed to do anything. You’re forbidden from wandering around until breakfast time!”

Before leaving the bed, I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Once again, happy birthday!”

As I ran away, I heard laughter behind me.

“See you in the dining hall later!”

Arriving in the kitchen as if fleeing, I was greeted by the servants there.

“Welcome, future lady of the house!”

“We’ve prepared all the ingredients!”

“Thank you, everyone!”

I quickly donned an apron and stood in front of the fire.

There were many dishes to make.

Because.

‘I’m going to prepare a 12-dish birthday feast!’

Japchae, bulgogi, seaweed soup – every dish was meant to captivate the taste buds.

With the kitchen staff working together, the cooking picked up speed.

‘It was good that I taught them Korean cuisine in advance.’

I decided to focus on seaweed soup, the star of birthday foods.

The dried seaweed that had been soaking in water was soft and pliable.

After coating a large pot with sesame oil, adding brisket and the seaweed was practically the end of it.

‘When it comes to a boil, season it with minced garlic and soy sauce for soup!’

And the clear beef seaweed soup would be complete.

With all the dishes finished, we plated the food onto appropriate dishes with busy hands.

It was exactly 5 minutes before breakfast was to begin.

“I’ll take it out.”

“Please do!”

I went to the dining hall to prepare to greet the children and Kashar.

In the distance, I could see Louis holding Ashtra’s hand as they walked.

“Eileen!”

“Lord Louis!”

Louis ran over and hugged me tightly.

Today too, Louis was adorable and cute.

But Evan was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Lord Evan?”

“Huh? Evan went down earlier…”

“I’ll go look for him.”

Since we were in the castle, he couldn’t have gone far.

‘Did he go out for a short walk?’

It seemed best to wait a bit.

After Ashtra left the dining hall, the prepared dishes were spread out on the table.

‘Hehehe, perfect.’

As I admired the breakfast spread I had prepared, today’s main character Kashar entered.

“…This is.”

Steam rose from the seaweed soup.

Unlike my contented expression, Kashar’s face stiffened as he stood in place.

“What’s wrong?”

“What’s the name of this dish?”

The moment he asked the name of the seaweed soup, a massive tremor shook the duke’s castle.