Chapter 12

Donovan muttered in amazement.

"I didn't know you were so knowledgeable about carriages, Miss."

"It's not like that..."

I felt as if I had suddenly become on par with young Giuseppe, who was obsessed with anything on wheels.

I changed the subject.

"And, it's not you, it's your sister."

"Hmph! What sister? So, when are you going to ride this carriage?"

At that moment, Rozan, who had been silently watching us, said in surprise.

"You two seem quite close."

Giuseppe jumped.

"W-What are you talking about, Mother! I'm not close to her at all?!"

"Giuseppe, what kind of talk is that to your sister?"

Giuseppe couldn't bring himself to argue with Rozan and sulked, clearly unwilling to call her 'sister' even if it meant his death.

Livy, who had been fidgeting with her hands behind her back, suddenly spoke up.

"The carriage is so beautiful."

"Huh? Oh, right."

You haven't even looked at the carriage since we got here.

I had finished admiring the carriage and wanted to return to my room.

'I've done enough as the eldest daughter for the family.'

I said to Raoul and Rozan.

"I'll go back to my room now. I still have to prepare for the start of the term."

"Ah, wait a moment!"

Livy, worried that I might leave, quickly stretched out her hands, which had been behind her back, and offered me a small box.

"It's not much, but it's a birthday gift."

I received the box decorated with delicate flowers.

'...So today was the day.'

This was the scene where Livy, realizing Theresa's birthday late, handed her a gift.

In the original story, Theresa had thrown it to the ground without even looking at it.

If I did that now, I would surely end up on the death route.

"Can I open it now?"

Livy, her face red, nodded with her head bowed.

The gift was a handmade beaded bracelet.

As expected of someone with good hand skills, the colors were beautiful and the knots were meticulous.

I put the bracelet on right away.

"It's beautiful. Thank you."

Rozan, seeing me put on the bracelet without hesitation, took off her own bracelet.

It was a thin beaded bracelet similar to mine.

"Your effort is commendable, but it's not quite suitable for the eldest daughter of a squire."

Rozan removed a clear blue pendant from her beaded bracelet and attached it to mine.

"It's an aquamarine, a piece of jewelry I brought with me when I married. It may not be as good as modern jewels, but it's of good quality."

I stared at the gem, no bigger than a fingernail.

The aquamarine, as clear as a piece of ice from the North Sea, sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight.

Theresa never shared such warm, family-like anecdotes with these people.

In the original story, there were no such scenes at all.

My stomach churned.

I felt as if I was experiencing emotions that were not appropriate for me.

I remained silent, unsure of how to react.

It was the first time I had received a gift filled with someone's effort or a gift with a history.

Seeing my silence, Raoul frowned.

"Shouldn't you at least say thank you?"

Raoul couldn't stand Theresa being rude to his wife.

Thinking I had made a mistake, I quickly thanked them.

"Thank you. This is the first time I've received something like this—"

Ah. I closed my lips in surprise.

A thought that should have been left to rot inside had escaped my mouth.

"I'll take the gift with gratitude. I'm sorry, but I need to go now."

I left the room as if fleeing.

"Theresa!"

I heard someone calling me from behind but didn't turn around.

The seats were sending endless donations, as if they were in a frenzy.

"It's just a toy, Miss Ji."

I could almost hear Oswald's mocking voice in my ear.

For a moment, I wondered if maybe I was someone who deserved to be loved, and that's why such an episode had occurred.

'How naive of me.'

Livy, who didn't know how to use the wealth of the ducal family, had only done what she could.

And Rozan had acted wisely to ensure that Livy's innocent gift wouldn't be criticized.

I knew.

I knew that I was overreacting because I hadn't grown up being loved.

And I knew that this would only make me more miserable and pitiful.

I cut myself down to protect myself. It was the best self-defense I had learned in life.

"Ha... Ha..."

When I returned to my room, I was out of breath.

The maids were surprised by my almost running action.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing's wrong."

It was obvious that I wanted to change the subject.

The maids, looking awkward, tried to gauge my mood.

After catching my breath, I checked the room, which was cluttered with birthday gifts from various families.

I needed something to distract me, and this was perfect.

"I need to finish the replies to the birthday letters. Are the gifts all sorted?"

Elowise, the oldest maid, answered my question.

"I finished organizing the list this morning. I've prepared a document for the families you need to check."

I sat at my desk and focused on the documents.

As time passed, my fluctuating emotions gradually calmed down.

I was just a vessel.

There was no reason to project Theresa's situation onto myself.

After repeating this thought several times, I really did feel better.

'Maybe it was just because it had been a while.'

Expecting and being disappointed, then hating the day I expected again.

This was my daily routine.

But since I had run away from home, I had gradually stopped doing this, so the rare similar situation had triggered a mild panic.

'Really, it was nothing.'

Feeling much lighter, I checked the gift list and inwardly sighed.

'Why does it never end?'

The maids shook their heads, saying that they had received an unusually large number of letters this birthday.

'Everyone is just using the excuse of congratulations to get information about Livy.'

Because I had canceled the birthday party, the nobles were restless.

The letters started with birthday wishes but then asked why there was no party, if there were any news in the family, and when they could see me again.

The contents were so similar that it was suspicious.

Most were handled by the lower staff, but some required my personal response.

"An upper-class birthday is not just a day of enjoyment."

It wasn't just the letters that were troublesome.

Ding!

[Seat 'I Love Mika' has donated 100 coins.]

[Why are you even looking at this? Haha, so boring; Everyone is just spamming Mika's stream.]

As the channel grew, new seats were added, including so-called 'trolls' who were causing chaos.

[Many seats are frowning.]

Ding!

[Seat 'Block Angle' has donated 1,000 coins.]

[Mika fans are now even finding the Silver Channel to do this; They've been blocked, right?]

A system window appeared with the seat's donation.

[Channel Manager - Oswald has blocked Seat 'I Love Mika'.]

Trolls who mentioned other streams were quickly blocked by Oswald.

He really did manage the channel, as the manager claimed.

I frowned in disgust.

The trolls themselves didn't bother me, but they kept reminding me of Oswald's presence.

'I don't even want to be aware that he's watching me.'

"Let's only think good thoughts. Only good thoughts."

Instead of thinking about that damn scoundrel who ruined my mood just by thinking about him, I decided to think only about good things.

I would soon get the key to the dimension.