As my birthday approaches, the verdant room is filled with precious gifts. They were from families who had caught my eye as a potential Princess, and from lords who wanted to woo me.
It made it difficult for the users to organize and sort through the gifts, but they all seemed to enjoy themselves.
In addition to the birthday banquet, a birthday party was thrown for her at my residence. It was organized by Cedella and her entourage with the idea that the banquet was just an extension of my political activities.
“Your Highness, happy birthday!”
The housemates are Cedella, Peony, Lian, and Hugh. The direct knights are Michael and Sylvestian.
Anais, Julia, and Olivier, business partners and same-sex group.
Alben from the Protocol Department and Kayden from the Cashier Department. The youngest twin Princesses, Bianca and Aloysia.
And even the singer of the capital, Limona.
Excluding those who were at the academy because of the exam, there were quite a lot of people gathered together.
Everyone sat around a giant three-tiered birthday cake.
“Eve, no, Your Highness. Happy birthday.”
Limona stood up, cleared her throat, and sang a congratulatory song.
Limona's wonderful song gift prepared just for me was beautiful enough to be remembered forever.
It was even heartwarming during the chorus, which everyone sang together under Limona's direction. It made me realize that I was truly being celebrated by everyone.
'I thought birthdays with lots of people would be awkward.'
The numbers weren't the issue. It depended on who you surrounded yourself with.
Then, one by one, people came out to congratulate me. They even gave me presents themselves.
“I am so happy to be able to celebrate your eighteenth anniversary so close to home. I wish I had been more proactive in speaking to you sooner, then we could have celebrated your sixteenth birthday.”
Julia's words made my mind flash back to days when I had been assertive enough in my own way, but I didn't dare say it out loud.
“That's right, until the 18th becomes the 81st, and maybe even after that, we'll come and hold our grandchildren's hands and wish you a happy birthday. So, long live, Your Highness.”
“...Thank you, Julia.”
Suddenly I thought, what if someone like Julia had been my playmate?
Next, Anais stepped forward.
“Congratulations on becoming an adult. Please allow me to watch over your growth from your side in the future.”
“Of course, Anais, I will be a person you are not ashamed of.”
Then, when it was his turn, Alben also stepped forward as if he could not lose.
“Hmph, Your Highness, thank you for your birth, for you are the savior of my life, and what a holy day it is! Hmph, we at Barony Linus will be celebrating today, ugh!”
“By the way, your flattery skills are... No, wait. Are you actually crying?”
I consoled Alben, who was surprisingly sensitive.
The youngest and cutest Princesses then congratulated me by presenting me with a drawing of myself, and then it was the turn of the knights.
Sylvestian knelt on one knee and bowed formally.
“Happy birthday, and thank you.”
“Sir Millard?”
“I am deeply honored to continue to serve someone I have always admired. I will serve you with all my heart and soul, until the end of my days.”
I was slightly surprised by the words, reminiscent of his confession at the last masquerade ball, and though I wondered if he was being androgynous, he didn't seem to be. I answered with sincerity.
"Your Highness."
This time, the mood was vague. Alben's eyes flashed once more, irritated. But his turn had passed, so he stabbed Michael in the side.
“Please keep the third place in the hierarchy, Sir Agnito.”
“I know even if you don’t say anything.”
“Oh, your eyes are alive. You look trustworthy.”
Michael stepped in front of me with a stately gait. It was the same as Sylvestian's at the beginning. He dropped to one knee. Then he asked me for my hand.
The kiss took place more than ten times.
“Hey, Michael?”
As time passed, the feeling of being explicit grew. It was when Eve's face turned red as if she was showing affection in front of everyone.
“I’ll celebrate the seventeen birthdays that I couldn’t be with you.”
My left breast was tightening to the point of pain.
Julia and Olivier covered their mouths with 'oh's' and Alben gave a thumbs up.
But the last one was always the real one. Cedella, the number one henchwoman, stood in front of me, overpowering all her entourage.
Cedella didn't say anything. No, she couldn't. The birthday of the Princess she'd cherished since she was a little girl was going to be a special one for her, her 18th birthday.
It was hard not to be impressed, and so it was time to exchange a few teary-eyed glances. Alben lamented softly to Michael.
“...I will win.”
In the meantime, Cedella has come to her senses, and like the head of the house, she says yes.
“I will assist you!”
Lian, Peony, and Hugh bowed down and chanted loudly. I also asked.
“Yes. Stay with me till the end.”
"Yes!"
The party lasted a long time. It had been a long time since I had a party where I could truly enjoy myself, away from the banquets of politics and socializing.
I vowed once again to run harder to protect this moment and these people.
***
White moonlight poured in through the elegant arched windows. Nearby, someone was sitting precariously on the windowsill, watching the moon.
“You look like your sister.”
A girl so beautiful that her white pajamas looked like angel wings. She was Rosenite, the owner of the Crimson room.
She looked even whiter and purer under the white moonlight, and she truly lived up to her name as the White Rose of the Empire. However, her calm expression did not seem all that innocent or naive.
“It’s tomorrow.”
It was the night before her stepsister's birthday party.
It was a good day for Rosenite, even if it was the day of the decisive battle. Maybe that was why she couldn't sleep at all.
Sleeplessness tends to bring about reminiscence. Sitting on the windowsill in the moonlight like this, memories came flooding back to her vividly.
Just two weeks ago, she was standing on this windowsill with her bare feet and causing a commotion.
Looking back, it was truly a pathetic thing.
The named rooms, including the Crimson Chamber, are located on the second floor. It was not a height from which a person would surely die if they fell.
'I didn't have time to think about that. I was in so much shock when I first woke up.'
The two lives were so entangled that it was soul-shatteringly confusing.
Even the seven-and-a-half years' worth of memory information pouring in was not only enormous but also terrifying.
It was hard to believe that the evil deeds she had dismissed as a nightmare were actually the things she had done.
Denying reality was impossible, so she denied herself. However, the more she separated herself from her past life and this life, the more confused her personality became, and it only became more difficult.
The unstable situation and suicide attempts that lasted for about a week all occurred during that transitional period.
'If I hadn't been able to get out of that state, I would have probably gone crazy.'
Rosenite tried to acknowledge and accept all the hatred, jealousy, obsession, and vices she had harbored in her past life as her own.
In the process, the intense emotions were worn down and she was able to control herself to a certain extent. Once she had regained her composure, she was able to organize her thoughts.
'The future has changed.'
Somehow this life, unlike the last, was not destined to end in the catastrophe of Homunculus's treason and the fall of the imperial family.
As such, Eve was at the center of all change.
'Somehow, I thought something was strange when she suddenly announced that she would hire a direct knight.'
This would have been impossible for the old Rosenite, but now that she's regressed, she's able to think clearly.
Thanks to this, Rosenite realized that she wasn't the only one who regressed, and she was able to guess who the first regressor was. And this realization immediately brought her great despair.
Her fingertips started shaking again. Every time she thought of it, it felt like all the blood in her body was drained.
With a clear head and a sober heart, she realizes that this life is not for her. Her half-sister, whom she poisoned blinded by jealousy, almost became Empress by joining hands with King Homunculus.
I was at odds with the two most powerful and powerful men in the world.
At this rate, it was obvious that a more miserable ending than her last life awaited her. No matter how much she thought about it, it might have been best to end her life somehow when she was insane.
But now that she was sober, Rosenite didn't dare to die, and frankly, she didn't want to. It's only natural that humans have an instinct for self-preservation.
With the sole purpose of survival, Rosenite racked her brain to the point of death.
And she tried everything she could and put in all her effort.
Of course, there was a crisis in the middle. The morning greeting was one of them.
It was a little better when she saw Michael waiting in the hallway.
The need to survive was working on Rosenite with more certainty than the musty emotional detritus of her past life, so she somehow managed to pull herself together.
Despite the hundreds of times Rosenite prepared herself, her heart sank the moment she locked eyes with Eve.
It's been like that all morning. Upon reflection, Rosenite couldn't remember what the heck kept her going.
Her ruby eyes deepened as she recalled the sensations of that time.
The poison and obsession that doomed her last life. Eve was the one who would make it impossible for Rosenite to let go of them now.
Rosenite turned her gaze back to the window and saw the moon, white and clean as if to cleanse the night of its poison.
Tomorrow, the fruits of her labor would come to fruition. She was going to use it to end her feud with her half-sister.
To survive.
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