Chapter 72

“Ha ha!”

Adam, who had been wearing a sullen expression, suddenly burst out laughing.

It was such a loud, sudden laugh that Eveline, who had just calmly made a remark, blinked in confusion.

“Ah, Eve. You’re more of a materialist than I thought.”

“Who doesn’t like gold?!”

Realizing too late that she was being teased, Eveline hastily defended herself.

Try handing gold to just anyone—no one would ever turn it down once it’s in their hands.

“Of course, your eyes are prettier than this lump of metal. They look like stars embedded in them.”

“Ha ha.”

Adam chuckled softly.

Then he smiled, and since he didn’t seem annoyed, Eveline ended up smiling too.

If it were royal money, she’d find a way to snatch it even if it meant drinking poison, but receiving such a big lump of gold outright made her suspicious.

Giving gold with no reason?

Unfortunately, anything more expensive than beef couldn’t be considered free of ulterior motives—there was definitely something hidden behind it.

“So, why did you suddenly give me a gift?”

Adam thought for a moment before replying.

“It’s around this time that my birthday comes.”

Eveline opened her mouth in shock.

…She had completely forgotten Adam’s birthday.

Well, to be fair, he’d never mentioned it. But how could she forget something so important?

It was probably because she’d never celebrated a proper birthday herself that she’d grown indifferent to the concept.

“When is it?”

She leapt to her feet in surprise.

Thankfully, the large carriage gifted by the crown prince was tall enough that she didn’t hit her head on the ceiling.

Adam thought deeply, as if trying to recall a date even he wasn’t quite sure of, and then answered.

“Hmm, technically it was yesterday.”

“Since it’s past midnight now,” he added, a bit awkwardly.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Wait—yesterday?

But nothing special happened!

They just ate together, read together, chatted together…

In short, nothing stood out at all.

Where was the cake? The birthday gift? The birthday song?!

In fact, that evening, he had been dragged to the emperor and humiliated.

“……”

Eveline was left speechless, her mouth hanging open.

“So maybe that’s why the emperor also… Anyway, don’t worry about it. You already gave me a present before.”

Did she give Adam a gift before?

As she stood there, confused, Adam smiled and reminded her.

“On Founding Day, you gave me a gift.”

“That? That was just a little trinket. It wasn’t even expensive or meaningful… just a souvenir they sold during the festival.”

Lined up next to the crown prince’s gift, hers looked pitiful.

She would sneak out and get him something truly impressive—no matter what.

As Eveline made this firm decision internally, Adam called her.

“Eve, you don’t have to prepare anything.”

“I can’t do that!”

At the very least, a good present was what made a day feel special.

“But I was the happiest just spending my birthday with you.”

“But that’s… that’s not enough…”

Her voice trembled with emotion.

Even she was startled by the way her feelings slipped out in her voice.

“I’m not blaming you for not telling me, warrior…!”

“Ha ha, it’s okay.”

Eveline, who had been desperately trying to explain, stopped and looked at him as he laughed.

She looked at Adam, overcome by an unfamiliar feeling.

“For me, getting to see this face of yours is the real gift.”

What kind of face?

And how is looking at her a gift?

Eveline sighed deeply in frustration.

If she had known earlier, she would’ve prepared a flashy birthday gift.

She would’ve been the first to wish him happy birthday and spend time with him.

And if it came to it, she would’ve clung to his pants to stop him from going to the imperial palace.

‘Did the emperor even know it was Adam’s birthday?’

If he did and still acted like that, he was truly vile.

He called him there, stole his time, made him stand around the hall all day, and turned him into a spectacle.

In the end, he made him kneel in front of everyone.

What a wonderful birthday memory he’d given.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

As Eveline was fuming again, she belatedly noticed how close Adam’s scent had gotten.

“…Warrior?”

Adam’s eyebrows furrowed, as if displeased with the title that had just come from Eveline’s mouth.

“Adam.”

A name both familiar and unfamiliar emerged from its owner.

Eveline’s eyes widened.

It was a name she had only ever spoken behind his back, or silently in her thoughts.

“Please call me Adam.”

“……”

At first, Adam had even hidden his name and refused to tell her—but now he faced her and smiled.

That smile stirred something tender in Eveline’s chest.

Then the back of Adam’s hand brushed beneath her eye.

“What’s this injury?”

“Oh, I just slipped earlier…”

Her cheek flushed not because of the wound, but from his touch.

She quickly raised her hand to cover the spot his fingers had touched.

But since he hadn’t moved his hand away, her hand ended up resting on his.

“…Adam.”

Eveline slowly spoke the name that had only ever lingered in her mouth.

It was the first time she had said it aloud in front of a fully conscious Adam.

And Adam smiled, eyes gently crinkling.

“…!”

He had been gazing at her with a languid look but then suddenly flinched and pulled his hand back.

From the place he had touched her, it felt as if heat had burst into flames.

Though he withdrew it himself, she felt a wave of disappointment.

Not knowing why she felt that way, Eveline called his name again, watching his flustered reaction.

“Adam?”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

Adam shut his mouth tightly.

His expression was different than usual.

He seemed to be trying to smile but also looked like he’d lost composure.

He kept brushing his face with his hands, and his ears appeared redder than normal.

Then, for a moment, all expression vanished from Adam’s face.

As if he’d realized something too late, his face turned pale.

“That can’t be…”

Adam murmured.

“It can’t be…”

His soft murmuring was drowned by the rattling of the carriage.

* * *

Lately, Adam had been acting strange.

Or maybe, he had always been strange and she’d just failed to notice.

But this time, the stares he gave her were so obvious that it was impossible to ignore.

Everywhere she moved, at least one set of footsteps followed.

At first, she thought it was just Potato trailing her out of boredom.

But when she saw Potato rolling through the garden, swinging at a butterfly, she realized the source of the déjà vu.

‘If Potato’s over there, then who’s the one following me?’

She glanced behind out of the corner of her eye.

The sensation that someone was watching her from behind wasn’t her imagination.

She’d assumed it was Potato and thought nothing of it—but the head of hair trailing her wasn’t brown like Potato’s. It was white.

He was staring so intently it was almost awkward.

The sharpness of his gaze felt like needles pricking her scalp.

But when she heard him humming to himself, she began to understand.

‘…Hmm, looks like Adam’s in a good mood.’

He’d been like this more often since Founding Day.

No—maybe there had been signs even before that?

Unlike his usual demeanor, Adam was acting noticeably more docile—so much so that even someone like Abraxas, passing by, would have noticed.

A few days ago, Abraxas had seen the cheerful Adam and walked away in disgust, which earned him a light punishment from her.

Well, if Adam was happy, then good for him!

It’s fine to wander the garden like this.

That was when her eyes met Adam’s.

She gave him a bright smile.

You couldn’t help but smile when looking at someone beautiful and happy.

But when she smiled at him, Adam quickly turned his head away.

Right before he looked away, his shoulders twitched as if startled, and Eveline blinked in confusion, not understanding his reaction.

‘Huh? Why did his mood drop all of a sudden?’

His wildly shifting emotions were hard to follow.

He also seemed baffled by his own actions, repeatedly rubbing his face with his hands.

During that time, Eveline approached Adam, who had been following her like a game of tag.

Again, he was different than usual.

Normally, Adam would notice the moment she came near, meet her eyes, and smile.

Now, the roles had reversed.

“Warrior?”

“…Yes.”

“Why do you keep avoiding my gaze?”