***
“It’s definitely the right choice to go back.”
Although Serdin knew the correct answer in his mind, he couldn’t easily make a decision.
That’s why, when Delight asked him, he said he needed a little more time to think and returned.
During that time, he had grown accustomed to Promian, a place he once thought he would never be able to adapt to.
Moreover, Ilnord had already used and discarded him.
If he returned, life would likely be even more difficult than before.
Still, it was the place where Serdin was born — his hometown.
Here, he was a hostage prince, but in Ilnord, he was a member of the imperial family.
No matter how hard it was, he had to endure in Ilnord.
‘If I leave like this, Violyana will forget about me.’
She would probably remember him only as someone she had a brief encounter with as a child.
But did that really matter?
Serdin questioned himself. He couldn’t come to a clear conclusion.
In the end, he couldn’t fall asleep until late at night.
“You’re not asleep after all.”
Delight came to see Serdin.
It was the first time Delight had come all the way here to find him.
‘Was he not giving me a choice but rather driving me away? But why?’
Serdin glanced at Delight warily.
Delight gazed at him with narrowed eyes, as if he understood exactly what Serdin was thinking, and opened his mouth.
“Do you know why I accepted you as a hostage?”
“Well, it’s because of the exchange…”
“Exchanging a crown prince for a prince isn’t a profitable deal.”
Delight spoke with a meaningful tone.
At that moment, it felt like a massive shock struck Serdin’s head.
He had never questioned the reason he ended up as a hostage.
But now, it seemed there was another reason behind it.
Delight watched Serdin’s trembling eyes and slowly opened his mouth again.
“Do you know why your eyes are unusually red?”
“My eyes?”
Serdin touched around his eyes, lost in thought.
His eyes had been red since birth.
There was no other reason behind it.
“Looks like you don’t know anything after all.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Serdin’s impatience turned into frustration.
Delight continued to gaze at him intently, as if measuring him, and slowly opened his mouth.
“That color symbolizes the legitimacy of the Ilnord imperial family.”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing…”
Serdin mumbled weakly, confused.
“Are you saying that I possess the legitimacy of the Ilnord imperial family?”
“That’s right.”
“All because of just one eye?”
“Sometimes, something dismissed as ‘just’ can be everything. Your eye holds that very value.”
“………..”
“So don’t waste away as a hostage here. Leave. You’ll gain far more there. Far more than the current crown prince.”
Serdin understood what Delight was trying to say to him.
He was inciting him.
He was urging him to return to Ilnord and overthrow the crown prince.
‘He’s trying to use me.’
Serdin had no intention of moving as Delight wanted.
So, he didn’t back down and faced him with a defiant attitude.
“If, as Your Majesty says, I possess the legitimacy of the imperial family, then I will become Promian’s enemy.”
“That could happen if you truly rise to the throne of Ilnord.”
“Then why are you telling me this?”
Serdin deliberately shot an aggressive question at Delight.
“Is it because you think I won’t be a threat to Your Majesty if I become emperor? If that’s the case, you’ll regret it.”
Serdin bared his teeth at Delight.
“Can you really do that?”
“I will.”
“Then go ahead. Regret can come after that.”
With those final words, Delight turned away, signaling the end of the conversation with Serdin.
In truth, provoking Serdin and sending him back was a gamble for Delight as well.
He knew that Serdin’s red eyes symbolized the legitimacy of the Ilnord imperial family, but even Delight didn’t know why that was the case.
However, several years ago, when he first saw Serdin, who had been sent as a hostage in place of the crown prince from Ilnod…
Delight was reminded of the words his teacher had once said.
“Ilnord will collapse one day.”
“Really? But it looks so strong.”
“On the surface, yes. But the current emperor’s eyes are too pale to be called red eyes. They’re no longer the red eyes of the contractor.”
“The red eyes of the contractor?”
“Yes. They’re holding on for now, but one day, it will break.”
Delight didn’t know what his master meant by ‘the contractor.’
“Or perhaps, another set of red eyes will appear.”
But that statement, at least, seemed to be true.
When he saw Prince Serdin’s vivid red eyes, he realized it at once.
He was the one with the greatest authority as the contractor that his master had spoken of.
That’s why he decided to take a gamble on his potential.
While observing Serdin during his stay here.
“I hope you won’t disappoint me.”
Delight gave a faint smile.
***
Serdin decided to leave for Ilnord.
Honestly, I never expected that this incident would lead to Serdin leaving.
But in any case, it’s a relief.
Even though Ilnord had neglected Serdin, who had come as a hostage, it was still the place where he was born.
Due to the reality that he couldn’t return, Serdin had deliberately approached me.
That shows how great his sense of despair was.
It also meant that he missed his homeland that much.
Rather than staying here as a hostage, it would be better for him to return to a place where he could live as a prince.
“If the decision had been made a little earlier, he might have been able to celebrate his birthday back home.”
Monia, who was sharing the news about Serdin, remarked regretfully.
“Huh? It’s Serdin’s birthday?”
“Yeah, it’s today. I also just happened to hear about it this morning when I ran into Hugo.”
“…Today?”
Come to think of it, I had never celebrated Serdin’s birthday until now.
“So, his birthday isn’t that far off from mine.”
I didn’t know that all this time.
My own sixth birthday was coming up in a month.
Despite that, I’d never once heard Serdin mention his birthday.
I should have asked him first!
“Well, at least I found out now.”
This might be the first and last chance, but before he leaves, I’m going to celebrate it for him myself!
***
“Where are you taking me? Feels like we’ve gone too far.”
“You lost in tag, remember? So just follow me quietly.”
“But this isn’t the garden.”
Even with a blindfold on, Serdin could sense that they had left the garden.
He really is sharp.
But oh well, we’re almost there anyway.
“You can take off the blindfold now.”
“You were oddly insistent on playing tag today…”
When Serdin hesitantly took off his blindfold…
“Ta-da! Happy birthday!”
I spread my arms wide in front of Serdin, surprising him with a cheerful shout.
This place was none other than the banquet hall.
Right in the middle of the wall, there was a large banner with the words ‘Happy Birthday, Serdin’ prominently displayed.
And I wasn’t the only one celebrating Serdin’s birthday.
“Happy birthday.”
“…Congratulations.”
Blueny and Delight were also present.
“Thank you.”
Serdin still seemed a bit dazed.
“On birthdays, of course, there should be a cake, gifts, and wishes, right?”
Delight lit the candles on a large strawberry cake.
“Before blowing out the candles, let me tell you how to make a wish.”
“Is there a specific way to do it?”
“You can make three wishes. One wish is kept in your heart, another wish you tell me, and the last wish is said out loud for everyone to hear.”
“Do people in Promian make wishes like that on their birthdays?”
Unable to contain his curiosity, Serdin asked cautiously.
“Not really. It’s just Delight’s way of doing things.”
Blueny answered with a laugh.
Of course, that was true.
Because the ‘three wishes on a birthday’ idea was something I came up with for Delight’s birthday.
The idea of telling Delight the last wish from the three was probably also my influence.
– “Well, it’s a wish, after all. Don’t you think it makes sense to entrust at least one of them to someone like me who can make almost anything happen?”
It was probably an extension of what I had said to him before.
Right now, Delight was the one person here who could grant nearly any wish.
With an indifferent tone, Delight explained the process in detail, as if worried Serdin might miss something.
Serdin was listening more attentively than ever before.
“The last wish should be something that can fulfill right here and now, and you should say it so that everyone can hear it.”
“Isn’t that too many wishes? It feels a bit greedy…”
Serdin asked, sounding worried if it was really okay to do so.
“What’s so many about just three wishes? I always did it this way.”
“Yeah! The more wishes you have, the more special the birthday feels!”
“Exactly. Birthdays should feel a little special.”
Delight nodded in agreement and then stared at me intently.
“Ollia… That thing you just said…?”
“Hmm?”
“How do you know about that?”
Ah.
That was something I had told Delight a long time ago.
Recently, I had been thinking a lot about the past as I watched Delight, and it must have slipped out without me realizing it.
“Well, it’s because my dad always told me my birthday was special!”
“Haha. That’s right. Birthdays are special for everyone.”
Just like he said, every time my birthday came around, everyone would pour their hearts into celebrating it. This should be a good enough excuse, right?
Phew. That was close.
For a moment, my mind went completely blank, and I almost couldn’t say anything.
I’d better start singing the birthday song quickly.
“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to my-!”
“To Prince Serdin, happy birthday.”
But then Delight cut off my song.
