BGFV Chapter 105

Chapter 105

After finishing her conversation with Jerome, Hestia returned to the duke’s residence.

As soon as she entered the office, she was met by Gallian.

“Hestia! Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“I just went to Chest for a bit… Why? What happened?”

“What happened? There’s so much work to do! If you caused a mess, you have to clean it up!”

With dark circles under his eyes, Gallian glared at her, making Hestia instinctively take a step back.

“We were just talking about the engagement ceremony,” Luciard said. While Hestia was away, he had been handling some of the work in her place.

Now understanding what Gallian was referring to, Hestia nodded.

“Oh, that. I don’t plan to make it a big event, so we can just keep it simple…”

“Simple?”

Hestia froze as she met Gallian’s burning gaze. His eyes were practically on fire.

“Even if it’s not a real engagement in spirit, this is a chance to show everyone that you two are officially together!”

“Officially? It’s not like we’re really getting married or anything…”

“There are many people in the capital who are after both of you! This engagement is a way to prove that Winston is not to be underestimated!”

“…Gallian, why are you so worked up about this?”

Hestia pointed at him with a confused look, but Luciard just shrugged as if he had no idea either.

“Well, how do you want the engagement to be?” Gallian asked.

“Me? Honestly, I’d rather not have one…”

But the way Gallian’s eyes blazed reminded Hestia of Anna, making her hesitate.

“…But I didn’t say I won’t do it. I don’t really care for it, but I suppose we should send invitations to the branch families and the southern nobles. That should be enough.”

Only then did Gallian’s expression relax a little.

“Of course. This is an important event. We can’t just brush it off.”

“But Gallian, we’re not planning to make it grand. We already have too much to do. When are we supposed to prepare for an engagement ceremony on top of everything else?”

Luciard chimed in, and Hestia nodded in agreement.

“Besides, Leonhard’s birthday is coming up soon.”

“Oh, right. It’s almost August.”

It was currently late July, and Leonhard’s birthday was on August 17th.

“How does we usually celebrate his birthday?” Hestia asked.

“We usually invite the branch families and close noble friends for a birthday party.”

“What? You’ve never attended one?”

“Haha… It just happened that way.”

Although Hestia always received an invitation to Leonhard’s birthday, she never attended.

‘Well, back then, I wanted nothing to do with them.’

Even though she occasionally ran into the duke and duchess in the capital, she always found excuses to avoid going to the duke’s residence.

It was strange to think that just eight years ago, she had been devastated to hear about Leonhard’s birth, yet now things had changed so much.

“Ahem. I want this birthday to be special for him.”

She had promised him before that she would throw him a grand party, and personally, she wanted to make this an unforgettable day for him.

‘Because in my past life, I never got the chance to do that.’

This would be Leonhard’s first birthday without his parents.

In the past timeline, when Malrus was his guardian, he had insisted that holding a big celebration would seem disrespectful to his late parents. So, only the Humphrey family was invited, and Leonhard had a quiet, lonely birthday.

Yet not long after, Malrus held a lavish birthday party for his own son at the duke’s residence.

‘I didn’t see it with my own eyes, but Mom told me that Leonhard wasn’t even present at his own birthday party that year.’

Malrus had acted as if the duke’s residence already belonged to him.

It was easy to guess how he must have treated Leonhard.

“It’s been five months since the duke passed away. Out of respect, we shouldn’t throw a huge party, but I actually think now is the time to show people our strength.”

That way, they wouldn’t be seen as weak.

And this was also a chance to make it clear that Leonhard had strong support.

“I agree. I think we should make Leonhard’s birthday a grand event.”

“I have no objections. The final decision is up to you two.”

Naturally, no one opposed the idea.

“August 17th… That’s less than three weeks away.”

Luciard checked the calendar and tapped his fingers on the desk.

“We’ll be inviting people to Leonhard’s birthday, right?”

“Of course.”

“We were planning to invite the same people for the engagement, so why not just hold both events at the same time?”

Hestia’s eyes widened at the unexpected suggestion.

“An engagement ceremony and a birthday party together? That doesn’t make sense!”

As expected, Gallian immediately objected.

“Why not? It’ll be hectic for a few days, but in the long run, it’ll be easier. Planning a party takes a lot of time, doesn’t it?”

“Well…”

“Like I said before, I don’t want to waste unnecessary time. We already have a mountain of work, and I’m still learning from Hestia.”

Luciard’s tone clearly said, If we take on more work, I’ll collapse from exhaustion.

“But still, an engagement ceremony…”

“I think it’s a great idea.”

“Hestia!”

Gallian was stunned to see her agreeing so easily.

“We were going to invite the same people anyway, and we wanted to get the engagement over with quickly. If we do it together with Leonhard’s birthday, we kill two birds with one stone. It’s perfect.”

Hestia and Luciard exchanged looks and gave each other a thumbs-up.

Gallian held his forehead.

‘How could I forget? Hestia is even more outrageous than the young master.’

Even if this engagement was just for show, didn’t they have any romantic ideals about it?

Feeling like he was the only sensible person in the room, Gallian racked his brain for a way to stop this madness.

“What about the young master’s opinion?”

As soon as he mentioned Leonhard, both Hestia and Luciard flinched.

“If you combine the two events, won’t his birthday be overshadowed by the engagement? Would he really want that? It’s his one and only birthday each year.”

Sweat trickled down Hestia and Luciard’s faces as they realized they hadn’t thought of that.

Seeing that his words were getting through, Gallian pressed further.

“If it were me, I’d hate it if my birthday was ignored because of someone else’s event. We should consider his feelings and postpone the engagement.”

“…Let’s ask him.”

“What?”

“It’s just an assumption that he might not like it.”

“If he’s against it, then we’ll rethink it. His birthday matters more than our engagement, right?”

Gallian was surprised but figured it was better than them rushing ahead without asking.

“Alright. Should we go see him now?”

He was confident.

‘No one would want their birthday to be overshadowed by someone else’s event.’

So, naturally, Leonhard would refuse…

“I love it!”

Gallian’s glasses nearly fell off.

The moment they explained everything, Leonhard clapped his hands with excitement.

“Y-Young Master! Won’t you feel disappointed? People might focus more on the engagement than your birthday!”

“Hmm… not really? They’re still coming to celebrate my birthday, right?”

“Well…”

“Everyone’s here to celebrate us, so why would I be upset?”

Leonhard had grown up surrounded by love. With Hestia and Luciard’s care, his heart was big enough to accept things that might upset other children.

“I think it’s great! I love that my birthday will also be your special day!”

Leonhard eagerly stomped his feet, wishing his birthday would come sooner.

Hestia and Luciard felt relieved that Leonhard happily accepted their idea, but after hearing Gallian’s concerns, they felt a tiny bit guilty.

“This time, we’ll make sure your birthday is truly special, so leave everything to us,” Hestia reassured him.

“If there’s anything you want to do or any gift you’d like, just say the word. This uncle of yours will make it happen,” Luciard added confidently.

“Really? Then first, I want to invite Eric and my older brother and sister!”

“Of course, we have to invite them,” Hestia agreed.

“Hmm, and also… Ah! I want a really big cake!”

“A cake? Got it. I’ll prepare a five-tier cake for you.”

“And… hmm…”

Leonhard thought hard, his little head tilting in deep concentration. Then, he suddenly smiled brightly.

“Hehe.”

“What is it, young master?” Gallian asked curiously.

“I already got everything I wanted, so I can’t think of anything else.”

“What do you mean?” Hestia asked.

“You two love each other!”

Hestia and Luciard flinched, exchanging glances.

“I love it when my two favorite people love each other! My nanny told me that you two are getting engaged because you love each other!”

‘That’s true…’

‘…But we didn’t tell Daisy the full truth.’

They had kept the real reason hidden, not wanting to disappoint Leonhard.

“And if you get married later, Hestia will officially become family, right?”

Leonhard suddenly jumped into Hestia’s arms, his fair cheeks flushed pink with happiness. Seeing his joyful smile made Hestia’s heart warm.

“That means even if Hestia stops being my guardian, she’ll still be by my side forever. I already got everything I ever wanted!”

However, hearing those words, Hestia felt a pang of guilt.

She had deceived Leonhard. The thought of him discovering the truth one day and feeling betrayed made her chest tighten with sorrow.

Luciard noticed the shadow that passed over Hestia’s expression and could guess what she was feeling.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her and Leonhard into a warm embrace as if hugging both of them at once.

“If Leon is this happy, that makes us even happier. Do you really like that we’re engaged this much?”

“Yes!” Leonhard nodded eagerly.

“We’ll do our best to make sure you stay happy, Leon. It must not have been an easy decision, but thank you for letting us hold the engagement and your birthday together,” Luciard said gently.

“No, I’m actually really happy about it! Oh, right! I almost forgot to tell you…!”

Leonhard wiggled out of their embrace and ran off to get something.

When he returned, he handed them a piece of paper.

Seeing what was on it, Hestia’s eyes glistened with emotion.

“Congratulations on your engagement, Uncle, Hestia!”

It was a drawing.

In the picture, Hestia, Luciard, and Leonhard were all smiling happily together.