MWC Chapter 38

Chapter 38. The Gifted Birthday

 

“Why don’t we just say tomorrow is your birthday?”

“Pardon? Tomorrow?”

“If you haven’t had one until now, you can just pick a good day as your birthday.”

“Uh…….”

Was that really how it worked? Could it really be that simple?

Adelen blinked in surprise. Could a birthday just be created like this?

But she didn’t dislike the idea of having one. No, she actually liked it. It was a birthday granted to her by her master, after all.

“Tomorrow is a bit too soon. It would be better if it were two or three days later, Master. We need time to prepare for the birthday party.”

“Then, let’s do that.”

“Adelen, are you okay with it?”

“Uh, uh…… yes.”

Just like that, she suddenly had a birthday.

She had thought it wasn’t a big deal, but her heart pounded.

Adelen placed a hand over her thudding chest and looked at her master. He, having finished the discussion, was already getting up with his usual indifference.

Should she thank him? Should she express her gratitude for giving her a birthday?

But in the end, her lips remained sealed, and before she could say anything, her master had already left the room.

It was only much later that the thanks she hadn’t managed to say lingered bitterly, like the aftertaste of tea.

 

News of Adelen’s birthday party spread through the knight order in an instant.

The head butler had only mentioned it to a few knights, but he had overlooked the fact that knights could be just as loose-lipped as the servants.

“I heard it’s the birthday of the maid who looks after the baby?”

“Adelen.”

“Oh, you even know her name?”

“I played with her a few times, so we got familiar.”

“Oh, so you’re going to the birthday party, then?”

“Probably? As long as the lord allows it.”

Everyone knew of Adelen’s existence, but not all of the knights had interacted with her. Only those who were good with children were granted the privilege of entering the lord’s quarters.

It wasn’t anything special; in fact, it was more like unpaid overtime.

But since the baby was quite adorable and playing with him turned out to be surprisingly fun, no one really disliked the task.

Knights seemed cool and dignified from the outside, but their lives were just as monotonous.

In war, they fought. In peacetime, they trained.

Having a family made things somewhat better, but only a rare few had one.

Most were single, spending their free time idly.

If they had hobbies, they could devote themselves to them, but for most knights, fighting was their hobby, their talent, and their profession.

But no matter how much they enjoyed it, they couldn’t train all day, every day.

So, this new task that had suddenly appeared was seen as fresh and entertaining.

“Oh, just in time! My lord! May I attend Adelen’s birthday as well?”

The one who boldly stepped forward was Dowen.

As the only father in the knight order, he had the most experience in looking after babies and had been assigned to the task the most.

Racalt, who had just stepped into the training grounds, hesitated at the flood of eager eyes directed at him.

“The main purpose isn’t Adelen’s birthday; it’s to teach the baby how to speak. He still hasn’t grasped the concept of birthday greetings.”

“Ahh! Then wouldn’t it be better if more people were there? They say children learn to talk faster when they hear many different people speaking!”

“…….”

Racalt remained silent, looking unwilling.

It was Adelen’s duty to educate the crown prince, and the only reason he had allowed the birthday party was because she had been so determined to fulfill that role.

Whether the crown prince learned to speak faster or not was of no concern to him.

He had intended for the birthday party to be a simple affair.

There was no benefit in making it unnecessarily extravagant.

“It’s true! My child is living proof! He never loses a verbal argument with me anymore. It’s not like I have trouble speaking, but since he hears his mother, his aunt, and his grandmother talking all the time, words just flow right out of him!”

Perhaps interpreting Racalt’s silence as hesitation, Dowen started rambling even more.

“Oh, of course, my wife is naturally talkative, has a clear voice, and perfect pronunciation, so our child must have inherited that, but still, he has to be smart to pick up on it, don’t you think? Not that I’m saying my child is a genius or anything, but—”

“Enough.”

Dowen’s child hadn’t just taken after his wife; he had certainly inherited a lot from Dowen himself.

The man talked endlessly.

Especially when it came to his child and wife, he never stopped unless someone actively cut him off.

“Oh, so you’re allowing it?”

“No… sigh.”

Racalt had been about to refuse outright, but then Adelen crossed his mind.

If this were just a fake birthday party for the sake of the baby’s education, he wouldn’t have considered it for even a second.

Why should knights keep trying to worm their way into frivolous events?

But this was Adelen’s first real birthday.

She would probably want to receive congratulations from as many people as possible.

‘Why did I do that…?’

Racalt reflected on his own actions—how he had created a birthday for Adelen.

Even now, he couldn’t quite understand why he had done it.

The butler’s attitude of digging into Adelen’s history over something as simple as a birthday had been unpleasant.

Adelen shrinking under that pressure had been even more so.

And so, he had stepped in.

Seeing Adelen unable to contain her happiness afterward, he had thought he had done well.

But now, with the knights making a big deal out of it, he felt a tinge of regret.

He despised unnecessary commotion.

“Discuss it with the butler and keep the number of attendees to a minimum.”

And with that, he cut the conversation short.

“Yes! Thank you!”

Receiving Racalt’s approval, Dowen excitedly ran off to tell the other knights.

“We got permission!”

“Oh, then I’ll go too!”

“Talk to the butler about it first. What should we bring as a gift?”

Just as Racalt was about to call for the start of training, he heard those words and paused.

A gift?

He hadn’t thought of that at all.

A birthday should naturally come with a birthday present.

Every year, they prepared birthday presents for His Majesty.

Even if it wasn’t a physical item, if they were ordered, ‘Your birthday gift this year will be victory,’ they would make sure to deliver it.

So there had never been a need to think too hard about it.

But now, Adelen’s birthday was a real one.

That meant she needed a real birthday present.

The other knights were preparing gifts—if he showed up empty-handed, it would be disgraceful.

‘What should I give her?’

For the first time, Racalt found himself agonizing over a gift.

Not only had he never prepared a gift for a young woman before—he had never even thought about doing so.

He could leave it to the butler.

If this were merely a matter of formality, he wouldn’t hesitate to delegate it.

He had done so countless times in the past, receiving thanks for gifts he hadn’t even picked himself.

And yet, he had never felt any reservations about it.

The act of giving itself had always been the gift.

But when it came to Adelen, he wanted to choose the gift himself.

She wasn’t just a servant—she was a comrade who shared the same goal as him.

Racalt never hesitated to reward soldiers who undertook dangerous missions with him.

So, it was only right to put in the same effort for Adelen.

A house, a carriage, livestock, or a marriage fund—none of those were fitting.

He wanted to give her something even more.

The problem was, he had no idea what that should be.

Then, as if on cue, the knights started discussing gift ideas.

“A bouquet should be fine, right?”

Racalt subtly perked his ears while pretending to inspect his weapon.

“A proper gift should be something material! Flowers just wither and die.”

“But they make people happy! Isn’t that the most important thing?”

“Money makes people the happiest. I’m just giving cash.”

“Cash feels insincere. Most people don’t like it. Safer options are cosmetics or hair accessories.”

“Those are personal items—what if she doesn’t like them?”

Racalt, so absorbed in listening, had even forgotten to start the training.

But no matter how much he listened, no one was saying the right answer.

All the suggested gifts sounded utterly trivial to him.

Is that really all they can come up with for a birthday present?

For some reason, he felt a surge of irritation.

 

***

 

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