MWC Chapter 40

Chapter 40. A Gift

 

A good room, delicious food, and a sufficient salary—Adelen had already enjoyed all the happiness one could have in daily life. Wanting more would be pure greed.

“Really? If that’s what you think, well… Here.”

There was a slight sense that a step in the process was missing, but the butler showed no sign of it and instead took out what he had prepared and handed it over.

“What is this?”

“I’ve been watching you for a while, and you’re such a kind and diligent child. Even when the others avoided difficult tasks, you didn’t shy away from them. I always thought you were working hard, but I never properly expressed it. This is a gift that holds that unspoken appreciation. Please accept it.”

The butler scratched his nose, looking embarrassed.

“Huh? A gift?”

“Of course. It’s your birthday; you should receive a birthday present.”

“Oh, uh… Am I really allowed to accept this?”

“I chose it with great care. I’d be sad if you didn’t take it.”

Adelen was so surprised that she couldn’t close her mouth.

She never expected to receive a gift. One good thing after another kept happening. Birthdays were truly wonderful days.

With trembling hands, Adelen took the box.

But that wasn’t the end.

“Congratulations, Adelen!”

“Here, this is my gift!”

“And mine too! My wife and I spent a lot of time picking this out!”

As soon as the butler finished handing over his gift, the knights, as if waiting for their turn, took out the presents they had prepared.

One by one, more gifts were held out toward her, and soon, her hands were full.

Not only was this her first birthday, but it was also the first time she had ever been surrounded by so many gifts.

No, in fact, it was the first time she had received a gift at all.

Yet, even this gift-giving frenzy was not over.

From a distance, Rakalt, who had been watching silently, stood up and approached Adelen, holding out a box.

“M-Master…?”

Adelen was so flustered that she couldn’t even feel happy.

A birthday present from her master?

This entire birthday party itself was practically a gift from him. After all, all the money used to prepare the party had come from his treasury.

“Are you not going to take it?”

As Adelen stood there, too shocked to even think about accepting it, Rakalt pushed the gift box toward her again.

“O-Oh, am I really allowed to have this?”

“Why wouldn’t you be?”

“N-No! Of course, I’ll take it!”

Adelen quickly accepted the gift box. Her hands were already full, so she had to clutch it against her body, trembling all over.

“T-Thank you, Master. This is too much… I don’t know if I should…”

“You don’t even know what’s inside. How can you say it’s too much?”

“If it’s something you’re giving me, Master, then it doesn’t matter what it is. Just the fact that you gave it is already more than I deserve.”

Her lips curled into a smile, only to quickly lower in worry. She licked her lips nervously, shifting between joy and tension. Adelen’s face was extremely busy with emotions.

Watching her, Rakalt clicked his tongue, openly displaying his discomfort.

“I told you to take it naturally.”

She was so stubborn.

“A-Ah, yes! I’ll try!”

Adelen responded with exaggerated enthusiasm, standing stiffly in place.

“You won’t know if it’s too much for you until you open it.”

“O-Oh, right, right!”

Pushed by Rakalt’s urging, Adelen began unwrapping the gift.

The box he had given her was huge—large enough to fit a baby inside.

Everyone fell silent and watched as she carefully peeled away the wrapping.

The tension in the air was so intense that even a baby stared, mouth agape, completely focused.

Adelen cautiously removed the wrapping paper and opened the box.

“Ah…”

Everyone’s eyes zeroed in on the contents.

Inside the box…

Was another box.

“…The box itself isn’t the gift… right?”

“Keep going.”

“Y-Yes.”

Adelen opened the next box.

And found yet another box.

“…?”

Why was it wrapped in so many layers?

If she opened all these boxes only to find something like “My Heart” inside…?

Honestly, that wouldn’t be so bad.

The thought alone nearly made her laugh, but she pressed her lips together tightly to hold it back and continued unwrapping.

The boxes were endless.

Some contained scented flower petals. Others were wrapped in fluttering silk.

Just as she was starting to grow tired of opening box after box, Adelen finally decided to be bold and threw open the next one—

And froze in place.

“What? What is it?”

“I can’t see! Show us!”

“You have to brag about it!”

The knights stretched their necks, trying to peek into the box.

But Adelen was too stunned to hear their excited chatter. Her lips were parted, unable to close.

“M-Master… This is…”

Everyone who saw what was inside fell into the same state of shock.

“J-Jugan, this is…”

“Uh…”

It was a gift that left them utterly speechless.

As everyone fell into a stunned silence, Adelen was the first to regain her senses.

Her master had said—

“You won’t know if it’s too much until you open it.”

So she gave him a clear answer.

“It’s too much.”

Inside the box was an ornate hair ornament, shaped like a cluster of flowers, made entirely of precious gemstones—an intricate work of art.

“This?”

Rakalt couldn’t understand her reaction.

“I-It’s far too extravagant for me to accept. Something like this… It’s not something a mere maid like me should have.”

This was truly excessive. Even receiving an engagement ring from a friend would feel less overwhelming than this.

It was simply too much.

She couldn’t even begin to imagine what her master was thinking when he chose this gift.

“I’m already more than grateful just knowing that you thought of me, Master. This… I’ll return it. I was careful when unwrapping it, so if we pack it up nicely, maybe it can be refunded?”

Adelen lowered her head so deeply it nearly touched the floor, pushing the box forward.

“You’re saying it’s too much for you to accept? What does that even mean?”

Rakalt’s voice hardened.

“People might talk if I carry around something so extravagant… It’s also personally burdensome for me… And I’d constantly worry about losing it…”

There were plenty of reasons. As Adelen listed them one by one, a new crease formed in Rakalt’s forehead for each one.

He hadn’t considered any of that.

“So, you’re rejecting it because of what others might say, because it feels burdensome, and because you’re afraid of losing it?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And why exactly do you find it burdensome?”

“Uh… It’s just too fancy for someone like me?”

Adelen scrambled to come up with an answer, knowing he wouldn’t accept her refusal otherwise.

Rakalt stared at her.

Even the floral crown she was currently wearing was already extravagant—crafted from the most stunning flowers in the garden, as if even the gardeners had worked together to create it.

It looked more fitting for a bride than a birthday girl.

Yet, Adelen’s face stood out beautifully beneath it.

Surely, that meant the hair ornament he had chosen wouldn’t be too much either.

“Put it on.”

“B-But I just told you it’s…”

“You won’t know until you try it on. Things look different on the head than they do in the box.”

“A-Ah…”

“If it truly looks out of place on you, I’ll take it back.”

“W-Well…”

If she wore it, wouldn’t that make it impossible to return…?

But Rakalt’s sharp gaze left no room for argument.

She shot the butler a pleading look, but his priority was always his master.

“Come now, Adelen. He prepared it with care; it would be rude to refuse without trying it on first. Hand it over—I’ll help.”

“…Okay.”

Resigned, Adelen quietly handed the hair ornament to the butler.

The butler, not particularly skilled in handling women’s hair, awkwardly fixed it atop her braided hair.

The hair ornament wobbled precariously, mirroring Adelen’s own uneasy heart.

“Uh, uhm… How does it look, Master…?”

“Aduyeh, ipbba!”

Before Rakalt could answer, the baby shouted—

“Cute!”

***

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