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“Young Miss… you’re entrusting such an important task to us?”  

“We couldn’t even protect you properly, leading to the kidnapping incident… We wouldn’t have had any right to complain even if you had dismissed us immediately…”  

Their reactions left me flustered, so I glanced at Lily, who smiled and whispered to me,  

“Being entrusted with the responsibility of managing their master’s belongings is a great honor for maids. It means that their master trusts them that much.”  

I hadn’t known that, but I had complete faith in Rose and Daisy. After all, they were people Axel had sent, and I had always observed their trustworthy demeanor.  

“Yes, I trust Rose and Daisy,” I said.  

At my words, Rose and Daisy clenched their fists with renewed determination.  

“We will do our best, Young Miss!”  

“We’ll organize everything perfectly without losing a single item!”  

The two of them sat down in front of the pile of gifts and began sorting them with a professional touch—quickly and accurately.  

As I silently applauded their skill, the closed door creaked open slightly.  

I glanced at the door, curious to see who was coming in, but strangely, it didn’t move any further, leaving only a small gap.  

‘What’s this?’  

Did it not close properly and just open on its own?  

As I pondered this, a small hand suddenly slipped through the slightly open door.  

“!?”  

The tiny hand placed a small gift box at the entrance and then quickly withdrew.  

“Lily! Put me down!”  

As I wriggled, Lily hurriedly set me down on the floor.  

I rushed to the door, flinging it wide open, and peeked outside.  

It didn’t take long for me to spot a blonde boy quickly running down the hallway.  

It was unmistakably Noah.  

“Noah!”  

I called out loudly, and Noah hesitated for a moment before resuming his sprint, disappearing around the corner at the end of the hallway.  

‘He didn’t even come to the birthday party… and now he’s delivering a gift like this?’  

Without a second thought, I dashed out of the room.  

I chased after Noah, sprinting towards the corner where he had disappeared. As I turned the corner, I saw his figure vanishing around another corner further down the hallway.  

‘Left!’  

And so began my pursuit of Noah.  

However, what seemed like it would be a fierce chase ended rather anticlimactically. It wasn’t because my short legs couldn’t keep up with Noah.  

The problem was that I was already exhausted from the birthday party, and as I hurried my steps, my legs betrayed me, getting tangled up and causing me to trip.  

Thud!  

With a loud crash, I fell flat on the floor.  

Instead of feeling embarrassed or in pain, my first thought was, ‘I need to catch up to Noah!’

I quickly got to my feet, ready to dash off again, but a small shadow loomed in front of me. It was Noah.

“Why didn’t you keep running?”  

I blinked in surprise and asked, confused about why he was still here. Noah squatted down in front of me, frowning.  

“You’re such an idiot. Can’t you even run properly?”  

“What are you talking about? I was running really well just a moment ago.”  

“People who run well don’t trip and fall.”  

“That’s not true. Even the best runners trip sometimes.”  

Though this wasn’t the first time for me! I declared confidently, and Noah pressed his lips together in silence. His eyes, fixed on me, were full of conflicting emotions.  

It didn’t seem like he was going to speak first, so I took the initiative.  

“Noah, why didn’t you come to my birthday party?”  

“…Because my father did what he did. It’s obvious, isn’t it?”  

“What does that have to do with you?”  

“How can it not? He’s my father. I’m his son, so of course, I…”  

“It doesn’t matter at all,” I interrupted Noah, tilting my head.  

“You’re a different person from your dad. The only thing you share is the color of your hair and eyes. Blond hair and blue eyes.”  

Plenty of people have those features.  

“The Duke and Axel are the same.”  

Blond hair and blue eyes were practically the hallmark of the Elpinard family.  

However, my words didn’t seem to ease Noah’s gloom.  

“But I resemble my father the most,” Noah muttered, his shoulders slumped.  

“That means I’m bound to disappoint my grandfather, do stupid things, and hurt others… just like him. That’s what everyone says.”  

The little boy seemed utterly dejected. From the way he spoke, it was clear he had overheard the servants talking among themselves. They must have thought that since he was a child, he wouldn’t understand, so they hadn’t been careful with their words around him.

‘They probably think Noah’s future is uncertain now that his father has fallen from grace.’  

The servants likely assumed that with Gallio out of the picture, the position of heir would naturally go to Axel. But no matter how hard I tried to imagine it, I couldn’t picture Axel as the Duke. The same Axel who barely managed his current responsibilities as the Tower Master running this enormous duchy?  

‘No way.’  

Besides, with the Duke still alive and well, it was pointless to discuss succession so soon. Given that he’s a Swordmaster, he wouldn’t die easily. He might even outlive both Axel and Noah.  

“Everyone’s just being stupid. From what I can see, Noah is more like Axel!”

“Me? Like Uncle Axel?”  

“Yeah! When I fell down, Axel came running right away too, even though he was in the middle of running away!”  

“That’s different.”  

“Why?”  

“Because… it’s a different situation.”  

“But why? Why is it different?”  

“Because, well…”  

I unleashed the ultimate weapon of children—the relentless “Why?” attack. Even adults struggle to handle this kind of assault, so there was no way young Noah could resist it. I shrugged my shoulders smugly, as if to say, “See? There’s no real reason, is there? So it’s the same thing!”  

Of course, it was a completely nonsensical argument. But for convincing little Noah, it was more than enough. His previously gloomy expression softened slightly.  

“…Really?”  

“Yeah, really!”  

I answered brightly with a wide smile, and Noah, who had been momentarily dazed, suddenly sprang to his feet. His face had turned a bit red.  

“You’re still a kid, so what do you know?”  

He tried to sound critical, but his voice didn’t have the same downtrodden tone as before. It was clear he was feeling embarrassed.  

“I know a lot! I’m a smart kid who studies in the Ivory Tower, remember?”  

“…That’s true, but it’s still kind of annoying.”  

Seeing that Noah was about to sink back into gloom, I quickly extended my hand to him.  

“Noah, since you didn’t come to my birthday party, you don’t know what presents I got, right? Let’s go check them out together!”  

Noah stared at my outstretched hand.  

“Well…”  

Then, with a bit of hesitation, he puffed out his chest and grabbed my hand with his usual confident air.  

“If you’re asking so nicely, I suppose I’ll have to.”  

“Hmm… That is what I asked, but that sounded kind of annoying.”  

I repeated his own words back to him, and his mouth fell open in surprise. I puffed out my chest confidently, just like he had.  

‘I’m the kind of person who gives back what I get, so be careful from now on, kid!’  

At that moment, a message window suddenly flashed before my eyes.  

[Message from Heaven]  

(Notice) Apology for omission of detailed terms and conditions 

‘Oh my gosh…’  

I hadn’t done anything that should’ve triggered a message, and I hadn’t summoned it myself, so I was genuinely startled. I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart and began reading the message carefully.