/
Episode 62: Happy Birthday (I)
“

.”
The reason she didn’t show her hatred for Deborah wasn’t because she was tolerable.
However, Pamela was only strong enough to maintain her dignity in the social world without revealing it.
Deborah looked at Pamela silently for a moment.
Then she smiled and greeted her as if she knew, and stood up and left the place leisurely.
“
She’s not really an ordinary woman, is she?”
One lady said in exasperation as soon as she left.
Pamela smiled softly and drank tea. But she couldn’t hide her cold eyes.
With Deborah’s appearance, it was a time when gossip was becoming more explicit, persistent, and bitter.
The gatekeeper shouted loudly.
“His Highness the Crown Prince and Her Majesty the Queen are here!”
Like waves crashing, everyone looked towards them.
They were the couple that was at the center of attention these days, and in a way, they were also the true protagonists of this party.
Everyone has been talking about the crown prince and the queen ever since Archduke Marquis held a survey about the marriage permit.
And the couple, who drew everyone’s attention, looked really impressive.
Everyone burst out in exclamation without realizing it.
“Oh my, how!”
“
The two of them seem to get along well.”
“Visually, it’s perfect.”
Rixus escorted Berylia, and they entered hand in hand.
The husband, who wore a sharp, sword-like suit, and the wife, who wore a dress red like a freshly bloomed poison flower, looked very good together.
They were both tall and gorgeous, so they had the power to draw everyone’s attention.
Their loving eyes towards each other could hardly be seen as the protagonists of a ‘discord’.
“They’re sweeter and more affectionate than any couple I’ve ever seen
!”
A young lady, who had voted in favor of the marriage permit, said dreamily. Then she added,
“I don’t see them as a couple with any quarrels at all.”
Then, a man beside her, who had a swallowtail-like beard, muttered,
“
Hmm
 It’s definitely different from the rumors.”
Even though they just walked in and behaved as usual, it certainly worked.
Rixus and Berylia had not changed, but because of rumors, there was a high interest in the relationship between the crown prince and the queen.
If one looked at something with a high level of interest, one would be able to better observe it.
At that time, one of the knights who opposed the marriage permit said with furrowed eyebrows.
“I can do that level of acting too!”
Then, when she heard the knight, the young lady, who had been dating him for three years, tilted her head.
“What? If that’s possible, put some honey on your eyes when you look at me. Don’t always look at me in the same way. It’s been exactly 2 years and 10 months since I saw those eyes.”
“Okay
”
Under the intimidation, the knight appeared to shrivel up.
The public opinion of the nobles was fluctuating in real time with such excitement.
In the meantime, there was a person who was looking at the two couples with rigid eyes.
It was Yuria Mavis.
She usually didn’t wear fancy clothes, but today she was wearing a dress that looked like it was made with fairy wings.
A dress that shone like an aurora.
Her white skin, pale blue eyes, and pure silver hair in braids matched her like a fairy.
But her eyes looked conflicted.
It was good that Rixus came, but the scene holding Berylia’s hand was difficult to see.
However, when Rixus approached, he had a smile on his face.
With her pale blue eyes shining, she had a lovely smile.
“Welcome, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
Yuria gently grabbed the hem of her dress and bent down, giving her greetings.
“

And.”
Her gaze turned to Berylia.
“Your Majesty the Queen.”
Berylia nodded her head with an arrogant and cold face.
She didn’t really try to make that kind of expression, but this was her usual face.
With her arrogant, cold eyes, which seemed to look down on people, hostility naturally came to Yuria’s pale blue eyes.
“Happy birthday to you.”
“
Thank you, Queen.”
Rixus spoke to Yuria.
“Is this your twenty-second birthday?”
Instantly, Yuria blushed shyly and looked up at him.
He looked brutally gorgeous even when he came holding another woman’s hand.
Yuria’s heart was pounding.
“No, it’s my 23rd birthday, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Right.”
Rixus waved his hand.
The attendant who accompanied him presented a small gift box.
“It’s a birthday present, lady.”
“!”
Yuria’s cheeks turned red. Wasn’t this the most anticipated gift?
A present chosen by the crown prince himself for her.
“Ah
 Really, thank you very much. I’m so glad to receive it!”
She took the gift box with trembling hands. Then she carefully asked.
“Is it okay if I open it here?”
“Do whatever you like. It’s already a present given to the lady.”
“Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
After carefully unwrapping, Yuria opened the box.
Inside, there was a blue sapphire necklace, it had a beautiful color as if it contained the sea.
Yuria looked up at him with a completely moved expression.
“Do you like it?”
“
I like it so much, especially since it’s a gift you chose yourself
”
She held the necklace in her arms. Her light blue eyes looked like they were about to burst into tears.
“I’m glad you like it. It’s a gift that the Queen has chosen herself.”
“!”
“It must be the first gift we gave as a couple, and it’s to the lady.”
Rixus simply said so in a casual manner and left, putting his hand right on his wife’s waist.
Left alone, Yuria stared at their backs, she looked as if she received a slap to the back of her head.
She looked incredulous.
Tuk–
The gift box fell at her feet. She staggered as she grabbed the table with her trembling hands.
“My lady, lady! My lady, are you okay?!”
* * *
‘
The cost-effectiveness is considerable for a small gift.’
I thought as I walked, leaving the stunned Yuria behind. Of course, ‘cost-effectiveness’ was not referring to the price.
I ordered that gift from a fine jeweler.
But I didn’t expect her reaction to be so intense.
I guess I felt embarrassed when I saw the 123-story building crumble when I hit it with an egg.
‘Is it because I read the original a long time ago? It seems that Yuria’s will for Rixus is much stronger than I thought
’
Actually, it wasn’t me who came up with the idea of preparing this gift.
It was what Rixus had suggested.
After thinking a bit, I accepted his offer.
If I refused, Ires would have chosen another meaningless gift anyway.
Rather, I wanted to carefully select something to convey a certain message.
Stop it now, it’s not something you can stop in the first place. I just want you to comply.
‘I don’t know if she understood.’
Whether Yuria understood it or not, this was now out of my hands, and it was a matter for her to handle.
Led by the attendant, Rixus and I sat down on the seats.
It was the top seat of this outdoor banquet hall.
And as soon as I sat down, Ires approached me.
Wearing a monocle, he bowed in a precise manner.
Then he looked around with his emerald eyes, lowered his voice, and whispered.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, as you have previously instructed, I have found out the results of the survey led by Archduke Marquis!”
“

.”
“But there are too many ears here
”
“Go.”
I answered instead of Rixus. Actually, this was something I asked Rixus to do.
As a result of the survey conducted by Johann, I was curious about the ‘half/half’ ratio.
In order to win the urgent battle, it was most important to know exactly what the current situation was.
I was going to find out what the nobles who were filling this place had in mind.
It was the most necessary information to control this battle.
“Can you be alone?”
“Rixus, I am not a child.”
He whispered in return, his eyes brightening mischievously.
“I thought you were a kid, just like me.”
“I’ll be back soon.” Having said that, Rixus gently stroked my cheek and stood up.
‘That crazy kid, again
’
I glanced around, rubbing my cheeks lightly.
Then I saw a face I really didn’t want to see.
It was Deborah, leisurely drinking tea.
As soon as I saw her, I was able to get two pieces of information.
‘I heard that she had a divorce in the end.’
As an attention seeker, she never missed a single party.
The first was that Deborah was an unstoppable attention seeker.
The second was

‘As expected, Yuria was called by Deborah.’
The original heroine who had not received any news while in Malta.
I was convinced that Deborah was the reason she appeared much earlier than in the original even though I did have a hand in twisting the original.
This birthday celebration banquet was open to invitation only.
After receiving the divorce papers, the Duke of Douglas probably wouldn’t have been invited to participate here.
‘Yuria must have invited her herself.’
I had heard the news of the two through Maribel.
That the two had appeared side-by-side at the pregnancy announcement party of the Marchioness of Ilmare some time ago.
The moment when doubt turned into certainty and I sensed danger right before my eyes.
Somehow, my heart felt cold.
‘Yuria is not a person who will cause a major accident, but
’
All she knew was to have a clumsy fight of spirit, like the archery competition.

However, Deborah was a person who had a knack for manipulating people by taking advantage of their earnestness.
She was a human being who achieved her goals by bringing out the desires of others and dropping them into the fire of hell.
‘It’s completely different if Deborah is involved. I’ll have to keep an eye on those two.’
With that in mind, I looked to the side without thinking, and I was startled.
“!”