"What a long day it had been," I exclaimed loudly as I threw myself onto the bed.

"And it is far from being over yet.," commented Syrus.

He was right, the party was over, but the toughest part of today was still to come.

I was still expecting a certain someone to pay me a visit.

"Before our guests arrive, I'd like to present the Young Lord with his birthday present."

As far as I can remember, Maa has never failed to give me a birthday present, and Syrus started to do the same when I was five years old.

"Oh~ I wonder what it could be?"

He took off his mask, approached me, and handed me a small box.

"Those aren't on the level of Sir Mael and Lord Emilien's talent, but I hope they please the Young Lord," Syrus admitted modestly.

Two pairs of leather gloves were included in the box: one pair of short black half-scoop gloves and one pair of brown winter leather gloves.

"Thank you, Syrus. "Sometimes the simplest means the most."

"I'm glad they've pleased The Young Lord."

He then went to a corner of the room to retrieve a rectangular box.

"Oh, another gift, I'm getting spoiled this year, aren't I?"

"This one doesn't come from me, but from "Maa," said Syrus, emphasizing the "maa" part teasingly.

It was strange to hear that nickname from Syrus' mouth; after all, I gave Mathilda that surname because it was very easy for a toddler to pronounce; in the end, the surname stuck, and I was the only one in the manner to use it.

When I opened the box to see what was inside, I discovered a pile of blue clothes and a letter envelope.

I opened the envelope and read the letter inside, which was stamped with the initials Maa.

Good morning/ Evening Lord, young man,

First and foremost, I'd like to wish you a very happy birthday.

I hope everything is going well for you; if not,

please contact Lord Emilien as soon as possible.

he will almost certainly be able to help you.

So, here's my present for the Young Lord's birthday:

Winter has arrived.

Please make use of these to keep yourself warm.

And, if at all possible, avoid stairwells this time.

Maa

She doesn't seem to have forgotten about the accident I had five years ago while she was away.

Her gift was a blue scarf. It was so well made, I wouldn't have known it was handmade if I hadn't seen her knitting it back in the Rosetta Manor.

"When did she send these?"

"On the day we left the manor, she gave me these for the Young Lord."

"How thoughtful of -" I was cut short by a knock on my door

Syrus donned his mask and rushed to the door to greet the visitor.

A tall blonde man with crimson eyes entered the room.

I stood up and went to make my salutation.

We had met earlier in the day but had not exchanged greetings.

We had saved our greeting for this occasion.

"I, Ronandt, am honored to finally meet you, dear father. May the mighty blessing of Djeem the accursed be upon us."

"I, Luke Aubrecht, am glad to see you being well. May the dazzling blessing of Kine the Flamboyant be upon us. "

"Dear Father, I, Ronandt, am honored to finally meet you. May Djeem the accursed Almighty blessing be upon us."

"I, Luke Aubrecht, am also glad to see you're doing well, May Kine the Flamboyant dazzling blessing be upon us."

Our greetings were a little unusual because a father and son shouldn't have to greet each other like strangers, but in our case, we had no choice.

After we finished praying, Syrus extended his hand and invited Luke to sit on a nearby sofa, which he gladly accepted.

I, too, followed the mood and sat in a nearby chair.

Syrus approached me after I sat and said.

"Should I leave?"

I'd waited nine years for this day, and I realized I'd been overly spoiled by my surroundings.

This is something I have to deal with on my own.

"Yes, please," I replied.

When Luke said, Syrus was about to leave.

To my big surprise, my guest protested Syrus's proposition to leave "Wait, Syrus, I believe it would be best if you were present; please stay."

"Young Lord?" Syrus inquired, explicitly awaiting my final decision.

" It’s okay. You can stay."

Syrus agreed with a slight bow and went to a corner of the room, where he stood motionless.

"First and foremost, please accept my apologies for Ramia's previous behavior; she was a very gentle child." I'm confident she didn't mean any harm. I hope you don't hold a grudge against her."

"As I previously stated, I bear no ill will toward her."

"I wish you two had met in a better situation. She was raised with Mael; Mael is like a brother to her, and this place is like a second home to her. She must have been envious of how well you and Mael have gotten along in those short two weeks while she hasn’t received a single visit from him.

Oh my... really? I suppose I really deserve that beating.

I guess that would explain why Mael felt so bad about what she had done to me.

Luke exhaled a deep breath and said.

"I think I've said enough about Ramia. Let's get right to it. "

"My uncle has explained most of your situation to you, right?"

"Yes, Grandfather Emilien has explained everything I needed to know, and he has also encouraged me to consult with Father for the specifics."

"Exactly what do you want to know?"

"I want to know about my mother."

When I said that, he put his clenched fist in front of his mouth, implying that he knew the question would come but hoped it wouldn't.

After a brief silence, he finally spoke.

"Where should I begin?" he asked, his voice resigned.

"This is just a thought, but I think it would be best if Lord Luke started when he met the young Lord's mother," Syrus suggested without moving from his spot.

"I suppose you're right," he murmured to Syrus.

He took his time before speaking as if reorganizing his thoughts and then began telling me the full story.

Luke, Philip, Mael's father, and Damian, Mael's uncle, were all raised as brothers, just like Mael and Ramia.

The Edouard brothers were motherless, and Luke's mother had never fully recovered from his birth; thus, these three spent their entire childhood being raised by Maa, Syrus, and a certain Lidy, who was the governess of the Edouard castle at the time.

He told me that there was a time when grandfather Emilien became a workaholic, traveling nonstop from town to town. It was certainly a way for him to cope with his wife's absence.

By the time they reached ten, Grandfather Emilien had lost, or rather, he had exchanged his mania for something else: hunting.

He had developed a burning passion for hunting, and since we had reached an age where we were thirsty for adventure, he took us on his hunting trips on a regular basis.

And one of his favorite hunting spots was close to Louisane, a small town so small that it wasn't even ruled by a noble family, but rather by a mayor, a bald old man who had served the Paladin Order as a legionnaire.

Constantly accompanying the mayor was a small girl with doll-like features and startlingly black lustrous hair.

Barbara was that girl's name, and she was my mother.

She was the mayor's daughter. Despite her smaller stature, she was the same age as Luke and Edouard's brother.

Because it took about half a day to travel from Louisiana to Beaufort, when they went hunting, they would frequently spend one or two days in the Mayor's mansion before returning to Beaufort.

As a result, Luke and Edouard's brother have frequent interactions with her.

Despite their gender and social status differences, they quickly became good friends.

They were frequently warned by Syrus, who was the only one accompanying them on their hunting trip, about their unusual friendship, since he felt that their unusual combination could end very badly, but as they were only children, all they saw in her was a new friend, and as a result, they turned deaf ears to Syrus' warning.

Their bond grew stronger over time, to the point where they would come to the Louisane even without Grandfather Emilien. However, when they reached the age of fifteen, the three of them were required to continue their studies abroad, as every member of the nobility at their age did.

When a noble reaches the age of fifteen, he must enroll in the Aurora Academia, also commonly referred to as the Academia, for at least a five-year program; the only exceptions were those who joined the paladin order or the clergy.

The Academia is a church-run institution in the Holy Capital, the largest and wealthiest city on the human continent.

The Academics' primary goals were to pass on to the blooming generation of nobility the knowledge, beliefs, and wisdom that the church had accumulated over its 4000 years of existence.

Despite its location within the territory of the ErstMench theocracy, the Holy capital is entirely administered by the church. Because it is home to the majority of the cult's active members, the Holy Capital could be considered the cradle and capital of the Seven Apostles cult.

In the end, they had no choice but to say goodbye to their only commoner friend and part ways. However, before departing, someone did something that the church would consider crossing a line that should not be crossed.

In a burst of hormones and burning youthfulness, Luke secretly confessed his love and asked her to wait for him. To his surprise, she agreed and promised to wait for him.

They all left for Aurora Academia after that, and as the years passed, Luke began to reconsider his vow.

Living in the world's most advanced and dogmatic city, he began to realize how hopeless their promise was.

Their promise ran counter to both societal and biological beliefs. A noble couldn't have children with a commoner because there was too much difference between them, and no matter how blinded by love he was, he couldn't ignore that fact. Even if they chose happily like an old couple, the church's knowledge of their coupling would be the end of their lives.

Finally, he had no choice but to accept that he would be unable to fulfill the promise he had made to himself.

He drowned during the darkest period of his life because he had no one to confide in. After all, Damian had already joined the paladin Order and Philip had completely fallen in love with a girl who shared his passion for medicine but was rarely available.

It was around this time that he became aware of Ramia's mother, who had been crushing on him since their third year of college. After three years, he finally gave her a chance, you know, to see how good their chemistry was, and it didn't take them long to get the answer:

The storm known as Ramia is the result of their experiment.

They made the decision to marry in the Beaumont Duchy right away.

He had returned to Beaufort after nearly six years away.

His marriage was set up right away. But there was one thing he had to do before getting married.

He returned to Louisiana, first to apologize for breaking their promise and, finally, to let go of her; after all, it was only a few months until his future wife gave birth.

When he arrived, he noticed that many things had changed; the town had grown, and a low-ranking noble family had established the town as their domain; the old man died two years after our departure, and mother took over his duties; however, with a noble family nearby, the amount of power and authority she had drastically decreased.

But it didn't matter to him because she was still there, the passing hadn't tarnished her beauty, and she had waited for him for six years.

He told her the truth about how he couldn't keep their promise, that they couldn't have a future together.

Luke couldn't really explain what her reaction meant to me, but she didn't get angry and instead asked him one question before completely letting go of him.

She simply asked him to do "it" as a final farewell.

What would you ask?

Hand Holding? Non non non.

I wish it was something that simple.

When they were finished, they said their final farewell. He then married, thinking that what he did had settled everything and that he could turn the page. But, no, it was far from over.

Some news reached Ramia about a month after she was born.

The Louisane Mayor mansion has caught fire, the mayor has gone missing, and two men's bodies have been discovered within the rumble.

Despite his promise not to get involved in each other's lives, he rushed to investigate what had happened; it wasn't until he arrived at Louisane that he learned the news; she was last seen with a three-month pregnant belly.

And I was the freeloader in her belly the last time she was seen.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen.

Here are the mysteries behind my birth; I was the byproduct of a particularly tumultuous farewell.