"It was a long day, wasn’t it ?" I sighed as I threw myself onto my bed.

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

He was right, the party might be over, but the toughest part of today was yet to come.

Glancing at the door, I unconsciously let out yet another sigh.

"Before our guests arrive, I'd like to present the Young Lord with his birthday present," Syrius announced out of the blue, well, maybe not so much after all.

I sat back on my bed, "Oh~ I wonder what it could be?" I said.

As far as I can remember, Maa has never failed to give me a birthday present. Syrius, on the other hand, started doing so too, starting from my fifth birthday, the year following that little incident.

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," Syrius 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, Syrius. Sometimes the simplest means the most. "

"I'm glad the Young Lord likes them," he smiled, before he 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 Syrius, emphasizing the "Maa" part teasingly.

That nickname felt so strange to hear from Syrius' mouth; after all, I adopted it mainly because, back in the day, it was a very easy word, or rather sound, for a toddler to pronounce; in the end, the surname stuck around even to this day.

When I opened the box to see what was inside, I discovered a pile of blue clothes and a letter envelope. Reaching for the envelope, I opened it and read the letter inside, which, I immediately noticed, was stamped with the initials "Maa."

Good morning/ Evening Lord, Young Lord,

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.

Young Lord, I will not make this letter long. Here's my present for your birthday:

Winter has arrived, and with it its cold breeze.

Please make use of these to keep yourself warm.

And, not that I doubt Syrius' capabilities, but if at all possible, I would greatly appreciate it if you were to be careful when taking stairwells.

Maa

Years might have gone by, but she didn't seem to have forgotten about the accident I had five years ago while she was away.

Her present was a blue scarf.

It was so well made that I wouldn't have guessed it was her own handmade work if I hadn't seen her knitting it back at Rosetta Manor.

"When did she send these?" I asked.

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

"How thoughtful of–" I started, but was cut short by a knock on my room’s door.

Syrius donned his mask and rushed to the door to greet the visitor, and allow him in.

A tall, blonde man with crimson eyes entered the room. I stood up and went to make my salutation.

Though we had already met earlier in the day, we did not exchange official greetings, for we had saved our greetings for this occasion.

"Dear Father, I, Ronandt, am honored to finally meet you. 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. "

Our greetings were a little unusual, for a father and son shouldn't have to greet each other like strangers, but in our case, the circumstances were appropriate for it.

After we finished greeting each other, Syrius, extending his hand, invited Luke to take a seat on a nearby sofa, which he gladly accepted.

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

Syrius approached me after I sat down and asked me,"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.

Hearing my words, Syrius was about to take his leave. To my big surprise, my guest of the day protested Syrius's proposition, "Wait, Syrius, I think it would be best if you were present; please stay."

"Young Lord?" Syrius inquired, awaiting my final say on the matter.

It's fine. Syrius, Stay, please. "

With a slight bow, Syrius went to a corner of the room, where he stood silent.

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

"As I had said, it was nothing, 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 guess I really deserve that beating then.

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

"I think I've said enough about Ramia. Let's get right to it. " Luke exhaled a deep breath and said, "I believe my uncle has explained most of your situation to you, right?"

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

"I see… is there anything you want to know?"

Finally getting to ask it, I asked, "I want to know about my mother."

When I said that, he put his clenched fist in front of his mouth, as if 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 suggestion, but I believe it would be best if Lord Luke started when he met the young Lord's mother," Syrius suggested from his spot.

"I suppose you're right," Luke mumbled.

He took his time before speaking a word, as if reorganizing his thoughts, and then, after a little while, proceeded to tell me the entire story.

***

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

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

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

It was by the time the three of them reached ten, when they went through their coronations, that Grandfather Emilien had lost, or rather, had exchanged his obsession for work for something else: hunting. He had developed a burning passion for hunting, and since the three of them had reached an age where they, as young boys, thirsted for adventure, as such, Grandfather Emilien ended up taking them on his hunting trips on a regular basis.

Among Grandfather Emilien’s favorite hunting spots was that spot close to Louisane, a small town so small that it wasn't even ruled by a noble family, but rather by a commoner 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 lustrous black 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.

Since it took more than an entire 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 such, Luke and Edouard's brother, who were following their uncle and father, had to frequently interact with the little girl. A Little girl with whom, despite their gender and social status differences, they quickly became good friends.

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

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

When they reach the age of fifteen, nobles are required to enroll in the Aurora Academia, also commonly referred to as the Academia, for at least a five-year program; the only exceptions were nobles 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. And its primary goals were to pass on to the blossoming generation of nobility the knowledge, beliefs, and wisdom that the church had accumulated over its millenia-long 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, just like every noble, had no choice but to say goodbye to their only commoner friend and part ways.

However, before departing, a certain someone did something that the church would consider crossing a line that should not be crossed.

That day, Luke secretly confessed his love for Barbara and asked her to wait for him—a confession and a request that she, to his biggest surprise, accepted and promised to do.

With that, the trio, with Luke having done what he had secretly done, 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 of love was. Their promise ran counter to both societal and biological beliefs. A noble couldn't have children with a commoner, for there was too much difference between the two, and no matter how blinded by love he was, he couldn't ignore nor run away from that fact.

Luke did consider living, or rather eloping, with my mother, but that was not something he, as an only son, could do. But even then, that would be putting aside the fact that if the two of them were to elope, they would most likely, the moment it reached their ears, end up being hounded by the church, who would see their love as an act of absolute heresy.

Years went by, and in the end, Luke was left with no choice but to accept that he would be unable to fulfill the promise he had made to himself.

Luke felt himself drowning during the period of his life, for at that time, 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 and was, as such, rarely available. It was around this time that Luke became aware of the woman to whom he had so far not given much attention. A girl who had been in love with him since their first year at Academia, It was only then, after five years, that he finally gave the girl a chance to see how good their chemistry was, and it didn't take them long to get the answer:

From their little chemistry experiment came to be the storm named ‘Ramia’.

With Ramia’s mother pregnant, their next course of action was to marry in the Beaumont Duchy right away. Luke finally returned to Beaufort after nearly six years away. His marriage was set up right away. But there was one thing he knew 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 left 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 their departure, and Mother, as his daughter, took over his duties; however, with a noble family nearby, the amount of power and authority she held drastically decreased.

But it didn't matter to him because she was still there, the passing hadn't tarnished her beauty, and she, as she had promised, had waited for him for six years. But still, Luke told her the truth about how he, unlike her, couldn't keep the promise he had made, that they couldn't have a future together.

Luke really struggled to explain that part to me, but long story short, she didn't get angry and instead asked him one thing, one final request before completely letting go of him.

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

"What?" one might wonder.

Hand Holding? No, no, no. It wasn’t something that simple.

When they were finished, they bid each other farewell.

She went to resume her life, and Luke went to marry the woman awaiting his child.

At that time, when he did what he did, he thought he had settled everything and that he could finally turn the page, but little did he know that it was far from over.

A couple of months after his marriage and a few months before Ramia was born, Luke received disturbing news from Louisane.

The Louisane Mayor's mansion had caught fire, and Barbara the mayor had gone missing, but it wasn’t all, for amidst the mayor’s mansion rumble were discovered the bodies of two men, and not any men, but nobles.

Despite his promise not to get involved in each other's lives, Luke rushed to investigate what had happened;

It was then, and only then, when he arrived at Louisane that he learned the news; Barbara was last seen with a three-month pregnant belly.

And as one could've easily guessed, I, Ronandt, was, the last time she was seen, the freeloader in her belly.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen.

That was the mystery behind my birth; I was the byproduct of a particularly tumultuous farewell.