Chapter 143
Whoooosh—
The garden had been completely ruined by the explosion.
The scent rising from the crushed earth tickled the tip of their noses.
Bang! Boom—!
The fireworks that continued exploding afterward only made the atmosphere feel more pitiful.
Ah, what do we do now?
Shiosen scratched the back of his head as he carefully watched Daphne’s reaction.
No matter how little attention Daphne usually paid to delicate matters like this, there was no way she would simply let something this disastrous slide.
He cautiously approached Daphne.
“Um, Lady Daphne. Well, this somehow ended up like this, but this wasn’t what we originally intended…”
“Happy~ Birthday~ to you~!”
Just then, a shout interrupted Shiosen mid-sentence.
It was Arius.
After hurriedly gathering up the ruined cake, he held it up proudly while singing.
“Happy Birthday to our beloved Daphne~! Happy Birthday to you~!”
Arius finished the song with a beaming smile.
Then, the desolate wind blew once more…
The atmosphere became even more miserable.
‘We’re doomed.’
Shiosen held his forehead and lowered his head.
How are we supposed to fix this…?
Shiosen looked back at Daphne once again.
But—
“……”
What?
Shiosen’s eyes widened.
“Lady Daphne, are you crying?!”
Because Daphne was crying.
At Shiosen’s shout, everyone who had been wearing awkward expressions turned their attention toward Daphne at the same time.
Daphne immediately flared up and covered her face with both hands.
“Who’s crying?! I’m not! I’m absolutely not crying! I am a being who never cries!”
Of course, her hands were too small to cover her whole face…
So the tears streaming down were perfectly visible.
“Uh, um…”
Rache scratched his cheek as he asked,
“I-Is it because you’re so angry about this situation? You’re so furious that you can’t hold it in?”
“As if that could possibly be the case!”
Daphne glared at him as though she had just heard complete nonsense.
“It’s just… just…”
Lowering her gaze, Daphne firmly pressed her palm against the corner of her eye.
“Because it’s my first time… That’s why. Because it’s my first time.”
How had she ended up being born into this world?
What purpose was she supposed to live for?
Why had no one ever loved her?
Why had she been forced to live while carrying everyone’s hatred?
She was a “calamity” who knew nothing and had never been able to discover anything.
Even if she had finally found the answers to those questions now, the resentment, sorrow, and loneliness that had piled up over hundreds of years could not disappear so easily.
That was why, even as Daphne gladly accepted the kindness and goodwill she had encountered after causality had disappeared, she still couldn’t shake the feeling that none of it truly belonged to her.
‘Is it really alright for me to receive gratitude like this? Is it really alright for me to be this happy? Truly… is it?’
And yet…
“You’re right. Family should’ve been celebrating your birthday together. We couldn’t do that until now.”
“H-H-Happy… B-Birthday, D-Daphne!”
“I was the first one to suggest having a birthday party! I did well, didn’t I?”
To receive such meaningful love.
Daphne smiled awkwardly as she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.
Seeing that, the children became even more flustered and hurriedly began pulling things out.
“U-Um, this is my present!”
Arius suddenly held something out.
Caught off guard, Daphne accepted the gift, and at Arius’s urging, she had no choice but to unwrap it right there.
“…What is this?”
Daphne slowly blinked and asked.
Arius answered with a bright smile.
“A bib!”
“…What?”
“You threw up the first time we met after you woke up again! So you can use it to wipe that off!”
It wasn’t vomit, it was coughing up blood, you idiot…
Daphne let out a hollow laugh.
What am I supposed to do with this child whose head is full of flowers…?
As she muttered to herself, another item was suddenly held out before her eyes.
“T-T-This is a mana stone! E-elf Teiti p-put m-mana into it!”
“Oh. This is very nice.”
Daphne grinned as she accepted the mana stone.
Immediately, Arius cried out in protest.
“Hey! You looked like a dead fish when you accepted mine! But you’re that happy over a mana stone? That’s so unfair!”
“You’re the unfair one. I’m not a baby, so why would I need a bib?”
“…You are a child though?”
Arius frowned as he looked around.
The adults standing nearby—Heros, Pauline, Anne, Anna, and even Shiosen—were all quietly smiling at Daphne.
“That’s right. Lady Daphne is a child.”
Shiosen giggled.
Daphne glared at him before letting out a deep sigh.
At that moment, Rache suddenly appeared in front of her.
With his usual calm and indifferent expression, he looked down at Daphne.
“You weren’t actually expecting a present from me, were you? You should be grateful I even came.”
Why did he come all the way over here just to say something like that?
Unable to understand him, Daphne tilted her head.
“Well, this isn’t exactly a present.”
At that moment, Rache slowly pushed the cart he had brought toward Daphne.
“It just happened to be there, so I brought it. It’s not like I bought it for you or anything!”
Inside the cart were all kinds of clothes and shoes.
“I just brought what I already had! You know what I mean, right?”
No.
I don’t.
Letting out a quiet laugh, Daphne examined the clothes in the cart one by one.
Judging by the slightly different sizes, he had collected them over quite a long period of time.
Which meant he had been buying things for Daphne even before she apologized to him.
A bitter smile spread across Daphne’s lips as she realized that.
Not only Rache, but Vipera and Arius as well…
Weren’t they all children who had suffered because of the original Daphne?
And yet, they had forgotten the past, focused on the present, and were showering the current Daphne with unconditional love.
‘Humans really are strong.’
Remembering once again why she had always loved humans, Daphne quietly murmured to herself.
Feeling her eyes grow warm again, she lowered her head.
The one who held out a handkerchief in front of her was none other than Heros.
“What is this?”
Daphne asked.
Heros answered casually.
“A handkerchief.”
“…It’s not as though I don’t have eyes. I can clearly see it’s a handkerchief. I’m asking whether this is your present.”
Heros tilted his head.
Then he looked around.
Behind the other adults—Pauline, Anne, and Anna—who had not personally handed Daphne presents, there were gift boxes.
Which meant he was the only one who hadn’t prepared a gift.
“Hm.”
Heros shot Pauline a slight glare.
She had only told him there would be a party.
She never told him to prepare a gift.
So he hadn’t prepared anything.
How had everyone else managed to prepare presents except him?
After sending Pauline a somewhat aggrieved look, Heros let out a quiet sigh and looked down at Daphne.
“I don’t have a present.”
Daphne nodded as though she had expected that.
But—
“Still.”
Heros did not finish his sentence.
Kneeling on one knee in front of Daphne to meet her eye level, he spread both arms wide.
“Happy Birthday, Daphne.”
Then he gently embraced Daphne.
“May you continue to grow up healthy.”
“……”
Daphne slightly parted her lips as she felt the warmth of the person who had suddenly embraced her.
Uh, um…
She didn’t know how to describe this.
She didn’t even know how she was supposed to react.
Daphne simply blinked blankly.
Then Arius shouted toward Daphne and Heros.
“Ah! I want a hug too!”
Arius rushed over first and tightly hugged both Daphne and Heros.
“M-M-Me too!”
Vipera also came running.
“…I don’t particularly want to, but if everyone else wants to.”
Despite his words, Rache hugged them more enthusiastically than anyone else.
Nestled tightly among her family, Daphne looked up at the clear blue sky beyond the countless layers of affection surrounding her.
‘Ah.’
Daphne smiled brightly.
‘I’m happy.’
That day was both the first birthday she had ever celebrated and the day she had been reborn.
It became one of the happiest days of her life.
And so, time passed.
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