The current Emperor had neither a Princess nor a Prince yet.
It was two years later that the Empress had a Princess, the year I turned twelve.
Without a Prince in the direct line of the Imperial Family, the highest-ranking child around my age was, undoubtedly, Emil Callixst.
Duke Callixst’s only legitimate son.
A child with imperial blood was born from the womb of Princess Robellin.
However, people paid more attention to Lucretius’ son, Rastein, or Marquis Reymon’s child, Hildred, over Emil.
‘Still, the side glances are quite severe.’
It was for nothing more than the bad deeds of Robellin Kastone, who gave birth to Emil.
‘They’re all avoiding him.’
Even if it was the birthday banquet of the 10-year-old Marquis’ young Lady, in the end, adults were at the center of the gathering.
As I was today’s main protagonist, one by one I received all the gifts that were offered to me in the grand banquet hall, and then guided the children to the playroom prepared for us, emptying the parlor for important guests.
And now I was faced with the current situation.
Children between nine and ten years old gathered in groups, but only Emil was alone, staying isolated by the window.
His golden eyes met mine and I tried to smile but it didn’t work out the way I wanted.
‘It’ll be better to approach him directly.’
Either way, it was an opportunity, so I took a step towards him, but I was stopped within three or four steps.
A shy congratulatory greeting called me from the side.
“Um, young Lady Lankester… On your tenth birthday, I sincerely congratulate you.”
It was Count Byut’s young Lady.
‘The name… Blensia Enrivia Byut.’
Behind her, I could see the neat appearance of Reymon Hildred, giving me a nod.
‘You sent her on purpose.’
I greeted Blensia with a grin.
“Thank you, Miss Byut. I’m glad you came today.”
“We– well. I always wanted to meet young Lady Lankester. My parents told me that both the Marquis and the Marchioness are very good people… they said the young Lady is very good too.”
Before the regression, I heard that a lot.
Daughter of Ismeralda Eprish and Jenoart Lankester.
Velsia Lankester.
After stopping the villainess, the two gained the favor of the current Emperor, who was the Crown Prince at that time, and they played an important role in sentencing the evil Robellin to death for the many innocent victims.
As a result, they gained people’s love and trust.
The problem was that the high expectations they had placed on them now fell on me.
‘Emil was the same too.’
Looking back, Emil and I were different, but there were a lot of similarities.
“I’m not as great as my parents. If I were just an average person, would you be disappointed?”
“Yes? Of– of course not! That couldn’t be! What I mean… young Lady Lankester is already ordinary and…”
