Chapter 10

"Since it's almost Shiraia's birthday, I want to plan a surprise party."

"That's great, let's prepare a lot of delicious food."

"That sounds wonderful. I'll get the cake from that popular shop recently..."

Just as I was about to enter the room, I heard Cynthia, my father-in-law, and my mother-in-law's voices.

I shivered and quickly turned on my heel to return down the corridor. The talk of planning a surprise party for my birthday was something I definitely shouldn't have heard.

I headed straight to my room, entered, and closed the door.

After being rescued by Cynthia from the Duke's mansion, I was given a room at the Viscount Rudlan's mansion and have been living here ever since.

Although I was officially granted the title of Duke by His Majesty and the Duke's mansion became my property, my father-in-law and mother-in-law said I could stay here as long as I wanted, and Cynthia also insisted, so I accepted the happiness as it was.

"Even though they're being so kind to me... until my birthday..."

At first, I felt a sense of guilt. Then I thought...

"It's my birthday... I've never been celebrated before..."

I felt a warm sensation gathering in my chest, a thrilling excitement that was addictive.

The certainty that I was loved by my "family"...

"I'm so happy..."

I thought this sincerely.

---

"Could you give me acting lessons to pretend I don't know about the surprise party?"

"Yes, Prince Adelbert. I would be grateful if you could."

The next day, in the school library, I made this request to Prince Adelbert when we were alone. Usually, Cynthia also joins our study sessions, but today she was unusually absent.

Probably because she was preparing for the surprise party.

"Although it's commendable to use the Crown Prince for your own purposes, it's difficult to treat the current Duke, who you've been using like a tutor, any differently. Since there are no other users around now, I'll give you a little guidance."

"Thank you!"

Prince Adelbert can not only hide his emotions but also show them effectively.

If I learn from him, I should be able to act in a way that won't disappoint Cynthia and the others at the surprise party.

"I want to see how good Shiraia's acting skills are. Try acting out what comes to mind. Imagine you've returned to the Viscount Rudlan's mansion and your birthday party has started. What would you do?"

I was seated for the study session but stood up with a flourish, spreading my arms wide, and gave a full-bodied performance.

"What a wonderful party! I'm so excited!"

"Understood. Sit down."

Before I could finish speaking, Prince Adelbert immediately stopped me.

"Try one more line..."

"No, it's fine. Sit down quickly."

He said it as if it were a waste of time, and I reluctantly sat down. I was confident about the next line...

"Shiraia, thank you for consulting me. It was very helpful."

"Did my acting help? Was I that good at acting?"

If my acting was helpful to Prince Adelbert, then my acting skills must be quite good.

I didn't know I was good at acting...

"I've decided not to take you to any future events where acting is required. It's a good thing I found out in advance."

"..."

It was the opposite. I must be bad at acting. Prince Adelbert continued in a serious tone.

"First, your gestures. You don't usually make such gestures, do you?"

"...Indeed. I didn't think of that."

"It's evidence that you're acting for the sake of acting. Instead of trying to be someone else, aim to be your usual self."

"I don't understand what my usual self is."

"Think about how you reacted in similar situations. For example, how did you react when Cynthia proposed to you first?"

"How do you know Cynthia proposed to me first?"

"To reclaim you, Cynthia explained the situation to me. At that time..."

"I see... I remember I was so moved... I cried."

I remember trying hard to hide my tears because I was embarrassed to show my crying face.

"Trying to cry on cue is too difficult. Let's think of another situation. How did you react when Cynthia rescued you from the Duke's mansion?"

"At that time... I was surprised, happy... and I cried."

"...Do you cry a lot, Shiraia?"

"Yes... I tend to cry in front of Cynthia..."

When I'm with Cynthia, I often feel my heart being moved, and before I know it, tears are falling.

Although I feel embarrassed, she always says I'm "cute," so I end up enjoying the comfort and can't break away from it.

"I see... Then cry. It would be unnatural if you didn't cry this time, given that you usually do."

"But it's too difficult to cry on cue..."

"I know, but there's no other way."

"Then please teach me a trick to cry on the spot."

When I asked, Prince Adelbert stood up quietly. I looked at him hopefully, thinking he might demonstrate, but he dismissively said, "I don't know."

"What...? But you're good at acting, Your Highness!"

"Showing tears is the same as showing weakness. I've trained to hold back tears, but I've never deliberately cried. Unfortunately, I can't help you with that."

With that, he left the study area, leaving me feeling lost.

---

I arrived on the day of the event without any solution. Although it wasn't certain that there would be a party on my birthday, when school ended, Cynthia hurriedly took my arm and said,

"Let's go home early today!"

So it must be today.

I had been thinking about the surprise party for days, and I couldn't seem to show a fresh reaction no matter what I did.

They had planned this to surprise me, and I didn't want to disappoint Cynthia, my father-in-law, and my mother-in-law...

Feeling inadequate, I let my mood sink, and I made Cynthia worry in the carriage.

This won't do. I should be honest.

If I tell them I knew about the surprise party, they might be disappointed, but it's better than showing a poor act and confusing them.

By the time I made up my mind, the carriage had arrived at the Viscount Rudlan's mansion.

When the three of us were together, I would confess and then express my sincere gratitude...

As I was thinking, Cynthia led me into the grand hall...

"Happy Birthday, Shiraia!"

The room was decorated with flowers, and the table was set with luxurious dishes. In one corner, there was a pile of gift boxes. Even though it was a family gathering, there was even a band playing music.

They did all this for me. The moment I saw it, I felt a surge of happiness that expanded to the tips of my fingers.

My father-in-law held up one of the gift boxes and said,

"Happy 17th birthday. I'm sorry we couldn't celebrate your previous birthdays, so I prepared 17 gifts for each of us, totaling 51. We might not be able to open them all in one day."

My mother-in-law picked up a cute pastry and said,

"I wanted to prepare sweets for the party, but Shiraia doesn't like sweet things, so I ordered from a shop that makes less sweet pastries. This one is quite salty and I think you'll like it."

Cynthia held my hands in hers and said,

"You haven't been very cheerful lately. I've been keeping you alone a lot because I was planning the surprise party, and I made you feel lonely, didn't I?"

"No..."

I quickly tried to reassure her, but my voice was shaky and thin, and I felt a pain in my nose as tears started to fall, blurring my vision.

"Shiraia..."

Cynthia's worried voice reached me, and her warm hand touched my cheek.

"It's not that... I'm happy..."

I felt my thin voice wouldn't convey my feelings properly, so I took a deep breath and carefully continued,

"I'm happy. Very, very happy. Thank you."

The red-haired people I love gathered around me and hugged me tightly.

"Let's celebrate every year like this from now on."

Cynthia said.

Every year. Such happiness every year. I feel overwhelmed by the happiness.

"I love you, Shiraia."

My father-in-law.

"I love you, Shiraia."

My mother-in-law.

"Once I met someone as wonderful as you, I can't fall in love with anyone else. My dearest Shiraia."

My beloved Cynthia.

"I love you too... I love you..."

My life has become so filled with love.

What was I worried about?

Whether I knew about the surprise party or not doesn't matter.

If I'm loved by the people I love, I will definitely be moved to tears.

I'm a crybaby...

On my 17th birthday,

I thanked the world for my existence for the first time.

---

Hello everyone! It's me, Hō!

Amazingly, Volume 2 will be released on the 12th of this month! (Pre-order sales have already started)

I was very surprised! I thought Volume 1 would be the end, so this is quite a big surprise...

In Volume 2, Cynthia and Shiraia go on a trip, and for some reason, there's the cat-eared Crown Prince Adelbert.

Later, Adelbert's political rival, the Second Prince, and his fiancée, Esterise, also join, and the story revolves around the five of them, each with their own thoughts, changing their relationships!

Esterise, who was only mentioned by name in Volume 1, will appear with a beautiful illustration by Shū Jun, so please look forward to it!

The new character, the Second Prince, is also very handsome...

Additionally, as part of a new initiative by Be:log Bunko and Beans Bunko, the [Mame Log Group] has been formed, and new books with special gifts will be available at Mame Log Group support stores!

As before, special gifts will also be available at Animate and Melonbooks Fromage.

Special SS will be included with e-books, but the pre-order may not have started yet.

Currently, due to system issues with KADOKAWA, the distribution of new books is unstable, so it would be best to consider pre-ordering to ensure you receive the book.

(On the release day of Volume 1, Animate sold out in one day, and Melonbooks Fromage sold out within three days, and it took time to restart pre-orders and restock, so if you want the special edition, it would be best to pre-order early...)

However, the special gifts from the support stores are also great, so I recommend purchasing from the store as well...

This time, there are quite a few types of special gifts, so for more details, please visit:

(https://kakuyomu.jp/official/info/entry/0712/akuyakureisoku?s=09)

The page also has a link to the cover of Volume 2 (which is also a beautiful and lovely cover!), so you can access the same page from there.

Thank you very much for your continued support of the 12th of July release of Volume 2!