Chapter 17

“I’m sorry.”

A beautiful young man was sitting formally on the bed, bowing deeply to me. I had to remind myself that this person was the Second Prince of this kingdom. The whole scene was surreal.

Well, I suppose the Prince was at fault this time. Maybe. I had barged in without permission too, after all…

“It was only an attempt, so it’s fine. And I was also at fault for coming in without permission.”

“Hmm, well, I was about eighty percent aware of what was going on.”

I reflexively looked at the Prince twice.

“You weren’t half-asleep or anything…?”

“Of course not. I was practically awake the moment you knocked. I just never expected it to be Bell.”

I blinked in surprise.

The Prince smiled happily.

“I stayed quiet because I felt like playing a little prank, but when Bell called me by my name, I couldn’t hold myself back anymore.”

“Lord Schwarz calls you Dylan, so I thought you wouldn’t wake up unless I called you by your name too…”

I gave him an exasperated, half-lidded stare, which only made the Prince’s smile deepen.

“It felt like having Bell here was a dream. I mean, you were here. In my bed. Anyone would think it was a dream, right?”

“…I can’t deny that.”

Indeed, if I woke up one morning and found the Prince in my room, I would think it was a dream too. Even if it was my birthday, having someone come into my room first thing in the morning to celebrate might be a little troublesome.

“I’m sorry. I startled you, didn’t I?”

“No? It was a pleasant way to wake up.”

The Prince gave me a mischievous smile, and I could only smile wryly in return.

“By the way, why did you come to the royal palace? Since you’re in my room, did you need something from me?”

“Huh? Need something? Isn’t today your birthday, Prince?”

That was when I suddenly realized it.

I hadn’t even said happy birthday!

I climbed down from the bed, straightened my dress, and bowed properly.

“I’m sorry I’m late! Happy birthday!”

When I raised my head, the Prince tilted his head in confusion, his hair swaying without so much as a single strand out of place despite having just woken up.

“Birthday…? Ah, mine?”

“Um, isn’t your reaction a little underwhelming…?”

“Thank you, Bell. But did you really come all the way here just to say that?”

After looking at me blankly for a moment, the Prince smiled in exasperation.

“That’s not all! I brought a cake and a new game too.”

“Hehe, you could have just done that at your house, Bell.”

“But today is your birthday, so you don’t have to do anything! Come on, we’re having a little birthday party.”

I took out the games and cake I had brought in a basket and arranged them on the table.

“A party…? Why are we having a party?”

“Huh? Well, it’s not exactly a lavish party or anything… I just wanted to celebrate you, at least.”

“Celebrate? Why?”

“Huh?”

I froze for a while.

For several seconds, the Prince and I simply stared at each other.

I was dumbfounded.

Did the Prince not understand why people celebrated birthdays?

Surely not.

I decided to ask just in case.

“Um, Prince. What do you usually do on your birthday?”

“I get older.”

“No, not like that. I mean, do you do anything special?”

“Special?”

The Prince rested a hand against his chin as he thought about my question.

“Schwarz tells me happy birthday.”

“Yes. Anything else?”

“Anything else…? There’s cake after dinner.”

“I see. Is there anything else?”

“Eh? No, that’s it.”

The Prince furrowed his brows as if he was confused by the question, while I held my head in my hands.

The Prince didn’t even consider his birthday to be anything special in the first place!

Schwarz! What the heck have you been doing?!

I let out a sigh, and the Prince looked at me curiously.

“Bell? I think you’re misunderstanding something, but having parties and celebrating birthdays in a special way is something only royalty does. Ordinary people don’t usually eat cake for their birthdays.”

“What? Really?!”

So my common sense had been wrong.

Since this was a Japanese otome game, I had assumed that even if this was another world, that sort of culture would have been properly adjusted to fit the setting.

…No, but now that I thought about it, on my own birthdays, I had eaten fancier dinners and sometimes had cake after dinner, but I didn’t remember ever having parties or receiving presents.

When Schwarz told me to celebrate the Prince, maybe he had simply wanted me to tell the Prince “happy birthday” on his behalf.

Even Will had looked puzzled when I said I wanted to give the Prince a cake. There was a possibility that the very concept of birthday presents didn’t even exist here.

I had been acting far too much according to my memories from my previous life.

What was I doing?

“I see…”

“Hmm, well, I don’t really understand the idea of celebrating just because it’s someone’s birthday. What exactly is there to celebrate?”

“What do you mean? It’s the day you were born.”

Even after I said that, the Prince still looked uncertain.

This time, it was my turn to think.

“Hmm… I suppose it means being grateful that you were born.”

When I answered honestly, the Prince stared at me blankly.

“Everyone celebrates because they’re happy that you were born, Your Highness.”

I was secretly proud of myself for coming up with such a good explanation, but after freezing for several seconds, the Prince walked straight toward me with a serious expression.

I was startled and confused as his scent reached me from up close.

Then, almost effortlessly, he wrapped his arms around me.

“Bell, you’re strange. It’s rare to find someone who thinks that way.”

“Y-You think so?”

I couldn’t exactly tell him that it was because I came from another world, so I could only give him a vague answer.

“Hey, say that again.”

“What?”

“The thing you just said. About being grateful that I was born.”

“Th-Thank you for being born.”

My voice grew quieter as I said it, but the Prince loosened his arms slightly and peered into my face.

“Again.”

“What?! Thank you for being born, Your Highness.”

“One more time, using my name.”

“Thank you for being born, Lord Dylan.”

The Prince pressed his forehead against mine and giggled happily.

His face. His face was way too close.

“So that’s how it is. Thank you, Bell. I was glad I was born, wasn’t I?”

“W-What are you saying? Of course you were.”

The Prince laughed again.

He kept pressing his forehead against mine, which was starting to hurt a little.

“Your Highness… That hurts…”

“Oh? You’re not calling me by my name anymore? Well, whatever. I’m really happy right now.”

The Prince lifted his head away from mine and smiled.

He genuinely looked happy.

“I’m happy as long as I have Bell.”

“…Really?”

It was hard to imagine anyone feeling bad after hearing something like that. I was no exception, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“That’s right. As long as I have Bell…”

For an instant, the Prince seemed to grimace as though he was in pain, but it lasted only a moment before his usual smile returned.

“Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing. Oh, there’s cake!”

“You noticed? I made this myself!”

“What?! Bell made it?! Amazing. Let’s eat it!”

At the Prince’s words, I hurried over to the basket sitting on the table. I took out the cake and the board games inside.

And so, our fun little party began.