By Zephyria 
“Lord Eagelton sent two horses from Ranfield Mountain as a gift, Young Master. How should we handle them?”
“A gift that’s worse than no gift at all. I have no interest in things like horseback riding. Put the horses in the stable for now… and please send a reply to Lord Egleton. Tell him I’m grateful and will ride them well. Oh, and don’t make it too friendly, rather draw a subtle line. You know what I mean, Nicole?”
“Yes. I’ll take care of it as instructed.”
The only somewhat welcome gift was the brilliant progress of Lennox, the commoner I happened to sponsor.
It was exactly as I had initially expected. The healer assigned to teach Lennox had passed on simple healing magic that he could use, and not long after, Lennox revealed his extraordinary talent to the world.
Once his unrivaled ability was discovered, the Magic Tower reached out on their own. It was a characteristic move from a place always thirsty for nurturing new talent. The Magic Tower, commonly called Matap, was completely different from black magic, which harmed others and corrupted the caster’s soul, so I could send Lennox there without any hesitation.
“Gasp, y-young master…! Th-th-this…!”
Nicole’s usually businesslike voice, as she quickly sorted through the pile of gifts with me, was tinged with surprise.
“What’s the matter?”
“Well, this box came anonymously, and I was about to discard it unopened, but the butler said it was fine and that I should definitely take it to show you… Look at this! Is-isn’t this a blue diamond? It looks genuine no matter how you look at it…!”
Nicole looked like she might faint at the sight of the large blue diamond necklace, which was clearly over 34 carats at a glance. She couldn’t believe she had almost discarded a gift that could have been passed down as a national treasure.
“Who could it be from? Who would send such a precious gift… without a name?”
“Hmm, I’ll take that for now. I have a rough idea who it’s from.”
“You have someone in mind?”
“Yes. Such a mischievous person.”
Nicole was quite curious but didn’t make the mistake of prying into something I didn’t want to reveal. That was fortunate for me. This diamond necklace, which wouldn’t have looked out of place as a national treasure, actually was an imperial treasure.
[The Ocean’s Blessing]
A relic from an ancient kingdom that flourished around the ocean.
Magic Resistance (Water attribute) +10
The Crown Prince had officially sent imperial silk as a gift to me, one of the candidates for Crown Princess. It was exactly the same as what Beatrice received from the Crown Prince on her birthdays, and what I had received in previous playthroughs before Allen appeared. I had been somewhat expecting the gift to be different this time since our relationship had changed considerably, and was a bit disappointed. Was this his way of taking care of me behind the scenes? Either way, the Crown Prince was really unhelpful. Giving me a troublesome gift that was valuable but couldn’t be worn in public.
I dealt with yet another unpleasant gift perfunctorily.
Honestly, it wasn’t even really “my” birthday, so what was the point of all this fuss?
A year suddenly felt so long. The thought that I would have to spend exactly the same amount of time as I had until now before Allen would appear was terrifying.
“Young master, an invitation has arrived from the Gracio Duchy. The Lady asks if you would like to join her to listen to a famous storyteller she has invited.”
“Hmm, not today. I think I’ll go up to my room and rest.”
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
Even Nicole’s clear, concerned eyes offered no comfort today. After all, the person she was truly meant to serve was the real ‘Noah Hamilton,’ not me.
“No, it’s not that… I just feel lethargic today. I want to be alone and do nothing.”
“Are you sure you’re alright?”
I knew it was a petty feeling, but today I didn’t want to force myself to lift my gloomy mood. Today, exactly one week before the extravagant birthday celebration of ‘Noah Hamilton’…
“I said I’m fine. Oh, Nicole. I’ll be in my room, so could you bring me a slice of cream cake? One with lots of fruit on top.”
It was “my” birthday—not as the youngest son of Hamilton, but as myself.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…”
…Communication protocol blocking in progress…
“Ah, enough. What am I doing, pathetically celebrating alone.”
After pressing down on the innocent cream cake with the tip of my fork, I pushed the plate away. Taking a sip of still-warm tea washed away the cloying taste in my mouth. However, the emptiness in my heart remained.
“Hey.”
…Communication protocol blocking in progress…
Calling into the void changes nothing. The system still wasn’t responding. Though I was used to it by now, today that fact hit particularly hard.
No one remembers the birthday of ‘this body’ I was born into. Since I was adopted at such a young age, it was natural that I didn’t remember, and I heard that any official records had been completely erased by my current parents. But I didn’t want to celebrate a birthday that wasn’t my actual date when I couldn’t even live as my true age.
So I had been commemorating my previous life’s birthday as my real birthday. Ever since I regained my memories of my past life.
Even though I’d been repeating the same life over and over, with all the absolute time I’ve lived, celebrating birthdays should feel like nothing special by now. Perhaps it’s because I have so few things that are truly mine, not borrowed from Allen or the real ‘Noah.’ That makes me cling more desperately to these small personal details.
Even though it was a birthday celebrated alone with just a slice of cake, without magnificent chandeliers or mountains of luxurious gifts, I had never felt lonely or lacking.
That’s because there had always been someone who woke me with the illusion of a grand fanfare and displayed silent congratulatory messages in my view all day long.
The system had trapped me in this hellish cycle, but at the same time, it had stayed by my side and watched over me. It made sure that, however painful things were, I was never lonely.
“…”
…Communication protocol blocking in progress…
“…You’re watching, aren’t you?”
…Communication protocol blocking in progress…
“You are watching… right?”
On my twentieth birthday in this world. The absence of the entity that had never once left me alone on my “real birthdays” throughout this infinite loop made me silently crumble—with heart-wrenching longing and severe loneliness.
That’s when it happened. Though the room was completely sealed with the door firmly closed and curtains drawn tight, leaving no way for air to flow, suddenly, a strong wind blew with a whoosh, extinguishing the candle on the table in an instant.
“Oh!”
The brightness in the room immediately decreased. Paradoxically, the dimness in my heart suddenly brightened.
…Communication protocol blocking in progress…
“…”
It might have been a coincidence, but I decided to think as I pleased. Beyond that harsh message that might return who knows when, someone would still be there, alert to my every move as always. They would be commemorating my birthday with me today, just as they always had. If the system really had disappeared, if it was no longer watching over me… it wouldn’t even be showing the “blocking in progress” message.
What a funny fellow. Sticking to me like a leech every day when I didn’t need it, annoying me, but when I actually wanted to see it, not even showing its face. If only there was some promise of when it would return. Without even that, what on earth was it doing… Well, still.
“…Thank you.”
Words of gratitude with no one to hear them were cast into the empty air. And as if in response, the candle that had been extinguished by the mysterious wind suddenly lit up with a whoosh.
My seemingly empty insides suddenly felt full. I was not alone. I had not been abandoned. Just vaguely feeling that fact made my twentieth birthday so wonderful and perfect.
*
“Young master. A message came from the Tower of Mages. They say you must attend the graduation ceremony.”
“Huh? Why? They didn’t mind me not attending other events until now.”
“I’m not sure either. It just says it’s customary…? Apparently, a guardian or sponsor must be present at the graduation ceremony, or something like that.”
A graduation ceremony already? Perhaps because he was one of the key figures in this world, Lennox’s talent seemed to defy all plausibility.
He had completed in just a few months a process that would take other ordinary mages (though being able to use magic is far from ordinary to begin with, relatively speaking) at least three years. Well, according to the original story, he would have conquered the empire’s back alleys with black magic learned by stealing glances, so perhaps this level of achievement is only natural.