As I sat down on the sofa at the auberge, I couldn’t stop sighing. It’s all because of Claire’s upcoming birthday party.
“Maybe I should not attend……”
As I muttered, I was reprimanded by Mary, who had brought me a cup of tea.
“Cedie-sama, don’t say things like that.”
“But Mary, you know what Claire has done to me, right?”
“I know.”
“Then why did you say I should not say that?”
“Well, it may be a bit excessive, but I think it’s Claire-sama’s way of expressing her affection.”
I had a depressed look on my face.
“A show of affection? You mean, like moving the bookmark in the book I’m reading? She even ignored my greetings and kicks me and even scribbled in my notebook.”
“That’s true, but……”
If it is her way of showing her affection, I wish she’d do something better.
“Plus, there’s the issue of what gift to give her.”
“If it’s a gift from Cedie-sama, Claire-sama will surely be delighted.”
“That’s not true at all. Claire is always complaining.”
I’ve never heard a word of gratitude from Claire’s mouth, and no matter what I do, all I get back is sarcasm.
“Sigh, it’s really depressing. I don’t even know what to gift.…”
“In that case, why don’t you ask Eugenie-sama for advice? They are about the same age so maybe she can give you some good ideas.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea.””
That said, I wasn’t too keen on it. In fact, Eugenie and Claire don’t get along well either. To put it bluntly, they hate each other.
My happiness level, which was at 92% this morning, has dropped to 79%. It would be much better to get to work than to dwell here on my thoughts.
I jumped off my seat.
“Are you going out?”
“Yes. Today I’m going to build a beach so we can swim safely.”
“That sounds like fun. Take care Young Master.”
Mary saw me off.
I then head to the shore with Char. The spot had been prepared, so as soon as we arrived at the shore, I started preparing the beach. The amazing thing about Island Maker is that you can even change the terrain. The shore in front of me was now a white sand beach that stood out against the marine blue sea.
Wow, even coconut trees are growing!
I wonder what the vegetation is like on Gandalcia Island. The coconuts are not yet bearing fruits, but they will be ready to harvest in three days.
“Father, why did you prepare the beach?”
Char asks curiously.
“The only one who can swim in such rocky sea is Char. Humans are weak you see.”
We might injure the soles of our feet, or we might slam our body against a rock if a strong wave hits.
“Father, can I swim in the sea?”
“Go ahead.”
While Char is playing in the sea, I thought about the beach house. To build a beach house, I need a caretaker.
Hmm, should I ask Masciolini-san for advice, like I did with Medoc and Pino?
But Masciolini’s Casino Wyall seems to have expanded its business again.
I guess they’re short on hands too…
As I sat on the beach and thought about it, a black shadow crossed the sky. When I looked up, I saw Gian the Griffon with its wings spread and is about to descend to the ground.
Looks like my childhood friend, Eugenie, has come to visit.
“Hi, Cedie. What are you doing here?”
“Hey, Eugenie. I just set up the beach.”
“Oh, it’s true. The beach seems to be cleaner than before. And the waves are calm.”
“I’m planning to open this place up as a beach in the summer, and I also plan to build beach houses and stuff.”
“What’s a beach house?”
“It’s a place where you can sell food and take a break, and you can also rent out beach tools like umbrellas and rocking chairs.”
“Sounds like fun.”
Eugenie’s eyes light up at what I’m saying.
“What foods do you plan to sell?”
“Hmm, maybe shaved ice and the like or fried noodles.”
“It’s all things I’ve never heard of.”
Well, that’s a given. Those foods are based on Japanese beach houses after all.
“Look, a lot of coconut trees are growing over there, right? I’m thinking about chilling them and serving them as a drink.”
“I’ve only read about coconut fruit juice in stories. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll bring a bathing suit next time I come.”
“The full-fledged opening of the beach is a little further away, so wait until then.”
Gian interrupted our conversation.
“Queee”
“What’s the matter, Gian?”
Gian turned his beak to Char who is playing in the sea. He is itching to step on the sand with his left and right feet.
Apparently, he wants to play with Char too. Despite their rivalry, Char and Gian are close.
“Okay, go and play.”
“Quee!”
Gian kicked the sand and flew to Char, who is a few dozen meters away, in a flash.
“You’re here, Birdcat! Let’s race to the other side!”
“Queee!”
We watched for a while as Char and Gian swam away.
“By the way, did you hear about Claire’s birthday?”
“Did you get an invitation too?”
“I did.”
Eugenie is the daughter of a neighboring territory. No matter how selfish Claire is, it would be rude if she did not send her an invitation.
“She also sent one to Cedie, right?”
“Well……”
“You look depressed.”
“Claire is mean after all. You probably don’t like her either, do you?”
“Yeah, she’s especially mean to me after all.”
“I thought so.”
Claire has always hated Eugenie. The treatment may be worse than it was for me.
“But I guess that’s because I’m on good terms with Cedie.”
“You mean, because you’re my friend?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s jealousy.”
I couldn’t swallow the meaning of her words.
“What do you mean by jealousy?”
“You really don’t get it? I hate Claire, but I’m starting to feel a bit sorry for her.”
“Why?”
“Think for yourself, I can’t say it.”
I’m not a simpleton, so I understand what Eugenie is trying to say in this context.
Does that mean Claire has a crush on me?
But….., is that really possible?
Claire and I are uncle and niece after all. Besides, would you hide the shirt of someone you like, deliberately bump into them, or say bad things about them? I’ve even been splashed with water while I was sleeping.
Eugenie must have been mistaken after all.
“But Eugenie, what do you think should I give her as present?”
“Hmm.… I guess something to wear would be the most common, right? Other things would be toys, books, perfume, etc.”
“But I’m sure she’ll complain no matter what I give her.”
We smiled wryly at each other.
“Claire is that kind of girl, and yeah, she’s a bit of a jerk too.”
“What is Eugenie giving?”
“Little things, like hats and gloves. But she’ll probably never wear what I gave her.”
It’s hard to give a gift when you know it won’t be appreciated.
The birthday party is still a long way off, so I decided to take my time and think about it a little more.
✲✲✲
At the residence of Earl Dantes in Luidas, the capital of the Kingdom of Floodland
At dinner that night, Claire’s birthday party was the topic of conversation.
Claire’s mother, Meralda, had irritated Claire by asking her a question that she had repeated over and over again.
“Hey Claire, are you sure you want to have your birthday party at the estate? Maybe it would be better to have it at Luidas? You can still change it now.”
“Come on, it’s been a while since I’ve seen the ocean at the estate!”
“But if you do it in Luidas, you can invite your friends from the academy. And we can also invite nobles……”
“You’re so persistent!”
“But….”
With a weary face, Alexei cut off the seemingly endless conversation between the mother and daughter.
“That’s enough. This birthday will be celebrated in the domain. I’ve already sent out the invitations. In any case, I intend to throw a grand party worthy of the eldest daughter of the Dantes family.”
Claire put down her fork with a sullen look on her face.
“Speaking of the Dantes family, did you invite Uncle Paul and Cedie?”
“I did. There would be no way that my relatives would be absent. You may not like it though.”
“Not really….”
The rift between Claire and Cedie is well known within the Dantes family. But that wasn’t Claire’s intention.
She had been picking on Cedie since she was little, and before she knew it, people around her had come to believe that she hated him. But the truth is that it is not the case at all.
Claire was just doing all that because she wanted Cedie’s attention. It wasn’t until recently that she realized that he was her first love.
When she returned home for the first time in a long while during spring break from school, she found that Cedie was no longer staying in the mansion. The sense of loss at that time was immeasurable.
She hopes that this time they would finally make up and change the situation. Whatever it was, she wanted to reconcile with Cedie through this party, and that was Claire’s secret wish in her heart.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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Attack of the tsundere cousin!
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