Time passed diligently.

During that time, Charlotte learned to toddle around on her own and finally became able to call her father.

In truth, her pronunciation was slurred, sounding more like “Baa,” but Jackal was satisfied with just that.

The first time she said “papa,” Jackal was so moved that tears streamed down his face.

And that day, Perus had to hear Jackal mention Charlotte saying “papa” at least a hundred times.

It didn’t stop there—Jackal boasted to everyone he met about Charlotte saying “papa,” until there wasn’t a single person in the knight order who didn’t know about it.

“Charl, see you later.”

“Baa! (Papa!)”

“Yes, Charl.”

A bright smile spread across Jackal’s face.

After lingering reluctantly for quite some time, he finally climbed into the carriage only after Yvonne patted his backside, insisting he absolutely could not work late today.

“Jackal, you absolutely must not be late. Understood?”

“I understand. Even if the Emperor summons me, I’ll just come home.”

“Take care on your way.”

Yvonne, holding Charlotte in her arms, waved her hand.

Charlotte also waved her hand along with Yvonne to wish him a safe journey.

After the carriage disappeared, Yvonne went back inside the mansion.

“Charl, shall we prepare for your birthday party now?”

“Uung!”

Theo quickly appeared at Yvonne’s side.

“The preparations are almost complete.”

“Good, I’ll go check myself.”

Since there was still plenty of time, Charlotte didn’t need to get ready just yet.

“Charl, stay with Janet.”

Charlotte wanted to see how the birthday party preparations were coming along, but there was nothing she could do about it.

“Young lady, you can look forward to the birthday party.”

Janet’s words made Charlotte’s expectations grow even more.

Yvonne headed to Lavender Hall with Theo.

Unlike when the Lavender Hall was first opened, it was now brilliantly decorated.

Since Charlotte’s birthday party had to be the best, everything was top quality.

“All the flowers are fresh, correct?”

“Yes, madam.”

Yvonne snapped her fingers, and her mana spread out and seeped into the flowers.

Now the flowers would not wilt until the party was over.

Just then, she noticed a slight stain on the tablecloth.

“Theo, replace all the tablecloths completely.”

“Understood.”

“Also, make sure we have more than enough food. The bottoms of the plates should not be visible.”

“Yes, madam.”

After giving various other orders, Yvonne went up to her room to get ready.

* * *

As evening fell, those who had received invitations entered the mansion one after another.

Their topic of conversation was, of course, Charlotte Riesta, the protagonist of this lavish birthday party.

“My goodness, are all these flowers real?”

“How can they look so fresh?”

The noble ladies examined every corner of Lavender Hall, eagerly evaluating everything.

Since Yvonne rarely even hosted tea parties, the ladies hurried around, thinking this might be their only chance to see the ducal residence.

“Golden candlesticks… And the tablecloth is incredibly soft.”

“I heard rumors that everything here is top quality, and it’s really true.”

The ladies could only look on with envious eyes at the flawless, perfect interior.

The hall quickly filled with people.

This was natural, given how many guests had been invited.

“Has anyone seen what the youngest lady looks like?”

“No, not yet. Being a child of the Monster Duke’s family, the youngest lady must surely be a monster too.”

Others nodded in agreement.

They never thought Charlotte would be ordinary to begin with.

Though she was still very young, they were certain she would be cold and aloof.

Both Jackal and Yvonne were like that, and Royan and Chesar were prickly and not at all gentle people.

“Still, I’m curious. I hear the Duke of Riesta dotes on his youngest daughter tremendously.”

“My son tells me that the Duke of Riesta talks about nothing but his daughter whenever he opens his mouth. And he does it with a smile, no less.”

The image of Jackal smiling while praising his daughter didn’t match at all, leaving people with puzzled expressions.

He was always expressionless, and even when he became the commander of the Emperor’s direct knight order, he didn’t smile at all.

Even when people congratulated him, he merely nodded briefly as if it were expected, and left abruptly without attending any celebration.

“Perhaps the Marquis misunderstood? That Duke Riesta smiling…”

“Actually, I didn’t see it myself either, so my son might have exaggerated a bit.”

At these words, people dismissed it as a false rumor, thinking, “That’s more like it.”

Just then, the firmly closed doors opened smoothly.

Instantly, people stepped back on both sides to create a path, and everyone’s gaze turned toward the door.

What they saw was a very small girl.

Her long pink hair was adorned with small diamond pins.

Dressed in a pale yellow dress, she looked just like a baby chick.

With her rosy cheeks and toddling gait.

She was adorable enough to strike everyone’s hearts directly.

They stared blankly at Charlotte.

Just then, as Charlotte was walking well, she stumbled slightly and her body tilted.

But before she could fall, someone caught her by the waist and lifted her up.

“Charl, you need to be careful.”

It was Jackal, who had been following right behind her.

He gave a quick kiss on Charlotte’s cheek as he held her in his arms and smiled.

“Gasp…!”

“Duke Riesta smiled!”

Seeing his smile for the first time, people rubbed their eyes and looked again, but the smile remained.

Charlotte giggled and hugged Jackal’s neck.

People stared at her with dazed expressions, captivated by her adorable smile.

They belatedly realized that Yvonne, Royan, and Chesar were following behind Jackal.

That’s how much everyone’s attention was focused on Charlotte.

Of course, Jackal was very pleased with this reaction.

Just as he had expected, the nobles were so enchanted by Charlotte’s cuteness and loveliness that they couldn’t regain their composure.

“My goodness, she’s so cute…”

“How can she be so adorable? Look at that pink hair. It’s just like cotton candy.”

“And those bright light green eyes are the complete opposite of what I imagined.”

People whispered eagerly as they watched Charlotte from behind.

Jackal slowly climbed the steps to the platform while holding Charlotte.

‘Wow…’

Charlotte looked around in amazement.

Everything was sparkling.

Gorgeous flowers, sweet music, and eye-catching dresses.

Seeing her taking in the sights, Jackal spoke in a gentle voice.

“Charl, do you like it?”

The family heads’ eyes lit up at the relaxed atmosphere.

They usually couldn’t bring up business matters easily, but now they felt they might be able to navigate conversations smoothly.

Among them, family heads with young sons were planning to naturally bring up the topic of engagement.

If they spoke well, they would gain the massive backing of the Riesta ducal family.

Whether he knew their intentions or not, Jackal began to speak.

“Thank you all for coming to our Charl’s birthday party.”

The smile still hadn’t left his face.

His face was handsome even when expressionless, but with a smile, it seemed to radiate light.

Thanks to this, unmarried young ladies who had accompanied their fathers were blushing as they looked at Jackal.

Yvonne slowly shifted her gaze and noticed the young ladies staring at Jackal.

The young ladies felt Yvonne’s gaze and their eyes met hers.

Startled by her cold look, they hurriedly turned their heads away and fled from their spots.

Yvonne turned her head back as if nothing had happened and looked at Charlotte.

Charlotte, who was in Jackal’s arms, reached out toward Yvonne when she saw her.

Sorry to Jackal, but being held by Yvonne was actually more comfortable.

“Charl, do you want to come to mama?”

Yvonne spoke in a soft, affectionate voice as she took Charlotte in her arms.

Jackal momentarily looked disappointed but quickly erased the expression and spoke again.

“I hope everyone leaves knowing how cute and lovely our Charl is.”

People blinked at these completely unexpected words.

Jackal simply grinned broadly as he looked at Charlotte in Yvonne’s arms, regardless of whether people were confused.

After the greeting was awkwardly concluded, the next order of business was the presentation of gifts.

Charlotte firmly gripped her rattle and carefully examined each person who approached.

‘Perhaps the child the deity mentioned might come here.’

From a quick glance around, she didn’t see any children, but it might be a grown adult.

‘Since the deity is very old, they might call even adults children.’

A man approached with a grinning smile.

“Duke, this is a very rare fabric imported from the east…”

“I’m not the one receiving gifts.”

“Pardon?”

The man blinked at Jackal’s words.

“Today’s protagonist is not me but our lovely daughter, Charl.”

“Ah, yes, yes. Of course! Haha.”

The man turned to look at Charlotte with an awkward smile.

Charlotte made eye contact with the man, but felt nothing special.

‘It seems this person isn’t the one.’

Once she realized he wasn’t the person the deity had mentioned, her interest immediately dropped.

“Greetings, My Lady. I am Marquis Lizan Everly.”

Now she had no interest in whatever Lizan was saying.

Not noticing Charlotte’s disinterest, Lizan began explaining enthusiastically.

“It’s very soft, excellent at repelling water, and will never tear. And…”

She pretended to listen out of politeness, but it was boring.

Just then, she spotted Royan’s hair in her line of sight.

She carefully reached out to touch it, and Royan slightly tilted his head to make it easier for Charlotte to touch.

Seeing that Charlotte’s attention was not directed at him at all, beads of cold sweat ran down Lizan’s forehead.

In the end, despite his bold ambitions, he had no choice but to finish weakly and withdraw.