“By the way, Little Fox, your birthday is coming up soon, right?”
“Birthday?” Liuli was suddenly surprised.
Her birthday was indeed approaching. She had been so busy with various matters lately that she had almost forgotten about it.
Thinking about it now, her birthday really was just around the corner. “That’s right. Serveyia, you really do know everything.”
“Yes. Rather, this is your first birthday since meeting me, so I want to do something for you, Little Fox.”
Talking about birthdays, especially birthdays celebrated with friends… honestly, Liuli had almost forgotten what that felt like.
Aside from a few special occasions, the vast majority of her birthdays in life had been spent with family.
The feeling of spending a birthday with friends was actually somewhat unfamiliar to Liuli.
So, hearing that Serveyia planned to celebrate her birthday was genuinely a happy thing for Liuli.
“Although I’m very happy that you’re willing to do these things for me, it’s just my birthday. Serveyia, you really don’t need to do anything special for me.”
“Even if I don’t, someone else certainly will. Little Fox, you are now the Princess of Saint Laia. You must be prepared to be in the spotlight, isn’t that right?”
“But…”
“Little Fox, this is something you must do as a princess. It has nothing to do with anything else. Those in high positions, while enjoying certain privileges, must also give something in return. You should understand this point, Little Fox.”
“Even if it’s not my true intention?”
“True intention? Little Fox, in this world, who can guarantee that everything they do is of their own true intention? As the heir, I too must make sacrifices. Isn’t that so?”
“So, does this have anything to do with what you plan to do for me?”
“Of course it does. If there isn’t any convincing event or activity, Little Fox, you will need to spend that day with everyone. Would that be okay with you?”
“Well… that probably wouldn’t be good, I guess.”
Although Liuli had always hoped to have friends celebrate her birthday, that was based on the premise that those people were her friends.
The thought of a group of strangers celebrating her birthday… Liuli couldn’t even imagine how awkward that scene would be.
“So, if you, Little Fox, truly have something you wish to achieve, you can tell me. As your birthday gift, fulfilling a small request of yours is no problem at all.”
“Does it have to be only on my birthday?”
Liuli was a bit puzzled by Serveyia’s statement.
After all, Serveyia’s words made it seem like such special treatment was only for her birthday.
But Liuli knew very well that Serveyia would be good to her even if it wasn’t her birthday.
Fulfilling requests… it wasn’t something that only happened on her birthday.
“Naturally not. A birthday is different. On this day, Little Fox, you can make some different requests.”
Different requests… Serveyia saying this really made Liuli’s imagination run wild.
If she made some strange requests at this time, would Serveyia agree?
But, come to think of it, Serveyia had indeed promised her many things before, and some of those promises hadn’t been fulfilled yet.
If she made more requests now, would it even be meaningful?
“Just in case, can I ask you, Serveyia? Are those requests I made before still valid?”
“Of course they are. Little Fox, you don’t think I’m the type of person who makes promises to others and then forgets about them, do you?”
“Uh, of course not. It’s just… I feel like you promised me some things before. So, I was thinking, shouldn’t we fulfill those first?”
Liuli wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to say this, but somehow, she felt it was better to fulfill existing promises before making new requests.
“So, Little Fox, you want me to complete my previous promises first?”
“Generally, people would think that way, right? Shouldn’t you finish one thing before starting another?”
“In that case, let’s start fulfilling your promises from today. The first step… swordsmanship.”
“That’s fine. After we get home?”
Swordsmanship… it seemed she had brought this up with Serveyia back when she was learning magic.
She wasn’t suited for physical arts and had no talent for swordsmanship, which was why she was curious about what real swordsmanship looked like.
Performance swordsmanship, practical swordsmanship… they couldn’t possibly be the same, right?
But without an actual opponent to practice with, it would probably just be an ordinary sword performance, wouldn’t it?
“Yes. After we buy things for You, we’ll find a suitable time. I can give you a demonstration. However, let me say this upfront: swordsmanship may not be as beautiful as you imagine. It’s simply a practical skill. In terms of aesthetic appeal, one could say it has almost none.”
“It shouldn’t be that bad, right?”
“Although it isn’t, I believe treating the art of killing, the art of violence, as an art form is itself a form of desecration and slander. Those who treat such matters with a frivolous attitude will one day be hurt by it in return. This is something you, Little Fox, couldn’t possibly not know, right?”
“If that’s the case, you shouldn’t have agreed to it in the first place…”
Liuli didn’t know what kind of mood she was in now.
Casually agreeing at the start, making her look forward to it, and then now throwing out this reason to lower her expectations… she thought this was also part of Serveyia’s mischievous side.
Even so, she found herself unexpectedly not angry.
Was it because the other person was Serveyia?
Or was it… Liuli looked at Serveyia’s back, momentarily unsure how to express herself.
Serveyia had pulled her out of her somewhat dull life, shown her many things, and taken many ‘first times’ from each other.
Although this feeling, this kind of thing, wouldn’t matter no matter who it was with.
But, how should she put it… at times like this, at precisely these moments, who was by her side was actually very important.
In other words, pondering those other possibilities was meaningless.
Serveyia was by her side now, and that was enough.
Having someone to be with her when she faced difficulties was truly fortunate. Yes, very fortunate.
“After all, with your beauty, Little Fox, it’s nearly impossible for anyone to refuse your requests. I think anyone would instinctively agree to them. And then, now, realizing that the request made so confidently back then isn’t really all that admirable… now I want to slightly lower your expectations. This way, you can probably understand my approach, Little Fox, right?”