She thought her last conversation with the prince didn't mean anything special. A part of her was hoping that no one would be interested in her, at least not so soon.

But what is this?

She stared down at the letter sitting on the dining table, a frown settling in. After reading it twice, she was sure of it.

It's an engagement letter. Engagement.

"Who is it from?" Duke Corbet asked, emitting rather dark energy from his stiff figure.

"House Dahlia." The duchess had an expression similar to the duke, however she appeared a lot calmer.

"How should we deal with this? It's her first engagement letter!" Claude said, clenching his fist. "We can't let them take away my cute sister..."

Her father paused for a moment and said. "Let's burn it."

Burn...you mean the letter?

Claude nodded with the same level of enthusiasm. "Yes, I agree with you, father. This is the best option."

Huh? What part of it was good?

"No," her mother interjected, "I don't think that's a good idea."

Adelina looked at her mother with hopeful eyes, thinking that her mother would be rational at a time like this.

Then her lips stretched to a frightening smile.

"Since the sender must have a lot of guts to ask for our daughter, we should personally visit them and give a fitting response."

At loss for words, she didn't know who she should confront first. Father? Mother? Or her brother?

More importantly...

"I'm also here, you know," she let out a sigh, shaking her head at the sight of her family members. They were acting strange this morning, though she later found out from her maid that the origin of their problems was from the letter she received.

Judging by their actions, she was relieved they didn't want her to get engaged either. But she also couldn't let them react like that every time she received a letter. 

"I will send a letter of rejection to House Dahlia," she decided at last, sending them a firm look when they had a guilty expression on. "We shouldn't cause unnecessary arguments over an engagement offer. And don't threaten them, okay?"

"Okay..." they replied at the same time, dejected.

--------

"Really! What were they thinking!" she said, ranting in front of Fiona after telling her the whole story. After that incident, whenever she received a letter, they made sure to check the name of the sender before giving it to her.

It didn't matter how many times she warned them, it was like they didn't plan on listening!

Deciding she needed a break before she accidentally explodes on someone, she excused herself to visit Fiona instead.

Her best friend nodded while patting her back sympathetically. "It's okay, at least they haven't done anything...outside."

Adelina frowned at the thought. "Please don't jinx it. I'm getting worried about the upcoming gatherings."

Fiona squealed excitedly, sitting up straight from her seat. "Isn't his highness' birthday coming soon? The capital must be busy preparing for his birthday banquet."

She nodded, remembering the date of his birthday in one of her letters. "Fifteen of April, which is about three weeks from now."

"Do you think the royal family will hold a separate party for children?"

The banquet they were talking about were usually filled with adults and old nobles.

Nobles are usually invited to large-scale gatherings after they made their debut at their debutante ball. Since Adelina and Fiona are not adults yet, they would have to wait till they're eighteen to be able to attend.

On the other hand, smaller gatherings such as tea parties are more common for children; it's also easier for them to practice their social etiquette with their peers.

"It's hard to say...they never planned one."

The impression she got from Theodore was that he was neutral when it comes to celebrations, almost treating like it was a task he had to complete.

"But," Adelina paused, giving herself some time to think before adding, "it would be nice if we could celebrate his birthday properly."

There was a memory she couldn't forget. It was from the conversation they had a month ago.

<<Flashback>>

"Your highness, why won't you celebrate your birthday with others?"

This was a question that might sound like she brought it up suddenly, but she was thinking about it for a long time. When she thought of the people she had met so far, every one of them treasures their time and celebrates with their family on special occasions, yet the prince didn't seem to think it was normal to do so.

"I do."

"Not the one held for the people," she dismissed with a slight shake of her head, frowning, "Why won't you celebrate with your family? Or with your close ones? It's your birthday, and you're the crown prince, you can decide how you would want to celebrate. Holding a party or two won't be a problem." 

His eyes widened, as if he never considered that before.

"I..."

<<Flashback ended>>

She can only imagine what it's like to be surrounded by adults on his own birthday. Even though he doesn't say anything about it every time she asked, it must be awkward to celebrate with strangers each year.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the knocks on the door.

"You can come in," her friend said, and the butler stepped in. He tilted his head slightly to greet them. "I apologize for the sudden interruption, Milady and Lady Corbet. I have received an invitation for milady and would like to hand it right away."

The two girls then noticed the envelope in his hand. "The royal seal..." Fiona murmured, confused as she picked it up. The butler nodded in confirmation and left after he had completed his task.

"Fiona, are you alright?" Adelina asked after a while, seeing her friend being unusually quiet.

"Hey...Adelina, are you secretly a fairy? Or a genie that grants wishes?"

She laughed at the strange question. "No, of course not. Why would you ask that?"

"Because," Fiona answered, showing her the contents of the letter.

"I've just been invited to attend his highness' birthday party."

Adelina reached home after that. She was going to find Mary and ask if she received any letters, then she heard her brother's voice.

"Adelina, you're back earlier than I thought."

He was walking out of the guest room when she faced the direction of his footsteps.

"Fiona wasn't feeling well so our conversation ended quickly," she lied as she looked over his shoulder, still on the lookout for her maid.

He stared at her and nodded slowly. "Okay...Anyway, I was going to give it to you later before dinner, but here. You've got an invitation from the royal palace."

"Did you read the letter?" she said, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

He grinned, revealing a letter in his other hand that was clearly addressed to him. "Nope, this time, I've got one too."

"Claude..." She quickly picked up the envelope as if to forget her embarrassing moment. "I will read it in my room, thanks!"

She could hear the sound of her brother laughing loudly on her way.