[Does Edward regret not being more careful?]
[His arrival was extremely abrupt.
He could clearly see the surprise on the faces of those who seemed to be attending the banquet to celebrate his birthday.]
[Only after Elysia’s “Happy Birthday” did a somewhat disorganized chorus of blessings reach him.]
[And that was all.]
[After offering their perfunctory well-wishes, everyone returned to their own conversations.
Even Elysia was quickly surrounded by several people and had no time to spare for him.]
===
Edward’s right foot froze mid-step.
His right hand, raised to wave in greeting, suddenly felt heavy.
From within the crowd he could clearly see the perfect curve of Elysia’s lips.
Her smile carried no trace of dissatisfaction or anxiety.
It was a beauty that came straight from the heart.
She smiled without showing her teeth, soft and enchanting.
Though she was still young, her charm was utterly irresistible.
The slightest unintentional expression from her could make people understand why kings throughout history might lose everything for a beautiful woman’s smile.
It was a smile capable of moving anyone’s heart.
She was a young woman so perfect she seemed almost like a fairy.
Even wars would surely cease in the face of such a pure and flawless smile.
Only those completely devoid of humanity and morality could ignore it.
Yet at this moment Edward felt little joy.
He had seen this smile far too many times.
It appeared every single day of his life, directed not only at him but at everyone she met.
Anyone who encountered Elysia could enjoy that same warm smile.
No matter how exquisite something is, when it is given away so freely and without limit, it eventually loses its special value.
Especially when there are no restrictions of gender, age, occupation, or appearance.
She showed kindness and goodwill to everyone.
She never treated her smile as something rare or precious to be hidden.
In the end, none of it was truly meant for him alone.
Edward’s good mood vanished instantly.
His fingers clenched into a fist, then slowly relaxed when he realized there was nothing to strike at.
Looking at the scene before him, he felt as though he had returned to his life in the small town.
Elysia was kind to every resident, yet she always seemed to pay the least attention to him, as if he was merely someone she did not dislike.
Especially now, watching his own birthday banquet being taken over by strangers.
Perhaps he was overthinking things.
The surprise they had prepared might have been intended for everyone.
After all, it had never been stated that this was his personal celebration.
It had simply been left with enough suspense to build expectations, but the final result felt somewhat disappointing.
And even this disappointment was essentially the result of overthinking.
In a sense, this was simply normal.
A normal feeling that his place in the world was no different from that of any stranger on the street.
He watched the young woman surrounded by countless admirers.
He watched her effortlessly handling one fervent fan after another.
Edward ultimately decided not to leave rudely. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Since this was a social gathering and he had been invited, he might as well try interacting with the other guests.
Suppressing the uncomfortable feeling in his chest, Edward looked around.
His gaze unexpectedly landed on a striking young woman standing alone in a quiet corner.
She looked unique and somewhat out of place among the lively crowd.
That strange young woman seemed to be hesitating about something.
Her high-top boots, which reached her calves, tapped restlessly against the floor.
Because she was also being ignored, Edward’s gaze lingered for a moment.
When her familiar face finally came into full view, recognition dawned on him.
“You are…”
“The young lady from this morning?”
Edward furrowed his brows slightly.
His dark eyes showed clear confusion.
It was just a change in perspective.
He was not so unobservant that he would fail to recognize her.
That distinctive dark golden hue alone was impossible to forget.
The only question was why she was here.
She clearly carried an aura that preferred solitude.
So why was she in such a lively and noisy place?
At least now he had the chance to return her hat.
Holding the top hat in his hand, Edward walked toward the secluded corner without hiding his approach.
In the quiet area, which felt like an entirely different world from the noisy banquet, the sound of his boots on the wooden floor was clearly audible.
Vill-V had not expected Edward to come over.
When she heard the footsteps and lifted her head, her pinkish-gray eyes filled with visible panic the moment she recognized him.
“Eh… Edward?”
“Why are you here?”
Vill-V instinctively lowered her head, retreating into her usual shell of avoidance.
Yet a small ripple of curiosity remained.
She slightly raised her beautiful eyes.
Up close, her expression was easy to read.
It was pure confusion.
“Though I may not look like a genius, I am not forbidden from being here.”
Edward’s voice carried a hint of lingering irritation.
The young woman before him possessed a beauty that left one speechless.
“No… No, it’s not that… Mr.
Edward, aren’t you the protagonist of this birthday banquet?”
Her long khaki-colored hair, now free from the hat, framed her face.
She looked surprisingly well-behaved and a little disheveled.
She was genuinely asking.
If only her voice had not been so soft and sweet.
“Don’t be so flustered.
I am not irritable or quick to anger.
I would not get upset over a single comment.”
Edward calmly shook his head.
His words sounded even, though his slightly clenched fingers and the wrinkled top hat in his grip told another story.
It looks more like a social gathering or a fan meet-and-greet.”
“If you came expecting a proper birthday party, then you must have taken a wrong turn.
There does not seem to be another venue hosting one nearby, does there?”
“Eh?”
She looked as though she had been asked a question she had never considered.
Vill-V even dared to lift her head fully, revealing the emotions swirling in her starry eyes: confusion, bewilderment, and embarrassment.
[But… Elysia was indeed preparing a birthday celebration for you…]
Eyes are the windows to the soul.
Some people can hide their emotions perfectly, but the young woman in front of him clearly did not belong to that group.
At least not at this moment.
The feelings in her silver-gray pupils were completely genuine.
If she had not realized from the start that Edward was the host of the banquet, the dreamlike yet embarrassing encounter from that morning would never have happened.
Because her earlier confusion had stemmed from wondering why the host was so late to his own party.
The group for this event had been created several months in advance.
That incredibly charismatic girl had been fretting over every detail, all in preparation for Edward’s birthday.
It was precisely out of curiosity and doubt that Vill-V had tried to get a closer look, which led to her hat being blown off and picked up by Edward that morning.
To others, that scene must have looked incredibly romantic, like something straight out of a storybook.
But for Vill-V herself, it was nothing more than extreme embarrassment and shyness.
She was, at her core, a shy and self-effacing genius who needed to split her personality in order to interact confidently with the world.
Even at this social gathering, where most eyes were drawn to that flawless young woman, Vill-V still felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles.
If not for the aura she naturally gave off, she would probably have fled the moment anyone spoke to her.
And all of this endurance, all of this patience, was ultimately for Edward’s sake.
She did not want to maintain this state for another second.
Upon seeing that the protagonist, who was already late, not only failed to take his rightful place but instead came to talk with her, Vill-V’s confusion and a certain inexplicable emotion finally broke through her reclusiveness.
How annoying.
Is this how you celebrate your birthday?
This tiny complaint lingered until she heard the young man say, with an utterly oblivious expression:
“Where did you get the idea that this was a birthday banquet?
It looks more like a social gathering or a fan meet-and-greet.”
Something felt wrong.
Vill-V felt very wrong.
“Is that strange?”
Edward, on the contrary, looked even more confused.
He spread his hands.
“Did even one of them come over to congratulate me?”
“Even Elysia herself only said there would be a surprise tomorrow and asked me to participate.
Maybe she just wants to show me how many friends she has made.”
But… Elysia really was preparing this for you…
As an undisputed genius in this world, Vill-V was an existence that almost the entire planet could not rival or equal.
Even if she divided her talent and self into eight parts, any single piece would still be enough to maintain a level of genius unimaginable to ordinary people.
Unlike those who were nominally geniuses but, by comparison, were no different from ordinary people.
How could such a young woman fail to see Elysia’s preparations?
And how could she fail to feel the thoughtfulness behind them?