Leave the Villainous Second Male Lead Alone - Chapter 2.12

“You’ll need to experiment a lot. Get whatever supplies you need and use them freely. Buy some delicious food, too, and spend as you like.”

“This is too much, my lord.”

“You asked for it. This is a gift for you, Susan. You don’t need to return it.”

I smiled playfully, narrowing my eyes. Susan accepted the badge with a dazed expression.

“Thank you, my lord. I’ll be sure to visit you at the mansion soon.”

“Can I trust you, Susan?”

This was just the beginning. Once Susan starts receiving royalties from the crystal glass business, she’ll be wealthy enough to purchase a small domain under her name.

Susan’s crystal products will become a huge trend sweeping the empire. I planned to bring this trend forward by 15 years and make it a major industry in the Winnyates domain.

A few months later, my 13th birthday approached.

I asked my father for the most grand and extravagant birthday party possible. Not just children, but most of the empire’s high-ranking nobles were invited. My father looked somewhat puzzled.

“Of course, I’ll host the largest banquet in the empire. But why such a large event, Etienne? You don’t usually like big gatherings.”

“I want to show off the new chandelier I had installed in the hall. Everyone will be jealous, don’t you think?”

“Haha, you wanted to brag about it? It’s your chandelier; do as you please.”

My father laughed heartily and agreed to my request.

Recently, Susan had completed the technique for crafting crystal glass. With a high refractive index, the crystal glass shone far more brightly than the typical glass produced in the Eastern Continent. Susan, with her delicate craftsmanship, made the crystal glass beautifully and presented a large and splendid crystal chandelier to the Count’s family.

The chandelier wasn’t just a lighting decoration; it was a dazzling piece of art. My father was overjoyed and generously rewarded Susan, providing her with a spacious and comfortable workshop to continue her work. Since then, Susan has created various crystal glass products.

One day, Susan carved a crystal dog for Calisto. Watching Calisto happily hold the sparkling dog, not knowing what to do with it, was incredibly cute. After that, Calisto seemed to have taken a liking to Susan, often visiting her workshop without me.

“Even the crystal dog Susan gave to Calisto was lovely. You really brought in a talented person.”

It seemed my father had the same thoughts. I smiled for a moment as I remembered Calisto carrying the dog sculpture everywhere.

A few days later, my birthday banquet was held. Nobles invited by the Count gathered at the Winnyates mansion. One side of the banquet hall was piled high with birthday gifts. However, I had no interest in the gifts brought by nobles I didn’t even know.

“My goodness. What’s that? Is that… a glass chandelier?”

Someone pointed toward the ceiling of the hall, marveling. The attention of the attendees shifted to the chandelier.

The chandelier that Susan had painstakingly crafted was of an unprecedentedly large size. Hundreds of glass candleholders shone dazzlingly from the ceiling. The sparkling white light of the crystal chandelier and the red glow from the candles created a fantastic atmosphere. The nobles were all staring up in awe, unable to say a word.

“To think they made such a magnificent chandelier with such expensive glass… Is the Winnyates family this wealthy?”

Glass was a luxury item that only high-ranking nobles could afford in this world. The size and number of glass windows in a noble’s mansion could indicate the family’s wealth. Additionally, such an enormous glass chandelier didn’t even exist in the Eastern Continent, a region known for glass production. It was no surprise that Susan’s work caught the attention of the nobles.

“I didn’t know glass could be used to make such large decorations. How did they do it?”

“I’ve never seen such a shining chandelier even in the Eastern Continent. It must be a special kind of glass.”

I chuckled while sipping strawberry juice. At times like this, I should have been drinking wine and toasting. But it was frustrating that I was only 13 years old.

Soon, birthday wishes became secondary. People surrounded the Count, asking how they could get such a crystal chandelier. My father, who noticed that no one was paying attention to me, seemed disappointed, but my original goal wasn’t to celebrate my birthday. I had gathered the empire’s high-ranking nobles to showcase a new product and gain free publicity, and the birthday banquet had done its job perfectly.

Now I just had to persuade my father to officially start the crystal glass business. I thought to myself that I should request a meeting tomorrow and looked around.

“Etienne, happy birthday.”

“Oh, Lawrence. Thank you.”

At some point, Lawrence had approached me and, with a bright smile, handed me a small gift box. The packaging, typical of the Empire’s top noble, Duke Armagnac, was luxurious. The wrapping paper had a texture similar to hanji, which was rare in this world, and could only be obtained from the Eastern Continent, where paper-making techniques were advanced. The fact that it was used for a child’s birthday gift was an extravagant touch.

As I fiddled with the gift box, I thought to myself.

“A paper business could work. Since we have to import it from the Eastern Continent, it would be good to produce it locally…”

Lawrence, noticing my distracted expression, gently asked.

“Etienne, aren’t you going to open it?”

“Huh? Oh, thank you. I’ll open it.”

Carefully peeling off the wrapping paper to avoid tearing it, I opened the box and was shocked.

Inside was a silver jewelry box with a large purple sapphire in the center. As I stared at it with wide eyes, Lawrence spoke in a kind voice.

“It’s a color that suits you, Etienne. Open it up. I hope you like what’s inside too.”

“Uh…”

I opened the jewelry box in a daze.

Inside the box were various jewels. Amethyst earrings, rings, and a necklace set sparkled brightly. I gasped. Even though it was a gift from Duke Armagnac, this was too much.

“Lawrence, I can’t accept this.”

“Huh? Why?”

Lawrence tilted his head innocently, then took a ring out of the box and held my hand.

“I specially ordered this one, thinking it would suit your eye color. See, it fits perfectly on your finger, right?”

“Still, this is too much.”

As Lawrence placed the ring on my finger, I mumbled. A child’s birthday gift with a full set of jewelry and a sapphire jewelry box? Duke Armagnac clearly cherished his only son, Lawrence, but this was over the top. Wasn’t this teaching him too much luxury at such a young age?

However, I couldn’t ignore the earnest look in Lawrence’s eyes as he gazed up at me, speaking softly.

“Please accept it. If you don’t, I can’t give it to anyone else. I’ll have to throw it away.”

“…Then I’ll return it to you on your birthday. And please, no more expensive gifts like this. I’m really grateful, but still…”

“Then I’ll just get a ring from you on my birthday. I love this design too!”

“…”

Lawrence’s eyes were brown, not purple, so it seemed odd to me that he ordered a purple gemstone. With a sigh, I glanced at Lawrence, who was happily grinning beside me.

“Looks like a couple’s ring, doesn’t it? Right?”

“Well, I guess…”

Lawrence was so kind to everyone, maybe that’s why Calisto became so obsessed with him. And yet, Lawrence seemed destined to end up with Calisto. I also couldn’t help but laugh at how this little one was talking about couple’s rings.

A few days later, after the banquet, Lawrence left with his father, Duke Armagnac. I spoke with the Gillos twins and Brinne for a while before I realized that Calisto hadn’t been seen since earlier. It was unusual for him to miss my birthday banquet. Puzzled, I looked around and Brinne pointed toward one corner of the hall.

“I saw Calisto earlier on that balcony. He didn’t want to come over when I invited him.”

“Calisto?”

“Yeah. He didn’t look too happy. Do you think something happened?”

That couldn’t be. Calisto wouldn’t have had any reason to be upset at my birthday banquet. My face stiffened instinctively, and Kevin tilted his head.

“He was around here earlier! He seemed serious from the start!”

“Earlier? When?”

“Just before, when Lawrence was giving you a gift… I saw him behind us!”

“…Really?”

The small child looked even smaller as he curled up. Feeling a sense of pity, I carefully approached and wrapped my arms around Calisto’s shoulders.

“Why are you here alone, little one?”

“Eek…! Bro?”

Calisto was so startled by my sudden approach that he pushed me away in a panic. I was equally taken aback by his intense reaction and quickly pulled my hand back.

“Calisto, what’s wrong? Is something happening?”

“No, it’s… Ah!”

The child hurriedly stood up. At that moment, I saw the object Calisto had been holding tumble to the ground. I heard a sharp “clink” as something broke. I hurriedly looked at the floor.

“No, don’t look!”

Calisto shouted in a trembling voice.

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