Chapter 396 - Lilia’s Birthday, Job Details, And The Beginning Of A New Journey

With his goal complete, Marcus thanked Aria for her time, and all the help she had provided.

After that, she warped him back to the entrance, and he went on his way, heading back home.

…

Days passed by quickly, as Marcus went to the forge to help out Thabon while he could, taking some of the workload from his master.

Then when the time came Marcus attended Clarisa and the other new knights farewell party, giving his best wishes to one of the first friends he made in the capital city.

And finally, the day of Lilia's birthday had arrived.

This was the last thing Marcus had on his agenda before he left to find the Great Spirit of Nature Forlorieous, and he was going to make the most of it.

So, getting up early, Marcus went to the kitchen an began preparing Lilia's birthday breakfast that she had every year.

'And it is done. Hehehe, this year it is going to taste even better.' Marcus thought as he stared at the simple meal he had just prepared.

However, as simple as it was, this time Marcus used his higher cooking skill and knowledge to bring out the best of each part of the meal.

For the goat sausage he had used a slightly different spice blend that paired better with the goat. And for the honeyed porridge he used the small amount of the tunnel bee honey he had left as a sweetener.

Satisfied with his work, Marcus quickly ran up to Lilia's room to wake her up.

But when he got up to her room, he found she was already awake, and had a sending stone in her hand.

"Thank you Alaric, and I cannot wait to see you later today." 

Lilia then put the sending stone down and had a big smile on her face.

"Oh, now where did you get that from Lilia?" Marcus said, wondering where she might have gotten that sending stone.

The one he had given her only went one way to the twin that he had in his possession, so he knew that this one was a different one.

Looking up with a guilty expression, Lilia instinctively hid the sending stone since Marcus had used an accusing tone.

Seeing this Marcus immediately felt bad since he just felt like teasing Lilia a bit, but now she thought he might be upset with her.

"Sorry Lilia, you are not in any trouble. I was just playing around a bit. So would you mind telling me where you got that."

Nodding her head, Lilia told Marcus that she got it from Alaric as an early birthday present so that the two could still talk to each other over school breaks, and that just now he had called to wish her happy birthday.

"I see, so he beat me to it. And here I thought I would be the first to tell you." Marcus said almost defeatedly.

Getting a bit frantic, Lilia pushed against Marcus who had slumped over on her bed dramatically, saying that he was still the first to see her in person.

Hearing this Marcus began smiling and sat up abruptly and gave Lilia a hug while saying, "Happy Twelfth Birthday Lilia."

After that, Marcus brought Lilia downstairs where they enjoyed their meal together, and Marcus was happy to see the smile on her face as she ate the nostalgic meal.

"Okay, now let us get ready for your party." Marcus said as they finished up eating.

Once the two of them had changed clothes and Marcus had gathered up Lilia's presents, the two of them got into the carriage and began making their way to the Skalbeck estate.

When they arrived, Marcus was impressed by their estate that was very large and lovely, showing the power and wealth of the family.

Entering onto the grounds, their carriage pulled up to the front of the estate, where Lilia's friends along with their parent were out their waiting for them.

As they exited their carriage, Lilia's friends all ran up to her and Marcus went to join the parents and give the kids some space.

"Lady Irene it is good to see you again." Viscount Skalbeck said taking the initiative since this was his estate.

A round of greetings was then had between Marcus and all of the other parents, and Bianca told Marcus that they would need to talk later.

"Well, now that we have all greeted each other how about we move inside. There will be some more guest coming in around an hour, but for now we can enjoy the festivities." Bianca said.

Going inside the estate, their group was led to back yard where the party was set up.

Once there, the kids began playing some games that were set up, while the adults sat down and had some drinks while talking amongst each other.

However, it was not long before more party guests arrived, as numerous noble children from Lilia's class had been invited.

Of course, some of these kids had been pressured by their parents, since this really was the first time that Lilia would be making any sort of public appearance, and along with her the elusive baronetess that was the talk of the nobles.

"No, you should not believe every rumor you hear."

"Oh, did the king say something weird when he confirmed my title?"

"I have not heard anything special from Princess Mrazivý about her engagement to Marquis Krenston's son begin broken off, or if she is in a relationship with Prince Ferrous."

"I am sorry but if you want me to make you something please go through the official channels and submit a request to the Blazegram Forge."

Being bombarded by curious nobles, Marcus had to answer question after question while being as polite as possible, which was tiring as hell.

At a certain point he even began thinking he would rather be fighting the blade armed demon again instead of talking to these nobles.

Still, he played nice and did his best to act the part he was playing to ensure that Lilia did not face any trouble.

And luckily as much as the noble kids had been instructed to get close to her, at least in the case of any of the boys, Lilia had a wall they could not get over.

When any of the young boys tried to get too close to Lilia, or began making subtle moves on her, Alaric would step in and help her out.

'Well, it looks like they have gotten even closer.' Marcus thought with a smile.

Seeing Alaric sticking by Lilia here, his impression of the kid was growing. And he could see the smile on Lilia's face whenever he was with her, telling him that he made her happy.

Soon the time for Lilia to open her presents was upon them and everyone quieted down while Lilia took center stage.

Though unlike in a normal party instead of Lilia opening the gifts, a number of the servants for the Skalbeck family opened them for her.

Gift after gift was opened up and shown to Lilia. 

Some of the gifts were pieces of jewelry, others were books, and some where fine sets of popular games that were played in the kingdom.

However, one gift stood out among all of the others, and that was set of mithril bracelets.

Yet these were not normal bracelets as they had a pattern running down them, showing they had been recognized by the system.

Seeing this many of the nobles gasped and wondered who would get such an expensive gift for a child.

In fact, even for a very close friend this would be considered and overbearing gift by most, and from anyone else, it was an obvious ploy to curry favor.

Yet, everyone's confusion vanished when they saw Marcus approach Lilia and say, "How do you like your gift."

"I love it Lilia said."

She then activated the bracelets and her gauntlets popped out and wrapped around her hands.

Smiling Marcus was happy to see that it had worked.

It had been very difficult to remake Lilia's gauntlets and add this new enchantment to them, but now she could keep them on her at all times and deploy them at a moment's notice.

Though even now that the mystery of the person that had given Lilia such an expensive and rare gift had been cleared up, many still thought it was inappropriate 

It was quite unusual to give such a young child such powerful weapons that they probably could not use properly and could make them a target.

But those few with appraisal skills that had seen Lilia's level knew better, as they could see that this twelve-year-old girl was level thirty-two.

Eventually the party began to wind down as the day grew later, and the guests slowly but surely left until it was just the core group that remained.

"Lady Irene, I think now would be an ideal time to talk if you are available." Bianca said to Marcus now that the party was all but over.

Nodding his head, Marcus followed Bianca back into the manor and to a private room.

"Now the king said that you would agree to be the representative of the kingdom to my city, but I would like to hear your conformation personally."

"Very well. But first if I could ask, why did you request me specifically? I do not have any diplomatic experience, and I know next to nothing about your culture."

Smiling Bianca said, "The reasons are simple. You do not have any political allegiances, you have no animosity towards my race, and most importantly you are practically a member of the family."

Hearing this Marcus looked a bit confused, and asked Bianca to elaborate on that last part.

"Surely you noticed how close the two of them have gotten. They already seem almost inseparable. Also, Alaric has already begged me and his father to set up a meeting with you to arrange marriage talks. And while under normal circumstances I probably would have done so, I did not want to upset you as my mother had."

Shrugging his shoulders, Marcus said, "I already told Lilia that she was free to do as she liked. Neither of us were born nobles so I am not going to force her to anything she does not want. But if she decides to marry Alaric after she becomes an adult, I will support her completely."

Nodding her head, Bianca agreed with Marcus' proposal, and said, "That is perfectly fine. Oh, but there is one last thing I want to ask you. Is it true tat you are a spirit?"

A bit taken aback by this, Marcus hesitated for just a moment too long before answering and Bianca figured out the truth before he even said anything.

"So, it is true. I honestly thought it was a baseless rumor, but your silence speaks volumes."

Sighing Marcus said, "Since I doubt any denying will convince you otherwise. Yes, it is true, I am a spirit. But before you ask, yes Lilia is human, and is my sister. It is complicated but I did used to be a human before becoming what I am today."

Marcus then told Bianca a sort of true version of what happened, but left out anything to do with his identity as Marcus.

"So is this going to be a problem." Marcus asked Bianca.

However, contrary to what he believed Bianca said, "No, this is actually quite good."

Tilting his head in bewilderment, Marcus had no idea what Bianca was getting on about.

And seeing this expression Bianca said, "As I am sure you know, my people and the kingdom of Boreal have a rocky relationship. There are still many in Glenn Reota that remember the failed invasion and loath humans. However, with you being a spirit you will be more openly accepted."

Understanding Bianca's point of view, Marcus asked her for the details that the position of representative entailed.

"Oh, it is nothing difficult. You will mostly be there to bridge the gap between our people and present the kingdom's interests to our council. There will be a meeting here, a dinner there. You will need to live in the city for at least part of the year as well, but you will not be shackled there. Even as an ambassador I make sure to go home when I can. And if relations start to improve further, it will be easier for me to bring my own family back with me."

After that Marcus and Bianca hammered out the details for his new position, and ultimately deiced that he would come to Glenn Reota and stay there during part of next spring to get everything situated.

"Thank you for agreeing to everything. I know with your help, that the kingdom and Glenn Reota can once again regain the strong relationship they once had."

With their business concluded, Marcus and Bianca rejoined the party, which was pretty much over, and soon went their separate ways.

"So did you have fun." Marcus asked to Lilia as they began their ride back home

Smiling and nodding her head, Lilia told him that she had really enjoyed it, and that she could not wait for next year.

Once they had arrived home, both Marcus and Lilia went to their rooms, and got some much-needed rest after the long day of partying and socializing.

The two of them then spent the next couple of days together playing some of the games Lilia had received as presents and enjoying each other's company, until it was time for Marcus to set off on his journey to meet with Forlorieous.