For My Birthday, I Was Gifted Five Husbands - Chapter 177

Magnus Napier was, by all accounts, a model blue-blood heir.

He believed he should serve as an example to others, and he regarded anyone who failed to meet that standard with icy disdain. Norton and Livingston included, for the record.

So showing up at someone’s house without so much as an appointment was… well—

“I’ve lost my mind.”

Magnus muttered to himself the entire way. Even the servant accompanying him kept glancing over nervously, as if worried his young master had finally snapped.

“I really have. I’ve completely lost it.”

“Um… sir, shall I tell the driver to turn back?”

“What? Have you gone mad too?”

Magnus snapped, scowling in a way that was uncharacteristic of him. Charging into the Norton estate just to see Eugenie Norton might be insanity. But not seeing her in this situation felt even worse.

“Go straight to the Norton estate.”

“Y–yes, sir.”

The automobile changed course, but as they drew closer, Magnus dragged a hand down his face as if slapping himself awake.

“Damn it.”

“Sir, is something wrong?”

“I didn’t even bring a bouquet.”

“…Pardon?”

“How am I supposed to know what kind of flowers she likes?”

“Well, perhaps—”

“Daisies? Maybe? But who brings that as a confession bouquet?”

He’d seen daisy embroidery on her socks or cardigans before, sure. But for a once-in-a-lifetime confession, wasn’t that pitifully inadequate?

Besides, was there even a shop selling daisies? It wasn’t the season for flowers in the first place.

“Haaah…”

Magnus covered his face and sighed—utterly unlike himself. His thoughts were a complete mess. Somehow, the prospect of confessing terrified him more than the future where he might die grotesquely from petrification.

…Watching this memory unfold, Eugenie herself nearly fainted.

“W–wait. Napier was coming to my house?”

When was this—when he was eighteen?

Was it after her mother died and she moved out on her own?

“No, that was near graduation…!”

Which meant this was back when she still lived at the Norton estate. And yet—she had no memory of ever greeting Magnus there.

“Then that means…”

Sure enough.

Having stormed over in a reckless burst of emotion, Magnus was promptly informed that the Miss wasn’t home.

“…She’s at Wilson’s Bookshop.”

“Yes, Sir Napier. Shall I send word to the Miss?”

“Ah… um.”

For the first time, Magnus let out an awkward, embarrassed cough. Fear of death had apparently wiped all basic manners from his mind, so much so that even the servants were now looking at him like he’d lost his senses.

“I can’t very well just wait inside all day…”

But if he didn’t see her today, it felt like this once-in-a-lifetime courage would vanish forever. Which meant there was only one option left.

He was about to turn back when a woman approached from behind the Norton servant.

“Is there a guest?”

“Ah—yes, Madam. Someone has come to see the Miss.”

“Oh my… Eugenie? Ah, is it Carter…?”

The woman’s voice alone sounded dry and brittle. He knew it was rude to think so, but he couldn’t help it. When a chestnut-haired woman draped in a shawl emerged unsteadily, Magnus hurriedly removed his hat and bowed.

‘That must be her mother.’

He could tell at once. Eugenie would probably look just like this when she was older—except where Eugenie was vivid, this woman looked like a flower drained of all moisture.

‘She doesn’t look well.’

Magnus prided himself on his sharp eye. This wasn’t the look of an ordinary illness.

Whether it was intuition or simply that his own fear of death had made him sensitive to such signs—he couldn’t say.

But first things first. He offered a polite greeting. No matter how much higher the Napier family stood in rank, he was still addressing a peer’s mother.

“Good evening, Mrs. Norton.”

“Oh? You are…?”

“I’m Magnus of the Napier family. I attend the Academy with your daughter.”

“Ah…”

Theodora Norton nodded slowly. Whether she truly recognized him or was merely being courteous was unclear. But at last, a hint of life returned to her face.

“…So you’re a Napier.”

Yet it was more than just vitality. A faint glint appeared in her amber eyes. What was previously dull, was now darkly alive.

As though she were calculating something he couldn’t possibly know.