"Ah, it's good to get outside every once in a while!" Esther exclaims while looking up at the sky.

"It's too bright," Sylvia complains while shielding her eyes from the sun.

I simply smile at the sight of the two girls.

It seems Sylvia had dressed up for the occasion, wearing a white sundress and a large hat. Her long white stockings covering her legs as she walked along the stone walkways through the city.

Esther seemed to have also dressed up, as she was wearing a large sun hat and a casual black jacket and pants with two daggers strapped to her back.

I had told the two to look out for some good shops since I had absolutely no clue on where to start.

One thing about 'Rebirth' is that its date scenes were extremely vivid when it came to personal interactions. You saw everything going on with the girl on the date with Aaron, you heard Aarons inner thoughts, however, mentions of shop names were just glossed over.

I'm not too bothered by it I guess, I get to see Sylvia and Esther interact with each other more because of it.

While we were at the castle, Esther immediately got along with Sylvia, noting how cute she was over and over.

Sylvia didn't seem to mind one bit, however, she did seem quite shy to interact at first.

"Raine!" Sylvia calls out, "This place looks good."

She pointed to a small, yet refined jewelry shop in front of her. A large window was placed beside the door allowing a look inside, which showed neatly stocked cases and walls of different types of jewelry.

"That looks great," I nodded at her suggestion and all three of us entered.

A cool breeze rushes through my body as I enter, the faint scent of lemon and lavender filling the air.

I look around to see the shop owner, who looked to be in his fifties wearing a dark blue striped suit. He had a long face with a thin mustache and a combover.

He seemed to be examining a ring with a magic tool.

As we enter, he looks up and gives a refined smile and bows, "Welcome, your highness. I hope you find whatever you need here."

After those words, he goes back to examining the ring.

I smile and begin walking around the shop, looking around for something nice, Sylvia and Esther right beside me.

My shoes clicked against the tile floor as I walked around examining the cases of the many different rings, earrings, and necklaces.

I finally stumble across a beautiful pair of translucent, ice blue stone earrings in the being held in a matte black box. I open the casing and pick up the box, disregarding the price tag dangling from it.

I carefully remove the two earrings from the box and walk over to Sylvia, who had been staring at me intently.

She widens her eyes in surprise as I lean in close to her face and carefully attach each earring to her ears one by one.

After I'm finished, I stand back up straight and smile while looking at her, "Those look great on you."

She feels at the earrings I had just placed on her and smiles lightly, her face reddening slightly, "Thank you, Raine."

The earrings suited her perfectly, highlighting her cool short silver hair and her icy personality. When I saw the pair, I knew they would be perfect for her.

I nod with a small smile and begin walking toward a necklace stand.

It was a silver necklace with a beautiful crimson stone as the centerpiece wrapped around the neck of the stand.

I carefully remove the necklace from the stand and undo the back of it. I turn to Esther and walk towards her.

"Could you please lean closer, Esther." I smile.

"F-for me? My prince, I do–"

"Please, Esther," I cut her off, "It's your last day, I would like to give you some things to remember it by."

At those words, Esther was unable to argue.

She nods hesitantly and leans forward.

I get closer to her face and begin to wrap the necklace around her small neck. Her soft, shoulder-length brown hair brushing against my gloved hands as I connect the back pieces together.

She's really cute, I think to myself as I pull away.

The silver necklace was perfectly fitted around her neck , the crimson stone highlighting her eyes beautifully.

Her face goes flush red momentarily, her eyes distant as she seemed lost in thought.

"Ah," She snaps back to reality, "I'll go pay the clerk for these using the allowance the queen granted."

With that, she quickly ran off to the front desk.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

To tell the truth, when we walked into the shop, I noticed the necklace had immediately caught her attention, yet she kept quiet for whatever reason. Was it because she didn't want to seem like a burden?

"Sylvia," I walked over to Sylvia, who had also seemed to be lost in thought for the moment, "do you know of any clothing shops around?"

We ended up spending the rest of the time shopping at different clothing stores, mainly for Sylvia and Esther.

Esther was extremely flustered, however, Sylvia and I managed to convince her to take the outfits before she leaves.

I also enjoyed the time because I got to play dress up with the two, seeing them in all kinds of different cute outfits before we finally left for the castle.

By the time we got back, the sun was beginning to set and nobility was already beginning to funnel into the castle ballroom, which was completely prepped and ready for tonight's event.

"I guess I can take these bags," Sylvia said while controlling the floating bags, "I can also help Lady Sylvia get dressed in my room."

"Yes," Sylvia nodded, "See you in a bit, Raine."

She waved me off with a small smile formed on her expressionless face and left with Esther.

I sigh as I climb up the staircase and make my way back to my room to get prepared for the party.

At times like this, I wished the twins were here to liven up the mood. Unfortunately, they went on an expedition a while ago to hunt a dragon or something that had shown up near the kingdom. It seems they won't be back until the geas ceremony, which is in about two months.

It saddens me a bit that they won't be here to celebrate with me, however, at least they wished me a happy birthday before they had left.

I open the door to my room and flick the light switch. A bright light shoots from a ball in the middle of the ceiling and I slide the closet door open.

I sigh as I run my fingers through my hair and begin looking for another outfit.

After about half and hour, I end up settling on a black turtleneck shirt with a white blazer and white dress pants.

I slip into the outfit and begin tying a pair of white sneakers I had also picked. Moving in front of the mirror, I begin buttoning up the blazer to around halfway and I push my hair back.

"Looking good," I smile to myself in the mirror.

I pull my mana gloves back tighter and prepare to attend the party.

By the time I get to the ballroom staircase, the amount of guests had well over doubled, the list of party invites seemingly all in attendance.

As I look down, I recognize a few of the people in attendance from my life in this world, such as Duke and Duchess Goldenwind, who were chatting with Mother and Father, probably about some politics or something.

Stella is with Karl and Veronica talking to some group of nobles, perhaps about charity events? They are known as a massive help in the commoner communities.

I also spot Jacob Knightford talking it up with a couple noble girls while sipping a glass of champagne.

Who the hell invited him?

While I say that, invites were probably sent to all of my siblings. However, sometimes there are some who are tied up, like Leon or the twins. Others simply don't care, like my long lost older sister Christina…

Well, changing the subject, I also recognize a few characters from the novel as well.

A pair of dark-skinned young nobles with emerald green hair catch my eye as they spoke to another group of nobles around their age.

That must be the Kingsley twins.

The two were very important characters in the novel, perhaps I should take the moment to greet them?

Just as I think that, out of the corner of my eye, I see Esther walking Sylvia out.

While Esther is in her simple maid attire, Sylvia is wearing a beautiful fitted white dress that goes down to her thighs and a pair of white stockings and dress shoes. In her hair, a beautiful white flower accessory and hair tie.

She looks at me with an impassive face, her cold silver eyes digging into my heart, while holding out a single flower, "Happy birthday, Raine."

On second thought, those twins can wait.

At Sylvia's words, I smile softly while walking up to her and taking her soft hand, "Thank you, Sylvia."

I look up at Esther and she nods, gesturing for me to walk down the stairs.

With Sylvia in hand, I begin walking down the ballroom steps. All eyes turned to the two of us, and father began clapping.

"There he is! The man of the hour." He exclaimed as more claps came from the surrounding nobility.

I waved to the crowd and smiled.

—--------------------------------

After the party, and greeting many people, I ended up dancing with Sylvia. We had gotten quite good at dancing together, her and I.

I rub my face as I think back to how tedious greeting everyone was. I'm glad it's over.

As I walk through the castle halls, I suddenly remember something.

Esther said she had a gift for me.

I begin heading in the direction of Esther's room, my sneakers clicking across the cold flooring of the castle.

I wonder what gift she would get me? Perhaps it was a clothing item? Nah, it wouldn't be something she knows I could just make on my own. It would have to be something memorable, that only she alone could give me.

I finally come across Esther's chambers.

At first, I hesitate out of nervousness. I quickly shake my head and knock on the door, "Uh, Esther. It's Raine."

It was silent.

I waited a bit before knocking again, "Esther?"

"C-come in." A meek reply finally came back."

I slowly open the door to find the room dimly lit by only a single mana lamp.

I walk in and close the door behind me, looking around. There was a pair of packed suitcases at the foot of the bed. Speaking of the bed, it had been neatly made, and beside it, on the floor, there had been a maid uniform.

"M-my prince…" A shy voice piped up from behind me.

I turn around to find Esther, out of her uniform, dressed in only her lingerie.

At my gaze, she looks away in embarrassment while holding her stockings, however, she takes a deep breath before turning back to me with a flushed face.

"H-here's your gift," She spreads open her arms and gives a soft smile.

I'm speechless.

So this is the gift she wanted to give me? Something that could only come from her and her alone.

I don't know how to react.

My body moves forward on its own.

"E-Esther…" I say while stopping in front of her, my body, close enough to touch hers.

"Y-yes, my prince?" She asks meekly as she leans forward slightly.

I reach my gloved hand out to grab hers. Her soft hands warmly accept my own as we interlock our fingers.

I use my free hand to brush away a strand of hair that falls in front of her face, her reddish-brown eyes squinting slightly and her lips tense in anticipation.

"Just Raine, please," I reply as I lean in for a passionate kiss.

Her eyes widen in surprise, but they slowly close, accepting my kiss.

She slowly begins backing me up onto the bed, her free hand on my chest guiding me to the destination.

Esther slowly releases her grip on my hand and gently pushes me down onto the bed.

She smiles softly before climbing on top of me and unbuttoning my blazer.

I look up at her face, which was dyed red. Her lips curled into a lewd smile, and her once reddish-brown eyes now fully crimson with lust.

She leans forward once more and I feel her warm breath up against my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

While next to my ear, she giggles slightly as she whispers, "Happy birthday, Raine~"

—------------------------------

I awoke to the sounds of songbirds chirping outside the window.

Is this how Esther gets up?

I sit up in Esther's bed feeling rejuvenated for having finally done it for the first time in two lifetimes.

Last night felt truly amazing. Sex is one thousand percent better with a partner, take it from me.

Although, unfortunately, I wasn't able to apply many of the techniques I read about since Esther was fully in control for a majority of the time. Hopefully she had as good of a time as I did.

"How did you feel, Esth–" I turn my attention to the other side of the bed, which had been empty.

"Wha–?" I look around the room, which had been completely emptied aside from a note with a dagger atop it on the desk nearby.

The color in my face drains immediately.

There's no way she would leave, would she?

I quickly hop out of bed and used magic to put on my clothes as I searched around the room. Everything of hers was gone, including the suitcase that had been on the foot of the bed last night.

I use my hands to push back my hair, feeling a tad bit stressed.

I look back over to the note I had seen on the desk and approach it. I remove the dagger from the top and pick up the note. This must have been left by Esther… the handwriting is beautiful.

I slowly scan the note, reading through every detail to myself carefully.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear my beloved prince, Raine,

If you're reading this, it's likely I'm long gone by now.

From the moment I was first assigned to you, my heart was stolen instantly. I don't know how, or why, but whenever I looked at you, I felt a burning feeling in my chest. Even though I have never felt this feeling before, I knew instantly that I had fallen in love.

I knew that our time together was limited, so I tried to keep my distance from you as much as possible. However, I simply couldn't. I found myself around you more and more, and before I knew it, I had become deeply attached.

I mean to apologize to you as well.

The 'gift' I had given you last night was more of a selfish desire I've had within the past couple years. I hope you accept this dagger my father had given me before he passed as my true gift to you. I hope you use it to protect those you hold dear to you, and not to kill.

I'm also sorry about leaving without a proper goodbye face to face, however, I knew that if I had, I wouldn't have been able to follow through with it.

In the future, I know you will find many girls better than me, like Lady Sylvia. However, I do ask that you always keep a place in your heart for me. Let what happened last night forever have a place in that large mind of yours, please.

Ah, at last, it is with a pained heart that I leave you with this letter as farewell. Goodbye, my beloved prince.

Sincerely, Esther Rothschild

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I feel a single tear beginning to form on one of my eyes.

I quickly move my free hand up to wipe it, however, another tear begins forming in the corners of the other eye.

I bring my free hand over to wipe that eye, and tears form on the eye I just wiped, then more tears.

Before I know it, tears are streaming down my face and I drop to my knees while holding the paper.

Esther left me…

I don't know how to feel right now…

I reach out and grab the dagger she had left me.

It's a cool, jet black blade, in contrast to her always warm and bright personality.

For a moment, only for a moment, the thought of piercing my own heart with it flashes across my mind.

I quickly shake my head, knowing that's not what Esther would want, and rub the continuous stream of tears from my face.

I hold the butt of the dagger and the note in both hands and press the two against my forehead as I continue bawling my eyes out while thinking of Esther.