"So, w-what was the s-sudden visit for?" in his broken language, Ellis... now called Adrian, asked.
The interruption of his sweet moment, when he had been fondling Silas's breasts, was a heavy sin, after all.
He was already prepared to lash out at whoever the visitor was…
But seeing Silas's expression… that complicated look on her face, a whirlpool of emotions, regret, joy, and a quiet sadness, all mixed together, made his mood calm down greatly.
Silas was lamenting the luck of the one she now served.
The one whom she had once been forced to serve, but to whom she now devoted herself, entirely and willingly, with all her heart.
She felt sad that, despite the prodigy the little prince was, he was still not being treated with the treatment he deserved, after all.
"It's an Amulet. Her ladyship Thalia has sent it to you."
Thalia, his mother's name, and then… gift.
Hearing just one of those words would have been enough to surprise him, but the two together?
Ellis's expression, his chubby cheeks, and round eyes that widened, naturally reflected his reaction to the unexpected statement.
… To the unexpected name that came along with a gift.
Ellis was surprised… and naturally so.
After all, his mother, who hadn't given him a shred of attention for these past seven months, was suddenly sending him a gift?
Did her sense of motherhood suddenly sprout?
While wondering silently, Silas, perhaps sensing his doubts, said, "It's tradition, in the royal family, for the mother to give an amulet to her child when he is born."
Silas went on, explaining the nature of the tradition, and its origins.
How it was believed to bring luck… how it came from some old myth, tied to the founding days of noble houses.
She spoke slowly, carefully—choosing her words in a way that wouldn't hurt him.
After all… this was a gift that had arrived seven months too late.
But Ellis?
He didn't mind much.
He simply listened, his attention drawn more to this small piece of history from the noble families… and this kingdom.
A history that, for him, was entirely new.
These were things he was hearing for the first time… and that alone surprised him a little.
'So, she really isn't telling me everything.'
As that thought settled in his mind, Ellis cast a sharp gaze toward Silas—
A gaze that made her shoulders jolt as she instinctively shrank back… but then, he simply let it go, deciding to brush over the matter.
He would come to understand everything in time anyway.
Anyway, more than the things Silas had hidden from him, probably out of fear that he'd become sad if he heard them, Ellis was more curious about his mother's intention.
Was this purely her way of expressing her role as a mother?
Or were there other motives behind this sudden gift?
While he was absorbed in pondering the meaning behind it, Silas had already finished explaining the tradition of the amulet and had moved on to tell him everything she knew about the amulet… the stone, and what kind of significance it held.
She explained everything in detail, as if someone his age would really understand all of it… but Ellis was thankful nonetheless.
After all, he was still thinking about his future plans and choices. And knowing more was always better.
Because at the very least… he couldn't afford for anything to happen to him during these first five years!
It was his most vulnerable time, after all.
If something were to happen to him, and he really died, then that would be the end.
And that was what he feared the most now.
That was what he had to prepare for the most too.
But as the explanation dragged on, and he felt that it was mostly exaggerated details, Ellis, unable to hold back anymore, took the small, decorated gift box from her hands and opened it clumsily himself.
And after staring at it for a while, he couldn't help but mutter in the end—
"... Isn't this jast a fucking stone?"
His bewildered tone echoed in the now silent room.
The question seemed to ring once more between the walls… before finally landing on the embarrassed Silas, who, truthfully, had the same thought.
Ellis held the pebble-sized stone, turning it over and over in his hand while Silas stayed quiet at his side, still wordless after hearing his remark.
He kept examining it for a while, trying to find whatever it was that made it special.
In the end, not finding anything, he even used his mana sense and detection skill, hoping to trigger some kind of reaction—anything at all.
He hoped that this stone held something that could help him.
But in the end, he was left disappointed.
Because no matter how he looked at it…
It really was just a fucking… stone.