NOVEL NEXT Chapter 221: Happy birthday, Earl Rosewood!
Rating: light mature
Ren Xiyang and Rian returned to the Rosewood fief for Ren Xiyang’s 17th birthday celebrations. Florence, Alexius, Tierri, Adrienne, Günter, Baltasar and his siblings, Cassiopeia and many others came too.
On the morning of Ren Xiyang’s birthday, when Ren Xiyang and Rian came down to eat breakfast, Mrs Cooks waylaid him. “Happy birthday, my Lord.”
“Thank you.”
Mrs Cooks held him by the shoulders, looking up and down at him. Then, she gave him a big hug and strong pats on the back. “You’re becoming a big boy now. Oh, I remember when you first appeared, you were so small and cute.”
Mrs Cooks squeezed extra tight at the word ‘cute’ before she let go.
“Was I?” Ren Xiyang said, his tone full of dubiousness.
“Very small and very cute!” the other staff chorused.
“Agreed,” Rian said, smirking.
Ren Xiyang’s lips curled up, his heart warm and sour at the people around him. “Thank you for organising everything today, Mrs Cooks.”
“Say that after tonight’s feast,” Mrs Cooks said while patting his arm. “I hope you like the food today.”
“I like everything you cook,” Ren Xiyang said.
Mrs Cooks’ smile widened, and she couldn’t help but give Ren Xiyang another hug that forced the air out of his lungs.
Rian, standing to the side, hid a smile.
“Now, don’t just stand here, come and have breakfast…” Mrs Cooks nudged everyone along to the first meal of the day.
Rian liked big flashy duels, while Alexius had lots of fun games on his birthday. Ren Xiyang was more low-key. After breakfast, he strolled around the Rosewood grounds and checked his greenhouse, showing others around. Then, they all sat on very comfortable sofas and chairs and basked in the sun and had lunch outside. The afternoon was allocated to afternoon naps.
Nighttime was when the party really started. Mrs Cooks had organised the biggest feast yet at the Rosewood manor, and they ate outside to fit in as many guests and staff as possible; it was as big as a Rosewood Group work conference. There were dumplings, all the manner of fried noodles and soup noodles, roast duck, roast chicken, roast beef, roast pork, roast lamb, roast potatoes, crispy fried fish, tofu prepared in ten different ways, fresh steamed vegetables and deep-fried vegetables, white rice, fried rice, and a large selection of sauces and other sides. Indispensable were Ren Xiyang’s favourite chilli oils, chilli sauces, and fresh chilli.
Then, there was dessert—a huge multi-tiered birthday cake.
Ren Xiyang’s cheeks felt a bit hot when everyone raucously sung happy birthday to him.
As for the Rosewood residents who couldn’t attend the feast at the Rosewood manor, they threw their own parties to celebrate their lord’s birthday. Festive food stalls lined the streets in major towns and restaurants had ‘Earl Rosewood’s favourites’ on their menu. Even if Ren Xiyang couldn’t hear them, the people were wishing him a happy birthday across the fief.
At the end of the dinner, Rian cast a wonderful magical fireworks show that had everyone clapping.
And to finish off the night, Rian slipped into Ren Xiyang’s bedroom to give Ren Xiyang his private gifts—lots of gold, and his own body.
Vulgar? Rian disagreed. Ren Xiyang loved practical gifts that he could use the most.
And indeed, Ren Xiyang’s eyes lit up a lot when he saw the chests full of gold coins. And he quirked his lips in amusement when he received Rian’s stack of ‘vouchers’ that Ren Xiyang could use to dictate their sex positions for one night.
“And since it’s your birthday, I’ll let you choose for free,” Rian said generously as he started to strip down.
“Since it’s my birthday, shouldn’t you help me undress?” Ren Xiyang asked.
Rian’s eyes deepened. “Of course, my Lord.”
Not long later, the room lights became dim. But their feelings and sensations were clearly transmitted.
Since Cassiopeia had come to the Rosewood fief for Ayden’s birthday, she also took the time to meet with Ms Vivi Chandler.
The day after Ayden’s birthday, she and Maria went into Redmond town, to one of the Rosewood Group buildings with private rooms. This location was more convenient than making Vivi go to the Rosewood manor.
Vivi was already waiting for them. “Good morning, Healer Schauss, Ms Maria,” she said nervously.
Maria smiled. “Good morning. That’s a lovely dress.”
Cassiopeia nodded. “It’s so pretty, it really suits you!”
This was the first time Cassiopeia saw Ms Vivi Chandler wearing a dress. She had a blue and white dress, with the fabric pulled in at the waist and a full skirt. Vivi’s hair had also grown longer, with a matching blue hair ribbon. The dress accentuated Vivi’s slim waist and tall figure.
“Thank you,” Vivi said, lowering her head, her lips curling up.
“Please come inside,” Cassiopeia said.
They all entered the private room. As they were settling in, and while Cassiopeia was checking over her notes, Maria chatted a little to help ease Vivi’s nerves.
“So, how have you been? Any unusual pain?” Maria asked.
“No, it’s been good…”
“And how is your family?”
“I told them…” Vivi said.
“Did they take it well?”
Vivi hesitated, but then nodded. “Um…previously, Cerdic invited my family and other friends to see a play…there was a transgender woman character in the play and her story made my mother cry about how other people could be so mean. They were shocked when I told them but afterwards my mother and my sisters all offered to take me to buy a dress.”
“They have a good eye,” Maria said.
Vivi blushed. “Actually, Cerdic bought this dress for me.”
Maria smiled. “I see. I’m happy that everything is working out.”
Vivi nodded. “Thank you.”
“Healer Schauss, are you ready?” Maria asked.
“Yes, let’s start,” Cassiopeia said.
Cassiopeia worked from top to bottom, focusing on the Adam’s apple, the breasts, the testicles-to-ovaries, uterus, and the penis-to-urethra/labia/vagina. There were also small other glands to adjust too, which Cassiopeia didn’t have any names for.
She stayed an extra day in the Rosewood fief, to conduct a second session, before returning to the Capital.
Now that Vivi had told her family, she wouldn’t need to make excuses to travel to the Capital in the future. While it was the summer and Earl Rosewood wouldn’t be travelling back and forth between the Capital and the Rosewood fief, the Rosewood Group had regular transportation; and she could still stay at the Rosewood secondary house.
Later that summer, Vivi decided to organise a ticket to go by herself. However, her sisters disagreed—they wanted to see the Capital too! So, in the end, they went together and booked a hotel. Vivi was able to show her siblings around, and as their family business was picking up due to the new products, they were able to buy items that weren’t sold in Redmond town.
After this trip, Vivi felt that she had really bonded with her sisters. And, the shop servers even called her “ma’am”!
Not long after Ren Xiyang’s birthday was the 5-year death anniversary of the Rosewoods. It also marked five years since Ren Xiyang came to this world and since Rian ‘returned’ to the past.
In five years, many things were the same, yet many things were also different. The people across Sedaveria could attest.
Ren Xiyang visited the tombs of the Rosewoods with Rian, contemplative.
These were people he never knew. He wondered if, after death, they were reincarnated or transmigrated elsewhere. He still didn’t understand how his own transmigration had worked.
But he hoped the changes in the Rosewood fief wouldn’t offend them too much.
He turned his head, seeing Rian. No matter how his transmigration had occurred, he was grateful for this second opportunity.
Then, Ren Xiyang and Rian returned to the Capital.
They worked on their projects and initiatives. Ren Xiyang met with Queen Mira to discuss his charitable work, and then with King Edric on the magical levitation trains.
Then, he and Rian went travelling again, this time to the fiefs in the south-east of the kingdom.
For two days on that trip, Ren Xiyang and Rian ‘escaped’ (technically, the people in-the-know knew what was happening) and had a small holiday to themselves. They disguised themselves as usual and acted like the happy, in-love engaged couple that they were.
Rian ultimately decided on a beach holiday. They walked around town, eating the local food and looking at the souvenirs. But most of the time, they were on the beach, playing (competing) in the water and on the sand.
Oh, by the way, it was a private beach.
They rejoined the rest of their travelling group afterwards as though nothing had happened, though it was clear to the naked eye that Prince Rian was glowing and Earl Rosewood was more relaxed than usual.
During the summer, Pollux did a little bit of travel to the areas around the Angio capital, going along with Prince Haldor with Princess Marcia acting as the tour guide.
The things that Prince Haldor were shown were new to him, and they were new to Pollux too. After his injury all those years ago, Pollux hadn’t left the castle.
Beyond the Angio capital, there were other major towns, with their own unique attractions and architecture. There were large fields of crops that looked especially lush and bountiful. There was even a new dam project for water conservation. Queen Aurelia and the Angio people had been busy in the last two years.
After they returned to the Capital, Queen Aurelia held a big ceremony in which she raised Viscountess Venenum’s rank from Viscountess to Countess for her services to the nation in hunting down criminals and bringing them to justice.
Pollux felt a prickle in his chest. He wanted to contribute to the nation too. But he didn’t yet know how.
During that summer, it was inevitable that Pollux would meet various young noblewomen his age. Some were ‘accidental’ encounters on castle grounds, some were interactions during events, and some were scheduled meetings that others had requested.
Embarrassingly, Pollux had thought those people wanted to meet about work or possible technical collaborations. He had forgotten that most nobles weren’t work-obsessed as Ayden or Prince Rian.
There were pretty women, there were handsome women, there were smart women, and there were sweet women.
However, none of them could evoke the same heart-skip feeling when Pollux caught the sight of the backs of men who reminded him of Hadrian.
Even though he knew full well that Hadrian was in the Terra fief.
It was becoming hard and harder to ignore the truth.
He missed cute little Artemis—
No, the truth was that he missed Hadrian.
He liked his sisters now, but talking to them wasn’t the same. He wanted to shyly show off to Hadrian that—look—he could walk up and down stairs now, that he could run now.
He could imagine Hadrian’s smiles and encouragement, and they made his chest tighten.
Maybe, just maybe, he had feelings that were non-platonic in nature.
One night in bed by himself, Pollux dared to imagine what it would be like if they were together. If they held hands. If they kissed. If they rolled in bed…
Pollux became hard embarrassingly quick, as his imagination recalled that erotic novel that he had read and supplanted him and Hadrian as the main characters.
Pollux rolled over, unwilling to touch himself. Instead, he thought about Hadrian.
He missed him. Hadrian was a solid, comforting presence. He might not be as strong or powerful or rich as the women that Pollux had met, but the heart wasn’t rational.
He squeezed his pillow, chest aching. Was there any future for them? Gay marriage wasn’t possible in Angio.
Did Hadrian like him? He couldn’t tell, Hadrian was nice to everyone.
Did Hadrian like men? He didn’t know. All he knew was that Hadrian didn’t have a marriage partner lined up yet.
For a moment, Pollux entertained the idea of ordering Hadrian to be his husband. As the prince of Angio, he had the power to do so.
No, no, Hadrian would accept it, but he would hate him.
Pollux had no idea how to approach this. There were traditional ways male-female couples could express their feelings, but that didn’t feel right.
Ayden and Prince Rian came into mind. He suddenly wondered how they got together. Could he ask them? Did he dare?
Since Ayden and Prince Rian weren’t here though, Pollux decided to ignore his problems until he returned to Sedaveria.
Transmigration bureau: Hey, how could you forget about me?!
Pollux: Should I ask Ayden or Prince Rian?
Rian: *smirks* come closer and I’ll help~
Thanks to lazy cat Kohaku for the idea of Pollux having some failed dates.
And don’t forget about the 2-year anniversary fanart/fic event!
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