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The banquet was held on the first floor, and the place was prepared in advance. Solemn and rich interior of the hall produced the impression of a full-fledged society reception.

A fat man with blond hair smiled cordially, while most of those who came were amazed at his manners. Not every aristocrat of such a high caliber, would have welcomed guests into his home in person.

— Long time no see, Sir Wilson,» he shook someone\'s hand.

— Madame Palmer, you look lovely today! — Made a compliment to an elderly lady.

— Sir Macrom, good of you to bring your son today. Lea just needs friends her age.

— Not at all, Your Grace! I\'m honored to have the opportunity to congratulate the young lady in person.

While the adults were immersed in mutual greetings, the children wasted no time in partying. All the tables were occupied with the Archduke\'s daughter\'s favorite treats, while in the very center there was a mountain of gifts.

Many children looked at it with envy, for their parents never gave them as many gifts as the archduke did for his daughter each year.

This aroused admiration and respect at the same time.

Not every man was capable of being such a perfect single father as Henry Ashford. In spite of his enormous employment and management of the archdukedom, he always found enough time for his daughter.

And even now he set aside all his business to celebrate Leriane\'s seventh birthday.

Many of the noble ladies who came to the banquet lamented that this perfect man was still lonely. For despite his average age and lack of distinguished appearance, Henry Ashford was the most enviable widower in the empire.

Ladies of all ages and social status tried in vain to win his favor in order to obtain the status of archduchess. But all in vain. For in addition to the qualities of an excellent family man, Henry also remained very faithful, and after the death of his wife no longer looked at other women.

For any man in the empire — Henry Ashford would have been a role model.

And now he kept a friendly expression on his face as he waited for the last guests to arrive. Henry was shaking hands with everyone one by one, until something distracted him. Suddenly some small creature flew into the man\'s back.

Ashford turned around in surprise and noticed a child behind him. A little girl with emerald hair whose eyes shone brighter than amber. She had a pretty face and chubby cheeks that you just wanted to touch. She wore a beautiful white dress and two puffy bows on her head. In a word, an angel and not a child.

But in the meantime, as a caring parent, the man was still worried.

— Lea,» he sighed, «I told you not to run in the hall. It\'s dangerous.»

— Daddy! — I was bored,» she sighed, «and I wanted to see you,» she said innocently. — innocently declared the miracle.

Henry laughed.

— I was bored,» said Henry innocently, laughing. «Really? Why don\'t you play with the other children? — He suggested.

— But I want to play with you!

When she wanted something, Leriane was always cranky, and now she was demonstratively frowning. It seems that by this age, the Archduke had managed to spoil her enough.

When his daughter clapped her eyes with long lashes, Henry could not resist and took the baby in his arms.

— Just behave yourself. We\'ll meet the guests together.

— Yay!

The Archduke smiled involuntarily again. They stood at the entrance for another couple of minutes as the last married couple stepped inside, and it was possible to officially announce the start of the event.

A crowd of adults surrounded young Lady Ashford, giving gifts and offering compliments. The children, on the other hand, were eager to get along so they could make her their friend. In short, on his holiday, the girl was certainly not deprived of universal attention.

However, it wasn\'t long before Leriana missed her father again, and in the middle of the feast, she returned to the main table. She climbed on his lap, holding a piece of strawberry cake in one hand and eating it with gusto right there.

He stroked her head and inquired:

— My little star, how do you like your birthday?

— I like it very much, because Daddy arranged it!

— And what is your favorite gift?

— All the ones Daddy gave me!

Leriana didn\'t hesitate to answer him this, to which the man had only to cringe. The little girl genuinely loves her father more than anything else in the world.

But this was not the last surprise for his daughter for this evening.

— Lea, I have one more present for you.

— You did? What is it? — The little girl responded excitedly.

— It\'s very precious. Promise me you\'ll take good care of it.

— I promise! — she answered at lightning speed.

Henry Ashford pulled out a pendant — which looked simple and elegant at the same time — from the inside pocket of his jacket. In the center was a tear-shaped emerald, held on a thin silver pendant.

Leriane\'s eyes widened at the sight of it.

— Papa, what is it?

— A family heirloom,» the man explained, «I promised your mother that I would give it to you when you were old enough.»

— Whoa!

When the Archduke gave her the piece of jewelry, Leriana began to examine it curiously. The stone in it was exactly the same as the one in her father\'s ring.

— Does it mean that my father and I have the same decoration? — she summed up enthusiastically.

Henry nodded and smiled again at her naivety.

— There\'s no way you should lose it, okay?

— Yes! Yes!

Leriana nodded vigorously, and immediately hung the pendant around her neck.

— It\'s very pretty! Thank you, Daddy!

— You\'re welcome, my little star.

The family idyll of the two was interrupted by the butler who suddenly appeared and whispered something in his ear.

— Your Grace, there is a letter for you.

— Leave it on my desk,» the man brushed it aside, «I\'ll look at it later.»

— But…

— Today is my daughter\'s birthday. I can\'t leave right now,» the Archduke objected.

— Th-This is…

The butler stammered uncertainly as he leaned even closer and called out some name.

Henry Ashford appeared somewhat alarmed, after which he nodded.

— I understand,» he said slowly, «You may go.»

The butler hurried away, while Henry turned to his daughter with the same smile.

— Stargirl, will you have some fun without me?

— What?» she said sadly, «Daddy, are you going somewhere?»

— Daddy had some errands to run. I\'ll be back as soon as I figure it out. Be good, okay?

— Um…

The little girl nodded uncertainly as the Archduke kissed her forehead goodbye. Before leaving the banquet hall, I accidentally almost ran into a column. The clumsiness was hereditary in their family genes.

— It\'s all right…! — Henry waved his hand awkwardly as the guests began to turn around, «I\'m really fine.»

It was quite a comical scene, which once again showed the carelessness of the Archduke. It was not without reason that he was considered one of the most honest aristocrats in the empire, for he was utterly incapable of lying.

The man rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment before walking out the door.

Meanwhile, little Lea was still worried, even though the Archduke had left his men with her.

«I wonder where Daddy went?»