Today's the day. August 15th, the day of twins Iris and Isaac's Birthday, where they will both become 18.

That is, if one isn't assassinated. Both Irene and myself believe that there's going to be an assassination attempt on Iris during her own birthday. But I don't plan on letting her die. For multiple reasons, all of which are beneficial to me.

My phone rang. Picking it up, I saw it was a call from Eric.

"Hey, Eric." I greeted. "What's up?"

"You're going to be at Iris' birthday party, right?" He asked.

"Yeah?" I replied, curious as to where he was going with this.

"Iris invited Lily and I to the party. I'll be able to see you there!" Eric happily replied. I could practically hear the smile through the phone.

"That's nice. It's been a while due to this bodyguard situation." I stated.

"Yeah, it has. Why did you even accept it again?" Eric asked.

"Money, really." I answered. That's not all of the reasons, but the easiest to explain. "Then I won't have to be mostly living on cup ramen noodles."

"I feel your pain. I fell your pain." Eric empathized through the call. "Well, see you there."

"See ya." I responded, hanging up on the phone.

"Who was that?" A sweet voice asked from behind me. A strange feeling on my back did not feel so sweet however.

"My friend Eric." I replied, turning to the source of that unnatural feeling on my back.

Irene Aegis.

"Oh! That's nice!" Irene smiled. The strange feeling was no longer there.

Recently Irene has been acting differently, and it's kind of worrying. The differences are subtle, but she's seemed to gain some more charm.

It's just...subtle actions that she's made that make her more attractive. Not to mention she's been reacting in strange ways sometimes.

So far I've just brushed it off. It's been really small, and hasn't had any impact. But just because I've brushed it off doesn't mean that I've forgotten about it.

Either this could be nothing, something very scary, or just something else. I'm really hoping that isn't not the scary one, or else I've got myself into a shit-load of trouble I don't think I'll be able to dig myself out of.

"Do you have your present?" She asked. She held up her own, a small, wrapped box.

"Yeah." I replied, holding up a small, wrapped box. Despite the fact that our boxes are similar we got different presents.

Irene got her earrings while I got her a necklace.

Okay, the difference isn't that large.

Irene wanted me to get Iris a present because, quote on quote, "You'll be in the family soon". I'm really hoping that I just misinterpreted that and that she actually means joining the Aegis Family staff.

I'm really hoping.

In an anime like this one, you can never be too careful. That's why I'm taking note of these small things. However, I won't do anything without concrete proof however, in case it is my own paranoia.

But if it isn't my own paranoia and I'm right, then it would probably be late to do anything. That's why I'm really hoping that it's paranoia.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked Irene.

"Stay by my side, and keep watch for anything suspicious. If you do see anything, then let me know." Irene stated. "You also have complete jurisdiction to do any action you deem necessary. I'll take all responsibility."

"That's a lot of trust you're putting into me." I replied.

"Trust well deserved." Irene argued.

Seeing her up close made me really notice how pretty she was. In all ways she could only be explained as beautiful. Not to mention with her elegant blue dress which matched her eyes, she was a knockout.

"Are you sure it's okay to wear a dress with a possible assassination attempt?" I asked.

"It'll be fine." Irene smiled. "I have you. And about the dress, what do you think?"

"It works really well with your eyes." I blurted out.

Irene looked shock for a moment, before smiling as a small blush appeared on her cheeks. "Thank you."

"No problem." I replied. That was just a normal reaction. As I got lost in my thoughts, I started to stare at the ring on my hand. Is it really...

"You like the ring?" Irene asked, knocking my train of thought off it's rails. She sounded a little hopeful for some reason.

"Yeah. It's incredible you gave this to me. I now have complete control over my flames. I just need to increase the power and size of them." I explained.

For demonstration I created a small ball of flame which I effortlessly moved around my fingers.

"It's quite impressive you were able to so quickly grasp the ring's control." Irene stated.

"Really?" I wondered. It wasn't too hard. Just took time. As in a couple days.

"Yes. Now, we should probably head to the party." Irene smiled.

The party was being hosted in the ballroom of the Aegis Mansion. When you have such a good spot for a party, why would you have it anywhere else?

Walking into the ballroom, everybody stopped to look at us. After all, with a beautiful girl in an elegant dress who happens to be the First Princess and her average-looking bodyguard in a suit causes a lot of attention.

It's mostly Irene that's catching the attention though.

"Irene!" Iris happily said, walking to us.

"Hello Iris. Happy Birthday." She smiled. "Where's Cyrus? I thought I told him to guard you?"

"He went to the restroom real quick. He'll be back in a moment." Iris responded.

Hmm. I'll need to keep an eye on Cyrus. In the anime he betrayed Iris, and would have killed her if it wasn't for Eric. It's likely that as her bodyguard he'd try it. After all, it's the perfect chance. He's the closest to her as her bodyguard.

"Alright then. Where should we place our presents?" Irene asked.

"Over there on that table." Iris pointed over to a table which was filled to the brim with presents. A pile was being formed on top of the table. Well, it was for two people...

But still, I couldn't imagine my birthday being like this. My last birthday I got one present. Big difference. I wonder if Iris sees a big party like this as a blessing or a curse?

Irene started to walk over to the table. I was about to follow her before Iris engaged with me in a sudden conversation.

"You got me a present as well?" Iris asked, surprised.

"I did." I replied, pulling out the small, wrapped box. "Irene wanted me to."

"You must really like her." Iris smiled.

"I guess." I sighed. "She's certainly not what I was expecting. Not in a bad way, of course."

"Yeah...thank you." Iris said.

"For what?" I asked.

"Saving her." Iris smiled.

"...just doing my job, Aegis." I coldly replied, walking away to Irene.

"What was with that?" Irene asked, pouting.

"I don't know." I sighed. "She just suddenly engaged in a conversation with me."

I placed my present onto the table next to Irene's. The two seemed to pale in comparison to the rest of the presents. Some of them were quite large.

"Ken!" A familiar voice said from behind me. Turning around, I recognized that mop of blond hair.

"Eric!" I smiled. "How are you?"

"I'm good. It's lonely without you at school." Eric sighed.

"You have Lily. Also, where is she?" I asked.

"She's behind you." Eric stated as if it was obvious.

Turning around, there was indeed Lily behind me.

"Gah! I told you to stop sneaking up on me!" I cried out.

"But I didn't sneak up on you." Lily sweatdropped.

"It's because of your stupid Tier 2 skill Presence Concealment! And we both know you can turn that on and off at will!" I argued.

"Oh, I still had that on?" Lily wondered. She suddenly seemed more noticeable. "Sometimes I get used to the feeling of it being turned on and forget that it's still going."

Irene then cleared their throat, turning the two's attention to her. "I'm Irene Aegis. It's nice to meet you two."

"Ah, nice to meet you too." Nodded Eric, slightly surprised.

"Oh! Nice to meet you!" Bowed Lily.

Iris suddenly caught my attention.

"It seems like the party is starting." I noted.

Iris had walked to the middle of the ballroom, with a microphone in hand. Behind her stood Cyrus, and next to her was Isaac who seemed really excited.

Another speech? What's with the Aegis Family and their speeches? This will be the third one that I've heard from an Aegis.

"I want to thank you all for coming here to celebrate this occasion with me. It's the time that both my brother and I are becoming adults and moving onto the next step of life." Iris started.

"I'd li-" Iris started, before being cut off by Cyrus pushing her onto the ground. Iris landed onto the ground, and looked shocked at Cyrus.

Isaac looked shocked as well, but I could see through it. It was a facade.

"Not good enough." Loki stated. "That expression is fairly good, but I could do better."

"Cyrus?!" Cried out Irene, shocked at his betrayal.

The Treacherous Knight has made his move.

"I'm sorry my Princess, but I'll have to cut this short." Cyrus said, a frown playing at his lips as he pulled out his katana. He took a deep breath, before swinging down.