Hannibal smiled at her flattery and waved off her concern. "I do prefer not to, but sometimes you have to protect existing investments. It was a shame, really, but he couldn't be bought." Which was novel enough to warrant a bit of marvel.

He had no doubt he could find her birthday, but as it wasn't relevant to anything, it seemed rude to concern himself with her age. It just meant he'd have to invent days to give her things.