Chapter 87
“Are you saying you don’t plan to reconcile even after receiving an apology? Did it really bother you that I called you ‘little one’?”
“…No?”
I couldn’t make sense of the situation and looked at Sishe and Lucas behind Baratheon.
I thought that if anyone could explain why Baratheon was acting this way, it would be them.
But their reactions were completely unexpected as well.
“…I won’t call you ‘Ya’ anymore. I’ll try to speak more nicely too.”
‘Wait, speaking nicely… does that make it Sishe?’
“Is it because I make you do too much work? From now on, I’ll do more myself.”
‘Even now, Lucas, you’re doing almost all the work…’
I didn’t understand a single thing these people were saying.
‘At times like this…’
Ah, whatever. When it’s awkward, smiling is always the best.
“Happy birthday, brothers!”
I scattered the flower petals from my pouch into the air, smiling brightly.
Scattering the petals was the signal.
As promised, the orchestra began playing the birthday song, and the servants sang along to the music.
Dane and Marina quickly lit the candles on the prepared cakes and placed the carts in front of the three, while I kept scattering petals until my pouch was empty.
As the three of them watched the whole situation in bewilderment, the song ended.
The red petals I had thrown were piled high above their heads.
“Now! Blow out the candles!”
“Candles?”
“Yes! Quickly!”
At my urging, the three, still confused, approached the cakes.
I busied myself arranging them in front of the cakes with their names on them.
“When I say one, two, three, blow them out. Got it?”
“Uh? Uh… okay…”
“One, two, three!”
As the three blew out the candles like squeaky, broken dolls, the servants burst into applause, congratulating them.
“So, this… is…”
“A birthday party!”
“A birthday party? Whose birthday?”
Baratheon blinked stupidly, asking the obvious question.
“…Whose do you think? It’s Teon’s birthday.”
“Huh?”
“They said you three didn’t even know the real birthday, so you celebrated it during the New Year’s Eve dinner.”
“Oh, I see. Today’s the New Year’s Eve dinner… our birthday…”
“You were complaining that I realized my birthday a week in advance, but you three didn’t even know until the day itself?”
At my reproach, the three of them looked around in bewilderment.
The lavish decorations, the orchestra playing music, the servants smiling warmly, the three-tiered cake with their names on it.
After taking in everything, the gaze of the three brothers finally fell on me.
“So, once again, happy birthday, brothers.”
“Thanks…”
Sishe, chewing over my words, sank to the ground as if his legs had given out.
“So… the reason you’ve been avoiding us lately…”
“I was secretly preparing the birthday party. I avoided you in case I said something wrong if we ran into each other.”
“Ya! You scared me!”
“Wow, Sishe. You change your words so quickly? Just a moment ago you said you’d speak nicely to me.”
“That’s because I thought you were mad…!”
Sishe, flustered, looked at my smiling face, sighed, and roughly ran his hands through his hair.
“You didn’t think I’d be preparing a birthday party?”
“Who would? We’ve never had a birthday party before.”
“But Marina said that you celebrate birthdays during the New Year’s Eve dinner every year.”
“Celebrating with cake after dinner is not the same as throwing such a loud party. Honestly, you’re driving me crazy.”
‘I see.’
It seemed they had celebrated birthdays much more modestly than I had imagined.
A quiet dinner with four stoic men.
I could already imagine the atmosphere.
‘They probably never even said “Happy Birthday” to each other, let alone mentioned the word “birthday”.’
“Okay. Sorry for surprising you so much. Now, get up. I’ve prepared lots of delicious food too.”
I helped the sitting Sishe to his feet.
More precisely, I tugged lightly on his hand, and he stood up on his own.
“Alright, Sishe, your seat is here.”
“I know. There’s a name tag.”
“Lucas, over here.”
“Danae…”
Lucas’s eyes were glistening. He seemed on the verge of tears from emotion.
‘Haha, he’s really touched.’
But the one who actually started crying was on the other side.
“This mischievous little one… uh… when did you….”
“Teon? Are you crying now?”
“Khh… Who’s crying…!”
He denied it fiercely, but his nose was already red.
He looked like he’d burst into tears if anyone so much as poked him.
“You’re crying because of a cake with your name on it?!”
“The cake with your name on it was especially meaningful, wasn’t it? Alright, Teon, sit down too.”
Once the three were seated, the prepared food and drinks were placed on the table one by one.
The real birthday party had begun.
As the drinks started flowing, the party quickly turned chaotic.
Being the only one underage, I remained sober while watching everyone lose their minds.
Even Sishe, who rarely got drunk, looked slightly tipsy, keeping his seat.
‘These guys…’
Some of them were relatively tame, though.
Sipping on my apple juice while keeping my honest thoughts to myself, the center of the commotion became obvious.
The biggest troublemaker among the lot: Baratheon.
“It’s hot! I’m taking this off!”
The shout reminded me of Baratheon’s usual drunken habit.
‘Taking off clothes. From head to toe. Even underwear.’
I gawked as Baratheon started stripping.
He really threw off his clothes without hesitation.
Shirt, pants, and even his underwear—his body looked like a perfect sculpture.
It felt more like admiring art than anything obscene.
As I calmly watched, suddenly a large hand covered my eyes.
“You shouldn’t be enjoying this, Miss.”
It was Rien’s voice.
I thought I was the only one sober, but Rien, who had been trying to remain inconspicuous, was maintaining human decency.
I struggled to move Rien’s hand from my eyes, but he was clearly too strong.
“You shouldn’t look.”
“Even if the body’s an adult, it’s okay because the exterior is still a kid.”
“Even if the interior’s adult, you still shouldn’t look.”
“Then at least tell me one thing.”
“Ask.”
“Did he really strip everything?”
“…Yes.”
“I see. He really stripped everything….”
Even the last piece of underwear was gone.
While thinking that, I suddenly felt a light blow to my forehead.
“Ouch!”
I had been flicked.
“Why did you hit me suddenly?”
I hadn’t done anything!
I protested to Rien, but he replied confidently, as if it was obvious.
“You were having inappropriate thoughts.”
“…I wasn’t.”
“Do you think I don’t know your mischievous mind, Miss?”
“When did you figure that out?”
Pouting, I sipped my apple juice as Rien guided me somewhere, still covering my eyes.
As the noise faded, it seemed he had led me out of the dining hall.
He only removed his hand after all sounds had disappeared.
We were in the hallway outside the dining hall.
Even though it was late at night, the large moon in the sky made it feel bright, not dark.
‘Wow, it’s so bright.’
I looked at the moon for a moment before turning to Rien.
“By the way, when’s your birthday, Rien?”
“My birthday?”
“Yes. I don’t think I’ve ever known.”
In my past life, I had never celebrated my master’s birthday either.
‘Since I couldn’t celebrate my own, I guess he never celebrated his either.’
Instead, we took the day we first met as our “birthday.”
“Now that I know my birthday, tell me yours too.”
“The timing is a bit awkward…”
I thought it was a simple question, but Rien hesitated for some reason.
Urging him with my eyes, he frowned slightly, uncharacteristically, and sighed.
“…January 1st.”
“January 1st? So…”
No need to count on my fingers.
“Two days from now?”
“Since midnight has passed, it’s actually one day from now.”
“One day…”
‘Why do these people announce birthdays so urgently!’
Of course, it wasn’t exactly my place to complain, since I had figured out my birthday a week in advance.
