“Eir, let’s go over everything one last ti… Cake?”
“You personally placed it in the center of the room.”
“Candles?”
“You already brought out fifteen—though it feels like there’s barely enough space for them.”
“Dark room?”
“It’s not nightti yet, but pulling the curtains shut works just fine.”
“Matches?”
“Sarah’s Fireball spell is very reliable; she lit the birthday candles for . Leave it to her.”
“Then finally… the Young Master!”
“But this place is still ssy. I’m worried he might trip if he cos in. We need to tidy up.”
Treya could tell that Eir was taking this task very seriously.
“It’s already this late?! No way, if we keep him waiting too long, he’ll definitely start getting suspicious.”
At the sa ti, Eir was being incredibly cautious, analyzing the situation with a deep understanding of Will’s mindset and behavior.
“Miss Treya, the crucial task of bringing him here falls to you!”
Smack.
Eir clapped her hand on Treya’s shoulder—one that had just been freed from the weight of her light armor. Treya thought Eir’s hand felt even heavier than the armor itself.
Treya embarked on her mission to bring Will back.
Eir’s instructions echoed in her ears—
“The most important thing is not to let him realize we’re preparing for his birthday. Co up with a reason to keep him in the dark.”
“And the biggest surprise is to make sure he doesn’t even know where he’s going!”
“And… uh… Your Highness, you absolutely must bring him here! Use any ans necessary, Princess!”
On her way back, Treya spotted Will in the distance, still seated on a chair, seemingly calculating sothing on his draft papers.
“A reason to keep him in the dark…”
“Make sure he doesn’t know where he’s going…”
“Use any ans necessary…”
Hearing those words, Treya felt a bit lost.
In truth…
Ever since that fateful night, whenever she decided to take action, she often found herself unsure of what to do.
It was as if she had been stripped of her colors—or perhaps she had never had any to begin with, rely reflecting the hues of those around her.
Retracing her steps…
She stopped.
She saw Will’s back.
Unknowingly, she had walked very close to him. At this distance, she thought he must have noticed her.
But he hadn’t…
He was still hunched over, writing on his draft papers, occasionally biting the end of his pen—a bad habit.
His silhouette in the sunset reminded her of that night under the lights, when he had walked past her and told her not to fall into the trap.
He was the one who had saved her, the only colorful presence she could trust.
The only one who had transford from black to vibrant hues.
Why had Eir said that celebrating his birthday when he had forgotten it would make him happy?
It was sothing she didn’t understand, sothing she needed to learn, sothing connected to him, sothing she wanted to figure out…
Because he was the only light in her vision…
Treya looked at the black stockings in her hand—washed and dried by her subordinates—that she had changed out of. She had planned to return them to Will, feeling a bit embarrassed since he had personally brought them to her.
So, she wanted to understand everything about him…
To fulfill all his requests…
To follow all his orders, believing they would bring her dazzling light.
“…I see now…”
Will’s dull instincts failed to notice soone sneaking up on him, step by careful step…
“So strange. Why are they taking so long? I’m starting to get hungry…”
Smack.
Will’s vision was suddenly enveloped by sothing black, silky, and slippery.
S-silk stockings?!
And they were black?!
He opened his eyes, able to faintly see the light and objects outside through the high-quality fabric, though distorted by the black threads.
“Listen to …”
He heard soone whisper in a low voice by his ear.
The voice was husky, likely from being lowered deliberately, but Will could still recognize it…
It was…
Treya?!
But her voice sounded so off.
What was going on?
“Tre—”
Before he could finish speaking, her hand clamped over his mouth. Then, with surprising strength, she wrapped her arms around him from behind and pulled him off the chair!
“Don’t say a word…”
“Follow …”
“Or else, it’ll be gone!”
What would be gone?
His life?!
What was happening? Had Treya just kidnapped him with stockings?!
The eerie tone of her voice sent chills down Will’s spine…
But also a strange thrill!
Wow, were these stockings the very ones Treya had just worn and taken off?! Was this his lucky day?!
Why didn’t they sll like anything, though? With those silver boots, they should’ve been intense, right?
No, no, focus.
The exciting part was…
Her determination.
Even as she dragged him, her movents were decisive, without hesitation.
She seed to know exactly where she was going… just like his own thoughts. As she half-lifted him and pulled him forward, her resolve was clear.
Her growth had always been faster than Will expected. Compared to the other two who could quickly grasp his intentions, Treya always followed his words too literally, rarely showing her own emotions.
Could it be…
That she was ready to take another step forward?
As Will pondered this, he suddenly felt his foot kick open a door.
“I’ve brought him.”
Behind the door was darkness, but faint flickers of firelight danced within.
“Hehe… Y-young Master~ Wait a second! That’s not how you were supposed to bring him in!”
Huh?
Why was Eir’s voice coming from the darkness?
What were these two plotting…
As Will wondered, the black stockings covering his eyes were abruptly removed by Treya.
In front of him…
Were fifteen lit candles.
And beneath the candles was a nine-inch cake. On the cake, written in blueberry sauce, was his na in blue, and in white chocolate with strawberry syrup, a ssage of celebration.
Will·System. (tln : it was writen in english, its just said this without any context, maybe the author wnted to write Will last na, Hysterm )
Happy Birthday.
Will stared at the words in stunned silence.
“Happy Birthday!”
“…Happy Birthday.”
Eir and Treya offered their wishes, one after the other.
“Hehe, judging by the Young Master’s expression, you totally forgot, didn’t you? But that’s okay—your loyal maid will always rember your birthday.”
“Your… um… fiancée, I suppose… will rember too.”
“B-birthday…”
Will hadn’t forgotten. He had rembered from the mont he woke up.
How could he forget such an important day?
The thing was…
He hadn’t forgotten it was his birthday, but… he hadn’t thought about celebrating it.
Since his rebirth into this world, no one had ever spent a birthday with him—not family, not anyone.
Aside from a few Hysterm family servants who treated it like a chore, delivering a cake and so generic well-wishes, Carver had never been there.
No one had ever cared whether Will felt happy about being born into this world—whether his birthday brought him joy.
Year after year, his birthdays had been marked by cold indifference, repetitive celebrations, and distant servants, dulling any emotions he might have associated with the day.
It was just another date…
A marker of the passage of ti, a reminder of what he needed to do.
Celebration and happiness had nothing to do with it.
But…
This was the first ti…
Will looked up and saw Treya and Eir staring at him with such excitent.
This room, though simple…
They had gone to great lengths to prepare it in secret.
The first ti…
He had a real birthday.
“Yeah.”
“I guess I really… forgot.”
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