"Huh? Where did Aslan go?"

"He went out with the knight sister for something important!"

"What? He left without saying anything while I was just washing my face...?"

Pouting, Yuria couldn't hide her disappointment.

Charlotte looked at her intently, trying to figure out what was going through her mind, but...

"Ugh! I don’t understand at all!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

She quickly gave up.

Aslan could understand the sincerity of Yuria's feelings just by looking at her expressions, gestures, and habits of speech?

How is that even possible!?

She just couldn’t grasp it.

"Did you talk about something while I wasn’t around?"

"Huh? Ah, no? Nothing?"

"Really?"

Charlotte hurriedly shook her head.

She had heard quite a lot, though.

No matter how harshly Yuria spoke, it was all translated into Yuria’s true feelings in Aslan's ears...

Of course, she wasn’t about to let Yuria know this.

If Yuria found out that Aslan understood her every word, even when she was speaking carelessly, Yuria would probably never try to be honest again.

That would be too much of a betrayal.

Maybe that’s why Aslan had kept it hidden all this time.

"...Something’s annoying."

"Huh? Why?"

"Why do you always push me like that? Why do you always try to rile me up by acting like the villain...?"

"But if I don’t do this, Yuria won’t change, right?"

"...."

Yuria became speechless in the face of Charlotte’s calm answer.

After all, it was true.

If it weren’t for Charlotte’s shocking approach, Yuria would probably still be denying that she liked Aslan.

Charlotte must have felt terribly frustrated watching that.

‘I need to change now...’

Yuria clenched her fists and made a resolution.

She knew that Aslan would approach her first.

She knew that Charlotte would help her become the Countess.

That was why she hadn’t been able to be honest so far with her lukewarm attitude.

But in the end, it was her own responsibility to take the first step.

She would muster up the courage, even if it was scary, and she felt she could now prepare herself to confess her true feelings to Aslan.

‘By the way, when Aslan said he was just as interested in me as in Yuria... was he just saying that out of politeness...?'

Suddenly, Aslan’s words from earlier popped into her head, and Charlotte bit her lip softly, letting out a small sigh.

It must have been just a polite remark.

After all, Yuria was so cute and gentle, the perfect girl in every way.

And Yuria was definitely the one Aslan would choose if he had to pick a bride.

But... Aslan had never lied to her—well, except for a few times... maybe two... three...?

Occasionally, when he teased her, he would joke, but aside from that, Aslan had always been truthful with her.

He wasn’t the type to tell empty compliments just to make people feel good.

So, when Aslan said something, it was always sincere.

So, does that mean Aslan really was as interested in her as Yuria?

Why?

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand.

"Yuria. Am I cute?"

"Of course you are."

"In what way?"

"Hmm... maybe... you're healthy? You smile so brightly that it makes others feel good? And...?"

As Yuria pondered and listed her good qualities, Charlotte became increasingly confused.

These were all cute traits, but not really in a way that made her seem cute as a girl—they were more childlike...

Aslan wouldn’t be interested in her for those reasons, right?

But if that’s the case, why would he have an interest in her?

The more she thought about it, the more she felt herself falling into a confusion.

"Ugh! I don’t know! I’ve been thinking so much, now I’m suddenly hungry!"

"I think I want a snack too..."

Charlotte shook her head to clear her thoughts and stood up quickly.

Feeling slightly hungry herself, Yuria followed behind.

As she watched Yuria, Charlotte tilted her head curiously.

"But Yuria, you pretty much always stay inside."

"Right?"

"You don’t move around nearly as much as I do."

"That’s not because I don’t move, it’s because you move too much..."

As far as activity goes, Charlotte was ahead by far.

Yet, when it came to food, Yuria seemed to eat much more than her.

Charlotte was always so busy with training that she rarely had time to eat more than three meals a day with maybe a snack.

But Yuria seemed to always be eating something while reading books, studying, or chatting with spirits.

Where did all that food go, considering she didn’t move much?

Charlotte pondered seriously as she tapped her chin.

"Ah."

"Huh? What?"

"Never mind... I just thought... Yuria must need a lot more nutrition..."

Charlotte looked down at Yuria’s neck and then let out a sigh of realization.

She touched her chest awkwardly and suddenly became melancholic.

After all, Yuria was still growing, so it made sense she would eat more.

With her curiosity leading to this realization, Charlotte only felt more downhearted.

"Mm? But the kitchen looks like it's busy?"

"What's going on? Maid sister!"

As they headed toward the dining area, they could already see the maids and chefs bustling around in the hallway.

Usually, meal prep didn’t start this early, did it?

No, even if they were preparing a meal, it was unusual for this many people to be involved.

"Is there a big crowd coming for dinner today?"

"Ah, didn’t the master tell you? It's the master’s birthday today, so we’re putting a little extra effort into tonight’s dinner."

"Birthday!? Really?"

A birthday!

The news came completely unexpectedly, and both Yuria and Charlotte were surprised.

Why didn’t he mention it?

But then again, with someone like Aslan, who had such a careless personality, it made sense that he might forget his own birthday.

"I want to give him a present!"

"How about a massage coupon refill?"

"I already gave him 100 more just recently!"

"Oh, right."

"How about a cake?"

Yuria hesitated for a moment before cautiously bringing up the suggestion.

A birthday cake. As soon as Yuria mentioned it, Charlotte seemed to understand exactly what she meant.

Back in her orphanage days...

When she would go to the market with the coins she earned from polishing shoes, she would always be drawn to a certain bakery with a magnificent display case.

The display always had a big cake on it.

Every time she saw a happy family entering the bakery and walking out with a cake, she couldn’t help but feel envious.

Even now, Yuria could vividly recall the image of her, Charlotte, and Yuri standing behind that family, watching them leave for what seemed like a perfect day.

"I want to give Aslan a birthday cake... something made with love."

"Cake? The master’s never really had cake on his birthday, but we do have bread and cream, so would you two like to make it yourselves?"

"We want to make it! We’ll make it ourselves and give it to him!"

Charlotte was so excited that she jumped up and down.

Aslan had never received a birthday cake!

They’d never had one either, so they didn’t know exactly how to make one, but...

Yuria clearly remembered how happy the families looked when they were carrying cakes.

It was a once-in-a-year occasion, and she wanted to give Aslan that same happiness.

"I’m glad we chose a spacious location for the estate. Expanding should be no problem."

"Yes, at this rate, we’ll be able to triple the number of employees."

After visiting the Arient Territory, it was confirmed that there were no issues with the expansion of Vermont Security.

The land granted within Arient Territory was so vast that they could still build many more buildings.

They were even considering developing a complex centered around training halls and dormitories.

Currently, the staff had to frequently travel back and forth to the city, as the facilities were lacking.

If they built a complex, that problem would be solved.

"Let’s skip dinner tonight. I need to think more about the design of the complex."

"Huh? You’re skipping dinner? You’re the guest of honor!"

"Guest of honor? What do you mean?"

"Sigh. I guess you’ve forgotten. Today’s the master’s birthday."

"Ah."

It was Aslan Vermont’s birthday today...

I hadn’t even thought about it.

It wasn’t my birthday, and it wasn’t a special day.

I wanted to forget about it, but...

Since the staff had been preparing food since early morning for the master’s birthday, I felt bad ignoring it, so I decided to attend dinner.

...From next year on, I’ll make sure to tell them to prepare regular meals and not make a big deal out of it.

"Happy birthday, Uncle!"

"Aslan, it’s your birthday, right? So we made a cake!"

"...?"

[The Demon God 'Cali' is speechless with emotion.]

As I arrived at the mansion without much expectation, the first thing I heard upon getting out of the carriage was Charlotte and Yuria’s loud voices as they came running with a huge cake above their heads.

At first, I thought they had bought a cake while I was out.

But on closer inspection, this wasn’t a store-bought cake.

It had an obvious homemade look—cream unevenly spread, a bite taken from one corner, and the shape of the cake itself was crooked.

It was definitely handmade.

"Hehe, hehe. I wasn’t really paying attention to it... I just happened to pick it up from the local bakery."

"Yeah! We bought it! Doesn’t it look good?"

"Clean up the cream on your face before talking."

"Ah...!?"

It was a cake made for me by the kids.

It wasn’t the most beautiful cake I’d ever seen, but it was definitely the most beautiful cake I’d ever received.

‘Now there’s no way I can forget this day every year.’

Aslan Vermont’s birthday had passed by like any other day, but thanks to the kids, it became a special occasion.

From now on, my birthday could be considered today too.

[Finally! Did you make a chocolate cake for me? Let me taste it!]

"This one’s for Aslan..."

"Ah! Right! Did we promise to make a cake for Muddy too?"

[Wait, what? Did you forget about me all this time...!?]

Excited, Muddy rushed over to the spot and stopped, his expression changing to one of complete despair.

[Finally! Did you make a chocolate cake for me? Let me taste it!]

"This one’s for Aslan..."

"Ah! Right! Did we promise to make a cake for Muddy too?"

[Wait, what? Did you forget about me all this time...?]

With an excited rush, Muddy dashed over and stopped in his tracks, his expression instantly changing to one of utter disbelief.