Ch.266Side Story: Birthday Banquet – 1

“You really made a mess of things, sis.”

“You figured it out quickly. We even made a pinky promise to keep it a secret between the three of us. I guess bribing with food wasn’t quite enough.”

“Sorry, but they’re closer friends to me. No, I shouldn’t apologize. I’m the one who got ambushed here.”

As I entered the empty room on the third floor, Diana greeted me as if she’d been waiting. She had changed from her heavily decorated party dress into more comfortable attire.

“When did you order it? Weren’t you with my friends?”

“They asked a passing maid for more cookies. Since they were already eating various things, I tempted them with specially prepared limited-edition marshmallow cookies. Both of them ate well. I don’t know where it all went in those tiny bodies.”

“How much did they eat?”

“Between the two of them, three large cookie jars. Beatrice told me.”

Three large cookie jars would be just under 3kg total. Beatrice must have made up that story since she knew those two were goddesses.

It was obvious what reaction would come if people knew that two girls who looked about 12 years old had devoured nearly 30kg of cookies.

“Be careful not to get stomachaches later. Eating too much isn’t good.”

“It’s fine. If they get sick, I can use healing magic.”

“You should prevent them from getting sick in the first place. You’re showing your inexperience with children.”

“What about you, sis? Just so you know, if you say you read it in an erotic novel, your bookshelf will be much lighter tomorrow morning.”

“…Anyway, whose child is she? Everyone around you looks too young to be a mother.”

Diana brazenly changed the subject. That damn erotic novel is the problem. I should hold a reading session one of these days.

“She’s a relative. From Ciel’s side.”

“You said before that Ciel was an orphan. I remember she could only transfer to Bellium Academy after we vouched for her.”

“Did I say that?”

I responded nonchalantly.

I never pried into the details when I brought Ciel here. That still holds true. We have a policy of not touching each other’s secrets as long as they don’t harm the family.

Besides, with the crown princess, hero, and saint by our side, she must be confident that we know their identities. She’s just preventing it from leaking out for whatever reason.

“Personally, I’m inclined to believe our bold little sister has a hidden child. What do you think?”

“You just said the people around me look too young to be mothers. You know I’m about the same age as those young-looking kids, right?”

“You could have used magic. The director of Erestica is one of the candidates. I know she’s quite fond of you. Or maybe, just maybe, it could be the Sword Saint. Perhaps the reason the Sword Saint disappeared was because she fell for some man.”

“As if.”

Whether it was a joke from the start, Diana calmly downed her champagne. Her already slender figure looked even more delicate with the elongated champagne glass.

“So, how does it feel to have the bomb returned to you?”

“It’s too harsh to call people who came to celebrate a fellow club member’s sister’s birthday a ‘bomb.’ That’s mean.”

“You’re the mean one. ‘Fellow club member’? Those ‘fellow club members’ would be very disappointed to hear that. None of them seemed to want to be called that.”

She’s sharp as always. Seeing that I didn’t deny it, Diana shook her head.

“You should be careful, Mira. There’s an old saying that the place where men are most likely to get stabbed is in bed, and the most common reason is women troubles.”

“What old saying? You probably read that in an erotic novel.”

“…Anyway, the women around you are all extraordinary people.”

Diana shot me a sharp glance, changing the subject just like before. Seems I hit the mark.

“It’s fine. They’re not like that. This might sound a bit trashy, but…”

“That’s not just trashy-sounding, it is trashy. Speak properly, my lovely little sister.”

Without knowing the details, I couldn’t argue with such comments. We both chuckled.

Diana slightly lifted the champagne bottle as if asking if I wanted a drink. I didn’t refuse and sat on the sofa across from her. The green grape jelly-colored liquid gurgled into the glass.

“Why the alcohol? Drinking alone without snacks seems pitiful.”

“Because someone who lives somewhere brought a bunch of women and raised my profile from day one. I couldn’t help but drink out of worry for the second and third days.”

“Who told you to be healthy? You should have done like me.”

I had never invited people for my birthday. It was part of the overprotection I received until I entered Bellium Academy.

Though my parents rented the same banquet hall as they did for my two sisters so I wouldn’t feel hurt, it wasn’t very useful to me since I disliked such things from the start.

“Hmm, really? I guess you haven’t heard yet.”

Diana smiled mischievously. An uneasy feeling began creeping into a corner of my mind.

“Starting this year, they’re going to celebrate your birthday just like ours.”

“…What? Why?”

I asked in confusion. Diana answered as if wondering why I would even ask.

“Obviously because you’re better now. Mom and Dad were so sad that you always celebrated alone modestly. But now you’ve recovered. With their personalities, they wouldn’t just let it go. They’re really determined.”

A chill ran down my spine.

My parents in this world casually commit all sorts of financial extravagances even without determination. With them being determined, I couldn’t even imagine how grand the scale would be.

“Ah, don’t worry. I’ll also mobilize all my connections to make our lovely sister’s first birthday banquet magnificent. Only a week left, right? You’d better prepare yourself.”

“Mira, you heard too, right? They’re planning a huge birthday party, it seems?”

Rosaria approached with a fuss. Karna, who was visiting the club room after a long time, also opened her eyes wide.

“Really? Didn’t you say we’d celebrate quietly just among ourselves?”

“That was the plan. But it changed.”

There was a reason for this situation. The entire Crate family trading company had started a sale in celebration of my upcoming birthday.

The Crate family owns one of the largest trading companies in the Empire, easily counted among the top. With that enormous number of stores all advertising discounts, imagine the impact.

Even the department stores located throughout the Empire were no exception. Beatrice said this was just the beginning, which truly horrified me when I first heard it.

“That’s great! Birthdays should be celebrated grandly!”

Rosaria rushed over. Then she suddenly tried to pull my head into her chest, so I quickly grabbed both her armpits and lifted her up.

Due to our nearly 20cm height difference, Rosaria ended up dangling like a cat held by its front legs. Her face turned sulky.

“Am I a cat? Why are you doing this?”

“Well. Wouldn’t you know better, Rosaria, since you’re the one who awkwardly rushed at me?”

“…Awkward? I don’t think so.”

Her attitude clearly suggested something was going on. Seeing Rosaria playing dumb, Laura quietly pressed her brow. Priscilla was looking at her with contemptuous eyes beside her.

Judging by their reactions, it seems definitely related to those two.

“If you don’t want to tell me, fine.”

Just like Erestica does to me, I sat Rosaria on my thigh and hugged her from behind to hold her in place. The height difference wasn’t that great, so her head stuck out over my shoulder, but this was enough.

I could feel Rosaria stiffening from the unexpected back hug.

“Some people have already had their birthdays, right? That’s why I wanted to keep mine normal, just among us.”

In fact, some had already had their birthdays before we became this close. Since their birthdays fell during the semester, we just exchanged small gifts.

So I had planned to keep things simple this year and celebrate more grandly next year, but that plan fell apart.

“That’s fortunate. We would never approve of such an unreasonable plan.”

“Right. That’s good.”

Elisier drew a firm line, and Leona agreed. Everyone else seemed to share similar thoughts. I intuitively felt that things were going to get enormously out of hand.

As always, bad premonitions don’t miss the mark. That very day, a message arrived from the Mages’ Association.

“To commemorate Mira Crate’s eighteenth birthday, the Mages’ Association has developed a magic to launch fireworks across the Empire’s skies for 18 hours on the day of—”

“Just try it. I’ll show you exactly what I’m capable of.”

Fireworks for 18 hours? Do these people have any conscience at all?

Though they probably never had any to begin with.

It would be fortunate if all proposals were like the Mages’ Association’s, which I could reject on my own. The Emperor’s direct proposal couldn’t be flatly refused.

Perhaps hearing from Laura, the Emperor conveyed that he would allow a golden statue of me to be erected in my mansion’s courtyard. Thanks to that, I had to go through all sorts of trouble to politely decline.

“Hohohohoho, child…”

And the biggest hurdle, Erestica, greeted me with an ominously sinister laugh when I visited her after hearing the news. Her eyes were overflowing with a mixture of affection and desire.

“Why are you laughing so ominously?”

“Your birthday is coming soon, isn’t it? I’ve been thinking about what to do.”

“I don’t see how contemplation relates to sinister laughter.”

Fortunately, she didn’t commit the insane act of announcing my birthday to the entire Bellium Academy. But it was clear she was planning something unsettling.

“Sinister laughter? Absolutely not.”

“…”

It really doesn’t seem like it’s not sinister.