Chapter 3.1 – The Birthday Cake of Tears

The swelling in her injured ankle subsided after just one day.  

But her restless heart didn’t settle down even after several days had passed.  

“As I tripped over the tree root, my body tilted forward.”  

“You must’ve thought you were going to fall for sure.”  

Anne, while continuing to tidy the bed sheets, intercepted Bianca’s words in a calm tone.  

“That’s right. I thought so, but then a strong force grabbed my waist, and suddenly my body was lifted into the air.”  

“And your heart must’ve dropped to the floor.”  

“Anne, can’t you just let me finish?”  

Anne’s constant interruptions dampened Bianca’s excitement a little.  

“I feel like I’ve heard this story a hundred times already. I’ve memorized it so well it’s about to show up in my dreams.”  

Had I really told it that many times? 

Elena briefly reflected at Anne’s sulky expression, but she still didn’t intend to stop.  

“This is the last time. Just listen one more time. I’m almost done. So then, he lifted me up like a princess and… oh my, it was so romantic. Uhuuhuuh.”

Uncontrollable laughter escaped her lips.  

“You should’ve just stayed in his arms like that. But in the end, you couldn’t hold on and asked him to put you down, didn’t you?”  

“His Grace’s face was so close! What could I do? I was so nervous I thought I might die first. Still, he carried me all the way here. Hehe.”  

“I’d find being carried even more embarrassing. You’d have to stick your body right against his. Well, as long as you’re happy, that’s what matters.”  

Anne tilted her head, her expression showing she didn’t understand at all. Then, as if convincing herself, she nodded and went back to her tasks.  

Anne clearly hadn’t experienced the so-called ‘princess carry.’ Before it happened to her, Elena had thought the same way.  

“Anne, you’ll understand that feeling soon enough.”  

It was meant as encouragement and reassurance that Anne would find someone like that someday, but Anne didn’t seem to care much. She simply shrugged her shoulders once and left it at that.  

“No matter how much I think about it, something feels different.”  

“What feels different?”  

“His Grace, the Grand Duke. It might just be my imagination, but that day, something felt different about him. He seemed closer, somehow. Could it be a sign that he’s starting to open his heart to me?”  

“Well… I don’t know about that, but carrying you himself was a bit unexpected. I thought for sure he’d call someone to help.”  

“Right? Even you think so, don’t you?”  

Hearing Anne’s agreement lifted her spirits. It felt like she was taking one step closer to the Grand Duke.  

Was this the magic of the book?  

Her trust in the book, which had been dwindling, soared to the heavens after this incident.  

‘I’m glad I tried something, at least.’

Her heart tingled so much she couldn’t sit still.  

She decided she should thank Dean as well. After all, the schedule he had given her had played a significant role in this.  

Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen much of the Grand Duke or Dean over the past few days.  

Were they busy with something?  

With excitement in her steps, she set out to find Dean, intending to give him a mid-progress report and express her gratitude.  

Dean was easier to find than she had expected.  

While looking for him, she noticed a crowd of people and curiously peeked in. At the center of the group was Dean.  

He was busy directing the gathered people, giving out various instructions.  

“You seem extremely busy.”  

“Oh, I was just organizing the storage. A delivery from His Majesty is expected to arrive soon.”  

“A delivery?”  

“Yes. In three days, it’ll be His Grace’s birthday.”  

“Oh… What? His birthday?”  

What had I just heard?  

“Every year, on His Grace’s birthday, His Majesty sends a gift. The quantity is so enormous that we usually stack it all in one place and sort it out slowly. But as it turns out, we haven’t even finished organizing last year’s gifts, so there’s nowhere to put the new ones.”  

Why was I only hearing about this now?  

His birthday? 

She hadn’t even thought about it. She had almost let it pass without knowing anything.  

“Why didn’t you tell me something so important earlier?”  

I hadn’t even prepared a gift…  

What do the Grand Duke like?  

She should’ve pried more answers out of him that day in the rose garden. Now that she thought about it, that had been a God-given opportunity, and she had completely missed it.  

“If you’re thinking of doing something for him, I suggest you reconsider. His Grace doesn’t like birthdays. Actually, he dislikes them quite a lot. Lady Elena, are you listening? Did you hear what I just said?”  

She was too preoccupied with thinking about what gift he might like to really register Dean’s words.  

“Oh, yes. I’m busy, so I’ll be going now.”  

With so much to think about and so much to do, she nodded vaguely and hurriedly left the scene.  

* * *  

“Earlier, you went out so cheerfully. Why do you look so down now?”  

Anne, unable to bear watching her sigh deeply after returning to her room, asked what was wrong.  

“Did you know that His Grace’s birthday is in three days?”  

“Oh my, has it come around already?”  

Wasn’t a master’s birthday supposed to be a major event of the year?  

She couldn’t understand why the people in this castle were so indifferent about it.  

“Ugh. Why didn’t anyone tell me? No, more importantly, if His Grace’s birthday is so soon, shouldn’t everyone be busy preparing for it?”  

“Oh, that’s because His Grace hates celebrating his birthday. It’s always passing by like any other day, so I forgot about it too. I’m sure this year will be the same.”  

Anne replied nonchalantly to Bianca’s complaint, which had a hint of frustration.  

Come to think of it, Dean had said something similar, though she hadn’t paid much attention at the time.  

“Why? Does that mean no one congratulates him? No birthday party?”  

“He hates anything extravagant. I don’t know how it was when he was in the Imperial City, but since coming here, he’s never had one. Though His Majesty always sends gifts that are almost excessive.”  

No matter how much one dislikes extravagance, is there truly anyone in the world who dislikes being congratulated on their birthday?  

“What about a birthday cake?”  

“I’m not sure either. I don’t think that’s been taken care of, but should I ask someone in the kitchen?”  

A day that excites you just thinking about it, a day you eagerly await long before it arrives—that was what a birthday was to her. But it didn’t seem to be the same for the Grand Duke.  

She speculated that the Grand Duke’s dislike for birthdays was likely tied to his birth.  

The Empire did not legally recognize the existence of concubines.  

This rule applied even to the Emperor, so when the Grand Duke, an illegitimate child, was first revealed to the world, he was welcomed by no one.  

Even during his time in the Imperial City, lavish balls were held every year for the Crown Prince’s birthday, but there was never a birthday party for the Grand Duke, who was also a prince.  

Until now, she hadn’t given this much thought.  

She had assumed that, while the celebrations may not have been grand due to public scrutiny, he was at least congratulated by those close to him.  

But now it seemed that the Grand Duke had never truly experienced a proper birthday celebration.  

Such a lonely birthday—it was just too sad.  

Perhaps he avoided it simply because it felt unfamiliar.  

Having never been properly celebrated, he likely didn’t know how joyous it could be.  

She hadn’t known what to do, but now she finally saw what needed to be done.  

* * *  

Late in the evening, the extinguished lights of the kitchen came back on.  

“Ahhh! How could you just pour it in like that? You were supposed to measure it!”  

Gordon, the head chef, who had been watching nervously for some time, snatched the bag of sugar from her hands.  

Now that the kitchen’s work for the day was done, Gordon was demonstrating how to help her make a cake.  

“Measure?”  

“Yes, you have to pour the exact amount into this cup. I clearly told you 40 grams.”  

“But Mr. Gordon, you just poured it in without measuring.”  

“That’s because I’ve honed my instincts over the years. You, my lady, have not.”  

“It looks about the same as yours, though.”  

“No, it’s at least 15 grams more.”  

How picky.  

She had decided to bake a cake herself as a birthday gift for the Grand Duke.  

Rather than buying something with money, she wanted to give a gift filled with sincerity. Or so she wanted to say, but in truth, there wasn’t much else she could do.  

She had considered throwing a party or buying a present, but she didn’t have much money. She had forgotten that she had spent all the money she brought with her at an antique shop before coming here.  

Although the gift was chosen out of necessity, she thought it was still a pretty good choice.  

The only slight problem was… she wasn’t as skilled at cooking as she had thought.  

“Huh? It’s not coming together at all.”  

“You need to whisk it more vigorously. Keep going. Keep going!”  

From the meringue to the batter, making a cake was proving to be much harder than she had imagined.  

She prided herself on excelling at anything that required physical skill, such as embroidery, dancing, or horseback riding, but cooking seemed to belong to an entirely different realm.  

She repeatedly vowed to always eat cake with a reverent and thankful heart from now on.  

“Ahhh! You can’t pour the batter in so full like that! Well, it’s too late now. Once it bakes, it will rise and overflow.”  

“Geez, you could’ve told me earlier.”  

“That’s why I demonstrated it for you.”  

“I just wanted to make it a little bigger…”  

Even after that, every time she did something, Gordon’s cries of “Ahhh!” never ceased.