**VIP Chapter 84: Birthday Party – Guess Who Wasn’t Invited?**
“Without Iaar, Young Master wouldn’t remember at all. Wait… Young Master, why are you crying?”
“Indeed. Did we do something wrong?”
“I… I’m crying?”
Will blinked, as if coming to his senses. He touched the tear trickling down his cheek with his finger, realizing the candles before him were also a bit blurry.
Iaar leaned closer and wiped his tears with her small handkerchief.
*The crying Young Master… is too cute…*
“No… you did very well. It’s precisely because… I’m so happy.”
Treya looked at Will.
He was indeed crying. Although not many tears, they had still dampened a corner of the handkerchief.
But for some reason…
Treya, usually slow to understand, felt that he was genuinely happy. And because of this perception…
Treya also felt… a little… excited? Joyful? Satisfied?
In short, it was like… a kind of pleasant emotion filling her heart, as if it had just received what it was seeking.
She felt more at ease.
“There, there, no more crying. How do we proceed with the rest of the birthday?”
Will took the handkerchief from Iaar.
He thought of Treya.
In reality… he was also a little slow to process his own emotions.
“That’s great, Young Master! Blow out the candles!”
“On my birthdays, I also blow out candles. That’s how it goes… right?”
“After blowing out the candles, we can eat the cake faster. Young Master, make a wish quickly, or the wax will drip onto it.”
“Okay.”
Will looked at Iaar and Treya across from him.
Iaar, timid and afraid to take a step, had boldly planned a birthday surprise.
Treya, who wasn’t good at expressing emotions, had dragged him here in a clumsy but firm manner.
No longer were there servants circling him, staring at him while he made wishes, hoping he would quickly finish this mandatory birthday party.
Although it was a pity that someone was missing…
But…
Perhaps he was wrong. Seeing the two people he had personally changed being able to…
Being born into this world truly was something worth celebrating.
Will closed his eyes.
This world seemed to lack the familiar “Happy Birthday” song, but Will hummed it in his heart.
From closing his eyes to thinking of a wish, the time seemed to stretch.
He took a deep breath.
*May all you jilted lovers in the future successfully embark on your “blackening,” and hold onto your lovers tightly!*
*And… since I haven’t made a birthday wish in so many years, I’ll be greedy and make another.*
*I hope to find my own Heroine.*
“Phew…”
The room plunged into darkness.
Then, Will saw an unfamiliar little maid in the dimness, lighting up the room.
Wait?!
This place…
He looked at the soft bed.
And the small doll at his feet that he had dragged down earlier.
Was this Treya’s boudoir?!
“Treya, it’s your room again…”
“I wanted to be in the reception hall. But it wasn’t dark yet, and even with the curtains drawn, there was still light. Iaar said this wouldn’t do…”
“Of course, Iaar’s… maid handbook said so! A surprise needs to be delivered in complete darkness to truly have the meaning of ‘surprise’!”
Actually, Iaar had read this in “Blackening 300 Questions,” Question 119: “One must be adept at using darkness to startle the other party to better control them psychologically!”
She was proud that she had used it so effectively and was sure the Young Master would appreciate her serious study.
“Oh, right, speaking of which, are these the stockings I gave to Treya before?”
“Yes. I wanted to return them to Teacher Will…”
“It’s okay! They’re yours now, and you absolutely must wear these when the time comes!”
“Okay…”
“So, did you just… take them off?”
Will asked cautiously, anticipating an exciting answer, but…
“Don’t worry, Young Master of the Hysterm Family.”
The maid who had just turned off the lights interrupted him.
“After every training session, Princess Treya’s clothes, including her stockings, are washed with a royal-grade, high-concentration detergent. They are then dried and disinfected using a unique combination of the royal maids’ wind and fire attribute magic. This ensures ‘immediate reuse after washing,’ providing the best maintenance for any garment that needs to be worn repeatedly.”
…
Will’s heart, which had been burning with birthday joy, instantly turned ice cold.
He looked at Treya, who was holding the stockings in her hands, the same ones she had just used to cover his eyes…
After such vigorous washing…
They had lost all their soul!
“So powerful! Iaar wants to learn too—”
“You are NOT allowed to learn!!!!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After eating the cake, it was getting late.
Treya still had the royal carriage take them home.
“Well then… see you tomorrow. I… I’ll have my subordinate bring suitable clothes. Uh…”
Treya stood outside the carriage, wanting to say something but hesitating.
It wasn’t a hesitant utterance of being unable to speak, but an extreme desire to speak, yet an inability to express it properly.
She wanted to ask Will something, especially about the feeling she had when she saw his expression during the birthday party.
Was she…
Closer to what she wanted to learn?
On this long day, Will also felt that Treya had undergone some peculiar changes.
Especially…
When she directly covered his eyes with the stockings.
Oh, of course, it wasn’t lust for her stockings.
Treya was more difficult to guide than he had imagined, yet she was always one step ahead in the strangest ways.
Such a diligent princess might need some encouragement—encouragement to stray further down the wrong path.
“Wait, Young Master?”
Will opened the carriage door and stepped out.
“You did very well today.”
He tiptoed, leaned close to Treya’s slightly taller form, and whispered, sending a puff of air near her pointed ear.
“Treya, remember how you felt today, and relive it in your dreams.”
Treya’s long, pointed ear trembled. She flinched back a couple of steps, covering her ear. For the first time, a blush appeared on her usually impassive face.
“S-sorry, it’s… a little ticklish… it feels strange…”
“This… this…”
Will was completely flustered.
Were elf ears really such sensitive spots?!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the carriage approached Will’s house.
“Ahem. Birthdays, birthdays, such trivial matters are clearly visible on the student roster, so… Happy Birthday!”
“Hmph! Isn’t it a bit improper for a teacher to peek at the roster?”
Liya hugged her arms and ambled from one meter to the left of Will’s front door to one meter to the right.
“Witches who are fifteen years old all have a storage ring. What? It’s your fifteenth birthday today!? Happy birthday. Oh dear, I didn’t prepare a gift, so I’ll give you this ring.”
“That seems a bit forced. The kid would see through it immediately.”
Liya took off her large hat, pinched the brim, and turned, pacing from one meter to the right of Will’s front door to one meter to the left.
“Wow, your house has such a big cake. Oh, so it’s your birthday, happy birthday. Alas, all I have on me is this gift. I’m really not here just to get cake.”
“No, no, what if they’ve already eaten the cake? It is a bit late… but who knows, my Witch Express Delivery just arrived with the ring!”
Liya scratched her Twin Tails, making one side higher than the other.
“Fine, let’s do something direct, wild, and cute—”
“Sparkle~ Sparkle~ Witch Liya appears on this birthday night, bringing a birthday gift from the forest to the birthday child~ Today’s gift is a storage ring, Happy Birthday, Wi~ll~ Dear~”
Liya spun in a circle, closed her eyes to wink, and extended a hand, offering the gift.
“Uh… Teacher Liya? How… how did you know it was my birthday? And how… huh… coincidentally… right at my doorstep?”
Then, she saw Will standing in front of her.
“Teacher Liya?”
The little maid walked down with her luggage.
She remained in that pose, her face instantly turning red.
“Anyway, happy birthday, very happy birthday, I saw it on the student roster, I’m absolutely not here to freeload your cake. That’s all for today, see you at school on Monday—”
Employing her “escape technique” from their first meeting, which cost a hefty sum (one piece of chalk), she drew a teleportation circle at Will’s front door and vanished.
Leaving behind only a small box… and the ring inside.
