"You are back."

Cecilia rose from her sofa chair the moment she heard the familiar rhythm of Arkai’s footsteps at the door. She had been waiting since she had known Arkai would return.

She wasn’t sure what condition Roarke was in now, but Arkai’s footsteps were steady. So she assumed everything was alright.

"Lord Father!"

Rinne launched himself off the sofa. He had been containing his worry for the better part of an hour and was now allowing it to escape in one explosive motion. His dark eyes scanned Arkai’s face for signs of injury or distress.

"Where were you? Did something happen?"

Cecilia had not told him. After Borak had delivered the message from the temple and after she told Arkai, prompting him to check for himself, she had simply told Rinne that his father needed to step out.

She had not told him where or why, just wait. And Rinne had waited.

Arkai looked at both of them and his face softened. He smiled apologetically and said, "Nothing serious."

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Cecilia’s forehead, and his hand found Rinne’s head, fingers ruffling through the boy’s dark hair.

"Just checking on someone I know." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Ah. Cecilia realized Arkai had decided that for now, they were not to tell Rinne about Roarke yet.

The boy knew his biological father was in the capital. He had seen him from behind a cracked door, walking down a corridor hand in hand with Bimo. But the wound was still fresh. Some reunions needed time.

Cecilia nodded to show that she understood.

She turned and caught Borak’s eye. He had been lingering near the doorway, his wolf ears pricked attentively.

"Send a message to Angel’s Bunny," she said. "Tell him the news that everything’s alright."

Borak nodded once and vanished down the corridor.

"If everything is okay," Rinne immediately said, "let’s begin the celebration now?"

The cake was a masterpiece.

Oathran, who had been hiding in the estate’s back kitchen, had in fact been constructing an elaborate, three-tiered confection before he left.

The frosting was white and decorated with delicate, silver sugar flowers that must have taken hours to craft. The candles were tall and slender.

He said baking was easier than cooking. Cooking involved a lot of improvisation. Baking, though, he just needed to follow strict instructions. And Arkai was surprised to find out that his brother had actually baked him a birthday cake.

They gathered around the table in the private dining chamber, just the three of them, while the telepathic bond hummed with the presence of the two who could not be there in body but refused to be absent in spirit.

[Eastiel: Happy—]

[Oathran: Happy birthday to you—]

The voices wove together in Cecilia’s mind.

[Eastiel: Happy birthday to you—]

"Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday—Daddy!"

Cecilia clapped loudly. After the first song was over, her voice rose in a singsong melody that did not match any traditional birthday chant.

"Now, blow the candle~ blow the candle~ blow the candle, make a wish~ make a birthday wish~ make a birthday wish~!"

Arkai chuckled. It was such a silly song. No one had ever sung any of the like for him in a century of birthdays. He didn’t even recognize any similar song. Did she make up the song?

He closed his eyes, made a wish, and blew out the candles in a single breath.

The room erupted in cheers. Rinne whooped, and Cecilia clapped again, her singsong trailing off into laughter. And through the bond, Oathran and Eastiel added their own distant, mental applause.

"Next!" Cecilia commanded brightly. A wooden cake knife floated gently toward Arkai’s hand, guided by the faint shimmer of telekinesis.

With the same tune she had used for the candle song, Cecilia launched into a new verse, "Cut the blessed cake~ cut the blessed cake~ cut the blessed cake, right away~ Cut it ri~ght a~way, give it to your so—"

"No." Arkai suddenly said firmly. "It is for you first."

He slid the knife through the white frosting. The slice came away clean, a perfect triangle of cake and cream and the faint, sweet scent of vanilla.

"Rinne, back away."

"But I am not even—!" Rinne protested after being preemptively accused of a crime he had not committed. "I am not snatching Mother’s piece! Why do I need to back away?!"

Cecilia chuckled, accepting the plate from Arkai’s hands with a small bow of her head. "You might not get the first piece," she said, "But you will get the first bite."

She scooped a spoonful of cake and fed it to Rinne. The boy’s indignation evaporated instantly, and he hummed happily.

[Oathran: Come on, Cecilia. Give us some images.]

[Eastiel: Yes! Not just images, let us see what you see!]

[Cecilia: You both know the telepathic function is a bit confusing when we are all excited. Here. Be satisfied with this for now.]

She transmitted a series of mental snapshots.

[Cecilia: Cake.jpg, Arkai_blowing_candle.jpg, Rinne_singing.jpg]

[Eastiel: He is getting so big. Is he getting so big? He looks taller than last time I saw him. It has only been a few... weeks?]

[Oathran: Children grow quickly at that age. Also, the cake looks excellent. I am very proud of that cake.]

[Arkai: The cake is perfect, Brother. Thank you.]

The presents came after.

Cecilia had thought about this carefully. Oathran had received a cane for his birthday. For Arkai, she had decided to give one of the only three functional items in the gacha shop.

The [Ugly Shawl], when she produced it from her inventory, was a humble thing. It was knitted and woolen, the kind you’d see a grandmother might make for a young grandchild. It was decorated with a pattern of flowers and bunnies and sheep.

But the item description, when she had ranked it up to its maximum potential, told a different story.

[Ugly Shawl]

[Keeps you warm no matter what, whether it is freezing cold weather or scorching hot weather!]

[Neutralizes all extreme temperatures for you and your party to 85.7% the effect!]

Arkai looked at the shawl. The shawl looked back at him with its knitted-on bunnies and sheep. He blinked.

"Is it... because I took your pink rabbit trinket from Eastiel...?"