Special Side Story – Episode 3

Time passed, and it was finally the birthday Jeremy had been counting down to.

You might expect that the birthday party of the Young Lord of Offenheir would be an extravagant banquet swarmed with guests eager to celebrate—

But that wasn’t the case.

Due to many past events, Elze didn’t like exposing family occasions to the outside world.

And Dante, who was famous in the social circles as the most devoted husband, gladly went along with her wishes.

As a result, the Offenheir family’s celebrations became private affairs, shared only among family.

“All the food’s ready, right?”

“Yes. The cake is finished, too.”

“Good.”

Right now, the Offenheir townhouse was filled with the atmosphere of a festival.

Sparkling gold and silver decorations hung here and there, and the table was covered with Jeremy’s favorite bunny-patterned tablecloth.

Instead of formal uniforms, the household staff wore brightly colored outfits tailored to Jeremy’s tastes.

In the kitchen, everyone was sweating bullets, pouring their hearts into preparing dishes for the beloved young master.

And at last, when Jeremy saw his birthday table for the first time—

“Wow, it’s a bear!!”

He let out a loud shout of delight.

Overwhelmed with excitement, Jeremy dashed over to the table.

He circled the cake placed in the center, inspecting it closely, then turned to Elze with sparkling eyes.

“It’s a bear! Mom! It’s a bear!!”

That’s right.

To celebrate Jeremy’s birthday, the kitchen staff had prepared all his favorite foods.

And the highlight among them was the cake.

The family’s pâtissier had poured every bit of skill into it, crafting a snow-white whipped cream cake with a large chocolate bear sitting on top.

When Jeremy saw it, he nearly fainted from joy.

“Jeremy, you have to sit down first.”

Elze gently coaxed her son.

So Jeremy sat down—for now—but his eyes never left the cake.

Dante chuckled softly and asked him,

“Want me to stick the candles in for you?”

“I want to! I’ll do it!”

Jeremy stretched out his arms, pleading.

Dante gladly handed over the candles he was holding.

“I’m six now, so…”

Jeremy carefully studied the colorful candles, picked out six that matched the chocolate bear in the center,

and placed them on the cake with great focus.

He made sure not to damage the chocolate bear, arranging the candles in a circle around it.

With shining eyes, he said,

“I want to blow them out now!”

Blowing out the birthday candles was one of Jeremy’s favorite things.

“Alright.”

Dante took out some matches and lit the candles one by one.

Six flames flickered brightly.

Jeremy puffed his cheeks full of air and blew out the candles in a big gust.

Then he looked up with a wide grin.

“I blew them out!”

Clap, clap, clap!

Dante and Elze clapped loudly.

“Happy birthday, our son.”

“Jeremy’s already six now.”

Normally, it would be time to cut the cake.

But Jeremy looked up at his parents with longing eyes.

And then—

“I want to blow them out again!”

“Again?”

“Yes!”

Jeremy nodded so hard it looked like his head might fall off.

Meanwhile, at the sight of his son being so adorable, Dante looked half out of his mind.

“My goodness, Elze,”

He murmured in a dazed voice.

“Whose son is he, to be that cute…?”

“Get a hold of yourself,”

Elze replied, her tone a bit exasperated.

Snapping back to reality, Dante grinned and leaned in to plant a loud kiss on Elze’s cheek.

“Of course, our son’s that cute because he takes after you.”

“…Honestly, you’re impossible.”

Faced with his teasing words, Elze couldn’t help but laugh along in the end.

* * *

Jeremy had, without a doubt, the perfect day.

He blew out his birthday candles a total of six times.

(After about the fourth time, the candles had melted down so much that they had to be replaced.)

He ate two big slices of whipped cream cake.

Of course, the chocolate bear on top was his.

Elze, who normally restricted sweets out of concern for cavities, made an exception and let her son indulge just for today.

After that, with his belly completely full, Jeremy eagerly tore into the mountain of presents piled high.

The Duke of Kaleid had sent a premium set of fairy tale books, and the Schmaikel merchant guild had gifted a handcrafted toy sword made by a master artisan.

(Honestly, Jeremy liked the toy sword a lot more than the books.)

But the gift he liked the most was, without question—

“Wow, it’s a rocking horse!”

Jeremy, bursting with excitement, climbed onto the rocking horse in an instant.

Grabbing the reins with both hands, he shook the horse back and forth with all his might.

“Giddy-up! Giddy-up!”

Then he whipped his head around and called out to Elze in a dolphin-high voice,

“Mom, look! I’m good at this, right?”

“You sure are. Well done, sweetheart.”

Elze smiled brightly.

He’d already ridden real horses a few times before, but the rocking horse was clearly a different kind of thrill.

After all, riding real horses required sitting snug in Dante’s arms—but the rocking horse, he could ride all by himself.

And so Jeremy played to his heart’s content on his rocking horse, and later joined a massive game of hide-and-seek that included not just his family but even the household staff.

Eventually, the sun set.

The finale of Jeremy’s perfect day was a bedtime story, read aloud by his mother.

“And so, the brave little bear…”

Elze paused and lowered the book slightly.

Despite his earlier efforts to keep his eyes open wide, Jeremy had already drifted off to sleep.

His rose-colored lips were parted slightly, and he let out soft, rhythmic breaths.

Elze reached out and gently smoothed his tousled hair.

Her amber eyes glowed warmly as she looked down at her son.

“He really does look more and more like Dante.”

And truthfully, Elze was very pleased about that.

At the same time, she felt a small pang of regret.

If only she had been able to comfort the younger, lonely Dante like this back then.

‘Not that thinking about it now will change anything…’

Just then, someone gently wrapped their arms around her from behind.

A low voice whispered softly against her ear.

“Sweetheart.”

It was Dante, dressed casually in loungewear.

Instead of being startled, Elze leaned into his arms with ease.

“You’re here?”

In that moment, something stirred in Dante’s chest.

Elze no longer flinched or froze when he approached unexpectedly.

She welcomed him instead, calmly and naturally.

That change… filled him with so much joy.

Overcome with emotion, Dante placed a quick kiss on Elze’s cheek.

Then, still holding her close, he leaned his head slightly forward to check on the sleeping Jeremy.

“He asleep?”

“Yes, just now.”

Even with his father entering the room, Jeremy remained soundly asleep.

“Mmm… yum, yum…”

Maybe he was dreaming about eating something tasty—his little mouth moved in a smacking motion.

At the adorable sight, Dante had to suppress a laugh before it escaped.

He couldn’t risk waking the peacefully sleeping child.

Lowering his voice, Dante whispered to Elze,

“By the way, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“What is it?”

“Well, Jeremy’s six now, right?”

Dante continued, sounding serious.

“So I was thinking… maybe it’s time he started going to kindergarten.”

“Kindergarten?”

Elze’s eyes widened in surprise.