I looked at Cedric for a moment.

Eight red candles moved within the yellow gold eyes.

But Cedric was staring into my eyes, neither the candle nor the cake.

‘If it was Cedric in normal times, he would have avoided my gaze first because he was embarrassed and gritty.’

I suddenly became puzzled.

I thought Cedric was a bit strange today.

No, actually, I didn’t even know he was weird.

Because Cedric’s eyes staring intently at me seemed to express his gratitude to me.

‘That can’t be true.’

I paused for a moment, then turned my gaze to the cake, and started singing Happy Birthday in a small voice.

“Happy birthday……”

That was then.

Before I could even finish the first bar of the song, the door opened with a rattling sound.

Our eyes naturally turned towards the door.

It was none other than Cedric’s two older brothers who entered our modest birthday party.

“… Huh, huh. The birthday party hasn’t started yet right?”

“……Sorry for being late.”

Cervan, who seemed to have rushed down the hallway, and Ceyden, who seemed to have been led by Cervan’s hand.

Two unexpected guests, Cedric and I were greatly surprised.

In fact, Cedric was more surprised than me.

Of course,

“How, how are you guys here?”

“How did we get here, the servant in your room told me? You and your friend are having a birthday party or something.”

Cervan answered Cedric’s question.

“And I was going to come alone, but in the middle I met eldest brother and came with him.”

Hearing the answer, Cedric looked blank.

I thought about it.

In fact, Cedric was really curious about the ‘why’ rather than the ‘how’ they came.

“But isn’t everyone busy?”

To Cedric’s small murmur, this time Ceyden answered.

“Right. Cervan too, I’m busy too. It’s individual training, and it’s like a job.”

Cedric’s expression turned strange at those words.

‘Then why are you here? It’s useless. Go work.’ A face that looks like it’s going to spit out that.

But before that, Ceyden continued.

Unlike the expression of the insensitive knight I had seen earlier, he had a human expression.

So, can you say that it is a combination of eyes full of regret and embarrassment at the impulsive visit?

“…so our family never had a birthday party. Father, mother, and brothers. So you thought such a party was formal and useless. Isn’t that right?”

At Ceyden’s words, Cedric and Cervan silently nodded their heads.

I, too, recalled what Cedric said earlier, about why he would do useless things?

…well, the atmosphere is somber.

I rolled my eyes to look around and then rolled them back.

Because I also have a sense of humor, I decided that it would be better not to step out as an outsider (?) in the current situation.

In place of Ceyden, who had been silent for a while at the end of the question mark, Cervan opened his mouth again.

“But it’s not strange. They said you were having a birthday party and I suddenly wanted to go, Haha. I wonder what they do at birthday parties, well, for no particular reason. Maybe he came from the same thoughts as me.”

Nodding.

As if agreeing with Cervan, Ceyden nodded his head briefly.

Then Cervan suddenly shouted in surprise.

“……Hey! All the candles will melt and flow! But why are there so many candles? Come to think of it, why did you close the window in the daytime?”

At his words, my gaze swung toward the candle.

It really was.

Eight candles were pouring their candle wax eagerly towards the floor.

Waah, I’m going to set the tablecloth on fire like this!

“Hey, it’s time to celebrate your birthday! When it comes to birthday parties, it’s important to blow out candles the number of Cedric’s age in a dark room after singing. Now, I will sing, so please sing along!”

I hurriedly intervened in their conversation. Then everyone followed me.

When I finally finished singing, I smiled brightly and shouted.

“……Happy birthday, Cedric! Now blow out the candles!”

Actually, it didn’t sound very good.

It was the first time both Cervan and Ceyden sang a song, so there were some deviations in the notes, and the beat and timing were different, so it was like singing a roundabout song.

But what is certain is that Cedric was happy even with such a crude song.

And I was satisfied with that.

“Whoo-”

“…Wow! Clap clap!”

To his surprise, Cedric extinguished all the candles with one breath.

I was startled by the sight, but I cried out and clapped my hands.

As a knight, I think his lung capacity is good.

“Happy Birthday. Cedric.”

“……me too. Congratulations. Happy birthday.”

And Cedric’s two older brothers, both looking away from Cedric, were congratulating him.

Hey, are you both embarrassed of this?

“Everyone…thank you for the congratulations.”

Cedric also seemed unfamiliar and embarrassed by this situation.

Even after everyone’s congratulations, it had been a while since I quietly opened my mouth to express my gratitude.

It was a short talk compared to the time I hesitated.

However, it was clear that the heart inside it was at least the deepest gratitude among Cedric’s emotions I had ever seen.

I looked at Cedric and his brothers for a moment in a happy mood.

I just wanted to let Cedric know that it was a happy birthday, but somehow I felt like I was helping Cedric’s family to reconcile.

‘Well, that’s not a bad thing.’