Birthday

|Arthur|

The ballroom inside the Helstea Manor had been lavishly decorated with colourful string tapestries hung along with other fine embellishments on the tables and stage to match. The elaborate placement of the orbs that made up the chandelier sparkled, creating a serene ambience as the guests started entering through the towering front doors.

I was dressed very formally for the special birthday party the Helsteas and my family decided to throw for Ellie. While this world did have formal wear that was very similar to tuxedos from my old world, this world did not have ties. Instead of ties, handkerchiefs were wrapped underneath the collar and tied fashionably.

Since the ballroom was located in the opposite wing from our rooms, Ellie had no idea that we were throwing her this party. She was under the assumption that both of our families were going out to a fancy restaurant so she was excitedly getting ready with our mother and Lilia, who came back for the occasion.

"Welcome. Please come in." Putting on a gentlemanly smile, I welcomed my little sister's lady friends she met at school, a duty I was assigned by my mother and one I wasn't too fond of. Met with shy giggles and red faces, I kept a gentle smile on as more and more guests started trickling out of their carriages, accompanied by a driver and a chaperone.

The attendees of my sister's party consisted of her female friends, the female friends' chaperones, which were an older group of people, and either my parents' friends or Vincent and Tabitha's friends. By eight in the evening, most of the people on the list had arrived and my mother notified the maid that she and my sister would be coming down shortly.

Suddenly, a royal carriage came into my view. It was one I had seen before, in the kingdom of Elenoir.

My eyes widened in shock as the carriage skidded to a stop, and two familiar figures got off. A girl I knew too well came into my sight. The unmistakable gunmetal silver hair that reflected the gave her a serene glow alongside her peachy-cream complexion. Her round, turquoise eyes were capable of capturing everyone's hearts, but I was sure that they were meant for only one person.

There was an elven boy behind her, his crimson eyes smiling as he looked at me with joy. His face was soft and delicate, adorned with snow-white hair on the top. However, his adolescent body was well-built through hours of effort and pouring sweat and blood.

"It's been a long time, Arthur," the two of them said as they both grinned.

A smile appeared on my face as I hugged the two of them. We caught up as the two told me about their tutelage under Director Goodsky and I told them about my adventuring.

Deciding to go in, everyone was shocked when they saw the two royals of elves at the birthday party.

The nobles began murmuring about our relationship and some shot envious looks towards us.

"You guys are quite popular," I whispered to the two of them who just giggled in response.

"Everyone, please get ready! Lady Alice and Eleanor are both on their way here!" The maid announced as she signalled to turn the lights off.

"...Mama, I thought we were going to go out for dinner? Where are we..."

"SURPRISE!" a synchronised chorus of voices exclaimed.

With the chandelier sparkling on and an array of artefacts popping off in colourful lights, my little sister's confused face turned from initial surprise to pure joy. Her eyes widened and her cheeks blushed red as her hands instinctively went to cover her gaping mouth.

She didn't have too long to indulge in her moment of astonishment as her school lady friends all ran up to her and gave her hugs, almost carrying her away along with Lilia, giving me a meaningful gaze before disappearing.

"Ahem! Before the party officially begins, I would like to thank you on behalf of my precious daughter for coming here tonight!" As my dad spoke, I spotted my sister blushing in embarrassment as her friends giggled and clapped at this joyous occasion.

"Please start the music!" My dad signalled towards the back of the stage where five musicians stepped out with their instruments. I was surprised to see that the instruments looked nearly identical to the string family instruments in my world, with two violins, one viola, and one cello musician stepping out with a pianist behind them. The piano was shaped a little differently and as they started playing, the sound it produced was much deeper and richer than a regular grand piano.

"It would bring great joy to see my beloved son and daughter have the first dance!" My dad raised his glass higher, his eyes narrowing into a tipsy grin as he requested something that could potentially be disastrous to this party. I turned to my mom, who bore a look stricken with panic because neither she nor my dad had ever given either of us dancing lessons.

I caught my sister's face, petrified in horror, as she realized she could become a total embarrassment on her birthday.

"Go, Arthur," Alistair said as he put his hand on my back, "We can catch up afterwards."

I nodded to them before taking confident strides towards where my sister and her friends stood.

"Will you honour me with your hand for a dance?" I bowed, slipping off my gloves and placing a hand out in front of me; ignoring the various squeals and giggles from her friends.

Ellie, still fretful at the turn of events, couldn't find the words, so she just nodded her head, accepting my hand and eliciting a round of applause.

As soon as she was in my hands, a crowd formed around and their applause died down as the soft flow of music became louder and filled the room. The music was slow and rhythmic, making it easy to follow along. Her once-panicked face gradually turned calmer as she realized she just needed to follow my guidance.

My right hand held onto hers and my left gently placed on her fragile waist, we circled, her light coral dress fluttering gracefully. Each step she took mirrored mine as we waltzed around the small dance floor formed around us by the dazed crowd. I was calm and poised, dancing and swaying to the song with grace since dancing had been something I was required to learn for any formal occasions as a king.

I couldn't embarrass myself as a king, now could I?

My sister's face gradually shifted from a tranquil calmness to an excited glee as she truly began enjoying our dance. Her skin glowed from her smile and perspiration, giving her a radiant feeling to the crowd. Twirling her around as if we had rehearsed for a grand performance, the musicians played along with our dance as if they were drawing inspiration from us. As the last verse of the song was coming to an end, she followed my lead well, coming to a beautiful halt synced perfectly with the musicians.

The applause and cheers of the audience—some of the more intoxicated adults even whistling—washed up the soft panting of my sister as the both of us bowed, hand in hand.

"That was wonderful!" "Truly splendid!" "What a great performance!" Sounds of compliments and praises from all around us caused my sister's smile to grow even wider as we soaked in the limelight.

"Brother!" My sister couldn't hold in her excitement as she jumped into my arms, almost knocking me down in surprise. Her innocent and pure laughter rang contagiously as she flung her arms around my neck.

I simply shrugged before gently placing my sister down. Giving her a pat on the head I said, "Happy Birthday, Princess." Giving her a playful wink before my intoxicated father picked her up.

"Haha! My beautiful princess and my handsome son! What a great performance!" My dad must've been drinking more because he was even more flushed than he had been on stage.

"Owowowow!" My dad let out a howl of pain as my mom pulled him down from his high horse by grabbing his earlobe. "Do you understand the disaster this could've caused if Arthur didn't happen to know how to dance?" She whispered.

"I learned from Jasmine while being an adventurer. I thought it'd be useful!" I lied, only getting rid of half the suspicion of my keen mother.

"Don't mind, don't mind!" He managed to wheeze out as my sister, who was put back down, scurried off to her friends. My still-angry mother dragged my intoxicated father by the earlobe back to where the adults were.

|Ellie|

"Your brother is so handsome. I'm so jealous! I wish my brother was like them; they seem so nice!" The friends I'd made at school were all complimenting Brother and me about the dance.

"Hehe! I told you he was great!" I couldn't help but smile with pride.

"Yeah, he's awesome! I bet the both of you practised a lot for that dance! It looked SUPER hard." My best friend, Nicole, was really excited.

"U-Umm yeah! But our teacher was really good so we got it down really fast!" I lied, looking down. I thought it would be weird for them to know that only Brother knew how to dance, not me when it should be the other way around.

My heart was still beating really fast from the dancing. It was tiring but also really fun because Brother led me through it so well that I felt like a professional dancer.

|Arthur|

I slumped in a corner, a glass of apple cider in my hand. The dance gave all the more reason for the adults and chaperones to come and greet me, some hinting for a dance. Putting on a smile and speaking at a higher pitch than usual to sound more respectful could get tiring.

Alistair and Tessia also danced together, and their performance caught the eyes of all the nobles. I was especially happy seeing the joyous expressions the two of them had when they danced.

"Hey, you must be the Arthur that everyone's talking about." A blond-haired boy, rather tall and poised, leaned against the wall next to me.

"Then I guess I must be." I managed a faint smile while I took another sip of my cider.

"My friends are all jealous of you for stealing the attention from the girls here," he snickered while sticking out his hand. "My name is Jarrod Redner. I heard a lot about you from Lilia at school."

"Ah, you guys both go to Xyrus. As you already know, I'm Arthur Leywin, pleased to make your acquaintance." I received the handshake before my eyes spotted Lilia, who came towards us after seeing us together.

"Before she gets over her, am I to assume you guys are either dating or that you like her?" I said in a low voice so that only we could hear.

"You're pretty sharp, aren't you? Yeah, we're part of the student council together, she is the secretary and me, am the treasurer. I'm trying to pursue her and I've expressed that many times already." He let out a sigh before smiling and waving at Lilia.

"She may look a little plain, but she's a good girl, that Lilia. I hope you treasure her well," I said simply.

"Well, I hope to get the chance to do that someday since she's rejected me all three times so far." He chuckled, a hint of disappointment escaping his face.

"Hey, Arthur! I'm so sorry I couldn't get the chance to say hi to you at all today! I've been so busy since I got here earlier, and you were busy with preparing too!" Her face was flushed and by the way, she spoke so quickly and excitedly, I was beginning to understand why Jarrod came up to me.

"I'll leave you two alone. " Jarrod solemnly walked away, a hint of jealousy in his eyes, not even looking at Lilia as he passed her.

"You look beautiful today," I noted, clinking my glass of cider with her glass before taking another sip.

"O-Oh... I mean, thank you!" Lilia was jumpy as she started fiddling with her turtleneck light green dress that was embellished with frills and subtle trimmings. I hadn't seen her since before she started attending Xyrus. Lilia had matured a lot this past year and a half, her childlike face slowly becoming a bit more refined.

We started talking a bit more about her school life when I started teasing her. "You must be pretty popular at Xyrus. Do you have a boyfriend yet?" Even my sister would sometimes tell me about boys who liked her, gloating that she was popular.

"N-No, of course not! I don't have anything like that yet, haha. " Lilia was desperately waving both her hands, signalling 'no way,' which made me laugh.

"You're still young so take your time and meet the right guy. But you better bring him to me first so that I can approve before you start dating him!" I poked her in the arm.

A shred of dejection showed on her face before she quickly covered it up, saying, "Yeah, I will! Just don't be too hard of a judge!"

"Ahem, mind if I borrow the young lad?" I looked up to see Gideon walking up to us, something akin to a polite smile strewn across his usually scowling face.

It was obvious Gideon's abrupt intrusion caught Lilia by surprise, but she replied evenly with a polite smile.

"Of course. I'll see you later then, Art!" She waved at me, bowing towards Gideon before running off to the heart of the party.

"You know that young female cohort of yours likes you, right?" Gideon scratched his cheek awkwardly as his gaze followed Lilia's figure.

"I know," I responded simply.

"You two seem to get along, though. You're not going to do anything about it?" he pressed.

"She's someone that has had her life changed by me. More so than the feeling of like or love, it's something more akin to gratefulness that she feels. She doesn't know that now, but later in the future, I'm sure she'll distinguish the two on her own," I answered with a shrug, taking another sip of my cider.

"You know, even when you say something disgustingly conceited like that, it doesn't sound vain coming from you. " Gideon smirked, taking a small sip of his wine.

"Because I don't mean it in a conceited way. To her, I am something like a hero who saved her life. She may have fantasies about a relationship between us like any young girl about her idol, but that doesn't mean she is in love with that person; it's more of an infatuation," I explained. "Anyway, I'm sure you're not here to give me love counselling. What is it that you wanted to discuss?"

"Why does it feel like I'm talking to someone my age? But yes, you're right. How did your sister like the present you so kindly took from me?" He changed the subject, sitting down on the floor while leaning against the wall.

"Received as compensation, not 'took,'" I corrected, wagging my finger. "And I haven't given it to her yet. I will, later. "Right. Well, after refining the blueprint and creating a plan, I sent it to the Council of Dicathen. They approved it and it is undergoing a construction plan right away," he announced, his usual joking manner nonexistent.

After the founding of the Six Lances, the Three Kings and Queens of Dicathen had come together and announced to the public that the current monarchy of each of the three kingdoms would be changing into one Council for all of Dicathen. This decision wasn't up for debate but it did bring some groups to rebel against it. For now, the location of the Council of Dicathen was unknown with the only source of communication available through some trusted individuals while major broadcasts were publicised through each City's Governor.

"Congratulations. I'm sure they rewarded you well for that," I said sincerely, holding up my glass.

"Bah, money is just a means to an end for me. Gold is but a useless commodity that only has use in buying stuff useful to me. But you—you're an asset that I do not want to let go. What is it you want, brat? Money? Power? Knowledge? I can give you all of that if you are more open to me about what you know as well. " He got up, his beady eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"I don't intend to change how the world works for my benefit. This Continent is doing just fine without any of it," I retorted, making my intentions clear.

"So you're saying you have ideas for inventions capable of changing how this world works? Fascinating..." His ears must've only heard what he wanted to hear because I wasn't getting through to him.

Imbuing mana into my voice, I growled in a low tone so only he could hear. "Mr Gideon, let me make it clear that I'm not here to indulge your selfish curiosities."

The tone in my voice appeared to have shaken him up a bit, as he nearly jumped.

"Well, you sure sobered me up real quick. Yeah, I guess you're right. How about a give and take then? I'm not asking for world-changing inventions like that steam engine you gave me. I just want to get to know what you think. I'll be your personal benefactor for whatever you need. I'm desperate, brat. Don't make this old man plead anymore. " Surprisingly, His voice sounded sincere this time.

This was what I planned for but I didn't want to give in to his wishes too easily, so I persisted. "Can I take your word for it?" "Of course! What do you take me for? I'm a man of my word. You're quite a family man so I understand why you were so interested in that Phoenix Wyrm necklace. I may not be a great mage but I know my way around artifice and magic implementation theory. Hell, you need some school allowance, right? So how about it? Yeah?" His beady eyes and electrocuted hair made him look even more pitiful.

Sticking my hand out, I shot him a business smile that I'm sure made him think twice about what he had just gotten himself into.

The party eventually came to an end after the bell rang for midnight, marking the end of my sister's birthday. After more dancing, eating, drinking, and present-giving, the guests slowly started leaving, allowing the maids to finally start cleaning the ballroom.

Only Alistair and Tessia were left, the two of them wanted to give their gifts to Ellie personally.

"Greetings, I am Prince Alistair Eralith." "Greetings, I am Princess Tessia Eralith." The two of them introduced each other to my parents and the Helsteas, who all immediately panicked and greeted them respectfully.

Ellie was complimenting and getting along well with Tessia, which was a good thing.

My parents gave my sister a pair of beautiful hair ties with ornamental bells that were silver at first glance but reflected a glimmering array of colours underneath the light. My sister excitedly asked my mom to tie her hair for her into twin ponytails.

Despite the success of the party, my sister had been pretty disappointed that the Twin Horns couldn't make it to her birthday since they were currently in a dungeon. However, she got over it quickly after seeing the wrapped boxes in my hands.

"Happy birthday, little sister." I gave her my present and handed the other box, which wasn't as prettily decorated, to my mom.

"Wow! It's so pretty!" My sister was ecstatic at the precious necklace, though she probably would never know how much it was worth.

"Th-This is gorgeous..." My mom's reaction was even stronger than Ellie's, her eyes locked on the light pink gem embedded in the white gold chain.

"Keep it on at all times, okay?" I said directly to my sister, but I also looked at my mom so that she would catch my drift.

"Where in the world did you get something like this, Son?" My dad was still a little tipsy but he was fully functional.

"I'm sure you met Mr Gideon, right? I'm going to start working for him while he teaches me various things about magic. He gave me this as a token of my apprenticeship." It wasn't a lie but it wasn't exactly the full truth either.

"Well, I'll have to greet him one more time and thank him for taking care of you. I can't believe my boy is going to attend Xyrus Academy soon! You're going to kick some butt out there, right? Ow!" My mom smacked him upside the head at the last statement and gave me a big hug, my sister following suit.

"We would like to gift this to Ellie," Alistair said with a soft smile as he took out a large, lavish present from his spatial ring.

It was a rectangular box with intricate decorations and regal patterns. My sister exuberantly ripped the packaging apart, revealing a beautiful bow. It was a long bow by design, but it was small enough to be used by my sister without feeling too heavy. The bow was mainly a gradient of different shades of brown, with the tips being verdant in colour.

Everyone's eyes widened at the beauty and high quality of the bow.

"I know that Ellie got many dresses and tea sets, so we wanted to give her something unique," Tessia commented with a smile.

My sister put the bow on the ground and leapt to hug her, causing her smile to widen.

After the gift unpacking was done, I was alone with Tessia and Alistair. After making some more small talk, we finally got to the main topic.

"How much stronger have you gotten, Arthur?" Alistair asked me. I grinned as I replied, "Light yellow stage."

His eyes widened but he smirked as he replied, "I am at initial silver stage and Tessia is at dark yellow stage."

My mouth was agape when he told me how much stronger he got.

"I also met someone who managed to beat me, his name is Lancelot Orbel," he said, "He is a spirit contractor."

A smirk appeared on my face.

Alistair, Tessia, Lancelot, Rachel and Gary.

'So many geniuses in one generation,' I thought, 'Xyrus Academy will be fun.'