“He said to tell you that he has to leave early because he’s busy.”

The butler reported to Melly, who was dejectedly watching the carriage recede with its noise and dust.

Melly somehow felt that those words were a lie.

Edric seemed like he would have just left without any message.

‘Just a moment. Please wait just a moment.’

When she had implored like that, Edric’s body had already half-turned towards Wilson.

‘It’s because he’s busy. So…’

She shouldn’t feel hurt. That would just make her the selfish woman who only thinks of herself again.

Melly turned around and headed inside the house.

The considerate servants pretended not to notice the cookie basket Melly had brought back, but their gazes were awkward.

Melly gave a small laugh and handed them the thermos of tea and the basket.

“Feel free to eat together if you’d like.”

“Thank you, my lady. I was actually craving something sweet.”

Sarah said as she accepted the basket on behalf of everyone. They all gathered around Sarah with pleased expressions.

Thanks to that, Melly’s mood improved a bit.

Melly was about to leave to give them space for their cookie party. It was just as she turned that she heard Lisa asking her colleagues for their opinions.

“Oh right, what did you all buy for Miss Oz’s birthday gift?”

“I got her a hairpin.”

“I got silver earrings.”

“Doesn’t Miss Oz not wear earrings?”

“Of course she doesn’t when working. But she does have pierced ears. I’m sure she wears them when she goes out.”

“Then I should have bought earrings too.”

As Lena paused with regret, Melly interjected.

“Birthday? Was today Oz’s birthday?”

“Yes, my lady.”

They looked at Melly as if surprised she didn’t know. Melly’s face flushed with surprise and embarrassment.

Oz was someone Melly considered closer and more comfortable than anyone else. Sometimes even more than Edric.

For that reason, Melly had remembered Oz’s birthday every year. Even if she couldn’t throw a birthday party because of Edric, she always prepared a gift to give when they were alone. To think that she had been unaware even on the actual birthday. What on earth was she doing with her life?

“It’s alright, my lady. We’ll take care of it on your behalf too. Miss Oz wouldn’t want you to worry about her anyway.”

Lisa comforted her. But Melly couldn’t accept that.

Melly wanted to celebrate her birthday somehow.

‘That’s it!’

She had a good idea. She would throw a party.

It was perfect timing, with Edric coming home late and Eida planning to go out soon to visit her cousin living in the outskirts of the capital. She had said she would return tomorrow evening.

There didn’t seem to be a more appropriate time to have a birthday party.

Melly immediately launched into surprise party planning with the servants.

Oz returned from her day off to find the house dark, and looked bewildered.

‘Has everyone gone to bed already? But it’s too early for that.’

She felt along the wall and pressed the light switch.

The lights came on in the entryway, dimly illuminating the interior. And soon Oz’s eyes grew wide.

“W-what’s going on here!”

The decorative items that had been neatly arranged on top of the cabinet were toppled over, and books, cushions, and other objects were strewn about on the floor.

Oz’s face turned pale.

She had just heard at the marketplace that there had been a burglary at a nearby noble house, and several people had been injured as a result.

“My lady−!”

Oz called out for Melly with a pale face as she climbed the stairs.

As she crossed the hallway and reached her bedchamber, Oz flung open the door without knocking.

That’s when it happened.

She stopped abruptly at the unexpected sight before her.

Dozens of small, round light bulbs like cherries brightly illuminated the room, and her fellow servants were lined up with bright smiles as they said in unison:

“Happy birthday, Miss Oz!”

“You… you all…”

While Oz was still at a loss for words, the servants parted in half to make a path in the middle.

Through that path came Melly, holding a cake in her hands.

“Happy birthday, Oz.”

Melly said with a bright smile.

More than anything, Oz was relieved that she was safe. The terrible incident she had heard about in town hadn’t occurred at the duke’s residence.

Now she could see the flickering candles dotting the cake Melly was holding.

Exactly thirty-six of them.

Melly, now the Duchess of Pelton, remembered Oz’s age precisely, which even Oz herself sometimes forgot.

“Come on, Oz. Hurry and make a wish, then blow out the candles.”

Melly urged, holding out the cake.

“My lady…”

Oz blew out the candles with tears in her eyes. Then suddenly her face became worried and she said:

“But my lady, this isn’t right. You’ll get scolded by His Grace the Duke.”

Oz knew well that Edric, who was strict about hierarchy, didn’t allow Melly to mix comfortably even in conversation with her and the other servants.

At Oz’s words, the other servants also looked at Melly with concerned expressions.

Melly reassured them in a cheerful tone.

“It’s alright. Just for today.”

She had been close with the servants who were around her age since childhood. Although there was a wall of status between them, their friendly manner of speaking and sincere consideration always gave Melly comfort.

Melly always felt sorry that she had to keep her distance from people like that, to the point of not even being able to throw them a birthday party.

Today was the perfect day to make up for that past regret.

“Everyone, please sit down.”

Melly led the servants to the refreshment table prepared in the middle of the chamber.

With Oz seated in the center and everyone else gathered around, the space filled perfectly without any gaps or leftover room.

On the table were expensive fruits and cookies that were only brought out for guests. Since there were always extra cookies anyway and the fruit would just be thrown out if it went bad, it didn’t seem like it would be a problem to set some out for this occasion.

“Thank you for the food, my lady.”

Seeing everyone happily eating and drinking, Melly felt proud.

The gift-giving ceremony began, and Oz delighted everyone by trying on or wearing the gifts her juniors had given her right there.

Melly apologized for not having prepared a gift.

“What do you mean you didn’t prepare a gift?”

Oz looked around as if to say, what nonsense is this?

“You’ve thrown such a wonderful party – if this isn’t a gift, then what is?”

“That’s right, my lady. This gathering is a gift not just for Miss Oz, but for all of us.”

Everyone agreed with Lena’s words. They missed the days when they could be close with Melly.

“Do you remember, my lady? When we were young, we often played together. You’d even come to our quarters at night and we’d have cookie parties.”

“Yes, I remember. Those times were really nice.”

“And when we played team games, the numbers worked out perfectly because you were there, my lady.”

They were simply trying to express how much they liked Melly. But Melly’s gaze gradually lowered at their words.

She felt ungrateful for distancing herself from them.

Even though it had been an unavoidable situation.

As she made an ashamed face, everyone noticed and began to fall silent one by one.

The previously lively party suddenly became as awkward as a blind date.

As everyone was pondering how to change the atmosphere, Melly suddenly brightened and suggested to all:

“Shall we have a drink?”

The servants’ eyes widened at those words.

“D-drink?”

“I wonder if that would be alright…”

They all looked troubled. But… drinks?

The expressions on their faces as they exchanged glances all seemed to say:

‘It doesn’t seem like we can’t.’

Three or four hours at most.

There would be no one else in the house but them during that time, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

“Yes, let’s drink, let’s drink.”

Once Lisa, with her loud voice, took the lead, everyone joined in. Oz looked reluctant until the end, watching Melly.

‘It’s okay.’

When Melly reassured her with a bright smile and mouthed the words, Oz sighed as if she had no choice and gave in to the heated atmosphere.

Everyone went down to the dining room on the lower floor. It was because of Lena’s warning that if they drank in the chambers, the smell of alcohol might linger in the room.

“Um… I don’t think this is appropriate, my lady…”

The butler tried to dissuade them with a troubled expression.

But he was inherently a generous man. He had long thought that people working in a rigid workplace like the Pelton ducal house needed something invigorating from time to time.

So he too soon joined the party. But instead of enjoying the drinking, he livened up the mood by improvising on the mandolin.

His playing skills were not bad.

At the cheerful sound of the mandolin, everyone started swaying their shoulders, and soon some got up to dance. It was a dance where they linked arms in a row and moved their feet lively.

Soon everyone stood up and joined the dance.

They all blended in skillfully. Seeing that, it seemed to be a well-known dance among them…

“Ah…!”

A memory suddenly came to her.

It was the very dance people had been doing to the music of the musicians under the red sunset at Milord Square five years ago.

“Dance with us too, my lady.”

Oz pulled on Melly’s arm.

Melly resisted for a moment, but soon changed her mind.

The cheap gingham dress hems that had fluttered modestly in time with the dancers’ movements that day in Milord Square. And now the maid uniform skirts of the servants here overlapped in her mind, arousing her competitive spirit.

Why? Why can’t I enjoy the happiness that they all indulge in even in their modest lives?

“Alright, let’s dance.”

Melly stood up. Lena and Lisa smiled and unlinked their arms to make room for Melly between them.

Relying on their firmly linked arms, Melly moved her feet nimbly like them.

She quickly became out of breath and began to sweat.

A pleasant heat radiated through her pores and was released as sweat.

For a moment, Melly felt as if all her worries were evaporating along with her sweat.

“My lady, you’re really good at this! Are you sure this is your first time?”

Lisa’s praise made Melly feel even better.

As the music intensified, they pushed Melly into the center and danced around her in circles.

Melly burst out laughing, feeling like a flower stamen surrounded by petals.

Whether due to the alcohol or the atmosphere at its peak, her laughter sounded frivolous. But this seemed to suit the mood better than quiet, elegant laughter.

That’s when it happened.

The music stopped without warning.

The servants who turned around wondering what was wrong turned as white as sheets.

Hup−.

After being frozen for a moment, they quickly exhaled and lowered their heads and posture. This cleared Melly’s view, allowing her to see what had happened in front of them.

Edric was glaring at her with a cold expression, arms folded across his chest.

And behind him, she could see the faces of all the noble gentlemen, smiling awkwardly and averting their gazes.