Tomorrow is…
Elena’s birthday?!
‘System?! Why didn’t you tell me something this important sooner?!!’
This is a birthday! A birthday! This is a major event for a romance target!
Based on my experience of conquering hundreds of paper wives, as long as I can make a good impression on the target on their birthday, their favorability will definitely skyrocket!
“Fina QAQ… do you think it’s still in time if I go prepare a gift right now?”
But a moment later, looking at the cake on the table, Ai’er suddenly realized a more important problem: she didn’t seem to know what Elena liked.
“A gift? I think as long as you stay by Young Lady Elena’s side—”
“Sorry, Fina, I’m going to find Miss Anna first! You keep busy!”
‘Just stay by her side’—that kind of talk was just an excuse.
Companionship was great, of course, but life always needed a little icing on the cake, didn’t it? Besides, she usually stayed by Elena’s side anyway; a special day like a birthday definitely required a gesture!
If that was the case… as a senior maid, Miss Anna might know more about what Elena liked.
“Miss Anna? Are you in your room?”
Ai’er looked around the house but couldn’t find Anna’s figure. Only Miss Anna’s tightly closed bedroom door remained unchecked.
But just as Ai’er’s hand was about to knock, the door opened on its own.
Although it felt strange to put it this way…
Anna bowed slightly toward Ai’er like a maid would to a master she served.
Furthermore, on the wooden table in the room, a porcelain cup filled with black tea was steaming with white vapor.
It was as if she had prepared everything and was waiting for her arrival.
“Miss Ai’er, please come in and speak.”
Ai’er felt that Anna’s tone carried an indescribable sense of “distance.”
It was as if Anna had done something she felt guilty about.
Thinking back on it now, Ai’er realized she had felt this way from Anna since the first time she woke up in this house.
“Does Miss Ai’er want to know what Young Lady Elena likes?”
“Eh? Um, yes—”
Anna didn’t mind Ai’er’s puzzled gaze. She simply walked over to the wooden table, pulled out a chair for Ai’er, and gestured for her to sit.
As for herself, she merely stood at Ai’er’s side.
“Um… Miss Anna? Aren’t you going to sit?”
“It is fine for me to stand like this. If you have any questions—”
“No, it makes me uncomfortable to see you standing like that! If you won’t sit, then I won’t sit either.”
After interrupting Anna, Ai’er also stood up from her seat.
What was the meaning of this?
Had she done something? Why was her attitude suddenly so respectful?
Back when they were at Sirius’s house in the countryside, Anna had carried her like a sack of rice. Why was she being so deferential now?
“…I understand. Please sit down, Miss Ai’er, and I will do the same.”
After hesitating for a moment, Anna compromised.
The white steam from the teacup thinned slightly. Before the fragrance of the black tea could vanish, Anna spoke first.
“You want to know what Young Lady Elena likes, but… to be honest, I am not very sure either. What I do know is that neither the Head Maid nor Mr. Sebas likely knows very well, either.”
Anna spoke with some hesitation. Her eyebrows, tilted slightly downward, seemed to resist the words she was about to speak next.
“There is something that I should tell you, Miss Ai’er. Actually, the last time Young Lady Elena prepared a cake for her birthday was already nine years ago. Since the Young Lady was ten years old, she has never celebrated her birthday again. And this time, before you woke up from your one-year-long coma… the Young Lady suddenly said she wanted to prepare a cake. Both the Head Maid, who received the regular report letters, and I were very surprised. After all, the Young Lady’s birthday… it has been a long time since she celebrated it.”
Pausing for a moment, Anna’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“Young Lady Elena previously smiled and said to Miss Fina and me: ‘If Ai’er wakes up, we cannot be without a cake.’ I think… perhaps what Young Lady Elena wants now is exactly what Miss Fina told you—what the Young Lady wants most for this birthday is probably to spend it together with you.”
After listening to Anna finish, Ai’er suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.
Elena, who normally didn’t celebrate her birthdays, had specifically prepared a cake just to spend it with her?
This—how was this any different from actually dating!
‘I say, System, is the signing of the contract just around the corner?’
But the System still did not respond.
“That is roughly all I know. Does Miss Ai’er have anything else she would like to ask?”
“Um… I definitely still want to prepare a gift for Elena!”
Ai’er glanced at the **[Remaining Lifespan: 179 days]** in her vision.
Setting aside what would happen when that countdown ended, since she had chosen to pursue Elena, she had to leave behind as many beautiful memories as possible!
Thus, Ai’er decided to ask—to clearly ask the important question that had surfaced while listening to Anna’s story.
“I have one more question, Miss Anna. I hope you can answer what I’m about to ask very, very clearly, okay? I want to ask—besides it being Elena’s birthday and Mother’s Day, is tomorrow any other kind of day?”
The moment she finished speaking, Anna’s body shuddered.
Although Anna quickly regained control of herself, Ai’er definitely noticed that moment of “abnormality.”
Silence…
‘Damn, she’s not talking? Fine then, don’t blame me!’
Though Ai’er didn’t really want to use this move, she had to get this sorted out! Even if a bad premonition kept surging from deep within her heart, she still wanted to know, had to know—because deep down, she yearned so much to understand everything about Elena.
‘So, Miss Anna, I’m sorry.’
“I thought… the fact that I risked my life to save Elena without any conditions would at least earn your respect? Or does Elena not even know about it?”
This time, Anna could not suppress the turmoil in her heart.
The tall maid looked up abruptly, but her gaze immediately shifted away the moment it touched Ai’er’s cheek.
…As expected, Miss Anna’s deferential attitude was because of this.
While Ai’er didn’t mind it at all, in the eyes of Elena’s servants, this was a monumental debt of gratitude, wasn’t it?
“I… I understand.”
Anna knew she had no way to refuse the command of this silver-haired young lady.
Faced with no other choice, the maid completely gave up her resistance.
“You are right. Tomorrow is not just Mother’s Day, and it is not just Young Lady Elena’s birthday… Tomorrow… tomorrow is also the Young Lady’s mother’s—it is the Madam’s—”
The moment the words fell, Ai’er’s eyes widened involuntarily.
Because she heard them—she heard those two words from Anna’s mouth that made her feel a sudden chill—
“Death anniversary.”