Ellaria saw Teacher Sefina standing at the door with a rare look of daze on her face.
Seeing that she didn’t respond immediately, Ellaria asked softly with concern, “Teacher Sefina, what’s wrong? Is… is it because we came too suddenly?”
Sefina was snapped back to reality by Ellaria’s voice. Her gaze moved from the colorful confetti and landed on the three faces full of anticipation.
She shook her head gently. Her frozen expression, like thin ice under the spring sun, melted into a soft trace, and her voice was much gentler than usual. “It’s nothing. I’m just… a little surprised.”
Sefina stepped aside to let them through. “Don’t just stand at the door. Come in and sit for a while.”
The thought about her actual birthday was quietly suppressed by Sefina. ‘Let this unintentional lie continue. Why use the cold truth to extinguish such heartfelt intentions?’
‘Besides… celebrating a birthday like this once in a while doesn’t seem so bad.’
She watched the three girls file in. Mia was still excitedly gesturing the movement of firing the confetti popper, Kefi was carefully carrying the cake, and Ellaria was curiously looking at the villa’s interior.
The air was filled with the lighthearted energy unique to young girls.
As soon as they entered, Kefi carefully placed the large cake box on the dining table in the living room and unpacked it.
The cake wasn’t particularly exquisite. The cream wasn’t spread very evenly, and there were small flaws along the edges, but it was clearly made with great care.
On a base of pure white cream, simple wavy borders were piped in pink.
In the center, bright red strawberries and yellow mango chunks formed a cute sunflower pattern. Beside it, chocolate syrup was used to write in shaky letters —
“Teacher Sefina, come look!” Mia called out impatiently, her face beaming with pride. “The three of us made this cake ourselves! It took us all morning!”
Kefi smiled shyly and added, “The process was actually a bit chaotic… Mia didn’t have a steady grip when she was sifting the flour, making the counter look like it was covered in snow.”
Mia chuckled sheepishly and pouted at Kefi. “You weren’t very careful either, Kefi. You dropped eggshells into the egg whites, and it took us forever to fish them out.”
Ellaria joined in softly with a helpless smile. “And when we were squeezing the cream, I accidentally pressed too hard. It splashed and almost got on Kefi’s face…”
The three girls chattered on, sharing the frantic yet laughter-filled production process in the kitchen that morning.
Sefina listened quietly, her gaze sweeping over the imperfect but sincere cake, then landing on their young, vibrant faces.
The frozen lake in Sefina’s heart felt as though several warm stones had been tossed into it, sending out ripples of gratitude and affection. A long-lost warmth quietly enveloped her.
“Thank you,” Sefina said, her voice carrying a softness and sincerity completely different from her usual self.
She really… hadn’t celebrated a birthday in a long time.
Even when she was with Lisika, Flovi, and Nona, they had suggested celebrating her birthday, but even Sefina herself couldn’t be sure of the exact date.
Plus, they were often in different places due to missions, so the idea always fell through. Sefina herself never really took it to heart.
She hadn’t expected to receive such a sudden surprise today because of a date she had randomly made up.
“Teacher, Teacher! Don’t just stand there, come open the gifts!” Mia, being impatient and seeing the atmosphere was right, immediately grabbed Sefina’s arm and led her to the small pile of gifts by the sofa.
A faint curve appeared at the corner of Sefina’s mouth. Following her students’ wishes, she sat on the sofa and prepared to open the second gift —
It was a flat paper box that looked like it contained clothes.
When she habitually bent her fingers to untie the ribbon on the box, a familiar stinging pain in her knuckles made her knit her delicate brows slightly.
Ellaria, who had been quietly watching her, keenly caught this detail.
She immediately stepped forward, leaned down, and asked with concern, “Teacher, are your hands uncomfortable? Are you injured? Do you need to go to the Infirmary for treatment?”
Sefina nodded, hiding nothing.
“Yes. I’ve been concocting potions these past few days, and with the excessive finger movement, I have some Tenosynovitis. It’s nothing serious, though. I just need to rest more.”
Saying this, Sefina stopped forcing herself.
She raised her other hand and lightly gripped her wand, casting **[High-level Levitation Spell]**. An invisible force field precisely controlled the ribbon, gently untying it before lifting the lid.
Inside was indeed a neatly folded piece of clothing.
Sefina picked it up and unfolded it —
It was a dress. The base was a light pink, decorated with small white lace borders on the hem. There was an oversized bow of the same color at the neckline, and the sleeves were a cute bubble design.
The overall style… well… it was full of sweet, youthful energy.
Matching it was a pair of small white leather shoes, also decorated with tiny pink bows on the toes.
Sefina: “…”
‘This outfit is way too girly…’
‘The pink color, the cute design… I’ve been an adult for a long time. Although my appearance is somewhat deceptive, mentally…’
‘Wearing clothes like this is just too… too embarrassing.’
Sefina’s usual style was mostly elegant and simple, with colors leaning toward cool tones like blue, white, and gray. She was almost completely distanced from elements like “pink” or “bows.”
“Teacher, can you try it on?” Ellaria’s voice carried a hint of nervousness and was full of expectation. Her emerald eyes looked at Sefina pleadingly.
Beside her, Kefi and Mia also nodded vigorously, their eyes sparkling. Clearly, they all thought the clothes were very cute and would perfectly suit their petite, exquisite teacher.
Sefina looked at the three pairs of expectant eyes, then looked down at the pink dress that was completely at odds with her style.
The words of refusal reached the tip of her tongue but were eventually swallowed back down.
‘Forget it… Since it’s my birthday and it’s their heartfelt gift, I’ll just agree to it. Although the style is too youthful, it’s not actually unacceptable, is it?’
Sefina finally took a soft breath and nodded. “Okay.”
Thus, under the expectant gazes of her three students, Sefina took the pink dress and the small leather shoes, turned, and walked into the bathroom, quietly closing the door.
However, at this moment, Ellaria had no idea that the outfit her teacher was about to change into might become one of the triggers for her to “make a mistake.”