He held the lantern and brought his hands over, steadying the thin paper frame between his palms.

Since he was supporting the lantern from below, Stella gently placed her hands beneath his, her fingers brushing his knuckles with a delicacy utterly mismatched to her status as one of the Empire's strongest mages.

The gesture looked oddly intimate, romantic even and the soft glow of the moon garden's lights washed over the two of them, making the moment feel suspended in a pocket of warmth.

"Hold on…" Stella whispered, her voice barely audible under the murmuring crowd.

However, before she could continue, Mynes practically barrel-rolled into the space between them.

She grabbed Azel's shoulder with a firm tug… firm enough that Azel had to bend slightly downward to face her and glared up at Stella with a clenched jaw.

"What are you doing…?" she demanded, her eyes flicking from her mother's hands to Azel's.

"You'll have to do it with another person…" Mynes continued, pointing her thumb toward the back of the garden where a few young noblemen were eagerly holding lanterns with hopeful and hopeless expressions. "I don't feel comfortable doing it with anyone other than Azel."

Stella sighed like a woman who had lived for years yet still found herself dragged into petty battles. Well she was after all.

'I'm the older one, so I have to be mature… I see.'

Her lashes lowered in thought before she spoke again.

"Then we simply share him," Stella said calmly, as if discussing the weather. "He can share one hand for each lantern."

"…I guess that would work out." Mynes crossed her arms, but her eyes held a competitive spark. "There's no rule saying he can't do this. Remember, the lantern rises from how comfortable the two people using it are… and you just really had a full conversation with Azel today, so it's obvious yours will fall. I was his Professor in the Academy, remember?"

Azel opened his mouth.

"Shouldn't the both of you be asking for my permissio—"

"It's my birthday… You must." Mynes cut him off immediately, puffing her cheeks in a way that was both stubborn and adorable.

It made his eye twitch, but after a moment of weary acceptance, he removed one hand from Stella's lantern and placed it under the one Mynes carried.

The instant Mynes lit her lantern, a bright pink glow blossomed within it, the flame inside was quite beautiful.

Stella's lantern, by contrast, glowed a deep majestic purple which made it different from her daughter's own.

Azel glanced backward.

Everyone in the moon garden had begun lighting their lanterns as well.

Soft ripples of various colors… blues, greens, silvers, golds filled the surrounding like hovering stars.

Mira was doing hers with the woman she had gone to meet. Sybil was paired with Esme, their lantern a soft gradient of teal and warm gold.

Sylvia and Flare were together, their lantern glowing with a nearly chaotic crimson.

Sebastian lifted his hand high, and the entire mansion quieted.

"Release your lanterns and watch them fly!"

Azel inhaled softly.

As for what releasing meant… both people gently lifted their joined hands upward, guiding the lanterns into the air.

The lanterns, being light, would naturally float once the mana-infused flame filled their frames.

The important part wasn't the release itself… it was the bond.

The mana of the two people holding the lantern combined in the lantern's flame. If the mana was familiar, compatible, or fond of the other person… the lantern would rise higher.

If not?

It would fall.

And there was nothing more humiliating at a noble birthday than a lantern that dropped immediately.

[The lanterns actually float over to the sea and sink!] Nyala pointed out inside his head, sounding oddly cheerful.

Azel suppressed the urge to laugh.

'Hey, at least they're praying to you.'

He pushed the lantern upward. So did Stella and Mynes.

And the sky… the entire sky was soon filled with drifting lights.

Dozens of glowing lanterns floated upward like ascending souls, painting the moon garden in ethereal shades.

It was beautiful, serene, and strangely emotional.

A few nobles gasped as their lanterns dipped and extinguished almost immediately. Some couples stared at each other awkwardly as their compatibility was effectively proven nonexistent.

But many lanterns rose.

Some soared.

Some wobbled in the air.

Azel's… well, his caused a commotion.

Mynes planted a hand on her waist, her grin smug and expectant as she stared at her own lantern.

"I can't wait for yours to drop…" she breathed, shooting her mother a victorious smirk.

She looked up at the lantern she shared with Azel. "Let's see how well it does."

Their lantern rose beautifully and mana threads weaved bright patterns as pink aura threaded with Azel's crimson.

The flame stabilized and then lifted further, rising above the crowds.

The combination was successful.

It soared.

"As expected," Mynes whispered proudly.

However…

As for the one he did with Stella…

It didn't just rise.

It glowed.

The flame flared with a sudden brilliance, expanding from purple into a starlit lavender, and then…

FWOOOSH!

It shot into the sky with speed that startled half the garden.

"Eh?" Mynes nearly fell to her knees, staring at the purple streak spiraling through the night sky.

She whipped her head toward the two of them. "What? Have you two been getting to know each other behind my back!?"

Stella exhaled softly, smoothing down her gown with an expression that was almost too innocent.

She didn't answer her daughter.

But her thoughts were far noisier.

'It's clear that our mana are suited for each other since they combined so perfectly.'

The proud glint in her eyes was unmistakable.

Azel looked elsewhere… anywhere else and saw the lantern that Esme and Sybil shared shoot through the air at a stable pace.

It wasn't extremely fast, but it was beautiful. Flare and Sylvia somehow managed a similar speed.

Mira's lantern with her partner rose steadily but lacked the explosive boost of the others.

"Thank you all for a wonderful Lantern shower!" Sebastian announced, his voice sounding through the garden.

Nobles applauded as they began filing back inside.

Some lanterns eventually lost stability and shattered softly against the ground, their flames extinguishing into harmless flickers. No one seemed upset by now; such things were normal.

Once everyone had gathered back inside, Azel could see it.

A gigantic, artistically prepared cake stood at the center… seven tiers, iced in glossy white and purple. On the top were adorable chibi heads of Stella and Mynes, each holding miniature wands.

"And now we've got to the last event," Sebastian declared with flourish, "the Cake Cutting Ceremony!"

…

As soon as Sebastian announced the next stage of the birthday celebration, the lights in the ballroom brightened to their fullest radiance… revealing the massive, towering cake that stood proudly at the center of the hall.

It was an extravagant masterpiece: seven tiers stacked delicately atop one another, each layer adorned with shimmering moon-lily frosting and crystallized sugar petals.

Edible mana-lights glowed faintly across its surface, making the entire structure look enchanted.

It was the kind of cake only the elite of the Empire could afford, and even then, only for the most prestigious of occasions.

Somehow, a spotlight followed Stella and Mynes specifically, illuminating their figures as they stepped away from the crowd.

Their elegant gowns shimmered beneath the light, commanding attention even from the nobles already trying to appear uninterested.

Azel remained seated at his table, while Gwendolyn hovered beside him with her arms crossed.

"This birthday is far more interesting than the birthdays from my time…" Gwendolyn commented, casually squeezing one of her cow breasts as if it were a stress toy.

'Eh? Why are you doing that…?'

"Pressing my breasts helps me remember things." She answered proudly, wearing an expression that suggested she believed this made perfect sense. "Anyway, birthdays in my era were full of violence… gladiators would fight for the attention of pretty women. I had a great number of men battling to please me on my birthday."

Azel rolled his eyes internally. 'They were fighting for a chance for you to call them 'Good boy', weren't they?'

Gwendolyn gasped dramatically.

"Yes! Yes! Exactly!"

Azel immediately regretted thinking at all.

Thankfully, Mira returned just in time.

"Fuck… my back hurts." Mira muttered as she stretched.

"Well you did take your sweet time." Azel said while sipping his wine. "Tell me about the cake cutting ceremony."

Before Mira could answer, the entire ballroom fell silent again.

The nobles shifted in their seats, the musicians lowered their bows, and every maid stood perfectly straight as if they'd been carved from porcelain.

A single maid stepped forward holding a long ceremonial knife on a silver tray.

The blade was adorned with runic carvings that glowed softly, it looked to be full of magic. It was a weapon made into a symbol… both beautiful and deadly.

Stella gracefully took one end of the knife while Mynes held the other. They moved with grace, lowering the blade until it hovered above the left side of the cake.

Stella lifted her chin, her authoritative voice was loud as she addressed the crowd.

"Tonight, as I stand before you once again, I am reminded that power and age mean little without people who can truly make your life brighter. I have been blessed with loyal allies, troublesome students, a daughter who drives me mad in the most endearing ways… and recently, a few unexpected individuals who made this year far more interesting than I anticipated."

Her words drew a soft hum of approval from the nobles.

"This celebration is not merely for my and my daughter's age, but for the connections that continue to shape our path. So let us cut this cake, share in its sweetness, and create memories worthy of the Duvraine name."

It was short, heartfelt, and perfectly delivered. Stella knew exactly how to move a crowd.

As the applause rose, Stella and Mynes lowered the ceremonial blade together, slicing cleanly through the cake.

The first official cut of the ceremony.

Sebastian stepped forward, his voice practically booming through the hall.

"Now begins the tradition! The first slice shall honor the ancestors of the Duvraine family!"

The maid at Stella's side carefully placed the slice onto a special silver plate engraved with ancient patterns.

The moment the cake touched the plate, several older nobles nodded approvingly.

Azel blinked in confusion.

"What is that slice for?" He whispered to Mira.

Mira hid a chuckle behind her hand.

"It's meant to honor their ancestors… every noble household does it. The slice is placed in a quiet shrine room after the ceremony. And before you ask: yes, the ancestors eat it."

Azel stared blankly.

'…I don't believe that for a second.'

"It was witnessed a hundred years ago," Mira added, sensing his disbelief. "The spirit of an ancestor reached out and pulled the slice into the Spirit Realm."

Azel stared even harder.

'Okay. Maybe that could happen. This world is insane anyway.'

After the ancestral slice was prepared, Stella cut a small piece and held it up to Mynes.

"You little troublemaker." She said with a softened smile as she fed her daughter.

Mynes chewed with puffed cheeks, embarrassed, before cutting a larger slice… much too large and offering it back to her mother.

The nobles laughed. Stella accepted it graciously, though her eyes narrowed at the enormous portion.

Azel felt warmth press against his chest at the scene. Something about the mother-daughter bond, messy as it was, tugged at him.

But then the atmosphere shifted.

Everything in the ballroom grew tense.

The nobles leaned forward in their seats and even the maids paused mid-step, as if they knew exactly what was coming.

Azel frowned.

"What's going on?" He whispered to Mira.

Mira smiled slightly.

"The next part is tradition. The two birthday ladies must now cut a slice of cake and feed it to the man they are interested in."

'Oh… fuck.' He thought.

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