Cassius does not like this atmosphere

  The sight of a croroag just to bombard him with tless questions - some of which he does not even fully uand - feels overwhelming

  The momeices them suddenly stopping and falling silent, he quickly moves away

  The grand ba hall is bathed in light. Luxurious attire glimmers with golden hues uhe massive deliers, while ughter and hushed whispers blend into a soft symphony. Long tables are adorned with exquisitely prepared dishes, and wine gsses shimmer in the hands of nobles as they exge politically charged versations

  Cassius is not particurly ied in any of that

  What truly captures his attention at this moment is - a long table filled with beautiful cakes, each topped with bright red strawberries

  His golden eyes light up, and he immediately dashes toward it

  But then, he enters a major problem

  The table is too high

  No matter how much he stretches, standing oips of his toes with all his might, his small hands ot reach the cakes. He tries jumping, but it is useless. A sense of despair wells up within him - a feeling simir to whee leaves him at home to handle her work

  But this time, that despair does not st long

  A gentle hand reaches out, holding a pte with a strawberry cake right in front of him

  “Does the young master want this one?”

  The familiar voice makes Cassius immediately turn around. His golden eyes sparkle the moment he sees a familiar figure

  “Nana!”

  He excims happily, rushing over to hug the legs of his beloved nanny

  Lana smiles, her haly ruffling Cassius’s soft hair. This child is always so adorable

  “Do you want to eat this cake?” she asks, looking down at him with warmth

  Cassius does not say a word. He simply nods rapidly, his bangs boung slightly with the movement

  Lana chuckles, lifting him up and pg him on a nearby chair. She carefully cuts the cake into smaller pieces and feeds him with a spoon. Cassius obediently sits still, his cheeks puffing up as he chews each bite, looking just like a round little mochi

  Lana has been watg Cassius for a while. She had been standing in the er of the room, assisting the other servants, but the moment she saw him struggling to reach the cake, she immediately stepped in

  “Young master, why don’t you talk to the guests? They came here to celebrate your birthday” Lana asks gently

  Cassius pouts, his brows furrowing in frustration

  “They’re annoying”

  Lana nods slightly, letting out a silent sigh in her heart. She uands Cassius’s feelings. Those nobles are not just here to celebrate his birthday - they also want to extraformation from him

  Moreover, she has just realized something - throughout the entire bahere is not a siher child besides Cassius

  A third birthday party, yet all the guests are adults. There is no one his age to py with

  Not wanting Cassius to sit idly in boredom, Lana takes his hand and leads him for a walk around the ba hall

  But before long, Celeste appears

  Apanying her are Duke Ignis, DuchessTerra, Duke Zephyr, and King Aurelius

  Seeing such important figures, Lana knows she o loand by Cassius’s side. She gently releases his hand and steps back

  As the warmth disappears from his hand, Cassius blinks, then immediately reaches out for it again. But Lana only smiles and lightly pushes his back

  “Go to the Duchess” she whispers

  Cassius hesitates for a moment but eventually moves toward Celeste. He gs t, like a small creature seeking safety

  Celeste does not o look down to know that Cassius has reached her. She instinctively pats his head

  King Aurelius steps forward

  He slowly lowers himself, pg one hand on his knee while the other rests on his thigh, his gaze gentle as he looks at Cassius

  “Hello, little one. I am Aurelius Valeriaury, the ruler of the ti you live on”

  Cassius stares at him, unsciously repeating

  “The pce I live…”

  “I manage everything. If you want something, just tell me. This uncle here give you a lot” Aurelius says with a smile, his eyes filled with amusement as he watches Cassius

  Cassius blinks, thinks for a moment, then takes a small step forward

  “Manage everything… Then you help my mother so she doesn’t have to work?”

  His question causes the atmosphere to freeze for a moment

  Celeste raises an eyebrow before suddenly tugging lightly at Cassius’s cheek

  “It’s Celeste”

  Cassius blinks, looking up at her in fusion

  The three dukes and Aurelius all take note of how Cassius addresses the Duchess of Eclipse. It leaves them slightly bewildered, but none of them press further

  Aurelius chuckles, his eyes gleaming with even more i

  “You want the Duchess to stay at the castle and py with you? I’d love to help, but I ’t mahe affairs of a duke” he expily

  “Anything that requires the Duchess to handle personally must be very important. You should uand that”

  Cassius remains silent, his gaze fixed oe. He says nothing, but that look makes her lips curve into a small smirk

  Aurelius watches Cassius before suddenly getting an idea

  “How about this - you e to my pastead” he suggests

  “My pace is huge. You do all sorts of things there. I also have a granddaughter around ye. You two bee friends”

  He extends his hand toward Cassius, an invitation

  Cassius blinks

  “Friends?”

  He has never heard aalk about that before. Cassius turns to look at Celeste. Though she says nothing, her expression clearly shows displeasure at the suggestion. However, she does not object

  After thinking for a moment, Cassius slowly steps forward and pces his small hand around one of Aurelius’s fingers, as if shaking hands

  “I want to go there”

  “Wonderful! I’d be happy to—”

  Aurelius stops mid-sentence

  His eyes widen in shock

  The three dukes notice his strange rea and are about to ask what is wrong, but before they , Aurelius turns to Celeste, his voice l

  “What have you doo this boy?”

  Celeste narrows her eyes. “What do you mean?”

  Aurelius keeps his gaze fixed on Cassius, his tone filled with astonishment

  “He’s three years old… and he’s already reached level 2 Mage? The sun must be rising in the west”

  His words make all three dukes freeze in pce

  “What did you just say?!” They excim in unison

  Aurelius nods, turning back to Cassius, still visibly shocked

  “When I held his hand, I felt a small flow of maerihis is defihe sign of at least a level 2 Mage”

  He states this with certainty

  The three dukes immediately shift their sharp gazes toward Cassius, intending to examine him further

  But before they step forward, Celeste raises a hand, blog their way

  “Cassius is pletely normal. Don’t touch him without permission”

  Her voice is ice-cold, aern gaze is enough to make the dukes hesitate

  The atmosphere in the room grows tense

  Sensing this, Aurelius chuckles and waves his hand dismissively

  “All right, that’s enough. Having talent is a good thing. I look forward to his future”

  His words ease the tension in the air slightly

  The bahen tinues as usual