Reborn As A Maid

Chapter 164: Chapter 164 - Happy Birthday , Jennie

The southern road ran serenely under the blue skies.

After leaving the old valley in which Astraeus had woken up briefly, Jennie, Roxy, and Snow walked through the green hills scattered with beautiful flowers. The wind brought the scent of blooming meadows and distant forests – a completely different picture compared to the blood-soaked fields of Rosario.

For the first time in what seemed like ages, there were no demons to battle. No desperate fights. No destroyed villages to rebuild.

Only laughter and steps.

Snow ran ahead with a freshly caught rabbit hanging from his teeth; his white fur sparkled in the light of the late afternoon.

Roxy skipped merrily along with Jennie, whistling some tune she picked up from the children of Rosario village – some simple song about spring flowers and coming home.

Jennie smiled, and her silver hair played in the wind.

"This almost feels... normal."

Snow threw the rabbit into his travel bag without stopping. "Don’t say that."

"Why?"

"Whenever someone says that, something terrible happens." He looked seriously at Jennie with golden eyes. "It’s a universal rule. Just like gravity, or Roxy’s cooking abilities to explode anything she cooks."

Roxy dramatically gasped. "That happened once!"

"Three times."

"They were small explosions!"

"They set a forest on fire."

Jennie smiled brightly, the sound reaching into the peaceful meadows. "I’ll be more careful. No ’n’ word anymore."

"Good." Snow nodded approvingly. "Survival instinct developing."

In the evening, they reached the banks of a crystal lake with ancient pine trees around.

The water of the lake mirrored the molten-golden skies, and the fireflies had already started emerging from the tall grass.

The perfect spot for camping.

Jennie instantly started gathering wood for fire; her hands moved efficiently and practiced.

Snow strolled to the lake and started looking at the surface of the lake attentively. "I’ll get us some dinner."

Roxy eagerly nodded. "Leave it to you."

Snow turned and gave Roxy a suspicious glance. "...And don’t touch my fish, this time."

"I only tasted one."

"You tasted three."

"They were small."

"They were half of my dinner."

Jennie couldn’t stop laughing as Snow complained all the way to the lake, murmuring something about "reckless apprentice" and "fish theft".

Right after Snow vanished in the trees, Roxy quickly looked around.

"He’s gone."

She rushed to her travel bag and untied the straps, shaking with nervousness. From the very bottom of the bag, she carefully took out a small bundle wrapped in many layers of cloth.

Inside were dried berries, wild honey, flour, and a few pieces of sugar that she secretly bought in several villages. She managed to buy them by trading her healing salves that she made herself – she was bargaining with the merchants who had no idea whom they were dealing with in the future.

Jennie had no idea about it.

Roxy proudly smiled, feeling excited nervousness.

"I think this will be enough."

She muttered to herself, her voice drowned in the noise of the rustling leaves.

"It doesn’t have to be perfect..."

"It just has to make her smile."

A voice unexpectedly appeared behind her, calm and knowing.

"So this is where you hide it."

Roxy jumped almost a meter high, and nearly dropped the precious bundle.

"S-Snow!"

The white wolf stood behind her, holding two huge fish with scales wet with lake water. He looked at Roxy with suspicious golden eyes.

"I knew you acted suspiciously."

Roxy pouted, holding the bundle against her chest. "You ruined the surprise."

Snow sighed and put the fish by the unlit fire. "You’re hiding food from Jennie. Of course, I’ll notice."

Roxy crossed her arms in a defensive gesture. "Fine. You caught me."

Snow looked at her with curiosity. "What are you making?"

"A birthday cake."

Snow blinked in surprise. "...Cake?"

"Well..." Roxy scratched her cheek awkwardly. "Something that looks like a cake. I never baked before."

Snow curiously looked at the ingredients. "You’ve been gathering these for weeks."

Roxy smiled tenderly, her gaze becoming distant. "I wanted it to be perfect."

Snow’s expression softened. "You’ve been planning it since Rosario?"

Roxy nodded, her voice becoming quieter. "Tomorrow... Jennie will turn sixteen."

Snow’s ears perked. "So this is why."

He looked into the forest in which Jennie was gathering firewood, totally ignorant of the conspiracy taking place behind her back.

"...She doesn’t remember, does she?"

Roxy sadly shook her head. "She never celebrates. Every year she just says birthdays aren’t important."

Snow became unusually quiet. His tail ceased swaying.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, his voice unusually gentle.

"I know why."

Roxy looked surprised. "You do?"

Snow nodded slowly, his golden eyes distant.

"I’ve overheard Excalibur talking to Leviathan when Jennie was sleeping a few days ago. They were whispering quietly – old memories that even Jennie doesn’t fully remember."

Roxy listened to him, breathing hard.

"In the time of the Great Demon War, every birthday of Leonis was spent in the battlefield. Sometimes she celebrated by eating dried bread with tired soldiers. Sometimes..." He looked down. "She simply forgot it was her birthday."

Roxy’s smile vanished, replaced by a hollow ache in her chest. "...That’s heartbreaking."

Snow nodded. "When she reincarnated, she probably decided birthdays didn’t matter anymore. Why celebrate something that was always stolen from her?"

Roxy looked to the forest in which Jennie was happily gathering firewood, hummily singing to herself.

Totally unaware.

"Then..." Her voice hardened with determination. "This birthday must matter."

Snow faintly smiled, that rare smile. Something so precious.

"It should. This time she deserves to be treated as an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl."

He put the fish near the fire. "I’ll keep her busy tomorrow morning."

Roxy blinked. "You’ll help me?"

Snow quickly looked away, his ears flat with shame. "I’m only doing it because I want my dinner."

Roxy giggled, her eyes becoming bright. "Sure."

"And because she’s family." His voice was barely audible.

Roxy’s smile widened.

Snow was silent, looking at the lake.

His silence was answer enough.

Far, far away, Jennie walked to the camp with an armload of firewood, completely unaware of her friends planning a surprise she hadn’t seen in ages.

The fireflies flittered around her like small stars.

For the first time since her reincarnation, she was going to celebrate a birthday not as the legendary Sword King, but just Jennie Queens – in the company of her family.

The golden rays of morning light filtered through the tall pines, filling the campsite by the lakeshore with amber light.

Jennie slowly opened her eyes.

For a second, she just listened. Birds were singing, the lake waves were gently lapping against the shore, and somebody was hummed somewhere a familiar tune.

"...Good morning," she whispered.

But before she even managed to raise her head—

"Happy Birthday!"

Roxy popped up from behind the nearest tree almost dropping the cake that she had been making all night. Her face was red from excitement, flour was sprinkling her cheeks like snowflakes.

"...Huh?" said Jennie, still half asleep.

Flowers of various colors were decorating the campsite in bright compositions. Roxy’s magical floating balls of light were playing around like luminous butterflies, throwing colorful shadows over the grass.

Snow popped up from behind the lakeshore holding several fresh-caught fishes in his paws. He was embarrassedly clearing his throat.

"...Happy birthday," he mumbled.

Jennie looked from Roxy’s bright face to Snow’s resolute one.

Then looked at Roxy again.

"...You remembered?" she asked in disbelief.

"Of course we did!" replied Roxy happily, smiling widely. "You thought we would forget?"

Jennie chuckled. "I... actually did."

Roxy carefully put down the homemade cake on a flat stone.

It was not perfectly round, it was a little crooked, the frosting was shifted to one side, the berries decorating it were carelessly arranged, some of them got squished during their long travel.

But for Jennie, it was the most beautiful cake in the whole world.

"I made it myself!" proudly said Roxy puffing her chest. "It might not be amazing in taste—but I wanted you to have a real birthday."

Jennie’s eyes softened. Her throat got tightened.

"No one has ever..." she said but then interrupted herself and shook her head. "No. Thank you."

Snow awkwardly turned his gaze away. "...Don’t thank us yet. You haven’t tried it yet."

Roxy pouted. "It isn’t that bad!"

Snow raised his eyebrow. "We’ll see."

They all laughed together, their laughter ringing in the silent morning air above the peaceful lake.

After they finished their breakfast, Roxy disappeared into the tent for a moment and returned carrying something wrapped in soft cloth.

Suddenly becoming shy, she started fidgeting with it.

"I... I made something else," she said.

"For me?" asked Jennie puzzled.

Roxy nodded but was not able to look her into her eyes. "I’ve started making it after we left Rosario. It took weeks."

With shaking hands she unwrapped the cloth.

There was a homemade knitted scarf made of white and light blue wool. It was crooked, some rows were made wrongly, one side was a little longer than another.

But every stitch was done with love and care. Countless nights Roxy spent knitting it while Jennie peacefully slept nearby.

"I remembered that you always give your cloak to others whenever they are cold," Roxy said softly. "So I thought... maybe it would be better if someone made sure that you stay warm."

Jennie was speechless.

She gently touched the scarf. It was soft, comfortable, warm.

She carefully put it around her neck.

"It fits perfectly," she said.

Roxy’s eyes shined with unshed tears. "Really?"

Jennie nodded, her throat getting choked. "I love it."

Before Roxy realized it, Jennie moved towards her and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you."

Roxy smiled through her happy tears and buried her face in Jennie’s shoulder. "I’m glad."

Snow awkwardly cleared his throat, breaking the moment. "...Mine isn’t as impressive as yours."

Jennie looked at him with a gentle smile. "You brought me something too?"

He hesitated for a moment and then pulled out something from his necklace. His movements were extremely delicate, careful—as if he was touching something sacred.

That was a shining crystal feather, glimmering with soft silvery light. There were tiny motes of light dancing inside it, frozen starlight.

Jennie looked at it in awe, her breath catching.

"It’s beautiful," she said.

Snow nodded, his tone unusually soft.

"When I was young, my mother gave me this feather. It belonged to an ancient celestial bird—that creature existed even before the Great Demon War. People say that this feather can protect travelers from losing their way, no matter how dark the path will be."

He looked away, embarrassed. "I figured... you will need it more than I do."

Jennie froze. "Snow... this is a really precious gift."

"It is," he said and looked into Jennie’s eyes. "That’s why I am giving it to you."

She carefully received the crystal feather in her hands, as if she was holding something priceless.

"I’ll treasure it. For the rest of my life."

Snow smiled sincerely. That smile transformed his usually strict and harsh face into something softer.

"...I know."

Jennie sat quietly between her two friends as the campfire was quietly crackling.

Her fingers were lightly touching the handmade scarf around her neck. The crystal feather was lying safely in a small pouch next to Excalibur, glowing with the gentle light.

For a long time, she was silent.

Finally, she opened her mouth.

"When I was Leonis, I had loyal companions. But every year of my birthday—I was at the battlefield," she smiled sadly. "I don’t think that I ever had a chance to celebrate it properly."

She looked at the sky where fluffy clouds were quietly sailing in the blue sky.

"After I was reincarnated, I have told myself that there is no sense in celebrating birthdays since I have already lived my entire life."

Roxy carefully took her hand in her.

"They are important. Because you are alive. Because you have survived."

Snow nodded. "And because you are not alone anymore."

Jennie looked at them—at Roxy’s sincere eyes, at Snow’s reliable face.

Flashbacks went through her mind. Meeting Roxy in that small village. Saving Snow from the hunters. Sacrifice of Azurewind. Battle of Rosario. Laughing around the campfire. Crying together. Protecting each other.

Somewhere on the way, without even noticing, the void she carried since the end of the Great Demon War has disappeared.

She smiled with tears in her eyes.

"I spent so much time thinking that I have lost my family forever," she looked at Roxy and then at Snow. "But I was mistaken."

Roxy smiled at her warmly, her own tears falling down freely. "We are your new family."

Snow folded his arms, his usual harshness leaving his face. "...Someone has to take care of you."

Jennie smiled through her tears. "You make it sound like I’m the reckless one."

"She has split a mountain."

"...A fair point."

They all burst out laughing. Their laughter was ringing in the morning air above the lake and across the endless blue sky.

The giggles having died down, Jennie stretched her hand toward the center.

"Regardless of everything—that many Demon Generals who might block our way—I want us to keep on this journey together."

Roxy quickly placed her hand over Jennie’s hand. "I promise."

Snow sighed theatrically before setting his paw atop their hands. "I suppose I should be the one to protect you two."

Jennie flashed a smile more radiant than anything she had shown before. "Then it’s decided. We travel together until the end of this journey."

Overhead, Excalibur, Leviathan, and Tempest shimmered slightly—blessing the oath taken in the light of morning.

Roxy suddenly gasped. "Wait! We haven’t even tried the cake yet!"

Snow’s ears pricked up in interest. "About time. Something we can celebrate."

Jennie laughed, heart swelling to bursting with warmth.

While Roxy started cutting into the lopsided cake, Jennie turned her gaze to two entities whom she could now consider family.

For the first time since being reborn, she was not the isolated Sword King, carrying the world upon her shoulders.

She was simply a sixteen-year-old girl with a family she had acquired along the way.

For the first time in a millennium—

She was finally, totally happy.