It was almost midnight, with the chipping of the crickets and cold breeze of the wind to add furthermore.

A certain tall man with a black and white hair was making his way on the entrance of the castle holding a paper bag on his hand. Discreetly, he hoped no one would notice him whatsoever, or even acknowledge his presence

He's used to it anyways and he might as well use it as an advantage

This day is actually a pretty special day for the sorcerer, to him solely and to some of his family members, and he just wanted to celebrate the occasion in his usual way – peaceful and out of trouble

That is… unless a certain auburn-haired princess won't find out.

Ever since Sofia became a princess of the castle, things haven't been "peaceful" lately. His usual days would turn upside-down due to her constant presence and company. It's like she was sent to him as a means of a punishment or something

Either ways… she had something that he so wanted. Cedric chuckled slightly upon the thought of this

But he didn't have to worry about that tonight, for the man is gonna celebrate to his fullest content. Making his way into the castle, it was already midnight and so it is to be expected that it is quite dim inside

He tiptoed through the halls, despite not needing to. When he was still a boy, he used to sneak out in the middle of the night and he had to keep hidden to avoid being caught. This has been a force of habit for the sorcerer even as an adult

As he made his way to the workshop, he didn't hesitate to turn the knob, but before doing so, Cedric scanned the area from behind to make sure no one was there to see. Upon the conclusion that he was indeed alone, a smile rests on his face.

Cedric walked in the workshop, the lights turned on in a snap, with his footsteps echoing throughout the tower. Wormwood, who was peacefully sleeping, was forced to be awakened with the sudden shift of the atmosphere

"Good Evening, Wormwood. Sorry I was a little bit late but we shall start the celebration now?" Cedric uttered as he sits in his chair just by the table as he opens the paper bag which revealed a very small cupcake that had a candle on top.

He didn't have enough resources to buy an extravagant one, and so he settled with something smaller. It's not like he had complaints, it was better than nothing actually

A painting on the wall caught his attention, which made Cedric sigh in addition "Looks like they won't be able to make it tonight"

He lights the tip of the candle with his wand, which brought a small sphere of light in his vicinity.

Suddenly, a certain tapping noise was heard from behind. Cedric turned, and saw a shadow of a bunny hopping from the walls

"Clover! Come back here!"

A voice which came from a whisper suddenly echoed. It was definitely strange and random but Cedric shrugged this all off as he turned his attention back into his small cupcake

He took a few seconds, just watching the flame of the candle light before his eyes. It was at that moment he realized that this was another random day to everyone who didn't knew him well

Upon finally finding the resolve to do so, a smile forms on his face

"Happy Bi…"

A sudden horn was heard from behind. It sounded high pitched and annoying, He turned around, and saw something that he couldn't believe…

"Happy Birthday, Mr. Ceedric!"

There she was, Sofia herself wearing nothing but her pajamas. She was also wearing a party hat and was blowing a party horn in her mouth. Cedric took a closer look, and noticed something…

"Hey, where'd you get that?"

"From your room" Sofia grinned in response

"Wha… how did you have access to… wait, that's not the problem here!" Cedric stuttered as he gave Sofia an agitated look "It's late, Princess. What are you doing here!?"

"Well… it's your birthday!" Sofia blew out his party horn again as she hopped in addition

"But it's already almost midnight!" Cedric's voice was low, but the urgency still lingered. He knelt down to his knees to meet her level as he held her shoulders with his hands "Do you even know what will happen if you get caught in here at this hour?"

"No, not really, but I'm sure you do" Sofia winked at him in a playful manner.

It occurred to Cedric how she knew about his midnight rendezvous as a young lad and how he seemed to get away every time. And so, scolding the young princess at this point is like a pot calling the kettle black

He then felt his sleeve being pulled by Sofia herself. She was dragging him to his room which she seemed very familiar of. Finally reaching the place, Cedric was surprised to see of what Sofia did with his reside. It had lots of decorations from the walls, on the ceiling; even the floor had bits of color in them

A certain shelf was left open and it caught his attention. Everything made sense now of where she got that party horn from, her dear spoiled princess had been snooping in his stuff lately…

A disgruntled frown forms on his face, another sigh followed which added to his troubled state.

"Mr. Ceedric, don't you like it?"

Cedric opened his eyes upon hearing this, and what stumbled upon him was an image of Sofia pouting at him.

"I wanted it to be a surprise, but I guess I shouldn't have…"

She was facing the ground, as her eyes reeked of guilt and sadness. Her pout turned into a full frown which definitely struck Cedric in a whole lot of ways

"I-I like it Sofia, I was just surprised and all" Cedric heaved out a nervous laugh, giving her a nice gentle pat on her head in addition

"It's just… no one has ever done this to me before.."

Her face lit up upon hearing this as she looked at him in a new found enthusiasm "Well I guess I'm the first girl who actually made you a surprise party, Mr. Ceedric!"

"Hah, you really live up to your name… huh" Cedric scoffed in a playful manner

Sofia beamed a grin in response as she ran to the bed to get a party hat and placed it in his head

"There, you look much better now!" Sofia giggled upon the sight of her sorcerer in quite a different light of fashion

"Anyways, I have a surprise for you"

Sofia went to the table just beside and casted him a side-eye glance from her shoulders. As she turned around, something in her hand that sure took Cedric by a surprise…

"And presenting… TA DA!" Sofia was proud to show the orange cake that she held out in front of him "A Carrot cake that I made for, Mr. Ceedric!"

Cedric looked amazed with what he saw, it was… aside from his family, no one has ever given him this much appreciation before. And somehow, he was very happy to know that her apprentice cared this much

"I actually got the idea from Clover, and I wondered you might like it"

No he didn't, he hated carrots to be frank. He's not such a fan of that distinct "earthy" taste they have which is quite contradictory to its bright colors.

But when you literally have an apprentice/princess who went out of her way to prepare all of this for you, then you wouldn't blame Cedric for being happy on receiving such a cake

Holding the cake to himself, Cedric carefully read the icing letters on the top of the cake.

.

"Happy Birthday, Mr. Ceedric"

.

Further down, another phrase followed…

"To my favorite sorcerer in the entire world!"

Reading this brought something inside to him. A certain joy that he didn't know he could feel. It was heartwarming and sweet how Sofia would go out of her way for such a mere man like him

But the look on her face at that moment, casted away all his worries. She always had that smile that would lift his spirits up regardless of what he is dealing with, she would always be there for him regardless of how he would cast her away

As he watched her up close, the certain shimmering amulet on her chest didn't even bother to get even a tiny portion of his attention.

Sofia was definitely not just any ordinary girl, or princess, and he knew that from the very beginning. He knew his life would be forever changed ever since she came into his life, and all this time, Cedric considered it as a punishment…

But looking back, it wasn't really that having Sofia's company most of the time. With her presence, things sure have gotten hectic since then. She may be annoying a times, but there is never a dull moment whenever she is around his workshop

He looked at her, and the smile on her face proves everything to him. Sofia is not just a princess, or a girl… or even a friend

She was–

"Thank you, Princess Sofia"

Her eyes sparkled, as her smile deepened to her cheeks alongside with a red hue of blush sneaking to her face. Hearing his appreciation, the mere few words coming from him was enough for all her hard work of preparing everything.

"You're welcome, Mr. Ceedric~"