Wei Wei was convinced the pirates who had stolen—and burned—their ships had some kind of personal grudge against Sardinson.
It seemed likely someone had deliberately ordered them to do it. Otherwise, why ignore all the other vessels and target only theirs? Yes, they were new ships, but they hadn't even completed their sea trials. Weren't the thieves worried the ships might fall apart the moment they set sail?
There had to be more to this.
Unfortunately, they had no way of knowing what that "more" was. Even if they wanted to investigate, there were barely any leads to follow—unless they were planning to chase pirates across the sea.
For now, all they could do was hope the king's side would uncover something useful.
The fleet's formation had to be postponed. Both Felix and Wei Wei became even more eager to complete the construction of their shipyard so they could build their vessels. But even after the shipyard was finished, building just one ship would take at least half a year.
This news cast a bit of a shadow over little Anthony's birthday, but the couple tacitly agreed not to let that mood affect the others. As soon as they stepped out of the room, it was as if nothing had happened—they had a son's birthday to celebrate.
The birthday cake was made by the bakery's chefs, whose skills had improved drastically. Their cakes were getting more and more delicious, and they had even begun creating innovative recipes—many of the tea shop's latest desserts were first developed right here.
Technically, the birthday cake wasn't much different from an ordinary cake—just a bit larger and with a festive inscription on top.
The chefs had made plenty of birthday cakes before. Though they hadn't sold them to the public yet, they always prepared one for each household member's birthday. With experience came mastery—the cakes now looked as good as they tasted, with exquisite decoration and professional piping work.
What made this one special was that it was a chocolate cream cake.
The chocolate had been made from the cocoa beans Wei Wei had acquired. No one had imagined that such inconspicuous little beans could be turned into something so rich, smooth, and addictive.
Following Wei Wei's recipe, they had made a batch of chocolate. After tasting it, they were immediately enchanted by its velvety texture and deep flavor.
But with only one small bag of cocoa beans available, it had been a one-time treat. Even Wei Wei had decided to reserve the precious chocolate just for this birthday cake.
Of course, little Anthony couldn't eat it—and even Caroline was only allowed a small taste. The cake merely had chocolate shavings on top, a few chocolate balls on the cream rosettes, and a heart-shaped piece of chocolate as decoration.
Wei Wei had specifically told the chefs to keep this cake a surprise. So when the serving tray's lid was lifted to reveal a rich, brown cake, everyone around was astonished.
For a moment, someone even thought the cake had been dirtied—because the color looked suspiciously like soil.
"What is this?"
As a sweets enthusiast, Felix was instantly intrigued. Every dessert Wei Wei introduced was a new obsession for him. He immediately reached out for the heart-shaped chocolate piece—only to have his hand smacked away by Wei Wei.
She scolded playfully, "Our birthday star hasn't even blown out the candle yet—no touching!"
Little Anthony, sitting in her lap, was bouncing with excitement. Like his father, he was eyeing the cake with eager hands, trying to climb onto the table.
Tonight, the family didn't follow their usual seating arrangement. Felix and Wei Wei sat on one side of the long table; Dolores and Caroline sat on the other. The centerpiece had been cleared to make room for the birthday cake, surrounded by dishes already devoured during dinner.
Caroline, wearing a frilly party dress, had finished her meal and was now holding her wooden spoon, drooling at the sight of the cake. Upon hearing Wei Wei mention blowing out candles, she clapped her hands excitedly. "Blow the candle! Caroline wants to blow it too!"
Not only did she want to blow it, she also wanted to light it herself.
The maids, terrified of letting her play with fire, quickly stepped in and lit the single candle in the middle of the cake with a taper.
Seeing this, Caroline clambered off her chair and squeezed in between Wei Wei and Felix, eyes sparkling as she stared at the candle, eager to blow it out.
She remembered her birthday candle—and how she had more candles than Anthony!
Felix scooped her onto his lap and teased, "What do we do before blowing out the candle?"
Caroline frowned, trying to remember. After a moment, her face lit up and she shouted, "Sing a song!"
"That's right," Wei Wei laughed, gently guiding Anthony's chubby little hands to clap in rhythm as she began singing, "Happy birthday to you…"
The song was simple and easy to follow. Caroline chimed in immediately, followed by Dolores, and even Felix reluctantly joined in.
Anthony couldn't sing, but that didn't stop him from clapping along gleefully. His grin stretched from ear to ear, drool trailing from his chin. Wei Wei noticed right away and dabbed at his mouth with a handkerchief.
After the song, Caroline boldly declared she would make the birthday wish on behalf of her baby cousin.
"I wish Anthony grows up quickly, so we can play house in the garden!" she said with great solemnity. Then, standing on Felix's lap, she leaned over the table and blew out the candle in one go.
All three adults chuckled. Dolores teased, "So is this Anthony's birthday or Caroline's?"
Caroline didn't realize she was being teased and gave Dolores a serious look as if to say, How could you be so silly? "Of course, it's Anthony's! He's one now!"
She even puffed out her chest proudly, as if talking about herself.
Her dramatic expression made everyone burst out laughing. Even the servants nearby tried to suppress their chuckles behind their hands.
With the candle out, it was time to cut the cake. This time, Caroline didn't insist on helping—she simply held her little wooden plate, eyes glued to the cake.
Wei Wei guided Anthony's tiny hands as they made the ceremonial first cut. Sadly, there were no cameras in this era to capture the moment.
But there were other ways to preserve a memory.
In the corner of the dining hall stood a young artist behind an easel, busily painting the scene. He was a rising oil painter, talented and expressive. Wei Wei was fond of his work and often invited him to capture important moments.
Once the cake was cut, the butler stepped forward to serve slices.
Caroline pouted when she saw her piece was smaller than everyone else's. "Why is mine so tiny?"
Indeed, hers was half the size of the others'—and she was not pleased.
"Because you're still little, so this is the right size for you," Felix said, lifting her back into her chair. "When you're as big as us, you can have big slices too. Look at your brother—he is even smaller!"
Caroline turned to Anthony's plate and saw that his piece was a tiny yellow sponge without cream or chocolate.
She looked back at her slice—creamy, decorated with a chocolate ball, and even the "Happy Birthday" chocolate plaque.
Satisfied, she perked up again.
Following her instincts, she picked up the chocolate ball and popped it into her mouth.
The rich, sweet flavor melted on her tongue—delicious!
Her eyes sparkled as she turned toward the remaining cake, but instead of grabbing more, she politely asked, "Can I have another one of those chocolate balls?"
Wei Wei smiled. "That's called a chocolate truffle. You like it?"
"I like it a lot!" Caroline nodded enthusiastically.
Wei Wei didn't touch the cake on the table. Instead, she took the one from her plate and handed it to her. "Just one more, okay?"
Caroline agreed. She was a good child and always kept her promises. She took the truffle, returned to her seat, and began eating the cake—saving the chocolate for last, of course.
As she ate, she realized those tiny dark shavings on the cake tasted just like chocolate too—and her joy only grew.
She wasn't the only one enchanted. Felix and Dolores both adored the chocolate as well.
"What's this made from? Do we have more?" Felix asked.
Wei Wei was feeding plain sponge cake to Anthony. She had purposely kept his dinner light, so he still had room for dessert. Since it was his birthday, he was allowed a small treat.
Fortunately, he was young and easily appeased. The sweet sponge was enough—he didn't demand chocolate.
"It's made from cocoa beans. We still have a little chocolate left. If you like it, the bakery can make a few more treats, but only a few."
Felix remembered the cocoa beans—bought from a sea trader. There weren't many, but the merchant had promised to bring more. If all goes well, they should be back in about two months.
"In that case, we should sell chocolate at the tea shop. I'm sure people will love it."
"Of course. That was the plan all along."
Chocolate, after all, was a staple of the dessert world—with endless uses. It would pair beautifully with milk tea and expand the tea shop's offerings.
Once Felix knew there was still a small stock left, he and Dolores each enjoyed another piece. Then he had the remaining two untouched slices boxed up and gifted to the Barton couple.
The butler and his wife were overjoyed. They were the only ones besides the family to taste the birthday cake—what an honor!
Barton carefully packed the slices away and decided he would share them with his wife after work, perhaps even open a bottle of his finest wine. Tonight, they would celebrate properly.