WDIHTVYB Chapter 43

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Regardless of Raizen’s ulterior motives, I had no plans to ask Arthur about divine power anytime soon.

At least, that was the plan.

“Your Grace, is there anything you’d like for your birthday?”

Arthur Sothes asked me this unexpectedly at the end of our lesson.

Honestly, he was the last person I expected to bring up birthday presents.

‘We’re not even that close…’

My relationship with Arthur Sothes wasn’t particularly good or bad.

Ever since I broke down crying in front of him, he had been a bit more gentle, but he still observed me like an experiment.

If anything, the more lessons we had, the more… entertained he seemed.

To be fair, his lessons were interesting.

He taught in a discussion-based format, which felt strange at first since I was used to rote memorization.

But I quickly got the hang of it.

‘It’s the first time I’ve actually enjoyed studying.’

But that’s separate from this.

I still hadn’t figured out what Arthur Sothes was really after.

Though I had some guesses now.

Anyway, a birthday present? Was he actually planning to give me one if I answered?

‘Of all people, he seemed the most against my birthday party…’

The party was going to be a small, private affair with just family.

Even the staff preparing it were only the duke and duchess’s most trusted people.

Because this birthday was for Sean’s real birthdate.

If word got out that an adopted commoner orphan shared the exact same birthdate as the missing heir of House Kreveta?

That would raise suspicions, not just from outsiders but from the duchy’s own inner circle.

By next year, things would have calmed down.

The duke and duchess even said that by then, I could have a proper celebration, like a village festival if I wanted.

Or more precisely, they would arrange it however I wanted.

By then, people would have moved on.

The Kreveta marquis couple’s accident, the whereabouts of their missing heir, the fact that the Pantheon duchy had taken in a commoner orphan…

No one would remember the exact date I was adopted—just that it happened sometime in late autumn to early winter.

Normally, in these situations, the adoption date would be treated as the child’s birthday.

But since that would place it before Raizen’s birthday, that wasn’t an option.

There was no way an adopted child could have a birthday before the legitimate heir.

So they set it exactly one month after his.

‘It’s a neat solution.’

In other words, now was the worst possible time to be throwing a birthday party.

The duke and duchess were willing to take the risk to celebrate Sean’s birthday.

Which meant that for someone like Arthur Sothes, who served the duchy, this whole situation must feel like an unnecessary gamble.

‘And yet, he’s asking me about a birthday present.’

Looks like my suspicions were right—something about his role in all this has changed.

“Feel free to say whatever comes to mind,” Arthur prompted.

I put on a thoughtful expression.

“Hmm… A birthday present…”

‘Right, Sei. Did you know? Professor Sothes is unparalleled when it comes to history and theology.’

…Why was I suddenly thinking about what Raizen said yesterday?

‘Hmm…’

Arthur Sothes.

A once-in-a-lifetime genius, whose primary expertise just so happened to be in history and theology.

He was a servant of House Pantheon, Raizen’s tutor, and someone who likely knew both about Raizen’s curse and my true identity.

At this point, calling it a coincidence would be laughable.

‘So he was assigned to me also to determine if I have divine power.’

There were ways to test for it, even though divine power was thought to be extinct.

Demons still existed, along with monsters that had absorbed their corrupted energy.

That kind of tainted energy—magi—was often collected for research purposes by the Magic Tower and the Academy.

‘With the Pantheon Duchy’s name and resources, getting their hands on some wouldn’t be hard…’

If I could purify it, that would mean I had divine power. If not, then I didn’t. But based on what Noah had told me, my divine power wasn’t normal.

‘And yet, he’s still watching me like I’m an unsolved mystery.’

For some reason, that annoyed me.

“Then… I’d like a book about divine power as my birthday present!”

“…Di-Divine power?”

For just a split second, Arthur Sothes actually reacted.

His usually composed face showed a rare flicker of surprise.

I had to bite my lip to keep myself from laughing.

‘I shouldn’t find this so funny…’

Was I starting to take after Raizen?

The thought made my entire body shudder.

No way. I was just testing the waters!

That’s all! It definitely wasn’t because I’d been influenced by him!

“Oh… If that’s too much, then it’s okay!”

“No, that’s not it. It’s just…”

‘Just…?’

“I was wondering… why you want to learn about divine power.”

Ah.

So even Arthur Sothes had blind spots when it came to dealing with kids.

If I were an adult, he’d have been more careful, but since I was just a twelve-year-old child, he let his curiosity slip.

Not that I minded.

‘After all, who would ever suspect that a grown man’s soul is inside this twelve-year-old body?’

It worked to my advantage.

“That’s… Last time, we had a lecture on foundation myths, remember? I really liked the story of Saint Shailot, so I studied it more on my own.”

“Oh…”

Arthur had the look of someone who had just woken up from a dream.

Then, after a brief pause, he gave a slightly awkward smile—almost as if reality had just hit him.

I had no way of knowing for sure, but the moment I asked my question, it seemed like a flurry of thoughts had rushed through Arthur Sothes’s mind.

“I see. And that’s how you came to learn about divine power?”

“Yes! It’s so fascinating and incredible. Just a touch can heal wounds, and even just walking can bring dead land back to life!”

I made sure to let my eyes sparkle as I spoke.

Arthur looked at me with a mix of fondness and something almost like pity before nodding.

“Divine power is… truly an amazing gift.”

His voice was quiet, tinged with a hint of bitterness.

“Yes! It’s like magic—but even more magical!”

I exclaimed, feigning an innocent enthusiasm.

Arthur let out a faint smile.

“I should give you some good books to study more about divine power.”

“Thank you!”

I lifted both hands in excitement, and Arthur instinctively reached out to ruffle my hair.

He quickly withdrew his hand, his face showing surprise, as if he hadn’t even realized what he was doing.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“No, it’s okay!”

“You seemed startled… I apologize.”

Did I really look that surprised?

It had just been so long since anyone had patted my head.

‘Other than my brother, ages ago, I guess this is the first time…’

Well, if I thought about it, even the Duchess would occasionally pat my head.

But since I was trying not to get too attached to my time here, I must’ve unconsciously pushed that memory aside.

Either way, Arthur Sothes wasn’t someone I had expected to be in the category of people who would ruffle my hair.

Yet, here he was.

It’s not like I’d done anything particularly cute to deserve it, so… why?

‘Something must have changed in the settings.’

There was no other explanation.

---

“Good night, Young Master.”

“Sleep well, Mila.”

Mila gave me a kind farewell before leaving the room.

Click.

The door shut, and darkness filled my vision.

I reached out and turned off the bedside lamp.

It looked exactly like the ones from my world, except that instead of electricity, it ran on magic.

‘If things like this exist, then yeah… I really have ended up inside a fantasy novel written by a Korean author.’

The world was both the same and different in strange ways.

Honestly, there were countless things that felt off, but if I obsessed over each one, my head would explode.

So I had learned to let them go.

‘Still, sometimes little things like this stand out.’

“…Ha.”

I stared at the now-dark lamp before rolling over onto my side.

As soon as I closed my eyes, my vision turned pitch black.

But, of course, sleep wouldn’t come.

‘This is seriously annoying.’

I ran my hands through my hair in frustration, then pulled the blanket over my head.

‘Why did Noah have to say that?’

If it weren’t for him, I would have never found out that my birthday and Sean’s were the same.

In fact, I hadn’t even realized that I had forgotten my real name, age, and birthday until he pointed it out.

‘I don’t even care why I forgot.’

When a soul crosses dimensions, isn’t it normal to lose a few insignificant things along the way?

And even if I did remember—what good would it do?

There’s no one here to call me by that name.

No one who would care.

‘…This is just pathetic.’

I may have forgotten the exact dates, but I remember my birthdays well enough—mainly because no one ever celebrated them.

And yet… why did my birthday have to be the same as Sean’s?

In just a few hours, Sean’s birthday would arrive.

It would be full of joy and celebration.

People who genuinely loved him would gather to honor his birth, making up for the absence of his deceased parents.

But the one inside his body was just some adult man who had forgotten even his own name.

A nobody, who had grown up completely unloved.

‘It’s fine. I just have to act the part.’

I’ve done well so far, haven’t I? Pretending to be clueless, pretending to be happy.

If I just smile brightly and raise my voice a little higher, everyone will buy it.

‘…I should just sleep.’

I squeezed my eyes shut.

The only sound was the occasional gust of wind in the distance.

The world was utterly silent. Just as I was on the verge of dozing off—

[Sei.]

A voice suddenly called out.

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