* * *
I pulled the blanket down from over my head.
In the darkness, something unfamiliar appeared in my vision.
‘A rabbit?’
It had pure white fur with a faint blue glow.
But more than an actual living creature, it looked somewhat… animated.
Almost like a character from a story.
It had no wings, yet it floated in midair as if it were perfectly natural.
‘Magic…?’
I glanced around, but there was no sign of Raizen.
And yet, I had definitely heard his voice.
That meant… this rabbit must be the source of the sound.
I stared at the rabbit in silence.
[It’s me, Sei.]
I know.
Why are you even saying that?
As if I wouldn’t recognize you.
‘Ah.’
Right.
The Sean that Raizen knew would have immediately responded with, “Hyung!”
But I hadn’t.
So now, he probably thought I hadn’t recognized him.
Normally, I would’ve played along without hesitation.
But right now… I just didn’t feel like it.
‘If I stay silent, he’ll start getting suspicious.’
I didn’t want to, but I had no choice.
Just as I was about to speak—
[Are you tired?]
The timing was ridiculous.
I closed my slightly parted lips and lazily blinked my eyes instead.
Then, after a pause, I gave a slow nod.
Raizen seemed to accept my reaction without question.
[Yeah… I guess it is pretty late.]
And what about you?
Why are you still awake?
We’re only a year apart, you know.
Stop treating me like a little kid.
I almost said it out loud, but decided against it.
Instead, I just smiled faintly.
Raizen let out a small sigh.
‘Whatever the reason you’re here, just hurry up and say it.’
[Happy birthday, Sei.]
“…!”
What… What did he just say?
‘I must’ve misheard him.’
My hand instinctively went up to my ear.
I was about to smack my palm against it when his next words came.
[I was the first one to say it, wasn’t I?]
“…”
At that moment, something inside my chest seemed to pop—like a dam breaking.
Tears streamed down my face.
But they weren’t the kind of tears I could control.
These weren’t the kind I could fake.
‘Hah…’
I couldn’t even remember the last time I had cried.
At some point, I’d decided that crying was just a waste of energy—something that would only put me at a disadvantage.
So why now?
Why did it have to be now?
And why… why did it have to be Raizen?
[Sei, why are you crying?]
There wasn’t a shred of concern in his voice.
I let out a disbelieving laugh.
Even now, instead of asking if I was okay, he was just curious why my reaction wasn’t what he expected.
Raizen really didn’t understand emotions at all, did he?
‘Idiot.’
I had never thought he was more of an idiot than at this moment.
I let out another small laugh.
“…Idiot. Sometimes, people cry when they’re too happy.”
I wasn’t sure if I was speaking as Sean or as myself.
I just blurted out the words I wanted to say, without thinking about anything else.
Raizen stayed silent for a while, as if my words had genuinely shocked him.
Or maybe… he was just enjoying the sight of me crying.
[……Anyway, I was the first one to congratulate you.]
With those parting words, the rabbit Raizen had sent vanished like smoke.
And just like that, the strangest birthday of my life had begun.
∗ ∗ ∗
“Young Master! Happy birthday!”
“Thanks, Mila!”
“Hehe. I’m the first to congratulate you, right?”
‘No, Raizen beat you to it…’
I turned my gaze away as naturally as possible in response to Mila’s words.
“Young Master?”
“M-Mila, I’m hungry…!”
A hasty excuse, made purely to change the subject.
Mila gasped in surprise, immediately flustering over me to help with my attire.
I felt a twinge of guilt watching her scramble, but…
‘Sometimes, a little white lie isn’t so bad, right?’
Yeah. Let’s go with that.
Once I was ready, I stepped out of the room to head to the dining hall.
As I passed through the halls, the servants discreetly approached, whispering in hushed voices.
“Happy birthday, Young Master!”
“Wishing you a wonderful birthday, Young Master!”
‘Wouldn’t it be easier if they just said it out loud?’
It seemed like I was the only one who found their behavior suspicious.
Then again… the servants here were all carefully selected, so I suppose such caution wasn’t entirely unnecessary—especially in the main estate of a duke’s household.
‘The second and third floors, where Raizen and I stay, are practically a fortress.’
They had stationed guards at the staircase leading up to the second floor.
Anyone without proper identification wasn’t allowed to go up, and those who did had their names recorded.
From the duke and duchess’s perspective, it made sense to be this careful.
There was no harm in being cautious when dealing with potential dangers.
I offered a quiet thank-you each time someone congratulated me.
The warmth spreading in my chest with every well-wish felt unfamiliar.
But strangely enough, it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.
When I arrived at the dining hall, I was met with an unexpected sight—a butler standing by the entrance.
And not just any butler, but the head butler, the one in charge of all the servants in the estate.
Despite his age, his posture was straight as a blade, his smile composed, his sharp eyes unwavering.
That piercing gaze always made me feel like he could see right through me.
And given that he had served the House of Pantheon for so many years… I doubted he particularly liked me.
“Welcome, Young Master!”
But, as always, his demeanor toward me remained unchanged.
If anything, he seemed to hold a certain fondness for me.
‘And yet, I still can’t shake off this unease… Maybe the problem is me.’
“Hello!”
Regardless, I greeted him cheerfully. The butler’s smile deepened.
“Haha, you may speak comfortably with me, Young Master.”
“Uh… well, that’s…”
I couldn’t exactly say, ‘I come from a Modern society,’ so I just gave an awkward laugh.
The butler nodded as if he understood.
“I suppose I should try harder to make you comfortable. Ah, but before that…”
Trailing off, he leaned in slightly.
‘…What now? Is this it? The moment of reckoning?’
Was he about to warn me that I was being watched?
Tell me to be mindful of my actions so as not to disgrace the family?
I swallowed hard without realizing it.
Until now, everyone I had met had been too friendly toward me.
Not that I knew what was truly in their hearts, but at least outwardly, they had all treated me well.
“Truly… happy birthday, Young Master.”
“…?”
That was it? That’s what he had been hesitating over?
I barely stopped myself from sighing in relief.
Pressing my lips together, I forced down the urge to exhale and smiled at the butler instead.
Then, in a small voice, I whispered back.
“Thank you.”
The butler’s face lit up with a smile.
He personally opened the dining hall doors for me and gestured inside.
“Now, please come in.”
This time, I thanked him properly and stepped inside.
“Sei, come in!”
I had thought I was early, but apparently, I was the last to arrive.
Everyone was already seated, looking bright and cheerful—without a single trace of exhaustion.
‘Just how much of a morning person do you people have to be…?’
Raizen had definitely gone to bed later than me, yet he looked completely refreshed.
The exhausted look he had when I first met him was nearly gone.
‘Guess he’s been sleeping well lately, huh?’
Meanwhile, thanks to someone, I barely got any sleep last night and woke up with swollen eyes.
I grumbled to myself, though I kept my complaints silent, and made my way over to them.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Of course! How about you, Sei?”
“Yes!”
“I slept well too. You’re not feeling unwell, are you?”
“I’m fine!”
After exchanging warm morning greetings with the duke and duchess, I took my seat—right next to Raizen.
He had been quiet the entire time, but as soon as I sat down, he finally spoke.
“Welcome, Sei. Did you sleep well?”
‘Oh, you little—’
“Yup! And you, big bro? Sleeeep well?”
I deliberately dragged out the words, and Raizen let out an amused chuckle.
“Yeah. Slept like a dream.”
‘Ugh, he’s so smug.’
But I wasn’t about to let him see that he was getting to me, so I clenched and unclenched my fist under the table.
“We have something to say before we eat, don’t we, Duke?”
At the duchess’s words, everyone’s attention shifted to the duke.
Her golden hair, tied into a single elegant ponytail that draped over her shoulder, shone brilliantly.
As always, she was breathtakingly beautiful.
The way she gazed at her husband, full of love, made it clear how much she adored him.
The duke was no different.
‘They really are the perfect couple.’
If the phrase “picture-perfect” existed for anyone, it would be for them.
But if I couldn’t prevent Raizen from becoming the villain, their fate would be just as terrible as in the novel.
‘…What am I doing, worrying about them?’
If Raizen truly turned into the villain, I’d be the first to go.
The novel’s extra chapter mentioned that Raizen committed his first murder at fifteen.
That meant I had only one year left.
‘I might be able to prevent some of the events mentioned in the novel…’
Just like I did on Raizen’s birthday. Some things had a sense of inevitability, but…
‘It still feels unsettling.’
I’d have to find an opportunity to ask Noah about this later.
As I studied Duke Pantheon, all sorts of thoughts ran through my mind.
Mostly because he was… hesitating.
‘At this point, it’s not just being blunt—he’s practically lacking basic social skills.’
How hard could it be to say happy birthday?
“…Dear?”
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one thinking that.
At the duchess’s gentle prompting, the duke finally spoke.
“…Happy birthday, Sei.”
His voice was utterly expressionless. And yet, strangely enough… it felt incredibly warm.
How odd.
* * *
