* * *
‘Again with the hand…’
I knew it was just because we hadn’t held hands at all today, but it still made me feel strange.
Maybe it was because the way Raizen offered his hand felt so natural.
‘Even though he hates physical contact.’
I felt nauseous.
“Let’s go.”
That short, blunt command made my hand move on its own.
Raizen firmly grasped my hand and took the lead, pulling me along until we stood in front of the three-tiered cake.
Seeing it up close, it was even grander than I had thought.
And… honestly, a little overwhelming.
‘The rabbits really are cute, though.’
Now that I was looking closely, the rabbits all had different eye colors.
The white rabbit in the center had blue eyes.
One of the larger black rabbits and the small black rabbit had red eyes.
And the other large black rabbit had green eyes.
‘It’s way too obvious what they were trying to represent.’
Even from a distance, it was clear that these rabbits were meant to be a ‘family.’
The white rabbit stood alone among the black ones, but strangely, it didn’t look out of place.
Maybe because it was in the center, or because the others were arranged protectively around it.
‘And… they’re all smiling, holding little gift boxes.’
The black rabbits were happily offering gifts.
Was this Raizen’s idea?
Or the duke and duchess’?
No… maybe it was just the head chef.
Whatever.
‘…It’s fine.’
Regardless of any hidden meaning, the fact remained that they had prepared this for me.
“Here, Sei.”
The duchess handed me a cake-cutting knife.
I looked between the knife and the cake before finally turning my gaze to her.
I didn’t say anything, just looked at her, but she seemed to read my hesitation.
“What’s wrong? Is there something you want to say?”
I could have just spoken, but for some reason, the words wouldn’t come out.
The duchess didn’t rush me.
She simply waited, her emerald-green eyes as gentle as ever.
“…Can I cut a different part instead of the center?”
“Of course. You don’t have to cut the center if you don’t want to.”
“She’s right.”
“Sei, you can cut wherever you want.”
The duke and duchess were always in sync, so I was used to the duke repeating whatever the duchess said.
But why was Raizen chiming in too?
“Can I ask why?” The duchess asked, eyes twinkling with curiosity.
I hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Well… if I cut the center, the decorations will be ruined…”
“Our Sei didn’t want to separate the rabbit family, huh?”
…Maybe she was right.
‘A family…’
Because losing family is a sad thing.
I slowly nodded.
The duchess pulled me into a tight embrace without a word.
It felt like her body was trembling slightly.
“Shall we cut it the way you want, Sean?”
Her voice, faintly laced with moisture, rang in my ears.
I slipped out of her arms and stepped closer to the cake.
Then, I placed the knife on a spot slightly away from the rabbit family.
At that moment, the birthday song filled the air.
It was a lighter, more cheerful version than the one I’d heard at Raizen’s birthday party.
Not only the duke and duchess but also the servants attending in the dining room joined in, singing along to the tune.
Strangely enough, everyone looked genuinely happy and joyful.
“Happy birthday, Sean.”
The duchess whispered softly, just for me to hear.
“I’m so happy to be able to celebrate your birthday with you. …I love you, my dear.”
There was a sorrow in her voice that she couldn’t quite hide.
When I glanced up at her face, I saw an expression far more complicated than I had expected.
‘Sad, yet happy. Troubled by many thoughts.’
The duke and duchess must have received reports about my academic progress and daily life.
By now, they would have noticed—Sean had finally outgrown his regressive behaviors and reached emotional stability.
They must be thinking that the time had come to talk about the deaths of the Marquis and Marchioness of Kreveta.
But no matter what, I didn’t want to see her looking so sad.
When I flashed a bright smile, she smiled too.
“Happy birthday. We will always be your unwavering shelter.”
The duke wrapped an arm around the duchess’s shoulders as he spoke.
Now, only Raizen was left.
He stared at me for a moment before finally opening his mouth.
“Sei, happy birthday. You have no idea… how happy I am that you’re here.”
He meant that he was glad the key to breaking the curse existed.
And yet, strangely, I didn’t hate hearing it.
Was it just the mood of the moment?
‘But… this isn’t for me.’
A wave of nausea rose in my chest.
Who was really being celebrated right now?
Sean?
Or me?
‘This is a birthday party for the real Sean.’
Not for me—the one even my own birth parents had turned their backs on.
Just as I built up my final defense, a voice echoed from the depths of my mind.
‘But it’s still Sean’s body, isn’t it? The face is mine, and I’m the one who spent time with these people.’
That voice shook the last barrier I had carefully erected.
‘So… isn’t it okay to think that this is for me? That they’re celebrating my birthday, too?’
Nonsense.
No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t mine to claim.
Even if Sean’s soul never returned to this world, to this body, it didn’t change anything.
‘But aren’t I the one who built relationships with them?’
What did it matter?
If I had possessed someone else’s body instead of Sean’s, I wouldn’t have even dared to dream of this.
There are things in this world that one is entitled to simply by being born—wealth, connections, social standing.
And no matter how hard someone without them struggles, they can never truly obtain them.
Just like how, in the end… I remained someone who wasn’t loved by the ones I truly wanted it from.
‘Yeah. I must never forget that.’
I thought I had steadied my heart.
But then—
‘So… you’re not happy?’
That was an unfair question.
The last barrier I had barely managed to hold up crumbled all at once.
‘…I told you before, didn’t I?’
That I liked it.
That regardless of meaning, regardless of coincidence—just the fact that I was surrounded by people, receiving their heartfelt congratulations… I liked it.
My vision blurred.
As I raised my hand to wipe away the tears that had fallen of their own accord, the duke suddenly pulled me into a cautious embrace.
“…!”
Unlike the duchess, who smelled of soft, fragrant flowers, the duke’s body was firm, carrying the crisp scent of mint.
‘Wait, but why…?’
The question was soon answered.
With one hand, the duke gave my shoulder a light, rhythmic pat.
It was too even to be an attempt at comfort—it felt more like he was tapping on a musical instrument.
The awkwardness of it all made me burst into laughter before I realized it.
“Ahem.”
The duke let out a small cough, clearly flustered, and released me.
Thanks to that, my tears stopped.
But I couldn’t help but steal a glance at Raizen.
As soon as I turned my head, my eyes met his—he had already been watching me.
‘Why does it feel like this keeps happening…?’
But this time, something felt different.
Before, his gaze had been one of mere observation.
Now… it felt like he was really studying me.
‘Why? What are you looking at?’
I felt a strange sense of guilt, as if I’d been caught doing something I wasn’t supposed to.
Had I done something unusual?
It wasn’t the first time he’d seen me cry…
‘Either way, at least he doesn’t look displeased.’
In the original story, there was a reason why Sean had been Raizen’s first kill.
Despite his weakness, Sean had been disturbingly perceptive—he had seen through the rotting abyss inside Raizen.
That was how it was written.
But I had a slightly different perspective.
‘Before he completely shut himself off, Raizen had expectations of his parents.’
It wasn’t described in detail—just brushed over in passing, as if even Raizen himself didn’t want to acknowledge it.
But now, having entered this world, I could sense it more clearly.
Raizen hadn’t been born evil.
The curse had gnawed away at him until he became the villain.
Before that, he must have wanted, just like any other child, to be loved by his parents.
And the primal fear and anxiety of being cursed had only made that desire more desperate.
Then, when the duke and duchess deliberately covered up the incident from when he was ten and refused to let him go to the temple…
To them, it was because they already knew he lacked divine power.
But to Raizen—
‘It must have seemed like they were avoiding him because of the curse.’
With that misunderstanding festering and the darkness whispering in his ear every day, how could he have endured?
And then, out of nowhere, Sean appeared and became the beloved adopted son.
Of course he would have hated him.
At first, he truly had.
No matter how good he was at maintaining a poker face, he had still been young enough to react when his weaknesses were exposed.
And… perhaps because I had experienced similar emotions myself, there were moments when I instinctively understood.
‘But that’s definitely not the case anymore.’
Ever since realizing my importance, Raizen had stopped reacting so much to how the duke and duchess treated me.
So then why… why did he keep staring at me like this?
‘It would be easier if I could at least tell what he was thinking.’
This kind of gaze, one of pure scrutiny…
‘It just feels… weird.’
Unconsciously, I raised my hand to scratch my cheek—
But before I could, someone grabbed my wrist.
A cool, calloused hand, hardened from sword training.
It was Raizen.
“…Hyung?”
He silently looked at me before shifting his gaze to the duke and duchess.
“I’m hungry.”
“…?!”
His words were absurdly out of place.
And yet, even as he spoke, he was still holding onto my hand.
* * *
