* * *
I found myself holding my breath over and over again.
Even though I knew it wouldn’t do anything to calm my pounding heart, I couldn’t help it.
I was afraid—afraid that Raizen might hear it.
‘Seriously, what kind of thoughts am I having?’
They say that falling for someone can change a person completely.
It seemed that saying was about me.
My head was filled with thoughts I never used to have.
Before coming here today, I had checked my appearance at least a dozen times.
I lifted my gaze toward Raizen again, and at that moment, our eyes met.
He had already been looking at me.
Startled, I tried to look away, but Raizen’s lips curved into a soft smile.
“……!”
‘This bastard.’
Was he… was he flirting with me?
“We should go inside and eat.”
At just the right moment, Duke Pantheon’s voice rang out, and I quickly turned toward him.
I nodded so vigorously that the Duke looked at me with slight confusion.
The meal passed in a blur—I wasn’t even sure if I was eating properly.
And when it was over, I hesitated for what felt like forever before standing up.
‘What do I do?’
I wanted to spend time with Raizen after the meal.
Not too long ago, that would have been the most normal thing in the world.
But now, it felt… different.
‘Am I being too obvious?’
I wasn’t a kid anymore.
I was already seventeen.
Sticking too close to a brother I wasn’t even related to by blood… wouldn’t that look strange?
The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous everything felt.
Waiting for him like this felt ridiculous.
And even if I waited, then what?
‘Where would we go? What would we do?’
Would I just follow him around until we ended up in his room?
And if he asked me why, what would I even say?
Nothing about this felt normal anymore.
Everything that had once been natural now felt unfamiliar.
In the end, I chose to run.
“Uh—I, I’ll go ahead first…!”
I wasn’t even sure if I was walking or running.
I just knew I needed to get out of the dining room as fast as possible.
Once I reached the hallway, my frantic footsteps finally started to slow.
“……”
That’s when I heard someone following me.
As I slowed down, they sped up.
The closer they got, the wilder my heartbeat became.
“Sei.”
A low voice.
A cool hand wrapping around mine.
And with it, the faint yet intoxicating scent of roses—Raizen’s pheromones.
Before turning around, I took a deep breath.
Then, pretending nothing was wrong, I faced him.
“Oh, hyung?”
My voice sounded painfully awkward to me, but I hoped Raizen wouldn’t notice.
He simply looked at me with his usual faint smile.
“Where are you going?”
His voice was so calm—so effortlessly smooth—that it annoyed me a little.
“Huh? Oh. Um… just… to my room?”
“To your room? Whose room?”
Why the hell was he smiling while saying that?
Was he really not flirting with me?
Because if not, I didn’t know what this was.
“Haha… uh, yeah…”
“Should I come to your room?”
“…What?”
This—this had to be flirting.
There was no other explanation.
I must have looked completely dumbfounded, but Raizen just stood there, effortlessly composed.
It was honestly kind of irritating.
But more than that… I liked it.
So I nodded.
‘Wait. Hold on.’
I only remembered Sera’s existence when we reached my door.
“Something wrong?”
Raizen asked as I hesitated before opening the door.
I felt a cold sweat forming on my back.
I hadn’t told anyone about the divine beast.
Not yet.
With the subjugation mission going on, I didn’t want to add more concerns to everyone’s plate.
I had planned to tell them all together when the time was right.
‘Good thing Seol can turn invisible.’
When I explained my situation, Seol had reassured me that they could make themselves invisible.
That was why, whenever I left my room or someone entered, Seol would hide.
‘But the problem is…’
[My invisibility isn’t perfect. Someone with sharp senses might still notice me. Especially if they’ve already experienced divine power before.]
Raizen was definitely going to notice.
‘Whatever. I was planning to tell him anyway.’
Taking a deep breath, I finally opened the door.
After making sure Raizen had stepped inside, I closed it behind us.
Seol was sitting quietly in their usual spot.
When invisible, they weren’t visible to me either, but I could still sense their presence.
I could even tell that they were feeling uneasy about Raizen.
Seol hadn’t been too thrilled when I told them Raizen was coming back.
When I asked why, they had just drooped their ears and shook their head.
‘Guess it’s time to tell him.’
I had always planned to, but now, the timing had just moved up a little.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“You can feel it, can’t you? That there’s something here.”
Raizen nodded without saying a word.
I reached out toward where Seol was.
“Sera.”
At my call, Seol approached.
Their invisible form slowly faded into view.
I pulled them into my arms before turning to Raizen.
“Hyung… This is a divine beast. Their name is Seol.”
Raizen narrowed his eyes slightly, tilting his head.
“A divine beast?”
“Yeah. I, uh… kind of ended up with a divine beast’s egg. And while you were away, it hatched.”
“…You ‘kind of’ ended up with one. And it hatched.”
Raizen muttered quietly as he stepped closer to me.
His red eyes were fixed on Seol.
With his usual gentle smile, he reached out to pat Seol’s head.
Or rather, he tried to.
“…Seol!”
Seol let out a sharp hiss and immediately growled.
Startled, I called out, and he whipped his head around, burying his face into my chest.
[Sorry. But no. That guy’s an idiot!]
“Seol…”
I figured he wouldn’t like it, but I didn’t expect him to reject Raizen this strongly.
Was it because of the curse?
But aside from the moments when the curse activated, I never really felt anything like dark energy from Raizen…
[Hiiing.]
This was the first time Seol had been so openly fussy.
He might seem like a troublemaker, but he often acted more mature than me.
“…Sorry, hyung. I think he’s just not used to people yet.”
That was the best excuse I could come up with.
The truth was, I had no idea why Seol was reacting this way either.
‘I really hope it’s not because of the curse…’
Had it worsened while we were away on the subjugation?
Maybe being around monsters and killing them had affected him negatively.
“Seol, wait a second.”
I set Seol down in his usual spot and walked over to Raizen.
His expression was unreadable as he looked at Seol.
“Hyung, can I see your hand?”
Raizen obediently held out his hand.
There were new scars scattered across his skin, ones I hadn’t seen before.
My chest tightened at the sight, and I gripped his hand firmly, channeling divine energy into it.
A soft blue light spread and then faded away.
“…Your hand is healed now.”
Seeing his now flawless skin, I felt an odd sense of satisfaction.
“Are there any other injuries? Are you… feeling okay?”
“If you mean the curse, I’m fine.”
Raizen casually spoke the word I had been avoiding.
“But… I did get a bit hurt on my back.”
“Your back?! Let me see!”
I blurted it out with absolutely no ulterior motive.
Urgency took over as I instinctively reached toward his back—only to freeze midway.
‘Oh god, what am I doing?!’
No, no.
Calm down.
There’s nothing weird about this.
I’m just checking his injuries.
If it’s a monster wound, it needs to be treated properly!
“Wait. Hold on. Uh, hyung?”
Raizen glanced at me before lowering his gaze slightly.
“…Should I take it off?”
‘THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!!’
* * *
