* * *
The moment Raizen said that, Duke Pantheon’s gaze instinctively moved to Sean.
His eyes widened in surprise, only to quickly hide the reaction behind a blank expression.
But the blue in his eyes still shimmered with confusion.
In contrast, Raizen’s face was steady—almost unnaturally so.
While he appeared calm, the Duke could tell.
His son was so angry, he had become calm instead.
He had suspected for some time that the relationship between the two boys was… something other than familial affection.
At first, he thought he was imagining things.
He wasn’t exactly sensitive when it came to emotions.
But when his wife casually remarked on it, he realized his instincts hadn’t been wrong.
Ever since then, he’d watched the boys closely.
The emotions between them were hard to define.
But if someone were to ask if their feelings were aligned in temperature or in color… from his perspective, he wouldn’t be able to say yes.
He couldn’t quite explain what was different or how.
But he felt it—clearly.
That neither of them was yet able to truly see the other.
And now, Raizen was suddenly declaring an engagement.
Meeting Sean’s eyes, the Duke asked:
“Sei, is this how you feel too?”
Sean’s blue eyes wavered for a moment in the air, then lowered as he gave a small nod.
“…Yes.”
The word felt strangely heavy.
“But I haven’t… really spoken about it yet. Not to my grandfather, either…”
The former Marquis Kreveta had long sensed the subtle tension between the two boys.
More accurately, he had noticed where his only grandson’s eyes always strayed.
“I see… Well, I understand your intentions. For now, you may go.”
At the Duke’s quiet dismissal, the boys left the room.
Their backs, now taller and broader, somehow felt unfamiliar as they walked away.
‘They’ve grown so much, it doesn’t feel right to call them children anymore.’
And yet, to Duke Pantheon, they would always be children.
That’s why his heart felt so anxious, so afraid.
“Haa…”
The Duke sighed deeply as he sat back down.
Loosening his cravat to ease the tightness in his throat, he rubbed his face with dry hands.
He hadn’t felt this lost or afraid—not even while subjugating monsters or facing death in war.
A sudden thirst made him drain the water glass in front of him in one gulp.
“Dear.”
His wife approached.
As her soft hands wrapped around his, the Duke slowly closed and opened his eyes.
“Lily… is this really the right thing?”
If he had to choose someone to stand beside Raizen, of course it would be Sean.
That desire had been quietly building ever since Sean manifested as an omega.
Even more so when the former Marquis subtly hinted at wanting Sean to live a life other than that of an heir.
But deep down, he knew it was his own selfishness.
If the boys didn’t want it, he hadn’t planned to say a word.
So why, when things were finally turning out the way he hoped… did it feel so heavy?
“Claude.”
His wife gently embraced him. He let out a small sigh into her arms.
“…Raizen, that boy… can he truly love someone?”
At least, the Raizen he saw just now didn’t look like someone in love.
“…What if he’s just mistaking need for love? Or worse… what if he doesn’t even believe it’s love, but is holding onto Sean anyway?”
The thought frightened him more than anything else.
“Claude.”
She softly patted his back.
“I’m scared too. But still… let’s have faith. And do what we can, for their sake.”
“…Yeah.”
The Duke nodded, heavily.
“Sei.”
I kept walking, pretending not to hear the voice behind me.
I could hear Raizen’s footsteps speeding up.
Part of me wanted to run, to escape, but I couldn’t.
“Sei, wait.”
In the end, Raizen caught up to me.
We were still in the hallway, with servants and others watching.
“…Let’s talk in your room.”
“Alright.”
After hearing his reply, I carefully pulled my hand from his grasp.
I could feel his eyes on me, but I deliberately ignored it.
I walked quickly to his room.
It had been a long time since I’d been in Raizen’s room, but not much had changed.
Aside from the furniture, now scaled to fit an adult man, the old-fashioned yet calm décor remained.
As I sat at the table, Raizen sat right beside me.
“Sei, what’s going on?”
The genuine confusion in his voice made my chest tighten.
What was going on?
‘Honestly… I don’t know myself.’
I had voiced my decision with the engagement in mind.
That I would return as Sean Kreveta—not just briefly to reclaim my inheritance and disappear, but to live out my life under that name.
I knew it wouldn’t be easy.
Sean Kreveta, presumed dead, is alive.
That fact alone would put Duke Luavis on edge.
And the issue of the Kreveta heir would need to be fully addressed.
Even if someone else inherited the family, the existence of the rightful heir would always loom.
In that sense, getting engaged to Raizen as Sean Kreveta might actually be a solution.
If we were to marry, I wouldn’t live on as Sean Kreveta—but as Sean Pantheon.
Maybe my life would be in danger.
But even that—I was okay with it.
Through training with Seol, I had been learning different ways to use divine power.
If I could really obtain the Holy Sword, I’d at least be able to protect myself.
It was with all this in mind that I made my decision.
I had chosen this path, even if it meant giving up on the goal I’d clung to for so long.
But I hadn’t properly talked to Raizen about it yet.
I still didn’t know if he truly wanted this engagement with me.
He hadn’t clearly said it.
‘Then why…’
Why did I just say it like that?
“Sei…”
Raizen kept urging me for an answer.
But I couldn’t open my mouth easily.
After taking a small breath, I barely managed to speak.
“Do you… really want to get engaged to me?”
It wasn’t blame I wanted to throw at him for acting without talking to me first.
What I really wanted to know was—did Raizen truly want this?
“Yes.”
His answer came so easily, it made my heart all the more tangled.
“You’re answering seriously, right? You know… an engagement doesn’t just stop at being engaged. If we don’t break it off, it means we’ll get married.”
A faint smile curved Raizen’s lips at my words.
“That’s what I’m hoping for.”
Was it possible to feel both anxious and thrilled at the same time?
Seeing him respond like it was the most natural thing, I couldn’t help but feel like something was off… and yet my heart thudded uncontrollably.
‘Why?’
The question I’d swallowed before came back up to my throat.
But I still couldn’t say it out loud.
‘He’s saying all this… shouldn’t I try trusting him?’
Another part of me whispered sweetly from deep inside.
It almost felt mocking.
As if saying: you don’t even have the courage to ask, yet you can’t let go of anything either.
Doubting, but still holding on like a fool.
“…Ugh.”
Something swelled up inside me, and my eyes grew misty.
I pressed my palms to my eyelids.
‘I like you.’
I liked Raizen so much, it hurt.
When had it grown so big?
To the point I just wanted to believe whatever he said.
To the point I didn’t want my foolish doubts to break what we had.
‘…Yeah. I can build it from here.’
Even if it’s not love yet, I could work toward making it love.
After all, Raizen said he wanted me.
Enough for me to show a kind of courage I’d never shown before in my life.
“Hic, hngh…”
No matter how much I tried to hold it in, the sobs escaped.
And then—someone’s lips touched mine.
* * *
