* * *
Once I started stabilizing, their attitudes shifted a little.
Before, they treated me like fragile glass, to the point that I felt guilty.
The Duchess exchanged glances with the Duke, who gave a small nod.
Then, she turned back to me.
“You’re right, Sei.”
Then there was no need to hesitate any longer.
I deliberately put on a bright smile.
“I like it! To be honest, I wanted to do it from the start!”
I could have just pretended I didn’t know anything and said I wanted to do it.
But I asked on purpose—to prevent any misunderstandings.
I didn’t want the Duke and Duchess to feel like they were forcing a clueless child into this.
‘I also wish they’d stop being so overprotective.’
It was overwhelming, sure, but more than that, I was worried Raizen would react poorly.
For now, he was focused on my sudden appearance as a solution.
But once some time passed, he’d start paying attention to his surroundings.
And when he realized how differently his parents treated me, things could get… complicated.
“Then, we’ll need to begin proper etiquette lessons.”
‘Ugh.’
I had been receiving etiquette lessons here and there from Mila.
But if they were saying ‘proper’ now… that meant they’d bring in a tutor.
“I’ll find you a good teacher, so don’t worry.”
“And other than that, Arthur Sothes will teach you as well, so you have nothing to fear.”
That was actually more concerning, but they probably had no idea.
The Duke Pantheon was Arthur Sothes’ superior, after all…
“I want to help Sei too.”
I was sure I hadn’t misheard—that was Raizen’s voice.
I instinctively looked at him, and he smiled at me.
“I have experience, so I can share a lot of useful information.”
It felt like he was emphasizing ‘useful information,’ but maybe I was imagining it.
“That’s a great idea.”
Without hesitation, the Duke nodded.
His face didn’t look much different from usual, but I could tell he was pleased.
There was even a hint of pride…
‘Well, if Raizen’s willing to share useful information, I’ll gladly take it.’
Arthur Sothes would provide objective information about the people I’d meet, while Raizen could tell me how he personally viewed them—what to watch out for, for example.
“Wow. Thanks, hyung!”
Raizen smiled at my words.
But at the same time, a suspicious thought crept in.
‘Why does he keep helping me?’
He had done the same at the tailor’s shop, and now he outright said he wanted to help.
Someone like him should have every reason to isolate me.
So why…?
‘Is he trying to make me dependent on him? But this seems too minor for that.’
Was he playing the long game, letting me grow reliant on him over time?
Or… was this his way of keeping me in check?
By pretending to help, he could keep an eye on me, gauge my situation, and react accordingly.
After all, I was inferior to Raizen in every way—lineage, standing, information.
He’d always be in a position to ‘help’ me…
And until I personally verified whether his information was real, useful, or misleading, I had no way of knowing the truth.
‘Which means he could help me one moment… then screw me over the next.’
Maybe I was overthinking it.
But for me, this was a matter of survival.
Raizen wasn’t someone I could trust just because he acted nice a couple of times.
‘I need to survive, get my inheritance, and escape.’
The Duke and Duchess seemed to expect me to return to the Kreveta family once I came of age, but I had no intention of doing so.
From Kreveta’s perspective, their long-lost heir suddenly reappearing after years of absence wouldn’t be a welcome development.
‘By now, they’ve probably been busy dividing up the family assets.’
At least, one thing was certain.
‘I’ll get a hint about what Raizen really wants from me at the upcoming New Year’s banquet.’
That would tell me whether I could trust him—if even just a little.
I broke a large chocolate chip cookie into small pieces and popped one into my mouth.
The crispy texture and gooey chocolate blended perfectly.
‘First things first… I just need to get through that damned New Year’s banquet.’
At that moment, something I absolutely didn’t want to see appeared before me.
[Quest Activated]
Improve the relationship between Raizen and the Duke and Duchess.
Resolve the misunderstanding between Raizen and the Duke and Duchess 0/1
Reward: ??? imbued with the blessing of ■■
…You’ve got to be kidding me.
∗ ∗ ∗
This sudden quest was driving me insane, but what could I do?
All I could do was pester Noah to tell me what the reward was.
And Noah, as expected, firmly refused, saying he couldn’t reveal filtered information.
‘This is exhausting…’
I had to complete quests, navigate life in this body, and somehow survive.
Sure, I was in this for the inheritance, but even that came with conditions.
First, I had to survive Raizen.
And second, I had to make sure Raizen didn’t turn into the mastermind who resurrected the Demon King.
‘Isn’t this way too much of a losing deal for me?’
One day, it was as if my soul had been kidnapped out of nowhere—but there was no one to report it to.
‘Sigh…’
I swallowed a sigh I couldn’t even let out when the door suddenly opened.
“Apologies for being late.”
His voice was slightly breathless, as if he had hurried over.
Other than that, he looked the same as usual.
‘He’s got quite the poker face, doesn’t he?’
That’s why I still couldn’t let my guard down in front of Arthur Sothes.
“It’s fine! It’s not like I waited that long or anything.”
Besides, he had sent a servant ahead to let me know he might be a little late.
Still, his expression remained dissatisfied.
“My apologies. I try not to be late for lessons whenever possible, but my schedule got a little tangled.”
“Seriously, it’s fine.”
Only then did Arthur give a faint smile—though it quickly faded back to his usual blank expression.
He placed a book in front of me.
The hardcover bore the crest of the Duchy of Pantheon, with the title ‘Directory of Names’ inscribed above it.
“This is material you’ll need to familiarize yourself with moving forward, my lord. The names have been categorized based on three criteria: occupation, influence, and affinity.”
Although the cover clearly stated ‘Directory of Names,’ Arthur’s explanation suggested something far more unusual.
Normally, directories weren’t organized based on such criteria—they were usually just listed alphabetically.
‘This feels more like an evaluation sheet disguised as a directory.’
Even the classification criteria were suspicious.
What exactly did ‘affinity refer to?
Affinity toward what—or whom?
The answer was obvious.
It must refer to the current Duke of Pantheon and his successor, Raizen.
In other words, this document was created for the benefit of the Duke and his direct lineage.
‘…No, that can’t be, right?’
There’s no way they’d show something like this to me as part of my education… right…?
‘This is way too… deep!’
A simple list of names would have sufficed!
The more I knew about someone or something, the harder it would be to stay uninvolved.
And in the end, I was going to leave anyway!
Even if I put that aside, I was still the heir to another noble house.
Did they really expect me to memorize all this information and just… go back to House Kreveta without a second thought?
‘The Duke of Pantheon was never known to be this sentimental…’
Where was the ruler of the West—the cold, calculating Duke who was said to show no mercy?
“Would you like to take a look inside?”
“…Yes.”
I slowly reached out and flipped the cover open.
The first thing to greet me was a neatly organized table of contents.
After that came the symbols of various noble houses, alongside photographs of their key members and detailed descriptions.
“Lord Raizen also studied using this very material.”
“Really?”
I feigned curiosity outwardly, but internally, I felt even more unsettled.
Because the fact that I wanted to deny it only made my suspicions feel more certain.
‘I don’t know when Raizen received this education, but it must have been some time ago.’
Surely, things had changed since then.
And yet, there wasn’t a single handwritten note or updated information in the book.
But Arthur Sothes wasn’t the kind of person to teach me using outdated materials.
‘He’s never let personal bias influence his lessons.’
To this day, I still wasn’t sure what Arthur Sothes thought of me.
But I knew that a private tutor held an incredibly powerful position—one that could easily be used to manipulate or break a young heir.
And Arthur was no ordinary tutor; he was the Duke of Pantheon’s closest aide and had once been Raizen’s own instructor.
As an individual, Arthur Sothes was beyond reproach.
His title might be honorary, lacking land, but he had earned his place as a quasi-noble through sheer merit.
That was when he took on the surname Sothes.
The novel even described him as a man whose intelligence and abilities were universally acknowledged, regardless of his personality.
‘If he had any intention of getting rid of me, he could have done so effortlessly.’
But he never did.
He simply observed me—an unsettling habit—but otherwise treated me with a degree of kindness.
Or at least, with proper respect.
He never fed me false knowledge or set me up for failure.
Which meant… this was the latest edition of the directory.
The same one used by the Duke and Raizen to manage internal affairs.
‘And the fact that Arthur Sothes brought it to me means…
“Did you… perhaps compile this yourself, sir?”
I asked with wide, innocent eyes.
Arthur regarded me with his usual unreadable expression for a moment before giving a slight nod.
“Yes.”
I see.
So Arthur Sothes was even more involved in crucial matters than I had thought.
“All by yourself? That’s amazing! You’re incredible, sir!”
…Yeah, I should definitely avoid doing anything suspicious in front of him.
* * *
