* * *
For all the excitement over the last day of the year, the actual New Year’s Day felt anticlimactic.
I did kick at the air a few times while recalling last night, though.
Thankfully, Raizen didn’t bring it up.
In fact, we barely saw each other.
Since it was the New Year, both the duke and duchess, as well as Raizen, were busier than ever.
Raizen had a lot of places to show his face, given his position.
As a result, I enjoyed a surprisingly peaceful daily life.
If this were Korea, I’d be living like the youngest son of a chaebol family—no responsibilities, no troublesome obligations, just enjoying the wealth and prestige of my house.
The preparations for the New Year’s banquet were going smoothly as well.
I had memorized every entry in the ‘Directory of Names’ that Arthur Sothes gave me.
Raizen, too busy with his schedule, handed me a document summarizing the noble families and branch houses.
He even apologized, saying he felt bad for not helping as much as he intended.
Time passed so peacefully that it almost felt too easy.
And finally, the day of the New Year’s banquet arrived.
“Oh my, Sei! You look absolutely wonderful!”
As soon as I stepped out wearing the formal attire I had ordered in advance, the duchess leaped from her seat and clapped.
The duke, after glancing between us, slowly stood up as well.
“Indeed. It suits you perfectly.”
“Hehe… Thank you.”
‘Maybe it’s time I finally stop acting cute.’
With that thought, I gave my outfit another once-over.
It had taken half a day to finalize the design—a white and blue ensemble.
Both the duchess and Raizen had given serious input, while the duke and I simply went along with their enthusiasm.
“I’m glad we went with white and blue after all,” she said.
‘Hmm… not sure about that.’
I glanced at the three of them.
Their outfits, though slightly different in design, all shared the same colors—white and blue.
The direct line of the Pantheon family had always been born with black hair and red eyes.
As such, black and red were practically the family’s symbolic colors.
Even at Raizen’s birthday party, both he and the duke had worn black and red.
They likely dressed the same way for other official occasions.
‘The duke sometimes wore black with gold embroidery instead.’
But for the New Year’s banquet, the four of us were all dressed in white and blue?
‘That’s going to cause quite a stir.’
Just the fact that Raizen and the duke—who usually wore black—were now in stark white would be shocking enough.
And then there was the choice of blue.
Among the four of us, I was the only one with deep blue eyes.
Granted, that was due to a magic artifact enhancing the color.
Anyone who saw us would think, ‘Isn’t blue the color of the adopted son? Are they making a statement? Are they saying, “He’s part of our family, so don’t look down on him”?’
At the same time, it sent a message to me as well.
White and blue.
It was Sean’s color.
Not Shane’s—the persona created by the magic artifact—but my true color.
Not pure white hair, but silver. Still, under the light, it gleamed almost white, untarnished.
They were telling me, ‘No matter what anyone says, you are our family.’
I understood their intent. I really did.
But honestly… it was overwhelming.
‘Would they have gone this far if things hadn’t gone wrong with the Odil family at the tailor shop?’
Maybe I should have stopped them when they asked if we should invite the Odil nobles.
‘Well… one thing’s for sure—those Odil bastards are going to choke when they see this.’
As expected, the Duke of Pantheon didn’t do anything openly aggressive, but his message was clear: ‘We won’t stand by and watch.’
‘I’ll have to leave everything they gave me behind when I run.’
Just take what rightfully belongs to Sean and disappear.
“You look good, Sei.”
“…!”
I almost yelped at the sudden voice beside me.
When did Raizen get here?
“Thanks, hyung! You look great too!”
No lie, Raizen looked incredible in white and blue formalwear.
He usually wore dark or neutral colors, so the bright outfit gave him a completely different aura.
Less like a future villain… more like a student council president.
‘Or… a little more like my brother.’
I knew Raizen wasn’t my brother.
There was no room for confusion.
Yet, whenever he gave off that eerily similar vibe, I couldn’t help but be caught off guard for a moment.
“Yeah? I don’t usually wear bright colors, so it feels a bit awkward.”
As if. Raizen wasn’t the type to feel awkward over a mere change of outfit.
‘Lately, he keeps trying to have real conversations like this.’
The guy who never really showed or talked about his thoughts or feelings.
It was actually better when he threw cryptic remarks or tested the waters with questions—at least then, I had some idea of how to respond.
But I couldn’t just ignore him, so I discreetly tugged at Raizen’s sleeve.
Maybe he sensed that I had something to say in secret because he mouthed, “What?”
“How do you feel? We haven’t been holding hands as much lately.”
Instead, whenever we got the chance, we held hands a little longer.
And I still recharged his pocket watch with divine energy about every other day.
But that didn’t mean I felt at ease.
When we held hands every day, he used to give me the pocket watch.
So why had he changed the routine?
It didn’t make sense to me.
But when Raizen got busier, I understood within a few days.
‘I feel uneasy.’
Even though all that changed was how often we held hands.
It probably had to do with what happened that night—not on the second floor, but the third-floor hallway.
Maybe the curse had manifested in a different form.
I had cautiously asked him about it afterward, but every time, Raizen refused to answer.
“Hyung? You’re really okay, right?”
When I pressed him, he just smiled, his eyes curving softly.
Then, instead of answering, he took both of my hands and held them tightly.
“I don’t know.”
“…What?”
That was an incredibly dangerous thing to say.
“What do you mean you don’t know…?”
“So, will you hold my hand until we go out?”
“Huh? Oh… yeah…”
I doubt he meant anything else by it, but for some reason, I still felt like I was being tricked.
∗ ∗ ∗
“Don’t cause any trouble today. Just stay as quiet as possible.”
At his father’s words, Jayren Odil lowered his head.
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“And especially…! Keep your little brother in check.”
The head of the Odil family shot a sharp glare in one direction.
Clinging closely to Jayren’s side was his younger brother, Jason Odil.
Startled by their father’s stare, Jason shrank back and hid completely behind his older brother.
“And what exactly are you so proud of?”
“Honey, calm down. We were invited to the banquet, weren’t we?”
The Baroness of Odil soothed her husband, gently patting his shoulder.
Baron Odil let out a long sigh.
“Yes, we did come to the ducal estate.”
His lips twisted.
When Jayren had reported what happened at the Platina boutique, Baron Odil had felt like his vision was going yellow with rage.
If Jason had only flapped his mouth in front of that lowly adoptee, it wouldn’t have been an issue. In fact, he would have praised him for it.
But to say such things in front of Raizen as well?
He should have gone straight to Duke Pantheon to offer an apology.
But Baron Odil hadn’t done so.
He refused to lower his head over something so insignificant as a commoner adoptee, not when he was still a noble and a distant relative of the Pantheons.
Besides, hadn’t Raizen already given Jason a proper scolding?
That was punishment enough.
And yet, until the New Year’s banquet invitation arrived, he had spent restless nights, unable to sleep.
He had chalked it up to worsening insomnia.
But receiving the invitation didn’t mean he could completely relax.
[Be sure to attend with both young masters of the Odil family.]
His heart sank with a loud thud when he saw the additional message.
He had intended to leave Jason behind this time.
But the way that note was worded… it was as if someone had read his mind.
‘All because of that damn lowborn adoptee.’
Rumors about the commoner orphan suddenly adopted into the Duke Pantheon family were everywhere.
Some said he was a distant relative from a branch that had nearly perished, others whispered the outlandish claim that he was the Duke’s illegitimate child.
It was such an unprecedented event that people couldn’t suppress their curiosity.
Speculation spread like wildfire, and what started as a tasteless joke one day turned into a seemingly credible rumor the next.
Of course, Duke Pantheon didn’t stand idly by.
With his personal intelligence network, the Crows, he gathered information at a level so meticulous it was terrifying.
Some even joked that he probably knew the exact number of knives in every noble household.
Anyone caught spreading nonsense was found and punished without exception.
Thanks to that, the rumors had mostly died down.
But within certain vassal families and distant relatives, the suspicions only deepened.
‘Why is he going to such lengths to protect that commoner orphan?’
To be fair, the Duke’s actions made sense.
The Pantheon family had always been particularly sensitive to rumors.
In the isolated West, a single wrong story could spiral into a major issue.
And he hadn’t even punished those who spread ill rumors about Sean too severely.
But those who had opposed Sean’s adoption from the start—including the Odils—saw things differently.
Some were outraged that their noble lineage had been tainted by a lowborn.
Others seized the opportunity to slander the Duchess, who was rumored to have supported the adoption.
And still, others were simply furious.
‘If he was going to adopt, shouldn’t it have been someone from a branch family? How dare he bring in a commoner orphan?’
They had never been entitled to anything in the first place, and yet they seethed as if something had been stolen from them.
Especially minor branch families like the Odils.
* * *
