* * *

It was a story with an obvious answer.

“Someone must’ve tipped them off.”

And whoever carried out the act or orchestrated it from behind the scenes likely spread the rumors throughout the imperial social circles.

“Come to think of it, I think the novel mentioned something about the relationships between Raizen, Karon, and the Crown Prince…”

Coincidentally, the three of them were the same age.

From birth, they were destined to be rivals.

Even if they didn’t want it, the people around them must’ve made it so.

Naturally, they didn’t get along well.

“There was definitely more explanation about it.”

But I couldn’t remember.

“Are you really planning to keep silent?”

The silence of the VIP room was broken by the Duke.

We were waiting for the meal to be served in the guest room the Emperor had provided.

I had… taken the chance to organize my thoughts and pretended to sleep after crying myself out.

“My dear.”

The Duchess spoke to stop him, but the Duke continued.

“What exactly were you told? You need to tell us so we can help.”

After a moment of silence, Raizen’s voice finally rang out.

“Like how you intervened back then to stop the knight?”

“Raizen!”

A heavy sigh, its owner uncertain, followed.

“Excuse me… I’ll step outside for a moment.”

As the door clicked shut, I bolted upright.

“Sei…?”

“B-bathroom…! I’ll be right back!”

I hurriedly shouted and dashed out, hiding behind a pillar before Mila could follow.

“Young Master Shane, where are you?”

Mila, who had been searching for me, quickly disappeared in the direction of the bathroom.

Once I confirmed she was gone, I stepped out from behind the pillar.

“Sorry, Mila.”

The truth is, I came out to see Raizen.

I don’t know why I couldn’t stop thinking about that icy cold guy.

“But where did he go already?”

He was quick on his feet, just like his sharp mind.

Even after looking around, not a trace of his black hair was visible.

Although he’d grow into the central antagonist one day, Raizen was still young.

He didn’t seem entirely devoid of emotions yet.

Up until the outing, he hadn’t been in bad shape.

His condition only deteriorated after he heard the news about entering the palace.

“He even froze when he saw the Crown Prince.”

Which means that wasn’t the first time the Crown Prince had said something like that.

Raizen’s sour expression when the palace was mentioned?

Also thanks to the Crown Prince.

“Hamuel, you damned brat.”

How could a kid no older than a sixth-grader in Korea say something so obnoxious?

“But where did Raizen go?”

I walked cautiously, deep in thought.

“If it were me… where would I go at a time like this?”

When I couldn’t stand being home, I would often run outside and hide somewhere.

Usually, it was in the quiet corners of a jungle gym at the playground.

There, I’d curl up and wish I could disappear forever.

“If that was my goal, why’d I hide in a playground of all places?”

Even though I tucked myself into a secluded spot, it was still a playground—the first place anyone would look if they wanted to find me.

“Here you are.”

And sure enough, my brother always managed to find me.

“Raizen, you bastard. Why do you look so much like my brother?”

That’s why he gets under my skin so much.

“Wait a second.”

A sudden thought struck me, and I retraced my steps down the corridor.

There weren’t many rooms along this hallway, and one of them was directly opposite our guest room.

“If someone were to search… it’s the kind of place they’d easily find.”

Half-expecting it, I opened the door to the room opposite.

A gust of cool air hit my face as soon as the door swung open.

Raizen was sitting by the window, which he had thrown wide open.

“Hey…”

Just as I cautiously stepped toward him, a black shadow darted out from Raizen’s silhouette.

“…?!”

Raizen’s face contorted with fear. He tried to appear unfazed, but the terror in his expression was unmistakable.

“Is that thing… part of Raizen’s curse?”

“Raizen!!”

I rushed to grab his hand and dashed out of the room.

Running down the corridor, I considered heading to the VIP room where the Duke and Duchess were, but something told me Raizen wouldn’t want that.

Tap, tap.

The sound of our footsteps echoed down the long palace hallway.

Only when we reached the end of the corridor did I finally stop.

I looked back, relieved to see that nothing was there.

“Huff, huff…”

It hadn’t even been far, but my throat already tasted like blood.

Why was this kid’s body so weak?

Catching my breath, I looked at Raizen.

“Are you… okay…?”

He stared at me silently, as if unsure whether to be startled or amazed, like someone who had just witnessed an impossible sight.

“Hey.”

I called out again, and Raizen finally stammered.

“H-how…”

“Huh?”

“Did you see it? That thing just now?”

What had I just seen?

“Oh.”

“The black shadow?”

“Yeah, that.”

“Why?”

“Until now… no one else could see it…”

“Young Masters!”

Raizen’s words were drowned out by Mila’s voice.

“Seriously, why now…”

But there was no pretending I hadn’t heard her.

Sighing, I turned around.

Mila ran toward us, clutching her chest in relief.

“Do you know how worried I was? Where did you even go?”

“S-sorry…”

After apologizing, I glanced at Raizen and whispered softly.

“Are you okay now?”

Raizen, who had been wide-eyed in surprise, eventually nodded.

“Then… let’s go!”

Cheerfully, I tugged Raizen’s hand to lead him—

‘Wait.’

Why was I still holding his hand?

---

Delaying my sense of accomplishment from completing the “quest,” I sat down at the table with the Emperor.

The massive table was laden with delicacies from land, sea, and air.

“This may not fully convey my regret, but I hope this will be an enjoyable meal,” the Emperor said, and began eating.

The rest of us followed suit.

I carefully recalled the table manners Mila had drilled into me as I ate.

“Can’t risk making a mistake.”

Otherwise, it’d reflect poorly on the Duke and Duchess.

While the Emperor seemed to have pieced together who I was, he likely didn’t know I’d lost my memory.

Though the plump shrimp tempura at the far end of the table tempted me, I resisted.

The steak and dishes within my reach were more than enough to fill me up.

The salmon steak melted in my mouth as soon as I bit into it.

I barely held back a gasp of delight as I took another bite—when suddenly, a shrimp tempura landed on my plate.

“…?”

I looked up to see the Crown Prince with an awkward expression.

He cleared his throat and turned his focus back to his meal.

“What… just happened?”

I had been sure he resented me.

Wasn’t he seething over me stirring up trouble and dragging the adults into it?

Yet when I glanced at him, his face seemed faintly flushed.

A shiver ran down my spine.

“Is this… what I think it is?”

I instinctively checked the expressions of the adults.

The Duke and Duchess looked slightly uncomfortable, while the Emperor was grinning, looking directly at me and the Crown Prince.

‘Wait… Is this a place where same-sex marriage is allowed?’

To be honest, I am gay.

My first love was a man, after all.

But as far as I remember, there was no setting in ‘From transmigration to Hero’ where the Sinoa Empire had no prejudice against same-sex marriage.

‘Am I forgetting things because my memory of the novel is fuzzy?’

No, this was definitely strange.

I finished my meal with an uneasy feeling.

The long table was set with cakes and other desserts.

“Come to think of it, next year is the manifestation ceremony for the Crown Prince and the Young Duke,” the Emperor said casually.

My ears perked up.

‘Manifestation ceremony?’

This wasn’t something that was ever mentioned in the novel.

“The Young Duke is expected to manifest as a dominant alpha, is he not?”

‘Dominant… alpha?’

“Yes, but manifestations don’t always follow predictions,” the Duchess answered in a soft tone, glancing at the Crown Prince.

His face, which had briefly regained its composure, turned red again.

‘Wait, Crown Prince. Don’t you have a thing for Lady Elin or whatever?’

Isn’t that why you hold a grudge against Raizen?

Not that “Elin” was ever mentioned in From transmigration to Hero.

“Your Majesty is also expected to manifest as a dominant alpha, correct?”

“Ahem! Yes. But as I said, predictions aren’t always accurate,” the Crown Prince replied, adopting an annoyingly polite tone.

‘Okay, but what is a manifestation ceremony, and what’s a dominant alpha supposed to be?’

If there’s a dominant, does that mean there’s a recessive too?

And what even is an alpha?

“What about the Young Duke?”

Young Duke is already a title—why add ‘young’ to it?

And is it okay to just throw around titles with the Emperor here?

“Your Majesty,” the Duke interjected abruptly, his tone suggesting…

‘Stay away from my kid.’

Seriously, why?

Can’t the Emperor be curious about what form Sean’s manifestation will take?

I wanted to ask, but instead, I clamped my mouth shut.

“We haven’t conducted the pheromone test yet, Your Majesty.”

“Is that so? Well… there’s still plenty of time.”

Plenty of time for what?!

* * *