* * *

Raizen’s room was impeccably tidy.

Normally, I’d have looked around in amazement, but I didn’t have the presence of mind for that right now. I quietly sat down.

“You’re scared of me,” Raizen said bluntly.

I was so startled that I couldn’t respond, but he continued without waiting for an answer.

“At first, you looked at me with wary eyes, and then you started trembling whenever you saw me.”

“T-That’s…”

“Even now, you’re trembling.”

“…”

“I believe you’ve really lost your memory. The Marquis family’s education couldn’t have been so lacking. Though it’s strange that you lost both your memories and your knowledge.”

‘Are you a detective?’

The worst part was that he was right.

I hadn’t lost my memory, but I didn’t have Sean’s memories either.

And my lack of knowledge about this world?

That was because I was a transmigrator.

‘This annoyingly smart kid.’

Raizen spoke softly but with precision.

“But when we were in the imperial palace, you saw it. The thing only I’m supposed to be able to see.”

His voice was filled with certainty.

His conclusion was based on experience.

“You’ve been seeing it from the start, haven’t you? That thing hiding in my shadow?”

Raizen stared directly at me.

‘Huh…?’

He was connecting my fear of him to that?

If that’s how he wanted to misunderstand, I wasn’t about to complain.

The problem was I didn’t understand his actions.

Why was he explaining all this to me instead of threatening me outright?

“Don’t you dare tell anyone about it.”

Something like that would’ve made more sense.

Anyway, I nodded at his question, instinctively thinking I could use this to my advantage.

“I-I only really saw it for the first time then. Normally, I just… thought your shadow was a little scary…”

I added a made-up explanation for good measure, and Raizen seemed completely convinced.

Well, he was only thirteen—a sixth-grader by Korean standards.

“I think I’m cursed,” he said. “Even the late Duchess said as much.”

Never mind.

I take back what I just thought.

What kind of sixth-grader talks about being cursed as casually as discussing the weather?

I had read about this in Raizen’s Bonus Chapter before, but hearing it again made my head throb.

‘What kind of adult says something like that to a kid?’

“But… my parents don’t believe it. And yet, they won’t take me to the temple either.”

Raizen lowered his gaze slightly.

I realized something: when he talked about painful things, he avoided eye contact to hide his expression.

“I’ve thought about it. About how you could see it. I even looked into the history of the Kreveta family.”

So that’s why he didn’t come straight to me after returning to the Duke’s residence.

“And I found records that the Kreveta family’s founder was a saint.”

‘…Really?’

That was news to me.

“I think you might have divine power.”

“…Oh.”

I let out a small sound before I could stop myself and quickly shut my mouth.

‘Sorry, but the gods you believe in are just fakes created by the ancient gods. Divine power? That’s something the ancient gods handed out whenever they felt like it. The so-called priests these days don’t have even a shred of it.’

Later, Raizen would learn this truth and unseal the Demon King, thinking that if gods really existed, they would send a hero to save the world before it was destroyed.

“Do you understand?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, hyung.”

Raizen stared at me with a slightly suspicious look before dropping his gaze.

“When I thought about it, I realized that ever since you came, I haven’t had any nightmares.”

‘Isn’t that because you convinced yourself of it?’

“So maybe…”

Raizen hesitated—something uncharacteristic of him.

At that moment, the content of the “Raizen’s Bonus Chapter” flashed in my mind.

[Raizen once believed in gods. He prayed daily, thinking that if he purified himself, the curse might be lifted.

But as time passed, nothing changed. Worse, horrifying events happened around him as if mocking his efforts.

Finally, when he went to the temple in desperation, the High Priest couldn’t recognize or sense his curse. At that moment, Raizen realized: Gods don’t exist. Divine power doesn’t exist.

I… cannot be saved.]

‘Don’t tell me…’

Could it be that Raizen still believed he could be saved?

“I think… you might be able to ease my curse.”

He’d hit the nail on the head.

---

‘This is driving me crazy…’

Honestly, this was an opportunity.

If I lied and said I had divine power, I could make him promise not to kill me under any circumstances using a “Wizard’s Oath.”

The Wizard’s Oath was a contract bound by a person’s minimum magical power.

Breaking it meant death.

Anyone with even a speck of mana could make such an oath—or they could request one at a public institution.

That would guarantee my safety.

Even though Raizen was a shadowy mastermind and an unparalleled genius, he was still human.

If fatally wounded, he could die.

Even if my lie was discovered later, he wouldn’t be able to take my life.

‘But… it won’t be safe.’

Even if he doesn’t kill me or inflict physical pain, there are countless ways to ruin my life.

Plenty of indirect methods to destroy me, too.

And for someone like Raizen, who’s destined to become a duke, pulling something like that wouldn’t even be difficult.

‘Then what about my inheritance? My peaceful life on Crete Island?’

It would all go down the drain.

Right.

You don’t have to live a virtuous life, but you shouldn’t live a bad one, either.

Karma always comes back around.

“I… don’t really understand what you’re saying, hyung. But… if it’s something I can do to help you, I want to try.”

Ah, what a great line.

Raizen silently stared at me.

“You’re not saying I’m not cursed.”

A chill ran down my spine, but I made sure not to show it.

There was no point in denying it—Raizen believed he was cursed and was already convinced of it.

What could I possibly say to that?

‘You’re not cursed.’

Words like that wouldn’t bring any comfort.

In fact, they’d only make him doubt whether I truly understood him.

“If I said you weren’t, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“…”

“And I’ve seen that black mass too… I don’t know what it is, but isn’t it what’s tormenting you?”

“…”

“Then finding a way to deal with it so you can be okay… isn’t that the right thing to do?”

Did I sound too clever?

Maybe I’d leaned too hard into the innocent fool persona until now.

Luckily, my words seemed to resonate.

Raizen gave a small nod.

“Yes, you’re right.”

‘Whew…’

I barely stopped myself from exhaling in relief.

“Then, what should I do now?”

Raizen was quiet for a moment before his gaze dropped slightly.

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Oh…”

“But there’s something I want to confirm.”

“What is it…?”

“That… the next time that black mass appears. Then.”

Finishing his words, Raizen walked toward the door, opened it wide, and looked back at me.

“Be careful on your way out.”

‘Wow, that’s a graceful way of telling me to leave.’

“hyung, have a great day!”

I flashed a bright smile and left his room.

---

Back in my own room, I started organizing my thoughts.

‘This isn’t a loss for me.’

If anything, it was an opportunity.

Before, I was the one initiating conversations with Raizen, but now I had an excuse to speak with him regularly.

‘Of course, once he realizes I’m useless, he’ll probably drop me like a hot potato.’

But at least in the meantime, if I made a decent impression, I might save my neck.

‘And more importantly, he told me himself that he’s cursed.’

Whether it was to test me or not, the mere fact that he confessed it marked a significant change in the relationship between Sean and Raizen compared to the novel.

In the story, when Raizen began to succumb to the curse and his mind became corrupted, he killed Sean for simply sensing his murderous intent.

‘I used to think this overly sensitive body of mine was a problem.’

From the moment I first saw Raizen, I’d been trembling uncontrollably, and the sight of that black mass had only made it worse.

Raizen had filled in the blanks himself, connecting the dots to form his own theory.

My body’s overreactions had inadvertently strengthened his hypothesis.

‘Being too smart can be a curse in itself.’

He believed everything had a reason and that he could uncover it.

‘So now, what I need to do is…’

Keep Raizen interested in me while preventing future disasters.

For now, the biggest upcoming incident mentioned in the novel was…

[The rumors that had finally quieted down resurfaced during the winter of Raizen’s fourteenth year. That winter, an event occurred in which all the animals within the duke’s territory began dying, starting at the heart of the ducal estate. The day the deathly plague began was none other than Raizen’s birthday.]

‘This one.’

“Ugh…”

How was I supposed to stop that?

---

“Your Grace, you were splendid today as always.”

Raizen offered a flawless smile to the tutor.

“It’s thanks to having such an excellent teacher.”

It was a polite lie, but the flattered tutor puffed up with pride.

Raizen’s crimson eyes turned icier, though the self-satisfied tutor didn’t notice.

“You honor me, young master. But please remember, you’re not the only one in the ducal family anymore.”

Here we go again.

* * *