* * *
‘This favoritism is… starting to feel a little unbalanced. Must be my imagination.’
Once Raizen and I were officially engaged, the Duchess seemed to shed all restraint.
It was as if her previous behavior had been carefully controlled until now.
No matter the situation, she considered me the priority.
Sometimes, I even found myself glancing at Raizen instinctively.
Not that he seemed to mind—his expression remained unchanged.
“Sei, welcome.”
“Sei.”
The Duchess and Raizen both greeted me.
Naturally, a seat opened up between them.
I awkwardly sat down and took a better look at the catalogs spread out on the table.
They were all design options for male Omega ceremonial uniforms.
Just in case, I rubbed my eyes and looked again—but there were no Alpha male designs in sight.
The styles themselves weren’t drastically different, but the male Omega uniforms had a more flowing, elegant look.
They hugged the body more snugly, with subtle curves built into the design.
The important thing was, there really weren’t any Alpha designs anywhere.
‘But… it’s a big day for Raizen too…’
Maybe they’d already picked out his outfit before I got here.
That would explain why only mine were laid out.
With that in mind, I glanced at the Duchess.
When our eyes met, she smiled sweetly.
“Everything’s a matching set, so you just need to pick the one you like, Sei.”
…Oh.
“…Um, is that really okay?”
In the end, I had to ask. If these were couple looks, shouldn’t both sets be shown in the catalog?
But both the Duchess and Raizen looked at me as if there was absolutely no problem.
“You are the main character after all,” the Duchess said, her tone losing its playful edge and turning serious.
“A day where I’m the main character, huh…”
To me, the person in question, it didn’t feel like a big deal.
But for the others, it seemed to carry a different kind of weight.
My goal was inheritance, after all, so I’d always planned to reveal my true identity once I came of age.
That’s why I didn’t take it as seriously.
Unlike me, though, the duke and duchess seemed to be seriously considering the possibility that I would stay as “Shane Pantheon” and live on as their child.
“So, which design do you like?”
At her words, I quickly began flipping through the catalog.
Honestly, men’s formalwear didn’t vary too wildly in design.
I immediately ruled out anything with frills or designs that added skirt-like fabric over pants.
Flashy colors were cut from the list too.
“Light pink and baby blue are just a bit too much…”
They were pretty—undeniably so.
But imagining myself actually wearing them just felt… off.
I could picture Raizen pulling them off easily, though.
Still, no matter how much I wanted to see him wear them, I wasn’t going to put on something that didn’t suit my taste.
“Still, the colors and styles are impressively varied.”
Of course, I had already eliminated all of those.
That left only the clean-cut, minimalist designs. Mostly in black or white.
“Hmm… wouldn’t a white outfit be better?”
The duchess spoke as she looked over the options I’d selected.
True, white would suit me well—especially since I’d be showing my real face without the illusion magic device that day.
But I had something else in mind: a black outfit adorned with blue gemstone accessories.
“I like this one.”
“How about something brighter, Sei?”
Despite her suggestion, I lightly shook my head.
From the beginning, I had already decided on black, no matter the design.
“I think black would be better. It could also symbolize the unity between our two families.”
The event where they’d announce that I was still alive—and my engagement to Raizen—was, on the surface, a celebration of our successful subjugation of the monster wave.
The duke and duchess kept saying the day was all about me, but in truth, I couldn’t feel entirely at ease about it.
“Not to mention, a couple of bombshell announcements are going to be dropped back-to-back…”
We decided to reveal both things at once—my survival and the engagement—so that Sean Kreveta’s position wouldn’t become too ambiguous.
It was also meant to minimize chaos and potential rumors.
Trying to shift the mood, I turned to Raizen.
“What about you? Do you like it?”
Raizen, who’d been quiet the whole time, finally moved his eyes.
He glanced at the outfits in the catalog and then smiled faintly.
It was a flawless, painterly smile that clearly said yes.
“…….”
No hesitation.
He was completely willing to go along with my choice.
And yet… I couldn’t shake this weird feeling of unease.
I kept my eyes on the catalog for a moment to buy time, mentally sorting out my thoughts.
‘I need to ask in a way that doesn’t make it sound like I’m picking a fight. Just… like I’m genuinely curious.’
I cleared my throat and opened my mouth.
“Black’s… okay with you, right?”
Did my expression falter for a second?
Did my voice shake?
I couldn’t see myself, so every little thing suddenly felt like a concern.
At my question, Raizen moved like a machine that had just been powered on.
The usual soft smile was gone, and for the first time, I could feel something real—an emotion—on his face.
“I usually wear black, so it’s fine. Although… now that you mention it, it’s a bit of a shame.”
“A shame? What is?”
With a calm expression, Raizen picked up a catalog.
It was the light pink outfit I had purposely shoved into a corner.
He looked between it and me with a grin.
“I think it’d look great on you, Sei.”
“No. Absolutely not.”
I snatched the catalog away in a panic and shoved it right back where I’d hidden it.
Then I turned to the duchess and quickly said,
“We’ll go with this one!”
She watched us with a fond, amused expression and nodded.
“Alright, let’s do that then.”
“Whew…”
I let out a sigh of relief without realizing it, and behind me, I heard Raizen let out a soft chuckle.
∗ ∗ ∗
Our daily routine was surprisingly simple.
Until afternoon, I received lessons to become the next duchess, while Raizen focused on his training as the next duke and took care of administrative duties.
Then, we’d gather in the duchess’s room to briefly discuss preparations for the stage where those major announcements would be made, followed by lunch together.
After that, it became natural to head to Raizen’s room.
‘Well, that’s because Seol is in mine.’
Raizen and Seol were like oil and water.
They both knew they wouldn’t mix, so neither even tried.
Honestly, it seemed like they just didn’t like each other.
Click.
The door closed behind us, cutting off my thoughts.
I looked up to see Raizen’s now-so-familiar face.
Eyes focused only on me, his overall expression softer than usual.
A face he never showed to others.
Seeing that face always stirred a fierce sense of possessiveness in me, made my chest ache a little.
The version of him that appeared only in front of me—the one no one else ever saw.
Just that alone could calm whatever lingering anxiety had been bothering me.
Rubbing my chest absentmindedly, I sat down at the table.
I tapped the seat next to me, and Raizen came over and sat as if he’d just been waiting for the signal.
“How was your day?”
Whenever I asked like this, Raizen would respond in that soft voice of his.
“We added more relief supplies for Belman. And then…”
At a perfectly measured pace—not too fast, not too slow—he went on to ask about my day.
I briefly shared what I’d learned, adding my own thoughts and impressions as well.
“There’s more to learn than I expected. I’m not sure I can be as thorough as I want to be.”
As I studied for my duties as the duchess-to-be, I couldn’t help but curse this world for lacking Excel.
If only I had a knack for making magic tools, I might’ve invented something like a computer by now.
“You’ll do fine.”
A quiet voice delivering a gentle reassurance.
His words were grounded in the assumption that we’d continue to be together, always.
I had to fight to keep a silly smile from creeping across my face and instead fidgeted with my fingers.
Spending the day separately on our own responsibilities and then naturally ending up together—that had become our routine.
‘…This counts as dating, right?’
Even if we didn’t constantly say “I love you” or “I like you.”
“Ah, right.”
Something I’d forgotten suddenly came to mind.
I reached into the inner pocket of my outfit and pulled out a bracelet I’d grabbed that morning.
Raizen’s eyes narrowed slightly when he saw what was in my hand.
“Why do you have that…”
It was the bracelet he’d given me as a birthday gift.
The same one I’d brought along for self-defense when I went out with Kim Minsoo.
The magic inside—the deep red energy Raizen had infused into it—was now completely gone.
According to Seol, when Minsoo attacked me, the bracelet’s magic had protected me.
But because Seol was hatching at the time and released such a powerful divine energy, Raizen’s magic had been overwhelmed.
That’s why I never noticed it working.
If I left it alone, I knew Raizen would eventually ask about it.
I figured it was better to just come clean and get it over with.
“So, uh, this is, um… you see…”
How do I explain this in a way that doesn’t make me sound like an idiot?
* * *
