“Ruite, thanks for all your hard work over the last six months.”
Magic-infused crackers popped, sending shimmering, multicolored streamers dancing through the air.
Ruite blinked slowly, his face etched with surprise.
“W-what is all this?”
“What do you think? It’s a celebration for surviving the last six months,” Vilter said, patting Ruite on the head.
Ruite glanced toward Dane, who was standing nearby.
Just moments ago, Dane had told him there was an urgent emergency and they had to rush to the office.
Was that a lie, too?
Noticing Ruite’s gaze, Dane gave a faint smile.
He added an apology for tricking him.
“Ruite, we kept it a secret on purpose, but this is a tradition in our Research Division,” Ciel explained as he handed a cake to Ruite.
New members of the Knights were strictly forbidden from taking personal outings for their first six months to ensure they adapted quickly and improved their skills.
Naturally, they couldn’t return home and had to take their rest within the Knights’ headquarters.
While outings were occasionally permitted for business-related reasons, even those required a rigorous application process.
Since formally joining, Ruite had never left the headquarters except for the time he went to see Rona during the Monster Evolution incident.
“I’m not sure if this is really something to celebrate…”
Ruite scratched his head awkwardly, feeling a bit shy.
Just because he had endured six months without going out didn’t mean anything would drastically change.
It just meant he was now free to use his vacation days or go out whenever he wanted; his daily work remained the same.
Because of that, Ruite wondered if this was truly worth a celebration with a cake.
“Of course it is.”
Vilter said, firmly placing a hand on Ruite’s shoulder.
“Ruite, listen. This is a kind of bribe—a reward for surviving six months so that you’ll stay in our Research Division and work hard for a long, long time.”
“I had a feeling it was something like that.”
Ruite replied with a small laugh.
As Ruite blew out the candles, Vilter let out a boisterous laugh.
Wisps of white smoke rose from the extinguished candles, followed by another round of applause.
A soft smile touched Ruite’s lips as he looked at Dane, Cedric, Vilter, Ciel, and the other members of the Research Division.
To be honest, he understood why the Research Division was a place people avoided, and there were many times when work was so busy he couldn’t even sleep properly.
Yet, he liked it here now.
He had grown so close to everyone that it felt like home.
“Ruite, bribes aside, I truly mean it when I say you’ve worked hard. We all know it’s not easy to live and work inside these walls without being able to go out. You’ve grown into an excellent researcher. You even handled that recent incident well. It seems my intuition was right after all.”
“Even if you didn’t say that, I’m going to keep working here, so don’t worry, Vice-Captain.”
“Haha, you’re an honest fellow.”
After that, the Research Division office became lively as everyone shared the cake Ruite had received.
“By the way, your vacation starts tomorrow, right?” Ciel asked while cutting a slice for Ruite.
“Yes. It’s my first one, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Generally, a one-week vacation is granted after the initial six-month period.
Ruite was set to leave the headquarters for a week starting tomorrow.
“What are you going to do during your break?”
“I’m planning to head back to the mansion first. My parents have been very worried about me.”
“Ah.” Ciel clapped his hands lightly as if realizing something.
“Is that why Chester also took a leave starting tomorrow?”
“…Excuse me?”
Ruite was momentarily flustered by Ciel’s question.
However, he was the only one there who found Ciel’s remark unnatural.
Dane, Cedric, and the other members all nodded in agreement, reacting with comments like.
“Ah, that makes sense.”
“T-that… Chester’s vacation just happened to overlap by chance…”
“Hm? Oh, is that the story we’re going with? I get it,” Ciel said with a bright smile.
Seeing that refreshing smile, Ruite had a gut feeling.
Everyone in the Research Division knew about his relationship with Chester.
As Ruite grabbed at his hair in embarrassment, Cedric leaned in toward him.
“For the record, I wasn’t the one who told them. It seems everyone noticed on their own at some point.”
“Really? I expect that from you, Senior, but how did everyone else find out? Chester and I tried so hard to hide it…”
As Ruite muttered seriously to himself, Cedric looked at his junior with an incredulous expression.
‘Tried to hide it?’
He could concede that they had hidden it well enough until the Monster Evolution incident.
But after that, they hadn’t hidden it at all.
The two were stuck together constantly during breaks.
Chester had been spotted several times in the dining hall wiping food off Ruite’s face and putting it in his own mouth.
Once, a member even saw Chester opening Ruite’s room door with his own key.
And above all, there were a few individuals with “Traits” within the headquarters.
Since there were those who could sense the subtle Alpha pheromones from Ruite and Omega pheromones from Chester, everyone—not just Cedric, Morgan, and Toby—was already certain they were in a relationship.
Cedric debated whether to tell him that, but decided to leave it alone.
“What? Ruite and Chester are taking their vacation together?”
Vilter asked with a serious face while eating cake.
Ruite nodded awkwardly. Surely even Vilter must have realized by now.
“You… taking a vacation with Chester. I knew it…”
Vilter narrowed his eyes.
“You two must be best friends! Haha!”
“Pardon?”
“It’s a wonderful thing to have a friend in the headquarters you get along with so well and can rely on.”
Vilter nodded to himself, crossing his arms.
He went on excitedly about how he once thought they were long-lost twins because they were always so close.
“Um… the Vice-Captain is quite dense. How did he become the head of the Research Division?” Ruite whispered to Ciel.
“Everyone already knows. Our Vice-Captain is brilliant when it comes to work, but he’s hopeless at everything else.”
Ciel’s opinion was to just leave him be, as he would only be shocked later anyway.
After sharing cake with his colleagues and finishing his work for the day, Ruite returned to the dormitory late in the evening.
Just as he was about to pack his bags for tomorrow, he heard the doorknob turn.
“You’re here?”
“Yeah. Are you already packing?”
“I figured I’d get started.”
Chester walked in and naturally approached Ruite.
He came up behind Ruite, who was sitting down organizing things, and wrapped his arms around his waist.
“Ruite.”
“Yeah?”
As soon as Ruite turned his head back, Chester gave him a quick kiss.
“Hey, I have to pack. Don’t distract me.”
“Okay.”
Chester buried his face in Ruite’s shoulder with a faint smile.
“By the way, did you contact the Duke? About us visiting tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I did.”
Chester nodded casually while playfully squeezing Ruite’s cheek.
The first place the two had decided to visit during this vacation was the Callaway mansion.
“Young Duke, here is the newspaper you asked for.”
Ethan, who had been pacing near the mansion entrance, took the newspaper from the servant with a bright face.
As soon as he opened it, an article about the Ferwin Knights on the front page caught his eye.
The article detailed the recent Monster Evolution incident and highlighted the Knights’ clean resolution of the matter, focusing specifically on Chester’s active role.
Reading the praise for his younger brother’s achievements, the corners of Ethan’s mouth lifted uncontrollably.
“Everyone, look at this. There’s a great article about Chester.”
Ethan held up the paper as if bragging to the nearby servants.
“It really is the second young master.”
“As expected of Master Chester. He truly is amazing.”
“Right? Isn’t our Chester wonderful?”
He felt like cutting out this specific section of the article to keep.
While Ethan was enjoying the news, Benger stepped out of the office.
“Why is there such a fuss during work hours?”
“Our apologies, Your Grace.”
The startled servants hurried back to their posts.
Benger’s disapproving gaze shifted from the servants to Ethan.
“Father.”
Ethan called out to Benger, who was about to walk past him into the interior of the house.
“What is it?”
“This is the latest Imperial newspaper. Chester’s achievements are featured prominently.”
Ethan’s voice was much more subdued than when he was bragging to the servants as he held the paper out to Benger.
Benger stared down at the object in Ethan’s hand for a moment before turning away.
“He’ll be leaving the Knights soon anyway. What does a trivial article like that matter?”
“Father, have you still not given up? You already know that Chester…”
“Enough. You are not Chester’s spokesperson. Instead of worrying about your brother, focus on doing your own work properly.”
Ethan frowned and clenched his fists tightly, a rare show of frustration.
He felt a bit pathetic for having harbored a secret hope that his father might have started to change after last time.
Just as the newspaper was about to be crumpled in Ethan’s hand, the Head Butler approached Benger.
“Your Grace, a letter has arrived from Master Chester.”
“A letter?”
Benger opened the letter the butler handed over.
There was a short message written inside.
“Is it from Chester? What does it say?”
Ethan, curious about news of his brother, rushed over instantly.
“He says he is coming to the Duke’s residence tomorrow. Along with Ruite.”
