* * *
Because of who he was dealing with, Mujin couldn’t be too forceful.
She hesitated, trying to find the right words.
But before she could speak, Sia, watching her with unreadable eyes, whispered in a knowing tone.
“I’m not blaming you. When I go to the grand duchy, everyone there will be just like you. They’ll all see my mother in me. A mother I never even knew. But I hate that. My name is Sia. Not ‘Encia’s son,’ not ‘that bastard,’ not ‘the slave.’ Just Sia.”
Ever since his parents died and he was left alone, every step forward had been unbearably difficult.
From that day on, no one had called him Sia.
It was only recently that he had finally reclaimed his name.
And after all that, he had no desire to throw himself into another unknown challenge.
“So, Mujin. If you really pity me, just get me a house in some quiet place. Oh, and there’s someone I want to live with. It’d be great if you could find out where they are, too.”
“Don’t you want to go to the grand duchy and live in luxury? I won’t say it’ll be easy. Standing above others is never easy. But I can guarantee you’ll have more than enough.”
“I don’t want to be lonely. I don’t want to lose myself.”
Not long ago, he hadn’t been okay.
But these days, there was someone who called him by his name, someone who listened to his stories.
It made life a little more bearable.
Sia smiled.
The pale face of a child who had lost his guardian and been forced to grow up too soon flickered with warmth.
Mujin couldn’t find the words to respond.
“…I’ll be staying here for a few more days. If you change your mind, let me know anytime.”
At her words, Sia gave a half-hearted nod, as if to say, ‘Yeah, sure.’
Outside the window, fireworks lit up the sky in celebration of Letiyan’s birth.
As he watched the dazzling bursts of light, Sia wondered if Vivi was looking at the same sky.
✽ ✽ ✽
Mujin stayed longer at the Teian Duchy, even offering to paint for Letiyan.
He claimed he needed someone to assist him while working and kept Sia by her side every day.
At first, Sia found it burdensome, but eventually, he realized it was better to stay near her and started to enjoy the situation.
The butler’s sharp glances and the whispers of the servants remained unchanged—no, they grew even worse.
The butler never let his guard down, watching Sia closely, as if trying to decipher what he might have told Mujin.
The servants sneered at him, calling him Mujin’s concubine with crude remarks.
At first, Sia detested hearing such things and even got into fights over it.
He once lost his temper and slapped a servant’s face, nearly going without food for two days as a result.
But that could only happen a couple of times.
After hearing it repeatedly, he learned to let it go.
And now, that same Sia was restless.
“Why isn’t Vivi saying anything?”
It wasn’t anything else—Vivi hadn’t responded to him for three whole days.
Normally, Vivi would pop up out of nowhere and startle him with random remarks.
But no matter what Sia said or how much he called, there was only silence.
He brushed it off for the first two days.
But by the third day, he couldn’t just sit and wait any longer.
Vivi hadn’t been in great condition to begin with.
What if he had collapsed somewhere?
Sia found himself pacing in circles around the empty lot, leaving behind a trail of footprints before he finally regained some composure and hastily smoothed down his disheveled hair.
“Should I… just wait a little longer? Vivi isn’t the type to just disappear. Something must’ve happened.”
Maybe he was just busy.
Or perhaps he got caught up in something trivial and was too preoccupied to respond.
Biting his lip anxiously, Sia scanned his surroundings before coming to a decision.
“I’ll ask Mujin for help.”
She was always eager to do things for him.
He would ask for help, and if that didn’t work… he could follow her.
He hated the thought of living as a slave, but he also despised the idea of going to the principality and taking on a position that didn’t suit him.
He knew that place would be full of people who, like Mujin, would look at him and think of his mother.
Maybe he would forever be labeled a slave, or maybe his mother’s reputation for running away from her duties would cling to him as well.
Sia was aware of all of that.
Even so, knowing how Vivi was doing was more important.
“At least I wouldn’t starve over there.”
Maybe he’d lose sleep studying, maybe he’d have to endure uncomfortable meals with wary glances, but as long as he was fed, that was good enough.
Letting out a hollow laugh, Sia exhaled a deep sigh.
He knew Vivi was an adult capable of taking care of himself.
But that didn’t stop him from worrying.
“I still don’t even know who Vivi really is….”
At the very least, he needed to hear that much. Sia scuffed his shoe against the ground.
There had been people who offered to help him before.
But they were always the same—they pitied his misfortune on their own terms, and when Sia refused to trust them, they’d lash out, asking how he could possibly reject them.
They expected him to be a helpless victim in need of saving.
‘Sia.’
Recalling the gentle voice that had called his name, Sia whispered softly.
“Yeah, Vivi.”
He wished Vivi would call him again.
That day, Sia went to Mujin and told her about Vivi, asking her to find him.
Just as he expected, Mujin readily agreed.
She didn’t ask for anything in return, but Sia, who disliked being on the receiving end without giving something back, set his own condition.
“If you find out how Vivi is doing, and if he’s in bad shape, take him with us to the principality. If you do that, I’ll go with you.”
“I can’t promise anything until I know who he is… but fine. I’ll find out and let you know.”
Mujin responded with an ambiguous expression—neither pleased nor displeased.
Perhaps she felt a bit conflicted that, just like her old friend, the friend’s son had also chosen someone other than her.
But Sia had no reason to consider her feelings.
All that mattered was hearing any news about Vivi.
Sometimes, he posed for Mujin’s paintings.
Sometimes, he was soaked in unrelenting malice.
Sometimes, he even tripped and tumbled down the stairs.
But none of it seemed to matter as long as he could hear about Vivi.
A little over a week passed with Sia staying by Mujin’s side and persistently searching for Vivi.
And then, at last, the news he had been waiting for arrived.
“Sia, he’s been unwell and resting. Also… his real name isn’t Vivi. It’s Vivisian.”
“Huh?”
Sia froze.
That name—it sounded familiar.
Watching him with an unreadable expression, Mujin finally spoke the name that everyone in the Teian Duchy would recognize.
“Vivisian Teian, the second son of the Teian family, who was disowned for committing numerous crimes.”
There was a hint of distaste in her voice.
And in that moment, Sia regretted it—asking Mujin to look into Vivi.
There was a reason Vivi hadn’t told him.
He should have just asked if he was doing okay.
“Don’t talk about Vivi like that, Mujin.”
Sia’s murmur was almost to himself, but Mujin quietly acknowledged it.
Rather than genuinely agreeing, her response showed that she simply didn’t want to argue with him.
“All the people who were bad to me had good reputations. I prefer someone who the world thinks is trash but treats me kindly, rather than someone who treats everyone else kindly but treats me like trash.”
He understood there were reasons people judged Vivisian that way.
But what could he do?
It was already too much for him to bear.
Sia laughed—a laugh that was both lovely and laced with bitterness.
Mujin didn’t say anything in response.
“…Alright. I can see that he was good to you. But that’s separate from taking him to the principality.”
“Because he’s a criminal?”
“No. Because even though he’s been disowned, he was once a noble heir to a ducal house. If he were just a regular criminal, I could pull some strings to get him out of prison and erase his identity. But his lineage makes that impossible.”
As if predicting Sia would protest, Mujin deliberately spoke in a firm, measured tone before adding,
“The principality won’t welcome you with open arms either, Sia.
And if he goes there with you, it could escalate into an international issue.
That would put both you and ‘Vivi’ in a difficult position.”
“Can’t you forge his identity? You said the Empire and the Principality don’t exchange much information! If we do it properly—”
“His appearance is too distinct. Apparently, no one has seen him since he was imprisoned, so no one knows what he looks like as an adult. If he had just one of the Teian family’s trademarks—either black hair or cobalt-blue eyes—we might have managed something. But he has both. On top of that, he strongly resembles the first Duke of Teian… it’s a well-known fact. There’s nothing I can do.”
The more Mujin spoke, the more Sia’s face darkened. By the end, even she hesitated, her voice trailing off.
* * *
