WDIHTVYB Chapter 30

* * *

Before long, Raizen and the butler approached the entrance to the hall where the birthday party was being held.

A waiting attendant recognized Raizen and bowed politely.

Acknowledging the greeting, Raizen cast a brief glance at the massive doors.

His tightly closed lips betrayed a subtle tension.

“……”

As always, the hall was grandly decorated, exuding elegance and authority.

Inside, the guests would be enjoying food and drinks, engrossed in conversation.

At the heart of it all would be his parents.

Raizen pulled a pocket watch from his coat and checked the time. In about two minutes, his parents would call his name.

The grand doors would open, and all eyes would turn to him.

Eyes filled with expectation, reverence, and trust.

Yet, who could possibly understand how suffocating those gazes felt?

‘It would be easier if they doubted me.’

Perhaps it would have been better if this event were a trial.

A chance to prove whether he had grown into someone worthy of being the heir.

‘They still talk about what happened when I was ten as if it matters.’

And even then, the conclusion would remain the same: “It was just a coincidence.”

Unless something significant happened again…

Still, there was one thing different about this birthday.

‘Sean Kreveta.’

The boy wasn’t aware that a faint smile had crept onto his previously tense expression.

The attendant, who had been standing nervously by the door, straightened up.

Confirming the light glinting off a small badge on his collar, he turned to Raizen and spoke respectfully.

“Young master, it’s time to make your entrance!”

Raizen nodded, prompting the butler to move to the opposite side of the door.

Simultaneously, the attendant and the butler pushed the doors open.

As the boy stepped into the hall, a grand rendition of a birthday song began to play.

Applause filled the room, echoing from all sides to welcome Raizen.

With a practiced smile that had become second nature, Raizen quickly scanned the room.

It didn’t take long for him to spot Sean standing beside his parents.

Clapping enthusiastically with a beaming grin, Sean’s genuine joy seemed to calm the tension that had been weighing on him.

And surprisingly… Raizen found himself feeling rather good.

---

“Hello, Young Master Shane!”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Young Master Shane. I’m from the Bluehill family…”

It was overwhelming.

The last time I had been surrounded by this many adults was probably during a parent-teacher conference back in elementary school.

This is exhausting.

I wasn’t sure how to handle the smiling strangers who kept approaching me.

Glancing sideways, I caught the duchess’s gaze. She was watching me, her usual gentle smile seeming to offer encouragement.

Suddenly, her recent words came back to me.

“Sei, if you attend Rei’s birthday party, you’ll likely encounter representatives from the vassal families. Will that be okay?”

It was a tricky situation.

Since my adoption, I hadn’t been formally introduced to anyone.

The duke and duchess had decided against it, taking into account my fragile state.

In their eyes, I was a pitiful child who had lost his parents, suffered amnesia, and regressed mentally due to trauma.

But just as I started to stabilize—or more accurately, when I stopped pretending to be overly childish—Raizen’s birthday came around.

Hosting a formal introduction at his party felt ill-timed.

“If you’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to attend. We can celebrate on our own.”

Even with that reassurance, I’d declined the offer.

What were you thinking, past me?

I’d worried about upsetting the future villain. That was it.

Skipping the birthday party of someone I was so attached to would’ve been a complete character inconsistency.

So I chose to attend.

And now?

Now, I was feeling a twinge of regret.

Regardless, with the duchess silently cheering me on, I couldn’t keep hesitating.

Drawing on what I’d learned from my etiquette lessons, I greeted the guests as politely as I could.

Compliments rained down from all sides.

“My goodness! He already has such impeccable manners!”

“How charming and dignified!”

These are genuine compliments… right?

A quick glance at the duchess’s pleased expression confirmed it.

Relieved, I forced a smile. “Th-Thank you…”

Just smile. What else could I do?

It wasn’t like these people were heaping praise on me out of pure affection.

Of course, not everyone in the room was warm and welcoming. A few guests stood at a slight distance, observing me with cautious or disapproving expressions.

Though they didn’t openly display their feelings, I could sense their unease.

Well, stare all you want.

I was used to those kinds of looks. They didn’t bother me anymore. If anything, I could understand their perspective.

To the vassals, I was a commoner orphan who’d been adopted. They had no choice but to follow the duke’s decision, but they probably questioned my capabilities.

They might even worry I’d try to usurp Raizen’s position.

But did I feel the need to prove myself to them?

Not at all.

Staying close to the duchess, I simply ignored them.

Time passed, and the duke raised his glass.

The room quieted as all eyes turned to him.

“Now, it’s time for the star of today’s party to make his entrance.”

He gestured toward the second-floor entrance, where a prominent platform jutted out—designed to put the spotlight on whoever stood there.

Like something straight out of a ballroom scene.

As the duke said, Raizen is the star today.

The doors opened, and majestic music swelled.

Raizen appeared, as polished and exemplary as always.

Or maybe not.

Looking down from the platform, Raizen was… smiling.

With features that were already striking for his age, a face that was beginning to show more defined lines, and a gentle smile that could charm anyone, he looked like a prince.

Well, he practically is one.

At least in the western duchy, Raizen was as good as royalty.

Even so, he didn’t seem particularly happy.

He looked more like a corporate heir attending a formal event than someone celebrating his birthday.

Perhaps this was Raizen’s public persona.

There’s something oddly distant about him…

Wait a minute.

What was I thinking?

Distance?

So what if there was distance?

I shook off the pointless thoughts and looked at Raizen again.

“……!!”

Our eyes met.

Oh, crap.

Stay calm.

There’s no way he was looking at me specifically.

He must have been looking at the duke and duchess.

Lowering my gaze and then glancing up again, I saw that Raizen was indeed looking elsewhere.

Of course.

I’d worried for nothing.

“Young Master Raizen, happy birthday!”

“You’ll be formally titled as a viscount soon, won’t you? That’s amazing!”

As Raizen descended the stairs and joined the crowd, representatives from the vassal families swarmed him.

Among them were those who’d clearly disapproved of me earlier.

How enthusiastic.

Not that I envied them. Parents and their expectations had a way of crushing people quickly. If it were me, I’d have crumbled under the weight of all that trust and expectation.

And the day those people view him with fear and suspicion will hurt that much more.

So today… nothing should happen.

---

The second tragedy begins right after midnight following Raizen’s birthday.

Starting at the duchy, animals begin dying one by one for reasons no one can explain.

It’s not random; the deaths feel deliberate, as if someone carefully planned them.

It was so calculated that no explanation made sense except to call it a curse.

When that happens, Raizen’s fury against the world will grow even more… and as his rage intensifies, my approval rating with him will plummet straight back into hell.

‘And if that happens, my life will be at risk, and if I die, my world will collapse…’

But now they’re entrusting such a massive task to me out of nowhere. You damn ancient gods.

‘I’ve done everything I could.’

All that’s left is to deliver his birthday gift properly at the dinner after the party.

“And now, we will have the cake-cutting ceremony!”

The sudden announcement by the butler, who had appeared without me noticing, pulled me back to reality.

I followed the duchess to the table where the three-tiered cake stood.

Decorated with vibrant edible flowers, the cake looked stunning, though it seemed like it would be sickeningly sweet.

Raizen stood in front, flanked by the duke and duchess.

Instinctively, I moved to stand beside the duchess.

But then…

“Sei, come over here.”

Raizen’s soft voice, though not particularly loud, pierced through the noise and reached my ears.

Startled, I turned to look at him, and he flashed a faint smile.

Not the polished, public-facing expression he usually wore, but the face I was all too familiar with.

‘That mischievous, teasing face.’

Of course, it wasn’t entirely different from his formal smile.

The public version carried no trace of interest, whereas this one had just a hint of it.

‘Like watching a talking animal.’

It wasn’t anything special, but that was exactly what I wanted.

I smiled brightly and walked over to Raizen.

“Okay, Hyung!”

‘I don’t expect him to like me. I just don’t want him to kill me.’

* * *