Sean covered his tear-filled eyes with both hands.
Watching him, the former Marquis’s jaw tensed.
Just being alive made this boy precious.
A child he couldn’t keep by his side due to unavoidable adult circumstances—yet still, his beloved grandchild.
At first, Sean had been wary, even afraid, of the grandfather who appeared so suddenly in his life.
Having lost his memories and unable to simply see someone just because he wanted to, Sean’s caution had made sense to the Marquis.
But thankfully—though he’d done nothing to deserve it—this child had slowly opened his heart to him.
The depth of that gratitude… and guilt.
Sean appeared bright on the outside, but anyone paying attention could see it was just a facade.
A child forced to grow up too fast, always mindful of adults.
It would have been nice if he could let go and show a bit of what he’d kept bottled up inside.
And now, that very same Sean was crying in front of him.
The Marquis instinctively understood what had caused it.
‘That boy… after all…’
Raizen Pantheon. He, too, was a cherished child.
But whether he was truly fit to be Sean’s partner was a different matter entirely.
The Marquis knew Raizen held some feelings for Sean.
But to him, they felt dangerously unstable.
Most importantly… they weren’t looking in the same direction.
They faced each other, yet walked toward different futures.
And the Marquis feared that this misalignment might one day break Sean’s heart.
He hadn’t expected that day to come so soon.
The former Marquis gently placed a hand on Sean’s shoulder.
Tears fell through Sean’s trembling fingers.
The old man wanted to take him away from this ducal house that very moment.
But he hesitated—he couldn’t be sure if that was truly what Sean wanted.
“It’s alright to be honest. Or rather…”
“…”
“Please, just tell me the truth. I’ll do anything you want.”
A quiet, grief-stricken sob slipped from Sean’s slightly parted lips.
He moved his mouth as if trying to speak, for a long time—before finally voicing his desire.
The former Marquis embraced him tightly.
And when Sean’s tears finally stopped, just as the traces of them were fading from his face, Raizen arrived.
“Sei.”
He could’ve sent someone—but came himself.
The sight made the Marquis feel an indescribable frustration, though he quickly masked it.
“Ah… You came to get me yourself?”
Raizen carefully studied Sean’s expression as he spoke.
And yet, frustratingly, he still couldn’t read anything from it.
“Of course. Today is… an important day.”
The banquet would soon begin.
The ceremony was simple:
The Duke of Pantheon would open with a brief speech, introducing Raizen for his distinguished service in subjugating the monster wave.
Then, Raizen and Sean—no longer restrained by the magical device—would appear hand in hand.
Shane Pantheon would reveal that Sean was actually the missing Sean Kreveta and announce their engagement.
The unease in Raizen’s chest lingered, but thinking about what was to come helped lift his spirits.
The Crown Prince and Karon Luavis would be in attendance.
He looked forward to declaring Sean as his, right in front of those who coveted him.
Raizen reached out his hand. Sean looked at it quietly, then took it.
Though he’d grown, Sean’s hand was still smaller.
Raizen interlocked their fingers, gripping tightly—as if he’d never let go.
“Let’s go, Sei.”
“…Yeah.”
Before stepping out, Sean turned back.
His eyes met the Marquis’s, who nodded slightly.
Behind them, the butler, Mila, and several servants followed.
They stayed far enough behind that they wouldn’t overhear any conversation—but neither Sean nor Raizen said a word.
It wasn’t until they reached the end of the corridor that Raizen finally spoke.
“Sei, I…”
But he didn’t finish.
The communicator in his pocket vibrated.
Raizen turned, asking Sean to wait a moment.
“What is it?”
—Young Lord, something’s happened! We’re detecting signs of another monster wave—at Jeren!
Jeren was a region already declared secure. The search had found no altar.
“What do you mean…?”
Raizen’s voice trailed off as a realization struck him like lightning.
‘If a human has a magic core implanted in them… then that body can serve as a substitute for an altar.’
He hadn’t known that—until now.
∗ ∗ ∗
That night, the banquet at House Pantheon was abruptly canceled shortly after it began.
The Duke and Young Duke quickly organized a strike force, and nobles allied with the empire and House Pantheon offered their troops in support.
Visiting nobles panicked and caused an uproar, complaining that such events only ever seemed to happen in Pantheon territory. In truth, the monster wave had occurred far from the heart of the duchy where the mansion was located, but that didn’t stop the murmuring.
The Duchess soothed the guests and saw them off safely—but she couldn’t stop the rumors that soon began spreading through central society:
“Isn’t it strange how these monster waves only ever seem to happen in Pantheon territory?”
“Is that really a Monster Wave, though? What if it’s actually a staged event by the Duchy of Pantheon?”
“Why would the Pantheon Duchy even need to stage something like that? It makes way more sense that it’s because the ‘Seed of Calamity’ mentioned in the prophecy is located within the duchy!”
“What if the young Duke of Pantheon is the Seed of Calamity?”
“If that were true, the temple would’ve taken action long ago. I’m telling you—it’s staged!”
“Whatever the case, this needs to be investigated properly! It’s too unsettling to ignore!”
Even after the Monster Wave had been successfully subdued, the rumors didn’t stop.
In fact, the central nobles formally demanded an investigation into why these Monster Waves were happening only in the Pantheon territory—and the Emperor accepted.
After a long and thorough investigation, it was publicly declared that the incidents had been orchestrated by dark mages.
The final Monster Wave had even involved using humans as sacrificial offerings, which enraged many across the Empire.
The Imperial family and the Pantheon Duchy launched a full-scale pursuit of the dark mages, and the Luavis Duchy pledged its support to the temple.
Amidst all this, no one noticed that a certain member of the Pantheon family had been missing for quite some time.
Rumors about him only began to surface a full year later.
∗ ∗ ∗
“Phew!”
Kevin, who worked as a grocery deliveryman, let out a heavy sigh as he brought his cart to a stop.
With the weather starting to warm up, beads of sweat were forming on his forehead.
But he still had one last challenge ahead.
He looked up at the steep hill in front of him and sighed again.
“This house is great and all, but they always order way too much at once.”
Delivery work was a unique profession found only on Crete Island—a neutral zone and vacation destination.
Normally, people would send their servants out for errands, or those who couldn’t afford help would do it themselves.
But Crete was a so-called paradise where social status didn’t matter.
In Kevin’s view, it seemed like money was what really ruled here, rather than titles.
Either way, Crete was home to people with wealth and clean criminal records who wanted a peaceful life—and to those hoping to make money off them.
Most residents were rich commoners or illegitimate nobles, and many didn’t like hiring others to work under them.
And thus, the delivery business was born.
Kevin dragged his cart with effort and finally stopped in front of a two-story mansion.
As always, the sight of it drew a quiet sense of awe.
He looked up at the house, then notified the guard of his arrival.
When the gate opened, he headed toward a small storage area on the side of the house.
Just as Kevin placed down a box of groceries and was about to catch his breath—
“Hello there.”
A man with light brown hair and green eyes—utterly average in appearance—stepped into view.
Wtf??? I’m made confused rn what happened to the big reveal?!