“Oh—hello!”
Kevin responded, startled and stiff.
The man smiled gently and held out his hand.
Kevin’s mind blanked for a moment as he just stared at the hand.
Then the man spoke again.
“Signature, please.”
“Ah…!”
Of course.
A signature was required to confirm delivery and payment.
Flustered, Kevin quickly fished out the documents from his bag and handed them over.
“A-All items have been delivered properly. I’m sure you know that already, being a regular customer, but…”
It was something he didn’t even need to say.
Yet the words kept spilling out, completely beyond his control.
This always happened whenever he saw this man—he lost his cool, no matter how much he tried.
Realizing he’d said too much, Kevin quickly shut his mouth and wiped the corner of his lips with a hand.
His gaze remained on the man.
“He’s just so strange…”
His looks were so completely ordinary.
Brown hair, dull green eyes—so common you could easily spot three guys who looked like him just walking down the street.
And yet, Kevin couldn’t take his eyes off him.
Worse yet, whenever they met, Kevin’s heart would start racing.
‘Was it a crush?’
He had considered that possibility once, but it didn’t feel quite right.
He never really thought about the man unless they met face to face.
It wasn’t the kind of affection that made you want to date someone.
More like… just watching him made Kevin feel at ease, and though he didn’t know him well at all, he still wished for the man’s peace and happiness.
Like those people you naturally feel fond of just because of their presence.
That was the kind of person this man was, at least to Kevin.
“Here you go.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
Kevin checked the signature.
Instead of a flourish, it was simply written in block letters: Daniel. E
ven his name was common.
At this point, Kevin was beginning to wonder if all of his plainness was intentional.
“It’s probably not his real name. Maybe not even his real face…”
Crete had its fair share of residents living under new identities.
Still, they screened for any criminal records before letting anyone enter the island, so most people were fleeing for reasons unrelated to crime.
Kevin, who came here just to make money, had no way of knowing.
“But even then, would someone really change their face just to live a new life?”
What kind of reason would justify going that far?
Since he couldn’t think of any, Kevin once again concluded that Daniel’s ordinariness was simply part of who he really was.
“The signature checks out. If you run into any issues with the products, please contact our shop.”
“Of course. Thanks again for all your hard work. Get home safe.”
“Y-Yes, sir…!”
Kevin bowed politely, trying hard to suppress the smile creeping up on his face, then scurried out of the storage area.
As he began to move his empty cart, Kevin suddenly paused and looked back.
The man with brown hair was walking into the mansion.
Kevin watched him for a moment, then wiped his nose with the back of his hand.
“He really is… a strange one.”
No one on Crete Island was truly “ordinary,” but even among them, this man stood out as one of a kind.
∗ ∗ ∗
“Here it is—freshly baked.”
I offered a plate of chocolate chip cookies to Seol.
With a front paw, they picked up a cookie and took a tiny nibble.
[Mmmmmm…]
He wasn’t savoring it. That sound was just to tease me.
“Well…? How is it?”
Nervously swallowing, I asked.
Seol tilted his head slightly, then took another, slightly bigger bite.
[Mmmmmm…]
Again! They’re doing it again!
“Hey, quit messing around—!”
I glared at him, and Seol grinned, eyes squinting in amusement.
[I think it needs just a bit more chocolate chips~]
“You said there were too many last time!”
This divine beast was seriously messing with me.
I complained, but Seol didn’t even blink.
[Last time there really were too many. This time it’s just slightly lacking. If you’re going to reduce the amount, it should still be balanced, right, Chef?]
“Aghhhh!”
I groaned and clutched my head, then popped one of the remaining cookies into my mouth.
It was baked so well I could hardly believe I’d made it—it suited my taste perfectly.
“No, seriously, it’s delicious!”
[I never said it wasn’t. I just said it didn’t match my taste perfectly.]
“You’re so picky, Master Divine Beast.”
Seol snorted.
[And who was it that said they’d bake me cookies that were exactly to my liking? Hmm]
“Ugh…”
Yeah. This was a disaster I brought upon myself.
“Got it. So you’re saying it just needs a little more chocolate chips?”
[Just a tiny bit more. Just a little.]
If I wanted to get this tricky ratio right, it was probably going to take a lot more time.
Still, that old sense of challenge sparked back to life inside me.
“Alright. I will make this perfect, no matter what!”
[I’ll be waiting~]
Seol licked his front paw, speaking in that usual cheeky tone.
Watching that tiny guy grooming himself with such a serious face was always adorable.
I stared at him quietly for a moment, then reached out.
When I carefully stroked his head, he started to purr.
“Thanks.”
[For what?]
His voice made it sound like he really had no idea, but I could feel the sincerity hidden behind the words.
Still, since he was pretending not to know, I decided to play along.
“But… when are you ever gonna grow?”
It had been two years since he hatched, but Seol still looked like a baby fox.
He didn’t seem to have grown even a bit.
[What the—?!]
Seol jumped up in surprise.
His reaction was so predictable I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
“It’s already been two whole years, and you’re still this tiny—what am I gonna do with you, Seol?”
[Hey!]
His tail shot straight out and trembled.
I barely managed to suppress my laughter as I stood up.
“Alright, time to clean the kitchen~”
I exaggerated the words on purpose and quickly darted off to the kitchen.
I had done some cleaning while baking the cookies, but the place was still a mess.
I started humming a little tune as I tidied up.
“….”
Suddenly, the date on the documents I signed flashed through my mind.
“…Wow.”
It’s already been a year. Since I left the duchy.
I avoided checking the calendar on purpose.
At first, it wasn’t easy. I’d find myself constantly looking at the time and date.
One day, then another, then a week, a month…
As time went on, I gradually lost track of the present.
I just got up when I wanted, slept when I felt like it.
The rising and setting sun didn’t mean much to me.
When I was awake, I’d shove whatever into my mouth and then go back to sleep.
Eventually, Seol couldn’t take it anymore and screamed at me to pull myself together—then burst into tears.
‘Didn’t you leave because you wanted to live true to yourself?! Then you have to live well, you idiot!’
Those tearful words jolted me awake.
I left because I wanted to live as me.
What I thought was just running away, Seol had called something else.
Strangely, instead of denying it, I wanted to believe he was right.
I had run away.
That truth weighed heavily on me for a long time.
It felt like I abandoned what I was supposed to do and ran.
I had dreams where everyone condemned me, and I’d wake up drenched in sweat.
But still… I didn’t want to go back.
Every time I had to face Raizen, who said he loved me without ever actually loving me—I really wanted to die.
Maybe it was because of the curse.
That possibility kept me hesitating.
But in the end… I just couldn’t endure it.
‘And if it wasn’t the curse? If that was really Raizen’s true feelings?’
Even that thought tormented me.
But still… everything about the way Raizen treated me was unbearable.
Every time I saw him, my chest overflowed with emotion.
I was exhausted, broken—but most of all, I was terrified.
I was afraid that I might really end up hating Raizen.
I hadn’t expressed my feelings properly either, so maybe I didn’t have the right to resent him.
But still… my heart was drifting in a direction my head couldn’t control.
Sometimes, I couldn’t help but feel angry—so angry and bitter toward him.
‘Am I really okay like this?’
That thought haunted me right up until the day of the banquet.
???? I’m low key lost 😞