* * *
Dinner continued in an exceptionally warm and cheerful atmosphere.
Once the meal was over, the duke and duchess each presented me with a gift.
Of course, they assured me this wasn’t all—they had already sent the rest of the presents to my room.
And as for Raizen…
“I’ll give you my gift once we’re in your room.”
Did he really have to?
I found it a bit unnecessary, but I simply nodded in agreement.
And so, here I was now, in my room with Raizen.
Since we had already eaten to our hearts’ content, Mila had only brought in some light refreshments before leaving the room.
‘Why does today feel so unbearably long?’
To be honest, I was exhausted.
I thought I’d finally get to rest once the party was over, but Raizen had thrown in an unexpected twist.
“I wanted to give you your gift separately, in person.”
Did he really have to go through all this trouble, Raizen?
Still, I was curious about what he had prepared, so I sat quietly, waiting.
The future mastermind of all evil had put a great deal of thought into this—what kind of gift could it possibly be?
‘Or maybe he has something specific he wants to say to me.’
I really hoped that wasn’t the case.
I was already tired; the last thing I wanted was to sit through an awkward conversation, watching his every move for hints.
I deliberately stayed silent, gripping my glass. It was filled with warm milk, and the heat from it spread gently across my palm.
Fortunately, Raizen didn’t say much.
He simply placed a gift box on the table.
The packaging was a plain, light beige with a neatly tied thin ribbon—likely wrapped at the store where he had purchased it.
‘What exactly did he prepare?’
“Happy birthday, Sei. Looks like I get to be the last one to wish you, too.”
‘Was that intentional?’
Honestly, this guy had some odd habits.
It wasn’t enough that he sent a rabbit messenger right at midnight to be the first to congratulate me—now he had to make sure he was the last as well?
And he even pointed it out.
“Hehe. Thanks, hyung! And for the gift too!”
“Go on, open it. I hope you like it.”
If it’s something valuable—like jewelry that I can sell for cash—that would be perfect.
‘I believe in you, Raizen.’
With as much patience and care as possible, I unwrapped the gift.
Underneath the beige wrapping paper was a sleek black box.
Just from the texture, it was clearly high-quality, similar to those used for expensive accessories.
‘Yes! I knew I could count on you!’
A gift that the heir of a wealthy family would agonize over—of course, it had to be jewelry!
I struggled to keep the corners of my lips from curling up as I opened the box.
‘Oh…!’
Inside was a delicate bracelet adorned with small, brilliantly sparkling red gemstones.
Among them, one stone was slightly larger than the rest and had a subtly different hue.
‘This one’s a deep crimson.’
Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t just the color—something dark red swirled inside, shifting between the forms of smoke and liquid.
It felt strangely familiar.
‘Wait a minute… don’t tell me—’
Raizen’s magic?
Startled, I looked up at him.
The moment our eyes met, he flashed a knowing grin.
“Do you like it? It’s a magic artifact infused with my power.”
“……”
“If you wear it on your wrist, it will automatically adjust to fit you.”
“……”
“So make sure you always have it on.”
A flood of thoughts rushed through my mind all at once.
‘Wow, just the materials alone must be ridiculously expensive.’
‘Aside from the enchanted gem, these look like rubies… Could I sell them separately? Probably not…’
‘But why is he giving me something like this? Does he want me to feel indebted to him?’
Honestly… I was caught off guard.
And a little overwhelmed.
In my case, I had needed to prove my worth to Raizen, to show that I was useful to him, which was why I had pushed myself to craft a sacred artifact.
Plus, the pocket watch I had used as a base wasn’t even that expensive.
‘But what’s his reason for doing this?’
That’s when a vague sense of unease started creeping in.
“Wow, hyung! Your magic is really amazing! I heard you’re insanely skilled in swordsmanship too, but I didn’t know you could use magic as well!”
Time to play it up a little.
“Thank you so much! I love it!”
Acting as excited as possible, I immediately put on the bracelet.
At first, it was a bit loose, but it adjusted itself to fit my wrist perfectly.
“Whoa… that’s incredible.”
It wasn’t my first time using a magic artifact, but this was still impressive.
A bracelet that automatically adjusted to the wearer’s size…
‘How much would this be worth?’
Even on its own, the appraisal value must be quite high.
But if Raizen grew up without turning into the infamous mastermind and instead became a renowned figure… then I could discreetly sell it at an exclusive auction under the title “A piece crafted by Lord Raizen himself.”
That would fetch an astronomical price.
I lifted my wrist to show Raizen the bracelet.
He smiled in satisfaction.
‘Alright, the groundwork is set.’
“But hyung, what kind of abilities does this bracelet have?”
I asked with the most innocent expression I could muster, as if naturally expecting a magic artifact to have some special function.
“Abilities?”
Raizen repeated slowly, then suddenly gave a bright, cheerful smile.
“It will always protect you, no matter where you are.”
‘…Yeah, I doubt that’s all there is to it, you little punk.’
But pressing further would only make him suspicious.
“Wow, that’s amazing… Hyung, you’re incredible!”
“It’s nothing. You made something, too, didn’t you?”
Anyone overhearing this would think he was inspired by my efforts and made something similar out of admiration.
‘There’s definitely more to this than he’s letting on.’
He wouldn’t have embedded some kind of surveillance function into it… right?
I wasn’t sure how advanced his magic was at this point.
In the novel, Raizen had been a prodigy—the first magic swordsman born in centuries.
There were all sorts of rumors in high society, with some saying he was entirely self-taught.
Back when I read the novel, I assumed it was just exaggerated hype to make the villain seem more impressive.
But now… I wasn’t so sure.
‘Raizen really is a terrifyingly determined guy.’
At one point, I had casually asked Mila about Raizen’s daily schedule.
She had given me a serious look before detailing his routine—and I was shocked.
It was as grueling as a South Korean high school senior’s study schedule.
Once at the sheer intensity of it, and twice at the fact that he carried it out every single day without fail.
‘And magic training wouldn’t even be part of the official schedule.’
Mila hadn’t mentioned any time allotted for magic practice.
But considering he had the skills to craft a magic artifact like this, he had to be doing it in secret.
Cautiously, I asked, “Hyung… is this a secret too?”
Raizen’s eyes widened slightly.
Then, his tightly pressed lips curled into a smirk.
“…Pfft.”
And then, to my utter disbelief, he laughed.
Not just a small chuckle—he actually covered his mouth and let out a full laugh.
I was momentarily dumbfounded.
‘He laughed? Raizen actually laughed?’
This was someone who, at most, would offer a faint smirk.
But now, because of my words, he was laughing out loud?
I wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
Meanwhile, Raizen, still chuckling, gave me a slight nod.
“Yeah. This is a secret too.”
He didn’t seem particularly serious about it, though.
‘Huh… so it’s not that big of a deal, then?’
Well, I supposed the duke and duchess couldn’t be completely unaware.
Even if Raizen was technically without a personal guard due to his curse, there was no way they would leave their heir entirely unprotected.
They probably had one of their secret operatives from ‘The Crows’ watching over him.
And Raizen would know that, too.
‘That must be why he let Arther Sothes’ specialty slip to me.’
Raizen must have already guessed.
The crow had witnessed that night when I crushed the black mass in my hand and had reported it to the duke and duchess.
‘I was being overly cautious for nothing.’
Still, since I had brought it up first, I had to go along with the act.
Putting on the most serious expression I could manage, I nodded.
“Yeah! Got it!”
At my words, Raizen smiled, his eyes curving gently.
∗ ∗ ∗
After Raizen returned to his room, I was finally left alone.
Staring blankly at nothing for a moment, I then slumped onto the table.
“Haaaaa…….”
What a ridiculously long day.
I hadn’t done anything all day except receive birthday congratulations, and yet I felt completely drained. It must have been the emotional exhaustion.
‘And my brother showed up in my dream, too.’
What the hell was that dream about?
Even now, I couldn’t make sense of it—it left a strange, unsettled feeling.
I rarely ever dreamed about my brother.
But of all times, today of all days, he appeared in my dream to give me a birthday present.
‘It was definitely a reenactment of a memory… but something was off.’
The vividness of it was unsettling, and my brother’s demeanor was different from how I remembered.
I felt a sense of dissonance at that moment, but I ignored it—I just wanted to stay by his side.
If Raizen hadn’t woken me up, I probably would have…
‘But why did I only hear Raizen’s voice?’
Mila was there too.
Judging by the situation, Mila must have tried to wake me up first, then given up and called Raizen.
‘That bastard probably called me “Sean Kreveta.”’
A clear sign that he refused to acknowledge me as family.
Not that I particularly cared—I wasn’t hoping for anything anyway.
‘Whatever. I should just sleep.’
Yawning, I stretched and got up.
Since I needed Mila to help me wash, I moved toward the servant’s bell.
‘It’s kind of funny and annoying that I can’t even bathe on my own.’
It made me feel like an idiot.
I could just go to the bathroom and wash myself, but…
While I refused to get used to being waited on for every little thing, I wasn’t confident I could resist forever.
Just as I was about to grab the bell cord—
[Happy birthday.]
A belated message arrived.
* * *
