* * *
It was painfully obvious—he had no intention of apologizing to me. But…
‘So what?’
Raizen openly took my side. Could he really ignore that?
As expected, after a brief hesitation, Jayren’s back slowly bent forward.
This time, it was toward me.
“…I… I’m sorry……”
His voice was so soft that I barely heard it.
And he didn’t even bow properly.
Lowering my gaze slightly, I saw his face burning bright red.
‘What a forced apology.’
But I didn’t feel too bad about it.
I hadn’t expected an apology in the first place.
I looked over at Raizen.
He, too, was looking at me at just the right moment.
His striking red eyes seemed to ask if this was enough.
I nodded slowly.
He didn’t seem entirely satisfied but didn’t press further.
“…Fine. I hope you learned something from this. Now, leave.”
It was an outright dismissal.
Jayren’s face twisted in frustration, but he barely held it in.
Without even glancing at me, he grabbed his younger brother and turned to leave.
Or at least, he tried to.
“…Jay? What’s wrong?”
He failed because his younger brother, Jason, refused to move.
The boy, with lighter brown eyes than Jayren, was staring straight at me, filled with pure curiosity.
“Jason, we need to leave now. Okay?”
Jayren’s voice was gentle, eerily so.
‘Well, that’s not surprising.’
Even if he looked down on people based on their background and wasted energy on pointless jealousy, he could still be kind to his family.
That’s just how people are.
‘Still… this is getting ridiculous.’
The kid was just standing there, staring at me like he had seen something grotesque.
“Why?”
I finally asked.
Jayren flinched, clearly never expecting me to speak.
Jason, on the other hand, clung to his brother with a look of utter disgust.
“Hyung, that person talked to me…….”
“J-Jay?”
Realizing this was getting out of hand, Jayren hurriedly tried to drag his brother away.
But Jason’s eyes welled up with tears.
“Why? Why do we have to leave? Shouldn’t he be the one to go?”
“Jason!!”
“Waaahhh! Hyung, you’re being weird!! You said it was my place!! You—mmph!”
Jayren clamped a hand over his brother’s mouth, his usual affectionate demeanor completely gone.
The sudden change left Jason so overwhelmed that he burst into uncontrollable sobs.
‘What a mess.’
“I-I’m really sorry! I sincerely apologize!!”
Jayren bowed repeatedly, practically carrying his little brother out.
He had almost reached the door when—
“Wait.”
Raizen spoke.
Jayren turned around, his face drained of all color.
“Y-Yes…?”
“No matter how skilled the tailor’s employees may be, it would be best if you refrained from making them do menial tasks from now on. Your personal maid will always be by your side, after all.”
“…What?”
‘Does this bastard not even realize what the problem is?’
“Sigh…”
Raizen openly furrowed his brows and let out a deep sigh.
“I’d prefer if you left quickly. Before another Odil noble causes even more trouble.”
That meant he understood exactly what that younger Odil sibling had implied.
Fortunately, Jayren seemed to pick up on the weight of those words and hastily disappeared.
“You okay?”
Raizen asked, as if he’d been waiting for the right moment.
Without hesitation, I nodded.
‘I was a little angry, but it couldn’t be helped.’
I had been momentarily pissed off, but honestly, this much was bearable.
I was just surprised that the reason for my anger was different from what I had experienced before.
‘And… I’m also confused by Raizen’s actions.’
I never expected him to take my side. If anything, I thought he’d stay out of it.
That way, rumors would continue spreading that Raizen didn’t particularly welcome my presence.
That the kindness he showed at the birthday party was nothing more than a public act.
The reason was simple. Isolating me made it easier to keep me tethered—whether through gaslighting, emotional dependence, or even material constraints.
‘But he stood up for me.’
From the very beginning, this entire outing was strange.
This wasn’t the kind of thing Raizen would do.
Not just based on what I knew from the novel, but from my own observations of him.
‘But a lot has changed from the novel.’
The tragic event on my fourteenth birthday never happened, and Sean’s body, awakened his divine power, which weakened the curse.
‘So…’
So what exactly do I want?
I was confused.
My thoughts multiplied endlessly, never leading to a clear conclusion—just circling over and over.
“Sei?”
His voice pulled me from the depths of my thoughts.
“Are you really okay?”
His crimson eyes studied me closely.
Observing my gaze, the slight movement of my facial muscles—examining every little detail.
At that moment, it hit me.
‘Do I… want to trust Raizen?’
I let out a dry laugh at the conclusion my mind had reached.
Trust?
In human relationships, what could be more meaningless than trust?
The fact that I had even considered such a thought annoyed me.
I gave Raizen a faint smile.
“Yeah. I’m really okay.”
Then, I picked up the catalog again.
“Let’s look at the clothes again.”
Raizen stared at me for a moment before shifting his gaze back to the catalog.
As if nothing had happened, he carefully examined it with a serious expression.
I glanced at his perfectly composed side profile before murmuring softly,
“…Thank you.”
Then, before Raizen could look at me, I quickly hid my face behind the catalog.
∗ ∗ ∗
“Are you saying that really happened?”
“Yes.”
With a loud thud, something shattered.
The duke had slammed his desk in frustration, breaking off part of it. He hadn’t even struck it that hard.
Without sparing a glance at the damaged desk, Raizen calmly sipped his herbal tea.
It was actually the duke himself who was surprised by the reaction.
After signing the last document, the duke quickly approached the table where Raizen was seated.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
With a heavy sigh, Duke Pantheon sat in the highest seat.
“It’s fine. I didn’t wait that long.”
The slight softness in his son’s tone filled the duke with emotion.
Of course, his face barely showed any change.
“Even so…”
Realizing how awkward that sounded, Duke Pantheon cleared his throat.
“So… It was the Odil family’s sons?”
“Yes. They introduced themselves as Jayren Odil and Jason Odil. If necessary, I can obtain testimony from the employees of Platina Boutique.”
“No, no. That’s not what I meant.”
The duke hastily waved his hand, an unusually strong reaction from him.
‘This isn’t right.’
He rubbed his face, trying to steady his thoughts.
Desperately, he recalled his wife’s advice.
‘When you’re flustered, your face tends to stiffen. In those moments, just take a breath and be honest with him.’
Yes, honesty.
“It’s just… The situation is so ridiculous that I had to ask again—not because I doubt you.”
The duke stumbled over his words.
“And… whenever you tell me something, no matter what it is, you don’t have to prove it’s true. Whatever you say, I—no, we—believe you.”
He cautiously lifted his gaze.
For a long time, his son had avoided eye contact, but now, Raizen was looking directly at him.
The overwhelming emotion threatened to rise, but the duke held it back and mustered a little more courage.
“Also… I don’t want our relationship to be like that of a superior and a subordinate. I know I’m an inadequate father, but…”
How was he supposed to finish this sentence?
It had been a long time since he felt so utterly incompetent.
‘This shouldn’t be so difficult.’
Ever since that incident when Raizen was ten, too much had changed.
If he were asked whether he regretted keeping the matter under wraps, the answer would be no.
Even if he could go back, he would make the same choice.
But that didn’t change the fact that his precious son had been left with an unerasable wound.
He knew that covering up the incident wasn’t the same as solving it.
He had almost become an adult—no, a father—who didn’t even understand that simple truth.
Thankfully, because of the people beside him, he had been able to learn.
‘But what does it matter if I understand? I still haven’t found a way to fix anything.’
At this rate, reaching out to his son might seem like an act of hypocrisy.
Even so… wasn’t it better than doing nothing and letting the misunderstandings fester?
Just then, Raizen’s voice rang in his ears.
“Yes, Father.”
That wasn’t all he said.
“I think… I may have been too sensitive. I was angry.”
His son had opened up about his feelings.
* * *
