* * *
Inside the duke’s office, where even the aides had been dismissed, only the duke, the duchess, and Arthur Sothes sat.
Arthur Sothes, in a dry tone, explained the experiments he had conducted and their results.
It was the same experiment he had reported to Duke Pantheon early on.
The duchess, who had been listening with a calm yet slightly tense expression, gradually darkened.
“So, nothing has been definitively uncovered yet.”
“……”
She parted her lips as if to speak but ended up letting out a small sigh instead.
Her expression was a complex mix of relief and disappointment.
Duke Pantheon wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she rested her head against him.
Arthur Sothes, watching them, did not look pleased either.
“But… it is certain that the situation is not entirely hopeless. Especially considering how the young lord, Raizen, appears. I suspect it’s a special case with specific activation conditions, but I have yet to determine what they are. I apologize.”
“…There is nothing for you to apologize for. If anything, we as his parents are the ones guilty of taking the cowardly path.”
Duke Pantheon let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
Arthur Sothes’ brow furrowed slightly.
“That… that’s not something with a right answer. It’s…”
Unable to finish his sentence, he trailed off, and the duke smiled faintly.
“To think you’d be the one saying there’s no right answer. Time really does change things.”
“Your Grace…!”
“In any case, this isn’t something you should be blaming yourself for. This is just…”
Duke Pantheon paused for a moment before exhaling quietly.
Stroking his wife’s shoulder, he murmured softly.
“This is truly difficult.”
How could it not be?
Arthur Sothes thought.
There was no doubt that Raizen had been cursed, yet there was no way to break it.
All they had discovered so far was that divine power did not exist—a despairing revelation.
And Raizen’s curse had manifested in the worst possible way.
Back then, Raizen had only been ten years old.
No matter how intelligent he was, he was still just a child.
How could they have told him, “Yes, you are cursed, and we will find a way to fix it somehow”?
If the duke and duchess had been unaware that divine power did not exist, it would have been one thing.
But knowing the truth, they could not bring themselves to deceive him.
To them, that would have been nothing short of betrayal.
Arthur Sothes, who had watched them struggle with this dilemma for years, finally spoke, his voice heavy.
“Whichever choice you made, regret would have followed.”
Would it have been better to tell ten-year-old Raizen the truth?
Since that was a path they had never taken, no one could say for sure.
But the duke and duchess likely sensed it as well—if they had chosen to reveal the truth back then, they would now be regretting not taking the alternative.
The duchess, having pulled away from her husband’s embrace, wiped the corners of her eyes.
“You’re right. No matter which path we chose, there would have been regrets. But… the choice has already been made. Now, we must take responsibility for it.”
Her damp eyes met her husband’s.
“This isn’t the time to dwell on whether we should have chosen differently. We need to focus on what comes next. Don’t you think?”
Duke Pantheon nodded gently, smiling.
Though he was smiling, his eyes were filled with sorrow.
It was a smile meant solely to comfort his beloved wife, just as her smile was meant to comfort him.
“And Arthur, thank you for everything. You’ve been working so hard.”
“It’s nothing. I still haven’t uncovered anything definitive… I feel unworthy.”
“It’s fine.”
With even Duke Pantheon chiming in, Arthur Sothes let out a reluctant, faint smile.
As he silently observed Arthur, the duchess spoke again.
“For now… why don’t we continue watching how the children interact and monitor Ray’s condition? There has definitely been a positive change in him. And more than anyone, Ray will understand that best. It’s important to confirm whether Sei’s power is truly divine, but… we also need to consider the possibility that it isn’t.”
“Yes. Perhaps we have been too fixated on the idea of divine power.”
“That’s right.”
The duchess smiled softly, pleased that they agreed.
But soon, she lowered her gaze and clenched her hands into fists before slowly releasing them.
“And…”
Her voice trailed off, drawing both men’s attention.
“After we observe a little longer… if we can at least confirm that Sei’s power truly benefits Ray, then… wouldn’t it be time to tell Ray everything?”
Arthur’s eyes widened slightly.
He glanced at Duke Pantheon, who appeared deep in thought, before carefully voicing his concern.
“Wouldn’t that be too great a risk?”
The duchess let out a quiet chuckle, as if she had already anticipated that response.
“Yes, it would be a great risk. But what I’m really asking is… do we truly need to stay silent until we’re absolutely certain? Of course, revealing everything recklessly would be dangerous, so I don’t mean to rush things. But I also don’t think we should be so obsessed with certainty that we hesitate for too long. What if we end up missing the right moment because we were too fixated on finding proof, when simply talking to Ray could have made things easier?”
“……”
“To be honest, I’m scared. Ray has only recently found some peace. He’s finally changed the way he interacts with us, even if just a little… What if we say the wrong thing and push him back to how he was before?”
A heavy silence settled over the office.
Duke Pantheon, deep in thought as he stroked his chin, took his wife’s hand and held it firmly.
“For now, let’s continue watching and make a decision later. I agree that delaying too long wouldn’t be good either.”
His crimson eyes, sharp as ever, gazed into the empty air as he continued.
“Things have been quiet lately, but I doubt that silence will last. It may just be gathering strength for one last desperate attack.”
The curse was brutal and powerful enough to selectively erase those close to Raizen.
Until now, it had focused entirely on breaking him mentally, clinging to him like a shadow.
But something about it seemed… odd.
Curses always had a purpose.
As if they had a will of their own, they acted toward a specific goal.
In Raizen’s case, it seemed clear that the curse’s objective was to isolate and break him.
If that were true, then it should have also worked from the outside, not just within.
That was likely why it had inflicted such a horrifying memory on ten-year-old Raizen.
‘But after that… it’s been too quiet.’
Was this silence part of the curse’s plan, or had something gone wrong?
If the latter, what had caused it?
Unanswered questions swirled in his mind.
At that moment, the duchess placed her other hand atop her husband’s.
When Duke Pantheon looked at her, she smiled gently.
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
Arthur Sothes, watching them, also gave his response.
“Understood.”
And as he did, he thought of the last resort he had been considering.
‘Now… there’s only one thing left to try.’
Determination flashed in Arthur Sothes’ eyes.
∗ ∗ ∗
“The head of the Roswell family has a bit of a mischievous side. He jokes about things that could be considered weaknesses, but he never actually touches on anything too sensitive. So, you don’t have to react too strongly. If you respond with a bit of wit, he’ll like that.”
A calm and gentle voice slipped into my ears.
I summarized Raizen’s explanation in my notes.
“Hmm…”
I looked up at the sound of him hesitating instead of continuing his explanation.
Across from me, Raizen sat quietly, gazing down at the ‘Directory of Names’ he had received from Arthur Sothes.
His expression carried an air of stillness.
‘Stillness, huh…’
Not long ago, even when he smiled, there was always a sharp edge to him.
Raizen was definitely improving.
Though I still didn’t understand why he hadn’t lessened the frequency of holding my hand.
Not to mention, every time the divine power in the gifts he gave me started to fade, he made sure to replenish it.
I suppose he figured it was better to be excessive than to risk running short.
‘That means he’s not completely numb to emotions or sensations…’
He fears something.
And to prevent it, he goes to extreme lengths.
‘Even so, I still can’t figure him out.’
It was far too early to let my guard down.
“Hyung?”
Raizen had been deep in thought for a while, so I called out to him softly.
He slowly lifted his gaze to meet mine.
The vivid red of his eyes reminded me of rubies.
“Ah, sorry. I was just thinking about something.”
Now that makes me really curious.
What exactly were you thinking about, Raizen?
Surely, it wasn’t about how to mess with me, right?
“What were you thinking?”
I asked as naturally as possible.
At my question, Raizen tilted his head slightly before looking down at the ‘Directory of Names’ again.
After a brief moment, he looked back up at me.
“Sei, how do you want these people to see you?”
What…?
‘Of course.’
There was no way this guy was actually trying to help me.
So, what was his game?
Was he trying to subtly convince me that there was no need to make a good impression?
“Sei?”
Oops.
I had been staring at Raizen without realizing it.
I blinked multiple times on purpose.
“…Huh?”
“Are you still thinking?”
The fact that he was even pressing for an answer was unsettling.
I had fully expected something like this to happen, and yet, it still threw me off.
* * *
