* * *
A strong rose-scented pheromone gently enveloped my body.
In an instant, the oppressive pheromones from that bastard Kaigan disappeared without a trace.
‘Ha…’
I really thought I was done for.
When I read about it in books, it never felt this overwhelming, but the way an Alpha could crush someone with their pheromones was absolutely the worst.
I wanted to collapse on the spot, but with so many eyes on me, I barely managed to stay upright.
“Sei, are you okay?”
Raizen lightly flicked away Kaigan’s hand from my shoulder as he asked.
The hand that had been gripping me so forcefully fell away, as weak as a dry leaf.
“Yeah, nothing happened.”
I wasn’t saying it for Kaigan’s sake.
I just didn’t want to make a scene at a party meant for Raizen.
“Are you sure nothing happened?”
His voice had a slight strain to it, as if he was barely holding something back.
I unconsciously reached for Raizen’s hand but instead gave his arm a light pat.
“I mean it, hyung.”
His red eyes stared at me in silence.
Then, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
At that moment, I heard someone collapse behind me.
When I turned to look, I saw Kaigan trembling on the floor, his whole body shaking.
‘No way… Did Raizen do something?’
“Hyung?”
I called out to him just in case, but Raizen only shrugged, as if to say he hadn’t done anything.
Still, the timing was suspicious enough that I couldn’t completely believe him.
‘Magic?’
But his face looked too terrified for that.
Kaigan wasn’t the type to realize his mistakes even when confronted.
So what could have shaken him this badly?
‘Pheromones…?’
That made more sense than magic.
The only thing that could instinctively terrify an Alpha was the pheromones of a dominant Alpha.
But if Raizen had suppressed Kaigan using pheromones, then the people around us should have felt it too.
‘But I didn’t feel anything.’
It wasn’t just because I was a recessive.
The people watching the scene were completely unaffected as well.
“What’s going on?”
“I think the young lord of Kaigan House was disrespectful to the young lord of Pantheon.”
“So ‘Sei’ really is an affectionate nickname, then?”
“My, my. I don’t know if I should call this brotherly love or something else.”
And of course, the gossip had already begun.
‘People who follow Raizen but are always ready to tear him apart at the slightest flaw.’
It was the same in the novel.
The moment it was revealed that Raizen was the mastermind behind everything, they all turned on him instantly, saying they had always found him unsettling—despite having worshiped him before.
“Sei.”
A voice filled with restrained anger sent a shiver down my spine.
When I looked up, I saw Raizen smiling faintly as usual.
But something felt different.
A dark, menacing aura was rising from him.
‘Why…?’
I had no idea.
But this wasn’t the time to figure it out.
“Hyung!!”
I grabbed his hand tightly and called out.
“I’m right here.”
I didn’t know why I said that.
It just… felt like the right thing to say.
“Sei.”
“Yeah.”
Thankfully, it worked.
The ominous black energy rapidly faded.
I squeezed his hand even tighter.
After a moment, Raizen tapped the back of my hand lightly with his fingers, as if to tell me he was fine now.
“My apologies. I was startled and acted excessively. But can you blame me? I never expected to witness such a disgraceful act—using pheromones to suppress someone like some common thug—at an event like this.”
The atmosphere shifted in an instant.
“My goodness, now that you mention it…”
“Wait a moment. Isn’t Kaigan the eldest son of that family? I heard there were already rumors about his behavior.”
“They were just rumors, but… Didn’t he recently break off his second engagement?”
‘…He did?’
Judging by the way he treated me, I could imagine exactly how he must have treated his former fiancées.
“Regardless of the reason, it’s clear that Young Lord Kaigan was disrespectful to my child.”
At the familiar voice, everyone, including me, turned to look.
The Duchess stood there, barely holding back her anger.
She was smiling faintly, but her gaze was piercing.
She glared at Kaigan, who was still trembling on the floor, before walking toward me.
“Sei, are you alright?”
Her warm green eyes met mine with concern.
For some reason, my eyes stung with sudden tears.
‘I mean… That bastard suddenly… used his pheromones…’
The words rose in my throat, but I couldn’t say them here.
No, even if I were alone with the Duchess, I still wouldn’t be able to say them.
Because that would be… childish.
A selfish complaint I shouldn’t voice.
Having my shoulder grabbed didn’t even hurt.
If it weren’t for those damn pheromones, I would have shaken off his hand immediately.
The fact that I couldn’t—that was what infuriated me.
“Mother, Sei seems really shaken. May I take him somewhere to calm down?”
At Raizen’s words, the tears that had been about to fall disappeared instantly.
‘Are you insane? The guest of honor can’t just leave!’
“Of course. I’ll take care of the rest, so come back once Sei has settled down.”
“…?!”
Was I the only one confused by this mother-son conversation?
“I—I mean…”
Before I could protest, Raizen wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
And at that moment, I shut my mouth.
Because his hand was trembling slightly.
‘Why is he so shaken?’
I had no idea.
Instinctively, I grasped his fingers where they rested on my shoulder.
Then, just loud enough for him to hear, I murmured:
“Let’s go, hyung.”
“…Alright.”
And so, Raizen and I left.
Much later, I would learn that the moment we disappeared, Kaigan pissed himself and collapsed.
∗ ∗ ∗
Contrary to my expectations, Raizen didn’t take me somewhere nearby.
He brought me to the main building of the duchy.
‘My room, of all places.’
Well, I didn’t mind.
It wasn’t like I wanted to stay at the party anyway—especially since I’d just end up seeing things I didn’t want to see.
‘Still… I kind of wanted to watch Raizen from afar.’
I sat on the bed and looked up.
Raizen stood still, staring at the floor.
“Hyung, I’ll be fine after I rest. Go back.”
Everyone was probably waiting for him to return.
“Today… is your day.”
I had expected this, but facing it directly still hurt more than I thought.
It was a painful reminder that the days when we were the only two left in this estate were long gone.
“Do I have to?”
A shadowed voice pierced my ears.
It wasn’t the composed, practiced tone I had grown used to hearing from Raizen.
It sounded more like… his voice from when we were kids.
‘Ah.’
This wasn’t good.
“There’s nothing I want there, Sei.”
Raizen slumped down beside me.
“But… isn’t it fun? Everyone likes you. Even if not all of it is genuine goodwill…”
And he thought that was what Raizen wanted—a life not of anxious confinement within the ducal estate, bound by an unpredictable curse, but one where he could stand confidently before the masses as a perfect successor, earning endless praise from all.
Instead of answering, Raizen began fiddling with my hand.
“Hyung…”
“Don’t push me away.”
“I’m not trying to push you away…”
I like you. I like that, at least in front of me, you willingly take off your mask.
I like knowing that it’s not just me standing still while you grow up so quickly.
‘But that’s not how it should be.’
I shouldn’t be happy about his immaturity, his unchanging self.
It’s disgusting to find joy in the fact that someone I love is still broken in some way, still needing me because of it.
“Sei, I was so lonely without you.”
Raizen had said something similar once before.
Back then, it had been an obvious lie.
But now… it wasn’t.
“…Lonely?”
Not knowing what to say, I simply repeated his words.
Raizen nodded before resting his head on my shoulder—just like that day, the day of the manifestation ceremony when an unexpected oracle descended.
“I wanted to go find you, but I couldn’t…”
“…”
“But I held on. I endured.”
“…”
“Then some bug… had the audacity to lay a hand on you.”
“So you crushed him with pheromones? Just like that?”
Raizen’s fingers, which had been absentmindedly toying with my hand, halted.
“How did you know?”
‘So I was right.’
“I just… had a feeling. I’ve never heard of anyone being able to control pheromones that precisely.”
“That’s because Mother—”
“The Duchess?”
“…She told me I had to master pheromone control.”
Well, considering Raizen’s status, even a trace of his pheromones on someone could spark a scandal.
‘But is that really the same as targeting someone specifically without anyone else noticing?’
I wondered, but quickly dismissed the thought.
Raizen resumed fiddling with my hand.
“Sei.”
“Mm?”
“Sei.”
“I’m right here, hyung.”
“Would it have been better if we never grew up?”
The words were barely more than a whisper, but I answered immediately.
“No.”
“…”
“It’s inevitable, hyung.”
I was saying it as much to myself as to him.
Raizen fears losing me.
But it’s not because I’m precious to him—not really.
It’s just a byproduct of his unease over his still-unresolved curse and the abrupt void left by my absence.
‘Possessiveness.’
A simple desire to keep me within reach.
If Raizen truly cherished me…
‘No, there’s no point in hypothetical thinking.’
That’s not how it is. That’s why he could say it so easily, with such relief.
‘I’m going to enroll in the Royal Academy.’
‘I’ll be entering the advanced program at the Royal Academy. It’ll be my most powerful weapon in the political battlefield ahead.’
The memory of that night, before I entered my long slumber, was still too vivid, tormenting me.
* * *
