* * *
Ever since Raizen returned, time seemed to fly by, and Sei’s mind felt like it was drifting away with it.
He didn’t know what had happened during Raizen’s mission, but the man seemed determined to unsettle him at every turn.
On top of that, several obstacles had suddenly appeared before him.
The first was revealing Seol’s existence.
Surprisingly, this wasn’t as difficult as he had expected.
As soon as people noticed his reluctance to explain how he obtained a divine beast’s egg, they stopped asking.
Still, they decided to keep Seol a secret even within the household.
Claiming him as a mere pet wouldn’t be convincing—his divine aura was too overwhelming.
Fortunately, Seol didn’t need much energy to stay invisible, so he agreed that it was the best course of action.
The second obstacle… was Kim Minsoo’s visit.
Truthfully, a selfish part of him had hoped this issue would just pass unnoticed.
But there was no way Duke Pantheon would let it slide after learning that Karon Luavis had visited the duchy under the guise of being Sei’s “friend” while Raizen was away.
“So, nothing happened at all?”
The Duke’s voice was calm but heavy, his crimson eyes gleaming with a cold intensity.
The concern in them made Sei instinctively avert his gaze.
“…Yes.”
‘I mean, he did try to kill me.’
The words nearly escaped him, but he swallowed them down.
He wanted nothing more than to tell on that bastard.
But… not yet.
‘…Not yet?’
He startled himself with that thought.
At some point, he had started to believe that, eventually, he would tell them everything.
It was a thought he never would have entertained before.
‘But maybe… one day, I really will.’
Maybe once all the problems were resolved and they could finally reach their happy ending.
Or maybe even a little before that.
“Karon Luavis was more hostile toward Hyung than I expected. He kept insisting that I shouldn’t trust you…”
Somewhere in the room, a sharp cracking noise rang out.
Startled, Sei looked over to see Duke Pantheon’s hand gripping the armrest of his chair—so tightly that it had snapped.
“He cornered you?”
That’s… not the only thing you should be angry about, Duke.
“Sei, that sounds serious enough to me,” the duchess said, her expression turning grave.
“Uh, well… I’m sorry.”
“…”
“Honestly, I think I was too arrogant. I had no plan, but I still thought I could figure out Karon Luavis’s intentions… I was reckless. I’m really sorry for making you worry.”
“Sei…”
This was undoubtedly his mistake.
He had let himself be carried away by an illusion of control and had ended up revealing his identity as a transmigrator to Kim Minsoo instead.
“…I’m sorry.”
The weight of it had settled deeply in his heart.
He had convinced himself that he had to handle everything alone.
But at the same time, that belief had inflated his ego.
Like he was the protagonist of some novel.
Like things would work out just because he wanted them to.
But in reality, without Seol’s egg, he wouldn’t have survived that day.
He had always said he understood his own powerlessness, but he had never truly felt it—until that moment.
Since then, his repeated training with Seol had helped rebuild his confidence, but it didn’t erase his mistake.
The fact that he couldn’t even explain how serious it was to those around him only made the frustration worse.
“Sei.”
Duke Pantheon cautiously called out to me.
“It’s not something you need to hold onto so much.”
At those words, I unconsciously bit down on the soft flesh inside my mouth.
“…Alright.”
Right now, all I could do was put on a brave smile.
∗ ∗ ∗
I left the room with a heavy heart.
Letting out a small sigh, I lightly patted my cheeks.
‘Enough with the self-pity.’
I’d be better off training more with Seol instead of wasting time like this.
The monster wave crisis had been resolved, and now I could discuss with Raizen what to do moving forward.
Since the subjugation was over, Duke Luavis’ household would likely start making moves as well.
“Sei.”
Just as I organized my thoughts and started walking with renewed determination, I heard Raizen’s voice from behind me.
The moment I turned my head, he was already leaning down slightly to meet my eyes.
“…Hyung?”
Too close.
Startled, I instinctively pulled back.
Raizen stared at me for a moment before speaking.
“Are you okay?”
“…Huh?”
Tears suddenly streamed down my face.
“Wait, no, why am I—? Hyung, this is….”
Why was I crying now?
And in front of Raizen, of all people.
I hurriedly wiped my tears, but Raizen caught my hand.
He gently held it down, then tightened his grip just slightly.
“Hold on. You might feel a little dizzy.”
“Huh?”
Before I could react, I felt my body lift off the ground.
By the time my feet touched solid ground again, we were inside a cabin.
The same one I had once hidden in to avoid Raizen.
After seating me in a chair, Raizen brought over a thick blanket from somewhere and wrapped it around me.
My vision, which had briefly cleared, blurred again with fresh tears.
I let them fall freely, and Raizen—awkwardly—patted my shoulder.
He didn’t seem to realize that his touch only made me cry harder.
“…I must look so pathetic.”
If I couldn’t tell the whole truth, I should at least do something right.
And yet, here I was, just crying.
‘So powerless.’
There was nothing I could do on my own.
And yet, I knew far too much.
“Sei.”
“I hate this. I hate crying like this when I can’t even do anything right. But…”
Raizen, you said exactly what I needed to hear at this moment.
“Ah…”
‘So frustrating.’
I should be stronger.
I needed to take care of Raizen’s curse, and prepare for what was coming.
If this was all arranged by Baldur for my sake, couldn’t he have made things a little easier?
A little less painful?
It was only after crying for a long time that my tears finally stopped.
What replaced them was unbearable embarrassment.
“…Sorry, hyung.”
“What are you so sorry for?”
“Just… everything…”
If I wanted Raizen to like me, I should at least show him a better side of myself.
But I couldn’t even manage that.
I couldn’t handle my own feelings, so I kept running away, only to completely crumble whenever he got close.
“It’s okay.”
Raizen placed his hand over mine.
I could feel how much rougher and more calloused it had become.
“You don’t have to carry everything alone. I’m here… you know?”
Today, Raizen was saying all the things I had always wanted to hear.
If this were before, I would have just let myself collapse into his words.
After all, Raizen was stronger than me.
If I did nothing, he would take care of everything.
“…Thank you. For saying that.”
But I couldn’t let that happen.
No matter what, there was something only I could do.
Breaking Raizen’s curse.
“Sei, I just… I don’t want you to suffer so much. I want you to let go of the pain and find peace.”
His words were so sweet.
So sweet, I felt like covering my eyes and plugging my ears.
And yet…
Something felt off.
“Hyung. When I come of age, I’m going back to Seann Kreveta.”
I had planned to say it later, but I let it slip now, watching Raizen’s face carefully.
“Really?”
Raizen asked, as if he couldn’t believe it.
His face was so full of joy that there wasn’t even a hint of doubt.
So much so that it felt almost unnatural.
* * *
