By Zephyria 
Clatter, clatter.
The sound of silverware hitting the white plate was sharp. It wasn’t actually that loud, but because the sound only came from one particular seat out of the six seats around the long dining table, it sounded even more chaotic.
“Ahem.”
Clatter.
“Ahem, ahem…”
Clatter, clatter.
“Ahem, Allen.”
My father, who had moistened his lips with wine, finally called out the source of the sound when it didn’t seem to decrease even after a few coughs. Allen flinched so pitifully that he even put the piece of meat he was about to bring to his mouth back on the plate.
Allen was decent enough at other etiquette that involved his body so that he wouldn’t be too embarrassed, but it seemed that it was still difficult for him to cut the meat with a knife that didn’t cut well and finish his meal elegantly without making a sound. It had already decreased a lot compared to the beginning, but it seemed that he was still far from meeting the standards of my father and other nobles.
“I-I’m sorry… I’m still clumsy…”
Was it because he had been severely scolded a few days ago due to the Daughter of Marquis Brienne and Lord Lauren incidents? Allen dropped both his fork and knife from his hands and hung his head low. My father, who was secretly regretting scolding Allen in his anger, was also at a loss for words and kept drinking wine, uncharacteristically.
An awkward silence cut through the six people of the Hamilton Count family like a knife. My mother, as if her heart was breaking at Allen’s dejected appearance, bit her lips tightly and stared at him, then turned her sharp gaze towards my father.
“You’re really, always… You’re always trying to find fault with him, why? You’re not happy with everything he does, are you? Huh?”
“Madam. It’s not that I’m like that… It’s just that Allen will gradually have more opportunities to have meals outside, so I thought it would be better to…”
“That’s enough. You just take care of that Noah you cherish so much. I’ll take care of our youngest myself.”
“Mother!”
“What is it, Andrew? Are you going to take Father’s side too?”
My beloved baby, our youngest, Noah. It hadn’t been long since I had been loved by my mother in that way, but somehow I had become no more than ‘that child’ to her.
Even if I could somehow coax the other Love interest, there was no way I could beat the affection of a mother who had carried him in her womb for ten months and given birth to him in pain. It was greedy to want everything. Let’s cleanly give up what we have to give up. It would only make me suffer if I foolishly held onto something I couldn’t have.
“Don’t talk to Noah like that…”
“Brother.”
I subtly stopped Andrew, who was about to say something more. I whispered to him so that only he could hear, “Brother,” and pressed down on his thigh under the table, and he quickly looked for me with surprised eyes.
“… …”
“… …”
I met his worried blue eyes and shook my head slowly. At least, it was a relief that there was still one person who sincerely cared for me at this table, within the boundaries of the family I had so desperately longed for.
“Haha, I think the main course is done. Shall we have some dessert?”
“…Yes. Let’s do that.”
Unable to bear the awkward atmosphere, Frederick finally spoke. The steaks on everyone’s plates were barely half-empty, but no one objected to his suggestion.
The dessert prepared was a soft pudding that could be eaten with a spoon. It seemed like it wasn’t what was originally planned, as the decoration was very simple and the taste was quite plain considering the chef’s usual skills, but again, no one pointed it out.
Allen quickly finished his dessert and left the table with an apology. His mother hurriedly followed Allen. She kept saying, “My baby, my baby!” while glaring fiercely at his father until the very end.
“Haa……”
As soon as the two left, Father’s deep sigh poured out. I quietly moved my chair and leaned my head on Father’s shoulder.
“Are you having a hard time these days?”
“No. What’s so hard about it?”
“I feel like it’s…, it’s because of me.”
“Tsk. I told you not to say such things. Please understand your mother a little more. Don’t hold any grudges against her.”
“Yes. Of course.”
These days, the atmosphere in this mansion was generally similar to the meal just now. Even though no one was openly trying to take sides, from some point on, sides were naturally divided into me and the Count, and Allen and the Countess. Andrew and Frederick were the same. If I had to say, Andrew was on my and the Count’s side, and Frederick was on Allen and the Countess’s side.
It was the first cold war, if not a cold war, that the Count and Countess, who had maintained a very peaceful atmosphere as nobles, unusually without any common mistresses or illegitimate relationships, had ever experienced.
“I’m the older brother. I’ll do better. Don’t worry about anything.”
“You rascal. When did you become so mature?”
The Count stroked the back of my hand a couple of times as I leaned my head on his shoulder like a spoiled child. I made eye contact with Frederick, who was sitting across from me. His green eyes, inherited from his mother, wandered aimlessly, and then.
“…I’ll get up first. I have to go to the Imperial Palace early tomorrow.”
He avoided my gaze and slipped away as if running away. I didn’t bother to stop him.
After the chaotic meal was completely over, I subtly told the servants to bring Allen some food that wouldn’t be too heavy on his stomach.
“I was worried because he didn’t seem to eat lunch properly earlier…. Oh, and since the Countess can’t sleep because of headaches on days when she’s annoyed, prepare some Lavender Tea in advance.”
“Yes, young master……”
The servant, who seemed to have worked at the mansion for quite some time and was somewhat familiar with me, answered politely, but with an expression that said he felt sorry for me. The fact that the war of nerves in the mansion didn’t become more concrete and ended with sporadic power struggles like today was all because of my actions.
I was hit and chipped away without resistance as the Countess got annoyed and criticized me nervously. Was I just being chipped away? Like someone without a soul, I took care of the Countess even more diligently. And Allen, of course.
Andrew had come a few times, frustrated, telling me not to go that far.
But my desperate one-sided love for the mother who raised me didn’t wane. My filial piety chased after the sun and withered like a dried-up sunflower under the scorching sun, enduring and enduring.
I’ve thought about it before, but as expected, affection that is too deep is the simplest and most effective means of hatred.
Whenever I was rejected by the Countess and secretly sobbed in a corner of the hallway, Allen’s social reputation steadily declined the next day. Of course, the atmosphere inside our mansion was secretly circulating among other noble families through the mouths of the servants who weren’t strictly controlled, but would rumors spread in just one day?
It only needed to reach one person’s ears. The Crown Prince, who was receiving daily reports on my movements through an informant planted in the mansion.
Allen’s social reputation dropped sharply day by day, far beyond the influence of his clumsy actions. Along with an ambiguous ostracism that couldn’t be pinpointed. Naturally, the method of that ambiguous ostracism was extremely familiar. It was exactly what I had suffered dozens of times.
When I saw Allen flustered and not knowing what to do in front of everyone, I felt more empty than relieved. It was because of the strong conviction that the Crown Prince had really taken action to straighten Allen up. It wasn’t that I hadn’t guessed it, but I still felt strange.
“Thank you. Don’t tell the Countess that I prepared it. She might…, she might not like it……”
“…Yes. I understand.”
“Okay. Please.”
As I turned around after leaving instructions, the servants’ pitiful complaints about how pitiful our young master was piled up behind me. I didn’t smile rashly. This was a kind of propaganda aimed at one person. That I had become so pitiful and pathetic. That I was so gloomy. Therefore, I was appealing to him to punish someone who had driven his Omega into such a corner of sadness with his ability.
When I returned to my room, the window was half open. A cold wind blew in, but I wasn’t surprised at all. Starting with the commotion a few days ago, the Countess’s behavior had become excessive…, I thought it was time for the person I was aiming for to come at least once.
“Are you okay? Your face looks very gaunt.”
“Your Highness……. What brings you here so late…”
The uninvited guest who secretly infiltrated through the window of my room was too high in status to be chased away.
“I just missed you a lot today.”
“I know you’re busy preparing for the New Year’s Ball……”
“So. Aren’t you happy to see me?”
“Ugh……”
I jumped into his wide arms as if diving, as if he was telling me to run and hug him. It wasn’t difficult to squeeze out tears even without using skills.
“Oh, my. My cute crybaby is bursting into tears again. Are you that happy to see me?”
“Yes…, very……. I missed you so much……”
This is just acting tailored to the Crown Prince’s taste. I barely added such an excuse to the pouring tears.
“This is… I should call you to the Imperial Palace as soon as possible.”
“You always just say that……. When will that be?”
“Soon. Really, very soon.”
The Crown Prince must have really taken some time out of his busy schedule, as he only repeated the same vague promises and soon left again. The back of my hand, where he left his last kiss, remained hot for a long time.
I lay on the bed and stroked the back of my hand that had been kissed several times, muttering blankly.
“…It’s strange.”
System is focusing on your voice.
“Both my brother and the Crown Prince……”
…….
“It can’t be genuine.”
…….
“If their hearts could be drawn in so easily with just this much, there’s no way they could have been so cruel to me until now……”
Poor Noah.
System wishes it could pat your head.
“It strangely feels genuine. Strangely…, I keep……. wanting to believe it.”
Would you like to believe them?