By Zephyria 
“Why…”
Frederick, who had already turned halfway and was about to take a step, turned back again. And then… he asked me in a trembling voice, with the ends of his eyebrows drooping as if he was wronged.
“Why are you talking like that? Why are you so cold… like someone who’s determined to cut ties…”
He was right. I deliberately sharpened the end of my words more harshly and coldly. Whether it was my affection for him or his affection for me, if there was any affection, I was going to cut it off somehow, scrape it off, and not leave a trace.
“Are you very upset that I’m paying attention to Allen? But… you know… that I committed an unforgivable sin against him.”
“…”
“Can’t you understand a little? Even if that’s not the case, he’s also a precious brother to me. Of course, I know that Allen did something terribly wrong to you regarding Little Duke Graham, but still…”
“…”
“Can’t you be a little more generous? Huh? Noah, Crown Prince’s intentions and Little Duke Graham’s heart are all ultimately with you. So can’t you… pity him a little more…”
Suddenly, my cheek felt cold. I wiped it away, but it was impossible to clean up my completely soaked face. The remaining moisture cooled down, and the bright night wind painfully wiped across my wet cheeks. The sharp pain reawakened the drowsy mind.
Pity him? Who dares, who dares to pity whom?
“Ha, hahaha… Frederick Hamilton. I’m amazed that such words can come out of your mouth. You know very well how I’ve lived my whole life being tailored to his shadow. You’ve been watching me from closer than anyone else.”
“…”
“Even the name I have isn’t mine. No one even remembers when I was born anymore. But now, because the Crown Prince cherishes me… because the great nobles are red-eyed, wanting to take off my clothes, you’re telling me to be generous? To pity him?”
It was funny. Laughter burst out. I couldn’t stop it at all. Frederick had a foolish face soaked in tears, just like me, and stared at me as if I was being cruel. Does he feel that I’m being cruel now? Frederick. Frederick Hamilton, to me?
“Don’t you really know? That since Allen came back, the way Mother and Father treat me has completely changed… Didn’t you really notice?”
Even Andrew, who wasn’t very close to me, either physically or psychologically, until he realized his feelings, gritted his teeth and said to me as he watched me show favor to Allen. If you want to cry, just cry comfortably. Do you know how terribly your eyes scream every time you treat Allen?
“Can’t you even imagine how I feel, living desperately, trying to read their faces, wanting to be loved and cherished by them?”
“Ah…”
I didn’t have the strength to laugh out loud anymore, so I just sobbed as if swallowing my breath while bending over. Frederick finally let out a foolish exclamation after driving me to this point. No, Noah… His weak, trembling voice called my name once again, but his call. It no longer caused any agitation in my heart.
“You can pity your damn affectionate younger brother all you want, Sir Frederick. I’ll gratefully accept the gift. What are you doing? Hurry up and go.”
“I, that’s not…, that’s really not what I meant, so…”
“Aren’t you going? Then I’ll excuse myself first.”
On a peaceful day when Allen Hamilton finally received the Blessing, I was finally able to completely remove even the last bit of lingering affection from someone who had shared all my childhood memories. It was a cool night.
* * *
“Young Master. When will Lennox arrive… Ugh!”
Nicole, who was opening the door and coming in, screamed in surprise. The mischievous magician seemed quite satisfied with the other person’s reaction, and giggled while making a nasal sound. A strange figure sitting right in the center of the room, which should have been empty except for me, and waving his hand was enough to make my chicken-hearted attendant faint in surprise.
“As expected, there are still many interesting people in this mansion.”
“Lennox.”
“Ah, don’t worry. Among them, Young Master is the most interesting?”
Anyway, even after a long time, his bad personality was still the same. Nicole took a few deep breaths to calm her surprised heart, and I only stopped the wicked magician, who was trying to do something to tease Nicole even more, with my eyes. Lennox just smiled and smiled with a happy expression, wondering what to do with this, and finally gave up his greed at my harsh gaze and leaned back comfortably on the sofa.
“W, w, will the other guests also come this early…?”
Nicole was panting, but she didn’t miss the things she had to take care of. Today was the day of a small tea party I was hosting. Considering the dazzling attendees, such as the Magic Tower Lord and Lady Beatrice, it might be an error to call it ‘small.’
“No. Only this disobedient, mean-spirited magician came early, so proceed with the other preparations as originally scheduled.”
“Then, should I offer the guest some refreshments first…?”
“No. I’ll call you if I need you, so feel free to do what you have to do.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Lennox, who was watching me gently stroke Nicole’s hand with envious eyes, opened his mouth in an even more artificial manner as soon as Nicole left the room again.
“By the way, didn’t you miss me? I haven’t had a day without tears because I wanted to see my esteemed patron.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I know you came while I was sleeping and secretly peeked at me.”
‘System’ nods enthusiastically!
Emphasizes that human magicians have very insidious natures!
It’s been a long time since I saw him, but it probably hasn’t been that long since he saw me. Every now and then, when I woke up after sleeping soundly, the System would invariably ring with a kind notification that someone had come and secretly looked at me the night before. Since I rarely carried the mana stone, which was no different from a CCTV, he seemed to have gone to such lengths. According to the information the System gave me, it seemed that he really only looked at my face and didn’t do anything else suspicious, so I was keeping an eye on it for now.
“Hoo? You noticed that?”
For the first time in a while, a different light appeared in his red eyes, which had only been smiling. As if there was no way I could have noticed. Whether he did or not, I had already checked the type of magic he used to come see me through the System, so I didn’t feel any particular sense of crisis.
“If you come so often, how can I not notice? I saw you a few times in my sleep. At first, I thought it was a dream…”
That’s a lie. I slept soundly without waking up.
“I see. I’ll have to move more secretly in the future.”
“No, if you want to see me, just contact me and come visit me openly during the day. Why do you keep coming so secretly?”
If he was Lennox, a mere magic apprentice I was sponsoring, there might have been no way for him to come see me except to secretly come and see me, but that was different for him now. Everyone was restless, unable to meet him even once. If it was Lennox, the youngest Magic Tower Lord in history, who was so promising that he was dazzling, it would be my honor for him to come and find me first. He was a great magician whom even the Emperor couldn’t order around at will.
“Hmm, but that’s more thrilling, isn’t it?”
“You too…”
That’s it. I was a fool for trying to understand a madman.
Today’s meeting was also made possible after I sent a ‘official’ invitation to the magic tower because I couldn’t stand the unilateral meetings in the middle of the night anymore. The fact that the young Magic Tower Lord, who lightly ignored any invitation from high-ranking nobles, accepted the invitation from his former patron who recognized his true worth, spread like wildfire in the blink of an eye.
It was so difficult to meet Lennox that even Beatrice, who had never asked me for a favor in her life, cautiously asked if she could join us for a while. So I decided to gather a few close people and have a tea party. I had things I wanted to ask anyway.
“Anyway, thank you. Thank you for readily agreeing to attend even though I said I would change it to a tea party. Everyone is looking forward to it.”
“If someone like me can be your pride, I’m happy to do so. Please call me anytime.”
Perhaps the most powerful magic he could use was this smooth talk. I admired his smiling face, which seemed to be acting cute inappropriately, for a moment… and then asked with a bright smile.
“But why did you do that?”
“Yes?”
“To Carlisle and me, why did you do that?”
It was time to settle the overdue debt.