By Zephyria 
Officially, the only time the Crown Prince and I had met was a year ago when I was summoned to the Crown Prince’s palace for a formal audience, so it was natural for strangers to find it strange. I was flustered for no reason, stuttering, ‘I, I, I don’t know, d-d-did I?’, and only sweated. I could lie well to other people with my eyes wide open, but I couldn’t do that well in front of Nicole or Mrs. Seymour.
Anyway, as a result.
Currently, I, in the form of Nicole Seymour, was down in the kitchen, and Nicole, in the form of Noah Hamilton, would be taking a nap in the room.
One strange thing was that, even when I used the artifact as the Crown Prince had done, I still saw myself as my own face and Nicole as Nicole’s face.
Considering that it was an item from the imperial report and that the Crown Prince had been using it without any problems so far, the artifact’s function of manipulating the perception of the viewer to make them see the wearer as the desired appearance was clearly working well, but still.
‘Wow, wow. Our real appearances have changed? It’s so amazing!’
Fortunately, even Nicole, who had been reluctant until the end, was busy exclaiming in amazement as he looked at the two of us reflected in the mirror, so I was proceeding as I wanted, at least for now.
“We can’t stop the seasons that come back every year without fail, so what should we do…”
“Tsk tsk, that’s what I’m saying. Every time I see him getting thinner around this time, my heart doesn’t feel good. The living still have to live.”
The servants couldn’t hide their worries about Grand Duke Graham and sighed deeply. To outsiders, they were members of the Graham family, who were rumored to be demons, but to those who were mixed into their territory, they were simply superiors who were worthy of respect and service.
Anyway, now that I had confirmed it, it was time to move to the place where the target was. I hastened the busy movements I had been making since earlier a little faster. As a result, the tray, which was already making a lot of noise, became even busier.
My hands, which were taking care of the teapot, teacup, and silver cutlery, were simply clumsy. The servants of the Grand Duke’s family in the kitchen moved skillfully without even the slightest noise, but only my side was noisy like a duckling dropped among a flock of swans.
“But who is that person? Judging by his hand movements, it doesn’t seem like he’s been properly trained…”
Someone, unable to overcome their curiosity, whispered to the person next to them. They were trying to ask in a very small voice so that it wouldn’t reach my ears… but unfortunately, the tidy kitchen was all quiet except for the sound of me clattering, so I heard it very well.
“Shh. Be quiet. I heard he’s the servant of the youngest son of Hamilton.”
Usually, servants were almost like aides or secretaries who were in charge of the owner’s official duties, unlike other servants who were in charge of simple chores. So, it was not impossible that they could be clumsy in taking out refreshments like now, even if they were in charge of administrative tasks such as managing assets or organizing the numerous invitations that came in and planning the owner’s schedule.
As I calmly cut the cake as if I hadn’t heard anything, the servants continued their story as if relieved.
“By the way, even if he’s a servant, isn’t that a bit too much?”
Ugh… Sorry, Nicole…
It seems like I’m only tarnishing the reputation of Nicole, who is so professional at this because he takes care of everything I do.
“He’s going to spill everything in the hallway before he even gets to the room…”
“Hmm… That’s true.”
“Should we help him?”
“Don’t, don’t. Haven’t you heard that the servants of the nobles in the capital have high noses? If servants like us talk to them first, we might get scolded!”
I didn’t feel the need to correct the misunderstanding, so I just took the tray and carefully left the kitchen. It had been so long since I had lifted anything heavier than a book that my wrist was trembling. Sigh… It wasn’t easy being a servant, which I had thought was easy.
Stagger.
“Hick…!”
Another stagger.
“Ugh…!”
And finally, crash!
“Aaaah, no!”
I finally lost my balance just before reaching my destination and screamed, ‘Noooo!’, just then. I closed my eyes tightly and was just showing off my loud voice when someone caught my chest firmly and stably from the front. The tray, which had been shaking aimlessly like a ship hit by a storm, was also safely landed in the hands of someone I didn’t know.
“T-Thank you…”
Wow. It had been a long time since I had been this surprised. I reflexively muttered my thanks and slowly opened my tightly closed eyes, but somehow the area right in front of my eyes was empty. Someone had definitely caught me… What was it?
As I looked around with a questioning gaze, I heard a ‘ahem, ahem’ sound of clearing throat from below. My head and gaze naturally drew a heavy parabola, swooping downwards.
“…Hmm.”
There stood a tiny little pebble of a kid, whose head barely reached my chest, with a blank expression. Still firmly holding my body with one hand, and a tray piled high with various desserts with the other.
“Hee-eup…! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
I hastily stepped back as if I had seen something I shouldn’t have, bowing my head repeatedly.
“……”
Such a difficult voice to hear. Even just looking at his expression, one could feel his cold and antiquated character. The pebble took another step back and silently scanned me up and down. I felt the stinging gaze and bowed my head even more respectfully.
“I’m really sorry… I’ve committed a crime worthy of death…”
Unlike the voice that was whimpering about committing a crime worthy of death, a smile that I couldn’t suppress kept trying to form on the lips that were uttering those words.
“…Well, not quite a crime worthy of death.”
Despite his appearance, which seemed to be only about twelve years old, his tone was quite mature. Jet-black hair darker than the night sky, and calm, ashen eyes that seemed to be gloomily sunken.
“A-Are you forgiving me…? I’m not going to die, am I…?”
“……”
This uncute kid, who didn’t even think about answering when someone spoke to him and just nodded his head once again, was none other than.
“Thank you, Young Master!”
Carlisle Graham, the very person who made me come all the way to this remote place.
Who was Carlisle Graham? He was one of the capture targets in
Carlisle Graham and Adrian Pearson had contrasting characteristics that could never mix like water and oil, no matter how you looked at it.
If Adrian Pearson was an older Alpha with flamboyant blonde hair, bewitching purple eyes, and a nasty temper hidden behind smooth talk, Carlisle Graham was a younger Alpha with dark black hair, indifferent ashen eyes that seemed to not even open his mouth even if someone was right in front of him, but in fact, his inner emotions were more delicate than anyone else.
As the sole heir of the only Grand Duke family in the Empire, he grew up unbelievably old-fashioned, reciting the set rules like the Bible. Despite being the youngest of the main characters, just listening to what he said made him feel like an old man with only a few days left to live.
Carlisle, who didn’t even realize that he was stifling himself, came up to the capital to make a mark on the Emperor and nobles two years before his coming-of-age ceremony. And there, he encountered Allen, who was celebrating the Day of Blessing around the same time.
The game was already criticized for being absurdly easy and lacking plausibility, but Carlisle was particularly severe in that regard.
To him, who had only lived as a guardian of living rules and traditions, Allen, who had been missing since childhood and had only recently returned to the family by chance, was a vibrant figure who knew nothing of aristocratic etiquette, was dazzlingly alluring. Because it is human nature to vainly yearn for what one lacks.
Of course, Allen didn’t just seduce Carlisle with his bouncy and lively appearance. As the protagonist of the game world, he monopolized inexplicable luck and miracles simply because he was the protagonist, and nibbled away at Carlisle’s weak spots.
Anyway, he hasn’t changed at all since the last time I briefly passed by him. He hasn’t grown at all. It’s amazing how a kid who is noticeably small even among his peers can grow like a bean sprout.