I genuinely wanted to die. What kind of grotesque reaction was this, considering the poor boy was in pain?

I knew blaming someone else was wrong, but I couldn’t help but feel resentful toward Zachary. Was I like this from the start? Absolutely not.

But it was largely because Zachary kept touching me like dough and nibbling on me with his mouth.

‘No matter how much I blame others, in the end, I’m the trash here.’

I was the one aroused, so I couldn’t blame Zachary. The more I blamed him, the more I felt self-loathing.

At least it was fortunate that the curtains made the room relatively dark. If the light had been shining brightly, my flushed face would have been fully visible. I subtly crossed my legs and lowered my head, slowly retreating. Thankfully, Zachary just stared at me without pulling me back.

“Go to sleep.”

My voice probably didn’t tremble.

I felt mortified and wanted to die. My neck was undoubtedly red too.

With an effort to appear nonchalant, I covered Zachary’s eyes and brushed his long, tousled hair back. Zachary slowly grabbed the hand covering his eyes.

He seemed about to say something to me.

“…Why?”

I asked curiously, but after a long time of just moving his lips, he eventually said nothing. He simply hugged me.

With a bright red face, I was busy covering Zachary’s eyes. After a short while, Zachary began breathing evenly, indicating he had fallen asleep again. I slowly withdrew my hand, revealing his peaceful face.

‘Finally, he’s asleep.’

Come morning, Zachary would again serve me as if nothing had happened. He’d exchange a few words with me, and life would return to its usual calm.

Seeing his peaceful face made me feel guilty for having such corrupt thoughts.

I turned my gaze away from the sleeping Zachary. At the end of my line of sight were two books, now worn from too much reading, that Erhan had given me.

‘I wonder if Erhan is doing well.’

Even mentioning his name felt awkward. After being summoned by the duke that day, I hadn’t been able to meet Erhan.

The next day, Erhan left a letter saying he was staying outside the mansion, and then he disappeared from the mansion without any further explanation.

I had no time to look for Erhan. I had to take care of Zachary, who was suffering from the aftereffects of the curse, while also being wary of the duke. Leaving the mansion to find Erhan was out of the question. I was once again isolated, busy taking care of Zachary.

However, this time, I wasn’t completely isolated.

‘I should write replies now.’

Watching the sleeping Zachary, I slowly slipped out of his grasp and tiptoed to the desk. I carefully lit a candle and quietly took out the hidden letters from the drawer.

Among them were letters from Isaac, who kept in touch with me, and people from various families.

‘Is it because I became an adult? There are a lot of congratulatory letters.’

I picked out the letters that required a response first.

There was a reason I exchanged letters despite not participating in social activities.

Even in this situation, I couldn’t just collapse. For the past few months, I had somehow maintained contact with the outside world.

Was it because I wanted to befriend people? No. There was only one reason I continued exchanging letters with them.

‘I needed a family that interacted with the Holy Empire.’

Of course, maintaining correspondence wasn’t easy.

At first, those who responded well stopped replying or sent only invitations when I didn’t show up in social circles. But Isaac and one other person continued to reply. That person was Genevieve Raven.

Genevieve Raven was the woman who had proposed an engagement in the invitation sent by the Raven family.

Our continued correspondence began from a small event. I had attended a Raven family banquet for three hours. I didn’t meet Genevieve, the proposed partner, nor did I attend the hunting event. I was too worried about leaving Zachary alone, so I quickly returned to the Serpentine mansion.

‘Back then, I didn’t know what might happen to Zachary at home.’

I had written a letter apologizing for my abrupt departure, and she had sent a gift in return, thanking me for showing up at all. After confirming the nature of the gift, I felt compelled to continue the conversation. It was blue salt, something that only existed in the Holy Empire.

The blue salt of the Holy Empire was of much higher quality than regular salt. Even the royal family, who disliked the Empire, acknowledged its quality, using it frequently in high-end restaurants and the royal kitchen. Rumor had it that the Raven family gave blue salt to all their visitors.

‘This is solid evidence that the Raven family interacts with the Holy Empire.’

If they gave it as a gift to all visitors, it must have been a huge amount. This meant the Raven family was likely the one importing the salt.

Thus, I endeavored to continue exchanging letters with her. Fortunately, through our correspondence, I realized she knew more about trade and political matters than I had anticipated, making it a suitable topic for our letters. So, we continued exchanging letters up to the present day.

‘This time, she’s written a lengthy analysis.’

Genevieve Raven’s latest letter was about the various spices currently popular among the public and their effects on price fluctuations.

I chuckled. Who would think this was a love letter? Why had Genevieve Raven proposed an engagement to me? From the content of her letters, it was clear she had no romantic interest in me.

“Oh.”

I must have been lost in thought for too long. I almost wrote the wrong thing in the letter. Smiling wryly, I continued the reply.

[…I look forward to having the opportunity to meet you at an upcoming banquet.

Recently, I have taken a keen interest in the items the Holy Empire trades with our royal family. I am currently studying the structure and flow of the Empire’s currency distribution.

I hope for a time of deeper discussion and exchange in the future. I am sharing the list of books I have recently read. I am curious if you are also reading any trade-related literature. If you have any recommended books, I would appreciate it if you could include them in your reply.]

I had exchanged a good number of letters with her. It was about time to bring up the Empire.

‘I have to send Zachary back.’

I still hadn’t given up on sending Zachary back.

Zachary couldn’t go back to the Empire on his own. Not fully awakened, he seemed to lack both the will and the means to return due to the lingering effects of the curse. But if I personally delivered him to the Holy Empire…

‘There should be no issue.’

I trusted that the Empire, advanced in divine power, would be able to lift the curse properly.

Then, Zachary wouldn’t need to suffer from the constantly renewing curse, and his strange behavior towards me would cease.

‘And most of our family members could survive.’

Since I was the second son of the Serpentine family and had been forced to comply with the kingdom’s orders, I might receive some leniency. If Zachary vouched for me, we might save the lives of most of our family members. Except for the duke, of course.

‘The duke… is likely to die.’

I wanted to save the duke.

But looking at the curse marks he had placed on Zachary, it seemed inevitable. I felt sorry for repaying his kindness with ingratitude, but this needed to be corrected. Before Zachary, who had become a greater calamity, could massacre the kingdom and innocent people.

I smiled bitterly, sprayed my perfume on the letter, and sealed it before placing it in the drawer. Suddenly, my fingers touched the letter my mother had sent to congratulate me on becoming an adult.

‘Time flies so fast.’

I had become an adult before I knew it. Zachary, who was my age, had also become an adult.

Turning around slightly, I saw Zachary sleeping peacefully. Despite the bed being quite large, it seemed small due to his size.

I leaned against the desk for a moment. Watching the sun rise and brighten the room, I gazed at Zachary, lying there like a painting. Resting my chin on my hand, I realized how much his features had matured since we were children.

“…Oh.”

I didn’t know how long I had been watching. Zachary slowly opened his eyes. As if tickled by the sunlight, he rubbed his eyes and suddenly widened them. Then, in an instant, he sat up and looked around wildly. It seemed like he was ready to jump out of bed.

Why was he acting like this? Confused, I widened my eyes and watched. Zachary, breathing heavily with anxiety, stopped all movements when his eyes met mine.

‘Sleepwalking?’

As we stared blankly at each other, Zachary opened his mouth.

“My Lord.”

His voice was hoarse. Unlike usual, his hair was disheveled as he looked at me for a long time and then carefully opened his mouth.

“It’s time… for breakfast.”

It was rare for me to wake up first, so was he flustered? It was still too early to prepare breakfast. Yet Zachary, mentioning breakfast, was so endearing that I burst into laughter. All the while, he kept his unwavering gaze fixed on me.

“Yes, let’s go.”

And so, another ordinary day began. For the past few months, even though Zachary suffered at night from the new curse, nothing unusual happened during the day…

“Oscar.”

…except today.

“Are you really considering getting engaged to the Raven family’s daughter?”

Huh?

My mother’s bombshell question left me speechless.