I hate the title ‘young master.’ If asked what my least favorite word in the world is, I would immediately answer ‘young master.’

“Try calling me properly again. You know my name, so why are you doing this?”

“…..”

“Oscar. It’s Oscar. You can speak comfortably too….”

I slowly pronounced my name as if teaching a child. Zachary, who had been watching my reaction, carefully opened his mouth.

“Young master.”

Zachary called me ‘young master’ again, albeit in a small voice. I still disliked being called ‘young master,’ but this time, I curled the corners of my eyes.

It was probably the first time I had smiled even when being called ‘young master.’ Obsessively observing Zachary’s reaction, I didn’t miss the small change that appeared in his eyes.

In Zachary’s eyes that had called me again, I could clearly see emotions rippling like waves.

“…It’s fine. Do whatever is comfortable for you.”

When I smiled, Zachary glanced at me sideways. The person in front of me was truly Zachary. Not just Zachary in appearance, but the real Zachary.

I didn’t know about others, but I knew how rich his expressions were right now. An ordinary person might ask what kind of change this was, but each of Zachary’s small reactions felt special to me.

See? How could yesterday’s events be a dream? It doesn’t make sense.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes.”

Apart from his expressions and tone, the biggest change was that he responded. Zachary answering my questions.

It must have been bothersome for him, but I couldn’t stop asking questions.

It was fascinating. Although it was dry and devoid of emotion, it still felt like having a conversation.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep first after saying I wanted to talk yesterday. Ahem, yesterday I was like that….”

Looking back, it was too embarrassing. As soon as I examined Zachary’s body and confirmed he was okay, I burst into tears.

It’s a bit… cringeworthy. Objectively speaking, it should have been Zachary, who had finally escaped from adversity, crying, but the one who actually cried was me.

It had been a full four years.

To make a slight excuse, I had also suffered mentally as much as Zachary during that time. Because for those long four years, it felt like standing on the edge of a cliff every day. I think the reason was that I felt relieved and my tension suddenly loosened yesterday.

‘By the way, is he awake? Since the magical formation was undone, he must have awakened, right?’

Yesterday, I was too excited to think properly, but as my head cooled down, I belatedly started noticing strange things.

Judging by his prompt responses, it was true that the magical formation had been undone. Previously, his gaze was unfocused as if looking at a distant mountain or hazy as if submerged in water, but now it was different.

The sparkling eyes seemed to have regained his sense of self after waking from the magical formation.

And the attitude Zachary was showing. Although still reserved, that appearance was most similar to Zachary when I first met him. Even back then, Zachary had been scared, but he had dealt with it smartly to survive. Even now that the magical formation had just been undone, he seemed to maintain his reason rather than being angry.

‘So, shouldn’t he be spitting on this shitty Serpentine family and hurrying to escape by now?’

But Zachary was still here. He was even wearing a perfect servant attire and tending to me.

‘Why?’

Even if I generously assumed that the original story’s flow had been slightly twisted because I had helped him, it was still strange.

Putting aside not escaping right away, did he need to tend to me in servant attire like this? Was it because he was confused since the magical formation had been undone not long ago?

Just then, a small basket filled with several damp handkerchiefs caught my eye.

“Did you take care of me all night?”

“Yes. You seemed very uncomfortable… I apologize if it was rude of me.”

“Rude….”

I looked at Zachary with a displeased face.

My condition was already bad, and on top of that, I had cried my eyes out, so my body was even more of a mess. If Zachary hadn’t been cooling me down in between, my condition would have been worse than it was now.

However, I couldn’t just feel grateful.

‘Could it be that the magical formation hasn’t been fully undone?’

That’s right. What I felt strange about was Zachary’s attitude towards me. The way he took care of me was the same as when he was consumed by brainwashing.

Why was he still calling me ‘young master’ and tending to me even though he was freed from the magical formation?

‘Or maybe he couldn’t leave because the awakening is not complete yet. There are no visible physical changes either.’

I had heard that when awakening, there would be physical growth, but there were no significant changes in Zachary’s body. Well, if he grew any more, that would be a problem in itself…

“Hmm.”

I slightly extended my neck and stared intently at Zachary’s neck.

I slightly parted the bandage with my fingertips and looked inside. I could see the faded magical formation. It was definitely shattered.

After all, there was no way I could judge whether he had awakened or not. I had a body that couldn’t sense divine power. Only the imperial family of the Holy Empire and some of its citizens could sense divine power. So no matter how hard I tried, it was impossible for me to detect divine power.

‘I don’t know. Even if the magical formation has been undone, if the awakening isn’t complete, it’s impossible to escape like in the original story, so maybe he’s quietly staying until he awakens.’

…If it’s as I assumed, it’s a bit scary.

He wouldn’t try to kill me like in the original story, right? Suddenly, everything that had happened so far flashed through my mind, and a chill ran down my spine.

I looked at Zachary with suspicious eyes. As someone who remembered the original story to some extent, it was an inevitable suspicion. The Zachary I had seen in my childhood seemed innocent and kind. But didn’t his personality turn violent in the original story due to years of harsh torture and a difficult life?

“Ah. You were a bit close.”

But the current Zachary… didn’t seem violent at all. It must have been uncomfortable for him to have his body pressed close while I was examining the bandage. But he just tilted his head slightly and gently lowered his eyes.

His gentle face somehow looked cute. I absentmindedly smiled and stroked Zachary’s hair. Only when I saw Zachary lower his head a little uncomfortably did I realize my mistake.

“Sorry.”

The habits I had developed from being with Zachary for a long time didn’t go away overnight. Including examining his magical formation or touching his body.

“From now on, I’ll be careful with these actions too. …No, I won’t do it. You must have been very uncomfortable all this time without being able to say anything.”

How frustrated must Zachary have been? No matter how uncomfortable or unpleasant, he wouldn’t have been able to express it properly after being subjected to the magical formation. As I stepped back, feeling embarrassed, Zachary raised his head and stared at me.

Unlike a moment ago when he was reacting slowly, his actions were a bit faster. I widened my eyes and looked at him.

“That.”

Zachary, who had started to speak, stared at me intently for a moment. Unlike before, he slightly furrowed his neat brows. But soon, he sharply turned his gaze to the side and spoke firmly.

“It doesn’t matter at all.”

I was a little impressed, although I didn’t show it outwardly.

It was because I thought Zachary was truly kind. He could have questioned my actions and blamed me for why I had undone the magical formation so late. Seeing him like that made me feel even more apologetic.

Still, the situation had changed now, so I had to be careful. It was true that I had been rude to him all this time.

“No. There will never be such a thing again in the future.”

“Young master.”

“This isn’t the time for that.”

I got up from my spot and tapped the bed.

“Do you want to rest here for a bit? You must have lost sleep because of me.”

I was eager to ask him various things right away. However, regaining stability came first. Since he had been asleep for a long time, his energy consumption must have been significant. Above all, I didn’t want to push Zachary, who had just woken up.

So I tapped the spot next to me where he could lie down, but Zachary just stared at my face without any movement.

As I was wondering why he was just staring at me like that, I suddenly came to my senses. No matter how much I had helped him, wasn’t I also a member of the Serpentine family?

“Ah, no. Rest comfortably here alone. I have to go have a meal anyway….”

With an awkward expression, I opened my mouth but couldn’t finish my sentence.

As I faced Zachary, who was quietly staring at me, his expressionless face somehow felt annoyed at the moment.

No, beyond annoyance, it even felt quite menacing. I trailed off and slowly backed away as if gauging his reaction. Seeing me slowly moving away, Zachary moved his lips as if to say something. He soon ran his hand through his hair and let out a deep sigh.

“Haa….”