"A person sent from Roaquin is expected to arrive today."
"Do you think they caught on?"
"They’re travelling with a merchant group that regularly visits Schwarhan, so their presence likely went unnoticed."
"In that case, we should start preparing to move soon.”
Cabelenus looked down at the unfolded map.
Several locations were marked in red on the map.
"Be ready to proceed as soon as the deal goes through."
“Will you take action right away?”
“There’s no point in wasting time. It's better to move before they have a chance to prepare."
“I understand. Then—”
Knock! Knock!
Gazeff frowned at the knocking sound that interrupted him.
“Roaquin shouldn’t have arrived already…”
“I called for him.”
“Your Highness did?”
"I have something to say to that kid."
“By ‘kid,’ do you mean the young master?”
A subtle change flickered across Gazeff’s face.
Michael often came looking for Cabelenus first, but the reverse rarely happened.
He couldn’t even guess why Michael was suddenly summoned to the office.
“What’s with that look?”
“Your Highness has never been the one to seek out the young master first.”
"Has that been the case?"
Cabelenus rested his chin on his hand.
“Yes. That's right."
Gazeff nodded without hesitation.
There was already a quiet expectation in his eyes.
“Come to think of it, Michael did come on his own without us having to look for him."
“Sometimes, it wouldn’t hurt if Your Highness took the initiative.”
“It’s not about taking the initiative. I intend to apologise.”
"Pardon?"
For a moment, Gazeff blinked slowly, wondering if he’d heard wrong.
But Cabelenus looked perfectly composed.
“I promised to apologise.”
“With whom did you make that promise…”
Gazeff trailed off at the face that suddenly came to mind.
There was only one person who could get Cabelenus to apologise.
・・・・・
"You said you have something to say. If you’re going to say it, say it quickly."
‘Do you have any idea how busy I am?’
Michael narrowed his eyes sharply.
But despite the urging, Cabelenus’s lips wouldn’t part.
“Mister.”
“Wait a moment.”
“You’re the one who said you had something to say first, Mister.”
“That’s why I’m acting like this.”
Cabelenus furrowed his brows.
He had decided to apologise to Michael but didn’t know where to start.
After all, it was about something that happened while Michael was still in Alicia’s womb.
Apologising for something the other person didn’t even know about was daunting.
“If you have nothing to say, shall I just go now?”
“Wait a moment. I’ll say it soon.”
“You’ve been saying that since earlier.”
“...”
“Do you really have something you want to say to me?”
Michael raised his eyebrows sharply.
Meeting the boy’s unusually persistent gaze, Cabelenus sighed deeply, wondering who the boy took after.
"...Sorry."
“Huh?”
“I said I’m sorry.”
“...”
“I made a judgment on my own and almost put you in danger. I’m sorry.”
Maybe it was because he resembled Alicia.
Whenever Michael stared at him like that, his mouth would go dry for no reason.
It was just words, but the moment he uttered the brief apology, his heart sank.
“…Mister, are you crazy?”
The child, who knew nothing, openly showed his displeasure.
"Who are you calling crazy?"
“Obviously you, Mister.”
“...”
"There’s no way you’d apologise to me unless you're crazy."
Michael openly showed his disgust, brushing down his arms as if trying to shake off goosebumps.
"…Who exactly do you take after to be like this?"
“My mum.”
“Your mum isn’t like that.”
Cabelenus firmly drew the line, and at the same time, Michael puckered his lips.
“Mum says I take after her.”
“Your mum is much better than you.”
“Mister, didn’t you call me here to apologise to me?”
Michael made a sulky expression.
"I originally intended to. If only you hadn’t called me crazy."
“Think about how you usually behave. Who would willingly accept your apology now? That’s why it’s not possible."
Michael got down from the sofa and stood in front of Cabelenus.
Cabelenus raised one eyebrow as he looked at the child, who was much smaller than himself.
“Mister, that’s not how you apologise.”
“...”
"Be honest, Mister. How many times have you actually apologised? Could it be that you’ve never apologised even once?"
"…I have apologised before."
Cabelenus swallowed the rest of his words and subtly turned his head away.
No matter how much he racked his brain, the memories of apologising to someone were few enough to count on one hand.
“It’s okay. Even if you’ve never done it before, I get it. You just don’t look like the apologising type, Mister.”
Michael patted the back of Cabelenus’s hand as if doing him a favour.
Unsurprisingly, deep wrinkles formed on Cabelenus’s forehead in the process, but the child didn’t care at all.
“I’ll teach you well. Mum said ignorance isn’t a sin.”
“…Do you even know what ‘ignorance’ means?”
“Hmm, probably something good, I guess.”
“...”
“Enough of that. Come here quickly. I’ll properly teach you how to apologise.”
Michael grinned triumphantly and beckoned to Cabelenus.
Cabelenus sighed deeply but bent down to Michael’s level.
“How do I do it?”
“First, you have to clearly say what you did wrong.”
“I can’t say that.”
“Why? Can’t you say it? Mister, are you really sorry?”
The clear eyes were like a mirror.
Cabelenus clenched his fist tightly as he saw his own reflection in the child’s eyes.
He couldn’t tell when he had started feeling this way.
But it had been quite a while since the child, who once felt like a parasite stealing from Alicia, no longer felt that way.
“…I think I’m starting to understand why you irritated me.”
“See? I knew you weren’t really trying to apologise to me after all.”
“You’re the one who provoked me.”
“I never did that.”
“No. You did provoke me.”
“...”
“Because you were the moment I was ashamed of.”
Cabelenus gave a bitter smile.
His unease with the child’s presence was ultimately linked to the events from eight years ago.
“…Are you ashamed of me?”
As if he hadn’t just raised his voice, the child quickly tucked his tail and looked around cautiously, prompting Cabelenus to let out a bitter laugh.
The face that looked like it was about to cry was unmistakably that of a child.
Nothing more, nothing less.
It took a long time to acknowledge and fully embrace that simple truth.
“I’m not ashamed of you.”
“...Really?”
“I’m ashamed of myself.”
Cabelenus slowly reached out his hand.
And, awkwardly but gently, he wiped the tears gathered at the corner of the child’s eye.
"I'm sorry, truly."
He added the words that should have been said a long time ago.
・・・・・
Michael kept fiddling with the pendant.
Even though he pretended otherwise, a small smile escaped as he looked at the pendant around his neck.
Inside the pendant, hidden behind the picture, was an emblem engraved unlike before, it depicted a crest fluttering like a flag from Schwarhan Castle.
“Michael, what’s got you so happy?”
“Uncle!”
Michael beamed and nestled into James’s embrace.
“What were you doing that made you smile all by yourself like that?”
“I wasn’t really smiling.”
“Then?”
"I was just looking at something.”
Michael tried to keep a calm front and raised his head, but he couldn’t hide the smile lingering at the corners of his mouth.
“Do you want to see it too, Uncle?”
“This is...”
James’s expression shifted subtly at the object held in the child’s hand.
“The pendant I lost last time — I found it.”
“…You found the one you lost?”
“To be exact, he said the original was broken, so he made a similar one.”
“Similar? This thing?”
James barely swallowed the words that almost slipped out.
The child looked excited, unaware of anything, but to the sharp eyes of the painter, the difference was clear.
At a glance, the pendant looked similar to the one Michael wore, but upon closer inspection, it was completely different.
Unlike the previous pendant, which was hollow inside and easily worn down, this one was solid and exquisitely crafted without a single flaw.
It was clearly not a common mass-produced product, but something carefully made by a craftsman. It would easily fetch the price of a house or more.
Just from that alone, it was obvious who had gifted the pendant.
“Michael seems to have gotten pretty close with that man.”
“We’re not close.”
“Really?”
“I’m the one playing with him. Mister’s got a bad temper, so he probably doesn’t have any friends.”
Though he spoke curtly, Michael’s cheeks were tinged with a rosy blush.
James pressed his lips firmly together and opened the locket pendant.
Inside, just like before, was a picture of Alicia’s mother.
‘There’s probably a picture of that man behind it.’
James squeezed his eyes shut.
He couldn’t forget the arrogant man’s sneering smile directed at him.
There was nothing he could refute.
Cabelenus was honest with his feelings, but he wasn’t.
Even if he boasted about the past eight years, that was all it amounted to.
The familiarity gained from watching only made him realise how powerless he was.
If there was absolutely nothing at all to lose, maybe it would be different — but losing a relationship that was already established was a frightening prospect.
“...Does Michael like that man?”
“Hmm, to be honest, I don’t dislike him.”
“…You don’t dislike him?”
“Mister is like a wizard from a fairy tale who grants any wish. Even if he says nonsense, he always does whatever I ask.”
Cabelenus never gave him a house in the end, but he did buy him plenty of candy.
Whenever Michael said he wanted something, Cabelenus readily nodded, and though he showed signs of annoyance, he never once let go of the hand he held.
“If only Mister had a better personality, he’d have a lot of friends. He’s talented at many things yet has no friends, so it’s probably because of his character.”
“He’s talented at many things?”
“Yes. So many that it’s almost annoying.”
“...”
"So for now, I’m going to keep an eye on him. I feel like it’s important to find out if he really is a good match for Mum or not."
Michael carefully took the pendant from James’s hand.
Under the light, the pendant reflected light and sparkled, but when he covered it with his hand, it no longer shone.
"So, Michael, would you be okay if that man became your dad?"
"It’s not exactly okay. To be honest, I’m more on the side of not liking it."
Michael shook his head without hesitation.
“You don’t like it? Why?”
The corner of James’s mouth twitched slightly.
“It feels like he’s taking Mum away from me.”
“...”
"I love Mum the most in the world, but I don't like him because it seems like he feels the same way. I'm afraid he'll take Mum away from me."
No matter how many nice things that mister gave, he could never take his mum's place.
Alicia meant everything to Michael.
The idea of sharing the mum who had been with him since before he was born didn’t sit well with him.
"Then why are you just watching? If you don't like it, just say so."
“But… Mum likes him, you know.”
“...”
"Mum told me that’s what love is. It’s about caring more for the other person’s happiness than your own. So, I decided to open my heart a little more."
“I love Mum more than anyone else in the world."
Michael puffed out his chest and smiled proudly.
But James couldn’t bring himself to look at Michael and turned his head away.
Even though he knew he shouldn’t, he couldn’t suppress the emotions writhing inside him.
"...Then what about me?"
“Huh?”
"What do you think it would be like if I became your dad?"
“Uncle? I’ve never really thought about that before…”
Michael hesitated, nervously pressing his lips together.
"You said I’d make a better dad than that man, remember?"
"But you’re my uncle. How can my uncle become my dad?"
James ran a hand roughly through his hair under that gaze.
“I’m not your real uncle, after all. So—”
“What are you two doing over there?”
“Mum!”
Spotting Alicia, Michael immediately ran over.
“Michael, what were you doing?”
“Mister gave me a present today.”
“A present?”
"My pendant! The one I lost, Mister had a new one made and gave it to me. Look at this — Mum’s painting is exactly the same inside."
“It really is exactly the same. Michael, you’re so lucky.”
Alicia hugged Michael and smiled warmly at James.
James watched that smile and swallowed hard.
Only then did he realise.
Thinking it was enough just to be by her side was a foolish notion.
The feelings he held were different from the child’s true heart.
No matter how beautifully it was wrapped or carefully worded, once the layers were peeled back, greed was ultimately hiding inside.
He didn’t want to admit it, and he wanted to insist that he was different from a man who knew no shame — but in reality, he wasn’t all that different.
In the end, the face that came to mind in this moment was that of the shameless man.
He was truly envious.
That man who had everything and still managed to take Alicia away — everything came easy to him.
Because of that, he hated him all the more.
And then there was the woman who said she resented him, but in the end, she smiled at Cabelenus.
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