In a large hall filled with historical, antique-style furniture, a man in a blue shirt with warm chocolate-brown hair was quietly working on his laptop while sitting on a beige velvet sofa. His honey skin perfectly complemented his hair. His posture was quite upright, and there wasn't a single strand of hair out of place.
As the saying goes—a house is a reflection of its owner—and it could be seen clearly just by looking at the man. He was calm and composed as his fingers moved steadily across the keyboard. Though he looked quite mature, it was still hard to guess his age.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
His fingers paused as he heard the sound of someone entering the password to unlock the main door—followed by the sound of footsteps coming closer.
He lifted his head slightly, glancing at the man who entered through the main door.
The newcomer had his face covered with a black mask and sunglasses. It was really hard to make out his features… and in addition to that, he was also wearing a cap, though it barely covered his long silver-blond hair.
"I heard you came back two days ago. Why exactly did it take you two days to see your own father?" the man frowned as he saw his covered face.
"And why are you still roaming around looking like that?"
His son lowered his head.
"I went to visit the old villa." His voice was soft—barely audible.
But the man still caught his words.
He paused for a couple of seconds and finally chose to change the topic.
"How was your visit to Nyvoré? Did you like it?"
"I trust Uncle Isaac's management." The boy's voice was steady and calm.
The man nodded, placing his laptop aside as he began to speak slowly.
"It was your mother's last wish… and it's also her final gift to you, so cherish it. Isaac has been handling it for you for years—now it's time for you to take command."
"Yes, Father—I will do my best not to disappoint you, Mom, and Uncle Isaac." His voice remained the same—pleasant but distant.
"Saelior, your father and Uncle Isaac only have you. Everything that is ours will be yours—sooner or later."
"I am aware of my responsibilities, Father." His head was still lowered, as if searching for something on the carpet.
The man sighed softly. He hadn't lifted his head from the very start…
"That's not what I mean, Saelior. The burden you're carrying… it will never let you move forward. How long are you going to hold onto something that wasn't even yours?" His gaze remained fixed on his son, as if trying to see through his mask.
Saelior finally lifted his head, took off his glasses, and calmly placed them on the table in front of him.
"Father told me to cherish the last thing Mom left for me… but isn't this burden also the last thing she left behind?"
His words were heavy, but his voice remained calm…
"I should cherish one thing and let go of another. But can I really do that?" His emotions seemed to be trapped in those steel-blue eyes.
His father turned to look away, as if trying to hide from something.
"I don't need you to compensate me in this way. Just live well, my child."
His voice almost sounded as if it were pleading.
"I am good. Everything is normal now. Don't worry, Father."
Saelior paused, waiting for his father to speak.
But his father stayed silent.
"I have classes tomorrow. My leave ends today. Then I won't disturb your rest any further."
Seeing that his father had no intention of speaking, he left after bidding him farewell.
The man was left alone. Everything was silent once again. He leaned back into his seat, resting his head against the back of the sofa. His eyes closed as his thoughts began to wander…
"Alaric… please give him a good life. All the grudges we have… I am taking them with me."
A very soft and gentle voice… like a whisper of morning dew.
"This is the only thing I want from you."
Her face was equally serene—so beautiful that it didn't seem real—
"Please… just this…"
But her eyes were filled with pain as she kept pleading… again and again.
The man's eyes opened again.
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Tomorrow is Valerian's birthday, and Eiran is currently packing the gift he prepared for him.
After thinking about it for hours, he finally came up with an idea—his painting would be delivered to Valerian at night, exactly after the day ends.
Every year, he would give his gift in person, but this time he is actually quite nervous… He wants to see what reaction Valerian would have and what expression he would make when he saw the painting.
He isn't exactly sure that Valerian would like his gift—but he still wants to give it to him anyway.
He lifted his hand to check the time on his wristwatch.
It's already quite late.
It's about time he showed up…
~
After an hour, his parcel was finally picked up. This courier service is specialized in delivering parcels at the time selected as per the customer's request.
But since paintings can be easily damaged if not handled properly—he decided to do the packaging himself.
His mom would probably be here soon too, since tomorrow is Valerian's birthday. And they will go there together as usual.
After a few minutes, Eiran was lying on his bed and scrolling through his phone.
Actually, he was checking out the latest paintings and artworks of a famous art gallery.
"What are you so concentrated on?"
He got startled by the voice that came out of nowhere and rolled backward on his bed in a rush.
He looked up at the intruder—
a sigh of relief escaped his peach-rose lips.
Eiran was so lost in his phone that he didn't realize his mom was standing in front of his bed at some point.
"Mom... you scared me to death!"
He couldn't help but whine.
But his mom only laughed seeing his pouty expression.
"Come on, my Ran, see who came with me and stop sulking!"
Mila's voice was full of laughter; she really likes teasing him.
He looked at his mom suspiciously and tilted his head to look behind her.
There was no one—
He huffed and made a face as if someone had wronged him.
"No one is there, Mom. Are you purposely making fun of me?"
"Look again."
A female voice came from the door suddenly.
He got startled again—
He almost instantly tilted his head to look.
There stood a girl—long brown hair, petite body, smooth milky skin.
Her coral pink lips curled into a mischievous smile.
Why do they suddenly keep popping up like that?
Eiran sighed and rubbed his face exaggeratedly.
"Mom? Elera? How did you both come in?"
Mila shook her head and tapped his head gently.
"What kind of question is that?
We had keys, Ran."
Eiran scratched his head and seemed to remember something.
"Ah yeah, I forgot. Sorry, Mom."
Mila ruffled his hair until it turned into a complete mess.
"It's alright. Now come here—we have great news to share!"
He once again had that suspicious look in his eyes as he looked at Elera and his mom back and forth.
"Huh? What is it?"
Mila saw the way he looked at them—so she decided to annoy him some more.
"Can you guess?"
Eiran tried to think for a few seconds... but failed miserably.
In the end, he could only ask her again.
"Mom, say it na."
He looked at his mom's smiling face—she was clearly making fun of him.
So, he decided to ask the party involved.
"Elera, do you know what it is?"
Elera hesitated and looked at her aunt first. She knew her aunt wanted to tease him—but she couldn't really support her in teasing her sweet little brother.
"Ran, actually…"
Eiran's almond-shaped eyes immediately lit up.
He knew Elera wouldn't deliberately annoy him!
"Hm, say, say. I am listening."
"Dad fixed my engagement."
Eiran's eyes widened in surprise—
but he recovered soon... it was unexpectedly expected.
When he heard Kael talking about it all... he knew there might be something going on.
But still...
"What? Seriously? No wonder Kael was asking about that!" Eiran exclaimed as he looked at Elera.
He never thought that the one getting engaged would be Elera.
Now there was one more thing he was worried about...
"Who is it?" Eiran grabbed her hands softly and asked.
It was very important to him. After all, he couldn't let his sister get married to a random man just for a little profit.
"That's exactly the surprise here!" his mom said—her excitement clearly written on her face.
"Mom! Don't make me curious now. Tell me already." Though he was serious now, he still couldn't help but whine in front of his mom, who particularly liked tormenting him like this.
"Alright, alright, I will say." Mila chuckled and shook her head.
"So…" She paused deliberately and saw Eiran looking at her eagerly. "Your uncle and Grandfather Lionel decided to form a business alliance through marriage between both families. They have been discussing this for a long time. And you know—Vale and Elera are going to get engaged tomorrow!"
Eiran's expression froze as he tried to comprehend what his mom had just said...
Mila eagerly waited for him to say something, but she frowned when she noticed him still standing there, completely silent.
"Ah? Why aren't you saying anything?"
As she finished speaking, she paused—as if she had just realized something.
"Oh... It happened all of a sudden. We wanted to surprise you, so we didn't say anything before. Sorry about that—take your time. I was also quite surprised when I got to know about it."
Elera's father told her about the engagement when she visited the main house. Before that, she had no idea about any of this.
At first, she thought Eiran might know—he and Valerian were so close, after all.
But Elera told her he didn't know yet...
"What did he say?"
The question cut through her thoughts.
"What?" Mila asked, feeling somewhat perplexed.
"Valerian… he knows?" Eiran lowered his eyes as he repeated the question. His expression remained controlled, almost calm… but his voice had turned quieter.
Something underneath it was trembling, waiting for an answer it didn't want to hear.
It was hard to read his expression, but only he knew how tightly he was holding himself together.
"Of course he does!" his mom replied, still unaware—maybe he had hidden it too well.
His eyes dimmed.
His knuckles curled reflexively.
So he knew...
And yet he—
"Your uncle Rowan said Valerian agreed instantly. In fact, he has known about it for a long time, and he is quite happy about it."
His mom continued speaking happily... but unbeknownst to her, each word landed like a blunt impact.
Eiran felt something in his chest tighten painfully, his tears threatening to fall.
He tried to listen—
But he couldn't.
Not anymore.
And he couldn't break either. Not here.
"I didn't even know our Elera and Vale liked each other. My observation skills are still so bad."
Mila patted Elera's back gently as she noticed her cheeks growing redder with every passing second.
"So... Vale will be my son-in-law now?" she asked playfully, making Elera shyly lower her head.
Eiran saw all of it... but it felt distant, like he was watching through glass.
Nothing fully reached him anymore.
All he could do was hold his expression.
She chuckled and turned to him again.
"You didn't know either, Ran?"
"Ah… yeah, Mom." Eiran smiled as he placed his hands behind his back.
His fingers clenched so tightly his nails pressed hard into his skin, drawing blood.
He turned to Elera, still wearing that perfectly gentle smile.
"Congratulations," he said softly. "I'm really happy for you."
But...
Was he happy?
Could he really be?
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