A private room in one of the finest restaurants in the Empire.

The lavish table was dressed with red roses and candlelight, and even the wine had been specially procured for the occasion—the very best money could buy.

To anyone looking in, it was obvious that an extraordinary amount of care had gone into preparing the perfect setting for a confession.

And yet Noel felt cold inside.

The scent of truffles teasing his nose was so revolting today it made him want to gag. The string music drifting through the room, the wavering candlelight—everything suddenly seemed ridiculous.

Most ridiculous of all was Noel himself, the idiot who had arranged it all.

He stared blankly at the man seated across from him.

“So what you’re saying is… you want my brother Adrian?”

His hand tightened around the fae-stone ring hidden in his pocket, the ring he had intended to give him. His palm was damp with sweat as he asked again.

The man had yet to answer, but already the time and effort Noel had poured into this idiotic evening flashed before his eyes.

The ring alone had taken two full months to craft.

And to obtain the stone for it, Noel had secretly traded away the mining rights to one of the estate’s mines—a mine his father treasured.

It wasn’t as though Noel had loved this man with some all-consuming passion, the sort that made giving him everything feel like too little.

Still, he had thought he might make a decent companion for the rest of his life.

He had never laughed at Noel.

Never compared him to Adrian.

When he looked at Noel, his eyes had seemed to see Noel and no one else.

That had been enough.

Noel had been certain the man felt the same way.

Apparently, all those expectations had been nothing but the delusions of a lovesick fool congratulating himself over a romance that had never existed.

“…Yes, Noel. Do you think you could help me find an opportunity to meet Lord Adrian? You’re his only younger brother, after all.”

Noel was speechless.

Adrian.

Adrian fucking Winslow.

Even the last pathetic hope that he might somehow have misheard was crushed beneath the man’s answer.

All those sweet, shining looks Noel had thought were meant for him—

They had been meant for Adrian all along.

Do you have any idea what I did to arrange tonight? And what about the mining rights I gave up for you?!

Humiliation came flooding in a beat too late.

His face burned so fiercely he wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. The only mercy was that he hadn’t actually managed to say I like you first.

The urge to seize the bastard by the collar and shake him until his teeth rattled rose all the way to Noel’s throat.

But he had to hold himself back.

If he laid a hand on him and this ridiculous little scandal reached his father’s ears, Noel had no idea what kind of disaster would follow.

This time, his father had sounded serious when he threatened to cut off every last coin of Noel’s allowance if Noel dragged the family name through the mud one more time.

Even so, Noel couldn’t stomach this.

The bastard was practically glowing with excitement at the thought of using Noel as a bridge to a rosy little romance with Adrian.

Noel wanted to wipe that expression off his face.

How dare you humiliate me like this?

“Hah. So you’re asking me to play matchmaker for you?”

“Would you? Lord Noel, you care about me, so of course you’ll help me, won’t you?”

“What the hell are you talking about? Know your place. Do you think my brother dates just anyone?”

“…What?”

The man failed to hide his shock at Noel’s cutting reply.

Apparently, since Noel had always treated him as though he would happily hand over his own liver if asked, this sharp response had never even crossed his mind.

Seeing that dumbfounded expression made one corner of Noel’s mouth curl crookedly upward.

“Use your head. Do you seriously think the noble eldest son of House Winslow would date someone like you? The unimpressive third son of some count? You’d have to be an imperial prince at the very least to stand beside Adrian. Do you really think your turn is ever going to come?”

“H-How can you say something like that…?”

“Why? I’m only helping you face reality. Who the hell do you think you are, aiming that high?”

The man’s face mottled red and white beneath Noel’s razor-edged mockery.

The way his whole body trembled was almost funny.

His pride could crumble from a few harsh words, yet he had still dared to use the second son of House Winslow as a stepping stone to get close to the eldest.

“You’ve gone too far!”

“The only thing that’s gone too far is your arrogance.”

“Hah! I won’t forget this insult, Lord Noel Winslow.”

“Be my guest.”

The man bit down hard on his lip, huffed furiously, then finally shoved back his chair and stormed out.

Yet even after trampling him so thoroughly, the resentment clinging to Noel’s chest refused to fade.

What an infuriating bastard.

What an infuriating world.

Everywhere Noel went, it was his brother.

Brother, brother, brother.

Goddamn Adrian Winslow.

Adrian was the ducal heir of House Winslow, one of the Empire’s most illustrious magical families.

And, fittingly enough, he had been born with the makings of an Archmage.

He possessed overwhelming talent, impeccable refinement, and a beauty so breathtaking it could stop a person cold.

There was not a single flaw anyone could find in him.

And beneath that enormous shadow, Noel—who couldn’t even use magic—had always been nothing more than the hopeless second son.

But so what?!

That still didn’t mean he deserved to be treated like some extra standing in the background.

Still seething, unable to calm himself, Noel climbed into his carriage.

There was no point lingering here. All that would accomplish was giving people more material for rumors.

As the carriage rattled along, Noel grabbed the bottle of potent vintage wine he had taken from the restaurant and drank straight from it.

Red liquid spilled down his chin and soaked into his expensive silk cravat, but he didn’t care.

He had hoped the sharp, almost bloody scent of grapes mixed with alcohol would numb his brain.

Instead, the more he drank, the sharper his humiliation became.

His inferiority complex toward Adrian.

The mortification from moments ago.

And the indignity of his pitiful little crush being rejected before he had even confessed.

They blazed together inside him like a fire.

“AAARGH! This is so fucking infuriating! What the hell is wrong with me?!”

He slammed his fists against the carriage wall and screamed.

His chest felt so tight he could barely breathe.

More than a dozen people had already approached him because of Adrian.

There was a limit to how much people could look down on him!

Noel even started banging his head against the wall, but it did nothing to ease his rage.

The moment the carriage reached the castle, he kicked the door open and jumped down.

“Welcome home, my lord.”

The waiting servants bowed in unison.

Noel barely acknowledged them as he swept his gaze around.

There was no way word of what he had said to the count’s third son at the restaurant could have reached his father already.

Still, he couldn’t help worrying.

So Noel cautiously asked the butler,

“Where’s Father?”

“He left for the estate with Lord Adrian. Since he intends to rest there as well, he won’t return for another week.”

So he had been worrying for nothing.

Still, they had gone off to recuperate together without saying a word to him?

Noel had spent ages talking about how badly he wanted to travel around the estate.

And yet, as always, his father had taken only Adrian.

How very typical.

The sting of hurt, however, vanished almost immediately.

On a day like this, just seeing either of their faces would probably make his blood boil.

…Actually, this might have worked out for the best.

Leaving the servants behind, Noel headed deeper into the forest path toward the old detached house he used as his hideout.

It was the one place beyond his father’s surveillance and beyond the nauseating gazes of everyone who worshipped Adrian.

His only refuge.

With Father gone, he could finally stretch out on the sofa, drink the rest of the wine in peace, and wallow for a while.

Was there still some of that dessert he had left there last time?

Noel was halfway through planning how to soothe his wounded heart when he threw open the hideout door—

and immediately scowled.

“What the hell? Who are you to come crawling in here?”

As if the day hadn’t been bad enough, the strange boy his father had picked up not long ago was sitting on Noel’s battered old sofa.

When the boy noticed him, he awkwardly rose to his feet.

His fingers fidgeted nervously as he glanced sideways at Noel, as though trying to gauge his mood.

How the hell did he even find this place?

Had Adrian told him?

Already irritated beyond reason, Noel looked the boy over with even greater displeasure.

His name was Chase, wasn’t it?

Noel’s gaze was drawn almost against his will to the face beneath that platinum-blond hair.

Sharp, hollow cheeks.

Dark shadows beneath sunken eyes.

Dry, cracked lips.

Every part of him looked miserable.

And every part of him annoyed Noel.

When the boy had first been brought to the estate, he had looked like some starving vagrant on the verge of death.

Now he was dressed in expensive clothes, gilded and polished from head to toe.

The finery looked almost absurd on him.

Seeing it glitter before his eyes grated strangely on Noel’s nerves.

Just who the hell was this boy?

Why had Noel’s father personally brought him into the castle, fed him the finest food, had clothes tailored for him, and treated him with such extraordinary care?

Things he had never once done for Noel, his own son, simply because Noel had been born unable to use magic…!

Noel could not understand why his father would lavish that kind of kindness on some roadside stray who wasn’t even family.

Unless…

Had this boy also been born with some incredible magical talent?

Had he already stolen Father’s attention too?

The miserable thought twisted Noel’s stomach.

He already felt as though the entire world had rejected him.

Now even his one private sanctuary had been invaded.

Everything was unbearable.

“Are you mute? Why aren’t you answering me? Do you even know where you are? Get out. Now!”

Even after Noel shouted at him, the boy did not move.

He merely stared at Noel in silence while Noel stood there panting, reeking of alcohol.

That blank, emotionless gaze finally snapped the last thread of Noel’s reason.

It felt as though even this pathetic little nobody was mocking him.

“Hey! You think I’m a joke too? Answer me!”

“……”

“What, you don’t even want to talk to me because I’m not Adrian?! Answer me, you bastard!”

The boy simply kept his mouth sealed and stared.

And at last, Noel’s long-suppressed temper exploded.

All the misery and humiliation churning inside him lashed out in the wrong direction.

Noel violently kicked the heavy iron chair beside him.

CLANG!

The problem was that Noel was drunk enough to misjudge the distance.

Instead of sending the chair flying, the force of the kick threw him off balance.

His foot slipped.

His body lurched sideways.

And with a dull, sickening crack, his head slammed hard into the cold stone wall.

“Fuck… that hurts like hell—ghk!”

He had just started to curse and reach for his forehead when—

Chapter 1

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