9

It had been a few days since he'd started staying here, and perhaps because Alric was so busy—given that after a war there were always so many things that needed to be settled—it was understandable that he hadn't come back to the house. In fact, if he never returned here at all, it wouldn't have surprised Silas. But every day, exactly at midnight, Silas could hear footsteps approaching, stopping abruptly in front of his room, and the door would creak open just enough for light from the hallway to spill into the room. Silas had a habit of turning off the lights when he slept, and though he wasn't someone who fell asleep quickly, he found Alric's behavior a little odd. He waited for Alric to call his name or say something, wondering if there was something he wanted to say, but nothing ever came.

It was as if the man were standing there, waiting at the door. Silas could hear the relieved breath Alric would exhale, and after a few seconds, the door would quietly close again. From this, Silas knew that every night, Alric came back to this house, no matter how late he returned—he always came back here.

Alric had also mentioned that he spent more time here than at the mansion, so it made sense that he would be more comfortable sleeping in this house.

Today, however, was a rare occurrence. They both woke up rather early and met at the dining table for breakfast. Alric was the first to greet him. Perhaps Silas was being a bit dramatic about all of this, but he still wasn't accustomed to interacting with Alric—he couldn't quite believe that Alric had said "good morning" to him, greeting him right after he woke up.

Alric had been staring at his face the whole time; it felt a little awkward.

"Silas."

"Huh?" Silas, who had been picking up his utensils, paused for a moment. He hoped it wasn't obvious that he was a bit startled when his name was called.

"Yesterday, I was busy with a lot of things, and my father mentioned that our mining operations will expand since much of the northern territory is now under Lichtberg's domain. I'll be busier handling that, but don't worry, I'll finish it as soon as I can and come back here right away. For now, my father is going to check on the situation, so I'll have a few free days to relax with you here."

Silas' mouth hung slightly open, his ears seeming to malfunction.

Could the man in front of him really be Alric von Wittenheim? The man who had always been so stingy with words was now speaking without pause, his eyes focused intently on every inch of Silas' face, as if not wanting to miss a single expression.

"Excuse me?"

Silas reflexively asked in his shock, not quite able to grasp this sudden shift in behavior.

"I said I'll be busy next week after my father returns, but don't worry, I'll bring you something you like. Is there anything you want? I heard there are lots of peaches and pomegranates in the northern region. You like peaches, right? Ah, I mean, who wouldn't like ripe peaches? I know I do…"

"..…..."

Silas was still flabbergasted. This made him unable to stop recalling his memories from when they were in school together. At the exclusive noble school, there was a rule that while they were at school, their statuses were the same, so calling each other by name was a normal thing in that environment—things were different once they were outside school, where hierarchy would apply. Because of this, many sons and daughters of lower ranking nobles tried to approach Alric at school, as they would never dare do so in public spaces.

Many tried to approach Alric, attempting to start a conversation with him, whatever it was. They repeatedly tried to involve him in discussions, but it seemed the man could only offer brief responses.

'Alric, we're going hunting later. Isn't this so exhausting? Shouldn't we be focusing on our academics at school instead of having a hunting schedule? By the way, what kind of animal are you planning to target?'

To the person who asked, Alric just stared straight ahead, not even looking at his conversation partner. All that came from his mouth was, 'Shut up.'

And then the conversation ended just like that.

Alric's voice was mostly heard only when he was assigning school tasks or answering questions from the teachers.

So hearing Alric speak in full sentences, staring at him without taking a single breath, made Silas almost think the man before him might be a hallucination.

Only when Alric called his name again did Silas close his mouth, which had been left slightly open.

"Are you afraid being alone in this house?"

At the question from Alric, Silas quickly shook his head. "It's not that! No! I was just thinking about something..."

"You know, you don't have to be afraid. Freud always keeps watch around this house, and although he's old, he's very strong. He was a battalion commander in the military, you know. So you don't have to worry. And Karen is good with weapons too. Besides, no one can easily enter Wittenheim's, so you don't need to be afraid."

"I told you, I'm not scared at all!"

What Alric said was somewhat surprising, but when he thought about it, of course, the people working for the Wittenheim family weren't just anyone—there were standards to be able to serve the grand duke.

Ah, really... then, what were you thinking? I won't stop you from speaking." Alric shook his head slightly, tearing the bread in his hands. "So you don't have to be nervous. I like hearing you talk."

"...That, actually... I don't know how to say this to you without offending you."

Silas swallowed, took a glass of water, and drank from it. Alric waited until he had finished speaking.

He sincerely hoped Alric wouldn't be offended.

"I... I'm afraid... you might be offended by this, and I would understand, but... ugh, how should I say this... you... you're very different from the Alric I used to know."

Alric's hand froze. His face remained expressionless—clearly, it was his default demeanor.

"I mean..." Silas hesitated, struggling to find the right words. "Of course, I can't just assume that, considering I've been stuck on how you were back in the dorm. And for years after, we barely saw each other, never interacted, and you were away at university, so there was never a moment for us to converse. There was nothing to discuss... So right now, I'm just a bit surprised that you're so different ... Sorry."

The latest word was a whisper, barely audible.

"Different?" Alric's lips curled into a faint smile, so subtle that it hardly seemed like a smile. It was more a mere lifting of the corners of his mouth. "Could you clarify what you mean by 'different'?"

"You used to be cold, rarely spoke, and people were afraid to be near you because you didn't like being touched."

"True. Even now, I still don't like when people speak to me or touch me."

"You also despised omegas."

"Hmm, that's debatable. I don't despise omegas... or more accurately, I'm trying to rid myself of my prejudices."

"... I've never seen you speak to anyone with such lengthy sentences like you're doing now."

"Yes, you're right, Silas. Naturally, you'd think I'm different from who I was back in Waldtal, but Silas, that was a long time ago... I'm over twenty now, of course, I'm not the same person I was as a teenager."

"... You have a point."

"You don't like this side of me? You may speak up if you're uncomfortable."

"It's not that!"

Silas reacted a little too aggressively, causing the table he'd accidentally struck to tremble, making the food on it shift slightly. Seriously, why was it so difficult for him to keep his manners in check? If a teacher had seen him, his hand would've likely been smacked with a long ruler.

"So, if not, then what is it?"

Silas straightened in his seat, spreading jam on his bread while his eyes flicked back and forth between the bread and Alric's still expressionless face. The man before him was still Alric, his blank expression betraying the cold and arrogant son of a duke.

But—

"You're no longer that arrogant, madman—ugh."

His hand quickly shot up to cover his mouth, and in his panic, Silas avoided looking directly at him, muttering an apology.

For the first time, Alric let out a laugh that made Silas's eyes widen. It was a sight so rare, it felt like it happened only once in a century. No, this was the first time Silas had seen Alric laugh, and it seemed as though his eyes were too heavy to blink.

Thump—

Huh, Silas instinctively pressed his hand to his chest, confused as to why his heart was suddenly pounding with such a familiar feeling.

"Of course, I'm no longer like that. Didn't I tell you? I want to be your friend."

Alric stopped laughing and leaned his chin on his palm, smiling at Silas. The smile made Silas's heart beat even faster than before. He could feel the blood rushing to his head, as if it might boil his brain. Silas quickly averted his gaze, taking a bite of his bread while lowering his head.

No way.

He knew what this feeling was. In fact, it seemed like this feeling had never truly left him.