Suddenly, Willy lowered his head and slammed it against the table with a crisp sound, startling Deville so much that he almost jumped up.
"Young Master Vili, are you alright?!"
"fine……"
Vili reached out and rubbed his slightly red forehead, then slumped onto the table, his soft hair swaying slightly, looking somewhat listless.
Seeing him like this, the old butler felt a pang of sympathy.
Thinking about it this way, it's true that young master Willy has very few friends.
If His Highness hadn't been in hibernation, according to social protocol, a lively banquet should have been held in the castle to introduce the young master to the other vampires.
Or we can wait until later...
Before he could think of any words of comfort, Willie quickly cheered himself up.
Although Deville said that, in Willy's heart, Leisen was already considered his friend.
At worst... at worst, I can start making it up to him from now on!
The first step is to start with his hobbies!
Willy looked at the worried Deville beside him and asked:
“I’ve seen his old paintings… the ones signed ‘secret,’ but the last one is over a hundred years old.”
"He said he would no longer use that pen name, and that he was no longer a painter. Do you know why?"
Deville paused slightly, then slowly spoke.
"...I do have some recollection of this matter."
"Although he holds a very high position in the castle, Lord Leisen has hardly ever made any demands on us, except for one thing."
"He wants to compile and publish his collection of paintings."
“I’ve seen those paintings before… I must say, they are truly works of art.”
At this point, Deville couldn't help but sigh.
As a butler serving nobles, he naturally possessed excellent aesthetic appreciation skills.
"After obtaining His Highness's permission, I set about doing this. Once the collection of paintings was printed, it was praised and snapped up by many members of the royal family and nobles, and even the most demanding art critics were full of praise for it."
“Back then, some wealthy merchants even went out of their way to find Lord Lysen, just to offer him an exorbitant price to paint a decorative painting.” Deville stroked his beard and laughed. “But Lord Lysen didn’t care about his money.”
"What he needs... is recognition."
This was something he had never received since he came into this world.
Is it self-worth or a dream? These are things that people think about when they look up at the stars, but for Leisen, they have always been out of reach.
His name, appearance, and even his body are to be shared with another person, who may even be the first "user".
He was just a substitute.
Whenever he met Zephyr's gaze and saw his seemingly emotionless eyes, Leisen would tremble all over.
don't want……
Don't kill me.
He was the only exonerated member of the Scarlett family, but in his heart, he was the white sheep among black sheep, an outcast.
He should die with them...
But the desire to live was even stronger.
He lived on with this almost shameful inferiority complex.
Until those snowflake-like letters landed on the table, overflowing with praise that overwhelmed him, tears blurring his writing.
He found himself in the name "secret," which he chose for himself.
That was truly a wonderful time...
Deville had never seen Lysen like that before. No longer lowering her head to hide her face, she gently pursed her lips and asked him expectantly:
"Did I receive any mail today?"
Unfortunately... the good times didn't last long.
Lord Leisen's soul quickly fell into a deep sleep, and as Zefiri awoke, it was Prince Leisen who opened his eyes again.
Life in the castle was monotonous, but he soon noticed the changes in the room. He looked through the letters with great interest and then went to the secret studio to look at all the works.
As if his interest had been piqued, he stayed there for several days and didn't even have time to cause trouble for Zefiri anymore.
Given his background and talent for learning, he quickly became familiar with the painting tools of the era in just a few days and produced oil paintings that were no less impressive than those of Leisen.
Finally, he wrote the name "secret" in the place the other person was used to.
Deville tried to dissuade him... not from Prince Lysen, of course, but from Zephyri.
But the noble and powerful man lowered his eyes to look at the paintings, and after a moment, shook his head.
"...I have seen his paintings in the past."
"Despite using this pen name... he did not deliberately imitate Secret's style."
"They are different."
"But--"
Those people can't tell.
Deville was interrupted by Zephyr's wave of his hand as soon as he spoke.
Let him be.
He closed his eyes wearily.
It's no wonder he's his reincarnation... even in this respect they're identical.
But it was all too late.
It's too late...
The aloof king carries far too much in his heart—past, present, and future. He stands outside of the macrocosm of time, overlooking everything.
He can see all the vampires, but he cannot see the secret.
He could see the Hughes family, but he couldn't see Elijah.
He could see Lyson Scarlett, but not Zephyr Thun…
On the day he returns to the embrace of death, he will take his friends, whom he cannot tolerate, with him.
When will that day come?
Deville dared not ask, nor would he ask.
He simply lowered his head as always and answered respectfully:
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