ISTV 10

“I heard Lady Seila is the most graceful in the Devernon family—guess it’s true.”

To think such dignity and warmth could coexist.

Matthew stole a glance at Seila.

“If you keep sneaking glances, I’ll kill you.”

“…Pardon?”

“What?”

“Just now, young master, you said—”

“I didn’t say anything. Hurry up and fix those buttons properly.”

Though Garen seemed a little annoyed that Matthew was fixing his buttons, he didn’t resist too much.

After the buttons were straightened, Seila rose from her seat.

Seeing Seila approach made Garen visibly brighten.

“What? Did I mess up again?”

“No, it’s not that. Mary, bring what I asked for.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Mary, who had been standing at the back, stepped forward and handed her a small gift box.

Garen’s eyes widened.

“What’s this?”

“A gift. Open it.”

Garen’s face split into a wide grin.

With slightly clumsy hands, he tore the wrapping to reveal a small navy-blue necktie inside.

“A tie?”

“A gift for your coming-of-age ceremony.”

Seila picked up the tie and began to fasten it around Garen’s neck.

“It suits you.”

“Really?”

Seila nodded and smiled warmly.

“Promise me. You have to wear this tie at your coming-of-age ceremony.”

“Okay.”

Garen laughed to himself for a while, then suddenly said,

“Hey, Seila… Uh, never mind. It’s nothing.”

“Tell me.”

“No, really. It’s nothing.”

But he kept saying “uh, you know…” and trailing off several more times.

“You know…”

—Just say it already, you idiot.

Seila shouted that inwardly, but outwardly, she waited for her frustrating brother with a composed and graceful demeanor.

“You won’t be able to come to my coming-of-age ceremony anyway, right? I mean, I’m not saying you have to. Of course your brother’s appointment ceremony is more important.”

Huh? Appointment ceremony? What’s he talking about?

While Seila was still puzzled, Garen continued, looking awkwardly concerned.

“Not that I really care. I don’t. Really.”

In The Girl and the Hero, the game starts when the heroine Aileen comes of age, so the events prior to that aren’t covered in detail.

Still, basic background and character setups were essential, and Garen had his own narrative arc.

‘He’s not quite like me, but Garen’s also the black sheep of the family.’

He was designed to be a genius in combat magic.

But since the mage world traditionally looked down on combat magic, Garen never got the recognition he deserved.

To make matters worse, his eldest brother, Demian, was too outstanding.

‘It was because of Demian’s natural mana sensitivity that he fell under the mermaid’s enchantment last year.’

Normal people can’t even hear a mermaid’s voice.

Only the most gifted, hyper-sensitive mages are affected.

To be enchanted by one means your magical senses are finely tuned to an extreme degree.

‘He’s a prodigy in all areas of magic.’

Garen lived constantly under his brother’s shadow—and would continue to do so.

‘Garen’s coming-of-age ceremony was always overshadowed by Demian’s departure ceremony.’

Demian was eighteen now.

He had already had his own coming-of-age ceremony two years ago and was now a fully grown adult in every way.

He currently served as the captain of the Devernon family’s most elite magical knight order—the Dawn Knights—and was soon to depart to defend the northern seas against a monster wave.

Monster waves occurred regularly in the North Sea, with hordes of beasts rushing ashore in a natural disaster-like event, and the Devernon family had always stood at the front lines to protect humanity.

‘Garen’s coming-of-age would be lonely.’

And on top of that, an incident was set to occur during the ceremony—where he’d end up punching a friend who was celebrating alongside him.

That friend? A boy named Kusmo—who would one day become a close ally of the villainous Seila.

‘But wait—an appointment ceremony, not a departure one?’

That’s not what I remembered.

Apparently, Demian wasn’t going on the expedition.

‘The story’s changed.’

I knew that the story could shift—after all, I was a new variable.

Over the past year, I’d influenced a lot and caused plenty of ripple effects.

Like how even the servants, including Matthew, were scared stiff of me.

But Demian was a completely separate element.

Aside from that one time I saved him from danger, we hadn’t interacted at all.

It’s not like my possession of Seila’s body erased the monster waves in the North Sea.

‘So why did it change?’

It didn’t make sense to me.

But maybe the core storyline hadn’t changed completely—after all, Garen’s coming-of-age was still being held alongside Demian’s ceremony.

‘So now he’s going to be an adjunct professor at Somarphi Academy?’

Demian not going didn’t mean the wave couldn’t be stopped.

And this year wasn’t expected to be particularly severe anyway.

‘But why Somarphi Academy?’

I thought hard but still couldn’t figure it out.

Anyway, time passed, and the day of Garen’s coming-of-age ceremony and Demian’s appointment arrived.

The mansion was buzzing from dawn.

“Did you hear? He’s the youngest adjunct professor ever.”

“I heard he might become a full professor in a few years.”

“He’s amazing.”

All eyes and attention were on Demian.

Naturally, Garen’s ceremony wasn’t seen as very important.

He climbed into a carriage with his personal servant, Matthew, and quietly asked:

“What about Father?”

“He didn’t say anything, sir.”

“Right. Got it.”

Garen smiled like it didn’t bother him and looked out the window.

He muttered under his breath.

“I’m fine. Really.”

His brother’s event was more important.

The trees blurred past, their leaves thinning as autumn deepened, casting a somber tone.

“We’ve arrived, young master.”

They had reached the temple.

Many other noble children were gathered in the plaza outside.

Some held bouquets, others had received fancy perfumes.

Many were surrounded by their families.

One of them spotted Garen and approached.

“Oh? Garen!”

“Hey, Kusmo. Long time no see.”

Kusmo looked around, puzzled.

“You came alone?”

“With Matthew.”

“Matthew?”

“My servant.”

“What? Then your family? Oh, I guess they’re just running late.”

Kusmo was well aware that today was Demian’s appointment ceremony.

Holding a lavish bouquet, he beamed brightly.

Noticing Garen was empty-handed, he grinned and added:

“Looks like your bouquet hasn’t arrived yet. I can’t wait to see what kind of grand bouquet the Devernon family will bring. Must be impressive!”

In The Girl and the Hero, Kusmo repeatedly provokes and mocks Garen, until Garen finally punches him.

Kusmo, bitter from the incident, later sides with villainess Seila and helps bring down the Devernon family.

‘And I think I had around seven death flags related to that storyline.’

When we arrived at the temple, Kusmo was already starting to push Garen’s buttons.

“Hmph, it’s not like I need a stupid bouquet.”

“What are you talking about? A bouquet at a coming-of-age ceremony is symbolic—it shows love, blessings, and hopes for the child’s future.”

Kusmo laughed heartily and patted Garen on the back.

“Don’t worry. It’s not like the Devernon family would forget your bouquet. It’s not like you’re some adopted stray or illegitimate kid.”

Just then, Seila arrived in front of Garen.

“Brother.”

“Huh?”

Garen jumped in surprise when he saw her.

“What are you doing here?”

“It’s your coming-of-age ceremony.”

“W-Well, yeah, but… Didn’t you go to our brother’s event?”

“There are already enough people there.”

“But you…”

Garen felt like something was different about her today.

In fact, most of the people their age at the temple were now glancing at Seila.

“What?”

“You seem… different somehow.”

Usually, she wore comfortable clothes for sword training. But today, she wore a formal red dress.

Her normally tied-up red hair flowed down in waves, and she had on silver earrings she rarely used due to the hassle.

Seila could feel the eyes of many boys and girls on her.

And honestly, she didn’t dislike it.

‘So this is what it’s like to be stunningly beautiful.’

She thought she wouldn’t care for the attention—after all, she was technically a middle schooler by Korean age standards—but it felt better than expected.

‘This is… kinda thrilling!’

Being admired by peers was surprisingly pleasant.

‘To think I’d live to feel something like this… and even enjoy it.’

Still, her excitement remained masked by poise.

To those around her, Seila looked completely unfazed by the attention.

She smiled gently and asked,

“Really? How am I different?”

“Well… um…”

Garen cleared his throat and then quickly blurted:

“Yu-look-great.”

“…What?”

“Youlookverynice.”