Inside Aydin’s Room.
Aydin sat quietly in a chair with a book resting on his lap. The curtains were drawn, yet the room was softly illuminated by the glow of magic lamps.
Knock. Knock.
“Come in.”
“Excuse me, young master.”
The door opened and the maid Vesper entered, carrying a small tray of snacks and a glass of milk.
Vesper and Isolde were among the maids who had accompanied the marquess’s family on their journey and now served them in the capital.
She placed the tray on the table and turned to leave when Aydin spoke.
“Vesper.”
“Yes, young master?”
“Can you tell me what a femboy is?”
Aydin asked casually but the question caught her off guard.
“Young master,” Vesper said with a strained smile, “Madam instructed us not to speak about such things.”
She wanted to escape immediately.
Aydin smiled and tilted his head slightly. “Come now, Vesper. We have a deal, don’t we?”
The cunning smile—so ill-suited to his age—made her expression twitch.
“Young master,” she said carefully, “it is better not to learn about such matters before your mana awakening.”
“You may simply tell me what you can,” Aydin replied calmly, “without violating the intent of Mother’s instructions.”
Vesper sighed in resignation and began to explain, carefully omitting their true nature.
After listening quietly, Aydin summarized, “So, during the benediction ceremony, some boys turn into what people call sissies.”
“And everyone considers them… filthy and ominous.”
“Yes,” Vesper nodded.
Aydin fell silent.
‘From Father’s reaction, ‘very bad’ is clearly an understatement.
‘I always felt that Father and Mother kept a certain distance from me.
‘I thought it might be because I am not their own child. Mother and father tried to hide this fact and although I still don’t know the entire details, I still figured it out.
‘This must be why.
‘They likely don’t want to grow too attached.
‘No… it may not be just me. It might be the same for Victor. Or perhaps for all boys.
‘Parents probably keep their distance from their sons before awakening, in case they turn into one of those sissies.
‘So, I too have the risk of turning into one of them?
‘But why are they considered bad luck and sinful?’
Watching Aydin think so deeply, frowning, Vesper spoke gently, “But I don’t believe you have anything to worry about, young master.”
“Why?” Aydin lifted his head.
"Well, this is known to very few people in high positions and is ordered to be kept hidden. Thus it would be problematic if others find out we know this.
“So, please keep what I’m about to say a secret,” she added quietly.
“All right?” Aydin nodded.
“Those who become sissies often show certain ... .girly traits from a young age,” Vesper said. “They are more girly than any normal girl out there.”
“I see,” Aydin said, nodding thoughtfully.
“But why must this be kept secret?”
Vesper remained silent, smiling, as if she was waiting for Aydin to figure it out on his own..
Suddenly, a troubling thought crossed Aydin’s mind.
He swallowed as he tried to verify. “Vesper.”
“Yes?”
“Do parents… kill their children who turn into sissies?”
Vesper smiled thinly. “You truly are, intelligent, young master.”
“Not everyone,” she continued. “But such cases exist.”
“That is why this analysis was ordered to remain hidden. Otherwise, people might begin killing innocent boys even before their awakening ceremony, just based on fear, prejudice, and misunderstanding.”
Aydin’s eyes widened.
‘Very bad’ doesn’t even come close.
‘Just how deeply are they hated? Why?
‘And this maid… she just admitted this information is known only to a select few.
‘She is literally saying ‘Think why does a mere maid like me know it?’
‘Why don’t you just put a banner on yourself and scream to everyone ‘I am suspicious?’
‘She is not trying to hide at all. Is she deliberately revealing this to spark my curiosity? To hint at her own connections?
Aydin pressed on, “Does this only happen to boys? Does nothing like this occur with girls?”
Vesper’s smile widened.
“Of course it does,” she said. “But—”
Knock. Knock.
The unexpected knock at the door interrupted their conversation.
Copyright © [January] [2026] [The Rainy Imp]. All rights reserved.
Before Aydin could give permission, the door opened and Victoria stepped inside. A faint frown appeared on her face seeing Aydin and Vesper together.
“Then, young master, I shall take my leave,” Vesper said quickly.
She bowed as she passed Victoria, slipped out of the room, and quietly closed the door behind her.
Seeing her escape, Aydin sighs, thinking,
‘I wanted to ask more but…’
Aydin had many questions left unanswered, but he knew his mother would not entertain them. He would have to wait for another opportunity.
‘From the looks of it, I will have nothing to do with any of this.
‘The world is always riddled with so many problems. Entangling with things unrelated to me seems troublesome and a waste of time.
‘let's leave it at that. Better to spend my time on something else.’
Aydin thought.
“Aydin,” Victoria said sharply, “what was she doing here?”
The sudden sternness in her voice caught him off guard.
“She came to deliver my snacks,” Aydin replied.
Victoria glanced briefly at the table, where the snacks and milk rested untouched. Still, her interrogation continued.
“I heard that recently you and Vesper have been spending a lot of time together in the library.”
Aydin blinked, unable to understand her sudden indignation. “Yes, she can read and write, and she enjoys books.”
“So I asked her to help me organize my notes and sort through the collection,” he added. “Is something wrong, Mother?”
“Aydin,” Victoria said slowly, “you are a boy approaching adulthood. It is natural to feel curiosity toward the opposite sex. However, no matter what, you must not involve yourself with a maid. Do you understand?”
Aydin tilted his head, genuinely confused.
Seeing the innocent
I truly don’t understand what you mean
expression on her son’s face, Victoria hesitated. For a moment, she wondered if she had jumped to conclusions.
Yet she knew Aydin well.
He was difficult to read—too difficult. Even now, she could not tell whether his confusion was sincere or simply a way to avoid trouble. The uncertainty irritated her slightly.
“Regardless,” she said, brushing the matter aside, “now that your marriage has been settled, you should spend less time with people of low status.”
“Ha… okay…” Aydin replied absentmindedly.
Then—
“…Wait. What?” His voice rose unintentionally. “What do you mean my marriage is settled?”
His shocked expression greatly soothed Victoria’s lingering frustration.
With visible satisfaction, she said warmly, “Your father and I discussed this earlier. After your sisters complete their ceremonies, noble families will begin seeking their hands. It would not be wise to leave the matter unresolved.”
“So we decided it would be best to announce that they will be marrying you.”
Aydin pinched the bridge of his nose. His mother’s
casual announcement disguised as just for your information only, you have no right to refuse,
gave him an instant headache.
‘I have so many things I want to retort at what you just said, I don’t even know where to begin.’
he thought.
“Mother, let me clarify.” he asked, trying to understand the current situation. “You and Father want me to marry both Regina and Hilde.”
“Yes.”
“After the ceremony, you will host a celebration and introduce them to the aristocracy of the capital.”
“Yes.”
“And you plan to unofficially announce in casual conversations about this engagement so as to avoid unnecessary complications.”
“Yes.”
Aydin paused.
“…Aren’t we siblings?”
Aydin asked despite knowing that they are not related by blood. But they still have the same family name. And Victoria too never once mentioned he is not their own child.
Victoria replied without hesitation. “It is common in this world to marry within their family. Many aristocrats do so to preserve their bloodline purity.”
“The impoverished do it because no one else is willing to marry them.”
“There have even been cases of parents marrying their children.”
She continued calmly, as if reciting history.
“In this kingdom, only the king or the head of a noble house—or their spouse—may govern their territory. Proxies are permitted, but they come with severe limitations.
“Because of this, in one of the noble houses, a mother married her underage son and ruled in his stead. Later, when he came of age, he took over, and together they had three children.
“Once, in the royal family, both the king and queen died in an accident while the prince was still young. The elder princess married her younger brother and ruled until he came of age.
“She later bore two children. Unfortunately, the prince died after his awakening, before ascending the throne.
“So the queen married her son and bore another child.
“That son became the next king.”
Aydin blinked.
He speculated, ‘Perhaps the elder sister killed her parents… and later her brother.
‘Or perhaps after his awakening, he became a femboy—and was quietly eliminated.’
Victoria went on, “In marriage, the most important factor is whether the girl is willing or not.
“So, once you
complete your awakening ceremony without issue
, and if Regina and Hilde agree, we will proceed.”
Aydin blinked twice more. Then, pointing at himself, he asked blankly, “What about my opinion?”
Victoria narrowed her eyes.
“You have a problem with what your father and I have decided?”
Her expression clearly conveyed:
Go ahead. Say you object. Let’s see how that ends.
Cold sweat trickled down Aydin’s back.
“No—no, Mother,” he said quickly, shaking his head.
Victoria was immensely satisfied by her son’s abandoned-puppy expression.
‘I should tease him more often,’
she thought.
“Good,” she said aloud. “Then it’s settled.”
Outwardly calm, she was barely holding herself together inside. She could hardly wait to return to her room, laugh herself breathless, and share the moment with her husband.
Victoria turned and left.
Aydin remained seated. He felt like a daughter who had just been sold off to a rich old man.
It took him quite some time for him to finally come back to his senses.
The gears in his mind began to turn.
Marriage…
Marriage… marriage…
“What the hell?” Aydin shouted, clutching his head and scratching at his hair in a tangled mix of confusion and frustration.
After a while, he calmed down and started to think.
‘I roughly understand the concept.
‘If it’s only about taking care of my sisters, then nothing really changes. I’ve been doing that all along.
‘But marriage means having children.
‘And that means… sex.
‘Father and Mother always avoided that topic whenever I asked. But I have my own ways of gathering information.
‘I have a general idea of how it works.
‘Maybe because my body isn’t mature yet, I don’t feel anything.
‘Still… imagining myself doing those things with Regina and Hilde—I don’t know what to think.
‘I heard that people change easily. Their likes and dislikes change. Will we keep liking each other in the same way in the future?
‘What if, in the future, they want to marry someone else?
‘Will Mother and Father force me to marry them anyway?’
“No…” Aydin shook his head.
“
No… on second thought, maybe they will.
“What should I do?”
He walked to his bed and collapsed onto it, lying there like a dead fish.
Sigh.
Letting out a long breath, he finally made up his mind.
‘Since Father and Mother have already decided, this matter must be nearly settled.
‘They must know—at least Father must know—about the trait pattern analysis Vesper mentioned.
‘That’s probably why they dared to consider marriage even before my awakening ceremony.
‘Still… they aren’t completely certain. Otherwise, they would have announced it officially.’
Thinking of Regina and Hilde, who are always clinging to him, a smile formed on his face without him realizing it.
‘Maybe it won’t be such a bad thing.
‘I should prepare myself mentally.
‘After marriage… should I call them my wives or my sisters?
‘And what will they call me…?’
For once, Aydin didn’t feel repulsed by the idea.
Unlike his usual self—calculating, cautious, and restrained—his thoughts drifted freely as he began to build castles in the sky, giggling to himself idiotically.
Copyright © [January] [2026] [The Rainy Imp]. All rights reserved.
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