"Matthew, do you want to see a magic trick?

Matthew was petrified when he heard that Little Jean wanted to do another magic trick.

"N—No, Young Master, please don't do another magic trick. I don't need to see it!" Matthew tried to stop Little Jean, afraid that something would happen to the Young Master of Eau Saumont. 

If Little Jean fainted here after using magic, then Archduke Maximillien would blame him, and he might be banned for visiting Little Jean in the future. 

"Aww… Matthew is no fun…."

Little Jean pouted. He looked disappointed that Matthew didn't want to see his magic trick anymore. But he understood because he was scolded by his Big brother last night for doing that kind of magic trick. 

"Then, does Matthew have a magic trick? Jean wants to see!" Little Jean said. 

Matthew paused. He stared at the innocent Little Jean, who knew nothing about magic but had mysterious yet fascinating magic of his own. 

There was something, a secret that he hid for a while. He found out about it when he was four years old. Of course, when he saw Raphael showing his magic in front of Little Jean, he got jealous and wanted to do the same.

But… there was just one problem…

Matthew shook his head, "No, Young Master. I don't have any magic. Magic is only a talent for nobles and a very select few peasants. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those select few. I'm just a regular peasant without magic affinity."

[Really? A soul as powerful as Xu Jiansheng, Lee Yongsun, Aaron Xu, Zerocheat, Mamoru Ito doesn't have any magic power?]

[Pupa: It is said in the world background that Madeline Moulin doesn't have any magic affinity until she reached the age of seventeen when she suddenly has a magic affinity of holy light, similar to Raphael. But Raphael was a Saint at that point, while Madeline was just a peasant, so it became big news in the empire.]

[Let me guess, Raphael's route in that game is Madeline's mentor, right?]

[Pupa: Yes.]

[Hm… I kind of doubt that someone as intelligent as Xu Jiansheng… or Matthew doesn't realize his potential at such young age.]

[And I also doubt Matthew has holy magic like Madeline, I just don't feel it will fit him.]

"Aww, Matthew also has magic. You just haven't discovered it yet!" Little Jean insisted. 

"I—I really don't think I have that kind of talent, Young Master. My parents have no affinity to magic, neither my grandparents…." Matthew kept on refusing. 

Little Jean sighed and hugged Matthew, "It's okay! Even if you don't have magic, you're still Jean's friend! Jean likes you!" 

…

'Friend, huh?'

For some reason, Matthew disliked the word 'friend' because it was like a gate that kept him away from being closer to Little Jean.

Matthew wanted to be more than just a friend, but he was just a peasant kid who had nothing compared to Prince Raphael and Archduke Maximillien. 

"I like you too, Young Master Jean…." Matthew said. 

**

After a while, Maximillien started searching for Little Jean. He knew that Little Jean would always play in the maze garden, so it wasn't hard for him to find his little brother. 

The party ended, and the guest left one by one, including Matthew, who left with his mother. 

"Bye, Matthew! I will visit you sometimes!" Little Jean sat on his big brother's arm while waving his hands at Matthew, whose carriage went further and further from his sight.

Maximillien walked with Little Jean on his arm. They went for dinner because it was evening, and Little Jean hadn't eaten anything since breakfast other than cakes, a lot of cakes.

"Did you have fun today?" Maximillien asked. 

Little Jean looked at his Big brother and kissed his cheek, "Yes! Jean had a lot of fun! This is the first time people have come to Jean's birthday! Thank you, Big brother!"

"I'm glad that you like it," Maximillien smiled. 

Maximillien was also as happy as Jean because he just had a talk with the Magistrates. They agreed to give Jean a title of nobility once he was eighteen years old, so nobody would dare to bully Jean when he was in the La Fleur Academy later on. 

"Are you hungry?" Maximillien asked. 

"Yes! Jean eats a lot of cake, but Jean also wants to eat meat!" Little Jean said. 

Maximillien patted Little Jean's head, "Okay, let's eat dinner together.

**

Matthew reached home with his mom at night. Apparently, the Archduke paid his mother big cash for decorating the birthday. It was enough to sustain them for the whole year without worrying about winter because his mother wasn't able to sell flowers during winter.

"Archduke is really generous! He is so rich and generous, I wonder which young lady would be lucky enough to be his wife in the future?" Matthew's mom said.

Matthew's dad chuckled, and he looked at Matthew, "Son, did Young Master Jean treat you well?"

"Yes, Dad. He is my best… friend…." Matthew was grieving whenever he was forced to say friend. He lost appetite for dinner once he said that word. 

He jumped out of his dinner chair and then said, "I will rest first, mom, dad."

"No dinner?"

"I'm full," Matthew replied. 

He walked upstairs to his room. He locked the door and looked at himself in the mirror. 

Nothing looked different, of course, but when he stared at it long enough, a dark entity would slowly crawl behind him. Matthew couldn't see the face of this monster, only the malicious grin on his face. 

"You love Young Master Jean, don't you?" The dark entity asked. 

"I don't like him," Matthew denied. Even though both he and that dark entity knew the truth. Matthew was in love, whipped for Little Jean the moment they met for the first time. 

It was love at first sight, and it only grew deeper each day, and the presence of this dark entity only became even more prevalent after he met Little Jean.

"Don't lie. The more you lie, the more you will fall for him," the dark entity said. "Kid, did you not realize how much power you have inside you? You're as strong, or even stronger than the next saint, Raphael De Argent."

"I don't care… I don't want to hurt Young Master Jean…." Matthew said. 

"Heh, a kid who doesn't know the enormous emotion you have for your beloved Jean. You will realize that you're missing out on many things, kid."

Matthew refused to say anything because he knew it would only feed the maliciousness of this demon. 

"Open your hand, kid. You want to show a magic trick to your beloved Young Master Jean, right?"

…

Matthew obediently opened his hand, and a black sphere appeared out of thin air. The sphere spun on his hand, and the dark energy inside thickened.

The dark entity whispered, "You can kill anyone just with this small sphere. Isn't that a neat trick to show to your beloved?"

Matthew held his breath. He immediately closed his palm and reopened it. Fortunately, the dark sphere had disappeared from his hand, alongside the cackling of the dark entity who retreated back into his body.

Matthew bit his lips anxiously, "No, Y—Young Master Jean shouldn't know about my power, he… he will be terrified…."