Chapter 05 ….

How to Live as the Favorite of the Constellations

 I Am an Adult (5)

Arvian had turned six months old.

By the time the throats of his parents, the nanny, and all the household servants had completely given out, Arvian had finished reading every book and research paper Count Eliphas Dayvriel had collected.

And he was able to reach one conclusion.

The world had changed.

And it had changed a lot.

‘Back then, the moment I regained my senses, I would immediately go searching for the Hero, monitor the Demon King’s movements, and busy myself making plans for the future.’

For an ordinary person with no talent to force their way into the Hero’s party, they had to use every method possible just to survive and prove their worth.

‘……But the Demon King is dead now, so there’s no longer any need for that. In that case, this life might finally be the end of my reincarnations.’

Arvian lightly closed and reopened his eyes.

‘A first and final life in a world without a Demon King. That might not be so bad. Maybe this is some kind of reward for all the suffering I went through.’

If that was truly the case, then Arvian wanted to live this life faithfully.

Not as a replaceable part of the Hero’s party, but in a world without either a Demon King or a Hero, he wanted to live for himself this time.

‘Then I need to grow up healthy as quickly as possible and receive a Blessing.’

Since this had become a new world, he would have to follow its rules.

He did not know which one of those beings would grant him a Blessing, but until his fifth birthday—the day he would receive one—he needed to grow diligently.

Truthfully, any Blessing would probably be enough to live comfortably in this world, but if possible, he hoped for one that would make his life easier.

‘The Countess said her Blessing prevents her from losing her way, and the Count’s Blessing improves his night vision.’

After thinking for a moment, Arvian burst into laughter.

He had a feeling he knew exactly who had granted those Blessings.

‘So full.’

Arvian rubbed his pleasantly round stomach for the first time in a long while.

To be honest, formula alone had gradually stopped being enough to fill him up properly.

Something felt lacking. Unsatisfying.

There was really only one explanation: he had not been eating baby food.

But this gourmet body of his kept rejecting it, so there had been nothing anyone could do.

However.

Today, Arvian had devoured two whole bowls of baby food!

Up until now, he had rejected it with every fiber of his being, so how had he suddenly managed to eat it?

‘To think there was actually someone with a “Blessing that makes baby food delicious.”’

Having a wealthy background truly meant there was nothing impossible.

Now that energy was overflowing through his body, he felt like he could do anything.

Arvian rolled over and looked around the empty room.

After feeding him, Countess Seraphina Dayvriel and the nanny had quietly left while he pretended to be asleep.

‘I’ve eaten well, and moving around has become easier now.’

He could not stay inside this room forever.

If he truly wanted to live faithfully as “Arvian,” then first he needed to learn about this house.

For example: how large their fortune was, what kind of history the family had, how they earned their wealth, where their territory was located, and what kinds of problems it faced…

‘It’ll save me headaches later if I learn all this in advance.’

Unless something unusual happened, he would eventually inherit both the family and the territory, so it seemed wise to prepare beforehand.

‘I’ve never ruled over a territory before. This might actually be interesting.’

Arvian moved his arms and legs with all his strength.

Unlike when he had first learned to roll over, his body now slid forward smoothly and quickly.

Soon, Arvian stopped in front of the doorway.

This was the first time he had left the room he had spent the past two months in, and strangely enough, it made him nervous.

Because his body was so small and his viewpoint so low, the mansion looked endlessly huge.

Yet thinking of it as the first adventure of his life also filled him with anticipation.

Slowly…

Arvian stretched one hand outside the room.

His right hand crossed the doorway first.

Swallowing nervously, he stretched out his left hand as well.

Soon, his entire body had slipped outside the room.

‘Now I need to inspect the house as much as possible… Since this is a noble estate, the mansion must be enormous.’

If he could crawl on all fours, he would have been able to explore much more thoroughly, but right now he was still only at the stage of dragging himself along the floor.

There was no way he could investigate the upper or lower floors.

So for now, it seemed best to thoroughly explore what appeared to be the family’s living area.

Arvian quickly began moving.

‘Let’s start by checking the room next door.’

Shuffle shuffle!

After eating a full meal of baby food, Arvian moved almost as swiftly as if he were crawling on all fours.

He slipped into the neighboring room, whose door had also been left open for ventilation.

Soon, Arvian’s eyes widened.

The room, which he had assumed belonged to the Count and Countess or perhaps the nanny, had clearly been decorated for a child.

‘A bed, bookshelves, even a desk and chair… They’re all small and low.’

Judging by the furnishings, it was definitely not a room for a newborn.

Based on the size of the furniture and the books inside, it looked more like the room of a five-year-old child.

‘It doesn’t seem like the room I’ll use once I’m older.’

The reason Arvian came to that conclusion was simple.

He turned his head toward the portrait hanging on the wall.

Though blurry, he could make out a family portrait.

‘A portrait of the Count and Countess. And…’

He could not see clearly from this distance, but there was also a child around five years old with red hair resembling the Count’s.

‘That child is probably the son born between the two of them…’

Arvian pressed his lips tightly together.

Unless the Count and Countess had commissioned a family portrait imagining his future growth, then the child standing in the center was another child born to them.

Arvian quietly stared at the portrait before wriggling closer.

He wanted to examine the child’s face more carefully, but with the underdeveloped eyesight of an infant, no amount of squinting helped him see better.

At most, he could only guess from the clothing that it was probably a boy.

‘This body still can’t stand on two feet yet…’

Forget standing—he could not even crawl properly on all fours.

For a moment he considered dragging something over and climbing onto it, but even that was impossible with the current weakness of his limbs.

‘There are other places I need to explore. I can’t waste my energy here.’

I should just rest.

Arvian gave up quickly and flopped onto the floor.

As he stared at the light shining from the ceiling, he blinked slowly.

The child in the portrait was probably the owner of this room.

Which meant there was another child born to the Count and Countess before him.

A relationship connected by blood through the same parents.

People called such a person a “sibling.”

‘So I actually have a sibling?’

Arvian tilted his head in confusion.

It had already been around two months since he began this new life.

During that time, he had argued endlessly with others over baby food and all sorts of other things, yet he had never once seen this so-called sibling.

So the possibility had never even crossed his mind.

‘Well… Noble families are known for fierce succession battles, aren’t they?’

Arvian had seen countless blood relatives kill each other over inheritance titles.

‘Does he see me as a thorn in his side?’

Even though Count Eliphas Dayvriel and Countess Seraphina Dayvriel were deeply loving and affectionate with one another, that did not necessarily mean their son would feel the same way.

‘Right. I’ve heard that even in ordinary families, siblings often fight for attention when they’re young.’

Some children felt as though their younger sibling had stolen the love that rightfully belonged to them from their parents.

In any case, this spotless room itself was proof that his sibling was avoiding him.

The room was impeccably clean and lacked any trace of daily life.

‘He moved to another room because he couldn’t stand the sight of his younger brother. I’m sure of it.’

The reason the nanny and the Count couple had never mentioned his “older brother” to him was probably because they already knew the eldest son disliked his younger sibling.

Just as Arvian arrived at that conclusion, the nanny’s voice echoed from outside.

“Young Master? Where did Young Master go?!”

Startled!

Arvian jumped in shock.

For some reason, he suddenly felt like a child who had been caught secretly doing something bad behind the adults’ backs.

Instinctively, Arvian hid behind the thick curtains and peeked outside.

The cloth brushed softly against his face as it swayed in the breeze.

Only after hiding himself completely behind the curtain did Arvian groan quietly.

‘I panicked so much that I ended up hiding.’

It was not as though he had intentionally come here in the first place.

‘Should I go out? I probably should, right?’

He did not want to make things bigger than they already were.

He especially did not want to be discovered here and be forced to hear about this mysterious older brother.

If he could simply return to his room unnoticed while the nanny searched for him, the whole thing would probably end as nothing more than a small incident.

Just as he was waiting…

“Uuung?”

The curtain was carefully lifted.

Arvian’s eyes widened when he was discovered much sooner than expected.

The person who found him was none other than Countess Seraphina Dayvriel, whose voice had been absent all this time.

As she smiled and picked Arvian up into her arms, the nanny exclaimed in admiration.

“Oh my. He really was here?”

“See? I told you.”

“My Lady, how did you know?”

“Well, I heard that when I was little, I often hid behind curtains too. They said I was incredibly hard to find. So I thought that if he hid somewhere, this would probably be the place.”

“Truly… blood cannot be deceived.”

The nanny and the Countess looked at one another and burst into laughter.

The Countess gently tapped Arvian’s nose and spoke.

“Our Arvian, were you curious about Kael hyung’s room? You should have told us earlier. Then we could have shown it to you properly!”

“Auu… uuung.”

No, nobody even mentioned him before now!

Arvian puffed out his cheeks and let out a dissatisfied sound, causing the Countess to laugh again.

Then she walked over to the portrait hanging on the wall.

“Arvian, can you see? That’s Daddy and Mommy in the painting. Though it was already painted two years ago!”

“Uung.”

“Hmm, you’re right. It might be a little early, but I suppose I should introduce your family to you.”

No, perhaps this is actually a little late?

Thinking that to herself, she pointed toward the portrait.

“This is Count Eliphas Dayvriel, Arvian’s daddy. And next to him is Mommy. Mommy’s name is Seraphina Dayvriel.”

“Ung ung.”

Come to think of it, he had never actually heard his parents’ names before.

Thinking this was a good opportunity, Arvian nodded.

“And the person standing in the middle is Arvian’s older brother.”

“……Umm.”

“Your brother’s name is Kaelus Dayvriel. He’s Mommy and Daddy’s proud first son. There’s exactly a five-year age difference between you two. Right now, he’s temporarily away from the estate living with your grandfather.”

What?

He’s away from the estate?

Living together with his grandfather?

‘Did he hate me that much?’

If there was a five-year age gap between them, then that meant he was already six years old this year…

‘Well, children around that age start throwing proper tantrums, so I suppose it can’t be helped.’

If the child screamed that he hated having a younger sibling, then even kind-hearted people like the Count and Countess would not have had many options.

Separating them was probably the best solution.

‘A sibling relationship… I’m already worried.’

He had heard that children often believed their younger siblings stole away their parents’ love and would bully them because of it.

Arvian let out a quiet groan.