“Scheming? What benefit would I gain from doing that?”
William crossed his arms and answered.
“You’re not interested in your own benefits. You only think of me as if you can only live if I survive. Who doesn’t know that?”
“……”
William sighed with a serious face. Then he suddenly looked straight into my eyes and said,
“It’s something I’m grateful for and fortunate about. I, who couldn’t trust anyone, have come to completely trust at least one person – you.”
As infinite trust came as a reward for the selfish actions I had taken because I could only survive if William became a wise ruler, my conscience was pricked.
“But Danny, sometimes you’re too excessive. You don’t need to overprotect me to that extent anymore.”
“Who said I overprotected you! I never did such a thing. If anything, Your Highness, who is strong and powerful, has been protecting me, a weak and powerless Omega. What am I to overprotect Your Highness?”
William squinted his eyes and came close enough that our noses almost touched.
Fifteen years old. Was it because he had started secondary sexual characteristics and become sensitive to hormones, or was it because I was an Omega? When William closed the distance like this, it was difficult to even breathe.
According to the original story, William ascended to the Emperor’s throne at twenty, and the relationship with his obsessed companion Omega soured and the companion Omega ran away when he turned twenty-one.
That meant I had to stay by William’s side for at least 5 more years, so it would be troublesome if being close to him was already difficult.
What’s wrong with you, Seo Ajun? Pull yourself together. Physical reactions can be endured with willpower.
While I was making such resolutions, William’s hand came to rest on my shoulder. The gentle patting touch was soft.
“Danny, I told you before, but you still think I’m a little child. You’ll get into big trouble if you keep that up, so be careful.”
“I never…”
William’s finger touched my lips.
“Shh… stop making poor excuses. I’m not stupid.”
“……”
“I’ll let you fool me again today. What you want is to go out like this and greet the high-ranking nobles in order, and warmly receive greetings from the noble children, right?”
I almost answered, “Yes, that’s exactly it!” But if I answered like that, he might get angry saying, “So it was scheming after all.”
To avoid falling into the trap, I answered calmly.
“Please greet the nobles, but keep it moderate with the Omegas.”
William smiled contentedly.
“Your acting has improved quite a bit.”
I didn’t know who was deceiving whom, but anyway, things went as I wanted today, so it was fortunate.
***
Thanks to taking precautions in advance, the party proceeded smoothly. The eyes of the Omegas filled with jealousy also focused on William as he went around greeting the nobles in turn.
A growling sound came from my stomach. From when I opened my eyes this morning until now, all I had eaten was a single cup of tea, so it was natural that I would be hungry.
Looking around to see if there was a good spot, I saw that a table in the corner of the party hall, as far away from William as possible, was empty.
I should go there and eat some banquet food.
I quickly moved spots because I was hungry. I wanted to put everything I saw into my mouth, but I still had to be conscious of other people’s eyes, so I was careful not to eat too hastily as I started my meal.
The soup was smooth, the bread was savory, and juices burst from the meat. The most delicious thing was the bread – I don’t know what they did to plain bread with nothing in it, but the more I ate, the more I craved it.
I was tearing off pieces of bread and eating them bit by bit when a familiar scent gradually approached, so I raised my head. William had appeared at some point with an unfamiliar woman and was looking at me.
I put down the bread I was holding and tilted my head. What was I supposed to do when meeting a noble lady?
Was I supposed to stand up, extend my hand, and bow my head?
I was flustered because I had never met a noble lady before. I could only stand up and couldn’t do anything else. But fortunately, William spoke first.
“Introduce yourself. This is Lady Ellawud Ridden, eldest daughter of Lord Ridden.”
Ellawud Ridden?
The moment I saw her appearance, I thought something was strange.
Wasn’t William’s companion Omega, who was the protagonist in the original story, a man? Then Ellawud Ridden should also be a man, right?
Since I had only heard the name Ellawud Ridden until now, I didn’t know about his gender, so I couldn’t hide my bewildered expression.
I tried to calm my pounding heart and extended my hand toward her. However, Ellawud only frowned and didn’t take my hand. Just as I was about to withdraw my extended hand in embarrassment, William grabbed my wrist.
“Danny… it’s rude to extend your hand to a lady when you have jam on it.”
“Ah, I see. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
As I was about to bow my head in apology, William brought the hand he was holding to his own lips. When I opened my eyes wide in surprise and stared, William licked my index finger with his tongue.
“……!”
I was so shocked by William’s action that my mind went blank and I couldn’t do anything. Only when the nobles began to stir and Ellawud, who had been looking at me pathetically, angrily left her seat did I come to my senses.
I tried to pull my hand away after coming to my senses, but William wouldn’t let go of my wrist.
“Your Highness… what is this… there are many… watching eyes.”
I was so shocked that I couldn’t speak properly.
William answered shamelessly.
“I couldn’t just watch my Omega commit rudeness toward a lady.”
“Then you could have punished me, so why did you lick my finger?”
“This is the greatest punishment for Danny. Showing my affection in front of other people.”
My head was spinning. It felt like William had dealt me a heavy blow.
“N-now that you’ve punished me, please let me go.”
“There’s still a little more left.”
William said that and licked my other fingers too. At William’s actions, even nobles who had been far away began to come closer and send glances our way. I didn’t know what to do and hung my head low. I had made every effort to avoid their eyes, but I was going to be marked like this again.
Even in the midst of all this, William didn’t let go of my hand. I stood pale, giving one hand to William while pulling my body back in an awkward posture.
“Come here, Danny. What is someone whose birthday it is doing in a corner? If you entrusted me with guiding the guests, you should have enjoyed the party.”
I had been enjoying the party in my own way, filling my stomach. I had also been enjoying the eye candy, watching the knights mixed among the dukes. The person who ruined the pleasant party was William.
“Y-Your Highness… there are many watching eyes.”
Behern, who was as rational as I was, stepped forward to stop William, but William didn’t listen at all. Instead, he gripped my hand tighter and took something out of his pocket.
It was something small and sparkling.
Then, as if mocking the pale-faced nobles, he looked around at them all and put a ring on my finger.
“My one and only Omega, Daniel Lambert. Happy birthday.”
I wanted to jump up and say no, that this was absolutely not what I wanted, but I couldn’t do that in front of the Crown Prince’s blessing. I bowed my head and kissed the back of William’s hand to show proper respect. He smiled as if satisfied.
***
The bewildering birthday party full of shocking events had ended, and it was already time to sleep.
I lay beside William and let out a deep sigh. I had tried not to let it show, but he must have heard my sighing.
“Why haven’t you been telling me the old stories I asked for, and instead have been sighing since earlier?”
“I think you’re past the age for listening to old stories.”
When I said that and turned my body to the opposite side from William, he quickly grabbed my shoulder and turned me back. Resentment dripped from his frowning expression.
“What does age have to do with listening to stories?”
“In the East, old stories were told by adults for young children who couldn’t read yet. Because there were no toys back then. Your Highness is no longer at an age where you need toys, are you?”
William glared with wide eyes and huffed.
I steadied my mind that was about to weaken at his expression. This was because I had decided not to tell William old stories anymore after he gave me the ring in front of the nobles during the day.
There were many stories left in my head, but it seemed like the reason William wanted to sleep with me every night and was obsessed with me was because of the stories.
My goal was to make William a wise ruler. Fifteen-year-old William still had rampage symptoms, but he had become a teenager with much better character than in his childhood. So just because I distanced myself a little, he wouldn’t suddenly turn into a tyrant.
William began breathing more and more roughly. I thought he was huffing because he couldn’t contain his anger, but it wasn’t that – it felt like he was breathing quickly to rapidly inhale the breath he was lacking.
I hoped it wasn’t the case, but it looked like he was excited.
“…Your Highness?”
William came close to me and spoke in my ear.
“Hah… Danny, what do you think is the real reason I’m obsessed with stories?”
The skin touching my body grew hotter and hotter.
“Because the stories are interesting?”
“Ha… Danny, am I really obsessed with stories, or am I obsessed with Danny?”
“N-no…”
I opened my eyes wide in surprise and looked at William. With a reddened face, he fixed his gaze on me and continued speaking with difficulty.
“When I see only you, I become short of breath and feverish… didn’t you think I was trying to cool down the heat by listening to tiger stories or something?”
“…What?”
I had never thought of it that way. If I had to choose between me and stories, I thought he would choose stories – I never thought he would choose me.
Confusion began to set in again. At times like this, I had to think only of my goal so as not to lose my way. Raising William to be a wise ruler and living my second life long and steadily… I didn’t need anything else besides that. Then what was important right now was just making up a story, even if there wasn’t one, and telling it to him.
“I-I’ll tell you a story! What kind of story would be good… How about the story of the magpie who repaid a favor?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
