Chapter 42
“F-Father.”
“If you truly thought of me as your father, you wouldn’t have done this. Or perhaps you thought I was someone to be trifled with.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Duke swung his hand toward Asher. The impact was so powerful that with a sharp slap, Asher’s body was sent flying.
“I clearly warned you. I said I wouldn’t let it slide if you intervened any further.”
“……”
“But you ignored my words. You didn’t even realize I was being lenient with you.”
With a stinging pain and the taste of blood in his mouth, Asher wiped the corner of his lips with the back of his hand and glared at the Duke.
“Why are you going to such lengths to hide this?”
“To fulfill my ambitions. Ambitions beyond your imagination.”
“Gathering only Alphas is illegal.”
“And? Are you going to report me?”
The Duke looked down at Asher with contempt and released a pheromone laced with killing intent.
The threatening pheromone seemed to tighten around Asher’s neck. His fingertips trembled as the nightmare resurfaced, but he managed to brace himself against the wall and stand up. Yet his weakened legs gave out beneath him, his thighs quivering uncontrollably.
“Hnngh…!”
The Duke remained unmoved by Asher’s suffering. Instead, he wore a satisfied expression like an Alpha lording over others.
“I was curious how you would react. That’s why I assigned that boy Narta to befriend you.”
“You…!”
“Sure enough, you didn’t disappoint me. It’s a pity I’ve been so lenient with you until now.”
Unlike the panting Asher, the Duke maintained a relaxed expression. With a chilling smile, he removed his watch and casually rotated his wrist.
“If anything happens to Shaki, it will be your fault.”
“Ugh… n-no…!”
“How truly unfortunate. You had pleased me by never disappointing me your entire life.”
Asher’s eyes welled with tears at the thought that something might have happened to Shaki. He needed to escape quickly and check on Shaki, but his cursed body refused to obey. In his increasingly hazy consciousness, Asher forced himself up and staggered toward the door. But the Duke, seemingly unwilling to allow even that, removed his tie and grabbed Asher’s hair tightly.
“Where do you think you’re escaping to? No one here will help you.”
A harsh pain like his scalp was being torn made Asher cough dryly. Though he felt on the verge of fainting, he endured solely with the determination to escape.
“I will remind you again of who I am.”
As soon as those cold words ended, there came a knock at the door. Following that, a “BANG!” loud enough to break down the door echoed, causing the Duke to furrow his brow.
“Asher! Are you in there?!”
“…Shaki?”
Contrary to his worries, Shaki didn’t appear to be injured. Asher finally released the doorknob with a sigh of relief.
“Foolish boy. I ordered them to keep him restrained properly.”
The Duke released Asher’s hair with a look of disdain. Then, as if nothing had happened, he withdrew his pheromone and dusted off his collar.
“If you keep digging into this matter, I will ensure that those you care about live in suffering, one by one. Even the Grand Duke whom you cherish.”
“…Haa.”
“So think about having a child obediently. One with dominant genes.”
As the Duke issued his warning, the closed door opened. The light filtering through made Asher squint slightly, but he managed a faint smile at the sight of Shaki.
“…Thank goodness.”
That his brother wasn’t hurt…
But the rest of his words never came. The moment Asher let go of the thin thread of consciousness he had been desperately holding onto, he lost consciousness.
*
Shaki covered his nose with his arm against the nauseating pheromone as he approached Asher, who had collapsed on the floor. Having been exposed to the pheromone for an extended period, Asher’s body lay limp and powerless.
Worried something serious might have happened, Shaki placed his fingertips on Asher’s neck. Thankfully, there seemed to be no threat to his life, as he could feel a faint pulse.
“Why… Why did you do this to Asher? Is it because I investigated that place?”
“Why do you disappoint your father? Is that what I taught you?!”
“We’re family! You taught us that family should be protected!”
Unable to contain his anger, Shaki released his pheromone. Sharp as a flying spear, the fierce pheromone collided with the Duke’s lingering pheromone. Like sparks flying from clashing blades, the two pheromones met in the invisible air, creating an atmosphere as brittle as thin ice.
The Duke finally lost patience and struck Shaki’s cheek.
With a slap, Shaki’s head turned to the side. The blow was so powerful that crimson blood spread beneath Shaki’s bright red lips.
“Have you forgotten that I am your father?”
Arrogant and selfish master of the Anest family, Poltic Anest. The Duke addressed Shaki in such a manner. Shaki ran his tongue over his lip and spat out the bloodied saliva with a “ptui.”
“That’s why I hated it. Every time I saw you trying to suppress others with only power, I feared that I, too, would become a monster.”
“Who do you think fed you, clothed you, and gave you all this wealth? If you were someone else’s children, not mine, you couldn’t have even dreamed of this life.”
“But you brought us into this world, Father. Naturally, that means you have a responsibility.”
With each word causing pain in his mouth, Shaki tapped his lips with his fingertips. Noticing the red drops of blood, he gave a bitter laugh and narrowed his eyes.
“Have you been disciplining Asher all this time the same way you disciplined us?”
“And if I have?”
“Father! Asher is an Omega!”
“A disgrace to the family and a useless recessive Omega.”
The Duke looked down at Shaki with eyes that had turned cold. Shaki clenched his fist at the gaze that seemed devoid of even a shred of affection.
“He’s the child Mother gave her life to bear. I won’t let you mistreat him however you please.”
The Duke had always believed that the family needed at least one strong Alpha. But his plan failed when their mother passed away. The Duke regularly confined Shaki and his brother in the basement for “discipline”—essentially one-sided violence. Unable to endure, Shaki took up the sword. This discipline inadvertently led to him learning swordsmanship, and as a result, the Duke came to favor Shaki. He needed a strong Alpha as his heir.
“Tsk, unnecessarily sentimental. I had planned to pass the trading company on to you. But if you’re going to behave this way, it puts me in a difficult position. Either change your attitude or conduct yourself properly. I’ll overlook this as a minor rebellion just this once.”
Shaki had always known that the Duke favored him. Although it seemed the Duke was giving Ember opportunities for public recognition, he had been teaching Shaki how the trading company operated.
“I’ll do as you wish, Father, just please leave Asher alone.”
“I won’t kill him as long as he remains useful to me.”
In truth, Asher wasn’t just a card to be discarded after pregnancy and childbirth. Asher’s entry into the Grand Duke’s family was important, and the Duke planned to gradually usurp the Grand Duke’s authority through him. When Asher’s child would eventually gain power as an heir, the Duke, as an in-law, intended to control the Grand Duke’s family. To achieve this, he needed a powerful army fortified with Alphas.
“I will possess power greater than the Emperor’s. For that, both Asher and you are necessary to me. However, that only applies as long as you’re useful. Know your limits. It won’t benefit you to be at odds with me.”
The Duke withdrew his pheromone as if willing to overlook the situation, offering a benevolent smile. Though it was a terrifying smile that would make one’s skin crawl, he lightly patted Shaki’s shoulder and murmured.
“I’m making allowances because it’s you. Think carefully about this.”
Shaki’s eyes closed as the footsteps faded away.
Asher Anest. The name of the child their mother had given her life to bear. Born a recessive, Asher never received their father’s love, and even Shaki had resented him in childhood, blaming him for their mother’s death. If that child hadn’t been born, their mother wouldn’t have died… But Asher had tried so hard to earn the love of his brothers.
“Brother, where are you going?”
“I made this, won’t you accept it?”
“Everyone keeps saying bad things about me. They say I’m a disgrace to the family.”
Asher had especially orbited around Shaki. It was annoying and irritating, but gradually that feeling transformed into concern, and eventually, Shaki began to open his heart to Asher. He came to think that perhaps Asher was the last gift their mother had left them.
“You know, I’m going to become someone amazing who protects our family.”
“Why don’t I have any friends? I wish I had friends too.”
“…Would it have been better if I had been born an Alpha? Would Father have loved me then?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
