The door flew open in a rush, and a maid hurried in at a near run. She went straight to Nile, who had been resting while leaning askew against the sofa.
“The Duke has arrived.”
The maid’s voice, announcing the Duke’s visit, carried a note of urgency.
“…His Grace… again?”
Nile asked as he struggled to lift his closed eyelids. The word again at the end of his question was laden with unconcealed reluctance and discomfort.
Making an unannounced visit was a serious breach of etiquette—even between legally married nobles. During the first few days, Mihail had at least sent word ahead of time about when he would come. But now, he barged in whenever he pleased, as if storming the place. As Nile lay with his head against a cushion, desperately enduring the increasingly intense effects of his approaching heat cycle, it was only natural that his delicate brows drew together in a frown.
Just as Nile gasped for breath and barely managed to sit upright, Mihail strode straight into the room.
“Welcome, Your Grace.”
Nile bowed his head slightly in greeting. For someone who came and went almost daily, Mihail accepted the greeting with remarkable indifference, barely acknowledging it as he scanned the room from corner to corner. No matter how thoroughly he looked, the room was no different from yesterday or the day before—but Mihail always inspected it with the same meticulous care.
“If you had given notice, I would have had tea prepared in advance….”
Nile spoke with a forced smile. Yet his pallid cheeks, the faint tremor in his fluttering eyelashes, and the way he hugged his arms tightly around his body laid bare how much he was suffering. Even as he saw that plainly, Mihail crossed his legs in a chair by the window and waited for the tea to be served. A maid, gazing at Nile with pity, said it was time to air out the room and flung all the windows wide open. Even that, however, seemed to offer Nile little relief.
Despite visiting as routinely as if it were a daily meal, Mihail didn’t appear particularly interested in Nile—and he showed no inclination whatsoever toward sex. At first, people whispered that Mihail might be developing feelings for Nile. But now, opinions had completely flipped: they murmured that Mihail, who utterly loathed omegas, was deliberately coming and going to torture Nile just as his heat cycle approached. In truth, that was exactly how it looked.
When the tea was brought out, Mihail drank it down in one go, as he always did, and rose to his feet. After a single cup, he invariably left the quarters at once. Up until just yesterday, Nile had felt overwhelming relief whenever Mihail departed, as though he could finally breathe. Today, however, was different.
“Your Grace.”
Nile called out, his arms trembling as he hugged himself tightly. Mihail, who had been about to leave, turned his head back with an annoyed look. Nile’s lips quivered as though even speaking was a struggle; after clearing his throat, he finally voiced his request.
“By tonight, my heat cycle will probably….”
Nile trailed off. His blue eyes, fixed on Mihail, repeatedly lost focus and then barely regained it—making it seem unlikely he’d even last until nightfall before reaching the peak of his heat cycle. When that happened, no matter how patient Nile was, he wouldn’t be able to maintain his reason.
“So?”
Mihail asked back with a face that made it clear even conversing with Nile was unpleasant. Nile bit his lip hard. The head maid, taking pity on his suffering, spoke in his stead.
“If you have no plans to conceive an heir tonight, would it not be wise to allow him to take suppressants—just in case something unfortunate should happen?”
What constituted an “unfortunate incident” was obvious. An omega who lost their reason at the peak of a heat cycle would desperately cling to any alpha nearby—and if no alpha was present, they wouldn’t even mind a beta.
In the silence, only Nile’s hot, ragged breathing echoed through the room. It was less like breathing and more like a near-constant moan.
“Do that, then.”
Mihail gave his permission without a moment’s hesitation and resumed his departure.
With approval to take suppressants granted, the strength seemed to drain all at once from Nile’s body—something he had been holding together by sheer will. He collapsed sideways, curling himself tightly inward.
“Hurry and fetch the suppressants!”
The head maid shouted urgently at another maid, who bolted out of the room at full speed.
Not long after leaving Nile’s quarters, the door burst open behind Mihail and a maid ran out. Even in her haste, she dropped to one knee to bow to him, then immediately took off again.
Enduring Nile’s pheromones—now so strong they were almost sticky, clinging to the body—was no easy task even for Mihail. He had borne it only because he had an important objective.
If he were the one to suggest suppressants first and word reached the Emperor, it would be construed as defying an imperial order—an unacceptable situation. But since Nile himself had been unable to endure and asked for them, that gave Mihail plausible grounds. Really, if he hadn’t stubbornly tried to endure it and had just asked earlier, things would’ve been easier for both of them.
Mihail thought this without sparing a shred of concern for the suffering Nile had endured up until now.
In any case, even amid the thick, cloying pheromones, the prey’s bitter scent still left its trace.
During the first few days, he had given prior notice; afterward, he varied the timing and barged in unexpectedly—yet he still hadn’t found the creature itself. But judging from that distinct bitter scent, the creature stayed there at least once a day, and for long enough to leave its mark even among such dense pheromones. It might even be sneaking in at night to sleep there.
The one place in this castle Mihail had assumed he would never set foot in. And yet the clever little thing had built its nest there, roaming the castle freely and hiding at will. Thinking of how startled it must be to have Mihail storm in and rummage through its supposedly safe nest every single day made a smile creep onto his face.
If it had nested there, then Nile must surely be aware of its existence. After all, he wouldn’t allow some filthy, unknown thing to stay in his quarters. Mihail could easily learn the creature’s identity by asking Nile—but he had no intention of doing so. This was a hunt belonging solely to himself and the creature, with no one else’s involvement or interference.
For the two days Nile lay deeply asleep under the effects of suppressants, Mihail cut off his visits entirely, as if by a lie. Like granting a hunted animal a brief moment to quench its thirst, he was giving the creature time to catch its breath.
Two days later, having safely passed the peak of his heat cycle, Nile returned to his lively self as though nothing had happened. As a rule, after granting a short respite, one tightens the reins of pursuit even further. The moment Nile’s rest ended, Mihail drew him outside under the pretense of letting him get some fresh air.
“Um… Your Grace.”
Nile, walking a short distance away and repeatedly glancing sideways at Mihail, finally spoke up. In the distance, the Emperor’s envoy—sent again, unable to restrain himself—was watching their walk. An imperial order was still an imperial order, so instead of answering, Mihail cast Nile a sideways glance.
Nile, said to be the most expensive “product” the Lucius Marquisate had to offer, truly was beautiful. If he weren’t an omega but merely a human, Mihail might have willingly taken him. Of course, it was nearly impossible for an ordinary human to surpass an omega’s beauty in the first place.
“Th-thank you… for allowing me to take suppressants.”
Nile said this, his face faintly flushed.
“Hmph.”
Too bothered even to respond properly, Mihail let out a vague sound and left it at that. His gaze wasn’t on Nile walking beside him, but on the paths where that filthy, coarse little creature most often hid.
“And also….”
Despite knowing full well that Mihail was indifferent, Nile spoke again.
“Thank you for continuing to visit me like this. If Your Grace had remained uninterested, Marquis Lucius would likely have sent someone to replace me, and I would’ve been moved elsewhere.”
It was the first time Nile had spoken at such length. He had always looked at Mihail with fear or reluctance, careful even with his words in his presence. To Nile, it was a sincere expression of gratitude—but unfortunately, Mihail wasn’t the kind of man to receive sincerity as sincerity.
“Your job is to loaf around your whole life, birthing children here and there. Is it really such a problem for you to be moved elsewhere to bear another alpha’s child?”
Mihail said this with a crooked smile. The gray eyes fixed on Nile were chillingly cold. The blatant disgust that had seemed to fade somewhat had returned in full force to Mihail’s face.
“…Ah….”
Unable to endure it, Nile involuntarily stumbled backward. Seeing his face drain white, Mihail quickly snapped his gaze forward again. The Emperor’s envoy was watching from over there to confirm results directly. They might not hear the words, but it would be troublesome if Nile collapsed or started crying.
“Do you usually go for walks?”
As if he hadn’t just hurled that icy look, Mihail asked in an even, unruffled voice. Startled by the way Mihail looked at him, Nile quickly nodded.
“Then let’s take the route you usually walk.”
Mihail spoke as if issuing a notice, jerking his chin to signal Nile to lead the way. Still unaccustomed to Mihail’s utterly unpredictable behavior, Nile hesitated briefly before starting forward.
When frustrated, Mihail would rather ride hard, hunt, or swing a weapon than take a leisurely stroll. Lately, however, he’d been wandering the castle grounds in search of the creature’s traces—so to others, it might have looked something like a walk.
“Don’t worry about me. Just go the way you usually do.”
Mihail said in as gentle a tone as he could manage to Nile, who kept glancing back nervously. Whether the intent came across or not, Nile’s shoulders, which had been drawn up tight with tension, relaxed slightly.
As time passed, the stiff, awkward steps born of focusing all his attention on the Mihail following behind him gradually became more natural. Just as he’d been asked, Nile seemed to be walking along the path he usually favored for his strolls.
