The maid who had brought in the tea and sweets bowed her head. Seeing that the maid’s gaze lingered on Chaika for an unusually long time, Nile gestured with his hand and dismissed everyone from the room.
Across the table, facing Nile, Chaika looked nothing like his usual self. The ragged, tattered clothes were nowhere to be seen; instead, he was dressed in elegant attire perfectly in line with the latest fashions. The fabric was of the highest quality, and the buttons on the collar were made of amber and silver. It was an outfit no different from that of any high-ranking noble’s child. The only regrettable point was that his hair was still unkempt—dry, rough, and overgrown—covering nearly half of his face.
“Can we call it a success?”
After confirming with his own eyes that the door was firmly shut, Nile spoke in a low voice. Chaika lifted his teacup to his lips and let out a faint snort of laughter.
“We’re still a long way off.”
“From what you’re wearing, it doesn’t look that way. And your attitude when I went to fetch you, too. By your own expression, shouldn’t we say the Duke didn’t just take the bait, but swallowed it whole?”
Instead of answering, Chaika carefully took a sip of the hot tea. As he stared blankly into the teacup in silence, Nile absently fiddled with the locket hidden beneath his clothes. Even though things had progressed considerably, Chaika showed no sign of joy or excitement. If anything, he looked a little more exhausted than usual. Perhaps that was only natural. Dealing with Duke Castiya at close range was no ordinary task—especially considering Chaika’s physical condition.
After a long silence, Chaika exhaled a shallow sigh. It was a signal that his thoughts had settled. The tightly set corners of his mouth lifted, a faint sneer forming.
“He’s a big catch, even among big catches. He’s not someone you can finish off just because he’s nibbled at the bait. Creatures with strength—once they bite down, even with a hook lodged in their mouths, they’ll snap the fishing line or tear their own flesh apart to escape. That’s why you have to make them swallow it deep, all the way down.”
Having said that, Chaika took a few small sips of the now slightly cooled tea. Watching him quietly, Nile finally spoke with an uneasy expression.
“The problem is that you’re not just the fisherman. You yourself are the bait.”
“To catch a big fish like the Duke, offering up my body as bait is the bare minimum.”
Chaika spoke as if such a price were nothing at all.
“Even if you reel in the fish, the bait may already be digested in its belly.”
“Or,” Chaika replied calmly, “that bait might rip apart all the fish’s internal organs from the inside.”
Each word Chaika spoke was steady and tranquil, yet soaked through with venom. In the end, Nile gave up on trying to persuade or stop him. As always.
“That scruffy hair, that scrawny body, those ragged clothes… To think the Duke would fall for someone like that. No one would believe it if you told them.”
Nile deliberately changed the subject.
“I understand that you piqued his interest and made him chase after you. He followed you out of curiosity and eventually found you…”
Trailing off, Nile frowned deeply, as if he simply couldn’t wrap his head around it.
“But why you, of all people? What exactly did he fall for? He hasn’t even seen your face properly, and it’s not like he was drawn in by your pheromones. Right now, you’re just a skinny, pitiful errand boy who gets pushed around by me.”
Chaika let out a small laugh, set his teacup down, and spoke.
“A small, weak, utterly insignificant creature—so harmless it’s not a threat at all, just pitiful and wretched. And yet, in its own way, it tries desperately to do everything it can, though even that is pathetic. He finds a filthy little thing being scolded and abused and becomes its savior. A creature so frail it looks like it would die from a single tap, yet it comes running the moment he calls, and beams with happiness if he so much as speaks to it. He offers a single, trivial kindness, and suddenly he’s worshipped and revered as if he were a lifesaving benefactor.”
“……”
“He’s a man born a Dominant Alpha and a royal, raised with nothing ever lacking. Strength itself was something he was born with—he probably crushed even the strongest opponents without difficulty. He’s lived his entire life being exalted. And yet—even so—it’s still not enough. Alphas are like that. They crave being revered by those weaker than themselves, especially by their own omegas. By possessing an omega who worships them like the sky itself, who respects and obeys them, they fill their pride as males. Only then do they feel complete. I made the Duke feel that way. He rescued me, dressed me in expensive clothes and shoes, fed me good food, gave me a warm, comfortable place to sleep, and he’s probably feeling quite satisfied with himself. And in return, he’ll receive my boundless trust and gratitude—and with it, the fulfillment of his male ego.”
Nile let out a low, heavy sigh—one laden with frustration. Chaika didn’t seem to care.
“You should try it yourself someday, if the need arises. Play the role of a great male who rescues a pitiful, helpless you, and any alpha will fall for it easily. You won’t even need your looks or your pheromones.”
“You’re twisted, Chaika,” Nile said, sounding genuinely regretful.
“I know. But it works, doesn’t it? That’s all that matters.”
Chaika replied with a smile and rose from his seat.
“The bait’s been taken. Now I’ll make him swallow it deep. You and I will both have plenty to do. Not a single mistake is allowed. Not even a moment of carelessness. If we each stay faithful to our roles, everything will proceed exactly as calculated.”
“And if the Duke reacts differently than you expect?”
“Even if I fail, you’ll be fine. You can simply return to the Marquis Lucius household, take the share you were promised, and leave far away.”
“…Chaika.”
A shadow of worry fell over Nile’s face. Chaika walked around the table and stopped beside him, gently stroking his honey-colored blond hair.
“Nile, you’re too weak. Even after everything you’ve been through, you still haven’t overcome the inherent flaws of an omega. You can’t become heartless, or despicable, or ruthless. The moment your child’s safety is put up as collateral, you’re completely at the other person’s mercy. If only you could throw away that softness, we wouldn’t have to live as prey—we could live as predators, like alphas.”
“…And thanks to that weakness, you gained a good ally, didn’t you?”
“I suppose so.”
Chaika smiled faintly and withdrew his hand from Nile’s hair. Then he leaned down, pressed a light kiss to Nile’s cheek, and whispered,
“So make sure you keep performing your role well, from here on out.”
Straightening up, Chaika took a deep, quiet breath. The corners of his mouth, which had been lifted in a mocking curve, fell. His rigid posture softened; his straight back gradually bent, his once-open chest shrinking inward timidly. The chin he’d held high lowered, and his steps became quiet and cautious.
Opening the door, Chaika bowed deeply toward Nile.
“I’ll come again after receiving His Grace’s permission, Lord Nile.”
He bowed politely to each of the maids standing beyond the door, then began walking toward the Duke’s quarters.
“I’m back.”
The door opened slightly, and the small creature slipped inside, bowing deeply. Mihail, who had been restraining himself from barging into Nile’s quarters out of sheer restlessness, crumpled the papers he’d been holding without even looking at them and scowled.
“Why are you so late?”
At Mihail’s words, Chaika lifted his head and checked the clock hanging on the wall. Just as promised before he left—exactly one hour… no, he’d returned before an hour had even passed. It wasn’t late by any measure.
“I’m sorry. I’ll come back a little faster next time.”
Even after confirming that the promised time hadn’t been exceeded, the creature simply came trotting back and apologized. The irritation and impatience that had been surging to Mihail’s head dissipated like smoke in an instant.
Mihail stood Chaika in front of him and turned him this way and that, inspecting his appearance. Clothes tailored from the finest fabric, meticulous embroidery, buttons made of gemstones and silver, shoes crafted from soft leather—and even a brooch adorned with silver and jewels. Having sent him off dressed like this, Nile would surely have grasped Mihail’s intentions. Not just Nile, but anyone in the castle. That was precisely why Mihail had allowed Chaika’s request to visit Nile from time to time.
Without a word, Mihail patted his own thigh. Chaika hesitated briefly, then carefully turned and perched his backside atop Mihail’s leg. When Mihail pulled him closer and settled him dangling on his thigh, Chaika flinched and hunched his shoulders.
“I can’t tell whether I’ve put a person on my lap, or a rabbit.”
Mihail muttered as he kneaded Chaika’s thigh, utterly lacking any sense of weight despite having him seated there. Usually, even if someone was thin elsewhere, there’d be at least some fat or muscle on the thighs—but Chaika’s thighs offered no such substance. There was nothing to grab.
“Y-Your Grace…”
Chaika shrank in on himself. Snorting softly, Mihail moved his hand, this time squeezing the buttocks that at least had some softness to them.
“Your Grace!”
The creature who’d stayed still until then suddenly bucked and squirmed in shock. Of course, with Mihail’s arm wrapped around his waist, there was nowhere for him to escape.
“You only react when I touch your ass. That means you know what it implies, don’t you?”
As Mihail murmured in a suggestive voice right by his ear, Chaika shook his head violently with all his strength. Strong denial, they said, was affirmation. Mihail laughed low in his throat.
There were only Mihail and Chaika in the office. An office in name only, really—the real work was done relentlessly by administrators, while Mihail merely reviewed and signed off on the reports that rose to the top. Still, he spent most of his time shut away there because it was the perfect place to be alone with Chaika. Of course, there was no better place for that than the bedroom—but they weren’t at that stage yet.
