Chaika’s Poison 56

“I see. So how was it? Your first heat cycle with the duke?”

At Nile’s blunt question, Chaika let out a short, humorless laugh.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought. Thanks to the medicine I got from Andre, I was able to keep my sanity until the end. The duke has already swallowed the bait all the way down. He’ll want to get me pregnant. He’ll think that’s the only way to truly possess me. That’s how alphas are.”

Chaika’s tone was cold and cynical.

Knowing that the duke was the first man Chaika had ever slept with, Nile sensed there was more behind Chaika’s words than he was letting on.

“I don’t know, Chaika. When I first heard your plan, I thought it was dangerous but workable. I’ve come to hate alphas too, after all. But Chaika—right now, the duke is genuinely infatuated with you. He’s not just any alpha. He’s infamous not only for his hatred of omegas, but also for his vile temper—someone who’d throw a punch at even the Emperor if he was crossed. And yet that very duke treats you with such tenderness. That means he’s serious. You could simply accept him, marry him properly, and live in peace. You’d become the master of a ducal house as wealthy as the Emperor himself. You could have anything you want, do anything you want, whenever you want. The duke would give you that life.”

“…….”

“To me, the duke is nothing but someone to fear. The fact that he’s a Dominant Alpha, or that he’s considered one of the most beautiful men on the continent, means nothing to me. He looks at me like filth just because I’m an omega. But it’s different for you. Even after learning you’re an omega, he didn’t punish you—he cherishes you even more. He’s sincere. Doesn’t a peaceful life, loved by a powerful, wealthy, and beautiful duke, sound appealing?”

After listening in silence for a long while, Chaika finally spoke, his eyes cold.

“The so-called love and sincerity of alphas—strip away the surface, and all that’s left is possessiveness. Right now, sure. He’s completely infatuated with me. But what about three years from now? Five? Ten? Thirty? Fifty? Do you really think he’ll still feel the same then?”

A sneer spread across Chaika’s face.

“Of course not. Whether it’s three years or thirty… eventually, he’ll grow bored of me. If I’m lucky, I’ll be shoved into some distant annex on the edge of the estate and left to grow old alone. If I’m unlucky, I’ll be sent off as a gift to another alpha—or sold. I could list dozens of omegas right now who’ve fallen into exactly that fate.”

Nile couldn’t easily refute Chaika’s words.

Countless omegas raised as adopted children by Marquis Lucius’s household came to mind—every one of them beautiful, refined, and meticulously educated. Alphas or noble houses would buy them, produce an heir, then without exception sell them off again, gift them away, or dump them in some remote countryside. Even omegas sold to alphas madly in love merely enjoyed a longer period of affection—their endings were no different.

“Alphas can never be satisfied with just one person. The moment they feel they’ve completely possessed someone, they start craving a new omega. That’s their innate nature.”

Nile let out a long sigh. He’d seen far too many of the things Chaika described to argue. After staring quietly into his teacup for a moment, he asked softly,

“If he were to imprint on you… could you trust him then?”

As if caught off guard, Chaika’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

“……Imprinting, huh….”

Chaika murmured as though exhaling a sigh.

The late Marquis Lucius—now deceased—had imprinted on Chaika’s birth parent.

When Chaika’s parent, Yuri, gave birth to an omega child, he fled the family with newborn Chaika in his arms, determined not to pass on the same fate he’d suffered. The one who helped him escape was the former Marquis Lucius, whom he’d known beforehand.

The former marquis never forced himself on the exhausted Yuri he’d rescued while evading the family’s relentless pursuit, nor did he harm or take Chaika—another alpha’s child—as a hostage. He simply hid them deep within the Lucius estate. Eventually, Yuri fell in love with him. To prove his love, and to protect Yuri from those who hunted him, the marquis imprinted on him.

Through imprinting, an alpha can exert influence over their omega’s pheromones and heat cycles. They can suppress pheromones to prevent other alphas from being drawn in, induce or block heat cycles at will. It is the surest way to keep other alphas from coveting one’s omega.

But imprinting carries a fatal flaw. If the omega an alpha has imprinted on dies, the alpha will follow within a day. For that reason, most alphas never imprint on the omegas they own—the danger far outweighs the convenience.

Yet the former Marquis Lucius was different. Knowing full well that Yuri’s body was already damaged and that he wouldn’t live long, he imprinted without hesitation. As expected, Yuri died before reaching eighty, and the former marquis died as well. Because of that, Chaika could never deny that the former marquis’s feelings for Yuri had been love.

“Mihail Castiya will never imprint on me. Even if I’m receiving treatment now, there’s still a high chance I’ll die earlier than a normal omega. Would he really choose to imprint on someone like me? Would he willingly cut short his own life?”

“No one knows,”

Nile said quietly.

Even the former Marquis Lucius—called an imperial slave merchant who built his house by selling omegas—had fallen in love with one and imprinted, dying together. Considering his infamy, it was something no one would have believed possible.

Chaika scoffed as if he’d just heard something ridiculous, then spoke with a serious expression.

“I’ll probably get pregnant within a few months at most. So tell Andre again to prepare thoroughly.”

“I’ve heard rumors that you’re avoiding even sharing a bed because you don’t want a child.”

“No matter what the Emperor ordered, the duke isn’t at an age where he desperately needs an heir yet. Even setting aside his omega aversion, he doesn’t feel the urgency to have a child right now. That’s why. People cling harder to what they can’t quite have. He’s already tasted the bait once. After that, I rejected him—his impatience must be at its peak by now. He’ll keep pulling me in until he can’t stand not owning me completely. And then, like alphas always do when blinded by possessiveness, he’ll try to get me pregnant. That way, he can use the child as collateral to bind me obediently to him.”

As Chaika finished speaking, coldness, disgust, and scorn passed across his face in turn. Watching him, Nile recalled a piece of advice Andre Lucius had given before Nile left for here.

“Don’t try to persuade him or give him advice for his own good. It’ll be pointless anyway.”

“What if you sent him a letter, my lord? Surely he might listen at least a little to his own brother.”

:With that obsessive, filthy personality of his? My words would never reach him. If I weren’t his brother—if I were just some unrelated alpha—he’d sneak into my room at night and slit my throat without hesitation.”

“……”

“So just let him do whatever he wants. If that’s what it takes to loosen the knot in his chest, let him. If you interfere unnecessarily, his rage might be turned on us instead of some other alpha—and I don’t have the confidence to bear that.”

Andre Lucius had been right. If even his own brother couldn’t stop him, there was no way Nile could.

“How’s your body? Judging by your complexion, most of the poison seems to be gone.”

Nile changed the subject.

To induce a state resembling long-term addiction, Chaika had begun consuming several times the daily dose of that potent poison months before coming here. It was extremely dangerous, yet Chaika hadn’t cared. Even when lashes were laid across his back, he never once cried out. To ensure the scars remained, he endured repeated floggings over months and left the wounds untreated. Chaika was that ruthless with himself.

“The poison is almost completely purged now. The rest will disappear with time. Of course, it’ll take quite a while for the organ damage to fully heal—but considering it’s the price for stealing the Castiya duke’s child, it’s not a bad deal.”

“…You’re brutal,”

Nile muttered with a sigh. Hearing that, Chaika laughed out loud as if he’d just been praised. He straightened from the sofa and leaned toward Nile.

“You need to be more ruthless too. Omegas need that, desperately.”

“…Sometimes I can’t tell whether you hate alphas, or if you hate omegas,”

Nile said softly—an honest admission.

Chaika despised, loathed, and hated alphas. But at times, he seemed to feel the same way about omegas—especially those too soft, too sentimental, too weak to be ruthless, who had their fates toyed with by alphas. Whenever Chaika looked at such omegas, pity and sorrow mingled with frustration and contempt on his face.

Chaika stared at Nile for a moment at his candor, then smiled faintly. It was impossible to tell whether it was affirmation or denial.

Draining the cold tea in front of him in one go, Chaika stood.

“If I stay here any longer, the duke’s bound to kick the door down again. Let’s call it a day. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“All right.”

As he walked toward the door, Chaika suddenly turned his head and said,

“If anyone asks, just say you’re teaching me what life as an omega is like. I lived as an ignorant beta until now—there’s a lot I’d need to learn.”

“Got it.”

Nile nodded. Standing at the doorway, Chaika paused and took a few slow breaths, then altered his expression and posture before pushing the door open. Turning back, he greeted him in a bright voice.

“I’ll come again tomorrow, Lord Nile!”

Nile forced a smile and waved at Chaika, who looked like an entirely different person as he spoke.

Author: Levia