“I-I think….”
The one who spoke first swallowed hard as he tried to think of what to say next. But no matter how much he racked his brain, there was no sharp solution to be found.
“Well… the law stating that omegas cannot possess private property or exercise such rights is an ancient one, deeply rooted and long established…. I don’t believe it’s possible to suddenly change the law like this…. I apologize.”
The words he squeezed out with what little courage he had were exactly what everyone else wanted to say as well. In truth, there really wasn’t anything else to say.
Mihail stared at him expressionlessly, then suddenly bared one side of his teeth in a savage grin. As he uncrossed his arms, the man who had just spoken instinctively took a step back. Mihail clenched his fist and slammed it down on the desk with a deafening bang. Everyone jumped in place in shock. The thick wooden surface where his fist struck was completely shattered. If he’d punched a person’s face with that much force, their facial bones would’ve been pulverized beyond recognition.
“Isn’t that exactly why I’m telling you to find a way?”
Mihail said with a feral smile. His tone, however, was oddly gentle—which only made him more terrifying.
Watching this, Ilya stepped in once more.
“Mihail. Why are you suddenly thinking like this? The fact that omegas can’t possess private property is a law that’s been passed down the same way in most countries. If you’re worried about the child, you can just do what the legal advisor said and place the assets in a trust. Arrange it so the child receives a generous pension every month—enough to live comfortably for life. That should be enough, shouldn’t it?”
At Ilya’s words, everyone nodded fervently, as if their lives had just been spared.
In truth, Ilya wasn’t wrong. The idea of an omega being able to live independently without an alpha’s protection or care was nothing short of a nightmare for alphas. That was why most countries denied omegas property rights altogether.
Of course, not everyone agreed with such laws. There were always those who, even if their child was an omega, treasured them beyond all measure. Those people sought ways to ensure their children could live even a slightly more secure and affluent life. That was where trusts came in. A significant amount of property would be allocated in the omega’s name, with a trusted administrator exercising those rights on their behalf. Most arrangements ensured the omega received a monthly pension for life. An omega who received a steady pension and had basic living skills could live a relatively free life.
Naturally, many omegas weren’t so fortunate. Most were handed over to alphas according to their family’s or father’s wishes, receiving a guaranteed pension in exchange for bearing that alpha’s children. The wealthier the family whose children they bore—and the more children they had—the larger the monthly pension became. That was how their livelihoods were secured.
Mihail crossed his arms again and let out a deep, heavy sigh. Everyone dared to hope that he might finally relent. But that hope was quickly crushed.
“I’ll say it again. If my child is born an omega, find a way to grant them legitimate inheritance rights. Right now.”
Repeating his earlier words verbatim, Mihail swept his cold gray eyes across the line of men standing before him. His pheromones were fully released. An alpha’s pheromones might provoke sexual arousal in omegas, but to others, they were no different from killing intent.
Those who were hit by both Mihail’s gaze and his pheromones at once felt their knees shake violently. The only reason they managed to remain standing at all was because some of them had experienced similar situations before.
“Hurry.”
Mihail said, glancing at his watch. His pheromones continued to intensify. It was an extremely effective form of threat—and torture. Unable to endure it any longer, everyone broke into a cold sweat and staggered where they stood. The youngest of the legal advisors finally couldn’t take it anymore and collapsed to the floor with a thud. Then, as if screaming for salvation, he shouted,
“There—there is! A way!”
Mihail’s pheromones vanished instantly. Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. But the very next moment, all eyes turned to the young man slumped on the floor with looks that clearly asked if he’d lost his mind.
Feeling those stares, the young legal advisor swallowed hard and shakily got to his feet. Trembling under the scrutiny of those gray eyes, he forced himself to speak.
“Th-that omegas can’t possess private property or exercise rights… is because that’s what the country’s law dictates.”
At that point, everyone wore expressions of utter disbelief. Repeating what had already been said just to buy time would only invite even greater pressure.
“So?”
Mihail asked crookedly. The young legal advisor gulped, then spoke with a face full of grim determination.
“Then we should simply change the country’s law.”
“What?!”
“Hah!”
At the ignorant young man’s outrageous statement, the others let out incredulous scoffs. Everyone except one. Mihail alone was different. His gray eyes narrowed slightly, a satisfied gleam flashing through them. Watching him, Ilya realized it—Mihail had been waiting for someone to say exactly that.
Perhaps emboldened now, the young legal advisor continued.
“Your Grace governs the most strategically important military stronghold in the nation, and after His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince, you hold third place in the line of succession. Your influence on the country is immense. If someone like you were to actively push for changing or reforming an unjust law that’s been in place for so long, I believe there’s more than enough possibility that the law could be changed—or at least relaxed.”
Clenching his fists as he spoke, the young advisor looked less like someone who had carefully thought this through and more like someone blurting out whatever came to mind. But once he finished speaking, perhaps even he found his own argument convincing.
“Yes! Exactly! It’s possible!”
He shouted boldly.
“That… that lunatic.”
The oldest legal advisor muttered in horror. The others refrained from voicing their curses aloud, but their eyes all clearly screamed the same thing: Are you insane? Ilya, who could already see exactly where this was headed now that those words had been spoken, covered his eyes with his palm and sighed deeply.
“That’s a fine idea.”
Mihail said leisurely, smiling. His gray eyes sparkled sharply with delight, like a predator that had just spotted excellent prey. At Mihail’s approval, the young legal advisor nodded so hard his whole body shook, repeatedly shouting, “Yes! Yes!”
Mihail slowly swept his gaze over the man eagerly shouting affirmations and the others lined up beside him. Then, still smiling, he spoke.
“Since we’ve got a good idea, gather those good brains of yours and research a way to overhaul the nation’s laws. This is urgent, so don’t even think about leaving the conference room next door until you’ve come up with something.”
With that refreshingly blunt declaration, Mihail motioned to the butler, ordering him to herd the men into the adjacent conference room. The butler and servants guided them away. Their heads and shoulders drooped as they trudged toward the room, their eyes no different from prisoners being led to the execution grounds.
“Things are really going to hell.”
Ilya muttered with a click of his tongue. Once Mihail made up his mind like that, he never stopped until he got what he wanted. He became dozens of times more reckless than a rabid boar. If the country didn’t change its laws, he might even start a war. …No, that was entirely possible.
Once the men disappeared into the conference room, Mihail stood up as well. The faint impatience in his movements made it obvious—he was about to rush straight back to Chaika.
“Wait.”
Ilya grabbed him.
“Let’s talk for a moment.”
At Ilya’s words, Mihail glanced at his watch, hesitated briefly, then sat back down. Under normal circumstances, he would’ve left without a second thought, so the fact that he sat again meant that, despite appearances, even Mihail understood how serious this matter was.
“What is it? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
Ilya asked bluntly. His expression was deliberately grave. It had to be—this was a grave situation.
The law preventing omegas from possessing private property or exercising property rights was an extremely significant one, upheld not just in this country but across the continent among imperial families, royal houses, and the nobility. Since the overwhelming majority of those in power were alphas, they had no choice but to be fiercely conservative regarding laws concerning omegas. Touching that law meant turning all alphas into enemies. No matter how powerful or wealthy Duke Mihail Castiya was, making enemies of all alphas was dangerous.
“You do realize how serious this is, right?”
Ilya asked again. Mihail looked at him for a moment, then let out a shallow sigh and turned back to his seat. He leaned deeply into the chair and crossed both feet atop the desk. Ilya also perched himself on the edge of the desk, sitting crookedly as he faced Mihail.
Mihail interlaced his fingers and rested his hands on his knee. His index finger twitched rhythmically, a sign he was lost in thought. After a brief pause, he finally spoke.
“The kid cries.”
“……What?”
Ilya asked back several beats later, doubting his own ears. Mihail frowned, looking thoroughly fed up, and repeated himself.
“Chaika, I mean. He cries, saying that if the child is born an omega, he’ll have to watch them be sold off to some alpha they don’t want, whether for political reasons or whatever else—and that he’d rather poison them like what was done to him. No matter how many times I tell him I won’t let that happen, he just stays gloomy. Even now, he tears up at the slightest thing. Ever since he found out he was pregnant, I haven’t seen him smile even once.”
“…Ha…!”
Ilya vented his surging anger through a hollow laugh. Once wasn’t enough—he had to laugh emptily several times.
Wasn’t this the same Mihail who had loathed omegas for nearly fifty years, refusing to let them come anywhere near him? The man who treated their fragrant pheromones like latrine stench, who saw beautiful omegas as pathetic creatures whose only worth was popping out children and living idly off others. And now that he’d fallen for one omega, this was the result…. He’d given everything—his liver, his gallbladder, everything—and was still writhing in desperation.
“They say late love is the scariest.”
After a long moment, Ilya finally managed to rein in his boiling emotions and muttered the words. Mihail burst out laughing, apparently finding something about them amusing.
this is getting really exciting