The evening glow had completely faded into a dark night. Cayden, who had hurriedly risen from his seat upon hearing a knock, thinking Lihet might have arrived, froze in surprise when he saw who entered through the opened door.
“…”
Assad entered the bedroom without a word and only stopped when he reached Cayden.
Cayden, frozen stiff under Assad’s intense gaze, only regained his senses when Assad placed a bottle of fragrant oil in his hand.
Assad didn’t seem inclined to speak first. Not knowing what to say to him, Cayden fidgeted anxiously for a while.
Why had Assad come here? He couldn’t even begin to guess the reason.
“…Thank you,” Cayden said amidst feelings of discomfort and confusion. It was one of the few Imperial phrases he could offer without hesitation.
Upon hearing these words of gratitude, the corner of Assad’s mouth turned upward. It wasn’t quite a pretty smile, but rather one that suggested a certain crookedness.
Unable to understand Assad’s intentions, Cayden could only keep his mouth shut and watch carefully. Soon, he noticed where Assad’s gaze had landed.
Cayden raised his free hand to lightly touch his own neck. He was trying to cover the scar that might offend Assad’s eyes.
Cayden had changed into a robe without a high collar to lie down on the bed. The burn mark below his neck, darker than the faint wound on one side of his right cheek, was fully exposed.
If he had known Assad would visit, he wouldn’t have been in such a state.
He worried that he would once again face Assad’s angry eyes. It was certain that irritation would rise again at being forcibly joined in marriage to someone as unsightly as himself.
Assad looked down at the restless Cayden with a posture as crooked as his smile.
Silently extending his hand, Assad grabbed Cayden’s wrist. The hand that had been covering his neck was powerlessly pulled away in an instant. The old scar once again revealed itself as it was.
“Did those fools from Elba gossip about that scar being your flaw?”
“…”
“But this is the desert. Something like this can’t possibly be considered your flaw.”
Assad spoke in a somewhat blunt tone.
“Do you understand?”
At the immediate follow-up question, Cayden hurriedly nodded. It was instead of uttering the still awkward Imperial language.
“Teaching you the Imperial language wasn’t entirely useless after all. You understand at least somewhat now.”
Cayden awkwardly smiled back at Assad, who was smiling with satisfaction.
Not a flaw, he said. It was the first time Cayden had heard such words. He could only open and close his mouth, not knowing what to do.
It wasn’t just words. Assad didn’t mock him or pretend not to see his scars. Nor did he give him a sympathetic look as if feeling sorry or regretful. There was no sign he would raise his hand in disgust, saying it was unpleasant to look at or that he hadn’t covered it properly.
Assad was indifferent. He felt no personal sentiment toward Cayden’s scar.
Cayden liked Assad’s indifference. And that made him flustered. He wanted to run away from this unfamiliar feeling, this strange emotion he had never felt before, whether it was gratitude or something else.
‘Assad’s body temperature is as hot as his gaze…’
Looking at the hand holding him, Cayden found himself thinking such meaningless thoughts. It was avoidance.
Tsk. Looking down at his bride who had always been foolish but had somehow become even more foolish, Assad clicked his tongue.
With his remaining hand, he grabbed Cayden’s chin and examined various parts of his face, turning it left and right. The black hair, longer than that of desert men, kept tickling the tips of his fingers.
“Just like someone who always covers their entire body. Only your face is burnt red.”
There was a hint of displeasure in Assad’s eyes as he said this. Cayden was so surprised that he even forgot he was being held by the face.
Could it be that he had heard about Cayden going to the training grounds? But Amun had promised to keep it a secret. Cayden had no intention of doubting Amun. He probably just mentioned in passing about a foolish man with a reddened face. Perhaps he just added that the man needed to be sent some fragrant oil.
But that… wouldn’t be reason enough for Assad to come all the way to his bedroom with a bottle of oil.
Cayden found Assad’s unexplained kindness perplexing. And a little fascinating.
“I’m sorry,” Cayden said. But seeing that his words only seemed to cause more irritation on Assad’s face, he immediately closed his mouth.
It would be better to stay silent than to awkwardly continue speaking. It didn’t seem like a good choice to let Assad hear his voice either.
In the sudden silence that fell, Cayden cautiously observed Assad, who had abruptly gone quiet.
The hand that had been holding Cayden’s face pulled away. Not completely, though. The tip of Assad’s finger touched Cayden’s tense Adam’s apple. A subtle ticklish sensation spread where his thumb had traced.
Assad’s hand moved from Cayden’s Adam’s apple to his chin, cheek, and thin earlobe, before finally settling on the back of his head. Assad, holding the downcast man’s head without hurting him, unconsciously leaned forward. Half-impulsively, he brought his nose to his bride’s exposed neck.
“…Are you really an omega?”
Assad’s murmur spread like a sigh against Cayden’s ear. Cayden closed his eyes obediently, frightened as if he were a captured prisoner.
“Even being this close, I can’t sense your scent. Whether you’re good at hiding your pheromones or not actually an omega, I really can’t tell.”
Cayden had already informed the doctors and healing magicians who had visited him that his pheromone glands were half-damaged. But Assad didn’t know this fact. He probably hadn’t listened because he didn’t need to know about the pheromone problems of an omega he wasn’t interested in. Cayden understood Assad.
However, it felt strange to stammer an explanation in broken Imperial language at this moment. Cayden chose instead to carefully redirect the conversation.
“Your Highness… is the same.”
Not being able to sense a scent was true for Assad as well.
Unlike other alphas, Assad never revealed his pheromones under any circumstances. From their first meeting until now, he hadn’t released even a little bit of his pheromones, even in front of Cayden who was irritating to his eyes. This despite pheromones being the best way to torment alphas and omegas who displeased you.
It wasn’t because Assad was weak. He was a very strong alpha. That was something one could know without him having to release his pheromones. Not just omegas or alphas, but even betas would be able to notice that much. So, not showing his pheromones was purely Assad’s choice.
“Those who release their pheromones at every opportunity are unsightly. They don’t even know to be ashamed.”
The hand that had been holding the back of his head slid down. Creating rough-looking wrinkles on the smooth fabric, it traced the body beneath the robe.
Bringing his body close, Assad tried to sense Cayden’s scent. As if confused by the existence of an omega with no detectable pheromones, he buried his nose in Cayden’s neck and pulled Cayden’s body closer with his hand.
Cayden quietly surrendered his body to Assad. He held back any sound even when firm hands grabbed his waist.
He didn’t want to displease Assad.
Though the man who still kept him in the position of Crown Prince Consort and who had now kindly brought him fragrant oil wouldn’t suddenly change and slap him across the face… he still needed to be careful not to go against his mood.
An omega shouldn’t react in any way to whatever an alpha, especially an angry one, might do. That was a survival technique Cayden had learned through long experience.
But the bodies that had been pressed completely together suddenly separated. The distance between them widened in an instant.
Cayden cautiously opened his eyes and looked at the man in front of him.
“This is… insane.”
Assad’s face, glaring at Cayden, had turned red. He didn’t look angry. He seemed to feel awkward about the unintended contact.
Hastily withdrawing his hands that had been floating in the air, Cayden smoothed out his wrinkled clothes as if nothing had happened. Perceptively, he lowered his gaze.
“That oil…”
“…”
“The oil… apply it yourself.”
After finishing his words, Assad quickly turned his back and left the bedroom with hurried steps. The sound of the door closing was as noisy as his footsteps.
Raising his head, Cayden stood there blankly, staring at the closed door. Whether it was because of their strength or their youth, both Assad and Amun seemed quite adept at opening and closing that heavy door, he thought.
Cayden lowered his gaze to the bottle of fragrant oil in his hand.
‘Assad is such an unpredictable person.’
Assad disliked him. Sometimes he openly showed his discomfort. But he never displayed anger beyond mere displeasure. Lately, he had even been showing Cayden a strange kind of kindness.
It was the same now. Though his words were a bit rough, hadn’t he personally brought this fragrant oil? Coming all the way to the west wing of the separate palace.
And then…
“Did those fools from Elba gossip about that scar being your flaw?”
“But this is the desert. Something like this can’t possibly be considered your flaw.”
He had said such things.
Assad must have been inherently kind and gentle. If he had welcomed the beautiful bride he was supposed to marry as his partner, he wouldn’t have acted like such an unpredictable person. He would have been simply very affectionate.
Cayden felt sorry for Assad.
That feeling of sorry was several times greater than the fear Cayden held toward Assad. His heart felt heavy. Even knowing that he wasn’t the cause of this situation, Cayden felt a subtle sense of guilt.
Cayden absently stroked the bottle of fragrant oil Assad had given him. Perhaps because it had been held by someone with a high body temperature? The smooth glass bottle somehow felt warm.
