“Mihail.”
From somewhere near the high, arched ceiling, someone called Mihail’s name. Descending the wide, solid oak staircase was a handsome man with blond hair and blue eyes—Count Ilya Vasari. The moment Mihail saw Ilya, he made no effort to hide his displeasure, his brows knitting together in an expression thick with blatant irritation and annoyance.
“You abandoned the Emperor’s envoy and went rolling around in the forest for ten whole days—are you out of your mind?”
Whether Mihail frowned or not, Ilya began scolding him the instant he reached the bottom of the stairs. And he had reason to. The moment Mihail received word that the Emperor’s envoy had arrived at the outer gate, he had immediately set off alone on a hunting trip, carrying nothing but a dagger on his person. Anyone could tell it had been entirely deliberate.
“Ten full days. Ten! You left an envoy who came bearing the Emperor’s command waiting for ten days just because of a hunt. Unless you’re actively trying to get summoned to the Imperial Palace again—”
As Ilya continued speaking, Mihail paid him no mind. He casually stripped off his tattered upper garment and tossed it to a servant. A beautifully sculpted, muscular torso—one that anyone might admire—was revealed, but it was just as filthy as the shirt he had removed, making it impossible to feel any urge to touch or grope it.
“So what kind of beast did you chase that it took ten days?”
Having stopped his scolding, Ilya asked with visible curiosity. In fact, even the earlier reprimand seemed little more than a formality—there was not a trace of impatience or anxiety on his face over having kept the Emperor’s envoy waiting for more than ten days.
“It was a magnificent one.”
The thrill and exhilaration of the moment he discovered it deep in the forest while searching for prey. The anticipation that sent electric jolts through his entire body as he pursued it. And finally, the instant he sat beside the creature after it had declared its surrender and collapsed, placing his hand on its pitifully panting body and mercifully ending its life. The vivid, raw taste of life—red blood and the heat of fresh organs.
Mihail’s eyes slowly narrowed, as though savoring every sensation and pleasure from that time. Seeing the dense satisfaction seeping from his expression, Ilya seemed to understand and refrained from asking further.
“No one’s ignorant of your temperament, so they probably endured and waited however they could. But now that you’re back, we can’t keep them waiting any longer. Go do something about that state you’re in first.”
Ilya waved his hand dismissively, his expression one of concern that dirt or stains might somehow transfer onto his own clothes.
The Emperor’s envoy was only allowed to set foot in the audience chamber a full half-day after hearing the news that Mihail had finally returned to the castle. Befitting the immense scale of the fortress, the audience chamber itself rivaled the Imperial Palace in both size and splendor.
Having spent that half-day resting at leisure, Mihail received the Emperor’s envoy while sitting slouched crookedly in his chair. As a dominant Alpha among Alphas—beings with lifespans two to three times longer than humans and superior physical abilities—Mihail possessed such overwhelming presence that merely sitting still was enough to crush the spirit of anyone before him.
“I pay my respects to His Grace, Duke Castiya.”
The envoy approached with great effort to maintain proper decorum and offered his salute. Though he tried hard to remain composed, his face had gone pale and his voice trembled slightly. When he finally lifted his head and met Mihail’s gaze, his knees even buckled for a moment, causing him to stagger.
Duke Mihail Castiya, like other dominant Alphas, was a breathtakingly beautiful man. His refined features were enough to leave one speechless upon first meeting him; his slightly disheveled black hair and those cold, gray eyes were so inhuman that they stole one’s breath. Had the envoy been a poet, he could have written hundreds of verses praising the Duke of Castiya’s beauty on the spot.
The Duke was flawless—his looks, his physique, everything about him without a speck of imperfection. There was only one drawback, if it could be called that: his notoriously filthy personality, infamous throughout the realm.
The gray eyes staring at the envoy—who stood frozen, overwhelmed by Mihail’s appearance and charisma—were frigid, tinged with deep irritation. It felt as though if the envoy uttered even a single displeasing word or made the slightest misstep, those hands would immediately reach out and snap his neck.
The real problem was that Duke Mihail Castiya not only had the strength to snap the envoy’s neck with his bare hands, but enough power to tear off his head and limbs as well. The fortunate thing was that, no matter how hostile, violent, and ill-tempered Mihail was, he could not harm someone who carried a command issued directly by the Emperor himself.
“So. What is it this time?”
Mihail asked, propping his elbow on the armrest and resting his chin on his hand. It was an outrageously disrespectful tone for inquiring about an imperial command, but the envoy did not dare to take issue with it. As was often the case among Alpha siblings, the relationship between the Emperor and the Duke of Castiya was so bad that the word “toxic” fit it perfectly. The fact that Mihail had not prefaced his question with “that bastard” was enough to judge that he was in a relatively good mood.
“There is an urgent matter to discuss, and His Majesty commands that you visit the Imperial Palace at once.”
“I’m not going.”
The moment the envoy finished speaking, Mihail cut him off flatly. But he was not an imperial envoy for nothing. He opened his mouth again immediately.
“This is His Majesty the Emperor’s command.”
As the envoy spoke in a deliberately stern tone, Mihail bared his teeth slightly and let out an irritated laugh.
“He wouldn’t seriously think I’d come just because he tells me to. And if I refuse, there’s something else you’re supposed to say, isn’t there? Stop wasting words and say it. Before I tear out that fragile little throat of yours.”
Gulp.
This time, the envoy could not suppress it and swallowed hard. The sound of him forcing down saliva in his parched throat was so loud it echoed all the way to the far end of the vast audience chamber.
Standing one’s ground even once against Duke Mihail Castiya was more than enough bravery for a lifetime. The envoy hastily brought out the Emperor’s second command. Just as the Duke had said, the Emperor knew perfectly well that the brother who loathed him would not respond to a mere summons. He had only intended to poke at his temper before issuing the real order. Whether the envoy’s life dangled in the balance in the meantime was not something the Emperor cared about.
“The Castiya territory is not only the largest and most fertile in the Empire, but also a critical military stronghold. As the Duke who governs such an important domain, Your Grace still has no heir. This is not merely a personal matter but a matter of national importance. His Majesty commands that you cease delaying and promptly produce an heir.”
It was immediately obvious that Mihail’s mood—already not particularly good—had soured completely. Before Mihail could speak, the envoy hurriedly added,
“One year. If you fail to produce an heir within exactly one year from today, then in consideration of the gravity of the matter, His Majesty intends to summon you to the Imperial Palace and personally arrange a match so that an heir will be produced.”
“…That lunatic.”
A curse finally escaped Mihail’s mouth. If those words were reported to the Emperor, it would be an immediate execution, but true to his role, the envoy was not foolish enough to relay the insult verbatim. Ordinary humans had nothing to gain by inserting themselves into the conflicts and mind games of Alphas. An envoy serving in the Imperial Palace understood that better than anyone.
“His Majesty’s resolve is firm. I earnestly implore Your Grace to give the matter due consideration and ease His Majesty’s concerns.”
With his duty concluded, the envoy bowed deeply and slowly backed away. Fortunately, Mihail was so consumed by irritation and fury toward the Emperor that he paid the envoy no attention. The envoy safely reached the doors of the audience chamber and fled as though escaping for his life. Among those previously sent to Duke Castiya, there had been more than a few envoys who left with shattered facial bones or multiple broken limbs, so by comparison, today’s envoy could be considered extremely lucky.
Mihail’s mood, which had been soaring after a satisfying hunt, plummeted straight to the depths of hell. As he flung open the heavy doors of the audience chamber as though they might shatter, servants quietly stepped aside or held their breath wherever he passed. Mihail was not a master who went out of his way to torment or abuse his staff, but neither was he a generous one. Nothing good ever came from catching his eye—or crossing him—when he was in a foul mood.
“What did the envoy say to make your expression so rotten?”
Ilya appeared out of nowhere and approached him, asking the question. It was practically routine for Mihail’s irritation to explode after an imperial envoy’s visit, but today it was clearly worse than usual.
“He wants me to produce an heir within a year.”
Mihail spat the words out as though chewing on them. Ilya lifted his brows with a look of sympathy. One of the Emperor’s favorite pastimes was provoking his younger brother, and this time he had truly gone all out and kicked the hornet’s nest.
“Or else he’ll drag me to the Imperial Palace and personally arrange a match so I’ll produce one. That crazy bastard.”
Mihail’s face twisted into a ferocious scowl. If the Emperor were in front of him, he looked ready to lunge at him on the spot. In their childhood, when they had grown up together in the Imperial Palace, the Emperor and Mihail had fought so viciously whenever they met that it seemed one—or both—of them might die. While Alpha siblings were often like that, the two of them were particularly extreme.
Walking alongside Mihail, Ilya’s gaze flicked subtly to the side. Outside the window, the envoy could be seen spurring his horse and fleeing at full speed, as though in a desperate escape. In truth, the Emperor’s envoy had not delivered orders to Mihail alone. Through that same envoy, the Emperor had also given Ilya Vasari a secret command: to assist the Duke of Castiya in ensuring that an heir was definitively produced within a set time, and to bring about the result the Emperor desired.
This time, he really went too far.
Ilya murmured inwardly as he looked at Mihail’s grim expression.
Mihail, one of the few dominant Alphas on the continent, had the peculiar trait of not merely disliking Omegas, but finding them utterly repulsive. For an Alpha who could not obtain a legitimate heir without an Omega, this was an exceedingly troublesome predicament. Until now, those around him had exhausted every effort to find an Omega who might suit the Duke’s tastes, but all attempts had been in vain. As a result, the Emperor now had the perfect justification to torment the Duke of Castiya to the fullest extent.
