Ilya already had several beta lovers. In addition to those he kept formally, there were countless women who had merely passed through his life. After all, relationships with betas rarely produced children, and even if they did, the child would only ever be a beta.
In fact, Ilya did have one beta child. That child lived comfortably with Ilya’s financial support. Still, Ilya never met him. Alphas and betas aged at different rates and had different lifespans. Watching one’s own child grow old and die before oneself was not a particularly pleasant prospect.
“A beta of all things….”
Muttering to himself, Ilya soon nodded with a quiet hm.
“Well, you hate omegas with a passion, so beta’s the only option—but still, it could at least be a beautiful, young woman. Why someone like that, of all people….”
Ilya didn’t finish the sentence. If Mihail wanted that creature as a concubine, Ilya couldn’t very well say to his face that the thing was scrawny, miserable-looking, and lacked even the tiniest hint of beauty. Instead, Ilya brought up a more practical concern.
“You said Nile dotes on his little brother. He won’t give him up easily.”
“I don’t intend to give him a choice.”
Mihail cut him off sharply. Ilya shook his head.
“No matter the circumstances, Nile Lucius is a legitimate member of the Lucius marquisate. You can’t forcibly take someone a high-ranking noble is keeping privately without a proper pretext. On top of that, you’re not even formally married to Nile yet. The only right you can claim over him is to demand an heir. That’s it.”
It was realistic advice. Because Ilya was right, Mihail frowned deeply.
“That child belongs to Nile—and more precisely, to Marquis Lucius.”
“Then just pay the marquis and buy him.”
At Mihail’s words, Ilya stared into the campfire for a moment before speaking again.
“Or better yet, give Nile what he wants and demand the boy in return.”
“What Nile wants?”
“The heir you need just as much as he does. Nile has to bear your child to secure his position here. Only then can he guarantee a comfortable, affluent life later on through the heir he gives you. And you want Chaika.”
“…….”
“Make one heir, then ask for Chaika in exchange. Once the heir’s born, you can send Nile off to another castle or villa in the territory and let him live comfortably. That should settle it.”
It was, undeniably, a good idea.
An heir was necessary anyway, and there was the emperor’s command as well. Do what had to be done eventually, and gain what he wanted in the process. It was a clean solution. And yet….
“Just thinking about it makes me want to vomit. The fact that there’s an omega living in my castle already makes me sick. And you expect me to mate with one?”
Mihail spat the words as if chewing them to pieces. Ilya rubbed his forehead with his fingers and let out a long sigh. This was always where they ran into the same wall.
“…Shirl—”
The moment the name left Ilya’s mouth, Mihail hurled the bottle he was holding. Crack—! The bottle shattered as it hit the campfire, flames leaping high.
Shirl.
It was a forbidden name.
The omega who had borne both Ilya and Mihail—and the source of Mihail’s horrific revulsion toward omegas.
Despite Mihail’s violent reaction, Ilya didn’t stop. There was only one person in the world who could speak to Mihail about that matter, and that person was Ilya.
“Shirl truly loved you. And he truly loved me as well. For us, he would have given even his life.”
“And I’m sure he loves the child he’s raising now just as deeply.”
Mihail sneered.
“Shirl suffered after my father died. If he hadn’t accepted the former emperor, the former emperor would’ve killed not just my father, but me as well. He… Shirl accepted the former emperor solely to protect me.”
Alpha and omega—those who formed the imperial authority, royal power, and the uppermost tier of the nobility.
Though they stood at the top of society, when you looked inside, they were far more savage and instinct-driven than ordinary humans. If an alpha desired an omega, he would take them by any means necessary. If that omega already belonged to another alpha, he would kill that alpha and steal them. Such conflicts were most often caused by young alphas who lacked maturity and restraint—but exceptions always existed.
The former emperor, Mihail’s father, coveted Shirl—an omega who had married the previous Count Vasari and even undergone imprinting with him—and murdered Count Vasari. He then attempted to kill Ilya, who had been born between Shirl and Count Vasari. Threatening a child’s life to break an omega was one of an alpha’s most common tactics. Omegas, whose maternal instincts ran strong, would surrender without fail when their children were endangered. Shirl saved Ilya by going to the former emperor. Mihail was born afterward, between the former emperor and Shirl.
“But everything that came after that wasn’t about protecting anyone.”
Mihail said coldly.
The former emperor fell deeply in love with Shirl and imprinted on him.
Imprinting.
It was an extremely dangerous act. In exchange for making the other completely one’s own, it bound their deaths together. The unfairness lay in this: if the imprinted omega died, the alpha would die as well—but if the alpha died, the omega would simply be released from the imprint. Exploiting this imbalance, alphas killed other alphas and stole the omegas whose imprints had been severed. Because of that, most emperors and high-ranking nobles avoided imprinting altogether.
Both Count Vasari and the former emperor risked their lives to imprint on Shirl. That alone showed how deeply they had fallen for him. When the former emperor neared the end of his lifespan, he tried to kill Shirl and take him with him. He couldn’t tolerate the thought of another alpha possessing him. Yet in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Shirl left for a foreign king a few months after the former emperor’s death. Not long after, he bore that king’s child.
From an alpha’s perspective, imprinting was an unfair contract. And yet Shirl behaved as though the deaths of the two alphas who had imprinted on him meant nothing at all, moving on each time to a new alpha without hesitation.
The Shirl whom the former emperor had loved enough to want to kill and possess exclusively—yet loved too much to actually kill. To Shirl, however, none of it meant anything. He simply bore children, raised them, and when one partner died, moved on to the next.
“Shirl must’ve had circumstances he couldn’t escape. He was from the Ruslan Principality, after all.”
Ilya spoke quietly, but as always, Mihail didn’t listen. The overwhelming sense of betrayal he felt toward Shirl was far too solid, leaving no opening to be dismantled.
“I will never touch an omega. And I will never make a child.”
Mihail spoke calmly, but his eyes reflected the campfire’s light so vividly they looked as if they were burning.
***
After spending several days at the hunting cabin, Mihail returned to find that Chaika was nowhere to be seen. The moment he began scanning his surroundings upon arrival, the butler approached and informed him that Chaika was at Nile’s quarters. Without even changing his clothes, Mihail headed straight there.
Seeing Mihail striding down the corridor with a hardened expression, the servants waiting by the door promptly flung it open. They likely judged that this was preferable to having it kicked in. When the door opened without warning or a knock, Nile—who had been sitting on the sofa drinking tea—rose to his feet with startled eyes.
“…Your Grace.”
The surprise vanished quickly, and Nile inclined his head politely toward Mihail. Perhaps because of what had happened the day Chaika was taken away, his expression was composed and bare of warmth, favor, or even superficial courtesy.
“I’ve come to retrieve my servant.”
Mihail crooked his finger toward Chaika, who stood awkwardly beside Nile. During his absence, the boy should have been quietly cleaning or holed up in the library he loved so much, reading books—not scampering off to his brother the moment he had the chance. The sight made irritation boil up inside him.
When Mihail called him, Chaika usually came running without hesitation, anywhere, anytime. But this time was different. Chaika glanced back and forth between Nile and Mihail, biting down hard on his lower lip, clearly at a loss. Nile lifted one arm and drew Chaika close, then spoke in a calm yet firm tone.
“I let him go that day because the situation was sudden, but this child is my younger brother. I cannot allow Your Grace to use my brother as your servant.”
“Everything inside this castle belongs to me. You came here knowing that, didn’t you?”
Mihail said icily. But Nile proved unexpectedly unyielding. Even under Mihail’s cold gaze, he didn’t back down.
“You own me, Your Grace—but you do not own this child. This child belongs to me.”
“Then sell him to me.”
“This child is not an object for sale.”
Nile shook his head, eyes hard with resolve Mihail had never seen before. Mihail bared his teeth in a cold sneer.
“Everything has a price. People included. You had a price too. You saw with your own eyes as I paid the cost for you, didn’t you?”
“If you find me displeasing, contact the Lucius marquisate. They’ll send as many omegas as needed until you find one to your liking. But this child is not something to be sold. He is my brother. Wherever I go, he will go with me.”
Nile’s eyes, fixed on Mihail, were filled with determination. Mihail only mocked him in return.
“And do you have the power to protect him?”
In an instant, Mihail stepped forward, shoved Nile aside, and scooped Chaika up under his arm.
“Chaika!”
“Lord Nile!”
Nile, knocked to the side, and Chaika each called out to the other in alarm.
“Shut the doors and don’t let him out without my permission.”
The moment he left Nile’s quarters, Mihail issued the order and headed for his own bedroom with Chaika tucked under his arm.
