“…Chaika?”
Mihail brushed up the hair of the bowed Chaika and looked at his profile. The face that had been pale was now flushed red. Chaika tilted his head slightly and looked at Mihail. When their eyes met, his golden eyelashes fluttered in a small spasm.
There was no need to ask again. It was jealousy. His chest tightened with satisfaction. Even while worshipping Nile as if he were the sky itself, Chaika had been quietly worrying all on his own that Nile and Mihail might end up in bed together.
Without a word, Mihail pulled Chaika tightly into his arms. His mood soared to the heavens and then crashed to the ground over the smallest reactions, the tiniest actions from this creature. Did Chaika realize that he was so easily toying with the Duke of Castiya, a man even the emperor himself could not treat lightly?
After clinging to Mihail in silence for a long while, idly fiddling with his hands, Chaika cautiously opened his mouth.
“…Lord Nile’s heat cycle is coming up soon.”
“Wasn’t it just recently?”
Mihail frowned. Unlike an alpha’s rut, an omega’s heat cycle was usually periodic. It was far too early for the next one.
“That’s why Lord Nile was surprised as well. He said it might be because he’s been in close proximity every day with you, Lord Mihail, a Dominant Alpha… that perhaps he was influenced by it….”
Because he disliked and even loathed omegas as a concept, Mihail didn’t know much about them.
What an endlessly troublesome breed.
He muttered inwardly, while speaking aloud in a calm voice.
“Have them prescribe suppressants.”
“……. Yes.”
The short reply, delayed, trembled slightly. Was he relieved that Mihail and Nile wouldn’t be sleeping together? If so, that pleased him.
“And….”
Chaika paused to steady his breath before continuing.
“Even with suppressants, the heat cycle period is very hard on him. I want to stay by his side and take care of him, just during the heat cycle.”
Having said that much, Chaika quickly added,
“Up until now, I’ve always stayed by his side during his heat cycles. Always.”
“Absolutely n—”
Just as Mihail was about to cut him off sharply, Chaika tightly clasped Mihail’s hand and looked up at him with pleading eyes.
“Please. Lord Mihail.”
Good grief.
Mihail groaned inwardly.
His resolve shattered at the words of a mere bean-sized beta human clutching his hand. Chaika didn’t miss the opening and pleaded once more.
“Even if it’s long, it’ll only be a few days. Please, just during that time. Lord Mihail.”
The game was already over. Mihail couldn’t bring himself to refuse Chaika’s earnest request. Even though he was already past the point of refusal, the thought of Chaika spending days and nights together with Nile made his insides churn. The idea of not seeing him for several days only fueled his irritation and anger. Truly, there wasn’t a single thing about omegas that wasn’t infuriating.
“……. Fine.”
Mihail finally forced the word of consent out. His insides were still boiling.
Chaika’s eyes widened slightly, then his lips softened. The corners of his eyes curved gently, and like a flower bud blooming fully, a bright smile slowly spread across his face. It was the first time Mihail had seen him smile so openly. His heart pounded as if it might smash through his ribs.
“For someone so tiny.”
How dare he toy with me like this?
Mihail pinched Chaika’s cheek hard. Even with his cheek pinched, Chaika laughed happily, grinning like an idiot.
“Thank you, Lord Mihail.”
Chaika hugged Mihail tightly. A spike of petty irritation rose—was he that happy to be able to take care of Nile?—but it quietly subsided under the force of the tight embrace.
“How many days will it take?”
“If he takes the suppressants properly at the start, it usually ends in two or three days. But since it came on suddenly due to the influence of you, Lord Mihail, a Dominant Alpha, they said they can’t be certain. Still, it should be over in three or four days.”
“Now it’s progressed from annoying to downright bothersome. Omegas, of all things.”
When Mihail spat the words out irritably, Chaika said nothing and only hugged him even tighter.
“In just a few days… everything will go back to normal… and we can be like this again. Just like now.”
Chaika repeated it as if making a vow. In that moment, Mihail felt something clatter again. Even while holding him, Chaika felt too far away. An unfathomable distance.
“Chaika.”
Calling his name, Mihail tried to loosen the embrace and look at his face. But Chaika shook his head and burrowed even deeper into Mihail’s arms.
***
Only a few hours after Chaika shut himself away in Nile’s residence with suppressants, Mihail’s patience had already hit rock bottom. The creature he had spent nearly every waking hour with, save for sleep, was suddenly gone, leaving the day completely empty. It hadn’t even been a few months since Chaika had come to Castiya Castle, yet in that short time, he had grown far too large a presence in Mihail’s life.
“At first, all I wanted was to catch an impudent intruder who dared set foot in my study.”
Slouched crookedly in his office chair, Mihail opened a box. The very first trace of Chaika he had found back when he was still chasing him—discovered between the bookshelves of the study. Inside lay a single strand of brown hair with a coarse, awful texture. Mihail took it out, rubbing it between his fingers and twirling it slowly. Bringing it to his nose, he could still faintly smell the bitter scent.
Mihail felt the urge to march straight to Nile’s residence, kick down the firmly shut door, and snatch Chaika away. No—there hadn’t been a single moment since Chaika went there when he hadn’t felt that urge.
“Damn omega.”
Grinding his teeth, Mihail cursed Nile, who had snatched Chaika away, claiming another heat cycle had come not long after the last one. And once this heat cycle was over, he resolved to deal with Nile before the next one arrived—whether that meant sending him back to Marquis Lucius’s household or handing him over somewhere else.
The butler pushed a tray in and began preparing tea. After inhaling the scent of the hair several more times, Mihail carefully returned it to the box and closed the lid.
“Still nothing?”
The irritation seeped plainly into the question he asked dozens of times a day.
“Judging by the fact that the door hasn’t opened, that seems to be the case. The knights are guarding the entrance thoroughly, so please do not worry.”
The butler replied as he poured the tea.
“It’s already been two days.”
Mihail muttered irritably and clicked his tongue. Two days if it was short, three or four if it dragged on. If it ran long, he’d have to wait another two days on top of the two already passed. A curse nearly slipped out.
“Would you care to go hunting? With winter coming, it would be a good opportunity to catch a fox or marten and make a coat for Chaika.”
The butler offered temptingly. If he had to wait around anyway, hunting might at least ease the boredom and anxiety. And bringing back fox or marten pelts to make Chaika a coat would be perfect.
“…No.”
Mihail shook his head. The one going through the heat cycle was Nile, and Chaika was merely staying by his side to care for him—but for some reason, the unease and restlessness wouldn’t fade. An alpha’s instincts, especially those of a Dominant Alpha, were highly developed; if Mihail felt this anxious, there had to be a reason. In this state, there was no way hunting would go well.
“Frequently check on the knights at the door, and make sure security is tight so no one can break in through the lower windows of the residence.”
Mihail repeated the same orders he had already given several times yesterday and today.
An omega in heat becomes extremely vulnerable. Not only is the omega themselves not in their right mind due to overwhelming reproductive urges, but once they take suppressants, they fall into a near-unconscious sleep until the cycle passes.
The dense pheromones their body emits stimulate nearby alphas and draw them in. Alphas who have safely passed their young years have some degree of self-control, but young and inexperienced alphas, once exposed to those pheromones, tend to rush in without thinking.
Suppressants prevent pregnancy and drastically reduce the amount of pheromones released, but the scent is still far stronger than usual. That was why, just like last time, seasoned alpha knights had been stationed as guards. It wasn’t to protect Nile, but out of concern that if some crazed alpha broke in, Chaika might get caught up in it and be hurt.
Just as Mihail lifted his teacup to his lips, he frowned and slammed it down roughly. Hot tea splashed onto the desk. Without showing surprise, the butler pulled out a handkerchief and wiped it away.
“Two days is more than enough time.”
Muttering that, Mihail abruptly stood up. Agreeing in the first place had been a mistake brought on by Chaika’s pleading. And he’d waited two full days—surely that was sufficient. Even if he went and brought Chaika back now, Chaika wouldn’t resent him too much. After all, how much care did an omega who’d taken suppressants and was passed out asleep even need?
The moment he decided to bring Chaika back, his mood brightened and refreshed. Smiling faintly with one corner of his mouth raised, Mihail headed for the door.
Knock. Knock.
Just as he was about to open it, a knock sounded. An ill-timed visitor. Planning to ignore whoever it was and go straight to Chaika, Mihail yanked the door open. But the instant he saw the visitor’s face, his thoughts changed.
“Your Grace.”
The one bowing deeply was none other than the herbalist in question. He hadn’t been particularly pleasant to look at to begin with, but after enduring relentless, near-threatening pressure, his face looked utterly haggard.
“I’ve finally identified it, Your Grace.”
The herbalist practically spat the words out in a hoarse voice. He even swayed slightly as he stood, as though he hadn’t slept for days.
Mihail alternated his gaze between the corridor leading to Nile’s residence and the herbalist. His urge to rush over and snatch Chaika back was far stronger than his desire to hear about the herb. But it was information Chaika had deliberately hidden. With Chaika absent, it was better to hear it now. He could always go get him immediately afterward.
Mihail jerked his chin, signaling him to come in, then returned to his office chair. Crossing his legs and propping both feet up on the desk, he leaned back deeply and waited for the herbalist to speak.
