“…Mi…!”
Chaika, bundled so thickly that a light tap to his toe might have sent him rolling away, shouted a single syllable and clenched his fist tight. Then, as if scraping every last shred of courage from inside himself, he drew in a huge breath and yelled.
“Lord Mihail!”
It was the first time such a loud voice had ever come out of Chaika’s throat. Mihail’s name rang resoundingly across the wide garden. After shouting with all his strength, Chaika began charging toward Mihail as if a vanguard rider on a battlefield were rushing headlong into enemy lines.
Tap-tap-tap-tap—.
The sound of his feet pounding the ground was surprisingly fast. Mihail had noticed it from the first time Chaika fled the study—there was a nimble side to the creature. Even wrapped up roundly like a duckling, his running speed was faster than expected. Because the weight of his clothes pitched his upper body forward, he picked up even more speed just to keep from falling. He’s going to fall. Mihail clicked his tongue inwardly—and only a few seconds later, Chaika went sprawling forward with a loud thud.
“Idiot.”
Mihail clicked his tongue as he looked down at Chaika, who had fallen right at his feet. If he’d just endured two more steps, he could’ve grabbed onto Mihail or collided with him and avoided falling. To fail to endure even those two steps and end up flat on the ground—just when he seemed a little admirable, he immediately became pathetic and trivial again.
“M-Mihail… Lord Mihail.”
Chaika lay stretched out on the ground and reached up to grab Mihail’s shoe, then lifted his head to look up at him with a bright, happy smile. Seeing him grin like a chubby baby duck caked in dirt was beyond absurd.
The physician and servants, who had arrived late, lifted Chaika up from either side. While they brushed dust from the expensive fur coat now filthy with dirt, Chaika repeatedly bowed his head with a guilty expression, then sneakily raised his eyes to look at Mihail again. Mihail stood there with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing down at Chaika with an expressionless face.
Was that blank expression the reason he couldn’t bring himself to speak? After glancing up several times and moving his lips, Chaika eventually dropped his head completely and didn’t lift it again. At the crown of that lowered head, glossy golden hair—now the same color as his eyelashes—was visible. It was nothing like the dry, straw-like mess left by harsh dye before.
As Mihail briefly let his gaze rest on that shining blond hair, something suddenly plopped onto the ground at Chaika’s feet. Looking closer, he saw that Chaika was silently shedding tears with his head bowed low. At first, one or two droplets fell with soft plunks—then the tears began to fall nonstop, splashing onto the ground without end.
“…I-I’m sorry…. I’m sorry. It’s because I’m… an omega… I’m sorry.”
Like a traitor awaiting judgment, Chaika kept his head bowed as he sobbed and apologized again and again. But he never asked for forgiveness. It was as if Chaika believed that the fact he was an omega was something that could never be forgiven. And that was true. Everything else might be forgiven—but not that. That was Mihail. …Or at least, it was supposed to be.
Mihail felt as though he’d been trapped once more in a hamster wheel he could never stop. The desire to hold and comfort the creature, the pheromones pouring from him, the revulsion toward omegas, the sense of betrayal at having been deceived—and yet, despite all that, the creature remained unbearably cute, trivial, and lovable.
He couldn’t hold him. He couldn’t say he forgave him. But neither could he drive him away or push him far from his side. He could do nothing at all.
The ground beneath Chaika’s feet was soaked through. Watching the tears still dripping down, Mihail imagined the beautiful violet eyes they had pooled in. He wanted to grab Chaika’s chin and lift his face to look closely. But he couldn’t.
Keeping his hands clasped behind his back, Mihail walked past Chaika and continued on. From behind him came the sound of muffled sobbing.
“…Lord Mihail.”
He heard the desperate call as well. Mihail clenched his teeth.
Should he just keep feeding him poison and live together for ten years? Would that be fine? Like before—like it was meant to be….
No. That wasn’t possible. Ten years was too short. It was nothing more than an instant. He couldn’t kill him that way.
“Lord Mihail!!”
Chaika shouted again. Mihail heard the physician and servants restraining him as he tried to run after him. His chest felt so tight it was hard to breathe. For the first time since he was born, Mihail realized just how powerless he could be.
After returning to his office, Mihail summoned the butler.
“Assign one more knight to Chaika. The oldest and most experienced one.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The butler immediately left the office to carry out the order.
Mihail stared at Chaika, still rooted to the spot where he’d left him. With his head bowed low, he was still shedding tears. As they fell, the sweet, intoxicating pheromones emanating from him grew so thick they made it hard to breathe. The knight assigned to him was seasoned, but Mihail worried that having only one might still lead to trouble. With two, at least they’d keep each other in check—it would be safer.
“That’s enough. Go inside, you idiot.”
Mihail muttered as he looked at Chaika through the window. When the physician and servants urged him earnestly from either side, Chaika shook his head, doing nothing but letting his tears fall drop by drop.
“…Stupid thing.”
Mihail murmured with his hand pressed to the glass, as if touching Chaika himself. Seeing him stand there in the cold weather for so long, crying blankly, was maddeningly frustrating—and yet, at the same time, satisfying. The creature cared for Mihail just as much. He felt sorry, guilty, and yet still wanted to see him.
“An omega, of all things….”
Mihail forced strength into the words, but in truth, there was none of the old revulsion or aversion mixed into them anymore.
The next day, Mihail once again set out for a walk along the same route. Having already encountered Mihail once, Chaika headed briskly toward the spot where they’d met the moment he emerged from the tower. When he spotted Mihail, his rabbit-like eyes widened again. On his tiny, pale face, a happy, delighted smile slowly bloomed. Seeing it, Mihail muttered, Stupid thing.
“Mi—!”
Chaika raised a hand, about to call out loudly toward Mihail, but suddenly closed his mouth and lowered his hand. Unlike the full sprint from the day before, he walked quickly toward Mihail. He wasn’t running, but the speed was just as fast. Trying to walk so quickly made his waddling motion even more pronounced.
With his bean-sized face wrapped up in layers of clothing, waddling toward him, he looked ridiculous beyond words. Mihail stood still and watched until Chaika came fairly close, then abruptly turned his body and began walking along the garden path.
A walk was supposed to be slow, but Mihail moved at a pace so leisurely it almost made him yawn. The creature following behind him was so small, with such short steps, and weighed down by thick clothes that his movements were sluggish.
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
He could feel the footsteps behind him gradually, ever so slightly, closing the distance. It was as if the creature were asking: Is this close okay? Is this much okay? Can I walk a little closer? Since Mihail kept walking at the same speed without saying anything, the creature grew bolder and eventually walked right behind him.
He seemed to be in a good mood. It wasn’t just because his footsteps had grown oddly light. The scent of pheromones coming from Chaika had subtly changed. Still sweet and brilliant, but now carrying a faintly refreshing, cool quality as well. It was hard to put into words since it was something felt only through scent, but somehow, Mihail could tell Chaika’s change in mood from that alone.
So he’s that happy just because I’m allowing him to trail along behind me?
For some reason, mischief welled up inside Mihail. So, after walking calmly, he suddenly stopped short. The creature who had been happily following right behind him failed to stop in time and slammed his face solidly into Mihail’s back, then bounced off and fell backward onto his rear.
“…Ah.”
His clothes were so thick that even falling on his backside made no sound. The padded layers and fur coat protected his small body perfectly. As usual, Chaika let out the ah a beat late.
“What are you doing?”
Mihail turned and looked down at Chaika, sprawled on the ground.
“I-I’m sorry….”
Chaika apologized and tried to get up, but his torso was wrapped so thickly that his body wouldn’t move as he wanted. He ended up flailing awkwardly, struggling on his own just to stand up from a seated position.
“…What are you even doing?”
When Mihail asked calmly while watching the farce, Chaika’s eyes widened slightly, then his face slowly flushed red.
“M-My clothes are too thick, so I can’t….”
Muttering his excuse, Chaika soon bowed his now bright-red face. Only then did the physician and servants step in to help him up.
Tsk.
When Mihail clicked his tongue, Chaika’s body flinched. His already bowed head dipped even lower. Clasping his hands together so tightly in front of him that they nearly turned blue, Chaika couldn’t lift his head, like a guilty criminal.
Cute. Trivial. Idiotic. Lovable. Mihail turned his body, thinking of the countless words he wanted to say to Chaika standing right in front of him. Then he began walking again. One step. Two steps. Three steps passed, yet there was no sound of footsteps following behind. Mihail turned back, looked briefly at Chaika still standing with his head bowed, and spoke.
“Watch where you’re walking. If you bump into me again, I’ll strip you naked and spank your ass.”
“……!!!!”
Chaika snapped his head up. His tear-brimmed eyes grew wider and wider, and a smile spread across his lips.
“…Yes! Yes!”
Answering almost at the top of his lungs, Chaika hurriedly moved to follow behind Mihail. Then he looked up at him with expectant eyes. Mihail turned back and resumed walking. Right behind him came the sound of Chaika’s small, pattering steps.
The walk was far longer than usual, but neither Mihail nor Chaika showed any intention of stopping. Mihail inhaled the subtle shifts in Chaika’s pheromones the entire time without feeling even the slightest hesitation. If anything, he could feel Chaika through the pheromones alone—his presence, his mood, even his condition.
