“N-No!”
Chaika screamed in alarm and rolled away like lightning, tumbling off the bed. He immediately scrambled to the corner of the room and curled up tightly, making himself as small as possible.
“I don’t want that.”
When Chaika spoke in a frightened voice, the Duke slammed his forehead into the mattress and let out a heavy sigh.
Would he try to force himself on him this time? Or get angry? Chaika waited for the Duke’s reaction. But every one of Chaika’s expectations was wrong. After panting for a moment as if calming his excitement, the Duke soon returned to his side of the bed and gestured toward Chaika.
“I won’t do it, so come back to bed. You’ll catch a cold.”
The Duke patted Chaika’s spot on the bed, urging him to hurry. Chaika hesitated for a moment, then slowly uncurling himself, stood up and approached the bed. As soon as he cautiously climbed back on, the Duke pulled Chaika straight into his arms. Using his forearm like a pillow, he quietly gazed down at Chaika’s face. Lingering regret was still evident on the Duke’s expression as he looked at Chaika, but there was no trace of reproach.
“…I’m sorry.”
Chaika apologized with a dejected face. Mihail silently brushed Chaika’s cheek with a gentle hand.
Being held tightly like this was incredibly comfortable. A Dominant Alpha—one no other Alpha dared challenge. A man infamous for his foul temper. During the investigation phase, Chaika had already thoroughly uncovered all the details of his bad reputation. Knowing all that, moments like this still made Chaika feel as though he were in the safest place in the world. It was utterly absurd.
Chaika intended to run away carrying this man’s child and sell it. This man would be furious, and if Chaika were ever caught, he would not be killed gently.
No… perhaps not. There were times when even Chaika’s heart softened in the face of the Duke’s tenderness. There were moments when he truly felt that this man was sincere toward him.
“Right now, the Duke is completely taken with you. He’s not just any Alpha. He’s infamous for despising Omegas, and his personality is so vile that if things go wrong, he’s the kind of man who’d throw a punch even at the Emperor. For that Duke to be so gentle with you—he’s serious. You could just accept him, marry properly, and live peacefully. You’d become the lady of a ducal house as wealthy as the Emperor’s. You could have anything you want, do anything you want. The Duke would make that happen for you.”
“But it’s different for you. Even knowing you’re an Omega, instead of punishing you, he treasures you even more. He’s sincere. Wouldn’t it be nice to live calmly, loved sincerely by a Duke who’s beautiful, wealthy, and powerful?”
If, as Nile said, the Duke was truly that deeply in love with Chaika—and if that affection would never change even as years passed…
Chaika imagined what it would be like if he abandoned his meticulously prepared plan and stayed here. The beginning of that imagined future was sweet and peaceful. But when he imagined the distant future, that initial sweetness and tranquility vanished without a trace. No matter how hard he tried, Chaika couldn’t trust the Duke’s sincerity. Hearts always change, and love inevitably decays with time.
Chaika hadn’t devised this plan simply to live lavishly on the enormous sum earned from selling a child. What Chaika sought was retaliation. A counterattack against a world where only Alphas enjoyed everything, while Omegas were treated like livestock, unable to own even personal property.
On a smaller scale, it meant the son of the Duke of Castiya being sold off like a commodity. On a larger scale, it meant showing the world that Alphas, just like Omegas, could be sold as goods. It was meant to demonstrate to a world where Omegas were forced to live obedient, passive lives.
We can be just as cold and heartless as you. We can commit vile and cruel acts. We can become strong. Just as you sell Omega children according to your convenience, I can sell an Alpha child like livestock.
That was why this wasn’t merely a matter between the Duke and Chaika. Personal feelings or sentiment had no place here.
Early dawn, the morning after Nile arrived at Castiya Castle. Mihail slowly opened his eyes. The rising morning sun cast a bluish tint over everything. Mihail lowered his gaze to check Chaika, asleep in his arms. His arm was hard and likely uncomfortable, yet Chaika slept deeply, making soft, even breathing sounds.
Curled up like a fetus in his embrace, Chaika’s sleeping face looked utterly peaceful. Watching Chaika sleep so calmly in his arms filled Mihail’s chest with swelling pride. And he was unbearably adorable. It felt almost unbelievable that something this lovable existed in the world.
If it were up to him, Mihail would have liked to stay just like this until Chaika woke up. But there were things that needed to be done immediately. Mihail slid a hand beneath Chaika’s head, carefully withdrew his arm, and tucked a pillow into place. He pulled the sheet up to Chaika’s neck, then quietly stepped down from the bed.
Throwing on some clothes, Mihail left the room and headed straight for Nile’s quarters. Nile, who had come to Castiya Castle for a few days, was staying in the room he had used in the past.
For now, he was a guest invited by Marquis Lucius. It wouldn’t do for an Omega guest to suffer mistreatment. Two knights stood guard in front of Nile’s quarters. As if they’d been expecting him, they opened the door. Mihail entered Nile’s room alone.
Though it was still early dawn before the sun had fully risen, Nile was already seated on the sofa, dressed impeccably. It was thanks to the advance notice Mihail had given him the night before.
“Welcome, Your Grace.”
Nile rose from his seat and greeted him in a calm voice, then offered him a seat. When the two sat facing each other with the table between them, the atmosphere was noticeably awkward. They weren’t the sort to exchange pleasantries or casual conversation. Mihail went straight to the point.
“I called you here to teach Chaika what an Omega needs to know.”
“I expected as much.”
Nile replied quietly, then lifted his eyes to look at Mihail and asked bluntly.
“What exactly do you want me to teach him?”
“Pregnancy. And knotting.”
Mihail answered briefly. Hearing that, Nile suddenly let out a long, heavy sigh.
“Are you saying you intend to get that child pregnant?”
Nile’s face remained composed as he asked, but his tone did not. Mihail, of course, didn’t care.
“His body hasn’t fully recovered yet. It’s far too early for childbirth. What I want is for Chaika to understand that without knotting, sex doesn’t lead to pregnancy.”
“…Very well. I’ll teach him thoroughly about that. However…”
“However?”
“He was born with a weak constitution. On top of that, the poison he’s taken all these years to hide being an Omega has compounded the damage. Chaika will likely have a fragile body for the rest of his life. No matter how much his condition improves, that weak body won’t be able to endure pregnancy and childbirth.”
“……”
“So, Your Grace. If you wish to keep him by your side even a little longer, don’t get him pregnant. In trying to secure an heir, you may end up losing Chaika. Of course… if an heir is more precious to you, and you’re willing to gamble with Chaika’s life, there’s nothing I can do to stop you.”
“……Stay a few days and teach him properly what he needs to know. Ease his fears about sex and pregnancy. Separate from what I’ve already paid the Marquis, I’ll also compensate you generously.”
Having concluded his business, Mihail rose from his seat and left the room without hesitation. Nile sank back into the sofa, burying himself against the backrest as he let out a long, heavy sigh.
If Chaika ever heard that Nile had said his body couldn’t endure pregnancy and childbirth, he would never let Nile off lightly. Chaika was vicious and unfeeling enough to match his own desires. Anyone who interfered with something he had risked his life to carry out—even if it was Nile—wouldn’t be forgiven. Still, Nile had committed this act knowing full well the danger.
Back when they’d grown up together at Marquis Lucius’s estate. There had been a vast gulf in status between Chaika, raised as the Marquis’s child, and Nile, who had been bought to be sold later. But in childhood, ignorant of such things, playing together every day had been routine. As they grew older and became aware of how the world worked, they’d drifted apart—but a faint sense of familiarity from their shared childhood memories remained.
That was why Nile had said something to the Duke that, from Chaika’s perspective, would only feel like interference. To Nile’s eyes, the Duke was completely infatuated with Chaika. An affection that had begun even before Chaika’s beautiful appearance was revealed. This wasn’t a relationship formed through seduction by beauty or sweet pheromones. Contrary to Chaika’s fears, Nile was certain the Duke’s feelings for him weren’t something that would fade easily.
And Chaika was the same. The Chaika who faced the Duke was nothing like his usual self. No matter how skilled someone was at acting, they couldn’t perfectly control the look in their eyes. Especially when the Duke was looking elsewhere, Chaika gazed at him with unmistakable affection—even in moments where there was no need to act. Chaika himself seemed completely unaware of it.
An Alpha who despised Omegas, and an Omega who despised Alphas.
A strange pair who seemed utterly impossible came together, and affection grew between them. Nile wanted to help Chaika avoid the pain of selling his own child. In the arms of a Duke who genuinely cherished him, the layers of resentment, hatred, and bitterness piled up in Chaika’s heart might gradually fade away. He could live a peaceful life alongside the Duke.
“Even so, in the end, the choice is yours, Chaika.”
Nile muttered to himself with a troubled expression. Because of the interference Nile caused today, Chaika’s plan might be delayed slightly—but it couldn’t be stopped. All Nile hoped for was that the delay would grant Chaika and the Duke a little more time together. Enough time for affection, trust, and attachment to build, until Chaika might choose of his own will to remain by Mihail’s side.
