# 49
“Get up.”
When Jin-ha extended his hand, the sheep jumped between them and struck Jin-ha’s hand away with its head. Then it went between Jin-ha’s legs and began making accusatory bleating sounds.
“…Don’t tell me…”
“No! I just stopped it from chewing on a painted wall, that’s all…”
“Ah.”
It was a story of earning the sheep’s enmity while trying to restrain it. Though he hadn’t bullied it, the sheep had perceived it as bullying, which was unfortunate. The somewhat pale-faced boy got up by himself with a dejected expression.
“Thank you for your help.”
“It’s nothing. I was just on my way to see the sheep…”
“Um, you seem to be on good terms with the sheep.”
Though he had spent too little time with the sheep to acknowledge this, somehow the sheep did seem to have taken a liking to him. Perhaps the reason Jin-ha wanted to meet the sheep and the reason the sheep liked him were the same.
Riyekan’s lost soul fragment.
Having lived with it for a long time, the sheep clearly felt the same soul energy from Jin-ha and felt close to him. Without that, this trust would be difficult to understand.
“Yes. We get along quite well.”
At this, the boy moistened his dry lips and awkwardly looked at Jin-ha. It was evident that he had something he wanted to ask but didn’t know how.
The boy, who had been fidgeting with his fingers, looked at Jin-ha as if he had made up his mind. Now that he looked closer, the boy’s eyes were an ice-blue color. Just like…
“Hello. I am Jeidrus Ertolic from the Abon Kingdom. The Master of this tower is my older brother.”
Like Riyekan.
Jin-ha unconsciously scanned his eyes and purple hair in turn. The cause of Riyekan’s disturbance was his younger brother?
“There’s something I’d like to ask you, if you could spare some time?”
Though he was asking, he didn’t seem to have high expectations. Jin-ha was silent for a moment before asking:
“Is it about the sheep?”
“No. Not about the sheep… I’d like to know about my brother. I heard this sheep is precious to him and not just anyone can touch it, so seeing how close you are with it, I thought you might know my brother well too.”
“Regarding Riyekan, I cannot answer carelessly.”
“Then could you at least deliver a message to him for me?”
If it had been a message that could be delivered, Legas would have already done so. It seemed this boy was unable to meet his brother, but Jin-ha wasn’t sure if this was an issue he should interfere with.
Jin-ha firmly shook his head.
“I can’t do that.”
“Is that so… I see…”
He was a pitiable boy, unlike what one would expect from a noble family’s young master. The boy, with slumped shoulders, looked at the ground and then turned around. It was a gesture meant only to escape the awkward situation.
Jin-ha impulsively caught the boy.
“Why… are you doing this?”
“…Let me at least hear your story. If after listening, I decide it’s not something I should interfere with, I’ll leave.”
The boy brightened up with a broad smile, while the sheep chewed on grass with a disapproving expression. Jin-ha stroked the sheep’s head soothingly.
* * *
Perhaps it was excessive meddling.
Riyekan tended to be generous with him, and his disposition was such that he didn’t care about paying a high price for what he wanted. Although Jin-ha suspected he wouldn’t be severely reprimanded, he was reluctant to get involved in this matter.
The second son had inherited the family instead of the firstborn, and the firstborn had left home to secure the position of Tower Master. He couldn’t imagine what complex story might be hidden behind this simple outcome.
Nevertheless, the reason he had feigned kindness to stop the boy was because there was an issue that had been bothering him.
“So you’re saying that the Count passed away about half a year ago, and since then the family has been declining, so they want to hand over the position of head of the family to Riyekan?”
“Since I haven’t formally taken the position of head of the family yet, it shouldn’t be a difficult matter. If only my brother would make up his mind.”
The Ertolic family was a renowned wizarding family that had received the title of Count in the Abon Kingdom. According to Jeidrus’s explanation, Riyekan was once the heir to the Ertolic family, but after Jeidrus was born, he was stripped of his position and ran away to join the Noon Moon Tower.
It was a unilateral decision by the late Count, reflecting neither Jeidrus’s nor Riyekan’s wishes. Jeidrus said he wanted to run away because he wasn’t capable of being the head of the family, and he cried a little while saying this. He pretended not to cry by sniffling and looking up at the ceiling to prevent tears from falling, but as soon as Jin-ha looked away, he dabbed at his eyes with his sleeve.
“…Could you convey this to him?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure if this is something I should relay.”
“I see…”
Jeidrus nodded quietly, as if he hadn’t expected much from the beginning. Jin-ha had expected the young master of a Count’s family to be somewhat arrogant and willful, but he wasn’t. How had he been raised?
Jin-ha stared at the top of the boy’s head for a moment before asking:
“…I want to know specifically why Riyekan left home.”
“It’s because my father removed him from the position of heir…”
“I know that’s not it. There must have been some incident.”
More precisely, a terribly shocking incident must have struck Riyekan. Otherwise, his soul wouldn’t have shattered.
“But such stories…”
“It’s related to Omegas, isn’t it?”
From Jeidrus’s wide-eyed reaction, Jin-ha could tell his guess was correct.
This other world had some barbaric aspects.
Those called Alphas held power and authority, and pheromones were used to subjugate others. Moreover, since pheromones were also used to express emotions and intentions, those who couldn’t sense pheromones easily felt relative deprivation, as if lacking eyes or limbs.
In such a world, it was strange indeed to find an Alpha who refused the night that should be spent with an Omega for the naturally occurring rut.
What terrible thing had happened to Riyekan that made him loathe something so natural?
Jin-ha was deeply concerned about this, but he had thought there was nothing he could discover on his own. Until the Ertolic family’s young master appeared before him.
‘If I can find out why Riyekan avoids Omegas, I might be able to prevent him from taking that medication.’
It was absurd that he had to forfeit half a year of his lifespan every time rut came.
Even if Riyekan’s aversion ceased and he embraced an Omega…
“……”
Jin-ha gritted his teeth, ignoring the twinge in his heart, and pressed Jeidrus with a smile.
“Come on, tell me.”
* * *
The late Count Ertolic was a terrible piece of trash.
There was no other way to describe him.
“Why did he do such a thing?”
“Well… I don’t really…”
Perhaps even Jeidrus’s timid nature, shrinking and not knowing what to do when pressured, was the late Count’s work. Jin-ha frowned, feeling a tightness in his chest.
When the Countess, Riyekan’s mother, died, the late Count Ertolic immediately brought in a new Countess. When she died in childbirth, he immediately elevated the newborn child to the position of heir. Up to this point, while somewhat shocking, it was merely trashy behavior, not yet terrible trash.
The problem came afterward. For reasons unknown, he threw Riyekan, who was struggling with his first rut, among Omegas who were not in their right minds due to their heat cycles.
Jeidrus said he had witnessed the scene from his room’s window. And a few days later, Riyekan left the mansion.
“……”
It was natural to loathe Omegas after experiencing such a thing. Jin-ha realized that this was not a problem he could help resolve and felt greatly disappointed.
And at the same time, he felt relief and then self-loathing.
“Damn it.”
“I’m sorry!”
“I’m not talking to you.”
“Ah, I see… Yes.”
Jin-ha glanced at Jeidrus, who was hurriedly nodding in response, and rubbed his forehead as if tired.
Relief. Relief?
This was the first time he had felt relief at another’s misfortune. Jin-ha was shocked to realize that he had felt jealousy toward Riyekan’s non-existent rut partner.
He struggled to regain his composure.
“Riyekan has already risen to the position of Master here at the Noon Moon Tower. I don’t know much about politics or wizards’ affairs, but I don’t think Riyekan would want to leave this place.”
He certainly wouldn’t want to return to a place where he had experienced such a thing. As if agreeing with his words, the sheep came and rubbed itself against his knee. Jin-ha tore off a small amount of hay from where he was sitting and offered it to the sheep to soothe it.
“There’s a columbarium in the Ertolic family mansion where the family elders are enshrined. My brother’s mother is there too.”
“…Have you told this story to Legas?”
“No. No one in this tower would meet with me.”
Jeidrus mumbled with a dark expression.
Legas was the young man who had said that if he had known Riyekan’s condition would worsen, he would have concealed the fact that a delegation was coming. He had clearly taken measures to prevent any approach out of fear that meeting would cause Riyekan greater distress.
“I can’t promise I’ll definitely relay this, but I’ll think about it.”
“…That’s enough. Thank you for listening.”
The sniffling boy took Jin-ha’s hand.
The boy, who seemed to be only about 17 years old, appeared younger due to his weak nature. Jin-ha unconsciously patted the boy’s shoulder.
That’s when it happened.
“How— lovely.”
Startled, Jin-ha turned around to see Riyekan standing crookedly with his arms crossed.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
