I nodded and answered.
“I won’t say anything.”
“Right. You really are my Omega.”
“……”
Once I left the space where only William and I were present and entered Behern’s room, the breath I had been holding burst out. I took a deep breath in and out. The tension released and my breathing stabilized.
Behern, who I thought would scold and reprimand me as soon as I came here, placed cushions on the sofa for me. I had only been standing next to William, but I seemed to have broken out in a cold sweat and felt drained.
“Is it because you’re an Omega? Sweating like that just from standing around a bit?”
“I suppose so. I’m a little tired.”
“Well, that makes sense. You’re still young but… th-that is…”
Behern rarely stammered. It seemed difficult for him to speak so openly in front of me, who looked like a young child on the outside.
Hadn’t he come to educate me on how to serve in bed? At this rate, rather than educating me, he’d just end up tormenting himself and that would be the end of it.
I changed the subject appropriately.
“You mean because I was beside His Highness William, who is a Dominant Alpha?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
Behern, who had been quietly watching me lean against the cushions, wiped my face with a towel and said.
“I’m a Beta so I don’t know well, but Lord Aren said so. That even though you’re from Lower-class Omega origins, your traits are Superior…”
“That’s something I don’t know much about either… Wouldn’t we need to do an examination to be certain?”
“It’s known that royal eyes are more accurate than doctors. That’s why the saying goes that while status can be hidden, traits are difficult to conceal.”
“I see.”
Having stayed up late last night with tiger stories and being exhausted from worrying whether Kalroy would die, drowsiness washed over me. Seeing me with my eyes drooping, about to fall asleep, Behern smiled.
“The schedule seems well arranged. If you’re dozing off, the other attendants will take care of the rest…”
I didn’t know what he meant, but when I opened my eyes a little later, I found myself soaking in a luxurious bathtub with attendants attending to my bath. Startled, I covered myself with both arms and asked.
“What are you doing right now?”
“What do you mean what are we doing? It’s Behern’s orders. After the bath is finished, he’ll conduct the lesson in earnest.”
The attendant who finished speaking turned a narrow glass bottle upside down and shook it in his hand. Yellow liquid pooled on top. The attendant smiled slightly at me and rubbed his hands together as he spoke.
“Now, this is a fragrant oil that makes skin soft.”
“Ah… it-it tickles.”
“Please endure it. A beloved concubine doesn’t just happen naturally.”
A concubine? I have absolutely no intention of becoming such a thing!
Every time the attendant’s hands moved around my body, my body twisted and turned as if worms were crawling around. Wouldn’t it be better to confess right now that William and I aren’t that kind of relationship, that we only share bedtime stories, and escape from here? I thought… but then I became aware that Kalroy’s life depended on me and relaxed my body.
It’s not like they’re actually asking me to sleep with a minor, just to commit a very slight deception, so it should be fine. However, I couldn’t stop the feeling that my conscience, deeply embedded in my heart, kept nagging at me.
***
After the strange bath ended and I went outside, Behern was waiting for me with tea prepared. When I sat down, Behern pushed the tea toward me. As the fragrant tea aroma wafted over, my body became more drowsy.
“Drink it.”
“Yes.”
Behern took a sip of tea, received a book from an attendant standing beside him, and spread it on the table. My eyes naturally went to the book. The cover read:
[Imperial Palace Etiquette That Attendants Must Observe, Male Omega Concubine Edition.]
Oh… the title is more decent than I thought? The cover just has one flower drawn on it, so it doesn’t seem too embarrassing.
I was thinking this when Behern opened the first page. On the book’s first page was a drawing of what appeared to be a male Omega in an embarrassing position.
I gasped “Eek!” and tried to look elsewhere. I had been holding my tea above the table, so my mouth didn’t get burned, but I almost burned my mouth on the hot tea.
“Wh-what is this, Behern?”
“Can’t you tell by looking? This is the content you need to master from now on.”
I wanted to say right then that no such thing had happened, that I was still ten years old, and that William was deceiving all of us. I had an uneasy premonition that if things continued like this, something really bad might happen.
“Um, Lord Behern…”
“What is it?”
“Well, you see…”
Just as I was about to speak, William’s voice flashed through my head.
‘Kalroy’s life is in my hands, right? Act accordingly.’
At the same time, I recalled Kalroy’s completely unfocused pupils. It was a typical reaction shown by children who had experienced abuse. Even when they knew they were being abused, children would experience separation anxiety when separated from that target.
There had been an abused child among our school students before. With the help of people around us, we rescued him from domestic violence and moved him to a protection facility, but the child gradually withered away like Kalroy now.
At that time, I was a new teacher and it wasn’t even my class’s child, so while I was struggling not knowing what to do, the child was adopted elsewhere. Both Kalroy and William had been equally abused, but the results were so different that Kalroy caught my eye more. That’s why I wanted to save him.
“…It’s nothing.”
“I thought His Highness the Prince would have taught you well enough, but still, proper etiquette must be maintained…”
Behern’s embarrassing sex education that began like this showed no signs of ending even after a long time had passed.
“Chapter 4, about the Omega’s posture when greeting the morning…”
I was nodding off, half asleep. The door burst open, so I wiped the drool from my mouth and looked toward the door. William, who seemed to have finished his lessons with a book tucked under one arm, was standing at the door sniffing.
“There’s a nice fragrance.”
Behern stood up and politely greeted William.
“It’s because we prepared various things for tonight.”
“Hmm? So there’s still preparation left? I want to eat dinner together…”
Behern looked with lingering eyes at the remaining pages and flipped through them. As a result of teaching until his voice was hoarse, there weren’t many pages left.
“We can do it again tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll take him.”
Following behind William, I thought quickly. Having to listen to this tedious lesson again tomorrow…
The lesson was boring, but I couldn’t let my guard down. Behern spoke as carefully as possible to me, who appeared to be a young child. I also tried to show childlike reactions to hide my real age. As a result, my identity wasn’t exposed.
The embarrassing picture was only on the first page, followed by boring explanations and superstitions. For example, things like this:
‘After serving His Highness, sleep facing east. Maintain proper posture to minimize movement and be careful not to snore.’
I wondered why I had to learn such nonsensical etiquette, but I was enduring the process thinking of Kalroy.
“Why do you look so serious?”
William asked while walking down the corridor.
“There’s nothing to be serious about. Ha… No. I am serious. Your Highness, how long exactly must we let them continue misunderstanding?”
William answered indifferently.
“Didn’t Danny say you wanted me to become a respected Emperor? Wouldn’t it be troublesome to give the impression that I killed Kalroy and ascended to the throne? And… to correct the misunderstanding, I’d have to publicly reveal to others that I lied. Would Danny prefer people to point fingers at me calling me a lying prince?”
Ah, I’ve been thoroughly had by this little fox again.
Holding back the urge to hit my head hard, I answered quietly.
“No. It’s not that, but listening to unnecessary lessons seems like a waste of time. Wouldn’t it be better to spend that time making… no, remembering one more bedtime story?”
“Well, that’s true. But Danny.”
William suddenly stopped walking right there. I stopped following him too.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Feeling burdened by William approaching me with a serious expression, I stepped back little by little. I backed up until I touched the wall with nowhere left to escape. Even so, William didn’t stop, so our bodies pressed together. When I was feeling pheromones that seemed to press down on my shoulders, William took long breaths as if catching his breath.
Only after the scent gradually faded through deep breathing could I come to my senses.
“You might not need it right now, but it’s study you’ll need later. You might think everything I said was a lie, but what I said about you being my Omega is true, so don’t forget it. Just because I’m not doing anything to you now doesn’t mean I’ll leave you alone forever. Understand?”
I should have shaken my head saying that wasn’t the case, but having experienced suffocating pheromones, I had no choice but to nod. William, who returned to a peaceful expression as if nothing had happened, took my hand and started walking again.
“You don’t need to be too scared. Would I really devour Danny like a tiger?”
“Haha, there’s no way you would. Tigers are just beasts, and Your Highness is someone who will lead the Stamili Empire in the future. How could I think of those two in the same way?”
William’s shoulders seemed to flinch, but I decided to let it pass, thinking it was just my imagination.
***
Do words have feet or something?
Even though only Aren, Behern, and a few attendants knew, within less than a week rumors had spread throughout the Imperial Palace. The rumor was that young Prince William had already slept with Daniel, a Regular Omega.
The attendants I encountered throughout the palace were so busy whispering among themselves that they couldn’t focus properly.
“Everyone knows Daniel became a Regular Omega, right?”
“Oh my, this person is frustrating. The problem isn’t that he just became a Regular Omega in name. They say he really serves at night like a concubine!”
“How could such a thing… Isn’t he only ten years old?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
