That day, I obtained an all-powerful baron position with immunity privileges and an exile prohibition clause added to it.
I had expected the nobles to strongly oppose this, but since the Emperor declared it would be his final order, no one dared to object.
Everything up to this point had gone according to my plans, but there was one thing I absolutely couldn’t understand. It was William’s quiet reaction.
Is this what they mean when they say you’re more concerned about a quiet child than a crying, tantrum-throwing one?
Even though I had become a baron, William not only showed no opposition to it but even congratulated me and presented me with flowers and gifts. I was curious about his true intentions.
At first, I thought that while their father-son relationship wasn’t particularly deep, since His Majesty had passed away, William might be too shocked to pay attention to other matters. But seeing how he scrutinized and questioned every companion Omega candidate the nobles brought him almost daily, it didn’t seem like that was entirely the case.
What is it? Why is he acting this way?
“If you keep staring like that from morning, it’s dangerous. How many times do I have to tell you before you understand, Baron Daniel Lambert?”
William’s face, which asked teasingly, even had a subtle smile playing around it. That made it even more frustrating since I couldn’t read his true feelings, and I felt like my chest would burst from the suffocating feeling. There was definitely something wrong with William’s behavior all this time.
Should I wait until he reveals his true feelings first? Or should I ask first?
If I waited, I felt like I’d die from frustration, but if I asked first, it felt like I’d be digging my own grave.
“Your gaze is intense, but you won’t have a conversation?”
William, who had been busily working, looked up from his documents and stared at me.
“It’s not that I won’t have a conversation, but…”
“But?”
“It’s strange.”
“What is?”
Should I really say this first? Or not?
Whether I die from frustration or dig my grave and lie in it, it’s all the same anyway.
I wavered until right before speaking, but ultimately my frustration won out and I decided to speak.
“Your Highness is different from usual.”
William rose from his seat and slowly approached where I was. I straightened my back to avoid appearing nervous.
“What’s different? I don’t know since you’re not being specific.”
William rested his chin on his hand and narrowed his eyes. Looking at those eyes made me strangely afraid that all my plans would be exposed. Maybe I’m overthinking it? Maybe William’s lack of comment about my baron status was just because he was happy to congratulate me?
No, that can’t be right. Even if he had nothing to say about the baron status, it’s strange that he didn’t ask what we discussed when I came out of a private audience with His Majesty the Emperor, isn’t it?
I looked straight at William and said:
“Why aren’t you asking anything? Even though I had a private audience with His Majesty the Emperor before he passed away and even received a baron title.”
“Because it seemed like you would tell me even if I didn’t ask.”
William spoke confidently, as if he had no other ulterior motives. I sighed at William’s increasingly skillful acting and answered:
“Sigh, I give up.”
“Good. I’m ready to listen, so tell me.”
William released his chin rest, crossed his arms on the armrests, and crossed his legs. Without being flustered, I laid out the answer I had prepared in advance.
“His Majesty was worried about Your Highness, who still doesn’t have a companion Omega. He seemed to know that death was approaching. So naturally, he would be concerned about succession.”
“And? Did he tell you to take responsibility for Danny?”
William’s face crumpled all at once.
“Yes. He did tell me to take responsibility, but not the kind of responsibility Your Highness is thinking of.”
“Then?”
“He said I was needed for Your Highness to safely inherit the throne.”
“Speak longer and in more detail. When you tell stories, you’re usually so detailed, so why are you cutting everything short now?”
Why indeed. Even though these are words I prepared in advance, I always have to be careful of your rampage, William.
I swallowed the words I couldn’t say and continued:
“He said the reason I was needed lies in the McCurren family’s obsession and possessiveness. William, Your Highness won’t change your mind once it’s made up, and since there’s no other alternative besides Your Highness right now, he said the nobles’ arrows would be aimed at me rather than at Your Highness.”
William’s eyes widened. Since this was completely different from the scenario he had expected, it was natural for him to be surprised.
“That’s a lie! His Majesty the Emperor couldn’t have thought that far…”
William was right. What I was saying was just a scenario I had prepared in advance to make William understand the current situation.
But I couldn’t tell him that I actually came from another world, or that when William becomes Emperor, I would have to leave, and that I had requested the baron position as insurance for that time.
So I answered brazenly without batting an eye:
“Actually, I was a little surprised too. I didn’t know His Majesty was such a thoughtful person. But that thought completely disappeared as I listened to His Majesty’s explanation.”
To persuade William, who liked stories, it was effective not to tell everything from the beginning, but to provide clues one by one like a mystery novel, letting him guess the next part himself.
“Right? It was indeed too strange. So what did he say?”
“His Majesty wasn’t worried about me, but rather worried that when the things he possessed were taken away by the nobles’ scheming, Crown Prince Your Highness, still immature, wouldn’t be able to contain your anger.”
In other words, he was afraid that his stubborn son with a difficult personality would go on a rampage after losing a cherished concubine. It was a story that best matched the Emperor’s usual character of thinking only about state affairs and succession.
William nodded, showing exactly the reaction I wanted.
“So that’s why he granted you a baron title with such special conditions.”
“Yes, exactly. I had no intention of hiding this fact from Your Highness, but it was strange that you didn’t ask.”
After finishing my words, I quickly observed William’s expression. He didn’t seem angry or suspicious, so I was about to relax when he suddenly made eye contact with me.
“But why a baron specifically? If he was going to grant a title anyway, there are count and duke positions too…”
Thinking I had gotten through it well, my tension relaxed and I smiled at him as I answered:
“I felt such positions would be too high for someone like me.”
William chuckled and then leaned forward, coming close to me. Since it was a small table, we were close enough for our noses to touch.
Thump, thump… My heart, which I had barely managed to calm, started pounding again. I wished he would say something quickly, but William just stared at me silently.
Could it be… did he catch my lie?
William grabbed my chin. I looked up at him and swallowed hard.
“Su-suddenly why…”
“Danny, you know this, but among concubines, there are those who received titles according to their achievements.”
“Yes, I know. That’s why I received it. Even if I receive a position, it doesn’t change that I’m Your Highness’s concubine.”
“Right. Don’t forget. Whether Danny is a baron, a count, or even becomes an emperor of some country…”
I tried to smile to appear unafraid, but the corners of my mouth wouldn’t lift. Thinking it might be better if he wasn’t looking, I slightly closed my eyes, and a warm sensation touched my lips before quickly pulling away.
“Danny is my one and only Omega.”
The weight of the phrase “my one and only Omega”—not “mine” or “my concubine”—felt like it was crushing my heart.
***
William ascended to the emperor’s throne.
That didn’t mean our lives changed completely or anything. If there was exactly one good thing about William inheriting the throne, it was that when William held Noble Council meetings, I, as a “baron,” didn’t have to attend.
When I requested a noble position from the Emperor, asking for a baron title rather than duke or count was truly a stroke of genius. If I had received a different title instead of baron, all my free time would have been completely taken away.
Other than that, it was surprisingly no different from when William was Crown Prince. Since the former Emperor had already delegated almost everything to William when he was on the throne, and I had been working alongside him, the amount and type of work was exactly the same, which made it feel even more so.
If I had to find differences, it would be things like the room being a bit larger, Behern becoming Head Chamberlain, and more attendants being added under Erica.
After the enthronement, the unstable state affairs gradually began to stabilize, and if things continued this way, my expectations for escaping the Imperial Palace began to grow.
Actually, it would be more accurate to say that my escape from the Imperial Palace was something I planned out of necessity rather than desire.
Unless William was really a tyrant, I had no reason to dislike continuing to live with him as we were now. Politics was more interesting than I thought, and I had grown attached to the people here after sharing meals with them.
However, my body began to change strangely. If William, who was just waiting for my heat cycle, were to discover this, I would be devoured by William just like that. William had never tried to hide such intentions, and every time I heard such words from him, I had to have nightmares.
A male teacher getting pregnant with his student’s child that he raised…
Just thinking about it was horrifying.
“Erica, Erica…”
While William was at the Noble Council meeting, I desperately called for Erica.
“Why, why are you like this? Are you feeling strange again?”
“Yeah… I’m so… I mean, aah…”
The pain I had barely been enduring began to surge. Like someone trapped in flames in midsummer, heat was boiling throughout my entire body.
“Isn’t there a stronger medicine? This medicine doesn’t seem to work on me.”
Erica stamped her feet.
“What should we do? This is all we have for Dominant Omegas. What I have as backup is for Recessive Omegas.”
“Th-that too… Even if the type doesn’t match, please give me the medicine.”
“Ju-just a moment! Please wait.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
