Everything had gone smoothly. They had located Night’s base, and while they hadn’t captured the cult leader, they had managed to seize an important figure—the Apostle. As the district lord had hoped, this investigation had not been in vain.
Of course, it was strange that Night, which had been hiding so carefully, had not only revealed itself but also surrendered without resistance. However, seeing the steady stream of Night’s followers being exposed helped to quell any lingering unease.
Leaving the cleanup to his aide, he headed straight for the district. What should have taken several days, he managed to complete without rest, arriving at the estate earlier than expected.
“Vincent-nim, you’ve returned.”
Ignoring the attendants’ greetings, he headed straight for Seo-yul’s bedroom. The butler trailing behind informed him that the district lord was waiting for him, but at that moment, nothing else registered.
It had been an entire month. What was supposed to be a week-long mission had stretched, leaving Seo-yul alone for far too long. Given the eight years of separation, even being by his side every single day wouldn’t have been enough.
His quick strides soon turned into a sprint. The persistent butler had long since fallen behind, unable to keep up.
He raced toward the bedroom, heart swelling with anticipation—only to come to an abrupt stop.
The elders stood blocking his path.
Disgusting bastards.
These shameless creatures, who wouldn’t hesitate to sell off their own children to maintain their power, saw even the Shining lineage as nothing more than tools. They pretended to cower in front of him, yet behind his back, they schemed to manipulate the Shining family as they pleased.
Once the district lord officially recognized him as the successor, he planned to purge every last one of them. He would drain the stagnant water and replace it with something fresh.
From the moment he decided to take a mate, he had been at odds with the elders on every front. They claimed that they had “given him a chance” after he, born from an Omega, had barely escaped being “disposed of.” But that was nothing more than their own delusion.
He had never asked for a “chance” in the first place. They had forced the Shining name upon him and dragged him into this wretched competition—then dared to call it an opportunity.
All he had ever wanted was to stay by Seo-yul’s side. Of course, in the end, he had used that so-called “opportunity” to bind Seo-yul to him for life. But the cost had been eight lost years.
Vile creatures.
Masking his deep disgust behind a composed expression, he watched as the elders approached. He was about to ignore them, as he always did—until a familiar scent, laced with the stench of something foul, reached his nose.
“…!!”
He froze, focusing on the scent. If he wasn’t mistaken, it was Seo-yul’s scent.
His eyes, now filled with growing panic, searched for Seo-yul—not in his bedroom, but somewhere else. Somewhere unfamiliar.
“Hurry the hell up!”
Someone let out a furious shout. A moment later, the sound of something crashing violently to the floor echoed through the space. His gaze snapped toward the source of the noise—Seo-yul, in utter disarray.
Without hesitation, he drew his gun. The elder caught in his sights was killed instantly, collapsing in a heap. The others, realizing he had returned upon hearing the gunshot, fled in terror.
Kill them all.
Blinded by rage, he no longer felt the need to wait until he officially became district lord. He was ready to slaughter every last one of them right here, right now. But just as he was about to act, Seo-yul, trembling with fear, clung to him, preventing him from carrying out his intent.
Barely managing to suppress the boiling fury, he instead wrapped his arms carefully around Seo-yul. Seo-yul, who had been lashing out at him in resentment, eventually exhausted himself and slumped against him, as if finally reassured.
“…Still, thank you for coming.”
The barely whispered words, softer than a breath, stripped away his anger and left behind only a crushing sense of helplessness.
It was the elders who had done this to Seo-yul—but if he had been here, none of this would have happened in the first place. In the end, it was all because he had been absent.
He had failed to protect Seo-yul. And that failure was entirely his own.
“Seo-yul-hyung?”
Perhaps the shock had been too great; Seo-yul lost consciousness in his arms. Holding his limp body close, he stepped forward, his boots pressing into the blood-soaked white marble as he carried him back to his bedroom.
“V-Vincent-nim…”
The guards, broken and battered, trembled at the sight of his return. The attack had been sudden, yes, but they had also blatantly disobeyed his command—no one was to enter the bedroom in his absence.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have hesitated to pull the trigger and blow their heads off right then and there. But the small, pale figure in his arms held him back. Without a word, he walked past them.
“You.”
He suddenly stopped and called out to a servant standing a short distance away from the guards. The servant was from District 5—the one he had assigned to Seo-yul before leaving.
“Call the physician.”
“Th-The physician?”
“Don’t make me say it twice.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
The servant, pale as a sheet, quickly sprinted off to fetch the physician. Watching the retreating figure for a brief moment, he then turned back and stepped into the room, pushing open the firmly shut doors.
The bedroom was dark and quiet, its heavy blackout curtains blocking out all light. He carefully laid Seo-yul down on the bed and pulled the covers over him. A faint, pained noise escaped through Seo-yul’s slightly parted lips.
Reaching out cautiously, he swept Seo-yul’s sweat-dampened bangs from his forehead. As his fingers brushed against Seo-yul’s cooler-than-average skin, Seo-yul instinctively leaned into his palm. A quiet sigh escaped his lips—one he couldn’t suppress.
The eight years they had lost gnawed at him. He never wanted to be separated from Seo-yul again. That was why he had taken him from the ruins of District 5—the district he himself had destroyed—and brought him here.
Hiding an Omega within the district lord’s estate was an unthinkable act. But he hadn’t hesitated, because he was confident he could protect him.
After all, unofficial or not, he was the sole heir to the district lord—the one and only Shining.
But his unexpected month-long absence had left Seo-yul completely exposed to danger. In the end, being unofficial held no real power—it had only been an illusion.
Would it have been better if he had eliminated all potential threats before he left? No—if he had just let Joshua handle the investigation from the start, he wouldn’t have needed to leave the estate at all.
“Vincent-nim.”
A servant carefully opened the bedroom door and called for him. Shoving down the turmoil within, he turned around. The servant hesitated before stepping inside with the physician.
“I greet the young master of the district—”
“Shh.”
Bringing a finger to his lips, he silenced the physician mid-greeting. Catching on quickly, the physician stifled his voice and tiptoed toward the bed where Seo-yul lay.
The perceptive servant had brought over a chair, and the physician took a seat before beginning to treat Seo-yul’s visible wounds. Lifting his clothes revealed that beyond the bruise on his cheek, his pale body was littered with injuries.
His fingertips curled into fists. His feet itched to storm out and put a bullet through every single one of those bastards. But he forced himself to stay put, barely restraining the murderous urge boiling inside him as he waited for the physician to finish.
“May I ask you one thing?”
“What.”
“This person… He’s an Omega, isn’t he?”
“…Yes.”
The physician had suspected as much, but only after hearing it directly from Vincent did he fully grasp the weight of the rumors that had been spreading through the estate for days.
An Omega, hidden within the estate of a man who despised them—it was clear as day that this wouldn’t just shake the estate. It would shake the entire district.
The physician pulled out a jar of ointment and a bottle of pills from his bag and handed them to Vincent. The ointment was self-explanatory, meant for Seo-yul’s external injuries. But the unmarked pill bottle was unfamiliar.
“It’s a pheromone suppressant,” the physician whispered, low enough that only Vincent could hear.
His gaze flickered briefly toward the servant standing nearby before he discreetly shoved the bottle deep into his pocket.
“I’ll return once he wakes,” the physician said before exiting the room. The hesitant servant followed closely behind.
Only when the sound of the door closing reached his ears did he finally let out the breath he had been holding.
Sitting at the edge of the bed, he carefully ran his fingers over the bandages wrapped around Seo-yul’s body. Thinking about the wounds hidden beneath them sent another wave of fury crashing over him.
Seo-yul, whose injuries outnumbered his unscathed skin, couldn’t rest comfortably—his body twisted and shifted restlessly in his sleep. Seeing the cold sweat forming on his forehead, Vincent leaned down and pressed a soft kiss there.
“I’m so sorry I was too late,” he whispered. “I left you alone… I couldn’t save you before you ended up like this.”
With his forehead pressed against Seo-yul’s, he continued his apology—words that would never reach the sleeping man.
A parched dryness settled in his throat, as if something hot and heavy had lodged itself there. Then, without warning, droplets began to fall onto Seo-yul’s cheek.
Only when they hit the pale skin did he realize—he was crying.
Hurriedly, he tilted his head back to stop the tears. But once they had started, they refused to cease.
