Jeremy had to be summoned multiple times to the banquet hall due to Joshua’s sudden seizure. There was already so much to handle with the inauguration taking place without the previous district leader, and now, with Joshua causing trouble, it felt like he was going to lose his mind.
Letting out a deep sigh, Jeremy pushed past the tightly stationed guards and entered Joshua’s room. The moment he opened the door, an overwhelming wave of pheromones hit him with a suffocating force.
“Ugh….”
He hastily covered his nose and mouth, but it was already too late—his vision was beginning to blur. As if the seizure wasn’t enough, Joshua’s pheromones had spiraled out of control, and his condition was only getting worse by the second.
“Where is Joshua?”
“He hasn’t stopped convulsing since earlier….”
Jeremy shoved aside the attending physician and approached Joshua, who was thrashing violently on the bed. Ignoring the attendants struggling to restrain him, Jeremy forcefully pulled Joshua into his arms.
“Stay still.”
Joshua flailed wildly, striking Jeremy’s face and shoulders in a frenzy. His vividly colored eyes kept rolling back before snapping forward again, and frothy saliva dribbled from his lips.
After a long struggle, it was Joshua who gave in first, his body going limp from exhaustion. At Jeremy’s gesture, an attendant rushed over with a damp towel. Jeremy wiped the saliva and tears from Joshua’s face, then turned to the physician who had approached him cautiously.
“Increase the dosage.”
“But if we administer more than this—”
“He just needs to last three more days.”
Joshua was the true protagonist of this inauguration ceremony, not Jeremy. Right now, they were buying time under the pretense of his health issues, but on the final day, Joshua had to at least appear somewhat functional.
That was why they were currently neutralizing the accumulated effects of the drugs in his system at an accelerated rate. Pushing the dosage to near-lethal levels had left his body deteriorating, the intervals between his seizures growing shorter—but that didn’t matter.
Once this period was over, Joshua’s usefulness would come to an end. He only needed to endure for three more days. After that, he’d be discarded in some forgotten corner of the estate, never to be bothered with again.
“Just make sure he can stand on his own.”
“At this rate, even that will be difficult.”
The physician kept giving the same doubtful responses. Losing patience, Jeremy grabbed him by the collar. Dragged onto the bed, the physician trembled violently, his face filled with terror.
“You looking down on me too just because my color is pale?”
The deeply rooted inferiority complex was impossible to shake. Jeremy had lost count of the times he had been disregarded in this estate for the lightness of his color. That was why the physician’s hesitation stung even more.
“N-no! I would never dare….”
Jeremy released him, running a hand through his disheveled hair. The physician, pale as a sheet, hurriedly straightened himself beside the bed, carefully watching Jeremy’s expression.
“Joshua.”
Jeremy tapped his brother’s pallid cheek, calling his name. But no matter how many times he called, the dull-eyed fool didn’t respond. He probably never would again. Still, Jeremy persistently called out to him.
The pheromones that had flooded the room in a frenzied surge just moments ago had completely disappeared. Bending down, Jeremy inhaled the scent that now made Joshua seem almost human and let out a quiet chuckle.
“Just hold on a little longer. Not yet.”
Even if he broke, it had to be three days from now. Even if he died, it had to be three days from now. Jeremy finally withdrew his hand from Joshua’s cheek and stepped away from the bed.
“Do your job properly, hmm? Unless you want to end up like the other physicians.”
He patted the physician’s shoulder, a thinly veiled warning. Among all the physicians who had once worked in the estate, only this man remained. The rest had been cleaned up along with the Shining.
But any relief at having survived was short-lived. The moment he uncovered Jeremy’s secret, he realized that not dying had been the greater curse. He found himself envying the colleagues who had met a quick, painless death.
“I’ll do my best.”
“No. You’ll succeed.”
“…I will.”
Joshua’s current state was so precarious that it wouldn’t be surprising if he died at any moment. Even breathing was a struggle, yet Jeremy expected him to be able to walk around as if nothing was wrong. It was impossible.
But with his own life on the line, the physician had no choice but to make promises he couldn’t keep. Jeremy left him behind, stepping out of Joshua’s room.
Even with the door shut, the scent of pheromones seeped through the cracks, strong and unmistakable. If there had been any other Shining in this mansion, they would have noticed something was off right away.
Good thing I cleaned up in advance.
The estate was in chaos after the Shining purge, and their numbers had dwindled significantly. But if he hadn’t taken action, things would have gotten even more complicated. From start to finish, Joshua was nothing but a useless piece of shit.
Jeremy adjusted his rumpled clothing and was about to return to the banquet hall when a familiar scent brushed past his nose.
His steps halted as he scanned the surroundings. If he wasn’t imagining it, this was the scent of a Shining’s pheromones.
But only two Shining remained in this estate—himself and Joshua.
And this scent, though unfamiliar, was one he had encountered before. It clung to his memory with striking clarity.
Yes. It was similar to Vincent Shining’s—the one whose color was darker than Joshua’s.
…No way.
Focusing his senses, Jeremy followed the trail of pheromones. He arrived at a pillar, a short distance from where the guards stood, and quickly scanned the area. No one was there, yet the scent lingered most strongly in this exact spot.
Lifting his gaze, he noticed a garden in full bloom right beside him. Vincent Shining’s pheromones carried a floral undertone, so it was understandable that he could have been mistaken.
I must be exhausted.
Jeremy let out a small laugh, quickly suppressing the unease that had momentarily risen. He turned back toward the banquet hall.
***
Only three days remained until the inauguration. In that short time, all the elders from the outer districts had sided with Ina. The prolonged absence of Joshua during the ceremony bred distrust, and by stirring up resentment toward the central elders and their hereditary power, they were easily swayed.
Now, on the final day, Vincent Shining—whom everyone believed to be dead—would make a dramatic entrance. That alone would be enough to oust Joshua. No matter how much the central elders resisted, the support from the outer elders would be undeniable. The conditions were perfect.
“When that moment comes, we’ll overturn the district.”
Jeremy didn’t particularly feel the need for such grandiose statements, but he played along. In just three more days, everything would be over. Then, he would return to Seo-yul.
“Keep your promise.”
“You just make sure you don’t screw up at the end.”
They exchanged a light fist bump, sharing a brief smile. The day they decided to leave the district’s borders and return to the estate, they had laid out their terms.
Ina wanted Joshua dead and his inauguration as district leader prevented. In exchange, Jeremy demanded the right to abandon the Shining name once everything was over.
The vacant position of district leader would go to Ina without hesitation. Of course, she had refused at first, but when Jeremy made it clear he wouldn’t cooperate otherwise, she had no choice but to accept.
Ina never understood him. Every Shining coveted the position of district leader, yet despite being the closest to attaining it, Jeremy showed no attachment to the role.
“Where do you plan to live once this is all over?”
“…Anywhere.”
He still needed to discuss it with Seo-yul, but his plan was to go somewhere that was neither District 1 nor District 5. Somewhere no one knew them, where they could spend time together in peace.
The thought of spending far more time with Seo-yul than they had ever been apart made an unconscious smile creep onto his lips. Seeing his softened expression, Ina shook her head in disbelief.
I’ll never understand. How can he be satisfied with just one Omega?
Shining typically kept multiple lovers. It wasn’t just because of their insatiable sexual appetite but also due to their fickle nature—they grew bored of people too quickly.
Yet, despite having stronger Shining blood than anyone, Jeremy had only ever desired a single Omega for his entire life. At this point, it was safe to call him a mutation.
“I’m heading in first.”
Jeremy patted Ina on the shoulder and entered his room. Ever since they had left the district’s borders, he found himself getting tired more easily and sleeping longer. Though he functioned normally during the day, even small changes like this were enough to make him wary.
Just three more days.
Ina rubbed the back of her stiff neck and gazed out the window. Beyond the distant horizon, the estate stood beneath the moonlight. In a few more days, that place would be hers once again.
This time, as its rightful owner.
“If Mother were still alive, she would have been pleased.”
A faint smile spread across her lips.
