* * *

Even though the fresh air had diluted their intensity, his heart was still racing.

The thudding in his chest grew louder, mingling with the rattling sound of the carriage wheels.

The noise echoed in his ears, and he frowned slightly.

With a deep sigh, Remy realized something alarming—Haywards was just as dangerous as Ashton, if not more so.

“Your Highness, we’re almost there,” came a welcome interruption.

“Is that the estate ahead?”

“Yes, it’s the Aylesford villa.”

Listening to the conversation between Ashton and Haywards, Remy turned his gaze out the window.

Fields of lavender stretched endlessly across the landscape, covering the earth in a sea of purple.

As the wind swept through, the lavender swayed like waves, creating mesmerizing patterns.

Enchanted by the sight, Remy’s eyes gleamed with wonder.

The beauty of the scene was almost dizzying.

“We’ve arrived. Let’s step down.”

While Remy was entranced by the lavender fields, the carriage came to a halt.

The Aylesford family had already gathered in front of the villa to greet the Third Prince and his companions.

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

“Count and Lady Aylesford, it has been quite some time.”

“Indeed, Your Highness Haywards. It is an honor to host you in our humble estate.”

Haywards exchanged pleasantries with the Count and Countess of Aylesford as he stepped out of the carriage.

Then…

“Ah, Allen…”

The count’s only son, Allen Aylesford, appeared.

“Thank you for coming all this way, Your Highness.”

“It’s Allen’s birthday. Of course, I had to come.”

Remy stepped down from the carriage a moment later and walked toward the group.

As Haywards moved aside, Allen’s face came fully into view.

‘This can’t be.’

Seeing Allen, Remy froze in place. It was unbelievable.

Allen was even more beautiful than how he’d been described in the novel.

His large, sparkling eyes, soft curls of light brown hair—everything about him seemed impossibly tender and inviting.

Remy had never seen someone this lovely before, not male or female.

It was an otherworldly kind of beauty, the kind that drew you in helplessly.

“Remy!”

Allen waved enthusiastically when he spotted him.

Snapping out of his daze, Remy approached hesitantly, bowing politely to the Aylesford family.

“Thank you for inviting me.”

“No, thank you for coming, Remy,” replied the count warmly.

Allen’s cheerful voice broke in. “I heard the news—you’ve manifested as an Omega!”

“Ah, yes…”

“Congratulations! I knew it. I always thought you’d become an Omega. Someone as beautiful as you fits the role perfectly.”

Allen’s words stirred something strange within Remy.

Being called beautiful by someone so radiant himself felt… unsettling.

But at the same time, watching Allen’s innocent smile, Remy felt a pang of bitterness.

‘Poor Remy,’ he thought to himself.

‘No wonder you ended up as a villain.

With a face like that, it’s inevitable you’d be the main Omega in this story.’

Once the introductions were over, the count spoke again.

“Now then, let’s head inside.”

Under the count’s guidance, the group began to move.

Haywards walked close to the count, deep in conversation.

Ashton and Rex remained silent, while Allen kept chattering animatedly to Remy.

“So, how does it feel to be an Omega?”

“Well… it’s still new to me, so I’m not quite used to it.”

“It must be hard at first. You don’t know how to control your pheromones yet, do you?”

“My… pheromones?”

“Yes! Now that you’re an Omega, you emit pheromones too.”

“I don’t think I’ve noticed anything like that…”

“Really?”

Since manifesting, the only trouble Remy had encountered was his initial panic on the first day.

He hadn’t noticed any scent or pheromones from himself, so Allen’s words were puzzling.

“You probably just haven’t realized it yet.”

“Haven’t realized…?”

“Yeah. At first, you can’t sense your own pheromones. But over time, you’ll get used to it. Eventually, you’ll be able to control when to release them.”

“I see…”

The novels hadn’t gone into this much detail about pheromones.

It made sense, though, since newly manifested Omegas rarely appeared in the stories.

“Actually, you might’ve already been releasing pheromones without realizing it. Let me check.”

Allen leaned in, sniffing curiously like a puppy, his nose twitching slightly.

“It seems it’s not time yet. There’s no scent at all.”

Allen, with an exaggeratedly disappointed expression, consoled Remy, even though Remy didn’t seem the least bit concerned.

“What a shame. I was curious about the scent of your pheromones.”

“Well, it can’t be helped.”

“Still, don’t be too disappointed. Soon enough, you’ll be able to emit fragrant pheromones like me.”

Allen smiled faintly, the corner of his lips curling upwards, before spinning around gracefully.

‘Wait… that expression Allen just made… What was that?’

Remy found Allen’s expression just moments ago oddly different from the pure and innocent look he had always shown.

Could it be that he was mistaken?

Still, it left a strange, unsettling feeling.

“…Soon enough, you’ll be able to emit fragrant pheromones like me.”

Allen’s last words lingered in Remy’s mind.

Especially the way he had emphasized “like me.”

Was it just his imagination?

As his thoughts grew increasingly tangled, the count’s voice brought everyone’s attention back to the dining room.

“Everyone, it’s time to eat. After such a long journey, you must all be hungry.”

The group followed the count’s lead to the dining room.

Shaking off his complicated thoughts, Remy moved along with them.

Meanwhile, the ever-beautiful Allen sidled up close to Haywards with an irresistibly charming smile.

---

On the second day at the Aylesford summer villa, Remy found himself unable to recall how he had fallen asleep the previous night.

Exhaustion had overtaken him the moment he lay down, and before he knew it, it was morning.

It felt as though the memory of the night had been completely erased.

“Yawn…”

Standing on the vast, sprawling lawn, Remy yawned deeply, unable to shake off his drowsiness.

Despite having slept soundly, he still felt sluggish, almost dozing off even during breakfast.

Only Allen’s incessant chatter from the seat next to him kept him awake.

Allen seemed utterly excited about the upcoming birthday party, particularly anticipating Haywards’ gift.

In the original story, Allen had been portrayed as harboring feelings for Ashton, but here, it didn’t seem to be the case.

Although it hadn’t been long since they met, Allen appeared more drawn to Haywards than any of the other leads.

After the tedious breakfast and a brief tea time, Remy found himself in the back garden of the Aylesford summer villa, supposedly perfect for playing Fordball.

“Welcome, everyone, to the traditional game of Fordball hosted by the Aylesford family!”

Allen’s energetic voice rang out as the assembled players gave a polite, if mechanical, round of applause.

Remy forced his drowsy eyes open and joined in.

“Let me explain the rules! The game is played in pairs, with each pair forming a team. Draw sticks from the basket in front of you to determine your teams: 1 and 2, 3 and 4, and so on. If you draw number 5, unfortunately, you’ll play solo. Now, let’s form the teams!”

At Allen’s instruction, the players unfamiliar with the game approached the basket to draw sticks.

Haywards drew 1, Ashton and Rex drew 3 and 4, and Remy…

“Remy drew number 5! He’ll be playing solo this time!”

Of course, it had to be 5. Allen’s exaggeratedly sympathetic gaze said it all.

But contrary to Allen’s concern, Remy felt indifferent about drawing 5.

In fact, he preferred it. If he was playing alone, he could just get eliminated quickly and rest.

“Now that the teams are set, let me explain how the game works. Each team takes turns hitting the red ball. The goal is to strike three white balls with it and then guide the red ball through your designated gate. The team that scores three points first wins.”

The game sounded like a mix of croquet and billiards.

Upon hearing the rules, Remy’s earlier plan to get eliminated quickly seemed doomed to fail.

“Does everyone understand?”

The group nodded, and Allen, satisfied, surveyed the players before declaring with enthusiasm: “Then let the game begin!”

* * *