* * *

It really felt as though all the energy was draining from his body.

No, it wasn’t just energy draining away. It felt like even his very soul was slipping out.

Remy’s mind swam in a haze, leaving him on the verge of collapse.

“Uh, Your Highness…” Remy called out weakly, squeezing the last remnants of his composure into his voice.

A fully grown omega, eyes half-lidded and flushed red, calling out to an alpha like that—did he even realize what he was doing?

Remy’s voice dripped with an unintentional allure.

“Please… I’m begging you. Could you suppress your pheromones…?”

Hayward stared intently at Remy, who had made the plea.

Thump-thump. Hayward’s heart began to pound wildly as he looked at Remy.

‘An omega—asking me, the prince of the empire, beloved by the king, and idolized by all alphas—to suppress my pheromones?’

It was the first time in his life.

Never before had an omega rejected his pheromones.

‘With eyes that moist, cheeks so flushed, and asking me to suppress my pheromones—what am I supposed to do?’

Adding to it all, Remy was breathtakingly beautiful.

Hayward felt like he was about to lose his mind. What was he supposed to do with such an omega?

‘What should I do? Should I really suppress them? But seriously… since when has Remy been this stunning? Why didn’t I notice before? Is it because he awakened as an omega? Was it because he was a beta before?’

“Your Highness…”

After much deliberation, Hayward began to withdraw his pheromones little by little.

Though they were meant to be pleasant, they had clearly been overwhelming for Remy, who finally exhaled a deep breath of relief.

“Haah, haah…”

Even so, not everything had returned to normal.

The lingering scent of pheromones in the room left Remy’s breathing ragged.

Listening to the omega’s labored breaths, Hayward couldn’t help but feel a rush of heat pooling low in his body.

The omega before him was more dangerous than any other he had encountered.

Simply standing by felt impossible.

‘But I’m the prince of this empire. Someone in a position to claim whatever I desire…’

No, this wasn’t sustainable.

Hayward clenched his fists as if making a decision, his expression twisting into a frown before he suddenly stood.

“Your Highness…?”

Startled, Remy looked at Hayward with wide, rabbit-like eyes.

Hayward, catching Remy’s astonished gaze, turned away and strode to the window.

His broad shoulders, adorned with long epaulets, swayed as he moved.

Stopping in front of the window, he pushed it wide open.

A rush of fresh air flooded the room.

“Whew…”

As he had done in the carriage ride to the summer villa, Hayward ventilated the room to disperse his pheromones.

He took a deep breath, letting the cool breeze wash over him.

His face, which had been burning hot, gradually cooled, and the pounding of his heart subsided.

Composed again, he turned back to face Remy.

“Are you okay now? The pheromones should be completely gone.”

Standing against the backdrop of the brilliantly shining window, Hayward looked indescribably beautiful.

Thump-thump. Remy’s heart raced, perhaps still affected by the lingering pheromones.

Ignoring the heat rising in his face, Remy bit his lip and scowled inwardly.

This is madness. Is this some kind of test of my self-control? What’s going on here?

It made no sense.

Dealing with Ashton’s advances was hard enough, but now even the illustrious prince was doing this? It was utterly baffling.

“Yes, I’m fine now. Thank you for suppressing your pheromones,” Remy said in as detached a voice as he could muster, rising to his feet.

Bracing himself, he touched the bump on his forehead, which he had hit earlier when he fainted.

The doctor had said it was nothing serious, and with some cold compresses, it should heal quickly.

“Don’t touch it. That won’t help,” Hayward said, gently pulling Remy’s hand away.

Then, to Remy’s astonishment, the prince soaked a towel in cold water and prepared to apply it himself.

“No, please call someone else. I’d prefer a servant handle this.”

Showing an unwavering determination not to budge, Remy insisted firmly.

Hayward’s face briefly twitched in irritation before softening into an indulgent smile, a gesture of respect for Remy’s wishes.

“If that’s what you want, Remy.”

Leaving the towel aside, Hayward took Remy’s hand and kissed the back of it.

Startled, Remy flinched, his shoulders jerking.

His face turned as red as a crushed tomato, and he scrunched his brows, trying to suppress his embarrassment.

“Rest up. I’ll come fetch you for dinner later.”

“There’s no need for that. I’ll prepare myself and come out.”

Despite Remy’s sharp retort, Hayward remained unshaken, his stoic expression only further unnerving Remy.

“If you don’t want to dine with me here, just the two of us, I suggest you follow my instructions.”

“But, Your Highness—”

“Just do as I say.”

It was pointless.

No matter how much Remy tried to resist, the result was always the same.

After all, this was the third prince, beloved by King Federica himself.

“…Yes, Your Highness.”

Only after securing Remy’s reluctant agreement did Hayward finally leave the room.

Not long after, a servant entered to attend to Remy.

Yet even as he received the cold compress, Remy couldn’t shake the turbulence in his heart.

Despite the chilled cloth on his forehead, the heat didn’t seem to dissipate.

---

The Aylesford summer villa, which had been bathed in shades of violet throughout the day, became immersed in the warm glow of orange by evening.

Remy, who had been lying down with a cold compress for hours, unknowingly drifted into a light sleep.

He was awakened by a faint yet fragrant scent.

“Awake?”

A gentle voice stirred Remy’s heavy eyelids to slowly lift.

As his vision expanded, he saw a face gazing down at him.

A small, delicate face with large eyes and soft-looking brown hair.

Remy blinked slowly, much like when he had first opened his eyes.

When he began to gather his senses, he parted his lips to murmur softly.

“Allen…”

Perhaps it was the impact on his cheek or the instability in his body over the past few days, but his fatigue was overwhelming.

Even though he had fallen into a brief yet deep sleep, his body still felt leaden.

“If you’re tired, you can rest a bit longer. Though it’s almost dinner time…”

“Wait, dinner?”

The word “dinner” pierced through the fog clouding Remy’s mind, snapping him back to reality.

He suddenly recalled Hayward’s earlier promise to come and fetch him.

What had he said again?

Something about the prince personally coming to get him—and if refused, threatening to share a private dinner in this room.

“There’s no need to push yourself. Should I have dinner brought here for you instead? I could arrange a meal just for you.”

“No! Don’t do that!”

“Remy…?”

“Ah… it’s nothing. Really. No need to go to the trouble. I can make it down on my own.”

“But it’s no trouble. The attendants would take care of it—”

“I said no. Absolutely not. I’ll eat in the dining room, no matter what.”

Allen could only look at Remy with a puzzled expression as the latter wiped cold sweat from his brow.

“Thanks so much for waking me! I’ll get ready and head down immediately!”

Remy hastily thanked Allen, his so-called savior, before springing out of bed.

His resolve to escape the room before he encountered the elf-like prince was unshakable.

Just as he was about to dart toward the bathroom attached to the room—

“Wait, Remy.”

* * *