* * *

“This won’t happen again. Sir Tony understands his mistake, and I’ve reflected deeply as well. From now on, I’ll follow every word you say about taking care of myself.”

“So, you’re asking me to spare Tony? Why, have the two of you grown close?”

The word ‘close’ carried an unusual weight, laced with subtle jealousy.

Even in the seriousness of the moment, Lowell felt a headache coming on.

‘What could you possibly think happened between me and Tony? We both only care about you!’

Recalling Felix’s lack of experience in romance, Lowell sighed inwardly.

“You trust Tony as one of your most reliable knights. I don’t want to be the reason you lose someone so valuable.”

Both Felix and Tony flinched.

Tony, because he hadn’t realized Felix held him in such regard, and Felix, because Lowell’s insight into his thoughts was startling.

Lowell didn’t know exactly how Felix viewed Tony, but he was confident that, at least for now, Felix considered Tony trustworthy.

Otherwise, Felix wouldn’t have entrusted Lowell to him or reacted so strongly.

“Fine. But can you promise me, as a condition, that you’ll take better care of yourself?”

“Yes.”

Felix was satisfied to get what he wanted, and Lowell, who had already resolved to do so, found the outcome acceptable.

“Even so, I can no longer entrust your safety to Tony.”

Lost trust wasn’t easily regained, and Lowell accepted this. It wasn’t his role to fix everything.

“Do as you see fit, Your Grace.”

In truth, Tony was more suited to protecting Felix than Lowell.

While Felix’s overprotectiveness would undoubtedly be exhausting, Lowell thought this was a reasonable resolution.

‘I guess this is the consequence of my reckless behavior.’

---

However, Felix’s overprotectiveness exceeded anything Lowell had imagined.

Even after the priest, who primarily attended to pregnant patients, reassured him that everything was fine, Lowell still found himself carried out of the infirmary in Felix’s arms.

Embarrassed at being seen in such a state, he squirmed a little, but Felix easily restrained him with his strength.

“Your Grace, I can walk on my own. The priest said we just need to take it easy for a couple of days,” Lowell protested.

“I know.”

Despite Felix’s curt response, it was clear he had no intention of putting Lowell down.

He carried him straight to the dining hall and gently placed him in a chair.

“Would you like apple pie?”

Felix asked this knowing that apple pie was virtually the only thing Lowell ate.

“I’ll have some later. Right now, I’d like to try something else. I should eat healthier, after all.”

When Lowell first started eating apple pie, it was simply because it was one of the few foods he could stomach.

But he realized his diet was unbalanced and decided to try other options, even requesting special preparations in advance.

“We have the salad you requested, dressed with the apple sauce,” announced the head chef, personally delivering the dish.

Lowell cautiously speared some salad with his fork and tasted it.

At first, the crisp apple flavor was pleasant.

But as the taste of greens emerged, his face twisted involuntarily.

“Ugh.”

He covered his mouth and forced the bite down.

Hoping that more apple sauce might improve things, he tried another forkful.

“Take it away.”

Felix’s firm command ended Lowell’s experiment.

Awkwardly, Lowell set his fork down as the salad was whisked away.

“Next, we have risotto infused with grated apple for a light and refreshing flavor.”

The risotto was an unmitigated disaster.

Before he could even take a bite, Lowell felt a wave of nausea, and the dish was quickly removed.

Other apple-themed dishes followed, but most were failures.

The sole exception was the apple steak, though even that only managed to secure a half-eaten portion.

Lowell, discouraged by his sensitive body, slumped in defeat.

Eating healthily was proving to be more challenging than anticipated.

“If you can’t eat it, don’t force yourself. Just bring the apple pie,” Felix ordered, his patience wearing thin.

As soon as the apple pie appeared, Lowell’s appetite returned—but not for long.

By the time he finished half a slice, his eyelids grew heavy, and he was struggling to stay upright at the table.

‘Maybe it’s just been a long day,’ Lowell thought, surrendering to sleep.

“May I go rest now?” he asked, already half-asleep.

“Of course.”

Once again, Felix carried Lowell back to his room, which was conveniently right next to his own.

Lowell, too exhausted to feel embarrassed, barely kept his eyes open as Felix tucked him into bed.

“Sleep well, Lowell.”

The moment Lowell hit the mattress, he was out cold.

Felix brushed a hand over his sleeping face before stepping out.

“I’ll be in the study. Let me know if anything happens,” Felix instructed the two knights standing guard. They nodded sharply in acknowledgment.

---

The moonlight streamed through the windows of the study, a stark contrast to the dim, oppressive atmosphere it once had.

Felix took a moment to appreciate how Lowell’s influence had transformed the space into something entirely different.

“Now I understand why he wanted to change it.”

The previously dark study now seemed filled with light, a reflection of Lowell’s presence.

Rather than lighting a candle, Felix sat by the window with a book he had set aside earlier.

It was about pregnancies, specifically those of male omegas.

The book explained that, compared to females, male omegas often experienced pregnancy symptoms about a week later, but the symptoms were otherwise similar.

Some omegas were fortunate enough to avoid morning sickness altogether, but most weren’t so lucky.

“Does everyone go through something so severe? Do they all waste away like Lowell?”

Though Lowell’s morning sickness was intense, he wasn’t wasting away.

Felix, unaware of how exaggerated his concerns had become, kept reading.

“It says the alpha might experience the symptoms instead?”

The thought of Lowell, already frail, suffering through this ordeal weighed heavily on Felix.

He wished he could shoulder the burden himself.

‘Why do omegas have to bear children anyway? Alphas are stronger. Someone like Lowell looks like he could topple over at the slightest touch.’

Although Lowell wasn’t as delicate as Felix imagined, his concerns spiraled into absurd conclusions.

Hoping to find a way to alleviate Lowell’s struggles, Felix eagerly read on.

In cases involving an alpha and omega, the book explained, the alpha could experience pregnancy symptoms instead if a bond was formed through imprinting.

However, imprinting was a rare phenomenon, typically occurring only between deeply in-love pairs.

‘That’s not going to happen with me.’

Imprinting was regarded as a miraculous event for couples deeply connected.

Felix dismissed the idea, convinced it was out of reach for him.

Knock, knock.

A soft knock interrupted his thoughts. Felix frowned—his guards never knocked.

“Come in.”

As the door opened, Felix was surprised to see Lowell, eyes barely open, standing in the doorway.

“It seems he was looking for Your Grace in his sleep,” one of the knights explained.

Lowell shuffled forward, instinctively seeking out Felix.

As he reached him, he pressed his face into Felix’s broad chest, a sleepy smile on his lips.

Felix fought the urge to kiss him, recalling the book’s mention of omega instincts leading them to seek alpha pheromones during early pregnancy.

“Lowell.”

Overwhelmed with affection, Felix gently embraced him, his heart swelling with love.

---

The next morning, the sound of retching filled the dining hall.

“Ugh.”

The person suffering, however, wasn’t Lowell.

“Your Grace?”

Felix, staring incredulously at the food in front of him, covered his mouth and glared at his hand as if it had betrayed him.

---

Lowell, waking in Felix’s bed for the second time, was startled but not as much as before.

What preoccupied him was his sudden return of appetite.

For the first time, he felt confident he could eat something other than apple pie and headed to the dining hall in high spirits.

He eagerly dug into his appetizer, feeling fine—until he noticed Felix, seated across from him, beginning to gag.

“Ugh.”

The sight of the large man, unshakable in all other respects, covering his mouth in distress left Lowell confused.

‘I’m fine. So why is Felix acting like that?’

He alternated between looking at Felix and his food, bewildered.

“Take my plate away,” Felix ordered brusquely.

Felix couldn’t hold back and immediately took a bite of the food.

* * *