How an Omega Villain Survive chapter 13

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“It’s been a while.”

Three men approached and greeted Henry, who was about to leave.

Henry considered ignoring them, but since they were addressing him, he felt it would be impolite to disregard them entirely, so he responded.

“Indeed. It has been quite some time.”

In truth, Henry didn’t know who the men were.

For him, most people were just extras except for a few important characters the author had focused on.

As he tried to move on without mentioning names, one of the men smiled wryly and spoke.

“Is Duke Timothy doing well? My father recently received some excellent wine and is looking forward to sharing a drink with you someday.”

“Please convey my regards. I’m sure my father will appreciate it.”

“Thank you. Oh, but I saw the Young Master of the Lorenst family earlier. Aren’t you going together?”

The way the man referred to the Lorenst family with a hint of distance gave away the dynamics between the three men and Edwin.

Henry recalled Edwin, who had observed him earlier and then disappeared. It didn’t matter when he left or whether he had left at all.

“Why should we go together? It’s just a coincidence that we met today.”

“Oh, I must have misunderstood because you’re often seen together.”

“That used to be the case… but it won’t be happening much in the future.”

They each needed to live their own lives.

Henry said this in a way that suggested he wanted the group to understand.

The three men’s expressions brightened oddly, and they seemed pleased with his words.

“Is that so? That’s good to hear. I wanted to socialize with the Young Master, but it was a bit disappointing since you were always with the Lorenst Young Master.”

“Exactly. To be honest, our families are the ones who have deeper exchanges with the Timothy Dukedom.”

“There aren’t many connections beyond being of the same dukedom. Except for Crown Prince William, of course.”

The men were voicing their thoughts without being prompted, revealing their jealousy about why Edwin was so frequently seen with them instead of with them.

‘Henry, if you set your mind to it, you won’t have to live in loneliness.’

Henry had been an antagonist who lived solely by Edwin’s side and died lonely, but now he realized that he could make friends his own age if he wanted.

This thought brought him satisfaction.

“Well then, let’s meet again next time.”

Henry gave a friendly smile to those who might become future friends and turned to leave.

It had been a day with many gains, including meeting a man named Hook.

Just as Henry took a few steps away from them, he overheard:

“Did you see the Lorenst Young Master earlier? No one approached him. Even though he’s the heir of a dukedom.”

“What’s the use of having a good background? He’s just a half-baked individual who can’t even sense pheromones.”

“Even if he’s an Alpha, so what? He’s a person who lives with a disability for life.”

“What’s that saying about him? A cherry with a good appearance but no substance inside?”

Even though Henry was still within earshot, the men spoke disparagingly about Edwin without lowering their voices.

‘I didn’t hear anything. I didn’t hear a thing.’

Henry repeated to himself as he tried to take another step. No, he tried to.

“Sir?”

At Sir Teher’s call, Henry looked at his own legs. They seemed unmoved, as if they weren’t his own. Even if it wasn’t originally his body, it was his now, so shouldn’t it move a little?

“Tch.”

Henry clicked his tongue in frustration. Despite trying to pretend otherwise, his body was betraying his feelings. He wanted to ignore it but found he couldn’t. It wasn’t Edwin’s fault for not sensing pheromones, yet he happened to be in the body of the one who had wronged him.

As long as he didn’t break the imprint with Edwin, he wouldn’t be able to completely turn away from him as if they were strangers.

“I need to move quickly.”

The journey with William would be the first step in severing the imprint with Edwin.

“At least my life is safe now.”

After all, I haven’t revealed that I was marked by Edwin, and I won’t marry him. So, I’ve put a minimal safety measure in place for my life. I’ll only intervene this one time.

Before the thought was fully formed, Henry turned and approached the group.

Those who had shown considerable favor to Henry looked at him with subtle anticipation as he returned.

Unlike before, Henry carefully examined the face of each person in the group. They were the offspring of families frequently interacting with the Duke Timothy’s house.

There are two Duke families in the Empire, and if one can’t embrace both, they end up getting along well with one of them.

But, well, I’m not going to say what you want to hear.

“It feels awkward for me to say this, but….”

With an awkward cough and a scratch of his neck, Henry began to speak. Even though each word came out reluctantly due to his genuine dislike of the situation, he was still saying it.

“Edwin has many, um, advantages.”

Ah, I really don’t like this. Complimenting Edwin’s advantages in front of others is something I really hate.

If Henry had been embraced and loved, he wouldn’t be doing this, but because Edwin turned out to be an antagonist, it’s hard to find the right words.

“He’s… handsome. Smart. He’s tall and responsible.”

Of course, being the protagonist, he was given a handsome appearance. He’s smart and thus leads his house well.

Even though Edwin had turned away after marriage, he still married Henry just because they were marked, so there’s a bit of responsibility there.

As the praise for Edwin continued suddenly, the expressions of the bystanders began to look increasingly eerie.

Knowing the process, Henry, with determination to see it through, continued speaking.

“Among Alphas, the emergence of a high-grade Alpha is a rare occurrence in contemporary times.

Honestly, who really knows much about high-grade Alphas? Maybe he’ll be able to sense pheromones extremely well later?”

This is true. When Henry died in the original story, Edwin was overwhelmed by a flood of pheromones as the marking was severed.

While Henry was alive, Edwin couldn’t sense all the world’s pheromones, but after Henry’s death, he began to sense them in detail and had trouble managing it for a while.

“Well, even if he can’t sense pheromones, it doesn’t matter. He’s already an exceptional person on his own.”

That’s right. Honestly, as an Alpha, the suffering over sensing pheromones or not is trivial compared to thinking of himself as a Beta.

There’s also the fact that even as an Omega, living as a Beta is possible.

“So, don’t talk about others when they’re not around.”

If it were in front of Edwin, he’d handle it himself.

No need for it to come to my ears. Henry scratched his ear. One of the group muttered, as if making an excuse.

“Though it’s a compliment, young master, you have also talked about others.”

“That’s… well, that’s different.”

Henry almost said that they were only doing it to cover for their own criticisms by putting others down, but he kept silent.

“Right. I’m talking about Edwin even when he’s not here.”

Honestly, criticizing Edwin won’t make him any less deserving. No matter how much they criticize, the group can never become higher nobility than Edwin.

‘I’m questioning why I’m here giving Edwin praise.’

Realizing this, Henry sighed deeply.

“Well, let’s just continue with what we were talking about.”

Henry waved a hand in farewell and turned away. Sir Teher, who was nearby, naturally came up behind him, shielding him from the group. As Henry moved away, he ruffled his own hair.

‘I’m the crazy one. I’m crazy. Why couldn’t I just let it go and move on….’

Next time, if I hear Edwin gossiping behind my back, I definitely shouldn’t be like today. Complimenting him is hard enough, and it might look like I still like him to others.

Henry was shaking his head in self-disgust as he turned the corner. He thought a pillar was attached to the wall.

When he realized it was a person, he was first surprised, and then twice as shocked to find out it was Edwin.

Edwin, who had been leaning against the wall and looking ahead, turned his head towards the stiff Henry with surprise.

With two eyes, one nose, and one mouth, he was just a person, but the moment Henry saw him, his heart dropped like a stone.

“I heard your true feelings well.”

Damn it.

What true feelings did he hear?

This is all because of the mistakes made by the original owner of this Henry’s body, so I’m feeling a bit guilty, but where exactly are my true feelings?

In his mind, Henry’s thoughts were a jumble of words, but nothing came out.

He needed to say something, but the situation was too tricky, and no matter what he said, it seemed like it would come out wrong.

It was as if trying to untangle a knotted rope might just end up tying his own hands.

“It’s really not like that…”

Henry glared at Edwin resentfully. It’s all because of them.

“And yet, you said things you didn’t mean last time.”

No, the things I said last time were genuine, and now it’s not. It has changed.

Henry waved his hand in frustration, but Edwin interpreted it however he liked.

“Don’t come up with any more schemes that will be exposed so quickly next time. Your thoughts are now transparently visible.”

“No, that’s not it.”

How do you know what’s inside me? As Edwin’s words became increasingly unmanageable, Henry blurted out in a rush.

“It’s a misunderstanding.”