* * *
Thump.
Thump.
‘Do I actually have arrhythmia?’
No matter how much I liked Raizen, having my heart race at all hours of the day was a real problem.
Was this what it felt like to have feelings for someone close by?
Or was it just because that guy was so overwhelmingly intense?
Thinking about it, the latter seemed like the right answer.
‘Having a crush on someone good-looking… really sucks.’
Especially when my heart kept acting up like this.
Raizen gave a short greeting to the crowd before speaking.
Even without a microphone, his voice resonated clearly throughout the hall.
“Honored guests, thank you for attending today. I hope you all have a wonderful time.”
The moment he finished speaking, the hall erupted in thunderous applause.
Regardless of age, nearly everyone in the room was watching him, utterly captivated.
‘Right. The problem is, he’s not just rare in my eyes.’
Swallowing the bitter emotions rising in my chest, I joined in the applause.
Raizen stood there with a faint smile, waiting for the applause to die down before continuing.
“I would like to thank my parents for their efforts in making it possible for me to be here today. And…”
After a brief pause, his gaze turned toward me.
“Sei.”
“……!”
“Thank you.”
…He’s seriously trying to kill me.
∗ ∗ ∗
As soon as Raizen stepped down from the stage, people flocked to him as if they had been waiting for this exact moment.
Even those who hadn’t managed to get a spot near him loitered nearby, stealing glances in his direction.
I stood at a distance, simply watching.
“Oh my~ Everyone’s so quick.”
“Well, of course. He’s the hottest bachelor in the Empire right now. He still doesn’t have a fiancée, does he?”
‘Fiancée?’
The unfamiliar word nearly made me whip around in surprise.
A different kind of pounding spread through my body.
A fiancée.
It was something I had never once considered.
Or… had I really never thought about it?
Even in the novel From Transmigration to Hero, there was an episode where Kim Minsoo, who had possessed the body of Karon Luavis, broke off Karon’s engagement.
I had reread the original novel multiple times since obtaining it.
“…….”
Back when I hadn’t yet realized my feelings for Raizen, it hadn’t mattered to me.
And after I woke up…
‘I deliberately ignored it.’
Judging by the atmosphere in the ducal household, Raizen didn’t seem to have a fiancée.
So I had erased the very idea from my mind.
My feelings were complicated enough—I would’ve lost my mind if I had to deal with an engagement issue on top of everything else.
‘But now, it’s something I can’t avoid.’
The noblewomen behind me continued their conversation.
I could have just walked away and avoided hearing more, but for some reason, my feet refused to move.
“The Pantheon Duchy has always been slow to arrange engagements, but the young duke is exceptionally late. No wonder there were even rumors that he had some kind of hidden flaw.”
“But really… Those were just baseless rumors. Just look at him. Who wouldn’t say he’s a perfect Alpha?”
‘Right. Of course…’
I looked again at the crowd surrounding Raizen.
Most of them were parents pushing their children forward—sons and daughters alike, their faces flushed as they gazed at Raizen with admiration.
How pathetic.
I had been so obvious in ignoring the reality of the situation, and now I was laughing at myself for it.
At that moment, I felt someone approaching.
“Good evening, Young Master Shane.”
I assumed it was just someone passing by, but then I heard my alias being spoken.
Turning my head, I saw an unfamiliar young man standing there.
He seemed to be around my age…
‘An Alpha.’
At first, this new sensory perception had felt unfamiliar, but I’d adjusted to it faster than I expected.
Before my awakening, the whole Alpha-Omega dynamic had been incomprehensible to me.
Now that I had awakened as an Omega, I could sense it instinctively—though my body hadn’t gone through any major changes yet.
‘Or maybe it’s just because my heat hasn’t come yet?’
Shaking off unnecessary thoughts, I gave the stranger a small nod.
“Oh, yes. Hello.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Sandrigo Kaigan, eldest son of the Kaigan family.”
Kaigan… That was the viscount family that ran the Ruffle Merchant Guild.
They were looked down on behind their backs for buying their noble title with money, but plenty of nobles still hovered around them, hoping to get something out of it.
“Nice to meet you as well.”
After giving a polite response, I intentionally stepped toward the finger foods nearby.
But Kaigan’s young lord immediately followed, closing the distance.
‘Ah… great.’
I knew why he had approached me.
It wasn’t a mystery.
But I had no interest in engagements or marriage.
‘Even the former Marquis Kreveta told me to live however I wanted.’
The way his pheromones subtly brushed against me, as if testing the waters, was irritating, but I held back.
If I lashed out here, all it would do was tarnish the duke’s name.
“I heard you were unwell for some time. Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“I’ve always been curious about you. And now that I’ve met you… you’re truly beautiful. Your blue eyes… they’re like the ocean. I feel like I could drown in them.”
“…Ah. Thank you. You’re quite dashing yourself, Lord Kaigan.”
I wanted to return the compliment properly, but this was the best I could manage.
It wasn’t that he was unattractive or anything. I just… wasn’t interested.
“Ahem. Have you heard of the Ruffle Merchant Guild?”
…Can he take a hint?
“Yes. It’s one of the Empire’s well-known guilds.”
“Hah! You might not realize it since you’ve lived in a remote duchy, but the Ruffle Guild is actually the best in the Empire.”
‘Did that hit a nerve?’
I hadn’t meant to belittle them.
They probably thought of themselves that way, but in reality, they ranked third at best.
And even that was slipping—rumors had it they were being overtaken by an up-and-coming guild with an unknown owner.
“Oh, I see. I apologize if my words seemed misleading. I do recognize that the Ruffle Guild is an exceptional one.”
Too bad they were riddled with internal issues and would face a counterfeit scandal next year.
They had even tried to sell those fake art pieces to the Luavis Duchy—until Kim Minsoo caught on and utterly crushed them.
That incident had played a major role in reshaping the ‘Delinquent Karon’ image.
‘Though, that was only possible because Kim Minsoo had read the novel.’
“Haha. I see.”
“Yes. Just because I live in a duchy doesn’t mean I’m unaware of the world outside.”
That aside, getting all defensive and calling the duchy a backwater wasn’t exactly a smart move.
“Have you ever visited the Pantheon Duchy?”
“A-ah, no…”
“Oh, my. Then I suppose you’d be shocked to hear we even have a commercial district.”
“W-what?”
“Also, do you happen to know which noble family owns the White Wolf Merchant Guild?”
The White Wolf Guild—one of the key reasons the Pantheon Dukedom and the Marquis Kreveta managed to hold their ground even after the Emperor began cracking down on them.
Due to the nature of the western region, there are times when it must rely on external supplies.
And that was one of the best excuses the central government had to keep the West on a leash.
In preparation for such situations, the Duchy of Pantheon and the Marquis Kreveta jointly established the White Wolf Trading Company.
‘Ruffle Trading Company is out of reach, but this is still the undisputed second-largest trading company in the empire.’
The barren and arid West was unsuitable for growing crops, but it was rich in underground resources—not only in terms of the sheer quantity of mana stones buried there but also in overall mineral wealth.
“…T-That’s…”
Kaigan’s face flushed red.
He wasn’t bad-looking, and his initial attitude had been decent enough, but…
‘He gets riled up way too easily.’
As the eldest son, he was most likely the future Viscount of the Kaigan family.
But with that temperament, could he really manage a trading company?
“Oh, and… could you stop scanning me with your pheromones? It’s uncomfortable.”
“Wha—?!”
Kaigan’s face turned so red that it looked like it might explode with just a tap.
Seeing no benefit in continuing the conversation, I was about to take a step away when—
“At this point, I’ll just say it outright. Prince Shane, let’s get engaged.”
“…Ha.”
I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
Honestly, of all the nonsense I’d heard since coming to this world, this had to be the worst.
“You should think carefully. Do you realize what it means that I’m the only one approaching you at a party this crowded?”
“Oh, I know.”
“As expected, there’s no way you—… What?”
“I said, I know. No matter how much I bear the Pantheon name, the fact that I was originally a commoner doesn’t just disappear, right?”
Unfortunately for him, I wasn’t the type to be affected by things like that.
I came from a world without a caste system.
No—more than that, even if I weren’t the heir of the Kreveta family and was truly a commoner, words like that wouldn’t have wounded me.
The Duke and Duchess of Pantheon, as well as the people of their household, had treated me with warmth and care.
‘Which is exactly why I’m so pissed off.’
“And you, Kaigan, do you understand what it means that you’re the only one who dared approach me?”
“That’s…”
Interrupting someone mid-sentence was rude, but I had no intention of listening to any more of his bullshit.
“You want to climb the social ladder, even if it means marrying an adopted commoner—something like that, right? How very noble of you. There’s a limit to how shameless someone can be. Adopted or not, I am still a member of the Pantheon Duchy.”
The sheer audacity was laughable.
What exactly did he think made him superior to Pantheon?
Did he think the Duchy was beneath him?
Was this a joke?
“Y-You…!!”
I was honestly worried.
With a temper like that, how did he expect to run a trading company in the future?
“I’m sorry, but I have absolutely no, not even the slightest, intention of forming ties with the Kaigan family. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
I turned away after offering a flawless, textbook-perfect bow—just as my etiquette instructor had taught me.
Immediately, a sharp wave of pheromones washed over me.
My stomach churned, and my body instinctively froze.
“A lowborn… and a recessive, at that…”
As if you’re a dominant yourself. I wanted to say it, but the words wouldn’t come out.
In that brief moment of hesitation, Kaigan grabbed my shoulder, his grip tight and forceful.
Just then, the scent of rich roses filled the air.
“Shane, what are you doing here?”
It was Raizen.
* * *
