* * *
Up until now, I had always chosen option two.
I hated staying in unfamiliar places when I was sick.
I believed the best cure was to knock myself out with painkillers and sleep in my own bed until it was time for the banquet.
“Thank you. I’ll rest here for a while…”
For the first time, I picked a different option.
It was a tiny, almost laughable shift—especially for someone who had vowed to completely change the course of things.
Still, I suddenly wanted to try a path I’d never taken before.
“Oh, of course! Of course! Stay as long as you like. Please, get some real rest!”
The High Priest, his tongue slick as oil, led me into a side chamber deeper within the temple as I clutched my aching head.
Just being a Dominant got you this much special treatment?
No wonder the original Noah Hamilton became such an arrogant bastard.
In noble families ranked Count and higher, a Dominant Omega automatically became a candidate for Crown Princess or Empress.
And per the game’s lore, only two Dominant Omegas existed in the Empire—myself, Noah Hamilton, and one other.
The other one was the treasured daughter of a Duke’s house—who, unbeknownst to the world, already had someone she loved.
She eventually became Allen’s strong supporter and loyal friend.
So really, if not for Allen—the chaotic variable who swooped in and stole the hearts of every capture target including the Crown Prince—Noah would have become the Crown Princess without much conflict.
A classic handsome knight, a lively and mischievous high-ranking noble, a mysterious childhood friend with a dark side, and the radiant Crown Prince himself—this game had four capturable characters, and the main one was definitely the Prince.
No matter which route you took, it always led to Allen.
Everyone ended up falling in love with Allen.
And so, Noah Hamilton, the Crown Princess candidate… was destined to become Allen’s natural antagonist.
In this world that moved relentlessly toward the singular goal of Allen’s happiness, I—Noah Hamilton—who stood in opposition, was fated to one very clear ending: to be destroyed without mercy, as the villain.
I had once believed that if I just gave up the candidacy early on, I could escape that destined villainy.
How naïve I’d been.
I underestimated just how ruthless the damn System could be.
[System protests its innocence at the top of its lungs! (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`) ]
[System is deeply hurt that you would label it so cruel! (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`) ]
[System feels unappreciated for its boundless, pure love for you! (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`) ]
“…So damn noisy.”
“P-Pardon, Brother?”
Ah, I’m losing it.
Nothing ever goes my way with that damn System.
I lowered my voice instantly, feigning embarrassment.
“Apologies, Priest. My headache’s so bad, I think I’m hearing things…”
“Oh dear! That won’t do at all. I’ll fetch you some calming tea. Please, just lie down and rest!”
The priests in this world, who possess no divine powers aside from distinguishing traits, didn’t say a single word about healing or even checking on my condition.
Instead, he came back only with a cup of steaming hot tea.
After dismissing the priest with the excuse that I wanted to be alone, I slowly sipped the tea, blowing on it to cool it down.
Then, suddenly—ding!—a clear notification sound rang in my ears.
Ah. Come to think of it, it was about time.
[Congratulations! You’ve survived in this world until the age of seventeen—enjoy your reward!
٩(๑ᵒ̴̶̷͈̀ ᗜ ᵒ̴̶̷͈́)و ̑̑ ✧]
[Congratulations, ‘Noah’!
Now that you’ve reached seventeen and your trait has manifested, you are officially a part of this world.
As a token of celebration, you’ve received the title: “Dominant Omega” (Charm +17).
The title has been automatically equipped.
The lock on the ‘Affinity Detection for Romance Targets’ function has been released.
You now have full access to all in-game features.]
It felt oddly surreal to see this kind of notification appear not in the carriage returning to the mansion, but here inside the temple.
Both the system that popped up out of nowhere just to mock me and this announcement window—they always made it clear.
This was a game world. Not reality.
…No. I shook my head hard, forcing myself out of that downward spiral.
So what if this is a game or reality?
As long as I can see, hear, and feel it, I have to keep living in it.
There’s really no difference.
“Whew, I need to snap out of it. No time for this.”
I slapped my cheeks lightly. The sting jolted me back to my senses.
I needed to fan the flames of my motivation—especially if I ever wanted to escape this dull hamster wheel of a life.
Sentimentality was just a waste.
After downing the remaining tea in one gulp, I clutched my still-spinning head and hurried out of the temple.
Nothing happened all the way from stepping out of the temple to getting into the carriage.
I hadn’t expected much, but still, it felt anticlimactic.
I had deliberately chosen a dialogue option I’d never selected before, hoping for some change.
But that brief disappointment didn’t last long, thanks to the raging fever and pounding headache that wouldn’t let up.
If even a single noble who had undergone their “Blessing Day” were nearby, they would’ve likely winced at the intense pheromones now pouring from me—undeniably that of a dominant Omega.
I wasn’t suppressing them at all.
Maybe because I never really embraced my Omega identity even after arriving in this game world?
As someone who had lived a perfectly ordinary life as a salaryman in 21st-century Korea, the idea of releasing pheromones to attract someone still felt absurd.
So until now, I had clamped down on them with every ounce of willpower.
Even during the route where I’d become lovers with Kyle, I hadn’t planned to expose my pheromones until after an official marriage.
That, and the original Noah’s smug obsession with flaunting his pheromones had always rubbed me the wrong way.
“We’ve arrived, young master.”
“Thanks. The ride was smooth, thanks to you.”
But that wouldn’t be the case anymore.
This game—“The Gentleman of the Rose Mansion,” where Allen is the main character—was rated 19+ for a reason.
And if I wanted to reel in every last one of the romance targets, I was going to make full use of these dominant Omega pheromones—so potent, they’d knock even the most high-ranking Alphas off their feet.
I didn’t have to wait long to put my new mindset into practice.
I had barely taken a few steps after getting out of the carriage when a sharp voice stabbed into my back with zero pretense of politeness.
“What is this stifling stench?”
“…Brother Andrew.”
Andrew Hamilton.
The Viscount of House Hamilton, and the man who had always treated me like a thorn in his side ever since I was adopted in place of his biological brother.
Needless to say, not someone I was close with.
His downward glare, filled with contempt, was a deep ocean blue.
A perfectly straight nose paired with a perpetually crooked sneer—how he managed to make even his scorn look aristocratic was a talent in itself.
The buttoned-up collar at his neck seemed to reflect his cold and rigid nature.
“I hear you had someone from the temple sent over.”
“…”
Until now, I had never once run into him directly.
Usually, I’d confirm my trait and go straight back to my room to lie down.
I had wondered why the High Priest had been offered as a dialogue choice, even though he never changed anything… but I guess it was so I could encounter someone I otherwise wouldn’t have.
“So, you manifested as a dominant, huh? Are you proud of that? Going to parade it around with no sense of shame?”
He wrinkled his nose in disgust, as if the pheromones thick in the air were personally offensive, and snapped at me with a biting tone.
Sigh.
Seriously.
Even if he’s an Alpha, he’s still technically my legal brother.
I hadn’t planned on testing him.
But watching him hurl those verbal daggers at me, like he was begging for a fight, I bit my lip and forced my jaw to tremble.
I made sure to lower my gaze pitifully.
“I—I’m sorry, brother. I didn’t mean to… It’s not on purpose… I just, I don’t know how to control it yet…”
Trembling visibly, my voice weak, I pleaded like someone utterly defeated.
And just like that, Andrew Hamilton’s cold, unflinching eyes flickered with something else.
From his perspective, this was shocking—I had always either shamelessly talked back or completely ignored him.
“Damn it… You really are pathetic.”
Not that he should be surprised just yet.
His voice was still sharp, but the loathing in his eyes had clearly dulled.
I had to stifle a grin.
Now it was time for the real test.
Let’s see how effective my pheromones are—even on an Alpha who’s hated me since before Allen ever showed up.
* * *
