* * *
The traces from that day hadn’t even fully faded yet, and now Hayward’s hand rested over his chest.
The sensation of fingers slipping beneath his clothes startled Remy into shouting.
“Didn’t you say… you wouldn’t touch me?”
Out of breath, Remy barely managed to get the words out, and for a brief moment, Hayward’s movements paused.
He released the nape of Remy’s neck and lifted his head.
Looking down at Remy, who was far shorter than him, he tilted his head as if he had no idea what he was talking about.
“Did I say that?”
“You promised me just earlier.”
“I think what I said was that I wouldn’t be rough.”
“…What?”
“That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t touch you, does it?”
With that, Hayward flashed a smirk.
Then, once again, he pressed his lips to the nape of Remy’s neck.
Kneading the flesh that fit so perfectly in his palm, he took in Remy’s scent in deep, indulgent breaths.
Desperately, Remy struggled to push him away.
“Please… stop. Just stop.”
The more insistent Hayward’s touch became, the heavier his pheromones grew.
A creeping sense of dread overtook Remy’s body, which felt as if it would collapse at any moment.
He couldn’t afford to stay in Hayward’s grasp any longer.
He had to scream—call for someone.
“If you continue… I will, I will call for someone.”
Gritting his teeth, Remy forced the words out.
Even in his state, he had to make himself clear.
Hayward, however, merely burst into laughter.
He quite liked seeing Remy struggle like this.
“When you make that kind of face, it just makes me want to stop even less.”
“Your Highness.”
“Your pheromones are too sweet. Just like your face right now.”
Hayward took a long inhale, savoring the scent.
With his eyes closed, an intoxicating smile curved his lips.
It was the kind of expression that was almost too beautiful, making it all the more unsettling.
“You reek of it. The scent of an omega who has yet to be knotted by an alpha.”
“……”
“I suppose that’s because Ashton still hasn’t knotted you?”
“I have no desire to discuss such things with Your Highness.”
“You don’t need to. A dominant alpha can tell these things right away.”
At last, Hayward let him go.
After pressing a brief kiss to Remy’s forehead, he lounged on the sofa with an air of arrogance.
“Sit. Don’t just stand there.”
The moment Hayward withdrew, Remy hurriedly adjusted his disheveled clothes.
He shot him a glare before walking over to sit in the chair across from him.
Hayward, noticing the faint red marks peeking through the gap in his half-buttoned shirt, gazed at them with satisfaction.
“So? What is it that Your Highness wanted to say?”
Eager to get this over with, Remy was the first to speak.
“Well, first of all, I do regret what happened at the castle before. I didn’t intend for things to get that rough.”
Regret, was it? Remy found it absurd, but he didn’t bother voicing it aloud.
The only thought in his head was getting through this conversation as quickly as possible.
He had no desire to breathe in any more of Hayward’s pheromones.
“I’m sure you’ve figured it out by now, but I have a bit of a temper. That day, you really shouldn’t have provoked me like that.”
“Please, just get to the point. That’s not why you’re here, is it?”
Hayward leaned back slightly, his gaze turning cold. In a low voice, he said:
“I don’t like being interrupted when I speak. Not even by you, Remy.”
“…My apologies.”
“And to be honest, I’m still a little angry about that day. I don’t understand why those two alphas came all the way to the castle at that time.”
“……”
“That chamberlain—he’s the problem, isn’t he? The only one who could have sent Ashton and Rex to the castle is him.”
Remy stiffened.
So that was why Hayward had looked at Chandler so strangely.
He hadn’t even considered that he’d be thinking something like this.
“What should I do, then? What would help me cool off?”
“Your Highness, I believe you are misunderstanding something. That chamberlain you saw earlier isn’t capable of something like that.”
“You’re not covering for him, are you?”
“Of course not. He’s merely a servant.”
“Is that so? I was just wondering. You leave such a mess wherever you go. Alphas practically fall over themselves for you, so why wouldn’t a beta be the same?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You just don’t want to know.”
The longer the conversation dragged on, the more suffocated Remy felt.
His body was still weak, his breath coming in shorter gasps.
As much as he resented Hayward, the fear was just as overwhelming.
Just sitting in front of him made him feel as if his very soul was being drained away.
“…Anyway, let’s put that aside for now.”
Thankfully, Hayward didn’t press the matter with Chandler any further.
Remy let out a quiet breath of relief.
“I’ve been thinking. It doesn’t seem right to just leave you as you are.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“For whatever reason, you’re still maintaining a relationship with Ashton. I don’t think it’s right to let you run free like this.”
“Run free? I’m not Your Highness’s pet.”
“Of course not. I’m not such a pervert that I’d feel lust for a dog.”
“Do you remember gifting me a dead bird?”
“Ah, right. I was a bit worked up then. That was right after I got a report that you’d been rolling around with Ashton for days.”
“You had someone tail me? Are you monitoring my every move?”
“I told you, didn’t I? I want to make you my queen.”
“I never agreed to that.”
“We’ll talk about that in due time. But I did need to keep an eye on your behavior in advance.”
“Your Highness truly has a way of thinking that defies all reason.”
“You think I’m the only one? That childhood friend of yours, the one you’re so obsessed with—I’m sure he’s thinking the same way.”
“That childhood friend you speak of, at the very least, wouldn’t use a phrase like ‘letting me run free.’”
“Let’s chalk that up to a difference in status.”
Hayward smiled, his beautiful eyes curving.
Remy, already exhausted, felt his fatigue deepen even further.
“So, what is it you actually wanted to say…?”
More than anything, Remy wanted Hayward to just get to the point.
He was too drained to deal with this any longer.
Seeing Oliver would have to wait.
“I’m thinking of holding a ball soon.”
But when the word “ball” fell from Hayward’s lips, all of Remy’s fatigue vanished in an instant.
His ears perked up.
“A ball…?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. It’ll be held at the palace. The grandest, most extravagant one yet. Bigger than anything you’ve ever seen.”
Remy’s breath caught. It was the very ball he had been waiting for.
The one that, in the original story, would be the last ball before the alpha’s scent marked its final chapter.
And on that night, Remy was fated to be shot and killed by one of three alphas.
This was the moment he had been preparing for.
“At that ball, I’ll be extending you an invitation.”
Gulp. His dry throat swallowed hard.
Thump, thump.
A flood of memories rushed through his mind—everything he had to endure to reach this moment. His heart pounded like mad.
This ball was his last chance to escape this possessed body.
Once the night was over, he could finally leave this place and return to the world he once lived in.
He could regain his past memories, live happily in his original world.
Everything depended on this final ball.
* * *
Let him go home😔
I’m so sick of those three who only think about segs