* * *
“Yes, I love you too.”
In the next moment, Lucian hoisted Etienne up as if he were lifting a sack of potatoes.
Instead of cradling him like he usually did, he slung Etienne over his shoulder.
“What the…?”
While Etienne was bewildered at suddenly being picked up like a bundle, Lucian strode out of the laboratory without paying any attention to the servants in the hallway who stared at them.
Etienne, coming to his senses, struggled in resistance, but against the sturdy Alpha, it was a futile effort.
“Duke, Duke! Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
“You should take a look at yourself. I told you to rest today, but you wouldn’t listen.”
Lucian had his reasons for this behavior.
Etienne’s face was pale, and his lips were chapped, making him look like he was severely fatigued.
Though even in that state, he was impeccably beautiful, even to the point of appearing poignant.
It was clear that his body couldn’t be fine after being strained all night.
Recalling the earlier moment when he almost fell, his back pain must have been quite severe.
However, no matter how much Lucian worried, Etienne was only frustrated and aggrieved.
“This is all your fault! It’s because you tormented me all night!”
“Yes, yes. It’s all my fault.”
Upon reaching the bedroom with quick steps, Lucian finally threw Etienne onto the bed and smiled broadly.
“Now, rest, Etienne.”
“No, Duke! I’m not a child….”
Etienne tried to get up, but Lucian, sitting on the edge of the bed, pressed him back down.
With a caring hand, he even pulled the blanket over Etienne and spoke tenderly.
“Stay put and rest at least until the evening.”
Etienne, who felt no thrill at all from this, just grumbled internally, ‘Do you see me as a child? I’m a grown adult.’
He planned to jump out of bed as soon as Lucian left the room.
However, contrary to his expectations, Lucian stayed by his side.
Although Etienne had woken up in the afternoon, his body was in terrible condition after being tormented until just before dawn.
The Alpha’s pheromones, too comforting and cozy, surrounded him, and eventually, Etienne fell into a deep sleep under Lucian’s watchful eyes.
His serene face relaxed completely.
Seeing that defenseless adorableness, Lucian couldn’t help but smile.
Unlike when he had passed out from exhaustion after a rough night, Etienne now looked clean and pure, very beautiful.
Although it was a pity that he couldn’t see his emerald eyes, his gentle, lovely face was still pleasing to look at.
Unable to resist, Lucian gently poked Etienne’s soft and tender cheek, but Etienne didn’t wake up, only stirred slightly.
He must have been really tired.
If he was going to fall asleep again as soon as he lay down, he should have just rested earlier.
What was the point of bustling around in the laboratory right after waking up?
‘It seems like he got a scolding from Ferden…’
A faint expression of displeasure crossed Lucian’s smiling face.
He hadn’t told Etienne about the matters of the social world on purpose.
He could guess what kind of advice Ferden might have given, but it still didn’t sit well with him.
‘I’ll have to warn him.’
It was unacceptable. Etienne being cautious and paying attention to the worthless insects.
Etienne should just act as he pleased, without any worries or concerns.
All the troublesome matters were for Lucian to handle.
He wanted Etienne to enjoy only the good things without any constraints.
The precious, invaluable existence in front of him deserved that much.
“…How can you shake a person’s heart like this.”
Murmuring words that wouldn’t reach, Lucian brushed Etienne’s soft hair aside.
Etienne, still in his sleep, rubbed his face against Lucian’s hand with a pleasant smile.
Seeing that, Lucian thought instinctively.
Beautiful, truly dazzlingly beautiful.
Desire and lust ignited.
It might be a vile and dirty feeling, but once his heart caught fire, it couldn’t be extinguihed.
That was why he had gone through with the imprinting, to make Etienne entirely his own.
“Even though it wasn’t intentional.”
Shaking his soul to the core, making his heart irreversibly tumultuous.
Yet, Etienne behaved as if it was all just because of the pheromones.
It drove him crazy, but he could still endure it.
He alone knew how sparkling those green eyes were, how profound the intelligence within them was, and how noble the ideals that this small and delicate person held.
He alone recognized all of that.
It was his love, his deity.
He alone acknowledged the exceptional beauty and value that no one else noticed.
He was proud to have found such a beautiful gem.
So, for now, it was okay.
“Soon, there will be many occasions for you to face others…”
Etienne’s nape, where the imprint had been bitten, was still not fully healed.
Lucian gently caressed the delicate skin with a strange sense of fulfillment.
Then he grabbed Etienne’s auburn hair and lightly kissed its ends.
“I’d like it if your smile was just for me.”
This small, delicate person had made him live in a vivid reality instead of the myths others talked about.
Being with Etienne, he always felt a curious certainty that the grand ideals he dreamed of would come true.
Etienne was the only one in Lucian’s world.
That’s why he craved and desired so much.
He feared that this brilliant light might be taken by someone else.
The mere thought that this dazzling light might turn to someone other than him twisted his guts.
He could endure anything.
He had imprinted his Imprint and, for now, Etienne stayed by his side.
He could endlessly strive until Etienne shared his feelings.
There was just one thing that he couldn’t bear: Etienne leaving him for someone else.
As long as that didn’t happen, Lucian could endure and persevere.
“As long as you do that, I can wait forever.”
So, he wished, his marvelous, radiant deity.
May that grace be solely for him.
If not…
“My Etienne.”
He might go mad someday.
Eventually, Lucian slipped out of Etienne’s room, finding that the night had already deepened into darkness.
He had been watching the lovely Omega, sound asleep and breathing softly, losing track of time as the sun set.
Despite the possessive gaze of the Alpha upon him, Etienne slept soundly, oblivious to the world.
As the sunset approached, Lucian tried to wake him for dinner, but Etienne only murmured in his sleep and snuggled closer to the Alpha’s solid chest.
It was inevitable that the burly Alpha man would find himself in a somewhat difficult situation.
“…Why is he doing this?”
The sensation of the small, soft body emitting a sweet scent and wriggling in his arms was quite addictive.
Although he repeatedly told himself he should leave, he couldn’t bring himself to let go.
Even when he finally forced himself to leave the bed as the night grew deeper, his reluctant gaze lingered on the clear and beautiful face of the Omega.
Lucian, trying not to wake Etienne, moved his large frame with utmost care as he slowly crept out of bed.
Once he was outside, the first thing he did was look for the head butler, Ferden.
“Hey, you there.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go fetch Ferden. Tell him to come to my room.”
Having instructed a servant he met in the hallway, Lucian headed straight to his room to change out of the uncomfortable uniform he had worn for so long.
While watching over Etienne, he hadn’t felt any discomfort, but the moment he left Etienne’s side, the uniform felt cumbersome.
In his room, he changed into more comfortable clothes with the help of his servants.
Shedding the stifling uniform and putting on a loose shirt made him feel much more at ease.
Ferden arrived just as the other servants finished helping him change.
“I heard you called for me, sir.”
“Yes.”
Lucian dismissed the other servants with a single gesture.
The quick-witted servants swiftly left, and silence quickly settled in the room.
Lucian walked over and sat in a chair.
Ferden remained standing beside him, still bowing politely.
Lucian’s cool purple eyes scrutinized the middle-aged man.
The sharpness of his gaze made Ferden swallow nervously.
Although not a shifter, the Alpha’s presence was so overwhelming that it left Ferden breathless.
“Ferden.”
The voice that finally broke the silence was as cold as ice.
Perhaps because he had grown accustomed to seeing Lucian softened by his time with Etienne lately, Lucian now seemed doubly stern.
“You spoke unnecessary words to Etienne.”
* * *
