* * *

‘Why is the Crown Prince here?!’

Sylvian, his face pale as a sheet, bowed his head again before the Crown Prince, unable to lift it.

This is insane. My life’s officially a joke.

It was bad enough to get stuck in the body of a penniless supporting character from a wretched family, but now he’d met an unexpected, hopeless second male lead.

‘That guy is seriously unhinged.’

Born into royalty, with every privilege at his disposal, he was devoid of any trace of humanity.

Not only did he openly engage in power struggles with a duke to claim the main protagonist, but he went as far as to kidnap them.

He even broke the main protagonist’s ankle.

And yet, this lunatic played the part of a devoted lover as if he were willing to give up his very heart for them.

The protagonist practically ground their teeth in rage, blaming the Crown Prince for separating them from the extraordinary Zeroth.

Back then, Sylvian hadn’t had the courage to finish reading the story and closed the book halfway through.

That had been a critical mistake.

This man was undoubtedly mad with love.

“I forgive you.”

“Th-thank you, Your Highness.”

Why Zeroth would tolerate such a man lounging in someone else’s garden remained a mystery.

“Does the Duke starve you?”

“…Pardon?”

“You’re skinnier than a beggar from the slums.”

Sylvian heard the click of the Crown Prince’s tongue from above.

Apparently, rumors about the Duke’s cold demeanor extended to claims that he starved his unlikable My wife.

“Zeroth is kind!”

“…The Duke’s My wife, do you have some kind of brain problem?”

The comment about being starved couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Since entering the Duke’s household, Sylvian had been eating well and gaining weight.

Sylvian’s firm rebuttal earned a dry chuckle from the Crown Prince.

He found it absurd that someone with such a frail frame could boast about getting three meals a day from the Duke.

“If I prepared you five—no, six meals a day, would that make me a saint?”

“…”

“Right. I don’t need your answer.”

Even without confirmation, the hesitance in Sylvian’s green eyes was enough to make the Crown Prince feel his intelligence dropping just by looking at him.

“My wife, you’re wasting your time pondering such trivial things.”

Sylvian, distracted and unsure how to respond, found himself dragged behind Zeroth, who appeared suddenly to shield him from the Crown Prince’s gaze.

“The Empire’s Little Sun graces us with his presence.”

“Ah, Duke, long time no see.”

“We met yesterday afternoon, didn’t we?”

Zeroth scoffed as he noticed Sylvian gripping his jacket tightly.

Sylvian was shy by nature.

When he first entered the Duke’s household, he’d panicked upon seeing Zeroth.

He avoided contact with staff and knights, let alone the Duke himself.

His hesitation at the Crown Prince’s question wasn’t due to deliberation but sheer confusion about how to answer.

Even now, Sylvian trembled as he clung to Zeroth’ back.

“Why the unannounced visit?”

“You got married without even sending me an invitation. How could I not be curious?”

Zeroth’ gaze turned sharp at the Crown Prince’s teasing remark about who he might be hiding.

“You’ve secured quite the lovely omega bride worth hiding, haven’t you?”

The Crown Prince’s eyes flicked to meet Sylvian’s, peeking from behind Zeroth, startled.

The omega’s face turned a deep shade of red.

Rejecting the royal family’s match and choosing an unknown omega from an obscure family—it couldn’t possibly be for political reasons, could it?

Despite his disbelief, the Duke’s protective stance and the bashful omega made it evident: this was a man in love.

Or so it seemed.

Or was it all an act?

That man wasn’t just slightly unhinged—he was playing the part of a lovesick fool to deceive the royal family.

“Th-thank you…”

“My wife, it’s cold. Let’s go inside.”

“Duke, are you ignoring me?”

The Crown Prince’s indignation grew at Zeroth’ blatant disregard for him, focusing solely on his omega.

“Your Highness is healthy and doesn’t require my attention.”

“I-I’m fine too—”

“You were groaning in pain this morning, so what nonsense are you spouting now?”

Why was Zeroth acting so kind all of a sudden?

Sylvian hid his inner turmoil as he allowed himself to be nearly carried away by Zeroth, exiting the garden.

This felt like a death flag.

No, even if not death, a massive suffering flag had just been raised.

Looking back, Sylvian saw the Crown Prince watching them with amusement and curiosity.

‘Damn it! Crazy bastard! If you want to die, die alone!’

The royal family had always been wary of Graham, the Duke of Dominant Alpha lineage.

Zeroth Graham wasn’t openly rebellious or antagonistic toward the royal family, but they still viewed him with suspicion.

After all, the more Dominant Alphas a family possessed, the higher their influence in the Empire. Almost on par with the Royal Family.

Publicly, they maintained friendly relations, but behind closed doors, they sought to tighten their grip on Zeroth whenever possible.

“Your Highness won’t—will he be alright?”

“Don’t worry about him. Even if he were to run around naked in the dead of winter, he’d be fine.”

Zeroth swallowed his irritation as he glanced at Sylvian’s worried expression.

“Are you seriously going to keep this up?”

“I heard there’s been a fire in Lycan. You must be quite relaxed to be chatting here.”

“What?!”

Zeroth had just returned from the capital when he’d heard about the Crown Prince’s visit.

Without delay, he’d headed straight to the garden, where Sylvian was.

“And you’re telling me this now?!”

“Well, you seemed to have plenty of time, chatting with my My wife. Who am I to interrupt His Highness?”

Dragging Sylvian along, Zeroth added with a mocking tone:

“Lycan’s burning?!”

“Don’t worry, my dear. The Empire’s knights are exceptional.”

Sylvian froze at Zeroth’ cutting remark as the Crown Prince stormed off.

“Next time, if a stranger comes into the house, what do you do?”

“Call Whisen or Elgana or Luai—”

“Then why were you dealing with the Crown Prince alone?”

Sylvian gulped at the stern question, clutching Zeroth’ sleeve.

“I-I didn’t know it applied to him too…”

“Haa… Didn’t I tell you to trust no one but me?”

Nod.

As Zeroth’ voice lowered, Sylvian could only hang his head, sensing another lecture coming.

“Let’s go to the bedroom first.”

Sylvian hesitated before meekly replying, “Yes,” his voice trembling at Zeroth’ abrupt and commanding words, as though they were a decree.

Without another word, Zeroth scooped Sylvian up in his arms and strode into the mansion with long, deliberate steps.

The household staff, observing the duke carry his wife inside with a cold, detached expression, exchanged knowing glances and quickly fled the vicinity of the bedroom, vowing not to linger nearby today.

“Undress,” Zeroth ordered coolly as soon as they reached the bedroom, setting Sylvian down on the floor.

The sudden chill in his voice made Sylvian flinch.

“I—I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!” Sylvian stammered, though he had no idea why he was being reprimanded.

It wasn’t his fault the Crown Prince had trespassed on the estate.

Regardless, he instinctively pleaded, hoping to soften the blow.

They say it’s better to take the punishment quickly, but in this case, Sylvian felt the best tactic was to prostrate himself to mitigate the severity.

“My wife,” Zeroth emphasized the title with a frosty edge, “undress.”

Sylvian’s heart sank.

He didn’t need to look up to sense how furious Zeroth was—the heavy tension in the air and his icy tone made it clear.

* * *