Evening arrived before long, and Ruite and Chester headed down to the dining room at Raina’s call.
“Ruite, you look a bit tired.”
Chester noted.
“Mmh, I think my body’s just getting sluggish now that the tension has left. I’ll be fine after a good night’s sleep.”
Ruite shrugged it off as if it were nothing.
The dining table at the Everhart mansion was covered with an incredibly lavish spread of food.
Chester had grown quite accustomed to the volume by now.
After all, he knew better than anyone that Ruite ate twice as much as the average person.
After the meal, Chester played a game of chess with Teian.
Ruite, who had little interest in the game, stayed by Chester’s side with a bored expression, playing with Blue.
Realizing that Chester’s skills were quite formidable, Teian was delighted to have finally met a worthy opponent.
Seeing that Chester was genuinely enjoying himself without any sign of discomfort, Ruite quietly picked up Blue and headed upstairs.
As he sat there watching them, a heavy wave of exhaustion had begun to wash over him.
As Ruite lay down on his bed, Blue followed and licked his cheek.
“Blue, that stings.”
Ruite rubbed his cheek and stroked Blue’s chin.
Usually, Blue’s licks didn’t feel so sharp, but today his senses were strangely hypersensitive.
“…No, it couldn’t be.”
A sudden thought flashed through his mind, but Ruite shook his head vigorously.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
When he opened it, Chester was standing there.
“Are you going to sleep?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
Chester stood in the doorway for a moment without saying a word, staring at Ruite with a strangely persistent gaze.
Ruite scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“You’re… sure you aren’t sick anywhere?”
“I told you I’m fine.”
“You’re really okay?”
“Yeah, probably…”
Chester urged him to come to the room next door immediately if he felt sick or if anything happened.
Whether Raina had intended it or not, the room Chester was staying in was right next to Ruite’s bedroom.
“I won’t lock my door tonight.”
“Got it.”
Chester kissed Ruite on the cheek, wishing him a good night, before returning to his room.
Back in bed, Ruite scratched his head, feeling a nagging sense of anxiety.
Just in case, he searched through the luggage he had brought from the Knights’ headquarters for suppressants.
Only then did he realize he hadn’t packed any.
He hadn’t thought to bring them because his heat cycle had always been regular.
Since his next heat was still a good while away, he assumed he would be fine during his vacation and didn’t bother packing them.
However, his body felt heavy and his eyelids were like lead.
The subtle rise in his body temperature felt exactly like the pre-symptoms of a heat cycle.
‘My cycle is regular, so why now?’
Ruite wondered, but then he recalled the lessons on secondary genders he had received as a child.
While Alpha and Omega cycles follow a schedule, it isn’t absolute.
Significant stress or psychological and physical stimuli can trigger an early onset.
Ruite had been worrying and tensed for days about the meeting with Benger; it wasn’t surprising that the psychological pressure had acted as a trigger.
“Ah, why does this have to happen now of all times?”
Ruite had always taken his suppressants without fail while at the Knights, keeping his mother’s advice to “carry them like a part of your body” in mind.
He had once thought her constant reminders were mere nagging, but now he was flooded with regret.
“I’ll just have to ask the doctor to prepare some tomorrow.”
Ruite steeled himself for the lecture he was bound to receive from his mother.
Since it was late at night, he planned to tell Raina first thing in the morning to call the family physician.
He was still only in the pre-symptom stage, not in full heat yet.
Thinking this, Ruite glanced at the wall connecting to the next room.
A thought of “just in case” crossed his mind, but he quickly shook his head.
He didn’t want to show Chester such an embarrassing state—caught in heat without even having suppressants ready.
Determined to just make it through the night, Ruite closed his eyes.
In the early hours past midnight, Chester tossed and turned in his bed.
Suddenly, he felt a presence nearby and his eyes snapped open.
Turning his head, he saw a silhouette moving back and forth in front of his wardrobe.
Sleep vanished instantly as he realized someone was in his room.
The unknown figure was rummaging through the place where Chester’s clothes were kept.
‘What is this? A thief?’
But what kind of insane thief would dare break into the Count’s mansion?
Then again, one could never be too sure.
There had been legendary thieves in the past who targeted only noble estates.
However, if this really was a thief, they had chosen the wrong room.
Of all places, they had broken into the room of a sleeping Knight.
Just as Chester was about to spring up, killing his presence, a familiar scent drifted past the tip of his nose.
Recognizing it instantly, Chester didn’t bother hiding his footsteps as he strode toward the wardrobe.
“Ruite.”
Chester grabbed the person’s shoulder and turned them around.
The one who had caused the ridiculous misunderstanding of being a thief was none other than Ruite.
He had suspected it when the familiar soap-scented pheromones drifted by, and he was right.
Ruite was clutching a bundle of Chester’s clothes in both hands.
“You… why…”
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Chester saw Ruite’s condition clearly.
His breathing was heavier than usual, and his pheromones were leaking out continuously.
His face looked flushed; when Chester touched it, Ruite winced and recoiled slightly.
His skin was burning hot to the touch.
“Are you… in heat?”
There was no mistaking it.
His instincts as an Alpha were screaming the truth. Ruite was in heat.
“…I think so,” Ruite’s voice trembled slightly.
“Haa… my cycle wasn’t supposed to be now, so I left my suppressants at the dormitory. There won’t be spares in the mansion…”
“Then you should have woken me up. What were you doing here by yourself?”
“I-I’m embarrassed. It’s embarrassing to show you this. So I just thought I’d take some of your clothes…”
Ruite struggled to catch his breath even as he spoke.
Only then did Chester realize what Ruite had been doing alone in this room.
When an Omega enters heat, they naturally crave and depend on the pheromones of a familiar Alpha.
Chester’s clothes would have his scent lingering on them most strongly.
Seeing Ruite clutching his clothes so tightly, Chester squeezed his eyes shut.
A brief headache bloomed from the sheer loveliness of the sight.
“Did you forget what I told you? I told you to find me first if something unexpected happened.”
“You were sleeping like a log, don’t talk so big.”
“Right, sorry. I should have noticed sooner.”
Chester reached out with a gentle touch and pulled Ruite into his arms to calm him.
The warm, soft temperature of Ruite’s body pressed against him.
The clothes Ruite had been holding slipped from his hands and fell to the floor.
With his hands free, Ruite hugged Chester tightly and took a deep breath.
“You smell so good…”
At the ticklish sound of Ruite’s voice near his ear, Chester couldn’t hold back any longer and released his pheromones.
Ruite reacted instantly, his body trembling slightly.
“Chester, I don’t have suppressants and I’m so uncomfortable. Do something about it.”
“…Do you realize what you’re saying?”
Ruite gripped Chester’s shirt tightly and slowly lifted his face from Chester’s chest.
“Then are you just going to leave me like this?”
Meeting those eyes, which were clouded with excitement, Chester’s heart hammered uncontrollably.
“Ah, dammit.”
Chester hissed a curse under his breath, scooped Ruite up, and headed straight for the bed.
He laid Ruite down gently and brushed back his sweat-dampened hair.
As Ruite’s smooth forehead was revealed, Chester kissed it without hesitation.
Moonlight filtered through the window, washing over Ruite’s face.
His eyes were hazy, and his breath hitched through his parted lips.
The veins on the back of Chester’s hand bulged as he stroked Ruite’s hair.
Originally, he had planned to hold back from spending their heat and rut cycles together until after the wedding.
While at the Knights, Chester had managed his ruts strictly.
If he felt even a slight change in his body, he took suppressants immediately.
He didn’t want to lose control and pounce on Ruite in a daze.
He felt the same about Ruite’s heat.
He had learned that when an Omega enters heat, not only is their excitement amplified, but their fear or anxiety toward Alphas can increase as well.
Even though they shared the same feelings, they weren’t married yet, and he didn’t want Ruite to feel any instinctive fear toward him during his heat.
“Ruite.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you… afraid of me? Are you sure it’s okay if it’s me?”
Ruite slowly raised his hand and gave Chester a flick on the forehead.
Of course, since Ruite was in the middle of his heat, there was absolutely no strength behind his fingers.
“You really are frustrating. How many times do I have to say I like you? It has to be you.”
