* * *
“What, what, what are you talking about, you lunatic?”
“Didn’t you hear? I want to observe an Alpha in rut. It would be even better if I could experience it myself.”
Etienne’s fellow orphan, who was talking to him, jumped in shock at his outrageous words.
Unfortunately, Etienne’s words irritated not only his fellow orphan.
At that very moment, someone who happened to visit the orphanage unintentionally overheard their conversation.
The passerby’s expression darkened instantly. Their frown deepened as Etienne continued.
“Even once would be fine; I want to spend my heat with an Alpha. The body’s response must be different from dealing with it alone.”
“Wow, Etienne, you’re really…”
“At the very least, I want to feel an Alpha’s pheromones. Should I start searching for one? I heard noble Alphas often seek out Omegas during their rut…”
Unable to listen any longer, the man’s face twisted in disgust.
The next moment, he strode toward Etienne.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Etienne and his fellow orphan turned around. Recognizing the approaching man, Etienne’s fellow orphan froze with his mouth agape.
“I can’t tolerate this anymore.”
The man was dressed in a splendid yet tidy uniform.
The luxurious cloak embroidered with gold thread and adorned with tassels, along with the numerous medals on his chest, instantly indicated his noble status.
His tall and solid build was imposing, and his dignified demeanor exuded an aura of nobility.
The man with sharp violet eyes and jet-black hair possessed a beauty worthy of a masterpiece painting or an ancient statue.
“I didn’t sponsor this orphanage to hear such vulgar nonsense.”
This strikingly handsome man was none other than the noble patron of the orphanage and one of the empire’s most powerful figures, Duke Lucian Letheon of Leondine.
“D-Duke? W-Why are you here in such a humble place…?”
While his fellow orphan trembled and prostrated himself, unaware of the man’s identity, Etienne was captivated by something else.
A subtle scent tickling his nose.
‘Nice…’
It was a refreshing and cool scent reminiscent of a summer forest.
Feeling an instinctive thirst and a warming body, and an indescribable itch in a certain place, Etienne realized.
The man before him was an Alpha.
His face flushed hotly.
Unconsciously, he unbuttoned a few buttons due to the rising heat.
His eyes became hazy, and saliva pooled in his mouth.
Half out of his mind, Etienne hastily approached Lucian’s feet.
So urgent was he that he crawled on his knees, unable to stand properly from his seated position.
It was obvious how he looked.
“Alpha…”
Etienne muttered with a flushed face.
Finally reaching Lucian’s feet, he flashed a vaguely seductive smile.
“Alpha, are you perhaps an Alpha?”
Etienne was excited to meet an Alpha for the first time since he started his research.
He hoped he could ask something now that he had finally met one.
However, there was no way Lucian would understand such circumstances.
“Hah…”
Lucian’s expression twisted in anger.
Looking down at the horny Omega blushing in front of him, he wore a face full of contempt and disdain.
He roughly swatted away Etienne’s hand that was reaching for him unconsciously. Then, with a fierce glint in his violet eyes, he grabbed Etienne’s chin harshly.
“Are you so desperate to throw yourself at an Alpha?”
His voice was icy, and his words were merciless. His cold face was no different.
He tightened his grip on Etienne’s chin. When Etienne whimpered in pain, Lucian’s frown deepened further.
“Listen carefully.”
The Alpha’s oppressive aura was intense. It felt like it was crushing Etienne from all sides, making him tremble uncontrollably.
‘Ah, so this is the Alpha’s dominance over an Omega.’
While he pondered that, Lucian spoke with a threatening glint in his violet eyes.
“If you’re living off my sponsorship, at least try to live like a human. Don’t behave like an animal, driven by instincts.”
Then, his voice, full of disgust, lashed out at Etienne.
“You’re disgusting.”
With a harsh push, Etienne fell to the side. The frail Omega’s body was powerless against the Alpha’s force.
After casting one last cold glance at the trembling Omega, Lucian strode away, leaving the pitiful Omega overwhelmed by the Alpha’s pheromones.
“W-Wait…!”
Etienne belatedly reached out, but Lucian walked away without looking back.
Etienne tried to stand and follow the duke immediately, but his trembling legs refused to cooperate.
In the end, he couldn’t even get up until Lucian disappeared from sight.
Eventually, when the trembling subsided, Etienne stood up, smacking his lips in regret.
‘I felt the effect of alpha pheromones for the first time… What a shame it ended with that only…’
He wanted to ask Lucian for a few more things, but it was a missed opportunity.
Especially since just recalling Lucian’s scent and gaze made his limbs tingle and his spine shiver.
‘I can’t believe a person can emit pheromones with such influence.’
Etienne found all of this genuinely new and fascinating. It was as if he were not a human but a bee or an ant, overwhelmed with curiosity.
However, this was only Etienne’s sentiment, which no one else would understand.
“Hey, why did you do that? You know the duke dislikes omegas behaving lewdly.”
“Huh? Did I behave lewdly?”
Etienne, still closely observing his trembling palm, tilted his head in confusion at his companion’s words.
“Of course!”
“When did I do that?”
Etienne’s companion felt even more exasperated at his incredulous tone.
The unbuttoned shirt revealing his chest, the flushed face, the heated eyes, and the disheveled hair—yet he claimed he hadn’t behaved lewdly.
“When? When do you think? Look at yourself! Anyone can see you’re an omega just from your eyes and face!”
“What’s wrong with my eyes?”
“They’re completely excited!”
Etienne had his own sense of injustice. He had only unbuttoned his shirt because it felt tight, and his excited eyes and flushed cheeks were due to the joy of discovering a research subject.
“I was just happy to see an alpha!”
“That’s precisely what’s lewd, you idiot!”
But sadly, no one could sympathize with his reasoning.
Even if he shouted, “You just don’t appreciate the awesomeness of science and exploration!” a hundred times, people would only see Etienne as a pitiful madman.
That was likely the same even in 21st-century Korea.
“By the way, is he our benefactor? Who is he?”
“Why are you so out of mind these days? He is Duke Leondine, you idiot.”
“Oh, right, Duke Leondine.”
Etienne nodded absentmindedly.
He hadn’t been curious about who their benefactor was because he would be kicked out of the orphanage in a few months anyway, but his interest piqued when he learned the person was an alpha.
As he recalled the few fragmented pieces of information he had gathered since waking up in this world, he noticed something strange.
“Wait, isn’t he known to be kind to omegas? They say he’s the only one in the empire who takes in omegas like me with pure intentions.”
“Well, that’s true, but Duke Leondine also doesn’t like omegas who cling to alphas.”
“Oh, really?”
“Of course! The reason he pities and takes in omegas, whom others treat like vermin, is—”
“Why? What’s the reason?”
When Etienne asked out of genuine curiosity, his companion shook his head in disbelief before speaking.
“Why? Because the duke’s younger brother is an omega!”
* * *
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Nice