WMPW Chapter 5

Finding an interesting person but not asking his name—what a foolish mistake. Lucian clicked his tongue.

“An omega with brown hair and green eyes. Late teens… does anyone come to mind?”

“An omega with brown hair and green eyes… ah, Harrington! You must be talking about Harrington.”

“Harrington?”

“Yes. I believe his name is Etienne.”

Etienne Harrington. Lucian rolled the interesting omega’s name around in his mouth a few times.

‘The name seemed to fit perfectly for him.’

That thought that crossed Lucian’s mind as a faint smile crept onto his lips. After the thinking about in his head for a few more times, he found himself liking even the name.

“That Etienne, where is his room?”

“Pardon? Wh-why do you need to know his room?”

“Just answer the question.”

A hint of bewilderment flashed in the Orphanage Director Kionel’s eyes. The Duke of the Empire, no less than the emperor’s nephew, showing interest in a boy from an orphanage was surprising.

Moreover, the Duke was an alpha, and the boy he was looking for was an omega. It was only natural for Kionel’s mind to wander into various unseemly speculations.

“Just a moment, I will find out right away!”

But the Director was not one to worry about the fate of an orphaned omega. As was common in the empire, he cared little for what might happen to the omega.

He immediately called a servant to find out which room Etienne was in and reported back to Lucian.

“Room 403, in the east building where the male students stay.”

“Does he have a roommate?”

“No, Your Grace, as per your order, omega students are assigned private rooms.”

“Good.”

Lucian nodded in satisfaction.

Watching him, Kionel couldn’t contain his curiosity and spoke again.

“Your Grace, may I ask why you are looking for that boy…”

“That’s none of your concern.”

Of course, Lucian didn’t provide a proper answer, coldly drawing a line as if the curiosity itself was offensive.

“Etienne… Etienne Harrington.”

Ignoring Kionel, Lucian walked away briskly, his unusual purple eyes sparkling with strange anticipation and desire.

“This will be interesting.”

A little past 10 PM, Lucian headed towards Etienne’s room, which he had learned about a few hours earlier. Even dismissing his butler, Ferden, he went alone.

The shabby hallway and creaky stairs were a stark contrast to his luxurious attire, but soon he arrived at room 403. The name Etienne Harrington was scribbled in messy handwriting on the door.

‘I’ve found it.’

Confirming it was indeed Etienne’s room, Lucian reached out to knock, anticipating a conversation with the bold and cheeky young man he had never met before.

At least until an unbearably sweet scent tickled his nose.

‘This scent… could it be…?’

Recognizing the scent, Lucian froze in place. The scent grew stronger, enveloping him like a field of blooming flowers or a heap of ripe fruits.

It was intoxicating, making it impossible to stay composed. A fierce thirst surged within him, igniting a previously unknown desire.

“Ah, uh…”

Hearing a soft moan near his ear, Lucian could no longer resist the overwhelming desire and fell to his knees.

For a brief moment, he lost his sanity. Flames flared before his eyes, and his usually cool and rational gaze turned feral and wild.

By the time Lucian regained his senses, he had already barged into Etienne’s room.

‘…Damn it.’

Looking down, he saw a broken doorknob in his hand. In his excitement, he had practically broken down the door.

It was the first time he had ever been so affected by someone else’s pheromones, even during his most hormonal teenage years.

“Agh, uh…”

Despite regaining his senses, the overpowering scent and sounds continued to threaten his composure. Biting his inner cheek, Lucian struggled to keep his sanity and looked towards the source of the stimuli.

Unfortunately, the visual stimulus only added to the already overwhelming situation.

“Ha…”

On the bed lay a delectable… no, a pretty omega, half-naked and writhing.

His shirt, more draped than worn, had not a single button fastened.

His long brown hair was loose, and his green eyes, glistening like clear jewels, were brimming with tears.

His cheeks were flushed with excitement, resembling the color of peach blossoms.

“Al…pha?”

Etienne’s unfocused eyes met Lucian’s. His glossy red lips moved as he spoke.

“Alpha…”

Lucian couldn’t tear his eyes away from the movements of those lips.

“Alpha, alpha…”

The omega smiled, a sweet, seductive smile that made Lucian grit his teeth. It was maddening.
Suppressing the urge to pounce on the omega, Lucian turned his eyes away and spoke.

“I didn’t know it was your heat cycle. I’ll come back another time.”

However, Etienne did not cooperate with Lucian’s painstaking self-control.

“Don’t go… please don’t go.”

Etienne tumbled off the bed and crawled towards Lucian.

“Duke.”

Ah, why is that voice so damn provocative?

The constant scent of the tempting Omega was making Lucian feel dizzy, his breath quickening in response. Had it gone on a bit longer, Lucian might have surrendered to his instincts.

But before that could happen, a small vial on the desk caught his eye.

‘What is that…?’

The moment he noticed the vial, his arousal was instantly doused as if cold water had been thrown over him.

Lucian’s eyes, which had been filled with desire and lust, were now cold and distant, replaced by deep-rooted contempt and disgust.

Inside that all-too-familiar vial was a drug that induced heat or rut in carriers.

Typically, Alphas would take this drug when their rut coincided with important schedules.

By inducing the rut early, they could pass through the actual rut period with only a slight fever.

However, like many drugs in the world, this one was not always used for its intended purpose.

An Alpha’s strong hand roughly shoved the delicate shoulder of the Omega, sending Etienne sprawling to the floor.

“Ow…”

Regardless of the Omega’s pain, Lucian reached out and seized the vial of aphrodisiac.

Then, with a face as cold as ice, he spoke.

“Did you actually take this to induce heat?”

His frosty gaze bore into Etienne.

“On your own?”

Whether Etienne understood the question or not, he nodded dumbly, even as he reached out towards Lucian.

Lucian looked down at the chaotic scene with eyes full of contempt and let out a hollow laugh.

“…Ha.”

All his expectations vanished in an instant. He had waited for the end of the workday to come here, only to be met with this sight. It was frustrating and disappointing.

He felt utterly foolish for being lured here by the naive words of a child.

“There’s no beast worse than you. How stupid I was to expect anything.”

Turning his back coldly on Etienne, Lucian began to walk away.

The hopeful steps he had taken up the stairs now seemed so different, his retreating figure utterly unfeeling.

“Forget today ever happened.”

“What… are you saying…?”

Just as he was about to leave the room after setting the vial down, a few scattered pieces of paper on the desk caught his attention.

More precisely, the content written on those papers.

“What are the differences between artificially induced heat cycles and natural heat cycles?”

His mind went blank for a moment.

Then, a brazen and audacious possibility that could explain the content of those papers and the presence of the vial crossed his mind.

A possibility that was utterly insane.