* * *

When Remy heard Hayward’s confession, he was thrown into an inescapable chaos.

The shock of seeing Hayward’s hidden intensity, combined with the guilt of having completely derailed the original storyline, was too much to bear.

His mind crumbled under the weight.

‘Was this what all my efforts were for? Just to ruin the original story? What happens now? If Hayward was supposed to be the Alpha who fired the gun… if he was meant to play the role of the one who would aim it at me…’

“Ah…”

Remy shook off Hayward’s hand and stood up unsteadily.

He swayed as if he might collapse, prompting Hayward to rise and reach out to steady him.

Remy, his face ashen, looked up at him.

The beautiful eyes, the lips, the silver hair that had once seemed dazzling to him—all of it was now nothing but a source of terror.

He was afraid.

Truly terrified of him.

“Please, I’d like to rest now, Your Highness.”

Mustered with his last ounce of strength, Remy’s voice carried his plea.

His body, overwhelmed by the Alpha’s presence, seemed as fragile as an autumn leaf, ready to crumble underfoot.

“Please, Your Highness Hayward.”

At his request, Hayward’s face softened with a gentle smile.

It was the same warm smile he had always worn, but in this moment, it sent chills down Remy’s spine.

That maddeningly beautiful face, incapable of seeming villainous, was all the more horrifying because of it.

“I understand. It must be difficult to accept right now.”

“Thank… you for understanding.”

“Rest well tonight. The journey must have been exhausting.”

“Yes…”

Without a care for the surrounding onlookers, Hayward placed a kiss on Remy’s forehead.

His actions left no room for doubt—he was openly claiming Remy as his Omega.

Under the guise of ‘supporting’ him, he pulled Remy into his arms and wrapped an arm securely around his waist.

“I’ll take you to your tent.”

With that, Hayward carried Remy towards his tent.

Remy, completely dazed, offered no resistance and allowed himself to be led.

The festival revelers, lost in their drunken merriment, paid them no mind.

But not everyone was oblivious.

From a distance, Ashton and Allen watched the scene intently.

Allen, in particular, felt a gnawing anxiety as he saw Remy staying so close to Hayward.

It was nerve-wracking enough just seeing them together, but now Hayward was escorting Remy back to his tent.

‘What were they talking about to look so serious? It seemed insanely intense.’

‘Could it be… did he confess? Remy’s expression was exactly the kind of look you’d expect from someone caught off guard by an unexpected confession.’

Shaking his head, Allen tried to dismiss the thought.

If he knew Hayward, he wouldn’t confess like this.

If anything, he’d throw a grand ball and make a formal proposal in front of everyone, not whisper his feelings in such a noisy, chaotic setting.

‘That’s right. This isn’t like Hayward. He wouldn’t have confessed. Which means… I still have a chance.’

Allen sank into deep thought.

Even if Hayward hadn’t confessed, the signals were dangerously clear.

To anyone watching, it was obvious that Hayward’s attention was fixed entirely on Remy, not on him.

‘Can I really just leave things as they are? What if I lose my place as prince consort to Remy? This isn’t good…’

‘I need a plan. Something…’

Allen’s gaze shifted to Hayward and Remy disappearing into the tent together.

Gritting his teeth, Allen turned away in frustration, his eyes catching on a large juice glass.

It was the same glass that Remy had been sipping lemon juice from throughout the afterparty instead of wine.

“Hm…”

Looking at the empty space where its owner had been, Allen’s lips curved into a sly smile.

A wicked one, at that.

---

Late at Night

The deep stillness of midnight.

“Hah… hah!”

Lying on a makeshift bed, Remy woke abruptly, gasping for air.

“Hah… hah…”

His body was drenched in sweat, his face pale, and his lips nearly colorless.

Trying to steady his ragged breathing, he struggled to collect himself.

But his mind flashed back to the events of the evening as if they were a nightmare.

‘If Ashton hadn’t been there that day, I would have knotted you.”

‘No, I would have done worse. Anything to make you mine. To ensure no other Alpha could lay a hand on your body.”

A shudder ran through him, his skin crawling as if struck by a frigid winter gale.

His entire body trembled uncontrollably, the memory suffocating him.

“Hayward… was terrifying.”

It was his first time experiencing the possessiveness of an Alpha.

It was something far beyond his imagination, a primal terror he couldn’t have comprehended before.

He had read about it in the original story—the overwhelming presence of an Alpha—but it hadn’t resonated with him then.

He had never encountered anyone capable of such an imposing atmosphere.

He had even thought, ‘How threatening could another man really be?’

But now he understood.

A single glance, a single moment, was all it took to be utterly dominated.

“I still can’t stop shaking. I feel like Hayward’s pheromones are still clinging to me.”

Now, at last, he understood. It wasn’t just about being overpowered.

An Alpha’s very existence could crush you, leaving you trembling, drained of willpower.

Wrapping his arms around himself, Remy tried to shake off the fear.

His body shivered, as if cold, but he knew he couldn’t afford to remain paralyzed.

Tonight was the last night of the hunting trip.

Even though it felt like the original story had already gone off the rails, he couldn’t give up now.

He had to carry out his plan.

“I need to get up. I have to go to the dining tent.”

Pulling himself up from the cot, Remy moved to gather his clothes.

After hurriedly dressing, he opened his bag and retrieved a small vial of poison—Adeline’s essence, a toxin extracted from a poisonous herb.

“It’s a good thing the garden had Adeline.”

Last summer, he had discovered the plant growing in the garden, just as described in the original story.

Knowing he might need it one day, he had cultivated it carefully.

Even a single gram of Adeline’s essence would induce immediate, crippling pain.

But with enough hydration, the effects could be reversed through the body’s natural processes.

It wasn’t a poison that could kill outright.

“I just need to add this to the ginger syrup. No mistakes.”

Cradling the vial carefully, Remy steadied himself and headed for the tent’s entrance.

Peeking out, he saw that the square, bustling during the afterparty, had fallen quiet.

‘Good. It looks like the party’s finally over.’

Remy slipped out of the tent and glanced around.

The square wasn’t entirely empty; a few people were there, but most were either passed out on tables from drinking or lying on the ground in a drunken stupor.

It seemed unlikely anyone would care if he headed to the tent of the budget eatery.

“First, let’s find Ashton. It’s just as important that he doesn’t catch me doing this as it is to slip the poison.”

Despite scanning the square thoroughly, there was no sign of Ashton’s face.

“Hmm. He must’ve gone to sleep already…”

For some reason, the thought left Remy feeling a twinge of disappointment.

“What’s this? I was alone in the tent with Hayward, and he’s just peacefully sleeping? Isn’t that a bit much?”

As the words left his mouth, Remy startled himself.

It wasn’t just the recent frequency of his muttered thoughts that shocked him—it was something far more unsettling.

* * *