* * *
“Aren’t you curious? Oh, and start learning the Ducal household’s internal affairs from Elgana.”
…So I can’t just keep playing? I was hoping I could enjoy this for a little longer.
Suddenly, the meat in his mouth lost its flavor.
If possible, he just wanted to live carefree, idling his days away.
“Do you think… I can do it?”
If only they had told him to start next year—or much, much later.
Sylvian had no desire to give up his freedom.
Even when he lived at the Viscount’s estate, he was constantly on edge, never knowing peace.
And even after entering the Duke’s household, he had been walking on thin ice, always worried about losing his head.
It had barely been a few hours since he finally felt like he had won over Zeroth and could live comfortably.
They couldn’t just throw cold water on that now.
“Don’t worry. You can learn little by little. You’re smart, Sylvian. You’ll do well.”
With that, he explained that Elgana was supposed to be by Sylvian’s side almost all the time, but she often had to step away to handle internal affairs.
‘I can’t make things harder for the elder,’ Sylvian thought.
When Elgana smiled, saying he could take it slow, Sylvian shook his head.
He had to manage the wealth Karl had handed him anyway, so the sooner he learned, the better.
“Then, I’ll be counting on you, Elgana.”
“There are still three months until summer, you know.”
She said she would add a few more lessons and asked for his thoughts.
Sylvian had no choice but to nod, agreeing to work hard.
“I don’t think this is going to work.”
Paul removed the diagnostic tool from Sylvian’s body and muttered under his breath.
After Sylvian had been intimate with the Duke, the Duke’s pheromones had been acting dangerously unusual.
All the Alphas within the estate had already been relocated outside.
An Alpha of superior rank emitted such overwhelming pheromones that even being nearby could crush other Alphas.
“I don’t want to leave Zeroth alone…”
Zeroth had likely been on the verge of entering rut for two or three days now, but had somehow held out for another week.
But finally, this morning, his temperature spiked, and he locked himself away in his room.
Sylvian, who had been forcibly kicked out to his own bedroom by the Duke’s stern orders, pouted.
He had endured Zeroth’ rut before, so couldn’t he handle it again?
“Paul, is it really impossible?”
“Why don’t you try taking more potions for now?”
Seeing the desperation all over the Duchess’s—no, Sylvian’s—face, Paul laid out a pile of potions on the table.
“You can’t drink them all at once. One every hour, slowly. I’ve arranged them so they shouldn’t strain your body, but just in case…”
‘If you feel anything wrong with your body, stop immediately,’ Paul warned firmly.
He then instructed Lua and Penny to ensure Sylvian drank them at precise intervals before heading out.
It was time to face the Duke.
Leaving Sylvian’s room, Paul swallowed nervously and cautiously knocked on the Duke’s door.
The inside was dead silent.
“Duke, I’m coming in.”
As soon as he cracked the door open, thick Alpha pheromones poured out, forcing him to slam it shut.
“Kelvin, I’m going to call someone else.”
Just inhaling the Duke’s pheromones had made Paul’s legs tremble.
Despite having a bonded partner, the overwhelming pheromones nearly made him lose consciousness.
His body instinctively reacted, wanting to spread his legs right then and there.
Paul fled from the door as fast as he could.
“Huff… I didn’t expect to be affected this badly even with my bond intact.”
“Isn’t it that an Alpha’s instincts intensify when they’ve found their mate?”
“Honestly, wouldn’t it be better for the Duke to fully imprint on Sylvian at this point?”
Imprinting among nobles wasn’t easy.
Most marriages were contractual, and no one wanted to give their partner such dangerous leverage.
An Alpha’s imprint was essentially handing over their weakness.
Once imprinted, if the Omega died, the Alpha would die too.
The Omega, however, was free from that risk—but if the imprint broke, the aftermath could be devastating.
They could become hypersensitive to other Alphas’ pheromones, or worse, their pheromone glands could be permanently damaged.
In the end, it was practically a vow as serious as death itself.
“The Duke hasn’t mentioned anything, so we can’t act on our own.”
Kelvin chuckled and guided Paul away.
“I’ll send up a Beta physician. Better to prescribe suppressants, just in case. Let the Duke endure as much as possible, and maybe by tonight, the Duchess can go in.”
By then, the potions should have taken effect, making Sylvian’s body ready to handle the Duke.
Considering the Duke had spent the entire week releasing pheromones and teasing Sylvian, they could only hope the Duchess’s heat cycle had been accelerated by now.
Paul hurriedly left the main residence, silently praying for the Duke’s rut to pass without incident.
“How’s Zeroth doing?”
“He’s still holding on. You should only go in late tonight. You still have three potions left.”
Penny glanced at the connecting door to the Duke’s room as she answered.
Several potions were still untouched on the table.
“What if Zeroth can’t hold out until then?”
Sylvian bit his lip, staring at the bedroom door where Zeroth was.
A magic circle had been drawn on the door to block pheromones, just in case.
It must be pretty powerful—he hadn’t caught even a whiff of Zeroth’ pheromones since morning.
“But he must be suffering.”
Penny chuckled quietly at how the Duchess—Sylvian—had been glued to the door since dawn, worrying so obviously while trying to hide it.
It was cute how he constantly asked for updates on the Duke’s condition, and how his lips pouted with frustration, unsure what to do.
‘The Duke getting sick? No way.’
She respected the Duke, but she couldn’t agree with Sylvian’s worry that Zeroth might be suffering.
The Duke was simply restraining himself for Sylvian’s sake.
Before, whenever the rut hit, everyone had to evacuate.
Even being locked underground wasn’t enough—the pheromones’ impact reached the upper floors.
Every time it happened, they had to spend a fortune repairing the damages.
“Want to eat dinner early? You can take your potions with your meal.”
A faint hint of Zeroth’ pheromones seeped through a tiny crack in the door, making Sylvian swallow hard.
Even that fleeting trace of pheromones made his lower hole clench involuntarily.
‘God, I’m insane.’
Turns out it wasn’t Zeroth who was deeply gone—it was him.
Sylvian exhaled sharply as he looked at the food laid out.
He had to eat if he wanted to go in there and survive tonight.
He had wanted to rush in since morning, but Paul had physically held him back, insisting he stay on potions all day.
“I’m not even hungry because of these potions.”
“They absorb right away. Stop making excuses.”
Penny poured a potion over his meal, insisting he finish everything.
He really wanted to take them separately, though.
‘Ugh’, pouring potions over food did increase absorption rates but ruined the taste.
They say adding potions during cooking preserves the flavor but lowers effectiveness.
Sulking over the ruined meal, Sylvian forced himself to pick up his fork.
“If you feel like you can’t take it, run. The Alpha knights are on standby. We’ll try to subdue him somehow.”
After finishing the meal and all the potions, it was deep into the night.
Elgana entered and took Sylvian’s hand, reminding him over and over that his body came first.
“You can do this. Don’t worry.”
He didn’t like this much, but Sylvian’s face flushed red at the sight of himself clad only in thin sleepwear.
Even Elgana had left the Duchess’s bedroom.
“Phew. What’s with all the fuss?”
* * *
