* * *
Lucian, who had been staring at the sleeping Etienne for a long time, eventually covered the delicate body marked with red spots with a blanket and rang the bell on one side of the bed.
Hearing the bell, Ferden, the loyal butler, entered the room shortly after and was almost startled out of his wits.
The headboard of the bed was shattered, the desk had collapsed, and torn clothes and suspicious marks were scattered all over the floor.
To say he didn’t know what happened would be a lie. Just seeing the scratch marks on his master’s upper body made it clear what had happened.
“God, what sin have I committed to deserve such trials?”
Ferden barely swallowed a dizzying sigh and lowered his head with a complicated heart.
“You called, master?”
Whether Ferden greeted him or not, Lucian didn’t even glance in his direction as he gave an order.
“Clean up the room.”
“Yes, as you command.”
“Preferably before morning.”
After destroying the furniture to that extent, what was the point of mentioning the next morning?
Internally fuming like a raging fire, Ferden held back and answered obediently.
“…Of course.”
Hold it in, you must hold it in. He repeated this to himself several times and spoke in a respectful voice, befitting a loyal butler.
“Will you be dining?”
“No, I have no appetite.”
Lucian’s curt reply was a stark contrast to his usual strictness about ensuring Etienne ate every meal.
He then got up from the creaky bed and carried Etienne, still wrapped in the blanket. Ferden could easily guess the state of the omega’s body hidden beneath.
Lucian adjusted his hold so the sleeping Etienne’s head rested comfortably on his shoulder, not taking his eyes off the sleeping face as he gave another order.
“Bring new clothes to my room. Including Etienne’s.”
“Shall I assist with the bath?”
“No need.”
The implication that Lucian would personally bathe Etienne was clear.
Upon realizing this, Ferden cursed his imagination for thinking images he’d rather not think about.
“Is there anything else you need?”
“No, that’s all. Just make sure the room is cleaned.”
Lucian, seemingly unaware of how unreasonable his command was, left the room with Etienne in his arms, heading to his own bedroom.
As Ferden had imagined, Lucian personally wahed the unconscious Etienne, dressed him, and laid him on his bed before lying down next to him.
The bed was large enough for the two of them with plenty of room to spare, yet Lucian clung closer to Etienne. Resting his hand on Etienne’s slender waist, he felt an inexplicable sense of calm.
Lucian couldn’t fall asleep easily and spent a long time just watching Etienne. Even in the darkness, Etienne’s delicate and beautiful face stood out clearly.
Simply observing him made Lucian’s heart stir inexplicably, seemingly the work of pheromones again.
After watching Etienne endlessly for several hours, Lucian finally fell asleep near dawn.
As a result, it was unavoidable that he, who would have normally risen early to prepare for the day’s experiments, overslept for the first time in years.
And when Lucian finally woke up late…
“Ah, Your Grace! You’re awake?”
Bathed in the morning sunlight, Etienne greeted him with a bright smile.
“How unusual for you to sleep in, Your Grace. Did you overdo it last night?”
“……”
“What are you doing, Your Grace? Hurry and get up. We need to finish the dissection we started yesterday.”
Still not fully awake, he thought Etienne’s chirping voice resembled the sound of birds singing.
“…Etienne?”
“Yes, Your Grace. It’s me, your experiment partner, Etienne Harrington.”
As Lucian blinked his eyes drowsily, Etienne, frustrated, shook him urgently like a child waking their parents on a weekend.
“Please get up. We need to eat and start our experiments.”
At Etienne’s persistent urging, Lucian finally pulled himself together and sat up.
Bright sunlight poured in through the window, and the sound of people bustling about the mansion reached his ears. It was undeniably a late wake-up.
Lucian glanced at Etienne and spoke, internally aghast that he had slept in so late.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better than a dissected corpse, I guess? I feel like I might die, but I can manage.”
“You don’t seem to be in good condition.”
Lucian frowned slightly. No wonder, as red marks were visible through Etienne’s diheveled collar.
Red, bite marks deep enough to evoke guilt.
“Have you been waiting without eating?”
“Yes, but I found the research journal here, so I was just reading while waiting.”
But Etienne answered nonchalantly, showing more interest in the experiment journal than his own condition.
“By the way, Your Grace, how advanced is the level of surgery here?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I’m curious if it’s safe to obtain tissue samples from living subjects. There’s a limit to what we can learn from corpses, right? If it’s safe enough, I could volunteer for the surgery…”
Lucian couldn’t help but laugh at Etienne’s absurd suggestion so early in the morning. Thanks to his eccentric partner, not a moment went by without some extraordinary remark.
“Absolutely not. Don’t even think about it.”
“Tsk.”
At Lucian’s strict refusal, Etienne pouted and buried his face back into the research journal.
“It’s really tough without a model organism. Since it only appears in humans, we can’t experiment on other animals… And we need to figure out the necessary techniques first.”
“…”
“No gel running, no transfection… There’s no point in despairing over the lack of sequencing technology.”
Lucian dressed and stood up, listening to Etienne’s chatter. Then, he led Etienne, still engrossed in the research, out of the bedroom.
“Alright, first let’s eat. You haven’t eaten since last night.”
Even as he was dragged away, Etienne kept talking about the research. As usual, Lucian understood about half of it and needed explanations for the rest.
One person passionately rambled, while the other responded, making it unclear whether they were discussing or eating.
After this confusing session, Lucian sent Etienne ahead to prepare.
“Go on up and get ready, Etienne.”
“And you, Your Grace?”
“I have something to take care of briefly.”
Etienne looked puzzled, but Lucian seemed in no mood to explain.
“I’ll be right there. It won’t take long.”
“…Alright, I understand!”
Not questioning further, Etienne trotted up the stairs to the laboratory. For him, the experiment was more important than the personal errands of his good-hearted patron.
Watching Etienne’s carefree retreat, Lucian headed to his study.
Waiting inside were Ferden and an omega named Beryl. Since there was no omega in the mansion to teach Etienne how to control his scent, Lucian had brought Beryl in.
“You’re here, Master.”
“Beryl.”
Beryl, with a slender and delicate build, was the epitome of an omega. His slender physique closely resembled Etienne’s.
Until recently, he had been caring for Lucian’s younger sibling in a quiet corner of the Leondine Duchy.
But he had happily complied with the sudden summons to the mansion to teach Etienne, following the orders without complaint.
“I heard you have instructions for me.”
“Yes.”
Beryl, having narrowly escaped a harsh fate and living as a mere servant thanks to Lucian’s help, showed exceptional loyalty.
He would have obeyed even the most outrageous command, like jumping out of the study window.
With hands politely clasped and head bowed, Beryl waited for instructions in a humble, obedient manner.
However, even Beryl couldn’t hide his astonishment at Lucian’s next command, inadvertently questioning it.
“It’s nothing much. Can you release your scent?”
* * *
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