* * *
“Huh?!”
“If you keep looking at someone else like that, I’ll get jealous.”
Sylvian gasped as his vision suddenly darkened, and he felt the press of lips against his cheek.
“Oh my!”
“Hahaha, so even the duke gets jealous?”
What the hell?!
It was Zeroth.
Ever since stepping out of the carriage, he had been watching Yuri the entire time.
His gaze had been so intense that he hadn’t spared Sylvian a single glance, making Sylvian believe that the original story was proceeding as it should.
But now, his face went pale.
“Z-Zeroth!”
“To look at someone else with such fervent eyes… how heartbreaking. Shall I burn your skin too?”
“N-No, that’s not it!”
The strong emphasis on “Hot.” startled him.
His body, trained through continuous education, tensed at Zeroth’s unique way of speaking.
‘I’m in trouble. I’m so dead.’
Sylvian trembled as he tightly grabbed Zeroth’s hand, which was covering his eyes.
“It’s because you look so cool! Seeing Sir Yuri become a knight is just so amazing. That’s why—”
“Hmm, but he’s not a knight yet. Even his squire position is temporary.”
“He’s still got a long way to go, but I believe he’ll become a knight soon.”
As Sylvian struggled to pry Zeroth’s large hand away from his firmly shut eyes, Zeroth and Yuri locked gazes.
Zap.
Their eyes clashed, filled with mutual disapproval.
The count and countess swallowed nervously at the sight of their son.
Ah… son?
“I really want to get closer to Lord Sylvian. I’d love to share the secret of how I became healthier.”
As Sylvian froze at Yuri’s sincere voice, Zeroth’s gaze flickered to the side.
“The duchy has been doing everything possible for my wife’s health. He’s already recovered significantly. We’re pouring every beneficial potion into him, so he’ll become even healthier moving forward.”
“W-What?!”
Sylvian hastily let go of Zeroth’s hand, his words sounding almost boastful.
And yet his body is still like this?!
‘Just how garbage is my body?!’
Regardless of Yuri’s abnormality, the revelation that they had been force-feeding him potions came as a shock.
“So… I really am getting healthier.”
Hearing the duke’s proud remark, the countess looked at Sylvian with deep sympathy.
“Of course, we’re making every effort for my wife. He’s not like Young Lord Yuri, who became healthy all on his own.”
“A sound mind resides in a sound body, after all!”
Isn’t it usually the other way around?
Sylvian rubbed his temple as he watched the two men growl at each other right in front of him.
At first sight, they should have fallen for each other.
What the hell happened?!
The atmosphere was all wrong.
They looked as if they already knew each other.
Sylvian tensed, interlocking his fingers nervously.
The dreaded “what if” always came true.
“You two seem quite familiar with each other.”
“That’s impossible!”
Yuri instantly rejected the notion, without a second of hesitation.
You guys… met behind my back, didn’t you?
Sylvian absentmindedly traced the rim of his teacup. Where did it all go wrong?
He had known that the information reaching him was incomplete, but the reality was far more twisted than he had expected.
Zeroth.
It had to be him.
Zeroth, the duke, must have met Yuri first and deliberately kept it a secret.
As the academy break approached, Sylvian had been excessively excited at the thought of meeting someone with the same constitution as him.
Damn it.
I dug my own grave.
Suppressing the tremble in his hands, Sylvian took a sip of his now lukewarm tea.
“You have no idea how ruthless the Duke is!”
“Yuri!”
The count, startled by his son’s blunt words, grabbed his arm.
“As I mentioned earlier, I’m currently enrolled in the knight faculty. For this break, I’m interning with the Imperial Knights.”
“Wow! Really?”
Sylvian’s voice rose with genuine excitement.
Seeing that, Yuri gulped.
Does he really like hearing about me that much?
From the corner of his eye, he could see the Duke’s gaze practically shooting flames.
But that didn’t scare him in the slightest.
After all, he was an Omega.
He simply wanted to befriend Sylvian.
That the Duke was jealous over something so trivial only made him seem pathetic.
“Yes! I’ve been assigned as a squire to the 2nd Knight Order, where His Highness the Crown Prince resides!”
“Yuri, you’re amazing!”
So, it’s the knights, huh?
“My wife, that’s not something to be so impressed about with a mere fledgling.”
Zeroth’s hand subtly tightened around Sylvian’s waist.
‘I met Yuri just last week, so why didn’t I fall for him?’
His mind was already spinning horrifying scenarios of Yuri and Zeroth abandoning him and running off together to live happily ever after…
Flinch.
“Zeroth, you shouldn’t do that. Yuri’s still a student at the academy.”
Zeroth’s hand brushed against his sensitive waist.
Sylvian imagined Yuri crying as he was spanked by Zeroth’s heavy hand.
Urgh.
He felt nauseous.
The thought of those muscles being pinned under Zeroth made him sick.
“Of course. That’s why I’m paying special attention to his training.”
Despite a week of brutal training, Yuri’s muscles hadn’t diminished in the slightest, and Zeroth narrowed his eyes at them.
Sylvian’s gaze remained glued to those uselessly defined muscles throughout the entire conversation.
‘Does he… like muscles more than I thought?’
Zeroth scrutinized his own body.
Compared to that still-ripening brat, he was clearly the better option.
“I heard from Yuri that His Highness the Crown Prince is close to reaching a new level?”
“If His Highness attains mastery, it will be a grand event for the Empire. As expected of Duke Graham. Thank you for looking after my son so well.”
The count and countess hurriedly intervened to steer the conversation away from their son.
Zeroth offered them a gentle smile.
“One must never let talent slip away.”
“Gasp—c-could it really be that promising?!”
Count Holt was beside himself at Zeroth’s praise for his son.
As the duke conversed with the count and countess about the Crown Prince, Zeroth kept a close watch on Sylvian.
Even as he subtly teased his waist, Sylvian was distracted, his mind elsewhere.
When he pressed down on the most sensitive spot, Sylvian flinched, momentarily shifting his gaze toward him—only to turn back to Yuri.
‘Should I just take him here and now?’
Where the hell do you think you’re looking?
Zeroth wanted those green eyes, brimming with warmth, to turn toward him.
He wanted to claim Sylvian right here, in front of Yuri Holt, who was clearly infatuated with him.
That way, those heated eyes would never again dare look at his wife.
Should he release his pheromones and remind him of his place?
His crimson eyes gleamed dangerously.
Because Sylvian wasn’t looking at him, a murderous impulse surged through him.
Crack.
“Zeroth? You’re really amazing.”
“Naturally.”
“You’re so cool!”
The tension in his grip slackened.
Sylvian had turned to look at him.
“If you train me, can I become like Yuri?”
“……”
A silence fell over the table.
Zeroth relaxed his body.
Even if he were a god, he couldn’t guarantee such a thing.
How could he possibly stretch that tiny waist to match that brat’s frame?
* * *
