How an Omega Villain Survive chapter 21

Henry, though unable to sleep, forced his eyes shut.

He could feel Edwin’s pheromones slowly seeping in, but it was bearable.

It wasn’t an overwhelming rush anymore, so he had adjusted to it.

Despite thinking he wouldn’t fall asleep, the fatigue from travel and the relaxation from the bath soon had Henry drifting off.

Within five minutes, as Henry fell into a deep sleep, Edwin, who had been motionless, began to move.

Edwin approached the head of Henry’s bed. When awake, Henry always wore a displeased and wary expression, but while asleep, he looked completely docile.

Edwin recalled his suspicion that Henry had followed him when he first appeared at the costume room, and how he couldn’t take his eyes off Henry when he first saw him.

Henry, who usually dressed extravagantly, was now wearing neat clothes for the first time.

The large jewelry he always wore was gone, replaced by comfortable clothing suited to his body, and he had been talking to William.

Edwin had expected Henry to arrive with more adornments than Prince William, but the surprisingly simple and practical carriage was notable. He kept showing unexpected sides of himself.

“It’s like he’s a completely different person.”

The transparency that used to be visible before was now stained completely black, with nothing reflecting through.

Meanwhile, the pleas to trust him, despite his lack of heart, were coming with all his might. It was a relentless feast of rejections, as if exacting revenge for my refusal.

“Henry Timothy, how about showing your true self already?”

Edwin’s soft voice seemed to signal something, causing Henry’s previously peaceful expression to slightly furrow.

As his breathing grew more labored, it was a clear sign of an impending seizure, something Edwin had seen several times before.

“Here we go again.”

Despite his state, he still tried to challenge a knight.

Henry’s body became hot as a furnace, as if he had never slept peacefully.

Unlike the first night, when Edwin thought it was just a nightmare, he now knew it was more than that, so he pulled out the water bottle he had bought separately before arriving at the inn.

The bottle, with its flat body and particularly small opening, was designed not to spill easily. Edwin removed the cap and tilted the bottle towards Henry’s mouth.

As expected, the small opening allowed the water to flow straight into Henry’s mouth.

“U, uuu…”

Even though Henry drank the water, he continued to twist his body in pain. He tried to scratch himself with his fingers as if craving something.

It was strange that the water, which had cooled him down before, had no effect now.

Fearing he might leave scars, Edwin held onto Henry’s hand and tilted the bottle again. Yet, despite drinking the water, Henry remained in distress and was unable to calm down.

His frustration seemed to double because he was held by Edwin, and he was on the verge of screaming. Seeing this, Edwin, feeling helpless, brought the bottle closer to himself.

The only difference between this time and the first was that, back then, the bottle’s wide opening had prevented Henry from drinking on his own, while now everything else was the same.

Edwin placed his lips to the bottle and gently shared the water with Henry. Henry, like a baby bird, opened his mouth and drank slowly.

“U, uuu.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Henry wrapped his arms around Edwin’s neck, pulling him close and tilting his head to the side.

As Henry’s tongue stirred inside Edwin’s mouth, his strength slowly drained from his arms, and he began to sink gently onto the bed.

Noticing that Henry’s breathing had stabilized, Edwin touched his forehead. The once-hot forehead had cooled down, leaving only a faint flush on his face as a trace of the previous seizure.

Now peaceful, Henry slept with a gentle smile on his lips.

“If this isn’t a chronic condition, then what is it?”

When asked if he had a chronic illness, Henry’s expression turned from astonishment to irritation, making Edwin equally perplexed.

Although these seizures didn’t occur every night, it was clear that something was wrong…

“Well, you wouldn’t know since you forget everything the next day.”

Seeing Henry simply thinking it was just an uncomfortable bed, Edwin stopped questioning if there was an illness.

He merely continued to monitor the area around Henry’s carriage whenever he fell asleep.

Fortunately, it seemed that no incidents occurred when Edwin was elsewhere, and reactions only appeared when Edwin was near him.

As the mystery deepened, Edwin’s expression grew more displeased.

This was already the fourth time.

It was the fourth time Edwin had discovered Henry’s seizure and had given him water by kissing him lightly.

Despite the kiss being merely a means to help, Edwin found the change in his own body quite unsettling.

Even though there was no sexual intention, it was frustrating that Henry’s fever seemed to transfer to Edwin’s body, making him hot.

Edwin felt uneasy that his purpose of observing Henry might get muddled.

He began to wonder if the act of kissing Henry was causing his body to heat up. Despite having no emotional connection, his body was reacting separately from his mind.

“Do you know the reason?”

Edwin sat on Henry’s bed, throwing a question that received no answer. It seemed that he would only get a proper reply when Henry opened his eyes.

So Edwin decided to check for himself. Instead of merely giving him water due to his convulsions, he thought he’d find out by actually kissing him.

Edwin slowly lowered his upper body, moving closer until he could feel Henry’s breath against his face.

Just before his lips touched Henry’s, he paused for a moment and then lowered his head again.

Although it was an unauthorized action, he planned to commit a small indiscretion in exchange for all the help he had given Henry with his convulsions.

The tension of not knowing what kind of reaction this kiss might provoke caused Edwin’s pheromones to uncontrollably intensify.

He gently touched Henry’s soft and smooth lips. If he lowered his head any further, their lips would inevitably meet, closing the gap between them.

Just as he was about to execute the move, he found himself unexpectedly making eye contact with Henry, who had woken up.

William, the Crown Prince, observed the scene with some surprise. He hadn’t expected Henry and Edwin to come out holding hands or anything, but this level of hostility was unexpected.

He anticipated that Henry would complain the next day after being pushed so hard, but he thought it would be manageable.

However, Henry’s reaction exceeded his expectations.

Henry’s demeanor showed a deep disdain for everything, and he refused to relax even slightly.

When talking to his knight, he seemed a bit calmer, but whenever he accidentally made eye contact with William, his gaze was filled with resentment and hatred, as if William himself were the cause of his bad mood.

At least Henry was slightly better when facing William. He wouldn’t even look at Edwin.

Whenever Edwin came near, Henry would visibly recoil, sometimes putting Sir Teher between them as if to shield himself.

“Hurry up and eat, Henry. If you keep making that face, we might all end up with indigestion.”

Henry, using Sir Teher as a shield, shot a sharp look at William’s comment, not understanding why he was being this way.

Henry closed his eyes, trying to suppress the urge to lash out at the Crown Prince.

If only the Crown Prince hadn’t pushed him so hard the previous day, he wouldn’t have been in such a terrible situation, almost kissing Edwin upon waking up.

‘Whether you get indigestion or not, I don’t care. Just end up sick.’

Though he couldn’t voice it openly, Henry cursed inwardly. His view was caught by Edwin’s hand, and the memory of the previous night made him shiver uncontrollably.

The thick, suffocating presence that had woken him up startled him.

Before he could even understand what it was, he was surprised to find Edwin’s face very close to his, and even more shocked to realize that their lips were about to meet.

In fact, they had already brushed against each other slightly.

As Henry tried to move his head back, he found no more space to retreat due to the bed and pushed Edwin’s chest away.

Despite the urgency, Edwin stepped back calmly, and Henry quickly sat up, shouting.

[What are you doing!]

Henry glared at Edwin as if he were a pervert. He was so shocked that it felt like his heart might stop.

Yet, despite Henry’s outburst, Edwin maintained his usual impassive expression, merely running his thumb over his lips, regretting the missed opportunity.

[Just checking.]

[Checking? What nonsense…]

[To see if you’d react.]

[…What?]

[I apologize for trying to kiss you without permission. I just wanted to verify something. Consider it payment for the help I’ve given you.]

Henry couldn’t immediately grasp the chaotic flow of the conversation and asked again.

However, Edwin, who had spoken so freely, simply stood up and left the room.

‘What on earth is this? What’s supposed to be reacting?’

Even though Edwin had left the day before, Henry, completely shaken by the shock, stayed up all night with his eyes wide open.

He intended to ask Edwin why in the morning, but he couldn’t sort out his tangled thoughts and had to leave when he heard that Prince William had called for him.

‘What was I trying to confirm? It’s driving me crazy.’

Henry, who wanted to shake Edwin by the collar and force him to spill everything on his mind, sighed deeply.

As he picked up his spoon to fill his stomach before heading out again, he suddenly had a realization that made him flinch as if struck by lightning.

‘Confirm? Reaction?’

Could it be…?

Was Edwin trying to test if I like him by deliberately kissing me?

‘He doesn’t trust me.’

He must be testing me, not believing my words. Henry stirred his soup roughly with his spoon, as if he was trying to sink the floating chunks, treating them like stepping stones he wanted to submerge completely.

‘If I were the old Henry, I’d kiss him in that situation, but not now.’

The current Henry had no intention of getting involved with Edwin.

He was grateful he had woken up from the effect of Edwin’s pheromones, thinking he almost fell for it.

He was unaware that he had already kissed Edwin several times or that Edwin had been trying to confirm his own feelings rather than Henry’s.

‘Absolutely not.’