* * *
Late that night, a sudden commotion broke out among the physicians attending to Remy.
“Summon the chief physician immediately! Hurry!”
Hearing the urgent cries, the three Alphas leapt from their seats.
Without hesitation, they rushed toward Remy’s bedside.
“What’s going on?!”
“Count Remy’s breathing has stopped!”
“What?!”
Hayward, overcome with panic, lunged forward.
“Remy! Remy!! Wake up, Remy!!”
Holding the unconscious Remy, Hayward shook him desperately and shouted, causing the physicians to rush in and restrain him.
“Your Highness, you mustn’t do this! Please, Your Highness!”
Only after several physicians pried Hayward away from Remy did the head physician arrive in the room.
Hurriedly, he examined Remy’s condition.
He pressed against the carotid artery to check for a pulse, then gave urgent orders in a tense voice.
“Quick, emergency procedures! Start chest compressions!”
“Yes, Chief Physician!”
Remy was swiftly laid down—not on the bed, but on the hard floor.
One physician knelt near his head, while another positioned himself near his chest.
The physician at his head tilted Remy’s lips open and breathed into his mouth.
As Remy’s chest rose with the intake of air, the other physician began pressing against his sternum.
He stacked his palms together, applying weight with his upper body, compressing firmly.
After five compressions, he stopped, and the physician at Remy’s head breathed into him again.
The two continued in a steady rhythm, alternating between breaths and compressions.
But despite the repeated cycles, Remy’s breathing remained still.
Tension thickened the air, so suffocating that no one dared to breathe.
Other than the sound of the physicians coordinating their actions and the head physician’s urgent commands, the room was silent.
‘Please… Remy…’
Watching the scene unfold, Ashton clenched his fists.
His heart pounded wildly, his entire body seized with an unbearable weight—as if he were plummeting straight into an abyss.
A vast expanse of green grass swayed gently in the breeze, forming wave-like patterns across the field.
Above, an unusually brilliant blue sky stretched endlessly, dotted with large billowy clouds, as if painted into existence.
For a moment, Remy simply stood there, staring blankly at the tranquil landscape, lost in thought.
“Where… am I…?”
Slowly, he rose to his feet, scanning his surroundings.
The endless stretch of grasslands was unfamiliar, yet strangely, it didn’t feel foreign.
Rather, it felt… comforting, like rediscovering something long forgotten.
Like being wrapped in the warm embrace of a mother’s arms.
“Remy.”
A voice called his name, breaking the stillness. He turned around slowly.
“Ah….”
A child stood there.
He looked to be about Oliver’s age.
Remy had never seen this child before.
And yet, somehow, he felt as if he knew him.
Standing against the sun, smiling brightly, the boy extended his hand toward Remy.
It was Ashton.
A much younger Ashton.
“Ashton…?”
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Where have you been?”
“You were… looking for me? Where is this place? And why are you… a child?”
“What are you talking about? A child?”
“No, I mean….”
Then, a strange thought struck Remy.
Despite facing a younger Ashton, he didn’t feel any smaller in comparison.
Just to check, he raised his hands in front of him.
The hands before his eyes were small, delicate—not at all like the ones he was used to.
In a panic, he touched his face, trying to confirm if they truly belonged to him.
And then he realized.
Ashton hadn’t just gotten younger.
He had, too.
“Ah… is this a dream? Have I returned to my past in this dream…?”
“What are you even saying, Remy?”
“Huh? Oh… No, it’s nothing.”
“Come on, let’s go. Don’t wander off alone and get lost again.”
With his tiny, soft hand, Ashton grabbed Remy’s and pulled him along.
They entered a field of tall pampas grass, the stalks swaying like ocean waves.
Pushing through the golden plants, Ashton ran ahead, his laughter echoing.
Remy clung tightly to his hand, dashing after him.
The rustling of grass filled the air, and the sweet scent of greenery wrapped around them.
“I’m tired, Ashton!”
Remy called out breathlessly after a long run.
Ashton finally stopped and turned to look at him.
Standing amid the sunlit pampas grass, the child Ashton seemed almost unreal.
The scenery itself was breathtaking, but even as a child, Ashton’s presence was striking.
He was beautiful.
Even in this small form, he carried an undeniable strength.
“Then… want me to carry you?”
“Huh?”
“If you’re tired, I’ll carry you. Get on.”
Ashton crouched in front of him.
Just like that summer night on Mount Molaris.
Without hesitation, Remy climbed onto Ashton’s back.
Despite his small size, Ashton’s body was firm—his muscles well-defined even as a child.
‘Come to think of it….’
A memory surfaced—something Ashton had once told him.
That, as kids, Remy had always been carried on Ashton’s back.
At the time, he thought Ashton had been teasing him, making things up just to mess with him.
But now… he wasn’t so sure.
“Ashton. Isn’t this tiring for you?”
Just like on Mount Molaris, Remy found himself asking the same question again.
“Not at all.”
“Really?”
“Of course. If you were heavy, why would I always carry you?”
“Still…”
“You’re not heavy at all, so don’t worry. If you ever get tired, just tell me. I’ll carry you as much as you want.”
Ashton had been so kind when they were younger…
Remy muttered absentmindedly.
Now that he thought about it, Ashton had always been kind to him.
Even when he said teasing things, even when he disrupted serious moments with playful remarks, Ashton had always been there.
Teaching him how to dance in the middle of an empty forest.
Bringing him spicy food because he’d said he craved it.
Carrying him down the mountain when he was injured.
‘Maybe… maybe falling for you was inevitable.
What omega could possibly resist an alpha as gentle as you?’
A deep sadness welled up inside him.
Thinking about parting from Ashton made his heart ache.
If this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up.
He wished he could stay like this forever, wrapped in Ashton’s warmth.
Because once he opened his eyes…
He would never see Ashton again.
Tears prickled at his eyes.
“Ah….”
Trying to suppress his sorrow, Remy buried his face into Ashton’s back.
Though neither of them had yet presented, so no pheromones were present, Ashton still felt warm and comforting.
“Remy.”
Feeling the weight of Remy leaning against him, Ashton spoke softly.
“Yeah?”
“Why were you out here alone?”
“Huh?”
“Did someone tease you again? Were you crying by yourself?”
At Ashton’s words, Remy felt his throat tighten.
And strangely…
The familiarity of this situation struck him like a forgotten memory resurfacing.
His head ached.
His heart pounded.
“No… that’s not it.”
“Not it? You’re about to cry right now.”
“I’m really not….”
“Remy. I told you before, didn’t I? You’re a terrible liar. It’s always written all over your face.”
“I’m not lying this time….”
Remy swallowed the sobs threatening to burst forth and buried his face against Ashton’s broad back.
The fine silk of his frock coat brushed against his skin, offering a pleasant sensation.
The memory of pressing his bare body against Ashton’s surfaced in his mind.
The realization that he could never return to that moment felt unbearably cruel, and fresh tears welled up.
“Remy.”
Ashton, who had been walking in silence, suddenly halted.
A breeze rustled through the pampas grass, filling the air with its sharp, earthy scent.
“Come down for a moment.”
Ashton crouched down, making it easier for Remy to dismount.
He hesitated, afraid of revealing his tear-streaked face, but in the end, he had no choice but to obey.
“Look at me, Remy.”
* * *
