* * *
“It seems both options are difficult, so let’s just take the spanking.”
“I can drink it!”
“Your stomach is already full. If you drink anything else, you’ll get indigestion. I’ll be gentle with the spanking instead.”
At Zeroth’s words, Sylvian instinctively grabbed his own backside.
With his hands now behind him, his chest was pushed forward, and the pink tips caught the light, glistening.
“Come here.”
“I-I really can drink it!”
Sylvian protested, stepping back as if terrified of getting hit.
His eyes welled up with tears.
Taking the spanking would be better.
Zeroth truly believed that.
He crooked his finger at Sylvian.
“Just two hits, then we’ll begin.”
“Sniff… I’ll drink the milk.”
“Haha.”
Milk over spanking?
Zeroth couldn’t help but laugh at the absurd choice.
You don’t even know what it is, yet you’re willing to drink it so eagerly.
Today was definitely a day that required a lot of discipline.
Since he said he could drink it, he’d get his punishment and drink plenty of milk too.
“Sylvian, come here.”
Zeroth’s cold voice made Sylvian flinch as he hesitantly moved forward.
“I-I was wrong. I was wrong.”
With his head lowered, Sylvian sniffled in front of Zeroth.
Wiping the amusement off his face, Zeroth grabbed his wrist.
“Lie over my thigh.”
“Hik…”
Sylvian whimpered, tears spilling down his cheeks.
There was no escape—the grip on his wrist was too firm.
“If you resist, you might end up getting punished for every mistake you’ve made today.”
At the warning laced with threat, Sylvian hesitated before slowly positioning himself over Zeroth’s lap.
As his upper body lay across Zeroth’s thigh, a firm hand kneaded his plump rear.
“You lost control of your pheromones even in the Crown Prince’s palace today. That will be counted in as well.”
Cold-hearted bastard.
Huuuh…
This was terrifying.
Sylvian clung tightly to Zeroth’s leg, tensing his body.
“Each time you’re hit, you’ll count the number and admit your mistake.”
“Y-yes.”
Even before the first strike, his voice trembled.
Smack!
“Aaagh!”
“The count.”
“Hah…! One. One… one…”
Hic.
This was nothing like what he’d experienced before.
The force behind the strike stunned Sylvian, making him sob as he repeated the number.
The sharp sting overwhelmed his thoughts.
“You should also apologize properly.”
“I-I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
Sylvian flailed, trying to push himself up, but Zeroth pressed him back down faster.
He wanted to promise to behave better, to say he wouldn’t make mistakes again, but his mouth wouldn’t open.
All he could do was grip Zeroth’s firm thigh desperately.
Smack!
“Agh! T-two! I-I was wro—ahh, I was wrong!”
His slender body trembled without rest.
“One last hit, then.”
As soon as Zeroth finished speaking, another sharp sting landed on his already burning backside.
“Hngh! Th-three… hic… huhu… th-three… I-I was… hic…!”
He couldn’t finish his sentence, but he still tried.
Seeing his effort, Zeroth gently patted his reddened skin.
“Sylvian, does it hurt a lot?”
The voice, once cold, had returned to its usual gentleness.
Sylvian squeezed his eyes shut, letting the tears flow.
“If you cry this much when you’re punished for your mistakes, what should I do with you?”
“Hic… I was… sniff… wrong…”
Mumbling, Sylvian sniffled as Zeroth soothingly rubbed his sore backside.
“Hnngh…”
“I’ll apply medicine after this. It’s very red now. If my wife is in pain, my heart aches as well.”
“Y-yes… sniff… th-thank you.”
As his heated skin was gently rubbed, Zeroth helped him sit up.
His face, streaked with tears, was a beautiful mess.
His eyes were filled with fright, and even though his backside was still being soothed, he looked utterly lost.
“I-I won’t… m-make mistakes again.”
At the trembling declaration, Zeroth chuckled and kissed him.
More mistakes would be better.
He still hadn’t realized it.
“Huuu…”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to be this startled.”
His eyes told a different story, practically sparkling with amusement.
Sylvian sniffled, glaring at him through teary eyes, but Zeroth, having achieved his goal, found even that adorable.
An omega staring at his alpha with tear-filled eyes…
What alpha in the world could resist that?
Zeroth continued kneading the heat from his flushed skin.
“Hhic.”
He kept going, waiting until Sylvian’s stiff body relaxed and the sharp pain melted into something else.
Pressing soft kisses along his face, neck, and shoulders, Zeroth was patient.
“I’ll decide the rest of your punishment based on how well you drink your milk.”
“D-do I have to drink it too?”
“You only took three hits.”
You should’ve taken at least ten.
At Zeroth’s infuriating tone, Sylvian closed his eyes.
The world didn’t move according to his will.
When he went to the Crown Prince’s palace, he thought he could accomplish everything.
But now, trapped under Zeroth’s hands, escape seemed impossible.
Could he even run away?
“You should be getting at least ten, but I wonder if your backside can handle it.”
Ten is too much.
At Zeroth’s concerned remark, thoughts of the Crown Prince and Whisen vanished.
His backside might actually burst at this rate.
His limbs had already lost all strength.
Fear crept in, and tears kept falling.
His father used to hit him until his anger was gone.
What if Zeroth did the same?
“Sylvian. Stop crying now. I won’t hit you anymore.”
But his tears wouldn’t stop, no matter how gently Zeroth patted his back.
He was just too shaken.
“I’ll… do… better.”
“Are you okay?”
Shake, shake.
“Let’s stop here for today, then. You can learn about the special meal some other time.”
Seeing Sylvian’s unusual reaction, Zeroth didn’t stop stroking his back.
The clarity in his vibrant green eyes faded, and his trembling wouldn’t stop.
“It’s alright. You were just startled, right?”
Nod.
“Your backside doesn’t hurt much anymore. You were punished because you made a mistake, so there’s no reason to be hit again.”
Nod.
Like a broken doll, Sylvian kept nodding.
Unlike usual, he didn’t even dare grab Zeroth’s clothes, only trembling pitifully.
“I’ll do better.”
At the barely audible voice, Zeroth’s hand stilled.
“Sylvian…?”
“I’m obedient… I listen… I eat… just a little…”
Mumbling in a trance, Sylvian repeated himself like a wind-up doll with broken springs.
“Sylvian?”
“I listen well… I’m good… I eat just a little…”
Muttering endlessly in Zeroth’s arms, Sylvian’s body suddenly went limp.
“Sylvian!”
Zeroth hurriedly pulled the unconscious boy into his arms, his expression shifting in alarm.
“…What the hell….”
“I understand…”
“Soon…”
Faint voices murmured beside him, but he had no strength to move.
If he listened well, he wouldn’t get punished.
Why should I listen to him?
Because then I won’t get hit. Ah, I see.
I thought I escaped from my household, but I ran straight into the tiger’s den.
He had to survive until the end, but for someone who had been carefully watching the other’s mood, he had collapsed far too quickly.
Would this finally make his feelings wane?
A bitter smile crept onto his lips.
It seemed that, even in this life, receiving proper love was out of the question.
There would be more and more days when he couldn’t respond to him.
Eventually, he would drift away from Zeroth’s grasp.
‘Just like in the original plan, I’ll be quietly discarded.’
One day, two days, three days.
If he became less and less visible, then, in the end, so would his presence in the other’s heart.
Sylvian let out a shallow breath.
And once that happened, he would have to escape—to a place where there was no Whisen, no Crown Prince, no other Alphas.
Once he secured a place for himself, it would be nice to fall in love with someone he met by chance.
Sylvian groaned as he felt heat rising in his body again.
* * *
