* * *
At first, Sylvian had been embarrassed to walk while being held by him, but today, completely drained, he simply let Zeroth hold him.
“Can we host another gathering next time?”
“Of course.”
As Sylvian wrapped his arms around Zeroth’s neck and chattered, his voice gradually grew softer.
Once he confirmed that Sylvian had completely fallen asleep, Zeroth clenched his jaw.
‘Karl Rooster.’
The marquis had shown an interest in Sylvian.
He usually wore a mask, but today, he had been unusually talkative with his wife, and it was irritating.
Zeroth had caught the subtle glances directed at Sylvian more than once.
After carefully laying Sylvian down on the bed, Zeroth sat in a chair, watching his wife sleep peacefully.
‘Where did things go wrong?’
Unaware that Sylvian had released pheromones after he left, Zeroth absentmindedly tapped the armrest of his chair.
The Holt count and countess weren’t a problem.
They were good people and had likely stepped in because they were concerned for Sylvian.
But what kind of situation would have made them feel the need to intervene?
Karl wouldn’t have helped him just for the sake of freezing tax rates.
They had the same goal anyway, so there was no need for him to ask for a dance.
Zeroth recalled how the marquis had carefully escorted Sylvian outside the ballroom.
It was just a normal escort, but something in his instincts whispered that there was more to it.
“Alone in a crowded party, huh…?”
Damn it.
Sylvian must have lost control of his pheromones out of fear.
Zeroth stood up and buried his face in Sylvian’s neck.
Even now, faint traces of pheromones filled the room.
If not for the emperor, he would’ve killed him already.
Being held up by trivial matters had kept him from keeping an eye on Sylvian—that had been his mistake.
Besides, Sylvian always controlled his pheromones well around him, so he hadn’t even considered this possibility.
Even when the marquis escorted him, he had seemed fine.
Zeroth clenched his teeth.
“Hic…”
His sharp fangs bit into the pheromone gland on Sylvian’s neck.
He didn’t for a second believe that Karl hadn’t been affected by Sylvian’s pheromones.
“Ugh… Z-Zeroth?”
“My dear, were you leaking pheromones so carelessly?”
Startled by the pain, Sylvian opened his eyes to find Zeroth sitting on top of him.
W-What?
His trembling green eyes gave him away.
“You couldn’t control your pheromones at the party, could you?”
“Hic!”
“Ah… so you seduced other Alphas with this body. Even though you already have a husband, you let your pheromones spill out while pretending to be pure.”
Sylvian frantically shook his head.
“N-No, I was scared… The countess helped me, so I controlled it quickly!”
But that was after he had already released a lot.
Sylvian deliberately left that part out, sniffing like a frightened child afraid of being scolded.
“The count and countess helped, so nothing weird happened.”
Watching his trembling wife, Zeroth pondered how to properly discipline him.
By the time the count and countess had stepped in, the people at the party had already caught Sylvian’s scent.
“Is that really true?”
“Y-Yes, really! B-Because you weren’t there, I was scared… sniff… so they helped me…”
Hearing that Sylvian had messed up because he wasn’t there was gratifying, but it wasn’t something he could just let slide.
“And now we have pests swarming around. What should we do about that?”
“P-Pests?”
Sylvian anxiously looked around, but Zeroth couldn’t bring himself to laugh.
His wife was really too much work.
The thought of other men eyeing Sylvian behind his back—Karl included—made his blood boil.
“My dear, I really can’t overlook this today. No matter how scared you were, you have to be punished.”
Just like that?
Even after successfully hosting the gathering?!
He had only dozed off for a moment, but when he woke up, Zeroth was mad, and he had no idea why.
He had known the pheromone incident would be discovered eventually, but he hadn’t expected it to be this soon.
Why? What set him off?!
Frightened, Sylvian clutched at Zeroth’s collar and pleaded for forgiveness, but Zeroth only stroked his face without answering.
“To make sure no more pests swarm to you, I’ll have to cover you in my scent.”
He placed a soft kiss on Sylvian’s pale cheek.
“You’ll receive your punishment after dinner. If you’re not feeling well, we can do it tomorrow.”
“T-Today! I’ll take it today!”
If he waited until tomorrow, who knew what Zeroth might do if Sylvian was in good condition?
Deciding that it was better to get it over with, Sylvian grabbed Zeroth before he could stand up.
“Then, think about what you did wrong in the meantime.”
Gulp.
I’m dead.
Seeing the deadly glint in Zeroth’s eyes, Sylvian had a gut feeling—there was no way he would step out of this room alive today.
“Hmm.”
Having finished getting ready, Sylvian checked the empty bedroom before standing in front of the mirror.
Would this be enough?
He had been fidgeting anxiously in front of the maids attending to him, so they had brought this, claiming it would surely please the Duke.
Sylvian tugged at the thin slip dress.
With no undergarments, his bare skin was fully visible.
The maids had dressed him in a risqué nightgown and enthusiastically assured him that the Duke would be utterly mesmerized.
They had even come to the bizarre conclusion that only the Duchess truly understood the Duke.
Sylvian didn’t bother correcting their misunderstanding.
“From the way Zeroth reacted, Karl must be acting strangely.”
For some reason, Karl Rooster had shown interest in him.
A man who should never have been making a move in this direction had, in fact, done so.
It was no wonder Zeroth had become wary.
Although he had drawn suspicion, Sylvian could simply play the part of a timid fool who had made a mistake without realizing it.
Hadn’t he spent the entire evening anxiously gauging Zeroth’s mood, looking as if he had no idea what he had done wrong?
An innocent Sylvian, completely oblivious, simply grateful for the Marquis’s kindness.
Who the hell flirts using economics?
He wanted to curse at the Marquis’s absurd behavior, but instead, he bit his tongue and fiddled with the hem of his flimsy dress.
Wearing this just to survive…
Where had his dignity gone? He could only sigh.
Did other omegas really wear things like this?
Tears blurred his vision.
The fabric was so thin that not only his nipples but even the nearly hairless shape of his genitals was visible.
As he grew up, Sylvian had been terrified that he might never go through secondary sex characteristics.
Eventually, he learned that it was simply an omega trait and had given up altogether.
This just confirmed that the author of this damn book was a terrifying pervert.
“Huu…”
‘What if he hits me again?’
* * *
