BR 3.3

“Gasp!”

Erons opened his eyes again, not to the night sky but to a bed. The moment he came to, he groped his body. 

Relieved to find no wounds, he clutched his stomach. 

The dream had been so vivid – the pain of being pierced by the spire still felt real. The sensation of flesh tearing and intestines rupturing…

“Thank goodness it was just a dream…”
“… My Lord?”

Lelis, who had buried her face in her arms draped over the bed, lifted her head. 

Her face, just awakened, was a mess. Clear traces of dried tears remained, and her eyes were bloodshot, as if a blood vessel had burst. 

Soon, tears welled up in those bloodshot eyes and spilled over.

“My Lord, sniff, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I was too complacent.”
“No… It’s not. You did nothing wrong, Lelis.”
“No, it is my fault. That night, if I had only doubted Pelson’s words a little… this wouldn’t have happened…” 

When Lelis mentioned Pelson’s name, Erons snapped to attention. The face of the man who had taken him to that dreadful place, the man who had left despite his desperate pleas not to go, came to mind. 

As the events of that day came flooding back, Erons clenched his trembling fist.

“… Tell me. What happened with Pelson? Tell me everything that happened that night.”
“Well… I was preoccupied with the medicine you mentioned earlier and forgot to pack the suppressant. So I rushed to get the medicine, and in that short time, you had left your seat. I searched for you for a long time and ended up meeting Pelson. He said you had taken the suppressant he prepared and fallen asleep, so I shouldn’t worry about you and should go back. If only I hadn’t taken his words at face value and had gone to your bedroom just to check… “

Her tears flowed without pause. In the brief time he had been unconscious, she had visibly wasted away, looking as if she had worried greatly for Erons. Seeing her pitifully trembling shoulders, Erons’s own chest tightened, and he clasped her hand tightly.

“Stop crying. It wasn’t your fault, Lelis. It was the Duke and… those people who were at fault. So please, don’t blame yourself.”
”You lay there for three days. Seeing you so peaceful, your face looking as if you might never wake again, how…”
“Wait! Three days? You mean it’s been three whole days since I collapsed?”
“Yes. You lay there for three full days without opening your eyes once.”

It was a mere dream, lasting barely ten minutes. Yet, in reality, three absurd days had passed.

“That can’t be…”

This was quite a shocking situation for Erons. He knew his body was that of a recessive Omega, inherently weak, but just how much strain had it taken for him to sleep for three full days? 

If someone had given even the slightest hint, this wouldn’t have happened.

“…Did you know, Lelis? That I’d end up like this.”
“… Huh?”
“Did you know I look exactly like the Duke’s wife?”
“That… ”
“Tell me. Did you know?”
“… Yes.”

A hollow laugh escaped him, involuntarily. 

She knew everything, and she certainly wasn’t completely unprepared for this outcome. So why hadn’t she said a single word until now? 

She cherished him enough to be the only one to take his side when others were so harsh. 

Why?

“Why didn’t you say anything? You could have told me at least a little.”
“… I had His Grace’s orders. He ordered me never to speak of the Mistress, so I had no choice.”

It was him, after all. Truly, there wasn’t a single thing he hadn’t touched, from start to finish. 

The gratitude I felt was immense, but the betrayal was beyond words.

Erons was furious, even with himself. Just look at the passionate kisses they shared! They went far beyond what a father and son could ever do. 

Why hadn’t he ever suspected? 

The little things he hadn’t noticed back then… looking back, none of it was normal.

Erons forced himself to suppress the flood of regret and the anger threatening to sprout. But the already damaged and rotten core couldn’t be hidden.

Nor could his resentment toward Lelis.

“So you treated me well out of pity, I suppose.”
“Huh? What does that mean…”
“I’m a poor orphan, a mere Omega that everyone despises. If it weren’t for this face, I wouldn’t have been allowed near the manor. Or did you pity me because you already knew this would happen?”
“That’s not it! My Lord, absolutely not!”
“You said you’d serve me as your Master. You said it yourself. How glad you were to have someone to rely on… But now I see, Lelis’s true Master is still only His Grace the Duke, not me.”

“…”

“Am I wrong?”

Without a word, Lelis bowed her head deeply. Though she didn’t say no, she didn’t refute Erons’s words either. 

Was this a silent affirmation?

“…. I am, before being my Lord’s handmaiden, His Grace’s person. That is why I could not disobey His Grace’s command. I’m sorry, truly sorry. I know it will sound like an excuse, but I truly never imagined His Grace would go this far.”

Liar.

The words from Lelis’s mouth became a blade, gouging deep into Erons’s chest. 

The person he thought was most on his side wasn’t on his side at all. She was on the side of the one he resented most right now. 

Erons didn’t even feel angry at the thought of being played by them. 

He felt empty, utterly hollow.

“Leave.”
“My Lord…”
“I want to be alone. Don’t come until I call you, and make sure no one else enters.”

Erons turned his head away immediately, toward the opposite side from Lelis. It was his way of saying he didn’t want to hear or speak to her, no matter what she said.

“… Yes. I will obey your command.”

Left alone, Erons’s gloomy mood doubled. He buried his face in his knees.

Erons was a substitute for the dead wife. No one had ever seen him as himself and loved him for who he truly was. He was loved because he bore Riman’s face, and that allowed him to enjoy this life.

How foolish he must have looked. How pathetic. To their eyes.

“… What am I supposed to do now?”

Did he really have to stay here in place of his wife? Should he keep pretending to be Riman in place of the dead? For whose sake, anyway?

Erons collapsed back onto the bed. His head throbbed, and his chest felt tight as if his lungs refused to breathe. 

He tapped his forehead and ran his fingers through his hair, but no clear answer came on what choice would be right.

“What? You were awake.”
“Jowen?”

The door burst open without a knock, and Jowen entered. Her dazed eyes sharpened. 

That gaze returned – the one that spat sharp words at him, the one that looked at him as if he were a worthless insect. She was different from usual, radiating the same aura she had when they first met.

“Good. Come with me.”
“… I want to be alone. Tell Lelis that too.”
“Ugh, this is annoying. Don’t make me repeat myself. Do you think I came here because I wanted to? I only came because His Grace summoned you.”

She hadn’t acted like this in a while, so he’d thought her feelings might have changed a little. But it seemed that was just Erons’s delusion. 

Then why did she prepare the bracelet? Even though she hated him so much.

“This bracelet… You prepared it with Lelis, right?”
“Me? What nonsense are you talking about? Am I crazy?”

Getting the reaction he least wanted, Erons gave a bitter smile. He’d heard it clearly with his own ears. Lelis had definitely said that. 

Or maybe even that was one of Lelis’s well-meaning lies. Because it’s pitiful that even on his birthday, he’s in a position where he can’t receive a single gift from his subordinates?

“Get up anyway. His Grace is looking for you.”
“… I don’t want to.”
“You’re being stubborn.”

Jowen let out an exasperated sigh, then strode over to Erons and pulled him up. Despite Erons repeatedly saying he didn’t want to go, she stubbornly dragged him all the way to where Nike was.

“Stop making things difficult and go inside.”
“I don’t want to! I said I don’t want to!”

Even as Erons glared and shouted, Jowen remained unperturbed. With a light shrug of her shoulders, she opened the door and shoved Erons inside.

“No! No, ugh!”

After Erons fell, Jowen immediately shut the door. 

Click. 

At the sound, Erons froze in his fallen position. The oppressive atmosphere of this place, lit only by moonlight streaming through the window without a single candle lit, was one thing, but the reality that only he and Nike remained was what terrified him most.

“Riman…”

Nike’s voice trembled too. Like Erons’s body.

Erons flinched, then slowly raised his head. 

He saw Nike approaching, slightly unsteady, his face flushed as if from drink. He wanted to run, but his body wouldn’t obey. 

As Nike drew nearer, Erons felt suffocated and finally let tears fall.

“I missed you… I really missed you…”

Nike collapsed onto the floor and stroked Erons’s face. He was crying too. Much harder than Erons. 

He pulled Erons into a tight embrace.

“I thought you were hurt. I thought I was losing my mind. I thought I’d lost you again and wanted to die too. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that to you… I was so overwhelmed I ended up hurting you.”

His sobs wouldn’t stop as he kept apologizing to Erons. 

Erons, expecting him to lunge at him like before, felt his heart stir slightly at Nike’s sincere apology. 

Maybe he had regained his senses during those three short days, he thought.

“Don’t leave my side now. Stay with me. Just like we promised back then, we’ll be together forever.”

But he was still the same.

In fact, he was even crazier. His face was filled with madness as he stroked Erons’s face and smiled. The hand that brushed his hair back and then gripped his shoulder tightly held nothing but intense obsession, not love. 

Sensing he might be more dangerous now than before, Erons shoved him away.

“Riman, why…?”
“I don’t want this! I don’t want you doing this…!”

Trembling as if about to seize, Erons summoned his courage. He struggled desperately to pull back the courage slipping away.

“You can abandon me. I’ll return to being an orphan. I don’t mind ending up on the streets. I don’t want to… do that with Your Grace.”
“…Say it again.”
”What…?”
“Say it again. What you just said.”
“I… I don’t want to… do that with Your Grace –!”

An enraged Nike pounced on Erons. Falling backward, his head slammed hard against the floor, making his skull throb.

“Ugh…”
“You bark quite well. Who told you to? To say such insolent things.”
“N-no one told me. I just… I hate it,”
“I’ve been thinking it over. Why does biting you so hard, drawing blood, leave no mark? Fedor, that bastard did it, didn’t he?”
“What are you talking about? Why would Lord Fedor be involved here?”
“That bastard Fedor must have cast a defensive spell on your neck. Otherwise, a human body couldn’t be like this.”

Erons turned his head. Avoiding eye contact awkwardly wasn’t a sign of ignorance. 

He wasn’t certain, but Erons had a suspicion.

That faint light that appeared when Fedor touched his neck – perhaps that was the defensive magic Nike was talking about. But fearing that voicing mere conjecture might unnecessarily implicate Fedor, he stuck to his story of ignorance until the end.

“… I don’t know. I don’t know anything.”
“Hmm, so that’s how it is.”

Nike didn’t seem to believe him. He placed his fingers on Erons’s neck. The hand that had been tracing the delicate line of his neck stopped near his collarbone.

“Even if I kill that bastard?”
“… What?”
“Even if I kill Fedor, you’d still say the same thing, wouldn’t you?”

How could such words come from the mouth of a father?

“Lord Fedor never did anything to me! He’s done nothing wrong!”
“Nothing? Didn’t he defile your body with that worthless magic? Might as well kill both of them while I’m at it. What do you think?”

And now he was dragging Urno into this, too. Even if Fedor had cast some magic, he was bringing up Urno, who truly knew nothing and was completely innocent.

“They’re Your Grace’s sons. They’re your own children, not some foundling like me. How can you speak of killing them?”
“… I never wanted them!”

Riiip –!

With a single tug of Nike’s hand, Erons’s nighshirt tore straight down to his bare chest. 

“Your Grace!”
“Choose. Listen to me and spare them, or reject me and kill them.”

The choice presented was truly cruel. At least, it was for Erons. Unable to decide easily, Erons bit down hard on his lower lip and declared silence. 

Fortunately, Nike didn’t press for an answer. He didn’t get excited, just waited until Erons spoke.

Behind Nike, the portrait of Riman covered the walls. Dozens of eyes, identical to his own, stared at Erons. 

What did those gazes mean, sent by someone other than him? Were they telling him to run, or to surrender to Nike willingly?

“I understand.”

Erons had no choice but to give the answer Nike wanted. Otherwise, an innocent person would lose their life.

Nike laughed chillingly. 

He knew. 

Erons would choose him anyway. 

He could see how much Erons despised him, yet Nike relentlessly drove Erons deeper into the abyss.

“Hey, over there.”
“What is it? Oh, the whore?”

The servants’ attitude toward Erons had changed. They, who had regarded him as nothing more than a worthless, insignificant Omega, now called him a whore. 

It was especially worse when Nike wasn’t around. Knowing Erons wouldn’t report them to Nike, they mocked him even more blatantly.

Still, it only amounted to them whispering amongst themselves.

“It happened again yesterday. You heard, right?”
“Of course. Ugh, doesn’t he have any shame?”
“Guess he wants rumors spreading that he slept his way to the top.”
“Tsk, Omegas really are vulgar. Won’t he get the wife’s seat next?”
“Nah, even if he’s obsessed with sex, he’s still His Grace. How could he take someone like that as his wife?”
“Right? Did I take it too far?”

They spoke as if Erons had spread his own legs. Yet it was Nike who had lunged first, and Erons who had been nearly killed by the violent intercourse.

Nike never returned to how he had been before. His apology lasted only the single day Erons awoke.

His obsession grew worse by the day. He acted as if he would die if he didn’t hold Erons for even a single day. 

He declared two maids were insufficient and assigned two or three knights as guards. They were called escorts, but they were watchers. 

If even a minor scratch appeared, he’d replace the guards and eliminate one innocent servant at a time. Whether he killed them or drove them away, only he knew.

… I’m not doing this because I want to.

He hated touching him, hated sleeping in the same bed every night. He hated everything. 

But what made his teeth grind in disgust more than anything was that he couldn’t push him away

Every time Erons refused, Nike took the twins hostage. No matter how strong they were, Nike would find a way to kill them if he set his mind to it. He would make it impossible for them to survive. 

Erons didn’t want to put the two of them in a situation where they might cross the threshold of death because of him, so he had to accept Nike.

Still, perhaps feeling guilty for putting him through this, he was relatively free during the day. Though guards were still assigned to him.

“My Lord. Thank you for summoning me.”
“… No, it’s nothing.”

Though he had a maid, the lingering betrayal meant Erons mostly spent his time alone. He mostly lay in bed, but naturally, he grew bored quickly. He knew better than anyone how stifling it was to be alone in a confined space.

Eventually, Erons summoned Jowen and Lelis for tea. Unlike the uncomfortable Erons, Lelis was genuinely delighted to have been called.

Jowen, of course, disliked it.

Though she knew tea etiquette, Jowen, holding the teapot and cups, poured the tea recklessly. As a result, not only the cups but even the saucers were splattered and stained. But Jowen didn’t wipe the spilled tea. 

After all, those were the cups for Erons.

“Jowen, wipe the cup. And be careful handing it over. What if you spill it?”

Snorting in response to Lelis’s scolding, Jowen thrust the cup forward abruptly. Perhaps Laris’s words had planted the seed.

“Yikes!”
“What? Gah…! “
”My Lord!”

It happened so fast that there was no time to react. 

Jowen, who hadn’t even looked at Erons, didn’t see the hand reaching out to her. The teacup was knocked from Erons’s hand, and hot tea spilled onto his hands and knees.

“Are you all right? I’ll fetch ice. Please wait a moment!”

As soon as Erons screamed, Lelis quickly wiped the spilled tea from him and hurried out to fetch ice. 

Meanwhile, Jowen knelt before Erons, hands clasped in prayer. She begged. What she feared wasn’t her Master, hurt because of her, but Nike, who knew nothing of this situation.

“Please, please… don’t tell anyone! I’ll take care of you, I swear. I’ll nurse you back to full health, so please… please make sure His Grace never finds out!”

A loud noise came from inside, and as Lelis rushed out, the guards standing outside the door burst in. Knowing Erons had been harmed, they immediately seized Jowen. She struggled, but there was no way a single female Beta could overpower two male Alphas.

“Enough. Let me go.”
“I’m sorry, but we can’t. Our Lord’s orders were to capture anyone who harmed the young Master, no exceptions.”

“I can handle this. So let her go.”
“But….”
“Now.”

Erons’s firm command left the guards no choice but to release Jowen. If Erons couldn’t resolve it here, they could always take her away later. 

Besides, they didn’t believe Erons could resolve it anyway.

Erons had to act fast. If Jowen were taken away like this, he might meet her as a corpse next time. 

How could he erase this wound and prevent Jowen from being punished? 

If only he could use magic.

…Magic?

“Jowen, stop crying. I’m fine.”
“Sniff, please… I’ll beg you like this. Please, save me. I don’t want to die yet.“
”You won’t die. Trust me.”

Jowen finally stopped crying when Erons spoke with such conviction. Erons smiled faintly and opened the storage cabinet. He took out the magic stone he’d received from Fedor, one he’d resolved never to use unless absolutely necessary.

“Jowen. Look here for a moment.”

When it came time to use it, he didn’t know how. Erons held the magic stone between his hands, clasped as if praying to Theos, and visualized his wish. 

To erase the wounds and wipe the guards’ memories. 

Then the magic stone burst into a blinding red light. The light was so intense that he had to raise his arm to shield his eyes.

“Ugh! … Huh? Why am I here?”
“Yeah. When did we even come in here?”

The magic stone that had emitted the light vanished. As Erons had wished, the inflamed wound had completely healed, and the knights who had been about to seize Jowen looked around, clearly flustered.

“Please leave again. You came in without being invited.”
“Ah… Did we? We must have mistaken something. Then we’ll leave.”

The knights exited the room without a hint of suspicion. They had no choice. They remembered nothing.

“How is this possible…. ”

Jowen doubted her own eyes. 

Placing the slightly sparkling stone on her knee, the wound vanished along with it. 

She was utterly dumbfounded, never having imagined Erons could wield magic. In this vast land, there had never been an Omega mage, neither in the past nor the present.

“You saw it? I’m fine now. So don’t cry. I won’t tell anyone, so don’t worry.“
”What you just did –“

”My Lord!“ Just then, Lelis arrived carrying a sack filled with ice. ”I brought ice. Hold this against it. Are you in much pain?“

”I’m fine. It’s not a severe burn.“

The wound had vanished, but the pain remained. Magic stones only healed the visible wound. Beneath the skin, it was still searing hot. 

If only healing were possible like it was with holy magic, but unfortunately, it was impossible with magic power.

Lelis’s face was filled with worry as she rubbed ice against his hand and arm. Erons deliberately avoided looking at her. 

Seeing that face felt like his heart would melt.

As Lelis carefully examined Erons’s wounds, she noticed the tea that had soaked through to the floor. 

Something seemed off, though. The color was unnaturally dark, and there were even bits of tea leaves floating messily in it. 

It was the kind of brew you’d get if you’d crushed the leaves.

“… Jowen.”
“Yes, sister.”
“Jowen, come here. My Lord, may I step away for a moment?”
“Lelis, I’m fine now.”
“That’s not why I’m asking. Don’t worry. I need to speak with her about something else.”

It seemed like she was going to scold her. But thinking there might be another reason, Erons nodded.

“Understood. But please don’t scold her for what happened earlier. I’m genuinely fine.”
“Of course. Jowen, come with me.”

Lelis, visibly furious, roughly grabbed Jowen’s arm and dragged her out. Erons was slightly startled by this intense display from Lelis, something he’d never seen before. 

What on earth was she so angry about?

Lelis dragged Jowen to a deserted spot. 

She was so furious at Jowen’s misdeed that she couldn’t control her expression. 

If everyone’s tea had been like that, it might have been different. They had prepared three types of tea to suit everyone’s tastes, but the fact that only Erons’s was like that smacked of deliberate intent.

“Care to explain why only the Lord’s tea is so dark?”
“…”

SMACK!

Jowen’s face snapped back from the blow Lelis delivered. Jowen, who hadn’t expected to be slapped, stared wide-eyed.

“Anyone can see that’s excessive. How could you even consider serving something so bitter that you can’t even swallow it with just a touch of the tongue? Don’t tell me you’ve brewed all the tea you’ve served like this?”
“Ah, no, that’s not…”

Lelis raised her hand again and struck her opposite cheek. 

SMACK!

Jowen’s face turned away once more.

“If I catch you doing that again, you’d better be prepared. I told you before: the Lord is not someone you can treat with such disrespect.”

After delivering that sharp rebuke to Jowen, Lelis returned to the tea room. Left alone, Jowen’s shoulders trembled violently. Lelis had slapped her, and it was all because of that Omega.

Ever since Erons arrived, the distance between Jowen and Lelis had grown rapidly. 

Jowen disliked him, and Lelis liked him. 

Seeing Lelis – who had always been so kind to her – resort to physical violence made Jowen’s rage boil over. She felt like smashing everything within reach.

“It’s all because of that foundling. If only he hadn’t existed, if he hadn’t come here, none of this would have happened. I wouldn’t have fallen out with my sister!”

This ungrateful wretch had already forgotten the help she’d received from Erons and was starting to resent him again. 

How could she be so ungrateful when it was thanks to him that she was alive and standing here?

“You worthless, filthy Omega. What kind of saintly person are you, being an orphan? You thought I’d be grateful to you just because you helped me once? Don’t make me laugh.”

Jowen bit her nails. The sound of click, click echoed from her nails, growing shorter by the day.

“Is there no way? To quietly eliminate that bastard…”

A smile touched Jowen’s lips, as if she’d thought of a good plan. 

Her lips, still bearing the marks of the bite, curved into a gentle arc.