FMY 35

After letting out a soft chuckle, Gabriel continued in a slightly reluctant voice. His face was as serious as ever. Like someone revealing an incredibly important secret.

“To be honest, I don’t believe that article.”

“What…?!”

Everyone gasped in shock at the denial of Serge and Raphael’s romance rumors.

“Besides me, is there anyone else here who knows what Lord Serge d’Arthur was like in the past?”

At that question, two or three among the dozen or so young people gathered raised their hands.

“I saw him from afar once when I was invited to a dinner at the Arthur estate.”

“I attended the same private school as him. Of course, I dropped out midway after fully presenting as an omega.”

“Ah, I crossed paths with him a few times when we attended the same university.”

Hearing their answers, Gabriel’s eyes crinkled into a confident smile.

“Then you must know exactly what I’m talking about. Did he look… I mean, did the past Lord Serge look like someone who could fall madly in love with anyone? And with none other than the 2nd Prince, the noblest and most popular man in Ancerre society, aside from His Highness the Crown Prince?”

Behind fans and hands, the murmurs of agreement and whispers grew louder.

The point Gabriel was making now was a question of whether it was possible for the drab and pathetic Serge of the past, who looked like a mole that had crawled out of a burrow, to fall in love with the 2nd Prince like the lovers of the century.

“Besides, Lord Serge is a recessive omega. Even I, who live with him, have never smelled it. His pheromone scent is almost non-existent. So that means His Highness the 2nd Prince couldn’t have fallen for the charm of his pheromones either…”

You must understand that it’s different from a dominant omega, Gabriel added. It was a disparaging remark, subtly comparing the recessive omega Serge with himself, a dominant omega who could easily charm and seduce any alpha.

“On top of that, you all saw it at Her Majesty the Queen’s salon last time, didn’t you? Did the two of them look like such an intimate and affectionate couple?”

‘So you do have eyes in your head after all.’

Listening to Gabriel’s sermon from behind, Serge twisted his lips. The young lords and ladies around him shook their heads from side to side.

“To my eyes, they actually looked like they weren’t close…”

“It also seemed like they had just met for the first time.”

Hearing their answers, Gabriel’s voice became animated with excitement.

“That’s exactly it. As someone who lives in the same ducal residence, I can assure you. Lord Serge, in a relationship? Isn’t that something that’s only possible if a person goes out? Lord Serge almost never leaves the mansion except to go to his university research lab. And as you all know, he has had absolutely no social activities until now.”

“…Then are you saying that the two of them are not the passionately-in-love couple described in the articles?”

Someone hit on the main point. Unaware that Gabriel, for the sake of any possible future repercussions, was deliberately not confirming the most important conclusion with his own mouth.

“I can’t say that for certain… but if that’s what the various circumstances suggest. Well, I suppose one could conclude that.”

Gabriel lifted the hand that was resting on the arm of the couch and coyly tucked his shimmering blond hair behind his ear. After a soft “hmph,” he lowered his eyes, and a hint of confidence could be seen in his gaze, which he intentionally directed to an empty space to the side. Those around him who heard his words were clearly swayed.

“Lord Serge will likely attend this salon today as well, so everyone, please observe him carefully.”

“Observe what?”

“Whether he carries even a trace of His Highness the 2nd Prince’s pheromones.”

“Ahhh…”

At those words, everyone nodded in admiration.

‘Hah… you’ve used your head, Gabriel?’

A dumbfounded chuckle escaped Serge’s lips as he listened from behind the wall.

He must have been cooped up in his room, thinking all sorts of things, after being caught off guard by Serge’s sudden change lately. Or perhaps his confidence had surged again after being the Crown Prince’s partner at the ball, and he couldn’t resist the urge to belittle Serge as he used to. His skill at stirring up an ignorant crowd and secretly fanning the flames was the same as ever. And just as excellent.

‘It’s truly ridiculous.’

In fact, Gabriel had good reason to be so confident.

In Blanche’s culture of liberal romance, it was natural for lovers to be enveloped in each other’s pheromones. Whether it was an artificial act born from the possessiveness of an alpha and an omega for each other, or whether it was unknowingly released and transferred during kisses or skinship, born from an inability to contain their overflowing love.

Especially the possessive pheromones intentionally left by a dominant alpha were so persistent that their lingering scent was difficult to wash off even with water.

What Gabriel was pointing out now was that if they were truly lovers, it was impossible that the 2nd Prince Raphael, known as the most dominant of dominants, would not have scented Serge, his beloved.

“Then why on earth would the two of them pretend to be lovers and get engaged if they aren’t even a real couple…”

“I know, right. Why would they go so far as to start such rumors…”

“Well, it’s likely for the same reason most of Blanche’s nobles enter into matrimony.”

Gabriel’s voice, as he answered coyly with a sniff, was at its peak.

“So the truth is, a political marriage, just like everyone else…?”

“What other reason could there be? As someone under the protection of Duke Arthur, I know best, but is Arthur just any ordinary name? It’s a name that everyone covets and wants to be connected to, even if only through marriage.”

At those words, everyone nodded.

Given the Queen’s own attitude last time, Arthur was indeed a family name that even royalty would covet.

Just then, a warm whisper filled Serge’s ear, and a hand wrapped around his waist.

“Chouchou. Are you just going to stand by and listen to that?”

Startled, Serge whipped his head back.

“…Raphael…! You nearly gave me a heart attack…!”

Scolding Raphael in a sharp whisper, Serge’s face was that of someone who had been genuinely shocked out of his wits. He had been so focused on listening that he hadn’t even realized someone had gotten so close to him.

“Shh. Weren’t you eavesdropping?”

Even looking at the handsome, statue-like face with its usual sly grin, Serge couldn’t smooth out his furrowed brow. It was because he found himself, without realizing it, checking Raphael’s face for any marks from the slap. Without even being aware that he was making such an observation.

‘It would hurt his pride if I asked if he was okay…’

There was no way he would want others to know his mother had hit him. Although he had never once acted proud in front of Serge, alphas were such proud and prideful beings. With that thought, Serge swallowed the urge to ask if he was okay.

His expression turned blank again as he raised his head to meet Raphael’s eyes. Fortunately, his face looked no different than before. After all, how hard could a slap from the frail hands of an aging Queen be? The emotional wound was likely greater than any physical injury. Concluding his thoughts, Serge changed the subject.

“When did you get here?”

“Just now. Right when they started talking about my pheromones.”

“Haa…”

So he heard all the troublesome parts. Serge instinctively pressed a hand to his forehead.

“But are you really going to just stand by and listen to that?”

“What else can I do?”

Prince Raphael was famous for being obsessively clean about not showing his pheromones. Serge’s question was a challenge, wondering what such a person could possibly do.

Looking at his prospective fiancé’s bewildered expression, Raphael grinned, revealing his pearly white teeth.

“This way.”

A large, strong alpha’s hand gently took the omega’s wrist and led him somewhere.

Click!

A small door permitted their entry. Then, the lock clicked shut with a cheerful sound. Serge looked around the space they had entered in a flurry.

“Where on earth is this?”

“Just one of the many rooms in the royal palace. No one will come in here.”

“How can you possibly know that?”

“I found out for myself by exploring every corner of the palace since I was a child. That there are tons of small, unused rooms like this all over the place.”

As he said this, Raphael sat Serge down on a small sofa.

“What on earth are you trying to do? We’re already late. Her Majesty the Queen will be arriving soon.”

Full of determination to make a good impression on the Queen and score some points, Serge fidgeted, and Raphael patted his shoulder, making him sit down again.

“My mother will arrive just in time for the discussion, after the attendees have had enough time to view the paintings. This time now is just for freely appreciating the works of the new artist, Lord Vardin.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. She always does this when she holds a salon centered on an exhibition.”

At Raphael’s firm assurance, Serge finally relaxed, let out a deep sigh, and leaned back against the sofa. But the alpha did not let the omega rest comfortably.

“Wha—what, what are you doing?”

He extended a large hand, placed a thick, heavy arm on Serge’s back, and pulled him in, naturally embracing him.

“There’s no one here to see us right now, so why are you doing this?”

Serge flailed in panic. Tightly held in the arms of the much larger alpha, his struggling was like a fish thrashing in a net, but he was trying his best to push him away out of sheer embarrassment. However, Raphael had no intention of letting his cute resistance get its way.

“Stay still.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t you hear them chattering just now? The moment we enter that exhibition hall, they’re all going to open their noses like starving hounds and try their hardest to confirm whether your have my pheromones on you or not.”

In reality, the place that received pheromones was not simply the nose, as with smells, but Raphael explained it that way, comparing them to animals searching for prey. A person with a secondary gender detects pheromones through pheromone receptor organs via the nasal cavity and skin. The reason Raphael used the expression ‘hounds’ was partly because he felt no need to explain in detail what even children knew, and partly because he was dismissing the betas and omegas filling the Salon des Carnolets, who were hell-bent on tearing them down at the slightest opportunity, as famished beasts.

Raphael moved only his hand on the arm that held Serge, patting him gently. As if reassuring a child seized by anxiety.

“I’m just going to scent you with a pleasant, fond pheromone. How sensitive are you to alpha pheromones, by the way?”

At the mention that he would be using a natural ‘emotional pheromone,’ which simply expressed a mood, and not a ‘sexual pheromone,’ which was released to seduce a partner during or when feeling aroused for sexual acts, Serge relaxed his tense shoulders.

“…I’m not sensitive.”

“Really? I heard that recessive omegas are more vulnerable to alpha pheromones.”

That was true. That was the difference between recessive and dominant.

Dominant individuals had a large quantity and high concentration of pheromones, allowing them to exert a strong influence, while recessive individuals had a small amount of pheromones and their influence was minimal. Dominant alphas, in particular, were a species that established themselves as alpha males by overpowering other alphas with the concentration and influence of their pheromones, even within the alpha pack. Unlike omegas, who simply used pheromones to attract alphas, they exerted a broader influence, such as determining the hierarchy of power.

There was also a difference in pheromone receptors. The more dominant one was, the more prominent the defensive characteristics of their body, which allowed them to protect themselves from and withstand the opponent’s pheromones. So, what Raphael was asking now was out of concern that Serge, a recessive omega, might show the characteristic reactions of a recessive—such as his legs giving out or feeling dizzy—upon directly receiving the pheromones of Raphael, a dominant alpha.

However, despite it being a valid concern, it was completely off the mark when it came to Serge.

“I… I’m a little different.”

Serge’s face hardened. For some reason, it was difficult to explain to Raphael in words.