RODH Chapter 81

81.

At that moment, Ian, who had been pushed away, nearly tumbled across the sofa.

But before that could happen, Nevan carefully set him down.

“Lord Ian, just now…”

Ian was bewildered, but the moment he met Nevan’s eyes, he clung to him again.

“Lord Ian!”

At Nevan’s outcry, Ian barely came back to his senses.

“Why am I acting like this?”

The fragrance of a blue forest filled the air as Ian’s pheromones spilled uncontrollably.

It was heat.

“Lord Ian, you must take the suppressant at once.”

Ian could guess what Nevan was trying to say, but already half-consumed by heat, he only wanted to quench the burning desire.

Right in front of him stood a dominant alpha who could resolve this thirst.

With a force that belied his delicate body, Ian shoved Nevan down.

Nevan was caught off guard and collapsed onto the sofa.

Ian climbed on top of him.

“Lord Ian…”

“My heart feels like it’s about to burst.”

“You mustn’t do this. At today’s luncheon, you promised the duchess…”

Ian silenced the mouth that only spoke unwanted words by pressing his lips against it.

His heat-muddled mind was filled only with the thought of claiming Nevan.

Ian broke away from the kiss.

“Ha…”

A faint sigh, uncertain whose, slipped into the air.

Ian’s hand fearlessly grabbed Nevan’s shirt.

The desire to touch the bare skin steeped in pheromones surged up like a ball bouncing free.

But before he could even undo a button, the tide turned.

Ian’s body was pushed back, and now Nevan was the one on top.

Nevan breathed shallowly as he tried to suppress the pheromones.

It was the first time he had faced a dominant omega in heat, so even he was thrown into confusion.

From the thickening of his own pheromones, it was clear he too had entered rut.

At this rate, their promise would be broken within a day, so Nevan pinned Ian’s flailing hands above him as though binding them.

Helpless, Ian began sobbing uncontrollably.

“Hic, hhic, huuhh!”

“……”

The sight tore Nevan’s chest to shreds.

His beloved wept before him, yet he could do nothing.

He too wanted to become one with Ian, just as Ian desired.

But for Ian’s sake, he had to strip away the raw craving.

Nevan summoned every shred of patience to soothe him.

“I do not dislike you, Lord Ian. But we cannot have a child before the proper marriage.”

“Hhuuh, hhic!”

Nevan lightly bit the nape of Ian’s neck, already lost to reason.

Ah—at the sound of Ian’s gasp, his frail body trembled.

At the same time, their lower bodies brushed together, and Nevan felt a flash of danger.

This was truly perilous.

Swiftly, he struck the back of Ian’s neck just enough to subdue him.

In an instant, the struggling body lost its strength.

“Ha…”

Nevan exhaled a long sigh.

Then he carefully wrapped Ian in a blanket and called for Bain.

“My lord!”

“A heat cycle has come. Did you bring the suppressant?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Leave him in your care.”

As Bain led Ian away to his room, Nevan let out a ragged breath he had been holding back.

Reason urged him to open the window and let the air in, but he did not want to.

The honey-sweet scent lingered heavily on the sofa.

Even his hands bore the strong trace of Ian’s pheromones.

Nevan knew he shouldn’t, yet he sat there for a while longer.

Right where Ian had just been sitting.

After who knew how long, Nevan finally staggered to his feet and swallowed a suppressant.

Slowly, the room, once thick with heat, began to cool.

But Ian’s condition was different.

He refused to take the suppressant.

Bain coaxed and coaxed until he finally swallowed it, but it had no effect.

“Bain, it hurts…”

Ian, drenched in cold sweat, clutched at his throat as he spoke.

He had already consumed the maximum dosage.

Without hesitation, Bain went in search of Chloe.

Late at night, a sudden knock had Chloe stumbling out in disheveled clothes.

“What is it?”

“Please save my young master!”

After hearing a rough outline of the situation, Chloe gathered every vial she had and rushed to Ian’s chamber.

Ian was still limp, exuding a torrent of pheromones.

Bain quickly shut the door and passed her the ingredients she asked for.

“It’s ready!”

Chloe concocted a suppressant on the spot tailored for Ian’s body.

Bain eyed the potion that looked unmistakably dangerous.

“Will this really make him better?”

“His mana is rampaging together with the heat, so I added a stabilizing compound.”

“My lord, did you hear that? If you drink, you’ll recover.”

“Bain, Bain…”

Bain sat Ian upright and helped him swallow the entire dose.

Though he gagged at times, he did not vomit it up.

At long last, the boiling heat simmered down.

“Bain…”

Ian weakly called for him.

Bain, his expression pained, brushed Ian’s damp fringe back.

“My lord, please sleep. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Thank you.”

The faint response had Bain sniffling.

As Chloe tidied the wrecked desk, she brewed a few more doses.

“The north is abundant in mana. For someone as sensitive to mana as the young duke, heat could act as a trigger.”

In other words, Ian had suffered a temporary mana shock alongside his heat.

Alvis and Lucian, who had rushed over after hearing the news, froze at the threshold of Ian’s chamber.

“Why are the pheromones so strong?”

At this intensity, it would be unbearable for Ian as well.

Just as they were about to knock, Chloe opened the door.

She, reeling from Ian’s pheromones, dragged them both far from the room.

Lucian, regaining his composure, asked about Ian’s state.

“Is Ian all right?”

“He’s fine. He only suffered a temporary mana shock.”

“Mana shock?”

Alvis furrowed his brow.

Mana shock was something that occurred in those with immature mana.

“How could that happen?”

“It seemed to strike together with the sudden heat cycle. I don’t know the details myself.”

All three of them had come out half-asleep, so they did not recognize one another well.

Chloe especially failed to realize that the tall man before her was none other than the blue mage Alvis, whom she had long sought.

So she focused all her attention only on keeping the two dominant alphas away from Ian.

After all, Ian must not come to harm before his marriage to the grand duke.

“He is all right now. You should both return. It is very late.”

Under her silent pressure, the two alphas had no choice but to retreat to their rooms.

The next day.

Early in the morning, Lucian and Alvis came to Ian’s room.

“Ian, we’re here.”

They had assumed no one else would be there, but Nevan had already arrived.

Nevan was gently wiping Ian’s fevered forehead with a wet cloth.

Lucian asked,

“Ian hasn’t woken yet?”

“I heard he briefly opened his eyes at dawn before falling back asleep.”

“His pheromones have certainly calmed.”

Though not explosive as yesterday, the lingering pheromones made both Lucian and Alvis want to remain in the room.

Sensing as much, Nevan rose to his feet.

“He needs rest.”

With that dismissal, and as he himself left as well, Lucian and Alvis had no choice but to leave without speaking to Ian.

“Young master…”

Bain’s heart ached, seeing Ian completely bedridden.

All he could do was place a cold cloth to ease the fever.

Nevan, too, seemed disheartened by the thought.

But whether it was the medicine’s effect or simply the magic of time, Ian opened his eyes during the night.

He called out to Bain, who had been dozing off in a chair.

“Bain, I’m hungry.”

“My lord!”

“Ugh, I can’t breathe.”

“You don’t know how worried I was since you wouldn’t wake up.”

Ian had no memory of what happened after entering Nevan’s room and didn’t know why he was lying there.

Bain explained simply,

“His Grace said you went into heat, my lord.”

“Then why did I faint?”

“According to Lady Chloe, you had something called mana shock.”

“Mana shock?”

“Yes. Should I fetch Lady Chloe?”

Ian looked out at the darkness beyond the window.

Snow was falling heavily.

“No. I’ll just ask tomorrow. It’s not urgent.”

“But we need to confirm if your body is truly all right.”

“I’m fine. Though I did nearly die in the middle of it.”

“My lord, ahh! Please don’t say such things about dying!”

Bain clung to him with all his strength, and once again Ian felt suffocated.

With a sigh, Ian pushed Bain a little away.

“What about Lord Lucian and Lord Alvis?”

“They came briefly and left. Your heat hasn’t fully passed yet, my lord.”

“Ah, right.”

Though his body would take another day to fully recover, he already felt oddly refreshed.

While Bain went to fetch pumpkin soup, Ian opened Berkisto’s journal.

The northern section contained many illustrations, making it enjoyable to read.

Turning the pages, Ian stopped when he came across a faintly familiar symbol surfacing from memory.

A long line crudely drawn, like a careless stroke.

It was the mark of Anna Tuhatla.

“Anna Tuhatla…”

The moment he spoke the name, an unknown light began to spill from the edge of the book.