DSB 66

“My body’s condition isn’t something that can improve just because you work hard.”

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. Pay attention to Yutis instead of me. Look at him. He won’t even let me get out of bed, but he walks around freely. When I heard that he went to fight a demonic beast without his subordinates, do you know how shocked I was…”

Lebel clicked his tongue with, and Illa laughed.

“If people had to choose between Young Madam and Lord Yutis as the patient to take care of, everyone would choose you, my lord. And Lord Yutis is protected by a solid defensive spell strong enough that he doesn’t even need me nearby.”

Even if it was called magic, it used demonic energy, so Illa could see it clearly.

Lebel smiled.

“He’s my mate, so of course he should be treated differently.”

“But isn’t that why your condition worsened, my lord?”

“That spell was placed long ago. Back then, my condition was stable.”

If Yutis found out that Lebel used the protection spell on him too, he would probably explode with anger.

“Lord Lebel, Lord Michael asks if that human pleases you that much.”

“He’s my mate.”

“He says you match well with a human.”

“That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

Illa chuckled. It had indeed sounded slightly mocking.

Lebel clicked his tongue and murmured.

“He wasn’t like that when he was young. He became fierce as he grew.”

“…Do you mean Lord Michael?”

Startled, Illa looked at Lebel.

“Oh, I guess I haven’t mentioned that? Among the angels, there were a few I looked after. Michael was one of them.”

[What? Really?]

Karon sounded like he was hearing it for the first time.

“You didn’t know either.”

It wasn’t a well-known story.

The Celestial God and the Demon God had each created the Celestial Realm and the Demon Realm, and they devoted themselves to creating the beings who would live beneath those realms.

Many beings were born, but the two gods were too busy shaping their worlds to care for the children themselves.

So Lebel had to look after them for a while.

He remembered that back then, when he said he would live in the Demon Realm, Michael had even asked if he wouldn’t rather stay in the Celestial Realm with him.

But it had already been decided that demons would live in the Demon Realm and angels would live in the heavens.

Lebel had been born with both powers, but he was closer to a demon.

That was how Lebel and Michael had parted.

“…Then were you two brothers?”

“Well, more like a caretaker and a child… Let’s stop there. He’ll probably get angry again.”

“He’s already angry.”

“I knew it.”

“Lord Lebel, please take care of your health.”

“Next time, I’ll try to keep it within reason.”

Illa smiled bitterly. He knew Lebel didn’t mean it.

“Oh, right. Is Michael listening to this now?”

“Yes. He’s speaking to me.”

“Then did he say anything more about what we talked about before?”

“You mean that demon who lives in the north?”

“Yes. I meant to ask more, but things came up and I was delayed.”

To be honest, he had completely forgotten.

Illa remained silent for a moment, then he carefully spoke.

“He didn’t mention it again. He says he already said everything he needed to. Perhaps the demons who’ve remained in the Middle Realm for too long are causing trouble, and that’s why he asked for your help. Most demons respect you, my lord.”

“…..”

It was a request that benefited Lebel more than Michael.

Michael had said that Yutis’s curse, which made him suffer by turning into a monster during his rut, could be broken.

Which meant those words were meant to make Lebel move.

He only found it strange that Michael hadn’t explained why Lebel had to be the one to act.

“If you don’t know, then that’s fine.”

If it was really important, he’d take care of it himself. Lebel didn’t want to kill that demon.

Strictly speaking, that northern demon was Yutis’s ancestor.

Besides, Lebel wanted to see what Yutis would look like when his demonic transformation reached completion.

His father had seen it, and his father-in-law had seen it, so how could Lebel, his wife, not see it?

Lebel looked toward Yutis outside the window.

And at that moment, pain gripped his chest so hard it felt like his heart was being crushed.

He clutched his chest.

“Ugh…”

“Lord Lebel?”

When Lebel let out a strained groan, the startled Illa jumped to his feet.

[Lord Lebel, are you all right? Why is your demonic energy…!]

The demonic energy hidden deep inside him surged out uncontrollably. At the same time, the pheromones he had concealed leaked out. Was it because the vessel had cracked? No, it was something slightly different.

Ah, it’s the heat.

His demonic energy had been strangely unstable. His body had been greedily seeking Yutis’s energy. He had thought it would come soon, but he didn’t expect it to be today.

And it hurt more than he expected. His body tried to contain the demonic energy and pheromones spilling out on their own, but it couldn’t.

“Illa, call Mahan… no, call Yutis. My heat cycle…”

Lebel stammered, but hurried footsteps sounded from afar. Then a loud bang echoed as the door opened.

Yutis, who had sensed Lebel’s pheromones, came rushing in breathlessly.

“My wife, right now…”

Lebel saw Yutis’s shocked face and smiled.

“My husband, I think my heat came.”

As soon as those words left his mouth, Lebel fainted. His frail body couldn’t endure it.

He thought he heard the cracking sound of the sealed fractures breaking wider apart.

***

The blizzard that had swept in with fierce winds made it impossible to see anything outside the window. At such times, people couldn’t move an inch because of the snowstorm, so they stayed in their homes, waiting for it to pass.

The northern castle was no different. But the annex was an exception. Even as the storm made the world silent, restless sounds of heavy breathing filled Lebel’s room.

Dozens of servants were running frantically through the corridor.

“He took the medicine, so why isn’t the fever going down?”

Yutis spoke with his fist clenched. He couldn’t bring himself to enter Lebel’s room, so he stood outside the door and urged Mark and Illa for answers.

“You know his life is at risk if this continues!”

“It must be because it’s the first heat. It will surely calm down with time! The Young Madam should be receiving as much of the young master’s pheromones as possible…”

“The pheromones are already more than overflowing!!”

“Yes, I know. I know that. It’s just that the Young Madam’s body isn’t accepting them properly…”

Mark wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as he spoke.

Yutis’s pheromones filled the air with overwhelming force. Mark tried his best to calm him, but it didn’t work.

When Lebel’s heat began, Yutis had run straight to him.

Lebel had insisted he wanted to spend his heat with Yutis instead of taking medicine, but the fever that came with the heat was too severe.

He drifted in and out of consciousness, but only for brief moments.

Yutis had forced him to swallow the medicine while he was unconscious, then waited for the fever to subside.

No matter how long he waited, it didn’t.

Beside the omega burning in heat, Yutis released his alpha pheromones to try to soothe him. He thought that would help even a little, but the heat didn’t fade at all.

By the time he realized how serious it was, they were trapped inside the castle.

A raging blizzard covered the world in snow.

Lebel, soaked in sweat and feverish, lay on the brink of death as his pheromones spread through the room.

Every time Yutis saw him like that, he wished it could be him suffering instead.

“Enough. Everyone, leave. I’ll handle this.”

“You’re going to stay by his side? You can’t!”

When Yutis tried to return to Lebel’s side, Mark blocked him.

In truth, Yutis had already wanted to stay with Lebel, but Mark had pulled him away.

“Your pheromones are also showing irregular reactions right now. Considering that the Young Madam’s condition isn’t improving, it might mean he doesn’t need more pheromones at the moment.”

The pheromones of an omega’s first heat were intoxicatingly sweet.

If Mark hadn’t taken the suppressants that dulled pheromone sensitivity, and if Yutis’s pheromones weren’t overwhelming the room, he might have already fallen under Lebel’s scent himself.

Yutis, being just as dominant as Lebel, could barely hold onto reason, but no one knew how long that would last.

Even now, his pheromones were shaking violently.

“No. Lord Lebel needs the young master’s pheromones.”

Illa’s voice was firm.

“But at this rate, the young master might enter rut too…!”

If Yutis got pulled into the heat, it would be catastrophic.

Lebel had already endured Yutis’s rut with his whole body once before. There was no guarantee it wouldn’t happen again now that he was in heat.

Instead, Lebel might start releasing that sweet scent again and tempt him.

If Yutis’s rut erupted, and his body transformed, and he sought Lebel in that state, no one could imagine what disaster would follow.

“Young Master, if your rut breaks out and you transform, can you really control yourself in front of the Young Madam in his current state?”

Yutis remained silent at Mark’s serious question.

After a moment of silence, Yutis gritted his teeth and muttered.

“…Do you think I’d kill him?”

“That’s not what I meant!”

“Then what? Or are you planning to stay by my wife’s side instead of me?”

Yutis fiercely glared at Mark.