DSB 70

“You need only weep before me. Your tears are so beautiful, anyone who sees them would covet them.”

“Do you think humans could make me cry? Only you. You alone can make me weep, and you alone are permitted to witness such a thing.”

A flicker of amusement danced in Lebel’s eyes. Yutis clenched his teeth. The thrill made him want to devour him once more.

Seeing hid expression harden, Lebel asked curtly.

“Do you regret it?”

“…No. I’m grateful.”

“Grateful? Why? Was it good?”

“If it hadn’t been, would I have gone this far?”

“Hmm, I suppose you’re right.”

Yutis carefully lifted Lebel into his arms. The once-pale skin bore traces of Yutis’s lips in numerous places. Some areas on the arms and legs had turned a faint purple, as if it were beginning to bruise. Yutis’s brow furrowed.

He rubbed the marks he’d left behind, unable to control his strength.

“Does it hurt?”

“Of course it hurts.”

“I’m sorry. I should have held back…”

“If you’d held back, I’d have felt worse. This doesn’t even count as a scratch.”

Lebel exhaled a languid breath and leaned against Yutis’s body. The ceaseless trembling ceased as he was cradled in his broad embrace, and the warmth lulled his toward sleep.

“Everything’s fine… but my body feels sticky…”

“I’ll wash you. Rest easy.”

“No… I promised to remember, so I have to stay awake until the end…”

“It’s enough. I’m worried you’ll harm yourself if you keep this up.”

“Yutis.”

“Yes. Speak.”

Yutis tilted his ear, wanting to hear the whisper. Lebel spoke with a smile at the corner of his mouth.

“How was it? I told you I could do it. I can do it again next time too. If you want to, just tell me anytime. I’m fine with it.”

Yutis held his breath at the unabashed remark. Lebel wrapped his limp arms around Yutis. Hearing the Omega who’d spent the night with him say he was satisfied filled Yutis with contentment, and his lower abdomen felt heavy once more.

“But… I’m getting sleepy.”

Lebel’s body and soul had feasted to their fill on Yutis’s pheromones and demonic energy. It was a rare binge. So rare that this level of satiety felt entirely new. Overwhelmed by fullness, sleep washed over Lebel. Watching Lebel nod off, Yutis suppressed his own desire and said,

“Sleep well.”

“Don’t you dare go anywhere.”

“…Where exactly do you think I’d go?”

Muttering something indistinct, Lebel finally succumbed to sleep. He should have passed out long ago. He’d only held on stubbornly.

Yutis gently brushed the tear-soaked lashes of Lebel’s eyelids with his finger. Then he kissed Lebel’s lips, cheeks, and forehead.

Yutis gazed down at Lebel in silence. The moment Lebel’s heat cycle began, the feverish heat made it impossible to control his body, yet he still craved Yutis.

He wanted only me. He said it was only me.

Those words made him insanely happy.

Even in heat, accepting an alpha’s full desire for an omega must have been exhausting and difficult, yet he didn’t flee. He accepted it all to the end.

Seeing Lebel seductively tempting him, Yutis couldn’t maintain his sanity. Not even in rut, his body raged out of control. And throughout it all, he never uttered a single pained groan, only cries of pleasure.

For a long while afterward, Yutis held Lebel tightly in his arms, motionless.

***

Yutis gazed out at the garden blanketed in fresh snow. Winter in the north was already nearing its end. Beside him, construction workers were preparing estimates.

“Once the snow is cleared, construction can begin immediately.”

“I’d like to get started soon.”

“Certainly. The foundation is already prepared, so it should be finished quickly.”

Though he chatted with the builder about this and that, his mind was entirely occupied with thoughts of Lebel. Building the garden was important, but he longed to rush to his side and tend to him.

Lebel’s heat cycle was long. The heat wouldn’t easily subside, and he couldn’t recall how many times they’d mated. Unable to refuse Lebel’s clinging, as if it were never enough, he’d been swept along in the moment.

Once was difficult, but two or three times were easier.

Perhaps it was because their bodies had repeatedly heated up and cooled down during mating in the heat cycle, but Lebel was currently suffering from a cold.

It felt as if it were entirely his fault.

Yutis sighed, looking up toward Lebel’s room.

Mark and Illa had reassured him that calming the heat was the priority, but it offered little comfort. Every time Lebel coughed, his heart lurched.

“First the heat, now a cold?” Lebel sighed, pressing his hand to his forehead. He didn’t blame Yutis.

Since he wouldn’t be able to go for walks for a while, Yutis wanted to finish the garden for him quickly. He hoped the world seen through the window would be beautiful. He wanted him to eat delicious things and fill his eyes only with beauty.

And when spring came, they would walk together in the garden.

For Lebel, who had spent the winter shivering in the cold while staring at nothing but snow, he desperately wanted to show him the warm northern spring bursting with flowers.

“If you like ornate decorations, how about we build a fountain here? Shall we add ornaments on top of the fountain basin to make it more splendid?”

“Won’t it be difficult to maintain?”

While a fountain sounded appealing, the cold weather risked freezing the water solid. Even in spring, the northern region’s early season remained chilly.

His wife, in particular, was sensitive to the cold. Though he rejoiced at the thaw after the blizzard, he himself was shivering with a cold.

“If the water freezes as it flows, that too would be beautiful.”

“…Not a bad idea. The young madam does love sparkly things.”

The ice reflecting sunlight would be lovely. Thinking of Lebel smiling at the sight brought a smile to his own lips. But it was fleeting; recalling Lebel, who was always coughing, darkened Yutis’s expression.

The construction worker beside him observed Yutis, seemingly focused on his words yet clearly distracted elsewhere.

Rumors that the precious young madam had collapsed again were rampant throughout the castle.

“I heard the young madam has caught a cold.”

“His constitution is particularly sensitive to the cold, so we worry constantly.”

Yutis’s excessive concern for Lebel was legendary throughout the domain. The construction worker smiled warmly. Though their marriage had been politically arranged and Lebel was an imperial prince, he was a gentle and affectionate man. That must have melted Yutis’s once-icy heart. Moreover, they had weathered the difficult period of his rut together, a time everyone else had shunned.

“Isn’t Young Master taking good care of him? I hear he’s much healthier now compared to the beginning.”

Considering his malnourished state at first, he had indeed improved greatly. He could now release pheromones and had successfully navigated his heat cycle.

“Everyone is concerned. We must present grandchildren to the Master, but his health remains fragile.”

Yutis’s expression hardened. The construction worker failed to notice the chill in his gaze.

As a member of the estate, worrying about the new heir who would lead the Hestro family was only natural, especially since the Hestro bloodline was precious.

“This isn’t a matter for you to prattle on about.”

“Pardon?”

The construction worker stammered, meeting Yutis’s frozen expression.

“I-I was just… concerned about the young madam’s health…”

“Worry is my concern. Get back to work.”

“I-I’m sorry…!”

The construction worker rattled off various pieces of advice, trying to make up for his earlier slip. Meanwhile, Yutis’s mind was in turmoil.

Something he had tried hard to bury resurfaced.

Whether the bloodline of demons truly existed or not, the Hestro family had produced strong children generation after generation. Because of this, even conceiving was difficult, and childbirth was even more so.

The previous head of the family, Edmund’s father, had remarried multiple times in pursuit of an heir. This fueled relentless, grim rumors.

Edmund himself had said he would have given up on marriage had he not met Damian. Some ancestors, fully aware of the situation, declared they would remain childless, but this was not tolerated.

The North needed a strong leader.

The demonic beasts grew stronger each day, demanding a mighty warrior to vanquish them. And that warrior was always a member of the Hestro family, said to carry the bloodline of demons.

That is why the North, while whispering that demonic blood flowed through the Hestro family, still served them. The powerful individuals born into the Hestro family were the driving force to survive the harsh North.

Yutis had no intention of forsaking his family duty. Yet he also refused to stand by while his wife wasted away. Deep down, he hoped Lebel would never meet the vassals.

For even if the vassals acknowledged Lebel’s existence, the consequences would be disastrous.

“I absolutely cannot let that happen. He is my beloved wife…”

Yutis murmured softly, his resolve firm.

He understood the importance of an heir. The reason some suggested accepting even the half-baked Lebel, was solely for the sake of succession.

Yutis was said to possess bloodlines even purer than Edmund’s. The hardships his wife would endure if he became pregnant and gave birth were all too predictable.

If it works, great. If not, oh well, let’s at least try. That must have been their reasoning. Yutis smiled bitterly.

Dominant Omegas weren’t entirely absent in the North. Yet those who aspired to be the North’s mistress fled upon seeing Yutis, transformed into a monster. Some were even injured.

Of course they’d recoil.

The same pattern repeated itself from childhood until now. Until he met Lebel.