DSB 119

The ballroom was in a state of intense excitement due to the events at the temple. Eager to learn every detail of the divine manifestation, those who were unable to enter the temple gathered around the witnesses.

Even those who missed the event could watch it at any time through visual orbs. As soon as the New Year’s festival concluded, the priests quickly vanished, claiming they needed to immediately interpret the oracle.

‘So, they intend to decipher those words…’

The first sentence was one thing, but the moment the oracle mentioned a “betrothal,” it was obvious who the “beloved child” referred to.

Lebel sighed as he watched the priests with their sparkling eyes and the nobles who were still gossiping.

‘This is going to be a headache.’

In reality, the trouble had already started. Curious onlookers lingered near Lebel, casting inquisitive glances at him while he stood alone.

‘Perhaps I should have stayed by Yutis.’

However, he shook his head as he looked at Yutis, who was currently buried under a mountain of people. Too many individuals were rushing to greet him. The crowd was even denser because people were hovering nearby just to catch a glimpse of the holy sword.

He wondered if he should stand with his father or his father-in-law instead, but they were just as popular.

Luceris sat regally on Edmund’s shoulder. He seemed to enjoy the respectful gazes of the crowd and kept his back straight and proud. Meanwhile, Edmund was preoccupied with his vassals, discussing the current trends within the Empire.

The Round Table was scheduled for tomorrow, yet they were already debating the demonic beasts’s movements and imperial affairs right here in the ballroom. It seemed their anxiety was quite severe.

Damian was no different. He had tried to introduce Lebel to several noblemen he knew, but Lebel had avoided him. Damian glared at him from across the room, but Lebel simply ignored him.

He had already been hounded with questions from the moment he entered with Yutis. He had slipped away once he grew tired of it and had no intention of suffering through that again.

‘I’ve dealt with enough for today.’

Damian seemed to have given up on the introductions. He was now deep in conversation regarding his territory. The men discussed local specialties and calculated the potential profits of trade with the Empire. They debated how much wealth this would bring to their families beyond the Northern borders.

Lebel had nothing to contribute to such a conversation.

One side contemplated war with the Empire while the other discussed trade. It was a strange contrast. Regardless of the war, it was a good thing for Northern goods to reach the Empire. He heard they had already opened several routes and were maintaining exchanges with neighboring regions.

Lebel leaned against a wall, isolated from any group. Some people stole glances at him with eyes full of curiosity, but none dared to approach.

A few had already tried. They had left with bruised egos because Lebel ignored their questions, or they had retreated, intimidated by his blank stare.

‘So this is high society.’

Humans led such exhausting lives. They draped themselves in pretension and lingered around others, swallowing their pride just to catch a few crumbs of profit.

Lebel leaned his back against the wall and endured the boredom. Just then, he noticed a passing attendant refilling wine glasses.

Alcohol was the only human sustenance he truly understood. Many demons in the Demon Realm were obsessed with drink, so he had partaken often during their gatherings.

Lebel took a glass. The wine was moderately sweet and quite palatable. As he sipped and watched the humans, someone approached him.

He raised his head, wondering what kind of greed drove this person to seek him out. His eyebrows twitched.

It was not a stranger. Jorsen greeted Lebel with a soft, fake smile.

“I apologize for not greeting you sooner. I am Jorsen Teruo. I have been a close friend of Yutis since childhood.”

“…If you are so close, why aren’t you over there with him?”

“I did go, actually, but he told me to get lost quite coldly. I was a bit surprised. I didn’t think he would say such a thing to me…”

It seemed Yutis was keeping his word from earlier.

“So you came here instead?”

“I was curious about his wife as well.”

If Lebel had to be honest, he was curious about Jorsen too, though not for any pleasant reason.

“Everyone was skeptical, you see,” Jorsen said with a smirk. “They wondered who could possibly endure Yutis’s rut. I certainly couldn’t manage it.”

Jorsen spoke with a grin, acting as if he didn’t realize how offensive his words were. The “everyone” he mentioned certainly referred to people who laughed along with such crude remarks.

“I personally enjoyed it.”

“…Pardon?”

Lebel ignored Jorsen’s flustered response and asked a question of his own.

“Are you a knight?”

“Ah, that is correct. Did Yutis tell you?”

“I can tell just by looking at you. Your aura is quite distinct.”

Yet, he still fears Yutis.

Was that form so threatening? To think a so-called friend would be this way. He is colder than a demon. One can never really grasp the standards of humans.

“You may speak honestly. I was in the same position once, so I completely understand.”

Jorsen simply could not believe it. He stared at the person before him, unable to fathom how he had endured Yutis’s rut. Jorsen himself had failed. To be precise, he had been too busy fearing for his life to even try.

His father had described the state before, but the reality was nothing like the stories. The glowing eyes had perceived Jorsen not as a companion, but as prey to be devoured.

A shiver ran through Jorsen’s body at the memory of that mortal terror. This was why he found it impossible to trust Lebel’s claim. Anyone who had witnessed that sight would have been too busy fleeing to think of staying.

That monster sought only to sate a primal hunger during his rut. Pheromones were nothing more than a scent trail that revealed where the prey had hidden.

The scars on Jorsen’s arm, left by the beast’s teeth, seemed to ache anew.

Yutis had always been remarkable, even as a child. He was never ordinary as a human, so how could a normal person like Jorsen hope to suppress or endure him once he became a monster?

“Are you hard of hearing? Or do you simply lack the wit to understand my words?”

Jorsen, who had been clutching his own arm, let go and looked up. He flinched.

At the temple, he thought this man looked like someone who belonged in the sunlight. Now, Lebel’s red eyes glowed like a predator hidden in the darkness. He looked as if he were watching a target.

“I was perfectly fine.”

“I… I see. That is fortunate.”

Jorsen answered hesitantly.

He had not expected this reaction. He had approached Lebel out of pity. He assumed that because the “monster” had spent his rut with Lebel, Yutis now viewed the man as his omega. Every time someone tried to approach Lebel, Yutis glared at them with bared teeth. Lebel, however, seemed entirely oblivious as he scanned the crowd.

As an omega himself, Jorsen knew the extent of an alpha’s obsession with a perceived mate. He wanted to warn Lebel, who seemed too peaceful for his own good, unaware that someone was driving away everyone who came near him.

The general consensus was that Yutis was a decent man, despite the flaw of his transformation. He was blunt and fierce in appearance, yet he knew how to be considerate. However, Jorsen knew it was dangerous to be deluded by such traits.

As one person to another, Yutis was fine. As an alpha to an omega, he was an absolute nightmare.

“Is that all you have to say?”

Lebel’s attitude was frustratingly innocent.

“Ah, no. I wish to clear up the misunderstanding from earlier. Have you heard about the nature of the relationship between Yutis and me?”

“What about it specifically?”

“…You haven’t heard. That is just like him.”

Yutis had the virtue of keeping secrets even when he could defend himself, but for Jorsen, it was a source of irritation.

“Yutis and I have been friends since childhood. Because our families are close, we were once engaged. It was simply a discussion between houses. There is nothing between us for you to misunderstand.”

Lebel let out a low, melodic laugh. Jorsen looked down at him and saw a confident smirk on his lips.

“I can tell he does not love you simply by the way he looks at you. The light in his eyes is different when he looks at me.”

Jorsen’s mouth gaped at Lebel’s boastful tone.

“Well, I was annoyed at the time. I sensed something had happened between you two. But that is in the past now. You are the loser, and I am the winner.”

“I am… the loser?”

At that moment, Lebel’s eyes flashed. He saw something else swirling within Jorsen’s turbulent emotions.

The word “loser” dragged Jorsen’s mood into the dirt. Perhaps it was because they played together as children, but he had always been compared to Yutis.

He had always felt a subtle sense of inferiority. Now, Yutis had even been chosen by God.

His manifestation as an omega had also been a blow to his pride. Alphas were physically superior in every way. For a knight, where natural build was everything, it felt like an injustice. The gap between them only widened with each passing day.

Then came the engagement. He could not inherit his family line, but the match was for the good of the North. Jorsen had been full of confidence back then.

Unlike other omegas, he believed he could handle Yutis. He failed. He realized the truth the moment he stood before him. The others had not fled because they were weak or cowardly.

The pheromones and that alien, mindless form, that was not Yutis.

Damian was the anomaly for having endured that transformation. Jorsen finally understood why the great houses had debated the matter of the Hestro consort for generations.

He did not want to die, so he rebelled against his father to break the engagement. Deep down, he had been certain that no omega could ever handle that man. Yet here one stood, claiming they were on good terms.

This slender omega before him seemed to be bragging about surviving it.

“Because I am the one who has Yutis.”