OPDPS 119

How many times had he come to the bathroom today alone? Connie and Raeler were starting to worry that he must’ve eaten something bad.

But it was all a misunderstanding. Aeryl’s digestive system was functioning perfectly fine. In fact, he was craving sweets like crazy—probably from the mental strain.

Still, he couldn’t help the frequent trips to the bathroom, even at the cost of seeming ridiculous.

“Ughhhh… ughhh…”

Aeryl groaned, clutching his head with both hands.

‘Why is the imperial delegation here? What are they plotting?’

Earlier that morning, a butler returning from the outer quarters had brought news that the Emperor’s delegation had arrived at the Grand Duke’s castle. They were unlikely to come inside the inner quarters, but still—Aeryl had been told to stay alert.

Ever since then, he’d been overwhelmed with fear and anxiety.

‘They’re here for me after all!’

For the imperial delegation to show up the very next day after his run-in with the Emperor’s knight? There was no way that wasn’t connected to him.

‘Is my identity really going to be exposed like this?’

With no further news from the outer quarters, his anxiety only grew worse. He thought about sending someone to inquire, but he couldn’t risk drawing attention.

‘Ughhh! The Emperor! So damn persistent for someone so old and petty! You ignored me from the day I was born, and now this?!’

Aeryl tugged at his hair in silent frustration, pacing restlessly. The only way he could bear the flood of panic and anger was to hide like this—if anyone saw, he’d look insane.

He considered going to his room to lie down, but even that felt suspicious. So he forced himself to stay in the infirmary, pretending to work, and only slipped out to the bathroom when he couldn’t stand it anymore.

Bathroom troubles happen to everyone, right? If nothing came of this, he could always brew up some digestive tonic or laxative tomorrow and claim it was nothing serious.

“I hate this… seriously…”

Aeryl slumped.

Should he just come clean and reveal his identity before it was forced out of him? But what if this wasn’t about him at all? What if he was just jumping to conclusions? The knight had looked him in the eye, but maybe he hadn’t recognized him.

Aeryl had recognized the knight because he’d often seen them from a distance, always at the Emperor’s side. They’d never met face to face.

‘Right! This could be a total coincidence. Maybe it has nothing to do with me! Nobody’s come looking for me yet!’

Someone had dropped by earlier, concerned enough to bring him some high-quality toilet paper as a gift, but that didn’t count! Maybe it really would all blow over.

Aeryl clung to the hopeful thought—until—

Knock knock.

He froze at the sound of the knock on the door.

‘No way. No way…!’

“Doctor, are you going to be long?”

It was Raeler’s voice. Aeryl sighed with relief. He flushed the toilet, washed his hands, retied his hair, and gave himself a little mental pep talk before stepping out.

“Is something wrong? A patient?”

He asked with his usual gentle smile. Nothing in his demeanor betrayed the panic he’d been feeling moments ago.

“Sorry if I interrupted. It’s about time for me to head back, so I just wanted to ask if there was anything else you needed.”

“Ah, it’s that late already?”

The sky outside the window had gone completely dark.

How can it be this late and I still don’t know anything?!

Aeryl wanted to run right back into the bathroom and scream, but he held it in and walked with Raeler back to the infirmary.

Unable to sit still, Aeryl escorted Raeler all the way to the lobby, then wandered around there instead of returning to the infirmary.

‘Why has nothing happened yet? It’s already evening!’

Maybe the delegation really had nothing to do with him. That would be a relief… but what if this was all a ploy to make him drop his guard?

Of course, pacing around the lobby wouldn’t help either way.

‘I must look ridiculous…’

And clearly, he did. The hired staff moving in and out kept glancing at him and chuckling. He was just about to retreat when the front doors swung open.

A gust of cold wind swept in—but Aeryl’s face instantly lit up.

“Your Grace!”

The Grand Duke had just stepped in and, spotting Aeryl, quickened his stride.

“You’re back.”

Aeryl greeted him, trying to read his face. The Grand Duke’s expression was blank, unreadable. His pheromones were stirring, but what that meant, Aeryl couldn’t tell.

“Were you waiting for me?”

Now that he mentioned it, Aeryl realized he had spent the whole day waiting for him. Somewhere deep down, he must’ve believed that the Grand Duke wouldn’t be the one to bring him bad news.

“Yes.”

Aeryl nodded. It wasn’t entirely wrong, after all. But the effect it had on the Grand Duke was significant—his expression softened, and his pheromones turned mellow and hazy.

Is he… happy? Maybe even a little touched?

All Aeryl had done was hang around the lobby, and yet the Grand Duke found it adorable. Aeryl nearly broke into a goofy smile but quickly reined it in.

Now’s not the time to get careless!

He had to ask about the imperial delegation, and he had to do it naturally. But there was so much to hide, it made even broaching the subject difficult. While Aeryl hesitated, the Grand Duke made the first move.

“Would you spare me some time? I have something I’d like to discuss.”

Something to discuss. The words didn’t bring to mind the delegation—they brought up the kiss they’d shared that night in the cellar. Aeryl’s gaze flicked to the Grand Duke’s lips, and he immediately felt ashamed.

‘Why the hell am I thinking about someone’s tongue in a situation like this…’

Was he some kind of pervert? This wasn’t the time to get lost in memories like that. Whatever the Grand Duke wanted to talk about, it was bound to be serious.

“Alright. Would the infirmary be alright? Since you’re here, I could give you a quick check-up.”

His room was off-limits. He might get swept up in the atmosphere again.

Taking the lead, Aeryl grabbed the Grand Duke’s sleeve and led him forward. He briefly wondered if he’d acted too informally, but the Grand Duke followed without resistance. His pheromones were practically dancing with joy.

The two of them entered the infirmary. Aeryl deliberately guided the Grand Duke to the patient’s chair across the desk from him.

Having a desk between them made things feel a little safer. Aeryl poured two glasses of water and set one in front of the Grand Duke and the other in front of himself.

“If Connie were here, she would’ve made tea. But she’s out at the moment.”

Connie had gone off to evening training. During the recent kidnapping incident, she’d shocked him with her martial skills, and now she spoke openly about serving as his bodyguard.

So that’s why she was always vanishing. If she had dual roles like that, it all made sense.

I’ve heard of noblewomen having attendants like that…

It was a little absurd for the Grand Duke to assign someone like that to Aeryl. He was a grown man, and not exactly frail either—not to mention, he wasn’t even part of the ducal family.

‘So he’s been having me guarded all this time.’

Knowing what he did about the Grand Duke’s feelings, the realization that he’d been silently protecting him was moving. But the ache in Aeryl’s chest grew—he already knew how things had to end.

They sat facing each other. Aeryl hesitated over how to bring up the imperial delegation, but the Grand Duke spoke first.

“The emperor’s delegation arrived at the castle without warning. Have you heard?”

“Yes. The butler told me. Does that happen often?”

“No. It’s rare. They make a huge fuss about once a year, but…”

Aeryl remembered hearing about that—the emperor would spend the whole year preparing just to send the delegation as a show of force. It was all dressed up as an attempt to strengthen ties between the two houses, but everyone knew it was really just for show.

“They’ve never shown up unannounced before. From what I’ve seen, this isn’t an official envoy. It looks like the emperor’s knights were carrying out some mission and threw it together in a day. Something about tracking down a traitor who defied imperial command.”

“I see…”

A traitor who defied the emperor. That was clearly referring to him—the runaway youngest prince who’d turned his back on the crown.

So they’d come all this way looking for him.

The imperial knight from yesterday had clearly been convinced he was the youngest prince. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have revealed his identity and come all the way to the Grand Duke’s castle. Aeryl’s face visibly darkened.

“As you’ve probably guessed, the ‘traitor’ story is just a pretense.”

“Right…”

The emperor was still trying to keep it under wraps—that his youngest son had run away. If he openly admitted he was looking for the missing prince, it would be easier to find him—there were so few Omegas, after all.

But that was predictable. To the emperor and the suitors, Aeryl’s worth had always been as a “pure Omega bride of fine lineage who would bear noble heirs.” The fact that he’d run away, acted out, and had done who-knows-what since was a fatal flaw.

They’d marketed him as the perfect marriage candidate and wrung every benefit out of it. But if word got out that he was a disaster behind the scenes, even the emperor wouldn’t be able to manage the backlash. And knowing the emperor’s pride, he’d hate having to make excuses. It was thanks to that pride that escaping had been possible… but maybe that chance was coming to an end.

Just as Aeryl thought that, the Grand Duke said something completely different.

“Snatching up beautiful people from all over the country? Has the emperor lost his mind? Some kind of twisted obsession?”

He sounded genuinely disgusted. Aeryl frowned slightly, confused.

“Beautiful people?”

“Don’t you remember? The emperor’s knights were going around asking after beautiful blondes.”

“I do.”

“Well, during yesterday’s commotion, one of the knights saw you and picked you as a target. He asked specifically to be brought to you. Of course, I refused, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“……?”

“You might not be blonde, but you’re beautiful enough to make up for it.”

Wait—hold on.

So what the Grand Duke was saying… was that the emperor’s knight had chosen him as someone to offer to the emperor?

He was about to become the emperor’s concubine? His own father’s concubine?

Ugh.

Aeryl gagged.

Because of that, he completely missed the Grand Duke’s words. If he’d been listening properly, he would’ve realized the Grand Duke had just unintentionally let slip how beautiful he thought Aeryl was.

But the Grand Duke, who had merely stated things as they were, didn’t even realize it. He was only worried about Aeryl, who looked genuinely distressed.