OPDPS 120

‘Emperor, me, concubine.’

It was an impossible combination, but just the words alone triggered a visceral disgust.

“Aeryl? Are you okay? You look really shocked. I figured you’d find out eventually, so I just said it… I didn’t realize it would upset you this much.”

“Ah, no. No, I’m fine.”

Aeryl drank some water to settle his nausea as he tried to collect his thoughts.

The Emperor had concealed who he was searching for to hide Aeryl’s escape. The imperial knights, relying on the most striking clues from Aeryl’s time in the palace—his long golden hair and beautiful face—had tracked him down, which sparked the rumor that the Emperor was collecting golden-haired beauties.

Since the Grand Duke had heard that rumor first, he had jumped to conclusions the moment an imperial knight showed up and demanded Aeryl’s return.

‘Serves him right!’

The Emperor had stubbornly tried to sell Aeryl off at the highest price until the very end, only to be branded a lecherous old man chasing after pretty faces despite having a grandson! In the end, the Emperor’s own greed had shielded Aeryl once more.

‘Phew. At least my identity hasn’t been exposed. What a relief.’

The Grand Duke’s reaction had made him suspicious, but now that it was confirmed, Aeryl felt a deep wave of relief wash over him. He wanted to collapse into bed then and there, but there was one more thing he needed to check.

“Still… even if it’s an imperial order and the Emperor’s knight, is it really okay to defy them?”

The Emperor was petty, and he might seize this chance to pick a fight with the Grand Duke. It wasn’t that people followed his orders out of respect—they obeyed out of fear of the consequences.

“What’s so special about that?”

The Grand Duke spoke with nonchalance. If anyone else had said that, it would’ve sounded like bluster, but coming from him, it was reassuring.

“You are a man of House Asirion. Emperor or not, his knights or not, no one takes what’s mine without my say.”

“Your Grace…”

“House Asirion and its people will protect you.”

At those words, Aeryl’s chest swelled with emotion.

Neither his mother’s family nor the palace had ever made him feel like he belonged. With no true family or siblings, he’d always been on the outside looking in, never really a part of anything. But here in the North, through the Great Purge, for the first time, he’d felt a sense of belonging within the purge unit. It felt so good to be genuinely connected to others, to not be alone.

‘I tried to keep my distance once I arrived at the Grand Duke’s castle…’

Part of it was to conceal his identity, but another part was the fear that he’d have to leave again someday. And yet, the people in the castle had already embraced him as one of their own. There had been misunderstandings, sure, but in the end, the bonds he’d built were real.

Feeling tears prickle at the corners of his eyes, Aeryl gave a small sniff.

“I thought it might ease your mind.”

“It did.”

Even so, the Grand Duke’s gaze lingered with concern. With a gentle touch, he tucked Aeryl’s hair behind his ear. Aeryl flinched at the brush of fingers along his earlobe, then quickly forced a smile, embarrassed by his overly sensitive reaction.

The Grand Duke gazed at him steadily. A faint, sweet scent drifted between them.

It reminded Aeryl of a dessert: thinly shaved ice drizzled with fruit syrup. It was definitely the Grand Duke’s pheromones—but something about it was different. Aeryl instinctively tried to focus on the difference, but then quickly realized this wasn’t the time.

‘If I let this go on, the mood’s going to turn strange again.’

He hurriedly deployed his own pheromones to block out the Grand Duke’s and turned his head to avoid being swayed by the man’s infuriatingly good looks.

“…You should stop doing things like this.”

His voice was firm, but under the table, his hand was clenched into a tight fist. He needed to hold on to something to steady himself.

“Doing what?”

The Grand Duke asked, even though he had a sinking feeling no good answer would come. But since Aeryl had said “stop,” he couldn’t just pretend not to hear it.

“The inappropriate things between us.”

“Inappropriate…? Are you married? Do you have a lover?”

Though he already knew Aeryl had no such ties, the Grand Duke frowned as he asked, irritated by the very idea.

“No! I don’t! I had suitors, but it was all one-sided.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

The word ‘suitors’ irked him, but he kept his focus on the conversation—for now. He’d get to the bottom of that later.

“We have a unique relationship. And circumstances,” Aeryl continued.

“His Grace’s condition is unstable, and I believe the cause is psychological. We’ve kept this fact a secret. In such a situation, it’s possible you could develop feelings beyond mere affection for me, his attending physician. And besides, we’re an Alpha and an Omega. It’s easy to be swayed by instinctual urges.”

The more Aeryl spoke, the darker the Grand Duke’s expression became. It hurt Aeryl, too, but he didn’t stop.

“I felt that, as your doctor, I needed to draw a clear line when His Grace became emotionally vulnerable. I should’ve acted sooner… I’m sorry for the delay.”

He bowed deeply. The sight stirred a storm of emotions in the Grand Duke’s heart.

“Haa…”

That single sigh revealed the depth of his turmoil—anger, disbelief, helplessness, and despair all at once.

Memories of struggling to suppress his own emotions surged up in a wave of futility. Nothing had ever reached Aeryl—so what had been the point of all that restraint?

“So you’re telling me… not to like you?”

“I only meant to set a boundary. If it came off that way, I apologize.”

“You really are… impossible to predict. After a kiss like that, I didn’t expect an apology.”

“I’m sorry. I know it must feel awful now, but in the long run, I believe this is what’s best for Your Grace.”

“You really mean it’s for my sake?”

The Grand Duke asked sharply. Aeryl shut his mouth and gave a small nod. His chest was so heavy it made even that small answer hard to give.

“And what about your feelings?”

“Do they matter?”

“They do. I clearly remember your arms around my neck.”

“That was…”

He honestly hadn’t given it much thought. He was hiding his identity, part of the imperial family that opposed the Grand Duke’s house, and the Grand Duke’s attending physician. As soon as Derbas could be silenced for good, he planned to leave.

It wasn’t as if he could accept the Grand Duke’s feelings anyway—so whatever he felt didn’t matter. That’s why he chose to sum it up in one word.

“It was a mistake.”

“A mistake?”

The Grand Duke felt dizzy. A mistake? What kind of cowardly excuse was that?

Aeryl had always been the one to come closer. He’d been the one to lean in, to embrace and comfort him, and when the Grand Duke tried to pull away, he’d drawn him back in and broken down his defenses.

You said you wanted to understand me. That you were on my side. That it hurt when I pushed you away. And now you’re the one drawing the line?

The Grand Duke felt like his heart was being ripped apart. He even felt wronged enough to resent Aeryl.

But maybe because he’d spent so long keeping his feelings separate from his thoughts, even as his emotions boiled over, part of him calmly retraced their memories, searching for the truth in Aeryl’s words.

It wasn’t a mistake.

No matter how he looked at it, Aeryl wasn’t the kind of person who would do something he considered inappropriate by accident. His actions and attitude had been sincere. Every moment between them had been real.

If that wasn’t genuine, then I have no reason to back down.

The Grand Duke resolved to shatter the line Aeryl had drawn.

“Fine. Very well.”

He stood with a frustrated swipe of his hair.

Was that the end of it? Even though things had gone exactly as he’d intended, Aeryl’s heart didn’t feel any lighter. But instead of turning away, the Grand Duke made a declaration.

“Let’s find out if it really was a mistake.”

“What?”

How was he supposed to do that?

Before Aeryl could object, the Grand Duke tilted his chin up with a finger. His eyes locked onto Aeryl’s with an unwavering intensity. The probing gaze made Aeryl’s lashes tremble. His glasses might’ve disguised the color of his eyes, but they did nothing to hide the storm within.

“You really shouldn’t…”

“I’m not doing anything. Just an experiment.”

The Grand Duke leaned in over the table, bracing himself with one hand.

“An experiment—your favorite thing, isn’t it?”

How could he say that now?

As Aeryl thought him cruel, the Grand Duke’s shadow fell over him, and the distance between their faces narrowed. Just as he said, they stopped with only a breath between them.

Too close.

Their lips didn’t touch, but the Grand Duke’s breath tickled his lips.

He remembered their last kiss—how his lips had parted and how that warm breath had teased at them…

Aeryl exhaled sharply without meaning to.

“What do you think?”

The Grand Duke whispered low. The sound of his voice tickled Aeryl’s ears, making him want to squeeze his eyes shut, but instead, he lowered his gaze. If he closed his eyes now, he might let it happen again.

But that wasn’t a wise choice either. The Grand Duke tilted his head just like he did when he kissed him. Aeryl could see the shift in his lips, the way their noses aligned.

He swallowed hard.

“I think you already know.”