OPDPS 88

Aeryl shouted toward the Grand Duke and held out his palm. The Grand Duke was so startled he froze.

“I’m sorry! I’ll explain this rudeness later. Just—please, give me a moment. I’ll be right back!”

Aeryl fired off the words like rapid gunfire, then ran off in the opposite direction from the Grand Duke. No one had expected this.

‘Aeryl… rejected me.’

The Grand Duke stood frozen, unable to move from the shock. It felt like falling off a cliff—an overwhelming sense of loss.

‘What did I do wrong? Was he upset about something? Or did something else happen…?’

A storm of thoughts swirled through his mind.

The others, unaware of the situation, just looked at the Grand Duke in stunned confusion. Among them, Rynello openly looked appalled.

‘Wait—what? His Grace is the one chasing after him?’

Why would he need to? Rynello had been sure that even if they were lovers, Aeryl would be the one clinging more desperately. The gap between his assumption and reality left him in shock.

“I’ll go after him,” Mason, who had been standing near Aeryl, offered.

That brought the Grand Duke back to his senses.

“I’ll go. No one else follow me.”

With that, the Grand Duke hurried off in pursuit of Aeryl.

Meanwhile, Aeryl had reached the spot where the horses were tied. He rummaged through a saddlebag and pulled out a pheromone neutralizer, which he sprayed all over himself. He’d brought it just in case—but he hadn’t expected to actually use it like this.

‘They’ll all think I’m acting strange.’

But he had no choice. Raeler’s pheromones were all over his body. He had no idea how an omega’s scent might affect the Grand Duke.

‘He seemed pretty strongly affected when we first met too.’

Aeryl remembered that first encounter. The Grand Duke had manifested after coming into contact with Aeryl’s pheromones. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but looking back, it no longer felt like coincidence.

‘I can’t let something like that happen again.’

He could easily recall the Grand Duke’s fevered, desperate expression back then. And now, the thought of him reacting to another omega’s pheromones felt…

“Aeryl.”

“Eek!”

Urgent footsteps sounded, and the Grand Duke appeared. Of all people, he was the one who had followed.

“Your Highness! Why did you follow me? You can’t come any closer!”

Aeryl waved his hand frantically, backing away. But the Grand Duke didn’t stop. Before long, Aeryl’s back hit a tree, and the distance between them disappeared.

“Your Grace, wait—!”

“Why?”

The Grand Duke grabbed Aeryl’s wrists with both hands. He leaned down and brought his nose close to Aeryl’s palm.

Ah—he’d touched Raeler, so his hands would carry the strongest scent!

“There’s a strange scent.”

The Grand Duke inhaled deeply, eyes closed.

“It’s pheromones. Please step back. They might not be good for your health.”

How could he not smell his own pheromones but immediately detect an omega’s? Maybe it was because he was an alpha too.

So he can smell other people’s pheromones.

That made sense, considering he was an alpha. But somehow, the realization hit Aeryl in a new way. It meant the Grand Duke’s senses were perfectly intact—which, as his physician, should have been reassuring. But instead, an unexpected heaviness settled in his chest.

A touch of irritation rose up, but he looked the Grand Duke over with his eyes. The Grand Duke opened his eyes with a furrowed brow. The moment their gazes met, Aeryl felt his heart plummet.

There was something strangely heated in his eyes—it reminded Aeryl of that first time he manifested.

‘No way.’

Was he imagining it just because he’d been thinking about it earlier? But the Grand Duke’s gaze was more intense than usual.

‘If he’d already been aroused by another omega’s pheromones…’

Aeryl swallowed dryly and watched as the Grand Duke slowly opened his mouth.

“Why are you walking around smelling like another man?”

“…What?”

The unexpected question left Aeryl dumbfounded.

“Give me that.”

The Grand Duke snatched the pheromone neutralizer from Aeryl’s hand and sprayed it over his hands until they were soaked. Then, clearly unsatisfied, he sniffed Aeryl again and sprayed any spot that smelled like Raeler’s pheromones. And then—he suddenly pulled Aeryl into his arms.

“Your Grace?!”

Aeryl’s eyes went wide with shock.

“W-what are you doing?!”

“If I do this, won’t my pheromones rub off on you?”

“And why would you…”

…do that? Aeryl couldn’t finish the sentence.

The Grand Duke’s pheromones enveloped him completely, from head to toe. He quickly tried to push back with his own pheromones—but it was too late.

The Grand Duke’s scent had already settled in, clinging to Aeryl with no room left to escape. He felt completely soaked in it.

In an instant, Aeryl’s head swam and heat surged through his body. His knees buckled, and without realizing it, he grabbed onto the Grand Duke’s arm.

“Your Highness…”

Resting his forehead against the Grand Duke’s chest, Aeryl shook his head.

“Please, Your Highness…”

He’d spoken with confidence earlier, but the truth was that Aeryl had no immunity to alpha pheromones either. Someone get rid of these damn pheromones already—this was heading in a dangerous direction.

“Whose pheromones are those?”

The Grand Duke looked down at Aeryl leaning into him, his face showing both satisfaction and jealousy.

“Ra… Raeler. He’s the son of the inventor. An omega… There was something I needed Your Grace’s permission for…”

Aeryl struggled to speak clearly. He didn’t want to appear disoriented under the Grand Duke’s pheromones. He still had his dignity as a physician!

“Omega or not, don’t go around wearing someone else’s scent.”

“That’s…”

Hard to explain. He was going to bring Raeler into the casty and train him.

“Answer me, Aeryl.”

The Grand Duke coaxed gently. Aeryl had already given up resisting his pheromones and could only nod.

“Good.”

The Grand Duke stroked Aeryl’s hair as if praising him. Aeryl, dazed, found the touch comforting. But then, all of a sudden, his senses snapped back into place—because the Grand Duke’s hand brushed against the frame of his glasses.

“Ah!”

Aeryl jolted in surprise and pushed the Grand Duke away. This time, the Grand Duke retreated without resistance.

“You can’t do this!”

“Do what?”

“The hugging, the wrapping me in pheromones—all of it!”

“You’re the one who came back reeking of someone else’s scent.”

“That’s not the same! This—this is way too much…”

Aeryl’s face turned red. The Grand Duke’s pheromones still lingered, making it feel like he was still being held.

He should make it clear now: showering someone in pheromones like this without their consent was absolutely not acceptable. Aeryl had done so out of medical necessity, but the Grand Duke had no such excuse.

Just as Aeryl prepared to scold him firmly, the Grand Duke said something strange.

“My pheromones are on you?”

“Yes! Very much so!”

“Then why can’t I tell?”

“…What?”

“I could smell that omega’s pheromones earlier, and I knew when they disappeared after you sprayed the neutralizer. But I don’t notice any difference between just after you sprayed and now.”

“…Pardon? That can’t be. Your Grace’s pheromones are still radiating from my body.”

Not being able to smell one’s own pheromones could happen. But being unable to distinguish the difference between just after using the neutralizer and now? That was odd. Even if he couldn’t recognize it as his own scent, he should at least notice a change.

“Try smelling again.”

Aeryl leaned his body toward the Grand Duke, all embarrassment gone, fully switched into doctor mode.

“Do you smell a difference?”

“None.”

“Then what if I spray again?”

Aeryl snatched the neutralizer from the Grand Duke’s hand and sprayed it on himself. The Grand Duke’s pheromones disappeared from wherever the spray touched. The Grand Duke frowned as he watched.

“Can you tell the difference?”

“No.”

“…That’s impossible. Your Highness’s pheromones are now completely gone from my body. You really can’t tell?”

Only then did the Grand Duke’s expression turn grim. Aeryl was stunned.

The Grand Duke hadn’t been unaware that the scent was his own—he hadn’t been able to smell his pheromones at all.

Usually, in the early stages after manifestation, the problem was just lack of recognition. Aeryl had never even considered the alternative.

The vague emotional turmoil that had been clinging to him vanished in an instant. Aeryl fully shifted into researcher mode and began asking questions.

“You can smell my pheromones, right?”

“Of course.”

“And you could smell Raeler’s pheromones earlier.”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

He fell deep into thought, forgetting for a moment that the Grand Duke was right in front of him.

There was no issue with detecting other people’s pheromones. That meant his sensory organs and brain function were normal. Even when he examined him with medical artifacts, the Grand Duke’s body had been perfectly healthy.

‘Which meant, if there was still an abnormal symptom…’

There could only be one explanation: a psychological cause.