OPDSP 14

There was no way the Grand Duke hadn’t noticed. Yet he wore the same indifferent expression as always.

Is he pretending not to notice?

It was a mature sort of courtesy—fitting for a man in his position. Honestly, Aeryl had been worried the Grand Duke would wake up furious, demanding to know what had been done to him while he was unconscious. After all, smearing pheromones all over someone you had no relationship with, as if marking territory, was seriously out of line.

“What happened last night?”

“Ah, well, that was…”

At the Grand Duke’s question, Aeryl explained everything from the moment he found him collapsed. He glossed over the part about deliberately releasing seductive pheromones to raise his levels, and the Grand Duke didn’t press for details there either. That made it easier for Aeryl to share his thoughts comfortably.

“Here are the test results.”

He handed over the sheet from the diagnostic tool. After Aeryl’s emergency pheromone intervention, the Grand Duke’s levels had returned to normal. But over time, they’d slowly begun to drop again.

“Your pheromone levels are continuing to decline. If this keeps up, you’ll collapse again like you did last night. Something’s wrong with your body—but as of now, there’s no way to pinpoint what.”

The only proper equipment on hand was the magic tool for blood tests. Anything beyond that was out of reach for the moment. And Aeryl had never seen a case where someone’s pheromone levels dropped so drastically after a manifestation.

Pheromones were closely tied to both physical and mental health. If there was something off about them, it meant something was seriously wrong—either with the Grand Duke’s body or his mind.

‘He looks perfectly fine on the surface…’

Aeryl looked at him, concern etched on his face.

“This could hinder the purge.”

The Grand Duke frowned slightly. Aeryl was caught off guard.

“You’re worried about that now? When your body might have a serious issue?”

“Isn’t the purge obviously the priority?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Carrying out the Great Purge is my duty as the Grand Duke. I come after that.”

Huh? What was that supposed to mean? Aeryl had to think it over for a moment before it clicked.

He sees being the Grand Duke as a role—and fulfilling that role is more important than himself.

From another perspective, it also meant he made a sharp distinction between the title and his personal identity. A rather unusual mindset.

“What if we kept using your pheromones?”

“…Pardon?”

“If you keep doing what you did at dawn, I should be able to continue the purge without issue.”

So he was supposed to just stay at the Grand Duke’s side all day and keep thinking dirty thoughts? Aeryl felt a chill run down his spine.

“Even so… you can’t seriously expect someone to do that…”

“Is it difficult?”

“Isn’t it? Thinking erotic thoughts all day, nonstop, is a bit…”

“…What do you mean by that? Erotic thoughts?”

The Grand Duke raised an eyebrow. Aeryl froze.

“W-what? Your Grace told me to do that.”

“I said to use your pheromones like before.”

“Exactly! You told me to release the kind of pheromones that seduce you! And to do that I have to think—think dirty thoughts and—!”

That’s when Aeryl realized—the Grand Duke had no idea what he was talking about. He wasn’t pretending. He was genuinely confused.

“Your Grace… can you even tell that my pheromones are still on you?”

“Yes. I noticed the scent was stronger than usual. Is that a problem?”

The Grand Duke’s face remained blank, but Aeryl saw it—the sincere curiosity in his eyes.

It hit him. The Grand Duke had only manifested two days ago. That’s why he couldn’t interpret the meaning behind Aeryl’s pheromones. For adults, these signals were obvious. But for someone still new—like an innocent child—they didn’t register at all.

The Grand Duke… is a baby!

Aeryl was mildly shocked.

The perfect man, the epitome of masculinity—Hiello Asirion—was completely innocent. At least when it came to pheromones.

Looking back, Aeryl remembered how confused he’d been right after his own manifestation, unable to distinguish between others’ scents. Just like teenagers going through puberty, newly manifested individuals needed education and training, too.

‘So then what the hell did I just do…? To someone who had no idea what was happening…?’

Aeryl’s face turned so red it looked like it might explode. He couldn’t bear to look at the Grand Duke and lowered his head.

“…I see what you meant.”

The Grand Duke understood the situation from Aeryl’s words and reaction. He even grasped the effort Aeryl had put in throughout the night.

“It would certainly… be difficult to keep that up.”

“…Yes.”

“……”

“……”

A brief silence fell. Aeryl’s head sank lower and lower, as though weighed down by the silence.

‘Just tease me already! Get mad or something! Saying nothing is even worse!’

“…Could you at least say something?”

“…You’ve been through a lot.”

The moment the Grand Duke offered sympathy, Aeryl felt even more humiliated.

“…I’ll look for other methods. I do have one idea, but I’m not sure if it’ll help yet.”

“Understood. But today’s purge is the immediate concern.”

“Today? Don’t tell me you’re going out again today?”

“I must.”

“You can’t!”

Aeryl panicked and blocked him.

“Your condition is far too unstable! You need to rest! Fighting like this is too dangerous!”

“I can’t afford to rest.”

“Why not?!”

“I explained before—if I do, morale will fall.”

“That’s no excuse! I object!”

“Must I convince you, then?”

Aeryl was momentarily speechless.

Wow, way to shut a guy down.

Did he have to be so cold about it? Using authority like a club?

In that moment, Aeryl saw a familiar image in the Grand Duke—the Emperor. Was every powerful man like this? It was exactly the kind of person Aeryl hated most.

He tried to calm himself, deciding to treat the Grand Duke as he did the Emperor—like someone to handle diplomatically. But the anger still bubbled up, and he muttered under his breath,

“…Clung to me all night and now you’re acting like this…”

“What?”

The Grand Duke blinked. Though he’d clearly heard it, he still couldn’t believe it.

“You heard me.”

Aeryl gave a slight bow, then stormed out of the tent. Even he couldn’t handle what he’d just said, so he fled. Despite the rush, his ingrained palace etiquette was flawless.

“……”

The Grand Duke stared after him, utterly dumbfounded. He had never been treated like that in his life.

“…Truly… is he fearless or what…”

To challenge someone like him, with absolutely no backing, was almost admirable.

He really is strange…

His attitude wasn’t what you’d expect from someone so bold. There was something strangely informal in the way he treated the Grand Duke—second only to the Emperor himself. Most people would be tense just standing in his presence, regardless of status.

And it wasn’t like Aeryl was clueless or thoughtless. In fact, despite all that, his bow just now had followed perfect court etiquette.

A fallen noble? What kind of fallen noble uses palace etiquette like that so naturally?

Something didn’t add up. The information about Aeryl and his actions didn’t match. Which meant either the information or the behavior was false.

There’s a lot suspicious about him. But…

He was a discreet, capable doctor. More importantly, he genuinely cared about the Grand Duke. A bit rude, perhaps, but his honesty made him easier to deal with.

He’s not dangerous.

For some reason, the Grand Duke suddenly recalled the glimpse of a bright red ear poking through messy brown hair. In that moment, the firm line of his mouth unconsciously softened—though he didn’t realize it himself.

***

Day Two of the purge.

Despite Aeryl’s objections, the Grand Duke once again stood at the head of the combat unit. Since Aeryl was the only one who could respond to his condition, he had no choice but to follow. This was highly unusual.

Normally, aside from the vanguard knights, the composition of the combat unit changed daily. The strain of entering and exiting the forest made that necessary.

‘People were definitely giving me weird looks.’

Especially the military doctors and medics—Aeryl could feel their stares. I haven’t even introduced myself properly yet. What did I even do? He was still stuck in limbo, only ever told to “wait.”

So this is what it means to be the outsider.

This place was even more remote than that village. Somehow, it felt worse than when he’d first arrived there.