OPDSP 17

Because he’d always perceived Aeryl as a man with tousled hair like a dandelion puff and oversized glasses, seeing him like this was a shock. If an omega with a face like that had been out in the world, society wouldn’t have left him alone—yet he was working as a physician. Truly, he was an intriguing person in every sense.

‘I’ll have to look into him more.’

The Grand Duke let go of the hand he was holding. At that, Aeryl quickly turned his head and looked at him.

“You’re awake!”

Aeryl beamed, as if the Grand Duke regaining consciousness was the happiest thing in the world.

Huh?

For a moment, it felt like his heart lurched.

“Oh? What is it? Does your chest hurt?”

“…No. Must’ve imagined it.”

The Grand Duke sat up. What the hell was that just now?

“The drug you took is a type of stimulant, so it might have affected your heart. If the feeling persists, please make sure to tell me. So—how do you feel right now?”

“A stimulant? You fed me that kind of thing?”

Now that he thought about it, Aeryl had said something about giving him medicine before, too. Could it have been the same thing? The Grand Duke’s face hardened in displeasure. Aeryl quickly picked up on it.

“At the time, Your Grace was already in rut, so I gave you a suppressant. This time, it’s the opposite.”

Aeryl rushed to explain.

“As you experienced before, sexual stimulation helped relieve your symptoms. This time, instead of using my pheromones, I did it with a drug. I used an omega heat inducer as a base, but it’s not exactly the same.”

“Hah… an omega heat inducer?”

The Grand Duke looked appalled. For someone who usually kept his emotions so well hidden, that was quite the reaction. Did he have some bad memory related to it?

“I adjusted the herbal blend, so it won’t actually induce heat. I put a lot of care into it—please trust me.”

“So… this is a treatment?”

“Yes. So, in that sense—how are you feeling? Any changes physically?”

Aeryl had already shifted back into doctor mode as he observed the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke gave a general report of how he felt. Aeryl jotted it down in his notebook, then explained that the new drug had been administered and the results so far were promising, before drawing more blood from the Grand Duke’s arm.

“Let’s continue the medication for now and monitor how you respond.”

“Fine.”

Whatever the ingredients were, if it helped his condition, that was a relief. This was only the second day of the subjugation campaign. With more grueling battles ahead, the Grand Duke had no choice but to endure.

“Are you going out to the battlefield tomorrow as well?”

“Of course.”

Aeryl looked displeased, but unlike yesterday, he didn’t argue.

“I’ll come along again tomorrow. So don’t push yourself too far—if it’s too much, just call for me. You can use me as an excuse if needed. Say I made some mistake and you’re scolding me.”

“Joining the combat unit two days in a row must be hard. Aren’t you already exhausted?”

“It is hard… but what can I do? My patient’s being stubborn.”

Aeryl sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

“You’re my very first patient, so I’m giving you special treatment.”

He said it like he was doing the Grand Duke a huge favor, the expression on his face full of smug pride—but strangely, it was reassuring. Probably because he truly was a big help.

The Grand Duke suddenly felt the urge to give him something.

“Think about what you want. Whatever it is, I’ll make it happen.”

This was the Grand Duke—the man second only to the Emperor in power. Whether it was money, possessions, or people, there was nothing he couldn’t procure. It was an opportunity to change Aeryl’s life entirely… and yet, Aeryl didn’t look happy at all. His expression was strange.

“…I’m not sure.”

Even his answer was vague, as though the idea didn’t appeal to him.

“Then rest. I’ll take my leave. People will start waking up soon.”

Aeryl bowed and stepped out. This time, it was an ordinary farewell.

It seemed he was deliberately avoiding court etiquette. But why bother learning it in the first place, then? Truly—he was a suspicious man.

***

“Wow, I said I was fine, but I’m really exhausted.”

Aeryl forced his limp body to keep moving, trudging along with the formation. Today again, the combat unit was out subjugating monsters.

It was the third day of the campaign. Thankfully, things had gone smoothly so far—at least from Aeryl’s perspective.

‘But why does everyone look like they’re dying?’

The front-line knights remained the same, but the middle and rear units—where Aeryl belonged—were completely drained. People barely spoke, and their movements were sluggish compared to usual.

‘They’re all kind of… deflated.’

It wasn’t like they were veterans who’d been out in the field every day like the knights or Aeryl. Most of them were new to battle, so they shouldn’t be this worn out already. Aeryl considered asking what was wrong, but whenever he tried to approach someone, they quietly avoided him.

Aeryl wasn’t slow to pick up on cues, so he caught on quickly.

‘They’re isolating me?’

He’d had a vague sense of being out of place since the beginning. Everyone else seemed to already know each other, and he was the lone stranger—it made sense. He’d also been too busy looking after the Grand Duke to spend energy getting to know people.

But being unfamiliar and being shunned were two different things.

‘Did I do something wrong?’

He had already proven his skills on the first day, so it wasn’t that. He hadn’t clashed with any of the others either—there hadn’t even been a chance to. So then, there was only one possible reason.

‘It’s probably where I’m from.’

He was from the southern part of the Empire. The Empire was split by a large river running through its center, dividing it into the North and South. The two regions had once been separate kingdoms, and their cultures and ethnicities remained distinct.

Though time had passed since the Empire’s unification and people now identified as citizens of the same nation, regionalism still lingered. Especially since the capital was located in the South, tensions had continued to simmer.

‘Even in the palace, factions often split along regional lines.’

It was common for people to band together by hometown and exclude outsiders. In the central region, where people from all over gathered, that was less pronounced—but the farther one moved from the center, the deeper the divisions and the stronger the hostility.

‘And this is the far North. I’m probably the only Southerner here. And this is the Grand Duchy, no less.’

The Grand Duke’s house had once ruled the North and remained powerful enough to be checked even by the Emperor. The Grand Duchy’s people were known for their strong regional pride and a deep-seated wariness of outsiders.

‘Yeah… it’s regionalism.’

He’d braced himself for this when he first came North. He’d even experienced it firsthand while traveling from the center up here—the farther North he went, the colder not only the air, but the people’s treatment of him became.

But once someone opened their heart to you, they cared for you like family. Aeryl had met a few genuinely kind people on his journey, and it was thanks to their help that he hadn’t given up along the way. So, he didn’t resent the North for it.

‘Whether it just takes time or something triggers a change, things will ease up eventually.’

And even if they didn’t—so be it. He hadn’t come here to make friends, and just managing the Grand Duke was more than enough. Still, he was human. It stung.

‘This feeling of being on the outside… it’s like being back in the palace.’

Aeryl had lived with his maternal family until he was fourteen. He’d always been distant from the Emperor and Empress who’d neglected him, and his relationships with his siblings had been awkward at best. He hadn’t been ostracized per se, but there had been no place for him to belong in those pre-existing relationships. He’d carried a sense of quiet alienation with him ever since.

‘Ugh, this is bringing back old memories.’

Just thinking about it made his chest ache. His eyes grew hot, and emotion welled up inside him.

‘Wait… Was I really that sad back then? I don’t think so.’

It hadn’t felt this overwhelming at the time. He hadn’t cared much for his parents or siblings, either. So why did he feel like crying now?

While flustered by the sudden surge of emotion, someone stepped in front of him.

“Hey.”

Startled, Aeryl looked up. The Grand Duke Asirion was standing in front of him.

“Pull yourself together.”

“Ah…”

Only then did he realize he’d been standing still, staring at the ground. The baggage handlers were already collecting the monster corpses—clearly, the battle had ended.

“Sorry… I just suddenly…”

“Your emotions must’ve spiked. That’s how it is around here.”

It was said that the aura from the mountain disrupted reason and amplified emotion. No wonder it had felt so strange. Those memories shouldn’t have been painful—yet they’d hit him like a wave.

Now that he was aware of it, his mind cleared, and the storm in his chest began to calm.

“You’re right. I get it now. I’m fine.”

“Good.”

The Grand Duke stared quietly at Aeryl’s face, as if trying to confirm whether he really had returned to normal.

‘Was he… worried about him? No way.’