By Zephyria 
“I’m sorry, Koi. It’s because of me.”
He knew it well. The cause of all these accidents was none other than Ashley Dominic Miller. If it weren’t for Ashley, there was no way the children Koi gave birth to would have all been Extreme Alphas. If they had only manifested normally during adolescence, many of the problems would have been reduced, but they didn’t even have that kind of luck.
While feeling deep guilt and a sense of debt toward Koi, the option of letting him go simply did not exist for Ashley. If that was the case, there was only one answer: to tailor everything around him to fit Koi. Until Koi was satisfied, until he felt happiness. This applied even to his own children.
It’s okay. I know this trait better than anyone.
As he recalled the face of the man he had tried to forget, his brow furrowed instinctively. And as he thought of his children, who resembled that man so much, he began to calmly and systematically plan the steps ahead.
Koi was discharged from the hospital a week later. The employees waiting at the mansion looked at his gaunt face with worry, sparing no words of concern.
In truth, he could have been discharged immediately, but Ashley had opposed it. Koi guessed that as the time spent in the hospital grew longer, Ashley seemed to be becoming more cautious in how he treated him.
“Thank you for worrying about me. It wasn’t that serious, so I’m fine.”
Koi thanked the employees as he entered the mansion. Though only a week had passed, for some reason, the place felt entirely different from the one he had known. Unable to hide his awkwardness, he hesitated as he walked.
“Ah!”
Just as he was about to step onto the stairs, someone suddenly scooped him up. Koi let out a short scream of surprise, but soon sighed in relief upon seeing the familiar face looking down at him.
“I can walk, Ash.”
“You’re sick.”
Ashley added in a firm yet gentle tone.
“You’re the one who insisted on being discharged when you should have stayed in the hospital longer. So, just do as I say this time. Don’t overdo it and rest in your room, okay?”
“Mm-hmm…”
Koi nodded reluctantly, but something was weighing on his mind.
“The lectures… they must have started…”
“Next time.”
Once again, Ashley readily brushed his words aside.
“They do it every year, so you can just take them again next year. Since you’ve heard them this year, it’ll be easier to understand next year, so it’s actually for the best.”
It wasn’t exactly wrong. Koi had no reason to rush, and since he knew the general direction of the studies, he would be able to prepare on his own. Ashley felt relieved at Koi’s compliant reaction. Koi had returned to his old self. Nothing had changed.
“When the announcement is posted, my secretary will apply for you immediately.”
“Yeah, thanks, Ash. Please tell them I said thank you too.”
Seeing Koi not forget to include a greeting for the secretary, a bitter smile naturally formed on Ashley’s lips. Kind Koi. You don’t need to be like that to people other than me.
While it was a pity, he was nonetheless satisfied that this lovely being belonged to him. With a short smile, Ashley carried Koi into the bedroom, laid him down, and urged him to rest once more before leaving the room. Then, the smile on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a mask of expressionless indifference.
For the past week, Koi believed Ashley had been going to work, but that wasn’t the case at all. Ashley had taken a leave of absence and spent every day commuting between the hospital and the mansion. Of course, the purpose was the children. It wasn’t to perform ordinary, common-sense actions like soothing children who would be anxious because Koi had been rushed to the hospital. He wanted only one thing: for the children to harm no one, including Koi.
Ashley did not harbor the absurd dream that these small beings would reform themselves with a few words. What they needed was predetermined: the creation of rules and forcing them to obey. And the method to follow when that was not possible was equally predetermined.
Just as his father, Dominic Miller, had done.
Only now did Ashley Miller feel he understood why the man he hated so much had treated him that way. I must have been such a dangerous existence to his ‘Ashley.’ The only person who could help ‘Ashley’ commit suicide. A dangerous object that might liberate him and make him leave Dominic’s side forever.
If he had had other blood relatives, Dominic might have killed Ashley. But he was the only child ‘Ashley’ had given birth to. Therefore, despite numerous risks, Dominic could not give up on Ashley until the end.
Of course, he was also calculating the accompanying risks. The children’s conditions might worsen. But regardless, wouldn’t they be able to avoid the worst? As he had told Koi, the most horrific ending would be for someone to kill another and be sentenced to life imprisonment or death.
As he walked down the stairs, he stopped when he saw a small child huddled on the landing, sobbing. It was Chase again. After listening silently to the sobbing, Ashley walked toward the child. The child, immersed in his own sorrow, hadn’t noticed the presence until the sound of footsteps reached him, at which point he looked up. To see the face of an adult man over two meters tall, the child had to tilt his head back with all his might.
“Get up.”
Ashley spoke in a dry voice, his hands tucked into his coat pockets.
“Don’t cry on the landing. You have a room; cry there.”
Tears quickly filled the eyes that were staring up at him blankly. While continuing to shed tears, Chase stood up unsteadily and climbed the stairs Ashley had just descended.
“It was Grayson, wasn’t it?”
When he asked in a quiet voice, the walking child stopped and looked at him. Even though the child was clearly standing several steps above, their eye levels remained unchanged. Ashley continued, looking down at Chase.
“It seems you and Stacy are playing too roughly. I will give you a warning.”
Chase hesitated on the spot without saying a word. The child wanted only one thing: to be held and comforted. But Ashley remained motionless, his hands still shoved in his coat pockets.
Extreme Alphas cannot feel emotion, Koi.
That applied to him as well. For a long time now, Ashley had felt nothing regardless of what he saw. He knew neither beauty, nor joy, nor sadness. His heart had hardened like stone, merely beating at the same pace like an instinct. The only being he could feel anything for was Koi. It made no difference even if the other party was his child. Even while looking at a small, fragile life ruined by tears, Ashley felt nothing.
But it didn’t matter. This child would become the same once he manifested. He would forget all this collapsing sadness and agony. So it was fine.
That belief solidified into a certainty when the boy who often hung out with Grayson failed in an attempt to kill his own younger brother. Why would such a gentle child do such a thing? When he discovered what had happened—without the blind faith a typical parent has for their child—he felt no shock. He simply thought that what was bound to happen had happened.
And the measures he took were no different from before. Someone who cannot understand words is no different from a beast. They must be taught, even if it requires forced implantation. What they must do, and what they must not.
When he returned home from work at the usual time, Ashley felt the atmosphere was strangely different. He soon found the cause. Seeing his third son, whose eyes were swollen from crying so much, Ashley thought:
Again?
Chase often came to him crying and complaining like this. Although he hadn’t heard it this time, the reason was obvious. Grayson or Stacy must have done something to him. He swallowed a sigh and stared at his son.