By Zephyria Epilogue
“It’s done.”
Hearing the monotonous voice, Ashley opened his eyes. The medical staff who had removed the injection from his arm were cleaning up the surroundings. He got out of bed, pulled down his sleeves, and straightened his clothes.
Suddenly, his face reflected in the mirror hanging on the wall came into view. His hollow eyes and the shadows under his eyes stood out on his pale face. It was nothing new, so he swept back his hair and turned around.
Ashley, who was wearing a suit over a white shirt with a few buttons undone instead of a tie, went outside, and the woman standing in the hallway straightened her posture.
Ashley walked past Father’s secretary, who had been waiting for hours while he was getting the injection, without even looking at her. As if she had already expected his reaction, the secretary readily followed him and opened her mouth.
“Are you feeling alright? The steward said that a lot of Pheromones had built up.”
“It’s gone now.”
Of course. Because he got an injection to remove the Pheromones. She followed Ashley without permission and continued to speak.
“Dominic Miller told me to check on your condition. He’s worried about you continuing to remove Pheromones with medication like this.”
At those words, Ashley suddenly laughed out loud. The secretary closed her mouth at the nervous laughter.
“Worried? That man? About me?”
Ashley asked in a voice still mixed with laughter. The sarcastic tone that invariably returned was now nothing more than routine. The secretary added with a typically expressionless face.
“He was wondering if the reason you can’t remove Pheromones in a normal way is because of that child.”
For the first time, Ashley’s steps faltered. But the agitation didn’t last long. He soon started walking again and said.
“Normal way, you mean dozens of people intertwined naked and having sex?”
“That’s what most Alpha do.”
Ashley turned his head at the secretary’s answer. His face was full of cynicism as he looked at her.
“Is it normal if the majority does it?”
“……So, is it because of Niles?”
The secretary surprisingly avoided answering. Ashley averted his gaze from her and started walking forward again. If he said it was because of Koi, that man might tell him to do that now. That it’s better than removing it with an injection. But now Ashley refused.
If he meets him again, he might kill him.
As they left the building and headed to the parking lot, the secretary opened her mouth.
“If you don’t like removing Pheromones at parties, he told me to find you a regular partner. I’ve picked out a few candidates, so it wouldn’t be bad to meet them.”
Before they knew it, they had arrived in front of the car that Ashley had parked. Before Ashley, who had gotten into the Bentayga, started the car, the secretary first held out the file she was holding. The secretary said to Ashley, who had no choice but to lower the car window and receive the file.
“I recommend that you meet them all if possible, but if you don’t feel like it, please pick a few people you like from this and let me know. We’ll decide the date and place.”
Instead of answering, Ashley threw the file carelessly on the passenger seat and started the car. The secretary just stood there and watched the departing car.
After leaving the parking lot and entering the road, his car soon blended in with the busy cars. The sound of horns blaring from all directions was now familiar and didn’t bother him. Ashley stared straight ahead, rubbing his arm, which still had a tingling pain.
The reason Dominic, who had been silent until now, made this suggestion was probably because his graduation was approaching. Graduation and marriage, it was a cliché and boring pattern. But it was also that much safer.
He had never dated anyone throughout his college years. It wasn’t that he was trying to, he just didn’t feel like it. He had also gone to parties to remove Pheromones a few times. But after repeatedly vomiting and almost fainting from the disgusting scent of Omega Pheromones, the only remaining option was to remove Pheromones with an injection.
Thanks to him becoming a test subject himself, the medicine gradually improved, and the incidents of his stomach being severely upset or suffering from lethargy for several days like the first time gradually decreased.
Dr. Steward, who was in charge of him, felt sorry for Ashley, but he was also clearly pleased that he had an unusual sample of an Alpha. In a situation where there weren’t even any institutions that studied Alpha properly, he was volunteering to be a test subject, so this was never a common occurrence.
Of course, it wasn’t something he wanted to do at all. There was just no other way. But now he was slowly getting tired of this method as well.
Dominic was right. If he had to continuously remove Pheromones anyway, marriage was the safest and most rational method. It didn’t matter who it was.
Just as the car stopped at a traffic light, Ashley took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. He felt a sense of stability as he deeply inhaled the nicotine.
The reason he started smoking in the first place was because he couldn’t stand the mixed Pheromone scents at the parties, but now he was smoking all the time. He had also tried alcohol and drugs, but Alpha didn’t get drunk or addicted. It had become a truly boring life.The signal changed again, and Ashley started the car. Exhaust fumes and wind rushed in through the still-open window. He pressed the button to close it.
*
Her name was Melanie. Someone had said she and Ashley made a good match. He had met her after already meeting six other candidates.
Considering Ashley’s lineage, Dominique had set all the candidates as Omega. The reason they were all women was because Ashley’s previous partner had been a woman.
Only Koi had been an exception as a man, and based on that, Dominique had concluded that Ashley would be more interested in women than men.
For Ashley, it was all the same, really. Woman or man, it didn’t matter. Since that day, he had lost interest in everything. Life was just boring, boring, and boring. If he lived his predetermined life, he would die someday. That was the only comfort.
Because of that, even when he arrived at the meeting place on time, he didn’t have any particular expectations. The only reason he had rejected the previous candidates was because he didn’t like their scent.
A couple of them had such strong Pheromone scents that they made him nauseous. In that respect, he had liked this candidate from the first meeting. She had hardly any Pheromone scent.
“Um, I don’t have much of a scent unless it’s my heat cycle…”
She trailed off, seemingly embarrassed. But Ashley actually preferred it that way. They had a pleasant conversation, ate a meal, walked together, and then Ashley drove her home.
“…Um.”
Melanie called out to Ashley, who was turning to leave after escorting her to her doorstep. He stopped and turned around, and Melanie hesitated before opening her mouth.
“Could we… see each other again sometime?”
Her voice was trembling faintly. Ashley, however, felt nothing from her clearly nervous appearance. After all, he had to marry one of the people on the list.
Thinking that it wouldn’t hurt to see her once more, he nodded. Immediately, Melanie’s face brightened and her cheeks flushed red. Ashley stood there, looking at Melanie, and then opened his mouth.
“Shall we see a movie together on the weekend?”
“Y-Yes, I’d love to!”
Melanie replied immediately. Ashley gave a faint smile. Seeing Melanie’s face go blank for a moment, Ashley said in an even softer voice.
“Then I’ll pick you up at 4 o’clock on Saturday. Is that alright?”
“Yes, of course. That’s fine, that’s great.”
She repeated the same words several times, then hurriedly bowed with a bright red face and went inside. Ashley stood there for a while before turning around and getting into his car.
She was different from the previous candidates in many ways. His mind, which had been thinking that he could just marry anyone, changed a little. He wanted to see her more. And the dates that had been happening every weekend became more frequent, about once every three days, and soon the two were constantly exchanging messages.
It was about a month before graduation that the two families began to seriously discuss marriage.