Hmph. I scoffed at those words. Should I consider it commendable that my first love, who was the worst in the world at being a failure, was trying to salvage the situation even belatedly? If there had been a change in his behavior before I caught him off guard, my evaluation of the first bastard might have been a little different.
But he, not only in this round but also in all the past that had been repeated several times, had never openly revealed his feelings. There is a limit to how much you can put down grapes you can’t have. I had no intention of glossing over his pathetic way of expressing himself, which was always comparing Allen and me and being anxious to oppress me, with the ridiculous expression that he was clumsy and shy.
One surprising fact was that when I thought about it carefully, there was another person who was just as bad at first love. Sir Kyle Gray, who had been transferred from the townhouse in the capital to the royal guard belonging to the territory of Hamilton under the pretext of protecting the essence of the Hamilton territory, was the main character.
Neither of them deserved to be given first place. One was a moron who tormented the person he liked, and the other was an idiot whose hobby was cheating.
“Is that all? The Crown Prince also sends a mountain of precious tributes every month, saying that he’s giving them to his future Crown Princess.”
“But isn’t that the same amount Princess Beatrice receives?”
“Shh. That’s not important. Be quiet, young master.”
“Ugh…”
Nicole, whom I trusted and relied on the most, was also the person I found the most difficult and frightening.
“By the way, when is Mr. Seymour coming back?”
“Father? Now that you mention it, it’s about time for him to come.”
Nicole’s father and the nanny’s husband, Mr. Seymour, was a middleman who brought rare goods from foreign lands to the empire and sold goods from the empire to foreign lands. Since his job involved traveling, he would visit his wife and son at the Count’s residence in the capital at least once every half year while traveling to various countries.
“Why, young master? If you need anything, should I send a message in advance for him to buy it? Just tell me!”
“There’s nothing I particularly need. It’s just that the things Mr. Seymour brings are always fascinating and fun. I thought he usually stopped by around this time.”
“Mother will know. I’ll ask her and let you know later.”
“Okay. I’d appreciate that.”
The hint about Lennox’s location, which I obtained as a reward for the downgraded side quest, was none other than Nicole’s father, Mr. Seymour.
Of course, Mr. Seymour was also a somewhat important person since he was the family of Mrs. Seymour and Nicole, whom I loved most in this world. However, apart from such personal feelings, I never thought of him as anything more or less than a bizarre traveling salesman who sold things like butt-firming medicine and underwear that temporarily enhanced Pheromones…
Mr. Seymour’s hidden identity, which even my family and I, who had memorized the setting, didn’t know, was the second-in-command of the information guild. His main job was to tour and manage the branches scattered throughout the continent on behalf of the guild master.
In the setting, Lennox hadn’t even learned magic yet and hadn’t become the great master of the information guild who controlled the underworld, but if I used Mr. Seymour well, it wouldn’t be too difficult to meet Lennox.
Fortunately, things went smoothly. I instructed Nicole to invite a harpsichord player sometime next week and then shifted my gaze to the book I was reading. It wasn’t quite up to par with the flashy colors and graphics I had been used to in my previous life, but having simple black and white illustrations was much better than having none at all.
“Noah!”
I was about halfway through the book when I heard a loud, clattering sound of footsteps from afar, and then a familiar voice rang out, calling my name.
“You little rascal. You’re lazing around here again! I told you to come out so I could give you some physical training!”
“Ugh, so noisy. Please be quiet.”
It was Frederick, who often coaxed me by saying that I needed to build up my strength in advance in case my Heat cycle suddenly hit. Frederick would bombard me with nagging every time he saw me, saying that if I just lay around like that, even the little muscle I had would disappear.
“You’re not getting up? You’re still not getting up? Stop lying around!”
“Agh, wait! That tickles! That tickles, Freddy!”
Frederick rubbed his dripping wet hair against my top as if he were using it as a towel, repeatedly rubbing his head. It seemed he had just finished training and showering. Still, the past three months had been worth it. The awkwardness I felt when he first returned had mostly subsided, and now I didn’t mind being alone with Frederick like this.
“Get away from me. You’re getting me all wet!”
“Yeah, isn’t that why I’m doing it on purpose?”
“Ugh. You’re so mean. You’re just strong and ignorant…”
From the start, there was too much of a difference in physique, so there was nothing I could do with strength. No matter how hard I tried to push his shoulder with all my might, Frederick, who could only huff and puff like a bull, showed no sign of getting off me.
As I grumbled and complained, I suddenly felt a stinging sensation on the side of my face. I glanced over.
“…”
Andrew, who was glaring daggers at me and Frederick, or rather, at Frederick who was on top of me, stood on the stairs with his teeth clenched, keeping a reasonable distance.
As if on cue, I burst into an even brighter laugh and subtly released my Pheromones. The immature Pheromone control of an Omega who hadn’t even experienced their first Cycle yet was always a good excuse in situations like this.
“Noah, you… your scent…”
“What’s wrong with my scent? Freddy, are you okay?”
I blinked my eyes as if I didn’t know what was going on. I put on an innocent expression as if I didn’t know anything. Then, over Frederick’s shoulder, I saw Andrew’s hand, clenched into a fist, trembling. I barely managed to hold back my laughter. Then I released my Pheromones even more intensely.
Compared to Andrew, Frederick’s eyes, who was twice as impatient and unrestrained, quickly became dazed. His prominent Adam’s apple moved, gulping.
Slap!
“F, Freddy!”
Slap, slap, smack!
Frederick, who had been frozen like a statue, suddenly slapped himself across the face several times. The sound was so loud that I was more surprised than he was.
“Are you crazy? Why are you suddenly doing this!”
“Ah. I’m finally coming to my senses. Noah, why do you smell so sweet? Even if we’re family, I’m an Alpha. Please be careful. I was wrong. Forget about physical training or anything, just don’t even think about going near the training grounds, as Father said.”
Was there something wrong with his nose? My Pheromones were definitely far from sweet. Well, Frederick’s olfactory abnormality wasn’t my problem, so it was fine.
I fixed my gaze over Frederick’s shoulder, who was out of his mind. Andrew’s blue eyes, which had already gotten closer, were filled with a cold fire like a will-o’-the-wisp.
“Brother. Get a grip.”
Affection: -35%
It was unclear whether he was talking to Andrew or Frederick. Perhaps it was meant for both of them.
Andrew must have thought it was directed at him, as he hastily dropped his affection level. He was such a ridiculously transparent bastard.
I stared intently into Andrew’s blue eyes and whispered again in Frederick’s ear. Brother, I said get a grip?
“Andrew’s here.”
Affection: -32%
Holding and playing around with a toy in my hand was the most fun and interesting thing among my newly acquired hobbies these days.
“What are you doing in broad daylight without any shame.”
“Kuh…!”
Andrew, who opened his mouth in a calm tone that showed no sign of excitement on the surface, grabbed Frederick’s hair with a rough gesture that was the opposite of his tone. Then, he dragged Frederick, who was in front of me, with great force and threw him to the ground as if he were throwing him away.
Frederick immediately got up and reflexively tried to grab the other person’s collar, but when he realized that the person who had pushed him away was Andrew, he resentfully gasped for breath and desperately held back his trembling fist.
Childish pranks from childhood might be one thing. But both of them were already too old to be excused with such an excuse. The fact that the second son was disobeying the young Count, even in the slightest way, was a source of conflict. Fortunately, Frederick was impulsive but not foolish.
He took a deep breath and grabbed my wrist, which had been interestingly watching the situation, and pulled me up.
“Ouch. That hurts, brother.”
“Let’s go to my room, Noah. It seems the young Count has no intention of considering friendly interactions between brothers at all.”
I couldn’t help but suppress the rising laughter as I looked back and forth between the two brothers, who shared the same Hamilton surname but were actually not very similar.