LNU 48

It was a problem that was hard to explain clearly. The lack of superficial conflict was not because there were no complaints about each other, but because we were minimizing contact itself.

Last year, after I was summoned to the Crown Prince’s palace not long after experiencing my first Heat cycle… Andrew and I became somewhat distant. I didn’t bother to provoke Andrew, and Andrew also circled around me, but he noticed that I was trying to keep my distance and kept a certain distance.

‘Come up right now and close the carriage door. Before I throw you in myself.’

‘How can you suddenly do this… Hiss, cough!’

That was the last conversation, if you could call it that, between Andrew and me. Although Andrew didn’t even remember it.

“I don’t know. There’s something like that. Anyway, I can’t go with Andrew. I don’t want to go with Andrew. If I really can’t, I’ll just wait until Frederick comes back. It’s a bit disappointing, but it’s better than going with Andrew.”

Nicole’s sparkling eyes were too innocent to tell her the dirty stories about how Andrew, who had been constantly picking fights with me, actually liked me and so on. I tried to gloss over it like that…

“Ah, Nicole. Sorry, but can you leave the room for a bit? I want to rest alone.”

“Yes, young master. Then I’ll come to get you around dinner time.”

“Okay.”

The window visible over Nicole’s shoulder was shaking strangely. I quickly sent Nicole out and locked the door tightly in case anyone came in.

When I locked the door and turned around, the uninvited guest who had been outside the window just a moment ago was suddenly right in front of me.

“Your Highness!”

“It’s been a while, my dear. How have you been?”

He was still the Crown Prince, with a face that was still handsome.

“No. If you were going to come, you should have at least hidden your appearance…!”

“Well, no one saw me, so don’t worry.”

“How can you say that now?”

The words naturally came out sharp. The Crown Prince, who didn’t seem to care whether my reaction was round or sharp, took another step closer and smirked mischievously.

It had been a few days since I had spread the bait, so it was about time he came. The problem was that I thought he would come in the late evening or early dawn when he was less noticeable. Who knew he would come so confidently in the middle of the day, just after noon?

“Don’t be so upset. It’s been quite a while since we’ve met, hasn’t it?”

“Ugh…”

The Crown Prince seemed to be enjoying my troubled reaction. The slightly raised corners of his lips and the gracefully curved eyes… He was so mean. Was he always this mischievous? When I looked at him from Allen’s side, I thought he would be more taciturn and serious. But now that I had seduced him, he was completely different from what I had expected.

One step. Another step. There was nowhere else to retreat, but the Crown Prince relentlessly approached. My back soon touched the door that I had just locked tightly after sending Nicole out. I couldn’t retreat any further and just lowered my eyes, avoiding his gaze. A soft laugh of satisfaction poured down from above my head.

“If I were to say that my longing heart was so great that I couldn’t afford to wait for the sun to set.”

“…”

“What do you say? Are you willing to believe me?”

Wow. I don’t know how a person can lie without even blinking an eye. It had already been several days since I had subtly spread the bait that I would soon be in Heat cycle. Considering the speed at which information usually reached the Crown Prince, he must have taken the bait at least three or four days ago.

Just listening to that desperate (but definitely pretending) voice, it sounded like he had dropped everything and rushed over as soon as he heard the news.

Well, it doesn’t matter. Lying without blinking an eye was not a talent that was only allowed to Adrian Pearson.

I bit my lower lip tightly and fluttered my eyelashes. My eyes, filled with the most feigned excitement, must have been beautifully stretched. Perhaps that appearance was not bad to look at, as the Crown Prince’s hand, which hastily grabbed my chin, was filled with force.

“Damn it, Noah…”

A desperate voice as if he was burning with impatience. A grip filled with strength.

I suppressed the sneer that was about to leak out and slowly raised my gaze. In his captivating purple eyes, an unknown heat was fiercely burning.

When I suppressed the Heat cycle, which came regularly even though I didn’t welcome it, with suppressants, the cycle was less than 30 days. But the pheromones of a Dominant Alpha were really good. Since my first Heat, I had been relieving my condition with Adrian’s pheromones, and the cycle had gradually lengthened, so now I only had to suffer once every two or three months.

He had already subtly conveyed to the Count his intention to designate me as the future Empress. My father, too, considering the soaring power of Duke Grachio’s family, actively agreed with his suggestion to postpone the official announcement.

Only the direct members of the Hamilton family knew this fact. No matter how long a servant had been loyal to the Hamilton household, none of them could have guessed such a secret.

There was one exception. It was Thomas, the butler in charge of managing my father’s study. It was only natural. The person Thomas was loyal to from the beginning was not Count Hamilton, but the Pearson royal family.

The Crown Prince had planted at least one informant in every noble family residing in the capital’s townhouses. Within the Hamilton mansion, that was the butler Thomas. The exchange of information was so thorough that if I hadn’t known him in advance through the game’s settings, I would have been completely unaware.

The loyal Thomas had consistently hindered my actions until the previous playthroughs. Whether it was due to misunderstanding or a self-imposed sense of resignation, whenever I harmed Allen, he would immediately report to the Crown Prince, or secretly help Allen when he was in trouble.

Whether he was always on Allen’s side or not, it was all in the past. He was ultimately Adrian’s man. Thanks to that, I am now using him as a convenient means to lure the Crown Prince, so there’s no need for any lingering regrets.

The bait I spread this time was the same as the bait I had been spreading for the past year.

As the filial and affectionate youngest child who frequently visited my father, I frequented the Count’s study every day, and it was only natural that the Pheromone of an Omega nearing their Heat cycle would subtly and intensely waft around.

I had no idea that a fallen noble from a commoner Beta male background was, coincidentally, the Crown Prince’s informant. Probably, officially?

“Say something more.”

Adrian’s voice lowered as he maintained eye contact, only fluttering his eyelashes. It was so ominous that it felt like he was growling.

“…What do you want to hear?”

“You know very well what I expect you to say.”

“……”

I stubbornly closed my mouth. The Crown Prince called my name again, as if trying to appease me, “Noah.” After contemplating how to react for a moment, I easily came to a decision.

“Well, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Classic is best. I didn’t hide my hurt feelings and pouted, so the Crown Prince chuckled as if he found me incredibly cute and suddenly kissed my cheek.

“Ah, why are you suddenly doing this after coming here? I don’t like it. Let go and get away from me.”

I pushed his firm chest with force, grumbling. Anyway, there was some affection between us. Over the past year, a moderate level of intimacy had developed between Adrian Pearson and Noah Hamilton. It was safe to tease him to this extent.

“Goodness, you. How can you push me away like this and expect me to leave? What kind of foolish rogue would be deterred by such a light touch?”

As expected. Anyone who saw it would immediately condemn it as blasphemous, but the Crown Prince’s expression was even more cheerful. He even grabbed my wrist and urged me to push harder, asking if that was all the strength I was putting into it.

“Your Highness…!”

He wasn’t the type to back down easily when I glared at him with such intensity, but the Crown Prince was no ordinary person. He grabbed my wrist and shook it like a paper doll, teasing me to no end. I really wanted to punch him.

“Let go of my hand…! Ah!”

Slap!

If I could make one excuse at this point, it’s that I wanted to punch him, but I didn’t actually intend to hit him. While I was trying to shake off his grip on my wrist, the sound of skin colliding with skin echoed cheerfully.

“Ha…”

“…I, I didn’t really mean to, I didn’t.”

My hand that had made contact was also stinging, but considering the current atmosphere, it was nothing.

The moment the Crown Prince generously released my wrist, my hand, which had flown away, made contact with a cheerful slap! The place it hit was, unfortunately…

“That’s refreshing. I’m glad. It seems you can fend off a rogue on your own.”

It was the Crown Prince’s left cheek, which was dropping straight down.