“How did it go? You’re an Omega, right? Noah, you manifested as an Omega, right?”
“Yeah.”
Frederick asked cheerfully, completely unaware of my complicated inner thoughts. It was a problem that couldn’t be guaranteed until I stood before the priest on the Day of Blessing, but since people like me with weak bones and petite builds usually received the Omega trait, everyone around me, including Frederick, predicted that I would manifest as an Omega.
At least up to this point, Frederick was the one who was waiting more eagerly than anyone else for me to be completely confirmed as an Omega. The reason was that he wanted to offer me the knight’s oath that could only be given once in a lifetime.
Maybe it was because he had always seen me being bullied by Andrew (even though I didn’t care much about the bullying). Frederick had always had the idea that he had to protect his weak younger brother.
In the early stages, when I didn’t know how much he would change, I gladly accepted his oath. And at some point… To be exact, from the time I was treated as a schemer who had stolen the knight’s oath that should have been given to Allen, I had been avoiding Frederick’s oath with some excuse.
“By the way, our youngest, even though you just manifested, your pheromone control is amazing? I can’t feel any Omega pheromones at all… Huh?”
Frederick stopped talking and sniffed repeatedly as if he was suspicious. Like a dog looking for a bone buried in the ground.
The face that had been searching for the scent gradually hardened. Just the slight lowering of the corners of his coolly stretched eyes and the cheerfully smiling mouth made the atmosphere, which had been as bright as the sun, surprisingly cold.
“What… what is this?”
His voice also became cold. That voice was eerily similar to a past moment when he had asked me if I had stolen Allen’s engagement ring. Without realizing it, I clenched my fists tightly and swallowed hard.
“Answer me, Noah.”
‘Tell me, Noah Hamilton.’
“Why is it that only…”
‘Why is it that on your clothes…’
“I can only smell Andrew’s pheromones?”
‘Allen’s engagement ring, which he received as the future Crown Princess, was found?’
Strangely, I felt out of breath. A voice that couldn’t be real swirled in my mind. Should I shout that it’s not true? After almost being forced to give up the room I had used all my life to Allen, I knew better than anyone else that I had never coveted his belongings or even gone near his room. How could my brother say such a thing, and how could someone who knew better than anyone else that I had no interest in the position of Crown Princess corner me like that?
No, I actually shouted that. I clung to Frederick. Even if I was punished for not proving my innocence, it was okay. I didn’t want to be misunderstood by my brother, by Frederick. But Frederick, my brother, he…!
The System is readjusting the convergence between episodes that occurred unexpectedly.
The System is temporarily freezing your consciousness.
Shutdown count. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…….
“Noah!”
My consciousness snapped. Frederick’s voice, filled with shock, echoed in my ears like a hallucination.
“Young Master! Please wake up!”
It was Nicole’s terribly familiar voice. Could it be that I had returned this quickly and pathetically, despite being prepared!? I jumped up in shock… and immediately groaned, clutching my throbbing head. What’s going on? My head hurts like it’s going to break.
“A-Are you okay? Are you still in a lot of pain? What should I do! Maybe we should cancel the banquet right now…!”
“It’s okay. I’m fine, so don’t make a fuss. By the way, the banquet, it’s my birthday banquet, right?”
“Yes, of course!”
“Phew… That’s a relief.”
It doesn’t seem like I’ve returned again. It would be too embarrassing to make such grand promises to make it fun and then just collapse like this.
The System comforts you, saying that there’s no way it could be more embarrassing.
Comfort? Is that what you call comfort right now? I really want to punch it just once. No more, no less, just once.
The System fawns, saying that it would take not just one punch but a hundred for you.
…Okay. Let’s just ignore it.
“What time is it now? How much time is left until the banquet?”
I asked Nicole, ignoring the notifications from the System window that was chattering noisily. Thanks to the firstborn’s Alpha pheromones, the Manifestation Pains had almost subsided, but apart from that, my limbs were limp and I couldn’t muster any strength. If I had my way, I would have canceled the banquet and just slept.
“It’s five o’clock. The banquet starts at seven, so I woke you up because you really need to start getting ready now.”
“Ugh, okay.”
“First, how about soothing your stomach with some soup? Oh, and the second young master was just guarding your bedside until just now!”
“…Frederick?”
My expression reflexively twisted at the unwelcome name. Even if the Manifestation Pains had subsided thanks to Andrew, what was he thinking, swinging someone who had just manifested around so recklessly? I fainted because I felt like I was going to throw up.
“Yes, he was originally insisting on staying until you woke up. Please don’t be surprised when you hear this, Young Master?”
“Why? What’s going on that’s making you so frantic?”
What more is there to be surprised about… Originally, there weren’t any big events on the first day back, except for going to the temple to confirm my trait and activating the favorability check function…
“His Highness the Crown Prince is coming! To your birthday banquet!”
“What? Who’s coming?”
“His Highness the Crown Prince! The second young master also rushed off to readjust the security personnel because of that news!”
What? I couldn’t help but be surprised, even though I had been listening absentmindedly. I don’t know why that person, who doesn’t even show his shadow unless he’s inside the Imperial Palace before Allen appears, is suddenly popping up again.
“U-Uh… So, you mean, instead of just sending a proxy to give a congratulatory speech, the Crown Prince himself?”
“Of course! That’s why the whole mansion is in an uproar right now. Anyway, this isn’t the time for you to be standing here blankly, Young Master. Come on, get up quickly, quickly!”
As I wriggled out of the cozy blankets at Nicole’s urging, I thought. This episode is definitely… unusual.
“Noah! My baby, happy seventeenth birthday.”
“Thank you, …Mother.”
After calling her ‘Countess’ politely for a while in the last episode, my lips and tongue felt strangely ticklish even when I just uttered the word ‘Mother’.
“Mother! Honey, did you hear that just now? Our baby is acting all grown up today.”
Originally, I had been playing the role of the affectionate youngest, calling her ‘Mom, Mom’ until around this time, so her surprised reaction wasn’t strange.
“Well, you’re now a Crown Princess candidate, aren’t you? Is that why?”
The Countess smiled mischievously, as if she couldn’t resist teasing me.
“My baby, that doesn’t mean you have to feel pressured. You know that, right? Of course, the position of Crown Princess is very honorable, but… you’re not the only Dominant Omega. If you have someone else in your heart, you don’t have to sacrifice yourself for the glory of the family. Just remember that.”
She probably said that because she was aware of the scandal, or rather, the rumors, between me and Kyle that were rampant in the mansion. Hmm, there were times when I found these words trustworthy and grateful…
“Oh, Mother! It’s not like that.”
“Oh, is that so? Never mind then.”
With her stylishly twisted brown curly hair and the fresh green eyes she had passed down to Frederick, she always looked so young that it was hard to believe she had three grown sons.
Standing next to such a Countess was Count Hamilton, my father, with his stoic expression as always. My father calmed the Countess, saying that I wasn’t just acting grown up, but that I was grown up.
“Our youngest is now a proper adult, so you should stop treating him like a baby in swaddling clothes.”
“But you still call him our youngest! Why don’t you start calling our baby by his name first?”
“Ahem…”
My father quickly changed the subject with an embarrassed cough. I had already heard the story of how he had transferred various lands and properties to my name in advance to celebrate my coming of age so many times in my countless lives that I could recite it without even listening.