🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 33
But Calisto seemed to think differently.
“See? You remember, right? I told you I love you.”
If he put it that way, there was no real way to argue. I answered reluctantly.
“Uh… yeah.”
“You love me too, hyung, so the only reason you won’t marry me is because I’m still a kid.”
I had no idea how the conversation had gone in that direction. I had a mouth, but nothing came out, so I stayed silent.
“Then I just have to grow up quickly. I’ll become an adult fast, and then I’ll propose again.”
Would he really think the same way once he grew up? I suppressed a laugh, remembering Calisto—the one who, in the original story, had been obsessively fixated on Lawrence.
While I was thinking that, Calisto continued with a serious expression.
“By then, you won’t be able to run away. You have to marry me.”
“Uh… okay…”
“Did you just agree? That’s a promise!”
“I never made—”
Before I could protest, Calisto’s eyes trembled. I was afraid he might cry again, so I quickly changed my words.
“Ah, alright. I got it. So don’t cry, Cal.”
“Then you promise me?”
“Yeah, sure…”
Hearing that, Calisto immediately held out his pinky finger. Forced into a promise, I reluctantly hooked my finger with his.
Only then did his expression brighten. Not a trace of tears remained in his eyes. It seemed I’d been tricked again.
Still, his small smiling face with curved eyes was so adorable that I couldn’t help but smile too.
“Seriously… when you grow up and get married, don’t kick me out because I’m annoying.”
I grumbled as if scolding him.
“I told you I’m marrying you, hyung. Why do you keep trying to run away?”
As expected of a future obsessive “capture-the-runaway” type, Calisto fixated on something completely off.
Still, it seemed like his feelings had calmed down. That was a relief.
Calisto clutched my clothes tightly and soon fell asleep. I held him with one arm and pulled the blanket over him with the other.
The night passed peacefully.
A few days later
Dr. Woodson visited the count’s estate again. He came to administer a modified alpha activation stimulant.
The syringe used in this world was nothing like modern ones—it was terrifyingly large. When I saw it, I looked horrified.
“It’ll just sting a little, young master.”
“A little sting doesn’t look like it’s going to be just a little sting.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Just do it quickly…”
I squeezed my eyes shut as the doctor injected my arm. It hurt so much I almost screamed.
“You’ll feel quite a bit of pain. Take painkillers, and call me if it gets too hard. Rest well for now.”
The doctor left after giving instructions. I lay collapsed on the bed, nodding weakly.
“When will we know if it worked?”
But the pain didn’t matter. What mattered was whether the drug would actually turn me into an alpha. If it failed, it would soon be revealed that I was an omega. And if Roen learned the truth and requested an imperial order to betroth me to him, there would be no escape.
“Soonest today, latest within a week. But as I said before, this medicine is not fully complete, so it won’t completely change your traits. Even if it works, its effect will disappear within a few years.”
In the end, it meant I would remain a low-grade omega for life. I shrugged, acting indifferent. After this incident, no one would likely try to check my true nature anymore, so it would be easy to deceive them.
“If I have to hide my traits forever, I guess I can’t get married at all. Maybe Calisto and Lawrence can have a few children and one of them can inherit the title.”
The doctor soon left, and I fell asleep while idly thinking. I had no idea what would happen when I woke up.
Sometime later
“Your Highness, the young master is quite ill.”
“Then all the more reason I should see him. I even brought a court physician, didn’t I?”
“But the count is not here either, and the young master is alone—Your Highness!”
I had no idea how much time had passed. There was noise outside the room, followed by someone urgently raising their voice. Then the door burst open.
“Etienne, I heard you’re very sick. Are you alright? You look pale.”
“…Your Highness.”
If you hadn’t come, I might have been fine. I muttered inwardly and forced myself to sit up. Cliff, who had been standing behind Roen looking uneasy, quickly stepped forward to support me.
“Etienne of Winyeats greets Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Ahaha, stay lying down. No need for formalities when you’re sick.”
“…Thank you, Your Highness.”
Shouldn’t you say that before I get up? My whole body felt like it had been beaten. As I tried to bow and stand again, my head spun.
At least I wasn’t feeling the strange heat or abdominal sensations from when my traits manifested, so that was fortunate.
“Your Highness, what brings you here?”
“I told you to speak casually, Etienne. Why are you being so stiff?”
“…Yes.”
My situation was this: the prince trying to force an engagement, and me desperately trying to avoid him even to the point of taking dangerous drugs to change my traits.
There was no reason I should be casual with Roen.
“I brought a court physician because I heard you were unwell. I can’t allow my future first prince consort to be neglected.”
“Your Highness, our family physician already visited yesterday.”
“Really? Then it seems the Winyeats family should consider changing doctors.”
“Pardon? What do you mean…?”
Roen smiled faintly as he looked down at me. But his gaze, sharp and probing, was unsettling.
Then he spoke in a cold voice.
“Your scent has definitely changed. I believe you’ve had a trait awakening. Yet your doctor didn’t notice? That’s incompetence. You should replace him.”
“….”
Roen was effectively threatening me, insisting he wouldn’t back down until he knew my true nature. I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘I didn’t expect him to come this soon.’
Dr. Woodson had said it would take at least a week for the stimulant to show clear effects. There was no guarantee it would even work. My heart pounded anxiously.
At this point, I could only hope the drug had already taken effect.
Roen ordered the court physician gently.
“Dr. Henrik, examine Etienne.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The physician stepped forward without even asking my permission. There was no time to argue about etiquette or propriety.
He drew blood from my arm.
“Ah!”
“Sorry, young master. It’s done now.”
The sting made me frown. He then prepared a vial and mixed my blood with alpha blood.
In this world, when omega blood mixes with alpha blood, the stronger the traits, the more naturally they blend. If not, they separate like oil and water.
Time felt painfully slow as the blood sat in the vial.
Then the physician spoke.
“Your Highness, the blood does not fully mix. The young master appears to be an alpha, but the boundary is unclear, suggesting a low-grade alpha.”
“What? That can’t be.”
Roen’s confident expression cracked.
As an alpha, he was sensitive to omega pheromones. He must have assumed I was an omega based on my faint scent.
I stared nervously at the vial. The blood had not fully separated, nor had it properly mixed.
‘Thank goodness… it worked.’
Because I was a low-grade omega, the drug must have taken effect quickly. Relief drained my strength.
Then suddenly, my skin prickled, and it felt like my entire body was being whipped. My eyes ached as if they would burst, and nausea surged.
The next moment, I coughed up blood.
“Young master!”
My vision flickered black and then returned. Cliff caught me as I swayed. Roen looked down at me coldly.
“You are an alpha.”
A chilling voice came from above.
I finally understood.
Roen had released his pheromones all at once.
If I had still been an omega, the impact would have been unbearable. The fact that I could withstand it meant I truly had become an alpha.
It was a violent, outrageous attack.
But my opponent was the first prince, a likely heir to the throne. I bit my lip and forced myself to endure.
“Let’s go back. See you again, Winyeats young master.”
Roen turned away with a cold air.
Just then—
The door swung open again, and Calisto rushed in.
“Hyung! Are you hurt?”
At that moment, Roen’s eyes gleamed with interest as he looked at Calisto.
