MTEF 01

Chapter 01

The maid Pam paced around the room as if her tail were on fire. Still not calmed, she eventually began tearing at her own hair.

Because she yanked at it so mercilessly, strands of Pam’s red hair scattered across the floor.

In contrast to Pam, Ronin looked composed. So composed, in fact, that judging by his face alone, he looked more like a guest attending a tea party.

The sight of that made Pam’s anger explode.

“Damn it, everything’s ruined! To be rejected on the very first night! And by Alistair, the house that produced empresses! Do you have any idea what will happen if people find out? The honor of House Alistair will crash to the ground!”

Rough curses flew from Pam’s mouth. It was hardly proper language for a maid speaking to her master, but right now she couldn’t see anything. Fear and rage had driven her out of her mind.

‘She’s afraid.’

The fear buried beneath her anger was even greater than the fear she showed on the surface.

Ronin recognized Pam’s feelings without difficulty. His own heart felt the same.

If Ronin had not spent so many years being trained as an omega, he too would have shown his anxiety openly. As Pam said, after being rejected on his first night, all that remained for him was a cruel punishment.

Alistair had staked everything on this marriage. Neither Leofric nor Alistair had entered it because they wanted to, but if one had to compare, Alistair was in a much worse position.

Unlike Leofric, who had nothing left but its honor, Alistair was a central noble house with much to possess and much to lose. That was why Alistair had been desperate.

‘All of those efforts have turned to nothing.’

Ronin slowly closed his eyes.

‘How did things end up like this?’

The beginning was probably from the moment he was born.

Alistair. The weight of that name was immense. Every empress in history had come from House Alistair.

Since ancient times, the people of House Alistair, whether male or female, had manifested as beautiful omegas. That was what made such a thing possible.

So when Ronin was born, people naturally assumed that he too would manifest as an omega.

An omega of House Alistair. The highest position he could attain was Empress of the Empire, and even the lowest would be as the spouse of a great noble.

That was why Ronin had been subjected to harsh bridal training from childhood.

“Ronin! Keep your back straight! Can’t you tuck your chin in a little more? You’re destined to become Empress one day, so mind your behavior!”

“Ronin, I told you to walk more lightly! How can an omega understand an alpha’s heart so poorly…!”

Everything was controlled—how he spoke, how he sat in a chair, even how he ate.

“We’ve cut his meal portions in half compared to a week ago. Madam, do you think Young Master Ronin’s waist has gotten smaller?”
“It certainly has. But isn’t he too tall…? Who would like an omega built like a beanpole?”
“Then we’ll reduce his portions even further.”

Naturally, even what he was allowed to learn was limited.

“You have no need to be curious about such things. The only thing you need to study is how to properly serve the Emperor. Keep spouting nonsense and you’ll be locked in solitary confinement!”

And so Ronin gradually grew into an obedient omega. Someone who knew nothing except the man who would become his husband, the “ideal omega” everyone expected.

Now all that remained was for him to truly manifest as one.

And when Ronin turned eighteen, signs of manifestation appeared, just as they did for everyone else.

“Ugh… it hurts…”

That day, Ronin woke from sleep with violent chills.

He had a fever like a severe cold, and his whole body felt damp and limp. The room spun before his eyes, and a sharp ringing filled his ears.

Ronin writhed against the cold sheets, groaning in pain. Even the touch of the soft fabric felt unbearably stimulating now.

He had to endure for quite some time until Pam, sensing something was wrong, came into the room.

“Young master? What’s wrong?”
“Pa-Pam…! My, my body feels strange… ahh!”
“Y-Young master! I’ll call someone at once!”

The moment Pam saw Ronin’s condition, fear seized her. She hurriedly brought a physician, but even then she fidgeted anxiously and pestered him nonstop.

“O-Our young master isn’t going to die, right? Please, save him!”
“Don’t say such nonsense!”

The physician carefully examined Ronin’s condition. He had a suspicion, but he needed to be certain.

Without hesitation, the physician pulled down Ronin’s lower garments. Pam shrieked beside him, but he paid no attention.

“Mmnh!”

Ronin’s front was already slick and wet. Convinced it was manifestation, the physician covered Ronin’s body with the sheet and ordered Pam.

“Go fetch the marquis at once! It seems the young master is about to manifest.”
“Y-Yes?! Yes!”

Pam dashed out of the room like an arrow once more. Her confusion lasted only a moment before swelling pride took its place.

‘Now our young master is going to become Empress! And I’ll become the Empress’s lady-in-waiting!’

Thanks to Pam’s frantic speed, the marquis arrived at Ronin’s room quickly. Even before hearing the physician’s words, he had guessed the situation and took command with practiced ease.

“Call in the beta servants! And the madam as well! Tell the knights not to come anywhere near!”

The quiet castle instantly erupted into chaos. Only the madam in charge of Ronin’s education and the beta servants, who were unaffected by pheromones, remained in his room.

The servants tirelessly wiped the sweat from Ronin’s body, but he was soaked again almost immediately. Beside the half-delirious Ronin, the madam whispered softly.

“Goddess, please let this young one become an obedient omega…”

By the time the madam had repeated the prayer about three times, Ronin’s breathing had calmed. She lifted the blanket covering him and checked below.

“T-this can’t be…”

The marquis—Ronin’s father—who had been anxiously waiting, asked sharply,

“Madam! What is it?”
“My lord! This is terrible! Young Master Ronin… Young Master Ronin…!”
“Ronin—what about Ronin? What has happened to him?!”

The madam bit her lip hard. But soon she forced out the truth.

“Young Master Ronin… has manifested as a beta…!”

At those words, the marquis forgot all decorum and rushed into the room. The madam had dropped to her knees as though it were all her fault, but the marquis’s gaze remained fixed on Ronin alone—his son, who had done the unthinkable.

Ronin, whom everyone had expected to manifest as an omega, had instead absurdly manifested as a beta.

Shocked by the news, the elders of House Alistair gathered in haste. It was late at night, but this was something that had to be dealt with somehow.

They searched the old records and found one case. Just one person, five generations back, had apparently manifested as a beta.

But there were no more detailed materials about him. He had been flogged and cast out of House Alistair, and from that moment on, he had ceased to be an Alistair.

The marquis wanted to have Ronin whipped as the records prescribed and drive him out of House Alistair as well.

But this was the age of civilization. He could not use a barbaric method like flogging. Leofric was not the only enemy eager to keep the ever-rising Alistair house in check.