🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 03
At those words, the eyes of the one spreading the gossip narrowed. Then he lowered his voice and continued in a whisper. The expression of the person listening changed moment by moment.
Ordinary people had no way of knowing what they were saying. But to knights with exceptional hearing, every word was perfectly clear.
“The thing is… there’s a rumor that Leofric is preparing for a rebellion. They say he’s hoarding money to use as military funds. Supposedly he’s planning to join hands with the savage Grimbrook and overthrow the imperial family of Ermengarde.”
It was a ridiculous claim. Baldwin rolled his eyes and carefully checked the expression of the master sitting across from him.
His master was leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. Beneath the hat pulled low over his face, his eyes were closed, and from that alone he might have looked as though he hadn’t heard the conversation at all.
‘As if that could be true.’
He was the commander of the great Black Wolf Knights. A man whose five senses were sharpened to the extreme would never fail to hear the chatter of people nearby.
“Commander, please don’t pay any mind to words like that. It’s just the nonsense of people who know nothing, isn’t it?”
At just the right moment, the meal they had ordered arrived. For men who had ridden without rest all the way to the capital, it was their first proper meal in five days.
The savory smell made saliva gather in Baldwin’s mouth at once. He glanced sidelong between his master and the server.
Even after setting down the food, the server didn’t leave. He was too busy staring at Baldwin’s master. It was the same famished look Baldwin himself had when seeing food for the first time in five days.
‘Well, of course. Commander’s presence isn’t something that can really be hidden.’
Though disguised in a shabby cloak and a worn hat, Callion’s extraordinary aura could not be concealed.
His shoulders were broad, and his chest rose thick and solid. His exposed forearms were sturdy enough to be compared to a monster’s.
And that was not all. The jaw visible beneath his hat was pale and sharply defined. Even without lifting the hat, it was obvious he would be handsome.
Baldwin, who knew that face well, nodded to himself without realizing it.
‘Truly remarkable. At least his face is the very image of his late mother’s.’
“He’s not an omega, then. Alistair of all houses.”
Baldwin, who had been lost in thought, returned to the present. Looking around, he realized the server had already left.
Swallowing the food in his mouth, Baldwin replied,
“Yes, from what I’ve heard, he’s a beta. They say he manifested two years ago.”
Tap, tap.
Lost in thought, Callion drummed his fingers against the table. No matter how much he thought about it, he simply couldn’t understand.
‘A beta from Alistair… Is it really true?’
No, there was no room for doubt. One’s trait was not something that could be hidden.
In the Ermengarde Empire, people lived with one of three traits: alpha, omega, or beta.
Before reaching adulthood, every citizen of the empire would manifest as one of those three. It was what they called the secondary sex manifestation.
Those who underwent that secondary manifestation changed according to their trait. Alphas grew larger and gained strength unlike anything they had before.
Omegas, on the other hand, lost muscle and developed softer, finer lines. Not only that, they also developed a new organ that allowed them to conceive. Of course, only an alpha could give seed to an omega.
‘But betas don’t undergo any transformation at all.’
That was the reason betas were looked down upon among those with traits. Unlike alphas and omegas, who went through transformation, betas experienced no such pain. Since there was no change and no responsibility before or after their secondary manifestation, they were often treated as if they were somehow unfinished.
Most betas were commoners rather than nobles, which only strengthened that perception, until by now it was treated almost like an absolute truth.
Tap, tap…
Alistair was a house known for producing the most “omega-like” of all omegas.
They had built their family by supplying the imperial house with the finest omegas and receiving a share of power in return.
So for a beta—something considered defective—to come from Alistair was hard to believe.
And Alistair’s absurdity did not end there. Of all things, they had tied that very “defective product” to him.
‘What in the world are you thinking, Alistair…!’
There were only a few things he could be certain of. Beneath that sweet scent and gentle manner of speaking, something honed and sharp was hidden. And also—
‘The imperial family of Ermengarde is backing them.’
There was reason for that certainty. The special editions spreading with bizarre speed and precision. The people subtly planting bad rumors about Leofric.
‘Most suspicious of all is the timing.’
Callion’s gaze drifted toward the roadside. Two merchants, having just finished preparing to open their shop, were chatting with each other.
“Wow, doesn’t this spring feel especially warm?”
“Tell me about it. The seeds I planted just a week ago have already sprouted.”
Winter had ended last month. Which meant spring had come—and that, in turn, meant Callion would not be leaving Leofric territory.
The fact that Callion Leofric never left his territory for the three months of spring was something anyone who knew anything about him was aware of.
Yet the Emperor had insisted on this timing. And with a laughably flimsy excuse at that.
“Isn’t it every married couple’s wish to hold their wedding in the season when fresh green buds begin to bloom? Even if they are a couple marrying for political reasons.”
“However, Your Majesty…”
“If you do not wish it, you may refuse. The timing, or even this marriage itself. But if you do, the compensation I promised you will disappear as well.”
The Emperor had smiled as he said it. He already knew what answer would come from Callion’s mouth.
“…No, Your Majesty. I will marry Ronin Alistair at the time you have decreed.”
Just as the Emperor had expected, Callion had no choice but to give the answer he wanted. If he wanted the promised compensation, he had to.
The Emperor had promised, as a condition of the marriage, to exempt Leofric from tribute for the next five years. It was an obvious trap, and logically Callion knew he should refuse, but…
‘This winter was especially harsh. We barely endured it, so the tribute would be a burden.’
Leofric, too, was poor when it came to feeding its starving people. The only thing Callion could do for them was at least free them from tribute—even if the price was selling himself.
‘But I can’t just sit back and let them do as they please.’
“If you’re done eating, get up.”
“Pardon? But Commander, you haven’t even taken a bite—yes, understood.”
Whatever Alistair and the Emperor were planning, Callion had no intention of coming out of this marriage at a loss.
‘To do that, I need to move quickly. Once spring comes, even this won’t be possible.’
