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Chapter 2
1. The Enemy Is Close
“Yuri! Yuri!”
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the otherwise silent mansion. Sehil Windsor, the second child of the Windsor family, rushed through the halls with a frantic expression, searching everywhere for one person.
“Young Master Sehil…!”
He flung open the drawing room doors, but only maids and attendants were inside. The person he wanted was nowhere to be seen. In the end, Sehil ran up the stairs to the second floor and stopped in front of a door, pounding on it roughly.
“Yuri!”
There was no answer from inside. Lacking patience, Sehil didn’t wait and threw the door open.
A breeze from the open window flipped through the pages of a book lying on the desk. Sehil stomped into the room.
“Yuri!”
Yuric had just woken up. He shielded his eyes from the light, then irritably pushed himself up at the sound of his brother’s voice.
His only sibling showed no remorse for barging in. He even pulled back the curtains by the bed and leaned in close.
“Yuri! Is what Gorzen said true? That Father borrowed an enormous sum from Ryuzha Trading Company and ran away?”
Gorzen?
Yuric frowned at the name, then pressed his forehead. It sounded familiar. A moment later, he remembered. The second son of Viscount Ryuzha, who ran the Ryuzha Trading Company.
The man was an Alpha. A few months ago, at a banquet Sehil had attended—because he loved social events—Gorzen had started hovering around him.
How did Yuric know?
Because Sehil had proudly talked about it at every meal since.
Yuric pushed Sehil aside and gestured to the attendant standing awkwardly near the door.
The attendant quickly brought a basin of water and a toothbrush. Yuric began washing up while Sehil dragged out a chair and sat down heavily, tapping his foot in agitation.
“What is going on? And why did Mother follow Father? Yuri! Say something! I heard they took everything from the house!”
Yuric dried his face with the towel handed to him and shot Sehil a sharp look.
“Lower your voice, Sehil.”
Even if the attendants were longtime servants, there were too many listening ears. Sehil thumped his chest in frustration.
“The great House of Windsor is about to collapse, and you’re telling me to calm down? What on earth is happening? Mother even took my jewelry!”
“You came here to complain about the trinkets you wear to banquets?”
“That’s not what I mean, Yuri!”
“Maintain your dignity, Sehil Windsor. The Windsor family will not fall.”
Sehil’s expression brightened instantly. He rushed over and grabbed Yuric’s sleeve.
“I knew it! You must have prepared something, right? Our family has too much history to crumble this easily. Right?”
“…Stop talking nonsense and be quiet.”
Yuric wanted to say, “Don’t you see the servants whispering outside?” But he held back.
Sehil was arrogant and self-centered. He wouldn’t care about gossip among servants.
With an elegant gesture, Sehil pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed dramatically. Then he crossed his legs and finally looked slightly relieved.
“I was really worried. The way Gorzen smiled at me was so creepy. Do you know what he said when he approached me? He said he wanted me instead of money. Me! That lunatic isn’t even handsome, and he dares to grab my hand while lusting after an Omega!”
Yuric’s eyes turned cold as he handed the towel back and began unbuttoning his nightshirt.
Gorzen Ryuzha was infamous in the capital for his scandalous private life. His father had bought a title with money earned through trade, and the son was just as tasteless as he was foolish.
And that man dared to approach the second child of House Windsor? An Omega?
“Ignore the ravings of a madman. And for the time being, don’t attend any banquets.”
Across the continent, Omegas were far fewer in number than Alphas.
Because of that, any noble house that produced an Omega became famous throughout the Empire and gained a high position in the marriage market.
Prestigious families were eager to form alliances with households that had Omegas. The Windsor family, known for producing Omegas generation after generation, had always stood at the very top of that market. Noble lineage, wealth, territory, and an Omega—Windsor had been the perfect marriage prospect.
…At least, before it fell apart.
Yuric frowned and motioned for Sehil to leave. But Sehil didn’t budge.
“Yuri, tell me honestly. Our family is fine, right? Truly?”
“Are you still believing that idiot Gorzen’s nonsense? Stop getting distracted by useless gossip and watch your behavior. An Omega should not be so undignified—”
Sehil stared at him in disbelief.
“Dignified? You’re probably the only one who still says outdated things like that, Yuri! Anyway, we’re fine, right? I’m really trusting you.”
“…Don’t worry. Our family won’t collapse.”
Only then did Sehil let out a breath of relief and jump to his feet.
“Thank goodness. For a moment, I imagined our ancient and prestigious family going completely bankrupt in my generation, and me—an Omega—being sold off like an object. To some rich brute like Gorzen. Sure, cheap romance novels make that sound like the start of true love, but reality isn’t like that, is it? I’m smart enough to separate fantasy from real life. I was just worrying too much.”
What kind of nonsense is he going on about now?
Yuric looked at him with exasperation. At last, perhaps understanding the look that clearly said “Leave,” Sehil suddenly hugged him.
“It was such a pointless worry. Even though strange rumors are spreading in society, I’ll trust only you, Yuri. Your small and beautiful younger brother will rely on you and stay at ease.”
Sehil smiled shamelessly at Yuric, then left the room humming cheerfully.
From down the hall came his voice: “Sarah! Prepare for my outing!”
Didn’t I just tell him to watch his behavior?
Yuric almost went after him but gave up and sat down in the chair Sehil had occupied. The butler, who had been quietly listening outside, stepped forward.
“Young Master… is it truly alright?”
He meant, is it right that Sehil doesn’t know?
Yuric nodded calmly.
“What would change if he knew? It’s better to keep his mouth under control.”
The butler fell silent.
House Windsor had been recognized as meritorious since the Britas dynasty established the kingdom that later became the Halcon Empire.
A noble family of deep history and high honor. Yet now, in the height of the Empire’s prosperity, they had tried to imitate nouveau riche merchants and ended up tearing themselves apart, nearly forced to sell both estate and home.
Yuric felt as if reality itself had slapped him across the face.
Was this even possible?
No matter how much he tried to avoid facing it, the parchment listing their debts still lay on his desk, exactly as the butler had delivered it days ago.
How was he supposed to solve this? Should he beg relatives or acquaintances for help? He had heard of nobles who overextended themselves in business and fell into ruin because of social gossip—but he had never imagined he would become one of them.
“Butler, prepare my things. I’m going to the Imperial Palace.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
No matter how much he thought, he could reach no solution. So he decided to continue with his daily routine for now.
Surely his parents had some plan. They wouldn’t simply abandon everything and never return. And it wasn’t as if he had absolutely no emergency funds.
…Yes. Until that very morning, Yuric believed that.
Until his younger sibling, Sehil Windsor, took every last asset Yuric had deposited in the Imperial Bank and eloped with an unknown man.
***
Life can toy with a person in an instant.
The three-story house Yuric owned on the outskirts of the capital. The lakeside villa in the southern territory. Even the northern lands were inherited from his maternal grandfather.
Sehil took everything—land deeds, property titles, and large sums of cash—and fled.
Yuric was speechless.
He had hidden those property documents in the deepest part of his desk drawer and even locked it.
How on earth had Sehil found them—and thought to run off with them?
