Chapter 124
The live-in staff were sent to the annex far from the main building. After driving everyone out of the main residence regardless of gender, he approached the Crown Prince, who stood there looking bewildered.
“Your Highness, I am deeply sorry, but…”
Louis already knew what Cedric was about to say. However, something else had caught his attention, so he raised a hand to stop him first. With a blank expression, Louis touched his cat ears, which had appeared for the first time in a long while.
As he toyed with the soft fur and the flexible yet firm ears, Dylan said with a pained expression,
“Your Highness might be able to endure it, but I’m dying here!”
“…Ah, I see.”
Of course, Louis was also being affected by Nox’s pheromones to the point that his skin tingled, but it wasn’t unbearable. In fact, he was deeply impressed. Even by sight alone, he had known the Duke was an exceptional male, but experiencing it through pheromones made the difference unmistakable.
The next time he visited, he wanted to build a closer relationship not only with Sia, but with Nox as well. He felt embarrassed by his past self, who had kept his distance from the man merely because of his fur.
“It can’t be helped, Head Butler.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I’ll leave letters before I go. Make sure they’re delivered to the Duke and to Sia later.”
“My deepest apologies, Your Highness.”
Cedric bowed his head and apologized solemnly on Nox’s behalf. In truth, this was not the first offense. From the day he had returned to the estate, both Sia and Nox had committed major discourtesies toward the Crown Prince. Yet Louis showed no sign of taking offense.
The moment permission was given, Dylan hurriedly gathered the attendants and began packing. Meanwhile, Louis wrote separate letters to Nox and Sia.
Before boarding the carriage after leaving the estate, he let out a faint, incredulous laugh at the overwhelming emotion embedded in the pheromones. Climbing into the carriage, he kept his gaze fixed on the ducal residence and murmured,
“To be receiving such direct affection, and yet… what is he so afraid of?”
Beastfolk rarely released their pheromones unless it was during special circumstances like a rut. Those who preferred to maintain their human form tended to avoid revealing their thoughts or emotions through pheromones.
If not for this incident, he would never have known Nox’s honest feelings.
Nox’s pheromones were thick with possessiveness and exclusivity toward Sia, and just as deeply filled with fear and loneliness. Even with her right beside him, the Duke was still anxious.
As Louis thought that he both understood and did not understand those feelings, the carriage had long since departed and left the ducal grounds. Only after the manor disappeared from view did he finally look away.
It was unfortunate that he had to leave without even having a proper conversation, but he wasn’t worried.
“Duke Blois truly is capable.”
“…Pardon?”
“Heh…”
After this rut, Nox would surely hold on to Sia completely.
* * *
The luxurious carriage left the ducal estate, and behind it a long line of servants followed like refugees. One of the snake tribe members watching from afar asked his companion with a puzzled expression,
“Why are they all coming out all of a sudden? Did something happen? Should we move positions too?”
The companion, who had been observing carefully through a telescope, followed the carriage with his eyes until it had moved far from the mansion before replying,
“I don’t know what’s happening, but one thing is certain.”
“What is it?”
“His Excellency’s instincts were right again.”
“Did you confirm the human?”
“No.”
“Then how can you be so sure?”
With a slightly frustrated look, the companion explained. The one with him was excellent at hiding his presence, which made him useful, but his dullness was irritating.
“I heard the Crown Prince of the Pelles Empire dislikes Duke Blois. So why would someone like that personally come here in his own carriage?”
“Ah…”
The companion smirked at the blank look on his face, but his expression suddenly hardened when the man abruptly threw a dagger toward a certain spot. From a place where no presence had been detected at all, three members of the wolf tribe burst out at once.
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