Chapter 19
Oh, this bastard. Persistent.
“I just needed to grab something from my room…” I blurted out the first excuse that came to mind, absolutely determined not to mention the Empress summoning me.
Theor’s lips curled into a smirk. The smile brought his nickname to mind: the Ash-Grey Wolf Duke. It suited him now, the smile chillingly handsome.
‘He looks devastatingly cool when he smiles like that, so cold.’
“Lady Lysei…”
“Huh…?” Lysei’s face crumpled in confusion at the sound of her name on Theor’s lips. They hadn’t exchanged names. In the original story, he hadn’t known her name.
‘Well, I suppose he could have learned it from their shared thuggery against the Nyxnas, orchestrated with the Emperor, but the novel never mentioned it.’
‘But he knows my name…?’
“How do you know my name?”
Driven by pure curiosity, she stared at him, awaiting an answer. Instead of replying, Theor simply gazed back, his eyes filled with an answering curiosity.
“You…” he began, a look of wonder on his face. “You feel very different from other Nyxnas.” He even subtly dropped the formal speech.
“What do you mean?”
“….”
“…by that?” Lysei had boldly shot back with informal speech, mirroring his own, but quickly corrected herself, tacking on the honorific.
After all, a mere Nyxna challenging the Duke, second only to the Emperor, could easily lead to a swift execution.
“Pfft!”
Theor burst out laughing, clearly amused by something. His captivating smile made Lysei’s heart race, and she quickly averted her gaze.
“I like you even more now,” he murmured, though the words reached Lysei’s ears with perfect clarity.
‘Like what?’
Lysei whipped her head back up. Theor, his face the epitome of charm, watched her with his chin resting on his hand.
“When your service to Edin is complete, would you consider residing in my mansion?”
“No.” Lysei’s flat refusal came the moment he finished speaking.
“Pfft.”
Theor erupted in laughter again.
‘The original story didn’t mention it, but this guy seems to laugh a lot.’
“But really, how did you get here? You must have received permission from His Majesty, right?”
“Of course. Edin told me to wait here.”
“.…”
“To be precise, he told me to wait in his study.”
“This is His Majesty’s bedroom.”
“Which also has a study.”
Theor gestured towards a desk and bookshelves tucked away by the window. The room, as vast as a playing field, had an entire wall made of glass, and in one corner sat the desk, seemingly a space where the Emperor could enjoy a casual read.
‘So, calling it a study is a bit of a stretch.’
“His Majesty’s study is across the hall from here. You just need to step out and open the door opposite this one.”
“Hahaha!”
‘Why does this jerk laugh every time I open my mouth? Is he showing off his devastatingly handsome laugh? Well, it is devastatingly handsome, a feast for the eyes, I’ll give him that.’
“Lady Lysei,” Theor’s smooth baritone called out, interrupting her disgruntled thoughts.
“Yes.”
“Edin will be here soon, and I doubt we’ll have another moment alone like this, so I’ll ask you now.”
“….”
“Why are you, an Omega, posing as a Nyxna, a role exclusively for Betas?”
In that instant, Lysei’s heart plummeted.
‘You… You feel very different from other Nyxnas.’
‘Could he have figured it out…?!’
Lysei’s pupils trembled with fear.
Seeing her terrified expression, Theor sighed briefly and shook his head. “I’m not trying to frighten you. I have no intention of telling Edin.”
“.…”
“Well, you don’t emit any Omega pheromones, and he seems to sleep soundly beside you, even though you’re an Omega.”
“.…”
“So, there’s no issue.”
She breathed a sigh of relief.
“Not yet.”
Lysei’s brief respite ended abruptly with Theor’s next words.
‘This… dog…’
“Tell me why. Give me a reason I can accept.”
Lysei’s mind raced. What possible excuse could she offer in this situation?
“It wasn’t my choice.”
She decided on a starting point.
“But to explain everything would take a long time.” Her plan was to escape this immediate predicament and figure out the rest later.
Theor’s eyebrow arched slightly at her words.
“You said His Majesty would be here soon. I don’t want to be caught. My head would roll. Please, allow me to explain later, in private. I beg you.”
Theor found her even more intriguing, observing how she managed to speak so clearly and directly despite her evident fear. The promise of a private explanation was particularly satisfying. He nodded once, a smirk playing on his lips.
“Very well. We shall discuss this later, in private, just the two of us.”
‘Skip the “in private” part, you jerk.’
“…B-But how did you know?” Lysei was baffled. She was using black magic to mask her Omega pheromones with a Beta scent. Black magic was forbidden in the Empire, the magic of heretics. No one within the Empire would even suspect its use.
Furthermore… Baron Raccoon had insisted, with much spittle, that even those sensitive to scents and pheromones wouldn’t easily detect the deception.
‘But he figured it out so easily? And more importantly, shouldn’t he be making a bigger deal about an Omega disguised as a Beta infiltrating the palace?’
‘Of course, I’m relieved he’s not.’
“Curious?”
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