Chapter 20
“Yes.”
“If you’re curious…”
He looked as if he were about to demand 500 won, like some outdated relic from a bygone era. I stared at him, incredulous. Then, with a twitch of those handsome lips, Theor uttered something even more absurd.
“Tell me you’ll quit being Edin’s Nyxna and become mine, and then I’ll tell you.”
“I refuse.”
My immediate rejection made the corners of Theorr’s lips curl upwards.
‘So this man…’
‘…gets off on being rejected? What a pervert.’
“Hmm, aren’t you refusing a little too vehemently?”
‘Does his… lower region tingle with excitement the more firmly I refuse him?’
“Your Grace doesn’t even suffer from insomnia.”
So, I continued to refuse, quite firmly.
“Besides, it’s impossible for me to become your Nyxna after serving as His Majesty’s. It’s simply not allowed.”
Insomnia caused by pheromones only affects Edin, a dominant alpha, or rather, a supremely dominant alpha. Therefore, all Nyxnas exist solely for Emperor Edin. For someone else to use a Nyxna would be against imperial law.
Besides, in this world, the very act of an alpha taking a beta as a partner is considered exceptional.
Theor couldn’t possibly be unaware of this. He obviously wasn’t serious. Knowing this, I lightly dismissed his proposal.
Theor, watching her, found her truly amusing.
“This makes you really tempting.”
‘What a ridiculous joke.’
Pretending not to hear Theor’s absurd mutterings, whether directed at me or himself, I desperately wished for Edin’s return.
However, I soon regretted that wish. The moment Edin entered the room and saw Theor with me, he began to growl.
I grew anxious. What if they started fighting and, in his anger, Theor revealed my secret?
“How dare you disobey my command? Do you have two heads?”
“You told me to stay in the study, not that I couldn’t go into the bedroom.”
“You know perfectly well which study I meant!”
“Edin, I understand why you’re trying to hide this Nyxna, but… constantly hiding her away and trying to keep her to yourself could backfire.”
“What? Have you completely lost your mind? Backfire? How?”
“Because you’re acting so strangely, I told Lady Lysei…”
“Don’t you dare address my property so casually, Duke Theor.”
Edin growled, his voice low and dangerous, clearly enraged.
Theor was exceptionally skilled at provoking and then retreating. He’d been subtly needling Edin with his teasing, almost irritated tone, but the moment Edin addressed him formally, his demeanor shifted instantly.
“Your Majesty has been sharing that property with me until now.”
‘But seeing him continue the argument, refusing to back down, confirms that he’s also completely mad.’
“Theor!”
‘Ugh…I want to go home.’
I desperately wanted to escape this room filled with lunatics arguing over me as if I were some possession.
Knock, knock.
That was, until someone entered. Someone whose beauty outshone any other, someone who made even the most stunning individuals seem plain in comparison.
“Are you two still fighting?”
The owner of that beautiful voice was the Emperor’s aide, the one who had taken my breath away when I first arrived at the palace.
“Duke Theor, His Majesty explicitly ordered you to wait in the study.”
Even with a frown, the aide, whose face could make the Goddess of Beauty jealous, didn’t lose an ounce of his attractiveness.
Without thinking, I blurted out what was on my mind.
“Wow, he’s f*cking gorgeous…”
I knew that Zerga Disteid, the Emperor’s aide, absolutely loathed being called beautiful.
It had come up several times in the original story. One of the reasons the omega-phobic Zerga fell in love with the heroine was because she never called him beautiful.
And yet, my loose tongue had betrayed me, uttering the forbidden word, coupled with my usual, vulgar language. So, I couldn’t blame the three handsome men for staring at me in disbelief.
“Nyxna, were you referring to me?”
“The Zerga family hates being called beautiful.”
“You spoke out of turn, Lady Lysei.”
‘I know, I know.’
‘I messed up.’
“I told you not to address what belongs to me so casually, Theor.”
“Are you seriously saying I can’t even use her name now?”
“Both of you, stop this at once and move to the study.”
“Aw, can’t we do it here?”
“No.”
“No.”
Theor’s playful whine was met with simultaneous, firm rejections from both Edin and Zerga.
“And Nyxna.”
Zerga’s sudden address made me flinch.
“…Yes…?”
“I would appreciate it if you refrained from using that word in my presence. I am a man.”
‘Well, can’t men be beautiful? What era are we in where men have to be handsome and women beautiful? There can be handsome women, can’t there?’
“Ah, yes.”
But knowing that it wouldn’t do me any good to antagonize the brilliant strategist Zerga, I meekly nodded.
“Your Majesty, Your Grace, please proceed to the study immediately.”
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