No Regression for the Victor - Chapter 10

Even Marcel had to admit the prince was someone who probably had never considered such things. Mikhail Osbrandt, the youngest and most cherished prince of the imperial family, was a tragic royal child who, as a boy, was spirited away from the palace by a servant bearing a grudge against the imperial family.

Born of Regina, the Emperor’s second consort, he was reported to the imperial family as stillborn. However, another servant, unable to bring herself to kill the newborn, smuggled him out and had him adopted by a hunter living far from the capital on the plains.

The hunter raised the young prince much like his own children, but when a terrible famine brought on by monsters struck, he sold the boy to a mercenary company to lessen the number of mouths to feed.

Thus, the prince grew up traveling foreign lands as a member of a mercenary corps, never knowing who he truly was. Naturally, he had no interest in the customs of the imperial family or matters like engagement.

“Still, having grown up among such rough types, you can’t be completely indifferent, can you?”

The prince tilted his head, looking genuinely puzzled.

“What do you mean…?”

“I’m an alpha, so let’s speak frankly. Are you really not interested? I mean omegas. When rut comes, the moment you smell those pheromones, down below you just—”

“Marcel!”

At Marcel’s crude joke, the young prince’s face turned bright red. Who would ever believe this blushing youth was the hero of the Delwyn Mountains? As the prince shouted, Marcel—who was closer in age to Mikhail’s uncle than to his older brother—clutched his stomach and laughed, conceding defeat.

“If you keep bringing that up, Marcel, I’ll never show you my face again.”

Is that supposed to be a threat, Your Highness? Marcel shuddered with amusement at the childish display. Honestly, it was because His Majesty, with only three living children—two of them in sound mind—had, after such a long separation, been overly protective of the youngest he had finally recovered.

“Yes, yes, I understand. Still, it would be best to choose someone soon. Unless you want to end up with a different partner every rut. The imperial family is short-handed, so the court physician likely won’t prescribe suppressants as readily, either.”

Every time the conversation turned to alphas and omegas, the prince wanted to run away and hide. Even now, he couldn’t quite believe he’d been suddenly recognized as imperial blood and raised to the status of prince.

For Mikhail, who had lived all his life convinced he was just an ordinary commoner beta, such talk felt like chasing clouds. As Mikhail’s blush finally faded, Marcel slyly tried another question.

“So—really, is there no one? No one you’re interested in? Or even an ideal type?”

Since the question was at least milder, the prince replied with an awkward sigh.

“If I had to say…”

He’d probably want someone strong. Mikhail carefully chose his words to avoid misunderstanding, but Marcel burst out laughing again.

“Someone strong…and strict. That’s my type.”

Compared to others, he really did have too gentle a personality. Maybe it was because, from a young age, he’d grown used to giving up and dealing with things physically. Of course, he’d always assumed he’d marry someone strong like his foster mother.

Now, as a prince, when his elder brother became Emperor, he would naturally become lord of a territory near the capital. He was good at fighting, but had no talent for administration. What he really wanted was someone meticulous and strict, capable of managing the estate in his stead—he didn’t wish for anything else.

“To match Your Highness’s standards of strength… every omega in the country would have to train until they could crush a monster single-handed!”

At Marcel’s joke, Mikhail cleared his throat and changed the subject.

“Let’s leave my story. You said you received an assignment from His Majesty today? What is it?”

Ugh. The moment he saw the prince’s sparkling eyes, Marcel regretted it.

“It’s… nothing special. Just an assignment that’ll take me far from here.”

But that only made the prince’s curiosity flare even brighter.

“Far away? Where? Far enough that you have to use a gate?”

Ah, damn. I shouldn’t have said anything. I shouldn’t have mentioned going far. The prince hadn’t been allowed to leave the palace since the regular monster subjugation at the start of the year.