The Ring of Bondage - Chapter 1.11

That was why he had gone to Yuria’s room a few days ago.

To ask her to stay at the mansion a little longer. To buy time, spend private moments with her, and then formally propose. After he heard that Yuria had fallen ill in bed, his mind had gone blank with worry.

And after that…

‘It couldn’t be more fortunate than this!’

Only after Luke forced open the locked door and entered did he realize that the scent of water lingering around the servants’ quarters was her pheromones. That scent, which had been leaking faintly through the crack in the door, became so thick the moment he stepped into the room that it made his head spin.

The dense pheromones, and the rut triggered by them. If it had only been that much, Luke would somehow have returned to his room before his rut began in earnest, but the omega before his eyes was none other than Yuria Rigbye.

Even in heat, telling an alpha to go back was very like her. But at the same time, her body drenched in cold sweat, her lips bitten hard to hold back her moans, and those eyes wavering with thirst for pleasure. Until then, Luke had imagined Yuria in obscene ways countless times. But no fantasy could compare to the real Yuria before him.

—I’m sorry, Teacher. I don’t think I can be an obedient student today.

Even to offer such a meaningless apology, Luke had to draw his patience up to its limit. Had he truly felt sorry? Probably not. Because the fact that Yuria was an omega, and the joy that perhaps he really could become her mate, had ruled his brain.

And in the end, she became his one and only mate… even if it would be nothing more than one-sided.

An imprint wasn’t formed simply because an omega in heat and an alpha in rut joined bodies. Besides knotting, what was absolutely necessary for imprinting was deep emotion, an earnest desire for the other person.

Yuria last night hadn’t even recognized who she was joining bodies with, so there was no way an imprint could have occurred for her. To begin with, Luke himself was probably still nothing more than a student who had just come of age to Yuria.

But wasn’t that alright anyway? If he told Yuria that he had imprinted, she wouldn’t be able to easily turn away from him. Crushed by her sense of responsibility, she might make a choice she didn’t even want. That would certainly not be love.

But as long as Yuria stayed by Luke’s side, Luke could be satisfied with that alone. Responsibility or pity would be fine. Then perhaps, just perhaps. If they continued staying together, one day she might come to love him.

So it was only natural that Luke’s steps were light as he left the banquet hall. And his bewilderment when he saw Yuria’s empty room was just as natural.

“Teacher Rigbye? What do you mean, no one saw her?”

Luke grabbed the shoulders of the servants he encountered and questioned them as if he were shouting. They had been busy, and didn’t remember Yuria’s whereabouts at all. I think I ran into her briefly, she was carrying a travel bag.

Following that flimsy testimony, Luke ran toward the entrance used by the servants. Before the narrow, shabby door, a guard opened his mouth.

“It was probably not long after the banquet began. She walked straight down that road.”

“…Did she leave any words?”

“When I asked if she was already leaving, she only answered yes.”

In Yuria’s empty room, only the single letter Luke had left sat forlornly. There wasn’t even one added line of writing, and no message passed through anyone else.

Without a single word, just like that.

Luke stared blankly at the road Yuria had taken. It was a dark, narrow alley without a single lamp.

* * *

At the train station, Yuria stood holding her travel bag and agonized. Now that she had actually left the mansion, the road ahead felt bleak.

Originally, she had planned to return to her hometown once this work ended. Since she had the career history of being a live-in governess for the ducal family, she thought that if she opened a small classroom and taught children, she would have enough to live on, however modestly.

But that was impossible now. If the ducal family searched for Yuria, the first place they would comb through was her hometown.

Then where should she go?

As she turned over the destinations written at the train station, Yuria hesitated. The names of places she had encountered only through books were packed together. She knew the terrain and climate of all those many regions, even their populations and primary industries, but there was no one in any of those places who would welcome her. If so, she should go somewhere with many people instead.

After organizing her thoughts, Yuria stood before the ticket booth.