Chapter 33
Adrian kept trying to catch her eye, clearly worried by the way her complexion kept flushing red and blue in turns.
“As the Crown Prince’s omega lover, stepping forward isn’t something I’m doing just for Edith’s sake. It helps me a great deal as well.”
“Even so, it’s too much for you to shoulder.”
“No, really… From now on, I’ll be able to receive the imperial family’s full backing in business. And I won’t be pushed out of high society anymore, a world that revolves entirely around the nobility.”
Because he was of mixed ethnic origin, Adrian never truly fit in among the old aristocracy. Strictly speaking, he existed in an awkward in-between. Though he held the title of count, he was never treated as one.
“Adrian, you’re probably going to be harassed relentlessly.”
“I’m used to being harassed by others. You know that. There are always people swarming around me.”
“Do you really think your followers and the people who want to tear you apart are the same?”
“There are just as many people picking faults with me. I guess Edith hasn’t looked closely enough.”
“From where I stand, everyone just keeps saying how pretty you are.”
“Not at all. I’m used to being insulted and hurt. It’s something I go through everywhere anyway. If it happens while I’m expanding my business, at least it won’t feel unfair.”
Edith couldn’t bring herself to stop Adrian, faced with the firmness of his resolve. Even if his claim—that he would pretend to be the Crown Prince’s partner for the sake of his business—sounded like an excuse, there was nothing she could do.
The Adrian who had always tried to keep his distance now felt as though he was slowly seeping into her world.
For several days, rumors spread that Adrian had formed a special connection with the Crown Prince.
Choosing a bright, clear day, a table was arranged on a wide, open terrace—an unmistakably conspicuous location. The Crown Prince had orchestrated everything meticulously, while Adrian dressed as extravagantly as he could.
After dismissing the attendants, the two of them shared tea alone.
Each time a palace servant brought refreshments, Adrian subtly released omega pheromones toward Clyde, behaving as though he were continuously offering a scent of temptation. Clyde responded in kind, emitting sharp, piercing alpha pheromones.
The Crown Prince’s scent was beastlike—an aroma that compelled submission without effort.
“Your Highness, your scent is too strong. It’s hard for me to endure.”
“You’re no weakling yourself. You must have made quite a few alphas cry.”
They caught sight of a palace servant wobbling as he pushed the serving cart away. He looked to be a relatively weak alpha.
“Not at all. I pride myself on being a modest omega.”
Adrian snapped back with an uncharacteristically stiff expression, irritation bubbling up for no good reason.
Though he had resolved to let himself be used, bearing the title of the Crown Prince’s lover was a heavy burden even for him. It would undoubtedly become an obstacle later, when he tried to build a family with someone else.
He hoped what he had asked of Edith beforehand would prove effective. At the very least, he wished she wouldn’t misunderstand.
Adrian smiled brightly again and again, but the conversation exchanged behind that display smile was unbearably barren. After repeating dull talk about the weather, even that ran dry. Neither of them wanted to touch on sensitive matters.
“Count, shall we rise now?”
Standing up after the excessively long tea time felt refreshing.
“May I come again tomorrow?”
“That would be best.”
“I’ll clear my schedule just as generously as I did today.”
“And if you need anything separately, speak to the head attendant.”
Adrian lowered his gaze without responding. Any compensation for helping the Crown Prince’s plans would be handled through the head attendant without Adrian needing to ask.
He was already aware of it. The Crown Prince wasn’t going this far merely to shield Edith on a personal level.
Rumors of discord between the imperial family and the old nobility were growing louder by the day. The Crown Prince’s intention to elevate new powers was becoming increasingly clear. Merchants and industrialists—including Adrian—were scrambling to seize this opportunity. Edith, whose noble title placed her awkwardly outside the traditional aristocratic faction, naturally caught the Crown Prince’s attention as well.
And she was clever, too. That likely explained why she was being held so tightly at his side.
“Your Highness, I’ll see you off.”
As the two men exited the terrace, they ran into Edith. She was approaching from across the corridor with another attendant.
“Ah…”
Adrian let out a vague sound, failing to react quickly. Even knowing that such passivity wouldn’t help his chances with her, he couldn’t fix the habit.
Showing hesitation wouldn’t leave a good impression on Edith. She already disliked him; being slow to respond only made it worse.
She really did dislike him. If not that, then at least she was uncomfortable around him.
And that hurt.
It made it hard to take a bold step forward.
Compared to Clyde, who strode confidently and asserted his presence with every step, Adrian lagged behind, gazing at her with quiet longing.
Edith exchanged a brief conversation with the Crown Prince first, then acknowledged Adrian.
“Arty, you were still here.”
As always, she was carrying a chaotic pile of things. Loose sheets stuffed into a palm-sized booklet made its pages bulge open, several papers looking ready to fall at any moment.
“Edith, your timing’s perfect.”
“His Highness contacted me, saying he was leaving.”
It seemed she had been summoned precisely as the tea ended.
Adrian felt sorry for her, looking so busy. The Crown Prince was being unreasonable. Couldn’t he let Edith rest properly instead of calling her immediately like this?
Clyde stepped forward and swiftly took the items from her hands. He removed the scattered papers, neatly aligned them by tapping their edges into a clean square, then tucked them back into the book and held it himself.
Clyde had done exactly what Adrian had wanted to do—before Adrian could act.
Clyde tilted his head toward her.
“Edith, let’s go up.”
“Yes…”
“Have Adrian escorted back safely by this attendant.”
The attendant was someone Adrian knew well—a longtime friend who had been appointed alongside Edith this term.
Watching the Crown Prince and Edith walk away side by side, Adrian felt a dull ache tighten in the pit of his stomach.
He didn’t want to see her with another man, yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away.
The attendant spoke at length into Adrian’s ear, but Adrian didn’t hear a word at first. Only after it was repeated several times did he understand that the attendant was telling him it was time to leave.
“Just a moment. Let me see them off a bit more.”
To the passing palace staff, it probably looked like Adrian was gazing longingly after his lover, Clyde.
The attendant, who had known Adrian since their academy days, understood his unspoken feelings all too well. Everyone close to him had witnessed it—years of Adrian circling around Edith without ever stepping closer.
“Adrian, isn’t it about time you stopped?”
The attendant clenched and unclenched his fist inside his sleeve, quietly soothing the ache in his chest.
“Stopped? This is just the beginning.”
“Is it really a beginning? Isn’t it still one-sided?”
“Edith contacted me herself not long ago and came to see me. I think she was trying to connect me with the Crown Prince, but… even so, that means she thought of me, doesn’t it?”
He remembered that day—the day he had flirted with every ounce of courage he had. Rolling up his sleeves, sitting close, deliberately tempting her.
If not then, he felt he would never get another chance. So he crossed the line, even saying she could come to his home anytime. He made it clear he would welcome her day or night without hesitation.
Edith probably didn’t know how embarrassed he had been saying and doing those things.
It was the only time in his life he had struggled so desperately to be liked by someone.
The attendant looked at Adrian, who still showed no intention of leaving, with a fed-up expression.
“What is it about her that you like so much?”
“Well…”
Adrian paused, thinking, then dragged out his words.
“I don’t know. It’s been so long, I can’t really remember. My eyes just naturally went to her.”
Was it because she stood alone, untouched, among people constantly clinging to him? Because the image of her descending the towering library steps stuck with him? Because she confused classroom locations yet always earned scholarships without fail?
Then, suddenly, he remembered how Edith saw him.
She had mentioned it several times—how there were always people around him. Followers, she had called them.
That term originally came from those who slandered him. It became so common that even his friends later joked about it freely.
Of course, plenty of people approached him romantically as well. No matter how often he rejected them, more kept appearing, until turning down confessions became nauseatingly routine.
“Does Edith think I’m a womanizer?”
The attendant brushed off his muttering indifferently.
“Of course she does.”
“Of course?”
“Even you would think so. Who would see an omega constantly wrapped in alphas as pure?”
Even the attendant humoring Adrian’s gloomy mood was an alpha. If Edith viewed him that way, Adrian had no room to argue.
“That’s not true.”
“Maybe you know that. Edith doesn’t.”
“I’m really not a womanizer.”
Emotion surged up suddenly.
The pain he had long suppressed festered inside, heating his chest until it burned.
In that instant, unbearable passion crashed over him.
At the end of the corridor, Edith was just turning the corner. Dragging her heels as if exhausted by daily life, she slipped out of Adrian’s sight.
He couldn’t bear it.
The emotions he had endured for so long were about to spill over. His body was screaming that he could no longer swallow them down.
A torrent of uncontrollable anger poured through him, moving his wandering legs of its own accord. Before he realized it, Adrian was running—recklessly sprinting through the dignified corridors of the Crown Prince’s palace in pursuit of her.
It wasn’t that he wanted to make excuses about not being a womanizer. No matter how much he pressed them down, other words overflowed instead.
There was something he wanted to say.
I’m tired of just circling around you. I want to come closer—so please, don’t avoid me.
The rushing wind cooled his burning eyes. He consciously smoothed his furrowed brow.
Even in the storm of resentment and passion, he was obsessed with not earning her dislike.
“Um—”
Grabbing onto the pillar at the corner, Adrian turned in the direction Edith had gone.
