Chapter 3…
Twisted Fate
Suppressing the urge to lift her gaze following Duke Rihast, Eileen clenched her fists tightly. Only after her nails dug into her skin, distracting her senses, could she turn her stiffened head.
He’s releasing pheromones.
When two alphas are involved, each other’s pheromones can feel unsettling. That’s probably why the alpha butler had been clutching his neck in agony. Especially since it was an overwhelmingly dominant pheromone. And her omega older brother would have reacted in his own way.
Eileen forced her tightly pressed lips upward, attempting a smile that would hide her true feelings and appear composed.
“A rat, you say? Even the most insignificant counts take care of their homes properly.”
“Then the sound we just heard wasn’t a rat. Shouldn’t we go check it out?”
“Well, that’s a matter for our family’s butler. It’s the duty of the person running the Claudia household. Thank you for your concern.”
Drawing a clear line telling him not to interfere in her household, Duke Rihast’s gaze returned to Eileen.
Could she keep meeting that gaze?
The tension was mounting, yet Duke Rihast showed no sign of backing down. In the space thick with pheromones that Eileen couldn’t see, a tense standoff continued—and Duke Rihast was the first to break it.
“A fervent alpha who seems powerless, a beta who’d fall back at the slightest touch. Outside, there are feeble betas scuttling about.”
Listening to his cold, indifferent voice, Eileen felt her chest tighten.
He mentioned the butler, herself, and even the knights outside, speaking in a monotonous tone.
“Do you think this is an environment to feel secure in?”
Eileen exerted a fair amount of inner strength just to maintain her smile.
Every word from Duke Rihast scraped at her insides relentlessly. He treated her like a powerless beta and showed no respect for the Claudia household.
He might think her knights were insufficient, but they were undeniably Claudia knights. Loyal people who protected her brother and treated her with respect. Eileen wanted to forcefully shut the mouth that lumped them together.
“Does it even matter if they’re fervent alphas or betas here?”
“Then shall I put it another way?”
“That’s fine.”
“So…”
Eileen swallowed hard at his subtly pressing tone.
“I want to see that rat myself.”
It sounded no different than, ‘You seem lacking, so I’ll handle it personally—how dare you refuse?’
“Do you have the right to refuse me?”
“And you, who says that…”
She wanted to ask if he even had the right to interfere in a family he had no connection to.
Eileen’s eyes widened at the sudden closeness. It was shocking enough that his towering, solid frame approached as if to intimidate, yet Duke Rihast simply passed by her. With no hesitation, he ascended the stairs, leaving Eileen’s face drained of color.
He was going to find Ethan himself. Perhaps the pheromones he emitted were just to track Ethan’s location. Eileen allowed his words and actions to wash over her naturally, like flowing water.
If she couldn’t stop him, he would find Ethan. Desperation surged to her throat, her heart constricting with urgency. Summoning all her wits, Eileen reached toward him.
“The answer to the proposal.”
Duke Rihast halted. As he slowly turned around, Eileen swallowed dryly.
Already tall, he now required her to tilt her head even more after climbing just a couple of steps. The disproportionate eye-level gap felt like the distance between them. Looking up, Eileen felt the weight of his presence pressing down on her shoulders.
“I’ll do it.”
Unable to sort through the surge of thoughts, Eileen blurted out her decision.
“I’ll marry him.”
Under his overwhelming gaze, Eileen barely held herself together. She remembered the proposal and said yes, though she hadn’t thought of any alternative. Reality offered no more time, and she felt both regret and the thrill of uncertainty at her words.
Duke Rihast, staring at Eileen, turned his body with a detached expression.
“There’s no time for formalities. We must go immediately and prepare.”
At his businesslike reply, Eileen nodded heavily.
“Please give me just a little time.”
“Did you not hear me? I said there’s no time.”
Duke Rihast grabbed her arm. Not only was she forced to face outward, but she had to follow him as if being pulled along.
A carriage had been waiting at the mansion entrance all along, its black maw gaping like a monster’s. Eileen instinctively braced herself on her toes.
Once she got in, she felt she might never return. Yet Duke Rihast, seemingly annoyed by her hesitation, lightly nudged her back.
“Get in.”
Pressured by him, Eileen reluctantly stepped into the carriage. It had special panels to prevent pheromones from leaking—a luxury not every noble could afford.
The conclusion was obvious.
“Despicable human.”
He had intended to take anyone along immediately.
Eileen glared at the carriage wall as it slowly moved, then opened the window.
The mansion receded behind her. She thought of her brother in the attic. Ethan would be so bewildered—his sister following Duke Rihast while he remained trapped in the attic.
But this is the best I can do.
Eileen closed her eyes, her gaze tinged with resignation.
The moment Ethan got in this carriage, the horrifying chain of events she wanted to prevent would spiral out of control.
She grasped her necklace. Whenever anxious or sad, Eileen held this necklace. Though it had no special power, it brought her some comfort.
For a moment, she touched the edges of the pendant, then suddenly realized something.
“This necklace…”
Eileen held the pendant. A simple, vintage piece engraved with both her and Ethan’s names in a symbolic design.
She stared at it and opened it like splitting it in half. Inside was a family photo. Eileen gazed endlessly at the four-person family photo with their parents and Ethan, resting her forehead against the pendant.
Everything she had endured had truly happened.
After Ethan married the duke, after her suicide, the ruin of the household, the unhappy marriage—all of it was real. She had hoped it was a dream. Falling off a cliff, she had rewound time.
And this necklace proved it. A gift she had given to commemorate Ethan’s marriage—a future item that could not exist yet.
“Are you leaving?”
Ethan turned at her question. Asking the duke for permission, he approached Eileen. As usual, he gently patted her head and spoke kindly.
Grandfather said it. Our family’s engagement with Duke Rihast’s house is a once-in-a-lifetime fortune. I thought you’d go to the duke’s house, not me.
Sniff… brother, can’t you not go?
Eileen. Don’t cry.
Ethan looked at his sister with fondness. His usually gentle hand moved from her head to her cheek.
From the moment you became an omega, I expected a day like this. It’s an unavoidable fate, so let’s accept it. I’ll visit often even after marriage. Or… do you want to come instead?
But marriage is supposed to be with someone you love.
Even though she was marrying someone she barely knew, Ethan wasn’t saddened or disappointed.
It was as if he accepted it as his fate.
Of course, marrying someone you love is best. But there are things more important—family, lineage.
Feeling he hadn’t explained enough, Ethan added:
This is a secret, but the scent of pheromones from that man’s body is really pleasant. So I don’t dislike this marriage either.
Though Ethan’s expression wasn’t happy, as a beta she had no way of understanding, so she accepted it at face value.
You’ll understand once you manifest too.
…Is that okay?
Hmm? What did you say?
Ethan tilted his head toward Eileen, not having heard her.
Do you like being an omega?
Eileen asked, thinking of the handsome face her brother had shown when he manifested as a child.
Ethan, who had never brushed aside her questions before, pondered seriously this time as well. After a long moment of thought, he finally spoke.
