“Quite presentable!”
Mikhail was satisfied.
“But isn’t your outfit a bit plain?”
“Hyung’s stubbornness is so strong. I had no choice.”
Rilke answered on my behalf.
Far from being stubborn, at first I didn’t even know what clothes I was wearing because I was just trying to adapt. Rilke, who had come back in, simply had the maids undress me from the clothes they’d put on and changed me into something else. I didn’t even have the energy to object.
“This time, you absolutely must exchange at least a word with His Highness the Prince. If you just run away again, I’ll sever our brotherly ties.”
Mikhail threatened, and I nodded half-heartedly.
While Rilke and Mikhail were chatting amicably about something, the traitor Jake approached.
“Oh my! Young master has at least some decent qualities too!”
She praised me half-heartedly, then got to the point.
“Oh dear, anyway, when are you coming back to the main building? Though hyung-nim may not look it, he’s very worried! Besides, when I saw him earlier, Mikhail-nim has been very busy lately. If young master stays in the main building, I can take care of young master while also helping the Count!”
I was already annoyed, so I said to Jake.
“Other than your loyalty to Mikhail, you seem to have absolutely no redeeming qualities.”
“Oh my, what high praise. But why are you suddenly throwing out a cuckoo?”
At her sincere voice, I just resigned myself like a reed warbler who ended up raising someone else’s child.
The Summer Music Festival, held every other year, originated from the founding year when a large white deer, moved by the founding anthem of the legendary composer Sir Simit, brought a golden laurel branch in its mouth. The white deer symbolized a messenger of the gods.
The huge banquet hall, decorated in white and gold symbolizing the music festival, was as grand and splendid as I remembered. But there was no time to appreciate that brilliance.
Like all hardships, I thought I was getting used to the corset’s characteristic suffocation.
But after enduring the carriage vibrations the whole way here, getting off and walking, arriving at the imperial palace and standing through the long ritual congratulatory address, and by the time today’s musician was playing the celebratory piece signaling the start of the banquet, it became unbearably stifling.
Though cheerful orchestral music was being performed in the hall, it only sounded sad to me.
“Do you know?”
Sir Lifros and I were leaning against one wall together. The people in front weren’t cats, but it felt like I’d returned to that day of observing cats again.
“There’s a research result showing that the word ‘refinement’ is the most frequently used word by Imperial citizens.”
Sir Lifros, who had been observing the dozens of conversations taking place throughout the hall with me, struck up a conversation.
“Then the most unpopular word must be ‘unrefined.'”
“Correct. And right over there, those people are acting quite unrefined.”
“Ah.”
“You didn’t notice?”
I hadn’t.
In the direction Sir Lifros was subtly pointing, I spotted those despicable people who used to spread false rumors about me.
In the past, I really would have challenged them to a duel.
‘You’re being such a nuisance to me! Why on earth does a man get worked up over such things and make matters worse!’
Mikhail in the past used to get angry because of me often. I had wanted to protect myself from the rude attention of strangers.
‘As long as you can’t control your pheromones, such rumors are natural! If another family’s omega had been like that, I would have avoided them too and thought the same! Besides, if you’d conducted yourself properly in the first place, such rumors wouldn’t have spread!’
I had never done anything to be misunderstood.
Yet I was already known as lewd, easy, and a liar. Those people over there were probably spreading such rumors right now too.
‘The fact that you can’t ignore such rumors and harass me about it is what shows poor conduct! It shows a lack of confidence!’
Mikhail might have been right.
But whenever I saw people whispering like that right in front of me, it felt like cold tea had been thrown in my face. I’m not that kind of person. I wanted my hyung, who was quite well-regarded in high society, to suppress the rumors for my sake.
In the end, Mikhail took action, though annoyed.
He sent stern warning letters to numerous parties who were spouting falsehoods. When we were at banquets together, he protected me by staying close.
The rumors died down on the surface. But the moment someone whispered cowardly words in my ear again, my carefully held patience flew away.
‘You’re really bringing disgrace to the Meyer family name!’
I had dueled.
The opponent was a margrave’s youngest son and of course had been knighted. With my face bruised all over, I got beaten by hyung again.
‘High society is overflowing with all kinds of scandalous rumors! Your little speck will soon be rubbed away and disappear, so why make a fuss and escalate things!’
Because I hadn’t properly thrashed the margrave’s son, I became even more of a laughingstock.
An omega dueled, not a single alpha stepped forward to fight on his behalf, in truth he had a one-sided crush on his duel opponent. The rumors in high society showed no signs of dying down. Mikhail stopped even sending warning letters, saying I was no better than a bottomless waste of effort.
“I must stand out quite a bit to those people today too.”
I don’t know why that bothered me so much and made me so angry back then.
Just ignore them! I finally understood a little of Mikhail’s words that had seemed so indifferent and hateful.
“If you ignore them, they’ll stop on their own.”
“So it’s not because of them?”
I looked to the side puzzled. Sir Lifros was carefully observing my face.
“Your face is pale. I thought you might be secretly suppressing your upset feelings because of them.”
For an Iotan, Sir Lifros was cautious, but still more direct than Imperial citizens.
The knight with his hair neatly let down looked impressive today too. Only then did I notice people glancing this way from here and there.
This righteous knight was also my benefactor in the past.
If the past was changing anyway,
it would be better if he didn’t become my benefactor.
“Don’t you need to go?”
“You’re trying to send me away again. I’m popular, so I’m fine. And,”
Sir Lifros looked steadily at those people.
“As a knight, since it’s not true consideration, I can’t step forward without permission. But leaving you alone in this situation doesn’t seem proper.”
And on that knight’s face, I could sense even greater anger than the current situation warranted. The startled ruffians left to find other easier prey. Sir Lifros explained the reason for his anger.
“Isn’t it typical of Imperial citizens to pretend they can’t hurt you to your face, pretending to be refined, while applying harsh standards behind your back? I say nothing about gossip that stays within the drawing room. But they always do it in front of many people, making sure those barbed comments reach the person’s ears somehow, whether directly or indirectly.”
He was criticizing the hypocritical aspect of Imperial high society.
“Isn’t it better than grabbing someone by the hair and immediately dueling?”
This was Iotan high society.
“Perhaps. But Iotans let their feelings end that same day. When you meet again, you’re friends—of course, there are occasional unfortunate incidents where they kill each other so they can’t meet again.”
Sir Lifros readily admitted the shortcomings of his homeland’s high society.
“Where are you going?”
“I really can’t stand it anymore.”
“Finally going to punish them directly… but that’s the exit direction?”
“I’m sorry, but ugh, do you have a sword?”
Weapons weren’t allowed into the banquet hall.
I asked in urgency, but even if Sir Lifros really had a sword, I wouldn’t have dared borrow a knight’s lifeline.
“—This will be enough. Thank you.”
Though it seemed completely hopeless, I had no choice but to accept what Sir Lifros pressed into my hand.
“Young Master Meyer. Are you alright?” Throughout my exit from the hall, several acquaintances approached saying I didn’t look well. I had no energy to respond and just smiled faintly. When one of them touched my shoulder, I flinched and quickly stepped back, and a strange sensation rose from below.
“Are you really okay?”
“Actually… I’m not well.”
“Oh dear.”
I was grateful for the genuine concern, but my body seemed to be rapidly becoming more uncomfortable.
I declined the offer to accompany me to the lounge, and escaped from there with the excuse that I wanted to rest alone. Mikhail was exchanging greetings with other nobles while wearing an insincere smile.
The lounge was close at hand, but I circled around the corridor and found a place far away.
But I was anxious.
Just a little further. Just a little more.
I found a truly secluded spot. This place, which you wouldn’t know about unless you specifically looked for it, was for guests seeking discretion.
“Ugh… haa,”
I tried to lock the door but with my breathless, suffocating state of mind, I couldn’t calmly figure out how to operate it. After fumbling with the elaborate brass doorknob several times, I gave up and sank down.
I was exhausted.
Anyway, since the banquet had just started, all the rooms were empty. I could resolve this quickly and leave without anyone knowing.
Encouraging myself, I undid the buttons.
Slowly I pulled the blouse hem out from inside my pants. The flowing sleeves and hem kept getting in the way of my movements. I thought Rilke, who wears such clothes every time, was impressive.
My waist was stuffy, my breathing labored. My hands kept moving irritably. I wanted to tear everything off, but whenever I exerted force the pressure intensified, so I couldn’t move forcefully at all.
I barely got the blouse off and, catching my ragged breath, carefully removed my pants as well.
“Ngh—”
I swallowed a curse. The string below pulled sharply.
“Ah, really—”
Besides the corset, the problem was the strange underwear that kept digging between my buttocks.
It was what the maids had put on me. The scrap of fabric or string connected to the corset—I couldn’t tell which—was ridiculously Rilke’s underwear.
‘Young master is the strange one. All omegas wear underwear like Rilke-nim’s.’
That’s what one of the maids said, unable to hold back.
I was horrified at first, but after the maid showed me inside the underwear box, I just stayed still and let them dress me as they wished.
‘……’
I realized that what I was wearing now was the most modest among the things in that box. It was also fortunate that it was brand new, just unwrapped.
I picked up what I’d set down while undressing.
A butter knife—what Sir Lifros had grabbed from the food area.
I put my hands behind me and tried to cut the underwear string with the small knife, but it didn’t work. The fine serrations seemed to lack cutting power.
I grew anxious.
Still kneeling, I gripped the knife and brought both hands around to my lower back. When I straightened my back and thrust my chest forward, it became easier to move. I was concentrating on pulling my chin in and sliding the knife between the strings when—
……!
Suddenly, with a whoosh,
the door opened.
My head shot up in shock.
“……!”
I locked eyes with the person who had just entered.
His eyes, which had always been calm, widened to the size of lanterns.
‘What on earth is there that makes you insist on this?’
From beyond the door, another person’s voice could be heard.
Oh, it’s Count Leroy.
With my mind gone blank, I recognized that.
Which meant the person who had just burst in was Prince Benedict, who had Count Leroy as his attendant.
