The moment I was certain it was Hereis, I forced an artificial smile as if the situation was absurd. The thought of going to the Temple of Goddess Wersheen to argue had long since disappeared. I tried to get through this situation by acting as if it was ridiculous, but I couldn’t help my racing heartbeat. Eldon’s expression hardened even more coldly, and the hand gripping my wrist tightened.
If I get caught here, I’ll be executed for the crime of dishonoring the imperial family. House Chendewden will be exterminated, and innocent people will be dragged into this. Hereis won’t be safe either. I absolutely cannot be discovered. My fingertips grew cold and trembled, when Eldon spoke to the head butler.
“He passed. What’s the next step?”
“If you have passed all the examinations, lastly you must enter the Prolain bath to prepare to receive His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“I see.”
He wrapped my hand so the holy water that had turned red wouldn’t drip to the floor. Then he moved toward the final bath engraved with flowers. With my wrist caught, I followed him into the bath.
The Prolain bath was warm enough to melt one’s body. It seemed all the warm steam filling the Hall of White Robes came from here. As I immersed my body, the red liquid remaining on my wrist scattered and mixed into the bath.
“You may leave now.”
After watching the red streaks completely disappear from my wrist, Eldon commanded the head butler.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
‘Don’t go. Head Butler-nim, don’t leave just the two of us alone.’
Feeling the murderous intent from the man beside me, I gazed desperately at Bill’s retreating back. But with his eyes covered, he walked out through the door with naturally flowing steps.
In the end, only Eldon and I remained in the pure white space. And as if he’d been waiting, a chilling question flew at me.
“Do you have a soulmate?”
“No!”
I’d already anticipated this. I tried to counter forcefully with a model answer, but I was too emphatic—way too emphatic. When I shouted like a private with strict discipline, Eldon’s eyes narrowed even more icily.
“Is it that you don’t have one? Or that you don’t remember?”
“…Well. I can’t know about parts I don’t remember.”
“……”
“But is the holy water accurate?”
“That’s what I was told.”
If the holy water’s reliability is high, suspicion is unavoidable. Should I create an atmosphere suggesting it was someone I met before losing my memory? Then at least I can protect Hereis.
“…Then something must have happened before I lost my memory.”
“The third prince?”
“As if.”
I recoiled instinctively. No matter how much of an excuse it is, I don’t want to be bound as a soulmate to that pervert. Besides, if I arouse suspicion again when we just barely separated, it’ll threaten my survival.
“So you’re saying it’s not him?”
Eldon radiated an ominous murderous intent. It seems the problem has already occurred. Too scared to meet his eyes, I lowered my head and saw his penis standing menacingly beneath the transparent water surface.
I’d momentarily forgotten because of the holy water, but right now I was completely naked in a bath alone with Eldon. His body, hard as a sculpture, made me newly embarrassed, so I slowly edged toward a corner.
“I don’t remember, but I don’t think I was sincere about that person.”
“Who knows. Maybe passionate types were your preference.”
Eldon pulled me back as I moved away. As he pulled my waist close, telling me not to run away, his pheromones rushed in.
“Can it really be trusted? If it were a soulmate, I would have been imprinted, but I’m not. I can feel Your Highness’s pheromones.”
“…Is that so?”
The pheromones that had been like murderous intent softened. It was good that I turned his attention this way. It would be difficult for an ordinary beta to prove their innocence, but I’m an omega. Soulmates usually mean imprinting. No matter how much Eldon suspects me, he won’t think I performed a marriage ceremony with an incubus.
“I felt Sir Leon’s pheromones too.”
An imprinted alpha and omega can only smell their partner’s pheromones. When I appealed to the fact that I’d smelled another alpha’s pheromones, Eldon’s haughty eyes narrowed.
“…That bastard used his pheromones on you?”
“I don’t know about that. Anyway, I smelled them.”
Leon didn’t deliberately release them; it’s just that my sense of smell was sensitive because of the heat cycle. But I didn’t particularly want to defend him. He can explain for himself.
“In any case, I haven’t imprinted with anyone. I don’t have anyone I like either. Even if I did, they disappeared with my memories. Maybe the holy water was wrong after all? Since I’m an omega, maybe I showed a different reaction than women would.”
“It’s true you haven’t been imprinted, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
I nodded firmly. This time it was quite natural. Somehow my acting seems to be improving.
Eldon stared at me with sunken eyes. He was weighing the truth. Whether to believe me or not.
“If you wish, you may verify it.”
“How?”
“You may have me smell someone else’s pheromones…”
“If verification is needed, I should do it—why would I seek out another man!”
Eldon pulled my back close and bit the slave brand. Heat spread from the collarbone he’d roughly bitten. Was it because of the heat cycle? Was it because the water was hot? As if the sexual desire that had frozen solid while immersed in cold water was awakening, hot breaths leaked through my throat.
Eldon’s tongue, which had been licking the brand, descended and licked my chest. It felt like both my body and thoughts would melt and flow away. But even as my body gradually melted, I could feel fragments of doubt remaining in Eldon’s eyes.
“…Your Highness, if I had a soulmate in the past before I lost my memory, what would you do?”
He pulled away his lips and answered plainly.
“I’d have to kill them.”
“……”
“I’ll kill that bastard. I don’t have a hobby of sharing what’s mine.”
Harry, what should I do?
I’d barely succeeded in dining, but my causing trouble didn’t seem like it would end.
“…Even though I don’t remember?”
“Doesn’t matter. If there is one, I’ll find them.”
“I really don’t remember.”
I shook my head desperately. That bastard Eldon would really find them and more.
Eldon looked down at me as if amused, then rubbed my nipple with his long, calloused fingers.
“Hng, Your Highness…!”
“We’ll find out by doing it. What your preferences are, where your erogenous zones are, what kind of bastard you would have liked, or if there really was no one—I’ll find out everything. Then it’ll turn up. Whether you have a soulmate you gave your heart to or not. If there really is one, I’ll just kill that bastard. Then you’ll be mine alone.”
…As expected, he’s the obsessive mad seme and protagonist of an angsty story. His way of thinking completely transcends imagination. As expected, in this genre you shouldn’t get involved with the protagonist.
Whether it was the influence of stirring up the original story, his obsession radar was activating toward me too, but the danger hadn’t disappeared.
What would happen if Eldon really dug into my past and discovered the marriage ceremony with Hereis? We’d both lose our lives.
I pushed away his hand that had been circling my chest and pleaded.
“Does the great Crown Prince, the hope of the empire, really need to keep such a suspicious person by your side? As expected, I’m not qualified to be Crown Princess. Let’s break the engagement…”
“Do you want to become a slave? I should have told you that if you spout that nonsense one more time, I’ll make you a slave.”
Now he won’t even let me bring it up. It’s hard enough to preserve my own life, and now Hereis is in danger too. As I bit my lip in anxiety, he pulled me close again.
Just the movement of the water sent stimulation surging through my body. If I let myself be held in his arms like this, I might lose my reason. I held on, gripping his arm.
“It’s still early, you should attend to state affairs. The ceremony is finished, so please return.”
“I’m returning with you.”
“It’s fine. Hasn’t the ceremony all finished?”
“I told you. I won’t let anyone see your brand.”
“…Is that why you came?”
“I really don’t like anyone touching what’s mine. I don’t like them looking either. I don’t like them ignoring it either.”
As Eldon applied more force, I lost my balance and my body tilted. He lightly lifted me using the water’s buoyancy. As I sat on his solid thighs, his pubic hair rubbed against my buttocks and our genitals meshed like gears. I tried to stand up in surprise, but he embraced my waist and said in a low voice.
“I heard you scolded Seha?”
So it’s finally starting. I could feel elegant anger in his voice. Even without hearing what followed, I could guess the outcome.
The rising excitement changed to hollow frustration. And belatedly, a feeling of relief came.
Today I won’t consummate the marriage with Eldon.
This was a method Eldon often used in the original story. When the concubines bullied Seha, he’d visit them, give them gifts, whisper sweet words, pretend to love them, and let them taste ecstasy. Then when they were intoxicated at the peak of happiness and excitement, he’d bring up Seha’s name in an ominous voice. And he’d recount what they’d done wrong to Seha one by one, then strip them of their concubine rank or punish them.
Throwing them into the abyss at their happiest moment, taking revenge on behalf of Seha.
Today was probably like that too. I’d deliberately provoked Seha, and while I’d anticipated Eldon’s anger, I’d carelessly forgotten.
How foolish. As soon as Eldon arrived, I should have brought up Seha’s story first. Then the situation would have been swiftly concluded without needing to shiver pointlessly in cold water. They say when you enter a heat cycle, all instincts except sexual desire are castrated and reason disappears too—it was just as described.
The moment Eldon gave me unconventional special treatment, I should have predicted it…
“…Were you hurt?”
“Of course. I was hurt.”
“I see. So you came to punish me?”
I’d thought maybe the protagonist had changed. I’d hoped that I’d taken the position of main uke. But as expected, it was just vain hope. This was just Eldon’s twisted hobby.
It was truly fortunate, and even though I’d wanted to break the engagement up until just moments ago, when I thought that all his words and actions were lies, my chest felt strangely empty. Ah, truly foolish.
“You say strange things. Why would I punish you?”
“What?”
Eldon kissed the nape of my neck. His moistly wet lips softly pressed and pulled away.
“You did well.”
