We’re in a Contract Marriage, But I’ve Imprinted - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Translator: Effe

Editor: Yonnee

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As a result of this situation, alphas and omegas were fewer in number than betas, but alphas were given preferential treatment, while omegas were treated poorly.

But omegas weren’t completely useless—only omegas had the reproductive abilities to birth dominant alphas.

As an extreme example, it was said that the only remaining type of human trafficking still going on in the Aerys Empire, where human trafficking had supposedly been prohibited, was the trade of omegas.

In other words, in order to give birth to a dominant alpha as an heir, it was often said that omegas were used as a mistress or as a seed receiver.

There were many places that wanted omegas, who were treated as the lowest, but they were busy being swung by alpha and were used to being looked down upon by beta, so they did not know their true value.

So my mother and I lived alone in the mountains, away from other people. It was because my mother was an omega and I was also an omega who took after her.

Although I was not a dominant omega with a sweet floral scent like Mother, but a weak, recessive omega with the scent of wild flowers and grass after the rain. Still, an omega was an omega anyway.

The reason we were able to stay safe in the mountains was because my mother was not a common omega.

My mother was a rare elemental magician, and she had built a protective barrier around the house. That’s why there were no wild beasts or uninvited guests to invade our home.

It should have stayed that way, but then… The first person to break through my mother’s barrier appeared. The person wearing the dark robe bowed his head to Mother and said something.

When Mother told me to go to my room, I couldn’t hear what was being said, but I quickly learned.

Because I met my father, whom my mother had never talked about before.

He’s also the count of the Aerys Empire, who we thought we had no ties with at all.

Having never met a Baron or a Viscount, I cried out in fear when I was told that I was moving to the county.

Normally, my mother would have soothed me, but she was different that day.

No— She had changed since the day the stranger came.

The day before I came to the county, my mother made something in a hurry, and as soon as she made it, she put it on my neck.

An object made of thin fabric like a wide choker. It was wide enough to cover my entire neck, so I felt stuffy like I was wearing a dress that reached all the way to my neck.

However, I liked it because I was able to cover up the scar from the moment I couldn’t remember.

After my mother fastened it on me, she insisted on me. She told me not to let anyone know that I was an omega, nor to be found out.

Even though I was only ten years old, I had no choice but to nod my head obediently and promise.

It was also because my mother’s eyes were terribly frightening.

“Melissa, my sweet honey.”

When my mother called me so sweetly, I twisted my body for no reason. I loved the nickname that reminded me of myself, who loved honey so much when I was young, and my mother’s affectionate eyes.

When Mother called me by my nickname as usual, I forgot my fear for a moment and smiled brightly.

The more I did, the more Mother’s expression collapsed, but Mother always said that when she sees my smile, she gains strength, so I assumed it would be the same this time too.

The word nobility did not exist in the life that my mother and I had shared alone.

I had never seen a large mansion either. The garden, which was not only large but also filled with green and colorful colors, was so beautiful and overwhelming that I couldn’t take my eyes off it from inside the carriage going into the mansion.

The carriage stopped after a round on the fountain where water streamed from the statue of a little boy.

Mother stared at the door with a fearful expression before stepping out of the carriage, then she patted her own cheek.

Before I could utter the words, ‘Don’t do that because it will hurt you’, the carriage door slammed open.

For the first time I smelled a pheromone strong enough to surround the two of us, having always smelled only my mother’s sweet pheromones.

I’ve seen the expression in a book that you can choke on pheromones, but I didn’t know it was actually true.

The source of the unfamiliar pheromone that left a clear impression was a middle-aged man.

“Audrey.”

A deep yet heavy voice called for my mother. Just being called by name, my mother’s expression became strange.

How should I put it?

It’s as if her rationality couldn’t accept it, but her emotions went ahead first and accepted it.

So, it is an ambivalent state that seems both good and bad.

The corners of my mother’s mouth were raised up, but her complexion was pale.

The man grabbed the mother’s whitened wrist as if it was natural and dragged her out of the carriage. I hurriedly followed her, fearing that she would leave me alone in the cold.

I glanced at the magnificent mansion spread out in front of me, then looked up. The man who stood proudly with my mother in front of him was the father that I had been curious about.

Count Edwin von Rosewood.

A dominant alpha, the head of the imperial palace’s domestic affairs, and a man trusted by the emperor.

My father was a handsome middle-aged man with beautiful silver hair and mysterious purple eyes.

“Wow, handsome…”

I couldn’t finish the sentence yet. I don’t know if he couldn’t hide it or if he didn’t intend to hide it, but Father’s eyes looking down at Mother were blatantly containing greed.

Even when I was young, I couldn’t help but know. He didn’t even pretend to see me. Only Mother was in his eyes.

To say that those eyes were looking at a loved one seemed alien and maniacal, so my heart skipped a beat.

I couldn’t keep looking at my father, so I looked away and saw people standing in a row behind me. They also seemed to have no intention of hiding their eyes and their inner thoughts.

So I realized right away. They did not welcome us. As a child, I was subjected to vivid hostility all over my body, and I secretly hid behind my mother.

“…This child.”

Then a cold voice fell over the top of my head. My father was looking down at me, as if he could finally see me.

It seems that I had a short expectation at this time either. Since I looked at my mother so fervently, wouldn’t he also look at me that way?