Chapter 9

Translator: Effe

Editor: Yonnee

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My face flushed red at the same time, and I tightened my thighs to avoid being noticed by him.

His pheromone, deeper and thicker than Father’s pheromones that I felt when I arrived at the county, poured into my body as if to bind me.

Regardless of my intentions, the pheromones leaked out. I belatedly tried to pick up the choker Mother gave her, but he was faster.

He trampled my choker, which I threw off on the floor, with his shoe. Perhaps showing that I dare to disobey his pheromones.

“D-Don’t…”

Alpha’s pheromones could force omegas.

I was afraid to go through a situation that I had only heard about in words. Apart from having good feelings for him, I was scared now.

It was terrifying to see my body not go the way I wanted it to.

“Your omega traits are flimsy.”

A cold voice devoid of any emotion fell over his head.

“I tried to find one through a broker, but I couldn’t find any. I didn’t think it would happen this far. How conflicting.”

“…….”

I couldn’t immediately understand what he was trying to say. But he didn’t stop talking, taking a step closer to me like someone who didn’t want an answer from me.

“So I need your help.”

He stopped speaking and took a deep breath. I couldn’t compare it to his pheromones, but my face flushed as if he had inhaled my feeble pheromones floating in the air.

For me, who had never had a pheromone exchange before, that alone felt very shameful.

“If you don’t like to be the second wife of an old marquis, you can marry me under contract.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“You may not understand me right now, but tomorrow you will. If you give birth to an alpha heir, I will give you a proper title and property. So that you can live alone well enough.”

I just looked up at him in a daze at the words that I couldn’t understand with my head that was hardened with surprise.

He peered at me through his pupils as if trying to dig into me, then headed in front of the coffin. He placed the lily he had brought into Mother’s coffin and bowed his head for a moment.

“May your soul find a peaceful rest.”

After leaving a formal greeting, he gathered his pheromone without hesitation and turned his back to me. I still couldn’t understand the words, but when I looked again, he was already gone.

I could see snow falling through the crack in the door. I couldn’t leave my spot until a chilly wind came inside and wiped out all of his pheromones that remained.

I breathed out quietly at the strange, incomprehensible feeling. My cloudy breath seemed to obscure my vision.

Along with the thought of wanting to receive his proposal, I had an uneasy feeling. I felt ominous, getting hurt like Mother and ending up scarred and tattered. 

I quickly learned what Ian had talked about. It was because Brother called me right after Father’s funeral.

I was still wearing my choker. I didn’t know how Ian knew I was an omega, but I couldn’t go against Mother’s words.

Even if it wasn’t, I couldn’t sleep because I was worried about what Ian said. In a way, I was grateful that Brother called me. It was because my whole mind was so focused on him that I even forgot my plan to leave the house.

The main mansion was quite different from the annex where I was staying. Compared to the small but cute and cozy annex, the main mansion was magnificent and splendid.

Passing through a corridor lined with famous paintings and statues, I stood in front of an antique door. Standing in front of the office used only by the head of the county, I felt nervous for no reason.

Knock, knock—

I knocked on the door and heard an answer. After taking a deep breath, I opened the door and entered.

Then, the brilliant silver hair bathed in sunlight caught my eyes first. Brother, who was sitting by the desk in the office, slowly lifted his head.

His face, similar to Father’s but younger looking, crumpled as soon as he saw me.

I don’t know why Brother hated me, but every time I saw his contemptuous expression, it felt like the scars in my heart were growing.

“I heard you called me.”

In fact, I had never thought in my life that I would come to the office of the main building.

The places I could come in and out of the main building were very limited. Only the places where Monica called me or a place where the maids took a break.

Brother, who had been staring at me, called me with a beckoning gesture. I, who had been at a distance, moved slowly and approached the desk.

“…It’s already been over ten years since you came here.”

That’s right. Ten years had already passed since Mother and I came to this place in a carriage.

It’s true that it was a long enough time, but during that time, there was definitely never a time when Brother called me out and talked to me like this.

So if he was asking me if I’m happy…

Well.

How can I be simply happy when he was showing such blatant contempt?

So I felt insecure. It was even more so because of Ian, who said strange things and just disappeared.

“Ten years is a really long time. When you came here, you hadn’t even reached my waist, but now you’re looking straight into my eyes like this.”

One thing I learned from spending time with Monica was that nobles did not express their emotions directly.

Still, Monica, who tended to be forthright with her feelings, seemed to restrain her emotions when she was with other nobles.

So, I was able to immediately grasp the underlying meaning of Brother’s words. As I slowly lowered my eyes, he started tapping on the desk.

“…It is not an exaggeration to say that our family has raised you for ten years. Do you admit it?”

“…Yes, I am grateful.”

It wasn’t wrong, but it sounded strangely twisted inside.

“You didn’t come to Father’s funeral.”

“…I heard that illegitimate children who are not on the family register cannot enter.”

I reached the point where I was curious about what he was asking even though I knew it clearly.

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