<Episode 48>

Elkais didn’t take the offered hand and instead looked at Rubellite.

Rubellite had worked with him many times in the past and was someone he trusted. But not now.

The person before him now barely resembled the one he knew and seemed different in some way.

“Why are you making such a proposal?”

“Because you seem to be in distress.”

Rubellite’s expression appeared genuinely concerned. Perhaps that’s why Elkais found it even harder to trust him.

“I arrived here the latest. Yet, during the few days I’ve been here, your group hasn’t noticed me, have they?”

“……”

“It seems to be because of the fruit I ate.”

Elkais stared at Rubellite for a moment. The grand duke’s eyes were golden, a strong symbol of the royal family.

Those eyes still seemed to see him as a comrade.

“Then why don’t you eat it yourself?”

“Right now, I’m more concerned with my hunger. Plus, there was a sedative there, so I didn’t need to.”

Rubellite’s reasoning was understandable.

Since arriving, he had picked a fight with Eveline but hadn’t caused any major trouble. There were suspicious aspects, but not enough to completely destroy the trust they had built.

Elkais didn’t know. He didn’t know that Rubellite had pushed Eveline off a cliff.

Therefore, he could still retain the trust in his old comrade, with whom he had shared life and death.

“If you can’t sense the Omega hormones, wouldn’t that solve your confusion?”

He was right. The feelings he had for Eveline were likely due to the pheromones she unknowingly emitted.

If he could no longer sense anything from her, he could treat her as he used to.

Besides, she also seemed to be confused by the pheromones he emitted.

“What do I need to eat to block the pheromones?”

Elkais asked, and Rubellite tilted his chin upwards.

“Follow me.”

“……Yes.”

Rubellite walked towards the place where he had first been discovered.

“It would be good to spot some game on the way.”

“I’ve already spotted some.”

Elkais’ words made Rubellite stop. Then, the sound of a growling cat seemed to echo nearby.

“A leopard has joined us.”

“Yes.”

Leopards stalk their prey, waiting for an opening to attack. When only one remains, they follow the weaker one and attack.

Elkais knew this well. He was a general during the war, often handling dangerous tasks alone, surviving even when separated from his group.

Thus, he was quite knowledgeable about the habits of wild animals.

“Let’s keep going.”

“Yes.”

And so, they continued their journey.

Despite climbing for quite some time, neither seemed to tire easily, perhaps because they were both uninhabited.

When he traveled with Eveline, it took a considerable amount of time due to her uncomfortable shoes. However, with the two men, who were both trained warriors, they could ascend swiftly, almost at a running pace.

After some time, Rubellite stopped in his tracks.

“Do you know what this is?”

Rubellite touched a peculiar fruit on the ground with his hand.

“I’ve never seen it before.”

Elkais picked up a similar fruit that Rubellite had found.

The fruit was extremely unusual. It was the size of a pinky nail and looked like a blueberry, but instead of blue, it was gold.

Furthermore, there was no record of such a fruit in the empire.

Gold-colored fruit? Elkais frowned and sniffed it, but it had no scent.

“What exactly is this?”

“This is used to make a sedative.”

“As far as I know, the materials for making sedatives are minerals, not fruit.”

That was true.

Sedatives, created to suppress heat and rut, were made by grinding rare gemstones, making them precious and expensive.

“This is several times more effective than those minerals. I only discovered it after coming here.”

Rubellite moved a bit further and reached into a hidden crevice in the rocks. When he pulled his arm out, his hand was full of identical golden fruits.

“You probably don’t trust me, so I’ll eat one first.”

He said this and popped a golden fruit into his mouth. After chewing and swallowing, he smiled at Elkais, indicating that it was safe.

Elkais hesitated for a moment before eating the fruit in his hand.

Suddenly, the Omega pheromones he had been sensing from Rubellite began to diminish.

Though Elkais had barely noticed due to Eveline, the fact that Rubellite’s strong pheromones were now barely detectable was astonishing. Rubellite was a high-ranking Omega, after all.

“This is…”

“You can eat more.”

At Rubellite’s urging, Elkais ate all the fruits he handed over. Then, he cleared away the pile of stones where Rubellite had reached.

A vine laden with golden fruit came into view.

“There are quite a lot.”

“Nowhere else but here. I’ve searched.”

Rubellite said, looking at him.

“Feeling better now?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Elkais replied with a smile. Feeling relieved, he said to Rubellite,

“You should go down first. If we go down together, they will target me.”

“Very well.”

Elkais watched Rubellite leave and then took a moment to catch his breath.

He could no longer sense any pheromones. He couldn’t feel Rubellite’s presence descending, nor the sweet scent from Eveline’ cabin that had previously stirred his desires.

“Thank goodness.”

He reassured himself with those words. Now, if he descended and saw Eveline, he wouldn’t be overwhelmed by desire and end up doing something he shouldn’t.

“Growl…!”

Sure enough, as soon as Elkais was alone, a leopard appeared.

Rubellite was armored, so it was obvious that the leopard would target the unarmored Elkais. Wild animals despised the sound of metal clashing. Elkais had anticipated this.

He sat casually on the tree stump, waiting unguarded for the leopard to make its move.

After assessing the situation, the leopard climbed the tree and pounced on Elkais.

“Roar!”

Without drawing his sword, Elkais released a blade aura that sliced through the leopard’s neck.

He watched dispassionately as the leopard’s head rolled away.

Observing the flowing blood, he flipped the leopard over and hung it on a tree to let it drain completely, making it easier to handle later.

He picked more of the golden fruits, wrapped them in a blue cravat, and tucked them into his coat pocket. Then, carrying the partially drained leopard, he headed towards the cabin.

* * *

When Rubellite arrived near the cabin, Eveline was asleep.

Abellard had intended to deal with Rubellite before he entered the cabin, so he gently laid the sleeping Eveline on the ground.

A contaminated Omega.

If blood splattered during the killing, he could always claim an animal had carried it off.

Eveline, deeply asleep inside the cabin, wouldn’t hear Rubellite’s screams and could be blamed for misinterpreting any noise.

With this plan in mind, Abellard summoned a long sword and watched Rubellite descending the mountain.

Rubellite continued descending without attempting to escape, waving cheerfully as he called out loudly,

“Lady Eveline Wilden!”

Startled, Abellard glanced back at the cabin.

“So careless, truly.”

“Ugh…!”

Rubellite’s body elongated unnaturally, wrapping around Abellard’s head and injecting something.

“Ugh…!”

“When you wake up, it’ll all be over.”

Abellard’s strength drained from his body.

Rubellite stepped over him, heading for the cabin. Abellard, with sheer willpower, grabbed Rubellite’s leg, determined not to let him enter.

Rubellite’s body turned pitch-black again as he stepped on Abellard’s hand.

“You can’t go.”

Despite his words, Abellard’s vision started to blur, as if he were being poisoned.

“Be thankful you’re an Alpha. Otherwise, you’d be the one dying right now.”

Abellard, feeling his strength ebbing, forced his unresponsive body to move. If he let Rubellite go, Eveline would die.

“I told you not to grovel like a worm.”

“I should have killed you.”

Abellard thought the poison Rubellite used was stronger than he expected. He had assumed killing him would be easy if he could get close, but he hadn’t anticipated Rubellite’s ability to shape-shift.

“I’m not that easy to kill, Abellard Wilden.”

“Which god… is protecting you… ugh….”

“Haha. Looks like your guardian god doesn’t tell you much.”

Abellard couldn’t identify the god supporting Rubellite, nor which god wanted Eveline dead.

“If I kill Eveline Wilden, you’ll forget everything. Even with the protection of Goddess Yulias.”

In that moment, Abellard noticed a blue note appear by his head and managed to read it.

[Stop Rubellite Croppers for 5 minutes. Then the paralysis will fade.]

Seeing this, Abellard wrapped his arms around Rubellite’s legs, preventing him from reaching Eveline.