<Episode 69>

 

Eveline moved to wipe away the food on the corner of Elkais’ mouth.

But in that moment…

“So careless.”

Abellard interjected, quickly wiping Elkais’ mouth himself. He then cleaned his hand with his handkerchief, picked up a piece of meat with the chopsticks made of ice that didn’t melt, and took a bite.

“Ahem.”

Crown Prince Ferite turned his head, trying to suppress a chuckle, his face playful.

Elkais felt oddly irritated but tried not to show it. Despite his efforts, his displeasure was already evident on his face.

Eveline gave an awkward smile and continued eating.

“The meat is really delicious.”

“I’m glad it suits your taste,” Elkais replied with a small sigh, trying to ease the tension.

Eveline found it difficult to relax as the Alphas seemed to be watching her closely. Now that she could sense pheromones, it was making her even more uncomfortable.

It felt like she was a deer caught among a pack of leopards.

“It seems like all the Alphas here have rather aggressive pheromones,” she remarked.

“Your pheromones are truly fragrant, my lady. They make me want to make you my mate,” Ferite said, teasingly.

“He said the same thing to me, Eve. Just ignore him.”

Abellard chimed in, completely disregarding Elkais while maintaining a subtle sense of rivalry with Ferite.

Like a cat with its fur standing on end, Abellard challenged everything Ferite said. His annoyance was so obvious that it was almost amusing.

“Didn’t you and His Highness get along well in the empire?” Eveline asked, curious.

“We did. I just didn’t realize Lord Abellard’s personality could be this… different,” Ferite responded with a smile.

“What’s different about me? And who’s the hypocrite here, pretending to be kind while running around with Omegas behind everyone’s backs? Who’s the one being two-faced?”

“I’ve never hidden the fact that I’ve been with Omegas.”

“Are you proud of that? Sleeping around with random Omegas and catching a disease—is that something to brag about?”

“Diseases? I’m afraid that’s nothing more than a baseless rumor.”

Ferite smiled sweetly as he casually dismissed Abellard’s accusations.

Feeling like she might choke from the tension, Eveline instinctively glanced over at Elkais, who was smiling as if he hadn’t heard a word of the argument.

Elkais had no intention of getting involved. He didn’t particularly like Ferite either, so he was content to stay quiet.

“For Lord Abellard to say such harsh things to me, it must mean I really do suit the lady,” Ferite teased.

“Ugh…”

Eveline made a strange sound, her food suddenly getting stuck in her throat.

“My lady, are you alright?”

“W-Wait… I’m fine…”

Eveline forced herself to swallow the food, thumping her chest.

“Eve! Are you choking? Is it stuck? Do you feel like throwing up?” Abellard frantically poured his holy energy into her, and soon the sensation passed, making her feel better.

“Yes, I’m okay now.”

“Are you sure, Eveline? You don’t look well,” Elkais asked with concern.

“I’m fine.”

She insisted, hoping the meal would end soon so everyone could go their separate ways.

Fortunately, there were no more arguments between Abellard and Ferite for the remainder of the meal.

After finishing her food, Eveline immediately began cleaning her firearm.

She took out her handkerchief, disassembled the gun piece by piece, and meticulously wiped it down before reassembling it perfectly.

Once she loaded the bullets, she removed the magazine, preferring to keep it separate rather than locking it in with the safety pin engaged.

“You really like that thing, huh? You don’t need it. I’ll protect you,” Abellard remarked as he sat next to her, watching her intently as she worked.

“Thank you.”

Eveline replied absently as she continued cleaning and reassembling the gun.

Soon, night had fallen.

Thanks to the firewood Ferite had provided, the night seemed like it would be warm enough to get through comfortably.

Because Eveline mentioned jerky, Elkais placed some of the meat near the fireplace, allowing it to cook very slowly. He said it would be ready to eat by morning.

“I want to sleep next to Eve,” Abellard said.

“You sleep like that every night, brother.”

Eveline replied, now quite used to Abellard hugging her while they slept. Since arriving here, it wasn’t uncommon for him to wrap his arms around her as they lay down. Every time it happened, she felt like a koala.

“Then sleep on the outside tonight.”

“What? Why?”

“Because it’ll make Eveline uncomfortable.”

“Eve, am I making you uncomfortable?”

“Everything’s uncomfortable unless I sleep alone,” Eveline answered honestly.

“Ah, can I sleep in the attic by myself then?”

“Huh?”

Abellard hesitated, realizing that might actually be a safer option. It would be better for Eveline to be upstairs alone than to be surrounded by Alphas. If someone moved, it would be easier for him to respond.

Eveline was sensitive before falling asleep, but once she was out, she wouldn’t even notice if someone carried her away.

In the worst-case scenario, he could kill everyone here and escape with her.

Despite his thoughts, Abellard put on a pitiful expression and clung to her.

“I can’t sleep without you, Eve.”

“Stop lying. I’m the only Omega here. I feel threatened and want to sleep alone.”

“It’s cold upstairs, Eveline.”

“Then lend me some clothes.”

Without hesitation, Elkais took off his cloak and outer jacket and handed them to her. Eveline separated the cloak from the jacket and returned the cloak to him.

“I’ll sleep wearing this.”

Eveline took Abellard’s coat and Elkais’ jacket, heading toward the attic. Seeing this, Crown Prince Ferite tried to follow her.

“Why are you following her?” Abellard asked.

“It’ll be cold upstairs. I was going to light a fire if there’s space,” Ferite replied.

Elkais spoke up as Ferite followed her, “If that’s the case, I’ll go instead.”

“No, I will…!”

Abellard was about to insist, but then sighed.

“There’s no place to light a fire upstairs.”

Eveline said, recalling her previous visit to the attic.

“Then I’ll create a small space to keep the fire going. It’ll be less cold,” Elkais offered.

Everyone fell silent. When it came to building or fixing things, Elkais was the best. If it weren’t for the cabin, Elkais would likely have created a shelter for them.

“Alright, Elkais can go with me,” Eveline decided.

As Elkais followed her, she added.

“But please don’t walk in front of me.”

“Why not?”

“It reminds me of the time you got hurt when you stood in front of me.”

“Ah, right.”

He smiled softly, following behind her. Every time Eveline glanced back at him, her heart pounded, as if something had changed.

The sound of rain drowned out their soft sighs of awe.

“Is this a flashlight?” Eveline asked.

“Was this here before?”

“No. When we came for the salt and pepper, it wasn’t here.”

Inside the attic, there was a small flashlight, its light turned off.

Elkais bent down and stepped into the attic.

The ceiling was only high in certain areas, so for someone as tall as Elkais, the attic was quite cramped. He crouched down to check the flashlight, then struck a light with his knife.

With a soft click, the flashlight illuminated the space.

“Eveline.”

“Yes?”

Eveline reached for the flashlight he offered, and as her hand brushed against his, Elkais trembled slightly.

“Is it pheromones again?” she asked.

“…Yes,”

Elkais admitted, intertwining his fingers with hers.

Suddenly, Eveline found herself holding the flashlight with one hand, while her other hand remained clasped with his. Elkais slowly moved closer to her face.

Eveline instinctively parted her lips.

Elkais, dazed by the sweet scent of her pheromones, half-closed his eyes as he leaned in. Her closed eyes, framed by her red eyelashes, looked stunning in the flickering light of the flame.

Finally, he kissed her.

Eveline welcomed him as he softly bit her lips before moving deeper. The forest-like scent of his pheromones was comforting.

As Eveline tightened her grip on his hand, he squeezed hers in return, as if offering reassurance. He kissed her gently, sensing her effort to keep quiet.

The wet, intimate sounds of their kiss were masked by the rain.

Eveline enjoyed the fresh scent of the forest mixed with the rain, which felt like it soaked into her heart. She knew what it meant when Elkais used pheromones as an excuse to touch her.

Elkais wasn’t the type to behave like this just because of pheromones.

She knew this.

But she didn’t want to acknowledge it. Her situation was too unstable, and she didn’t want to believe that his feelings for her were more than what she imagined.

Even the soft touch of his nose brushing against hers felt nice. She liked the way he gently stroked her skin, pressing and curling his fingers around her.

Eventually, she pulled away first.

“It’s because of the pheromones,” she said.

“Yes, me too.”

Elkais replied, before gently biting her lips again.