CH 37

I stood up from my seat and thoroughly searched every nook and cranny of the room.

Should I settle in a peaceful village? In a small village that smells of people, just as I had thought before.

Back then, things like temperature-regulating magic stones or anti-eavesdropping spells would be of no use, right?

I rummaged through the desk drawers, the display cabinets, and even under the rug, but I didn’t see any small valuable items that I could easily take with me.

Then, my eyes fell on the ‘Handsome Statue’ that had always been a headache.

The carved marble beauty that sparkled in the moonlit night, giving me chills multiple times.

It reminded me of the fairy tale ‘The Happy Prince.’

The story of a prince statue adorned with gold and jewels that helps those around it with its embedded precious metals.

“Prince, please help me a little.”

Rolling the rug into a ball, I propped it under the statue and pushed it over. As I did, the two emeralds that caught the eye of the fragile prince fell out and hit the ground with a sharp clink.

“Don’t tell me they’re fake.”

I chuckled, but my laughter subsided as I remembered the eyes of someone resembling the emeralds.

It’s fortunate that there are many others who will take care of the protagonist’s happiness, not just me.

As soon as morning came, the knights who rushed to my call couldn’t hide their confusion when they saw the broken ‘handsome guy.’

“I never liked that guy from the beginning.”

I snorted, and the knights awkwardly chuckled.

Accompanied by the servants who appeared with the knights, they cleared away the fragments of the handsome man, sending glances that said, ‘He’s still as temperamental as ever.’

“Did you get hurt?”

Since the handsome man, modeled after a prince from a distant land, was life-sized, it wasn’t unreasonable to be concerned.

“Don’t worry.”

As I squinted my eyes, the knights finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Did you happen to contact the other knights last night?”

I was the first to ask, as the servants swiftly cleared away the fragments and even took the rug with them, just in case.

The two of them exchanged meaningful glances.

“There was something interesting that happened.”

“What is it?”

“They say that there are maids emitting Omega scent assigned to the lodgings where the knights stay.”

“What? Maids who are not even Omegas but emit omega scent?”

“Fake omegas, to be precise.”

Such a thing exists?

The knights had expressions of amusement that made them seem like they were about to die laughing.

“It seems like the knights of Heineken have a high Alpha ratio.”

An older knight finally chuckled, saying that Kitchener’s plan was nothing more than trying to provoke fake ruts.

I didn’t find it funny at all.

What was the purpose of provoking fake ruts?

“An Alpha rut usually lasts about a week. Once it happens, they can’t come out because they’re busy with that act. And during the rut, the chances of getting pregnant increase if they form a mate with someone.”

“Either they wanted to prevent them from being active or they wanted to force them to conceive a child. Or maybe both,” added the knight.

The reason for assigning maids instead of male servants was because, unless they were genuine Omegas, men couldn’t get pregnant, so it seemed that the latter was true.

I’m at a loss for words.

How can someone’s actions be so vulgar?

What’s the point of creating a child?

I’m so disgusted that I’m getting goosebumps.

My colleagues were on the verge of experiencing such a terrible thing, yet the knights were laughing. Why?

When I gave them a sarcastic remark to stop laughing, the knights laughed even louder.

“Prince, all the knights here are either Betas or Omegas. It was His Highness the Crown Prince’s order.”

They can’t help but laugh since they must have spent a fortune on expensive magic stones to create fake Omegas, and they won’t even get anything.

“But aren’t there any issues even with Omegas? There are Alphas here too. Moreover, the nobles of Lindbergh don’t even mate with Alphas.”

“Well, even if they’re all recessive, it doesn’t matter. My faint pheromones can’t ignite their heats.”

The knight claiming to be an Omega said with a bitter tone.

“Actually, Prince, you didn’t experience a heat until you met His Highness the Crown Prince.”

That’s true.

It felt empty and absurd to know the reason behind Carl Lindbergh’s delayed heat.

Those bastards went through all that trouble to preserve the lineage of those with a trait, but in the end, no one inherited the trait.

“From today until tomorrow, a spring of magic circle will be opened. The soldiers will come in a line. Once the imprisonment of the nobles is over, we’ll send a signal by setting fire to Kitchener’s house.”

Seeing me shake my head, indicating that I didn’t want to stay here for even one more day, the knights understood with a knowing expression since they were familiar with the plan I had learned from Belfry.

“Because His Highness the Crown Prince misses you, let’s finish it quickly without any possible failures.”

While saying that, they confidently pledged that they would personally take on the responsibility and even take me back to Heineken themselves in case of failure.

I inwardly regretted making such empty promises.

“I’m anxious.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I have a feeling that Carl won’t come back to Heineken.”

Belfry set down what he was holding and rushed towards the Crown Prince, who had his feet on the desk.

“Are you having second thoughts? Is the prince planning something different?”

Although it was unlikely for the gentle prince to do so, Belfry also became anxious, considering the Crown Prince’s uneasiness.

Adrian shook his head.

“There are no disruptions in the plan. He took the magic tool I gave him obediently, and the knights have reported smooth progress.”

Ah, the magic tool.

It was an item that could save the prince from a life-threatening situation, but at the same time, it could also serve as a means to monitor him.

“We set fire to the raccoon’s den, and the prince is currently searching inside the castle. In fact, it’s only a matter of time before they find the Royal seal, now that we’ve given the resonating stone.”

Belfry nodded in response to the Crown Prince’s words.

“Indeed,  they said that the prince’s excellent acting made everyone at Lindbergh Castle extremely nervous about the return of the bastard prince.”

As planned, Prince Carl played his role convincingly.

He would complain about the taste of the food and sweep away the dishes or break decorative items that displeased him.

The prince caused incidents as he roamed around.

He even changed rooms five times in two days because he didn’t like the rooms, sometimes staying on the same wing and floor as the king’s office.

“Because of his constant irritation, people are starting to avoid the sound of the prince’s footsteps.”

He thought Adrian would laugh, but he had an inscrutable expression on his face, so Belfry also stopped smiling and became serious.

What on earth is wrong with these two?

“I thought it would be nice to spend the birthday together.”

“Considering how smoothly things are going, he’ll probably be back on the day itself, won’t he?”

Are you worried about not being able to spend your birthday with your newly found lover?

Lindbergh Kingdom is hanging by a thread. What kind of carefree words are these?

Anyway, let’s talk about the Alphas.

Belfry clicked his tongue, repeating a sound he had made a hundred times before.

“But you know, it keeps bothering me that Carl said ‘Happy Birthday’ before he left.”

He acted as if he had made up his mind not to return.

He tried to console himself by thinking that there would be no place for him to go if the one who grew like a greenhouse flower didn’t come back, but upon reflection, he couldn’t help but be bothered by his resourcefulness.

“He probably said it because he might not be able to make it as planned. Don’t worry about unnecessary things and focus on preparing for the engagement. And what if the prince leaves? Your Highness, you’re not without the ability to bring him back.”

At best, it’s within the Crown Prince’s grasp.

“I don’t want to force anything on Carl.”

Adrian grimaced with his eyes tightly closed, feeling tormented.

Belfry inwardly sneered, thinking, ‘In your dreams’.

Whatever the Crown Prince desired always ended up in his hands.

He was inherently of good character, but he was an extremely dominant alpha.

If the prince were to truly try to escape, the Crown Prince could easily turn ruthless.

“He completely turned your pheromones upside down from head to toe with his first heat. Even if it’s because of that, he can’t live without you, Your Highness.”

Adrian also pinned his hopes on that aspect.

He started as an accomplice, but he was a good match in terms of pheromone compatibility, and Adrian thought they were gradually becoming an ordinary couple.

It was difficult to comprehend why he suddenly changed his attitude, but Adrian wanted to believe that it was simply due to confusion.

Adrian closed his eyes once again, squeezing them shut.

After hearing that his private residence was on fire, Kitchener went outside the castle, and the mercenaries openly started whispering to the prince.

“It’s unfortunate that such a dominant Omega belongs to only one person.”

“Isn’t an overripe fruit sweeter and tastier?”

Such jokes were common among the aristocrats, and there were also many who just spewed crude and low-quality remarks.

The knights of Heineken debated countless times whether to throw their gauntlets or not.

However, confronting the mercenaries would only worsen the situation, and Carl, the one being targeted, was completely indifferent, so they had no choice but to endure.

“What can you expect from cowards? Just leave them alone.”

Even when the knights lost their temper, the prince busily roamed around the castle.

The Royal seal, which seemed quite easy to find, could not be found in the king’s office or the king’s chamber.