SPW 35

“Bring up the partner list again.”

Florian, sitting on the edge of the bed and rubbing his temples, had just finished a shower. From him, clad in a single robe, one could smell neither the pheromones that had seemed to suffocate the surroundings, nor the alpha’s pheromones that had been fiercely released to suppress and dominate Florian’s.

Most of the partner candidates on the list were of respectable family, status, and reputation. No matter how much they were filtered, it was impossible for a variety of names to appear on the current list, as dominant alphas themselves were rare. This meant that even searching the entire Commonwealth, the American Federation, and Europe did not offer a wide range of choices. As a result, there were times when a slippery alpha like the last partner got mixed in.

Partners who admired, revered, loved, respected, or honored Florian were at least better. However, the desire for conquest, the attempt to crush ‘the young Duke Florian,’ ‘the young master of the Wellington family,’ someone extraordinary from birth, by using the rut, was an unpleasant desire of others to Florian. No matter how meticulously Bailey curated the list, he wasn’t a psychic and couldn’t perfectly read people’s minds.

“I apologize, Boss.”

“It’s fine. I want to rest, so you may leave.”

“Yes, Boss.”

Bailey, his face full of concern, quietly excused himself.

While Florian had been in the water all morning, the bedroom had been cleaned spotless. The pheromones the alpha had deliberately smeared everywhere had also vanished without a trace with chemical removers and ventilation.

Rut sex, to Florian, was nothing more than a simple biological activity. A twice-yearly rut that any trait-bearer naturally had to go through. To Florian, who had no one to promise a future with, no alpha he wanted to imprint on, and no lover he loved, it was just a bothersome annual event.

If only he had been a beta, not a trait-bearer. Both Duke Dietrich and the head of the Wellington family would have mercilessly cast him out without giving him a title or position. But Florian was a trait-bearer, the heir who would inherit Duke Dietrich’s title, and the next successor of the Wellington family.

Florian shook off the trailing thoughts. It was far more beneficial to shake off the unpleasant feeling and find a decent rut partner than to waste time on ‘what ifs’ that would never happen.

Florian, wiping his tired face with his palm, shed his robe and headed for the dressing room. Reflected in the mirror, Florian’s body was covered with traces of their lovemaking. They were the remnants of the alpha’s servility. They were marks that could have been easily erased with pheromones, but this alpha had not done so.

I want to shoot him.

Tsk. Clicking his tongue, Florian changed into light loungewear. The conversation he had with Sarang right before losing his reason had been occupying a corner of his mind the whole time. The alpha, who had childishly asserted his possessiveness over the omega in front of Sarang, must have been inwardly flustered. Sarang, who had confronted the alpha’s provocation head-on, had not been intimidated in the slightest and instead belligerently released his own pheromones.

With that sweet scent as the last thing, Florian’s reason had snapped. He must have been surprised. On the other hand, he was also proud of Sarang for standing up to that despicable alpha so confidently without being pushed back.

His mood now refreshed, Florian descended the stairs. Whatever other alphas were like, Sarang did not look at Florian with desire in his eyes, laced with impure intentions. That fact made Florian’s mood even better.

If the Sarang in the dream loved Florian as a lover, the Sarang in reality looked at Florian as an object of affection and reverence. If Sarang lived past twenty-five and did not develop romantic feelings for Florian, the 24-year-old Sarang would not take his own life.

Florian couldn’t control Sarang’s feelings, but he could define the relationship. Taking Colin’s place was not something he considered from the start. If he remained faithful to his role as Sarang’s guardian and protector and made his position clear, Sarang would have no need or reason to cross that line.

Stepping out of the main entrance, Florian enjoyed the afternoon sun as he walked on the green lawn. The headache that had been tormenting him since he regained consciousness had noticeably subsided. It wasn’t the effect of thinking about Sarang. If one could get better just by thinking about someone, no one in the world would suffer from illness.

It must be thanks to clearing my head while getting some fresh air.

Rustle, rustle. Florian, who had been treading for a while on the grass that crumpled under his feet and then raised its green head again, stopped walking. A ball was stuck in the corner of a flowerbed overflowing with roses. The shape, which had become familiar to Florian by now, was a soccer ball used only in the league.

Taking a few more steps, Florian bent his upper body and picked up the ball. Florian’s hand, brushing off the dirt and blades of grass, stopped. A few round letters were written on the surface of the soccer ball.

To Rian

May 20, 00

From Sarang

The sender was Sarang, and the recipient was Florian.

The soccer ball, which showed clear signs of use, was not something that had accidentally flown in from somewhere or been delivered by mistake. If one were to find its origin in this house, it would naturally be Sarang, who left the note. Why is it stuck in a corner of the yard as if it’s been thrown away?

Florian, who didn’t know that players who score a hat-trick are given the ball used in that match as a souvenir, tilted his head for a moment, then turned around, hugging the ball.

“Where is Sarang?”

Allen, who had appeared without a sound, was feigning sunbathing with his elephant-thick legs propped up on the backyard table. He slyly opened his left eye out of his small, sharp eyes and looked at him nonchalantly as if asking when he’d gotten there, then answered.

“The club lodge (accommodations run by the club for player welfare).”

“For the whole week?”

“The kid said it’s more comfortable to live at the lodge than to commute.”

“Isn’t the mansion he was living in before also not far from the club?”

“I checked out the lodge, it’s pretty run-down. Nothing dangerous, though.”

“Isn’t the season over?”

“The day your rut started was the last game of the league, wasn’t it?”

Florian, calculating the dates, furrowed his brow. He had gone to watch the last game of the league in person. As the first half ended and halftime began, he had detected a strange change in his body. There were still two weeks left until his rut. Florian, whose cycle had been precise until now, had quickly left instead of being flustered. After that, everything moved like lightning. While he was immediately moved to his residence, Bailey summoned an alpha, and the people guarding the mansion vacated the premises. It was Allen’s job to explain the situation to Sarang, who was in the middle of a game, and take him to his previous mansion.

“Do you know that ball is something very special to a soccer player?”

“…A ball is a ball. What’s so special about it?”

“It is special. Especially to a player who just debuted, like Kim Sarang.”

At the look that said to stop beating around the bush and speak plainly, Allen shrugged his muscle-bound shoulders.

“You know that the soccer industry is a business of selling heroes, right? Since you have a doctorate in economics. In creating a hero, the existence of a star is just as important as the enthusiastic public. That’s why they attach all sorts of statistics, announce updated records to the world with the loudest fanfare possible, and provide players with every possible means of motivation.”

Allen, chewing on nicotine gum, gestured with his eyes to the ball in Florian’s arms.

“That ball is also one of those motivations. Because that kid scored a hat-trick in the last game.”

“I understand that scoring a hat-trick in one game is difficult. So?”

“League balls are absolutely not allowed to be taken out. That’s why they meticulously collect even the balls that go out for a foul. And sometimes farcical situations happen where there are two or three balls on the pitch.”

Allen, who was about to go off on another tangent, grinned at the pointed stare.

“But they give that precious, strictly managed ball as a souvenir to the player who scored a hat-trick.”

“…”

“Kim Sarang scored his first hat-trick since his professional debut, and instead of displaying or donating the ball he received as a souvenir, he gave it to you, Florian.”

“…”

“Kim Sarang gave you what is, for him, his most shining moment right now.”

Florian’s neat face showed no change in expression as he looked at Allen, who rambled on nonchalantly as if it were no big deal, always treating everything like a joke.

“Isn’t that one hell of a courtship? Wellington?”

“I get that you’re pointlessly full of trivial knowledge.”

“Pointless? How unrewarding for the person who rambled on and on.”

Florian, who had been looking down at the ball and the note written on it with an unreadable expression, suddenly spoke.

“Bring Kim Sarang here. Who does he think he is, staying out all night when he has a home? Also, tell him if he doesn’t come back by today, I’ll consider it running away and report him to the police as a missing child.”

As Florian turned away coldly, the soccer ball was still tucked under one of his arms.

“Kim? Shall we take a short break?”

Neil, observing Sarang who was completely unable to focus, gently suggested.

It was the point where his one-year youth contract was coming to an end. For short-term contracts, renewal discussions usually began at the start of the season, but unlike the eager club, Neil had dragged it out as long as possible. He was confident that Sarang’s value would increase as the second half of the season approached, and Sarang did not disappoint Neil’s expectations. Thanks to that, they were able to lead the negotiations from an advantageous position.

The reason the club had been passive about a professional contract with Sarang, who had been considered a prospect since joining at a young age, was due to his background of having beta parents. The market value of professional soccer players, the majority of whom were dominant alphas, went on a rollercoaster depending on their marriage or imprinting status. Success in the matchmaking market led to imprinting and marriage, and imprinting and marriage had a significant impact on a player’s pheromone and physical management. A player’s mental and physical stability was directly linked to their market value.

However, Sarang, whose parents were betas, couldn’t enjoy any of those advantages. Since a trait-bearer born from betas was very likely to produce another beta, Sarang was given the cold shoulder in the matchmaking market. To trait-bearers who wanted their traits passed down through generations more than anyone else, a trait-bearer like Sarang was classified as an incomplete entity, and a dangerous entity that could taint the bloodline. Even if he was a dominant.