PH 9

“Your Excellency.”

When Nile called out, the Duke’s cheek twitched finely. Nile smiled as harmlessly as he could.

“Touch me. I am a tool prepared for you.”

Hah, the Duke snorted and turned his head away. His jaw was clenched so tight it even trembled faintly. After staring fixedly at some point in the air for a long while, the Duke turned back to Nile. His gaze was now filled with pure revulsion and hostility.

Nile had the thought that the Duke might strike him. The Duke was so horrified by Nile’s naked body. He could have hit Nile, or simply shouted for his knights. But he didn’t. Though tormented by revulsion, the Duke did not take his eyes off Nile.

‘He wants to get better.’ Nile caught that feeling in the Duke’s gestures.

The Duke wanted to be cured. He wanted to escape this affliction, and he wanted to seize this opportunity.

As a first step, the Duke stared at Nile’s naked body without blinking. Though even taking it in with his eyes was painful, he did not look away from Nile.

Suddenly, this icy man felt like a living being with blood flowing and a heart beating. Not the Grand Duke of Sirarund, Lord of the North, but a young man who had just come of age.

Until a moment ago, he had been so flawless that one couldn’t even dare associate the word “erect” with him—but now, enduring his revulsion, forcibly rooting his body that wanted to flee, standing with his jaw trembling, the Duke looked quite human. Even if it was because of his revulsion toward Nile.

“Do you despise me?”

Nile gathered his courage and took a step forward. The Duke clenched both fists hard. Blue veins stood out on the backs of his hands.

“Am I loathsome to you, Your Excellency? Please don’t be. I am here to help you.”

Your Excellency. Nile called the Duke gently. When he took another step closer, the Duke moved like an animal caught in a trap—trying to flee, then realizing his leg was caught, stopping in place and gazing anxiously at the hunter.

Now there was only about three paces between them. A distance where, if Nile reached out, he might almost touch him.

The Duke’s long, red lips trembled faintly. He glared at Nile and spat out:

“Wretched one.”

“…”

“Filthy male prostitute.”

“Your Excellency.”

“You omega who knows no shame!”

“I like you, Your Excellency.”

At the sudden confession, the Duke was momentarily struck speechless.

“Listen, Your Excellency. From now on, I will pretend to like you.”

Nile crossed both hands over his chest and continued slowly.

“I will speak and act as if you are the most precious thing in the world to me. I will smile when I see you, and I will try to talk with you as much as possible. If I may be so bold, Your Excellency—please treat me the same way from now on. Pretend to like me.”

“Pretend… to like?”

Yes, Your Excellency. Nile smiled brightly. Standing naked before a grand duke draped in jewels and velvet, he felt not a trace of fear. The Duke, who was a head taller than him, no longer seemed as intimidating as before. It was strange.

The Duke’s blue-tinged black eyes darted back and forth. He was flustered and confused by this unprecedented situation.

“Please find me lovable.”

Nile murmured in the gentlest voice he could muster.

“Pretend to like me, and treat me as if it were real. Don’t see me as an opponent to overcome—think of me as someone to love, as a lover. Even if it’s a lie, if you think and act that way, the day will come when I no longer feel loathsome to you. I know it’s difficult… but please do that. With me.”

“…”

“Please fall in love with me, Your Excellency.”

The coal in the stone fireplace crackled and flared up in a great blaze. Over the crests of House Sirarund hung on every wall—the roaring demons—flames spread, then faded into hushed shadows that darkened downward, downward.

“…You’re saying you’ll pretend to like me from now on?”

The Duke said in a dark voice. Nile nodded. Yes.

“And you. Can that actually work?”

Yes. Again, Nile nodded.

Gerard had said: make the Duke like you do. Like how you hold an omega. Just make him treat you the way you treat omegas.

Nile recalled the omegas he had once been involved with. Those love affairs had all been as sweet as figs stewed in honey. Nile was known as a beta, and the omegas’ goal was to become the mistresses of noble alphas, so Nile and the omegas only had to enjoy the best parts of love.

So Nile’s love affairs were always pleasant and fun. There was no need to force mismatched parts to fit, no need to fight.

They were short-lived relationships, but Nile had genuinely liked every one of them—at least in those moments, it was real. “I like you. You’re really beautiful. Get in touch when I become a widower with kids someday.” When he whispered that, the omegas would giggle and return Nile’s kisses. That was the kind of love it was.

Nile’s preference was for central-region beauties with blond hair and blue eyes. In contrast, the Duke was a cool northern-type handsome man. Tall, with broader shoulders than Nile’s, cool-toned hair, and dark eyes—he didn’t match Nile’s ideal at all.

But the Duke was too beautiful to worry about preferences. Honestly, standing this close to the Duke, Nile was almost worried he might get aroused. It was strange—feeling drawn to a man who so clearly loathed him. And an alpha at that.

“Please like me.”

Nile pleaded with a wistful sigh. He spread his hands, which had been clasped at his chest, and reached out toward the Duke.

“I like you, Your Excellency. From now on, I will love you and follow you.”

At that moment, the cane split Nile’s cheek. Struck without warning at an unexpected moment, Nile collapsed to the floor.

“Just as I thought—an omega.”

The Duke spoke in a voice so furious it seemed to have burned away all emotion. Nile groaned lowly and touched his cheek. Both his lip and his cheek were torn. He tasted blood in his mouth as well.

“That’s what you creatures are. Creatures who change their words without a second thought and beg for affection. Wretched beings.”

‘Beings?’

Wiping the dripping blood, Nile thought.

“Get out.”

The Duke pointed to the door with an angry face.

“Leave this instant. Before I kill you! Now!”

That’s enough for today. Nile bowed his head and gathered the scattered clothes from the floor. He hesitated, backing away slowly, wondering whether he should bow again, then simply opened the door quickly.

As he stepped outside, the castellan was standing there. He showed not the slightest surprise at seeing the naked, bloodied Nile emerge. Instead, he quickly helped Nile get dressed.

“I will escort you to your room.”

Following the castellan, Nile finally felt the pain from his split mouth and let out an “Ow, ow.” He had known it wouldn’t be easy. He had thought it would be a truly difficult task. And it truly was not easy.

‘This is troublesome.’

Applying the ointment the castellan had given him to his cheek and the inside of his mouth, Nile smiled bitterly.

Just as he’d thought—Gerard Galen, there was never anything good that came from getting involved with him.

∞ ∞ ∞

Before coming north, Nile had visited Count Nuveri. The Count had demanded a contract for the promissory note Nile had written. In the end, Nile had taken on new debt to pay off the old.

“Magnus absolutely must father a child.”

Count Nuveri was a northerner but lived in the center. He served as the King’s chamberlain and was a member of the Privy Council—a kind of ambassadorial post. Because though it was the same country, the North was as good as a foreign land compared to the central and southern regions.

“A son. An alpha son with Sirarund’s silver-blue hair—he must bear one.”

Nile stood awkwardly, listening to Count Nuveri’s words. Count Nuveri drank rose-scented tea and regarded Nile with long, sharp eyes. This man was also an alpha. Nile could feel the faint traces of alpha pheromones permeating the enclosed space.

“He is my nephew, but truth be told, I have no familial affection for him. We are more like political partners.”

“Is that so.”

Nile chimed in with a smiling face. Count Nuveri sighed.

“In some ways, I pity him. From birth, he was consumed by political strife, lost both parents, and after countless sacrifices, he froze into that coldness. Setting aside the political aspect, he needs a good wife—not just for him, but someone from a solid family who will solidify the position of our kin, and who will thaw his frozen heart. An omega who is, truly, ‘the light of my eyes.'”

The light of my eyes. That phrase was a classical metaphor used among the nobility. It meant you are as precious as the light of my eyes, and if I lose you, I shall never see light again—Nile had always thought it was a terribly romantic expression.

But the relationship between alphas and omegas was not about light. It was closer to a relationship where the stronger party, driven by pheromones and instinct, coerced the other out of necessity.

“I have high expectations of you.”

So saying, Count Nuveri handed over the contract. Nile respectfully received it.

As he looked around for a place to sign, only then did the Count gesture for Nile to sit. Until now, the Count had not told Nile to sit down. The intent was clear: you are summoned because you are useful, but do not forget your place.

“Make sure you restore my nephew to normal, by all means.”