Ever since the banquet incident, the vibe in the manor had changed drastically. It was as Stel expected anyway. Whenever she walked through the corridor, she became the center of attention accompanied by whispers about events that had transpired a few days ago. Just as much as most of the Chevaliers were rotten to the core, some of their servants were no different too. Matteo once overheard two female servants having fun gossiping about Stel so btantly and he intended to put them in their pce, but Stel stopped him.

  “Matteo, it's best you do not step in for me due to my real standing here.”

  “But still—!”

  Every Chevalier, including Matteo, was aware of Stel’s position here as a gift given to the Chevalier for their cooperation with Anthony and Duchess Yvette. The young boy ter admitted to Stel that he knew about this before her arrival, but never once did he ever view her as a prisoner. Through the times they spent together, he had nothing but the utmost respect for her.

  “Anyways, let’s just head to the library.”

  “…Okay.”

  Matteo reluctantly dropped it as Stel requested before they headed to the library together. Ophelia had important matters to attend to first, so she asked them to wait at the library. Unfortunately, they crossed paths with a group of Chevalier youngsters in the corridor. All eyes turned to the bck-haired alpha before they began mocking her loudly so even the nearby servants could hear too.

  “Wow, after you made a joke out of yourself a few days ago, I thought you’d be too embarrassed to leave your room already?”

  They all ughed among themselves, savoring this sweet moment and ridiculing the alpha for making a joke of herself on Ophelia’s birthday. Each one of them quickly added on from each other since they wouldn’t want to lose this chance to mock her roots.

  “Isn’t her mom one of the knights under the previous Duke? No wonder she knows nothing of the fundamental education as a noble.”

  “Oh my! So, are you saying that she’s an illegitimate daughter of the family? That would expin her unruly and feral etiquette…”

  They were convinced that they had defamed her to the point she was at a loss for words, but that was not the case. To see these kids go to great lengths just to humiliate her even made Stel embarrassed on their behalf. If she must be honest, it was quite uninteresting to hear the same script again after all these years.

  “So…are you guys done being in our way yet? Unlike you kids I do have important and productive matters to attend to.”

  Even if she tried to excuse herself nicely, some of the young boys stepped in to block her path. It didn’t seem they were going to let her leave that easily. Matteo intervened and asked them to leave them alone, but his cousins were far from being intimidated by the pink-haired boy. It was obvious that his cousins had minuscule to no respect towards him because they saw him as a weakling compared to his other three older siblings.

  “Huh? What makes you think I’ll listen to someone as pathetic as you? Why don’t you go coop in your little corner in the library as always.”

  Heartless ughter followed right after a sneering comment from them. Matteo didn’t refute their statement because it was true that he was nothing compared to his siblings, but that was all in the past. Perhaps it was due to his time spent with Stel that he found his conviction to stand on his own feet and no longer behind his sister. When the cousins started to notice the change, they became visibly agitated. They were used to him cowering like a pathetic timid puppy, but now he was standing against them.

  “You dare to stare at me like that? Know your pce, Matteo—!”

  One of his older male cousins couldn’t hold his temper and shoved the boy out of his way. Matteo was about to lose his bance, but luckily Stel was there to give a gentle nudge to help the boy regain his bance back. Stel realized that it was about time to step in before Matteo would be targeted instead.

  “So, it seems the branched members are taught to use violence to resolve conflict. How pitiful.”

  “Y-You—!!”

  “Oh? Do you dare to raise your fist at me?”

  Her cold blue eyes sent chills down the arrogant boy’s back before he caught a whiff of the intense pinewood fragrance. Stel knew they were only good with funting their wealth when in reality, they were all spineless cowards. Just a little intimidation from her pheromones was enough to make them cower so easily. Her dominating scent permeated the air before she stepped forward.

  “Why are you hesitating? You weren’t earlier when you raised your hand at Matteo.”

  Even if he wanted to, he hesitated to raise his fist against the alpha before him. It seemed his instinct didn’t fail to warn him of the massive gap between their strengths. If they were in a duel, the Albrecht alpha could obliterate him without a shadow of a doubt.

  “Indeed, I made a grave mistake in the banquet due to my naivety. Yet, Ophelia has a heart of nobility and an astronomical level of mercy to forgive my mistake. That must be the true nobility that only exists in the main family line of Chevalier, don’t you think so?”

  Physical injuries could heal over time, unlike emotional trauma. When Stel questioned them back, she was more than satisfied with watching all their faces twist and turn bright red out of anger and humiliation. Before things could escate even further, they all noticed a floral pheromone mixed in the air and Stel noticed everyone tensed up in fear. The timing couldn’t be more perfect than this and she didn’t even have to turn to know who it was.

  “Stel, why are you still out here? Didn’t I order you to wait for me in the library?”

  She turned around to make eye contact with a pair of assertive green eyes before wearing a calm confident smile.

  “Unfortunately, your cousins rudely blocked our path as you can see—”

  “T-That’s not true! We’re just leisurely chatting and forgot about the time!”

  “That’s right! We’re not blocking the path. If you had told us, you must go to the library then we wouldn't have taken up your time.”

  The moment that the alpha was about to speak, they were quick to cut her off before she could tell the intimidating omega what happened. However, that wouldn’t stop Stel from telling Ophelia what happened anyway. Those kids might’ve thought that the omega would listen to them, but they were completely wrong about that. After all, one of them id hands on her beloved little brother.

  “Really? Matteo and I are very clear that we have matters to attend but you guys didn’t believe us, and even repulsively shoved him as well. He would’ve fallen if I didn’t catch him in time.”

  “…”

  Ophelia kept her stern fa?ade as she gnced at her younger brother for a short moment…before she shot daggers at the crowd. They must’ve realized how they made a grave mistake, yet they thought they still had a chance to convince her.

  “T-That’s not true, Ophelia. It is all just a simple misunderstanding. You wouldn’t believe her words more than ours, right?”

  “What Stel said is true, sis.”

  All the eyes went straight to the young pink-haired boy. He wasn’t shy to speak up and vouched that every single word Stel uttered was true. Without a shadow of a doubt, Ophelia would believe her brother over everyone else. Her coldhearted green irises were enough to make them retreat in an instant. They were quick to come up with an excuse before they swiftly disappeared from their sight.

  Now it was just the three of them alone, Ophelia let out a long exhale before she directed her attention to the bck-haired alpha instead.

  “Hm? What?”

  “Your flowery speech truly gave me chills and made me want to retch…”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “It is not a compliment! Anyways…you surprised me once again with that astronomical level of deceitfulness, I didn’t know you had it in you.”

  She must’ve heard what Stel said earlier and waited for the right moment to intervene. What Stel said earlier was totally out of her character that it even made Ophelia feel uncomfortable to hear.

  “Deceitfulness? I did not utter a single lie.”

  “Since when I forgive you for humiliating me in front of all my family members on my birthday?”

  However, Stel wasn’t lying about it though. Her blue eyes slowly shifted towards that familiar white gold bracelet around her left wrist. What she saw was more than enough of an answer for her.

  “I thought we made up on that same night?”

  “I didn’t say I would forgive you.”

  “Then…what could I do to make up to you?”

  “…Just be my good pet and obey your master’s command.”

  Ophelia kept her stoic fa?ade even though Stel’s smile made her ears burn up. She walked off immediately the moment she finished her sentence. The two alphas caught up with her and Stel watched the little brother run to his sister’s side. She had another look at Ophelia’s bracelet before letting out a smile of relief—even if the omega pretended their secret interaction in the library didn’t happen, her action spoke louder than words. After all, she had been wearing the bracelet every day.

  -

  “Stel, have you ever tried this drink before? This is an exquisite wine from the finest grape farm in Northnd owned by us.”

  As they were having their meal together, a pair of eyes had been staring at her for quite a while before Theo sparked a conversation with her. He wore his usual cocky smile while swirling the leftover fine wine in his gss. He was old enough to drink, but not the young underage alpha though.

  “My apologies I am still underage so I do not think it is appropriate for me to drink.”

  “That’s true…but taking a sip should be fine, right?”

  He snapped his finger to order the servant to pour a gss of wine for her. She could see this coming a mile away, especially with how he couldn’t hide his sinister smile right now. However, Stel had no intention of pying by his game.

  “I didn’t need to taste it to understand the finesse of Chevalier’s finest wine.”

  “Huh?”

  It seemed her answer got every family member’s attention. Of course, she never drank any alcohol before but she had done her studies for this very moment. She gave the wine gss a gentle swirl to identify the wine that the butler poured for her.

  “…I see you are a fan of a more robust fvor. With such a signature deep purple color as this…it could only be Chevalier’s signature Cabernet Sauvignon.”

  The smile he had on his face earlier faded away quickly as she identified the wine correctly just by its color and aroma. This certainly shifted the atmosphere in the room and even caught Marquis’s attention.

  “You have quite keen eyes. How did you know it is Cabernet Sauvignon?”

  “Its color and aroma gave it away. Cabernet Sauvignon has a deep purple color, various fragrances of Northnd’s unique berries, and most importantly it is complemented by a pronounced bck pepper aroma. It is to no surprise that it is one of the most popur Northnd wines exported across the continent.”

  “Oh my! You speak like an expert, Stel. Where did you learn all of this from?”

  Stel’s descriptive expnation also caught the Marchioness’s interest and that was when Ophelia wore a satisfied smirk before she was proud to inform her parents that she was the one who personally educated her alpha of Chevalier’s winery.

  “That would be me, mother. As my fiancé, Stel is partly representing the name of Chevalier in public with me. I have to make sure to educate her about our family’s business so she doesn’t embarrass us.”

  “Oh? Now I am curious.”

  Now that got Marquis’s attention and he began testing the extent of her knowledge. Stel successfully surprised everyone in the dining hall by answering correctly with great detail. The more she was able to answer Marquis’s questions, the more Theo was visibly irritated.

  “Hm…I’m impressed. How do you know this much about our winery in such a short time?”

  “Nowadays I often spend time in the library studying with Ophelia and Matteo before the academy year begins.”

  Stel knew that this incident would happen again, so initially she intended to ask Ophelia to expin a few parts she was unsure about… but then the omega turned it into an intensive crash course instead. Thankfully, it paid off! She managed to dodge Theo’s abuse and showed everyone how she was a ‘good alpha pet’ to Ophelia. If there was one thing she knew about the Marquis and Marchioness, it was that they only pay attention to anyone deemed useful in their eyes. She knew that the Marquis saw her as no more than a tool to get rid of ter, but what she could try was to make him want to keep her around for as long as possible. To gain their favor, she must act na?ve and gullible while being extremely useful in building their reputation in public.

  “How do you know so much of it when you never have tasted it before?”

  “I do not need to taste them to understand the delicacy of Northnd’s wine. However…if you insisted that I must try no matter what then I would like to ask for my father-in-w’s approval.”

  Stel turned to the Marquis and expressed her utmost respect towards him as a father figure who even supported her education. Of course, it was all a lie but that was the best possible option for her right now. Stel knew that whatever decision she came to, Theo would find an excuse to use violence…but not if it was the Marquis who made the final call.

  “If Marquis gave me the permission, then I shall not refuse your offer.”

  What a 180-degree turn of the situation that even made Ophelia impressed. The omega had to admit that was a clever move to stop Theo. As there was a brief moment of pause, Marquis let out a loud sigh and told his eldest son to quit acting like a fool instead. As Stel expected, Marquis Hugh was an arrogant noble, and he would not do anything that could tarnish his fame and nobility. Most likely, he wouldn’t be the one to permit an underage child to drink.

  “You should be ashamed of yourself, Theo. Even if she is not a regur drinker like you, she still has a better understanding of the family’s winery and business than you do.”

  Even if Theo was his eldest son, Marquis showed no hesitation in shaming him for being less knowledgeable than an outsider who was younger than him. Theo was left speechless but shot daggers in her direction. Even if Stel might’ve won Marquis’s favor for today, this also put a bigger target on her back…

  -

  At st, lunch ended on a good note and Ophelia made pns to go shopping in the city. As expected, Theo coincidently overheard her and decided to join as well since he wanted to have some quality time with his sister. Stel was quick to notice a subtle change in the young boy beside her. Without hesitation, Matteo found an excuse to stay back since it would be best for him to avoid being around Theo. Even if they were all blood-reted, Matteo was practically invisible to Theo and Eleanor who treated him like the boy was a stranger to them.

  “I still have some studies to do, so I hope you have a nice day going out today, sister.”

  “Oh, you’re still here?”

  Theo was brutal with his words and how he treated Matteo like a nobody, but the boy wore an unbothered smile instead. He excused himself from the scene immediately, which made Theo unamused since he expected the timid boy to show some hurtful reaction as usual.

  As it pyed out in the original story, it would be the three of them—Theo, Ophelia, and Stel—who would be going out shopping. The elder brother wasn’t happy with the sight of the bck-haired alpha coming along with them and he insisted on wanting to spend quality time alone with Ophelia. It was obvious he wanted Stel to stay back because he had prepared a little gift for her at the manor.

  “Do we need to bring this mutt with us? She can just stay back.”

  “Unlike you, Stel and I have an image to maintain if you care to pay attention to our past family meetings. I’ve been working very hard to establish our family’s reputation in public that we’re a happy couple that gets along very well. If you insisted on coming with me, then I would appreciate you don’t ruin all my hard work.”

  “Fine…I won’t ruin the hard work you put in. I guess I’ll rolepy as a good brother-in-w then.”

  Ophelia must’ve known that her brother was not just abusive, but also extremely petty. He would certainly find ways to exact revenge on Stel in the absence of the omega’s presence. Thus, the pink-haired dy had her ways of lecturing Theo, and he reluctantly complied with her. While they strolled down the streets, many dies were looking over in Theo’s direction. Surprisingly, even with his nasty personality, he was extremely popur among omegas within the circle of aristocrats. It was in the omega’s nature to be drawn toward alphas with powerful presence regardless of their behavior behind the scenes.

  “Stel, carry all those bags and follow us.”

  Ophelia pointed to all the bags on the counter to carry before she walked out of the shop with her elder brother. Stel obediently did as she was told, grabbed the bags, and tried to catch up with them. Theo found his chance and didn’t hesitate to criticize her for not taming the Albrecht alpha properly.

  “Look at how slow your mutt is. You’re not doing much of a good job taming that thing.”

  “Mind your nguage, Theo. We are outside. Must I remind you what our father hates the most is having our family’s name tarnished in public?”

  “…”

  Ophelia snapped back and silenced him immediately. As she said, if there was one thing that their father despised the most was to have the Chevalier’s name tarnished in public. Marquis Hugh would show no mercy to anyone, even to his children. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Ophelia showed no hesitation to lecture him despite him being older than her.

  “Oh…and about my taming skills, I am confident my skills are far superior to what you thought. I’ve taught and trained her well. If not, how would my little alpha outsmart you today at the dining hall?”

  The brother pursed his lips and was visibly fuming at Ophelia’s words as he remembered how humiliated he was in front of the Marquis, but that didn’t stop the pink-haired omega from warning him to mind his own business and not meddle with her pns.

  “I’ve learned that pets stay longer and loyal if you treat them with sufficient care. Once you hold their attention, bewitching a pitiful mutt is a mere child’s py.”

  Initially, Theo had doubts regarding his sister’s lenient method, but he might be wrong. He began to understand what she meant and even if it didn’t align with his preference, he couldn’t refute Ophelia’s way of doing things that was benefitting the family.

  “I see what you mean now… Despite how your pet is getting on my nerves, I’ll let it slide this time.”

  “I’m grateful for your understanding. Let’s end the conversation here since I do not want my puppy to know my secret.”

  Resting her finger against her lips, signaling him to seal his lips now that Stel had caught up with them. After their quick exchange, they continued strolling down the streets before entering the nearby boutique. Ophelia picked a couple of dresses she was interested in from the racks before the boutique staff recommended their professional assistant to help the dy in the dressing room.

  “Lady Chevalier, we have a selection of professional staff members that can assist you in the dressing room if so required.”

  “That’s okay. I have my cute fiancé that will help me, right?”

  “??”

  The pink-haired aristocrat turned her attention to her and that was when Stel remembered what was about to happen. However, a wave of nervousness struck her at the mere thought of helping Ophelia change her clothes. Wouldn’t that mean she would have to undress and see her———and that was when the flustered alpha stopped that train of thoughts before her face started to heat up.

  “D-Do I have to help you change…?”

  She accidentally blurted without a second thought and realized she made a mistake. The older omega slowly walked up with an unreadable smile before pcing her hand on top of Stel’s chest.

  “Of course, you are my fiancé. Who is supposed to help undress me?”

  The alpha pursed her lips and felt both of her ears heating up. She had no choice but to nod and follow the original script despite how reluctant she was. As she followed the omega into the changing room, she panicked internally about what was going to happen. In the past, anger helped her tolerate all of Ophelia’s seduction but now she had nothing to help her keep a straight face.

  “Stel, unzip me.”

  The omega lifted her hair and revealed the zip behind her back. The poor alpha had no choice but to muster all her courage to go for the zip and slowly pull it down. She tried her best to look elsewhere so she wouldn’t get caught staring at her exposed neck, but then was spped by a thick scent of fresh vender.

  “—!”

  Her hands tensed up and trembled subtly. Sometimes, Stel just hated how her alpha instinct was going against her will. The sweet vender fragrance made her heart race before she began to break a sweat. Ophelia noticed that she froze after being directly exposed to her pheromones, yet she still teased her anyway.

  “Why do you stop? I cannot take off my dress if you don’t unzip all the way.”

  “Y-You know what you are doing…!”

  “I don’t. How about you tell me…what do you think I’m doing?”

  This was the moment Stel forgot something extremely crucial—her body’s memories had reset, which included her tolerance to Ophelia’s enticing pheromones. The omega tried to act all innocent, but she knew what she was doing. Before Stel realized it again, her eyes were staring at the juncture of her neck where the phenomes were oozing from.

  “Ack ack…! Y-You know what, you can wear the dresses yourself!”

  Her hands were quick to grab onto the closest dress from the rack and covered Ophelia’s nape immediately. Even though covering the gnd wouldn’t decrease the intensity of her scent, at least it could stop her from staring at her neck.

  “Fufu…you’re unexpectedly weaker than I thought. You always acted all mature and clever yet you’re blushing like a little child just from a little exposure to your fiancé’s pheromones?”

  It was a rare moment that Ophelia caught the alpha flustered. Stel had always acted mature and cunning with no visible weakness ever since she stepped foot into the manor, but now she was flustering like an innocent child. However, what Ophelia didn’t expect was to turn around and get caught off guard by those shimmering blue irises instead.

  “S-Shut up…”

  Stel grumbled under her breath as she covered the lower half of her face with her hand, but that couldn’t hide how red her ears and cheeks were. Perhaps Ophelia expected her to show some resistance or anger, not her being in a mildly aroused state like this.

  “…”

  It was a bad idea for Ophelia to make direct eye contact with Stel because…her omega instinct was also aroused by those domineering blue irises. Initially, she was completely unbothered by changing in front of Stel, but she had to take back her words. Just the sheer thought of those bashful blue eyes staring at her body made her heart shudder in a dangerous way.

  Both stood facing each other awkwardly while blushing like two idiots for several seconds until Ophelia broke the silence first.

  “Gosh, you’re so useless…! Go stand over there…!!”

  “H-Huh?”

  “Stand by the door and only turn when I say so. Got that??”

  “Are you sure you can change by yourself?”

  “It would be easier to do it myself than having an ineffectual person like you assisting me.”

  She pointed towards the door, and Stel had no other choice but to comply with her. Thanks to the distance, the intensity of the pheromones weakened to the point where it was tolerable for Stel. Her alpha nature gradually calmed down and she was able to breathe comfortably. The only times she turned was when Ophelia told her to comment on how she looked in each dress.

  “So, which color do you think suits me?”

  “Color?”

  “Yes, for my dresses. If you make yourself useful right now, then I’m willing to overlook your incompetence earlier.”

  She fell silent for a short moment while recalling what had happened before. Previously, she couldn’t care less about the words she said, but it would be different this time. The alpha took her time to process her thoughts, even though it was a little embarrassing to say exactly how she felt.

  “Out of honesty…you’re a beautiful person, so it doesn’t matter what color you wear. However, I do prefer seeing you in lighter color dresses—such as white, light sky blue, or even light vender?”

  Of course, the recipient wasn’t expecting a genuine and thoughtful answer from her… and her ears began to heat up. Ophelia took a moment before she cleared her throat and revealed a satisfied look. Stel could see how she was putting her best effort to stay composed despite her ears being bright red.

  “Ahem…Now you’re being useful as I’m expecting you to be. Keep up with this fttering and I may consider giving you some reward.”

  “I’m just being honest with myself.”

  While Stel was waiting for Ophelia to finalize her purchases with one of the boutique staff members, she was deep in thought once again. The more she learned about her, the more Stel realized how much of an ordinary girl Ophelia was. The time they spent together made her understand that the omega was the same as her, one of the victims in this shit show—power struggles between their greedy family members. While Stel was fortunate to have many allies and loved ones who supported her through thick and thin…Ophelia had no one this entire time. She was forced to pay for her family’s heinous crimes with her life just because she had ‘Chevalier’ in her name.

  Both she and Matteo deserve better than this—those were the words that came into Stel’s mind.

  It would be nice to see her act like a typical 17-year-old dy. As Stel thought back to all the novel expressions she made during the past few months together, her perplexed and bashful moments whenever Ophelia was caught off guard… made the corners of the alpha’s lips lift.

  -

  They returned to the manor before the sun was about to set, and Stel couldn’t begin to describe how frazzled she was today. The moment Stel was about to step out of the carriage, she felt something pressing against her lower back…and before she realized it she was already in midair and falling forward.

  “—!”

  Thanks to her quick reflex she didn’t fall ft on her face, but would definitely hurt as she flew straight onto the floor. Even if her shoulder was throbbing, she did not wince or show any signs of pain before slowly getting up on her knees. The pain was tolerable.

  “Wow, look at the mess you made, mutt. All my sister’s clothes are now all over the floor.”

  Of course, it would be Theo who kicked her from behind. Since they were no longer in the public’s eyes, he had no reason to act as a nice brother-in-w. Stel brushed the dust off her clothes and avoided making any emotional expressions so Theo would get bored of her, hopefully. As for Ophelia, she let out a long exhale and ordered the nearby servants to pick up all the scattered bags instead.

  “…Theo, can you not hurt my fiancé at the expense of my purchases? I work on a tight schedule here and if any of these were damaged, I will make sure you pay immensely.”

  “Sure, I’ll keep that in mind next time.”

  What he meant was that if he were to teach Stel a lesson next time, then he would make sure that Ophelia wasn’t around to witness it. Theo simply shrugged it off nonchantly and wasn’t bothered with using money to resolve the problem before he walked away.

  Standing right in front of her room, Stel already knew what to expect the moment she turned the doorknob. Shredded papers and fabrics were everywhere, all the furniture in her room was irrecoverable, and there was barely any space to walk. Stel was smart enough to leave her important belongings with Matteo before leaving the manor earlier today, so she had nothing to worry about.

  “Ugh…that brother is such a menace. He needed to find a better hobby than to waste my time and money.”

  Ophelia let out a loud sigh upon witnessing the pitiful state of Stel’s room. She turned to Emily and ordered her to get everything sorted by tomorrow night.

  “Repce all the furniture and everything else that was destroyed with the highest qualities that you could find in the market. Since Theo was so confident about using money to solve all the problems, I’ll make sure he learns his lesson.”

  “Yes ma’am. I’ll get started right away.”

  “Uh, you don’t have to get me anything extravagant. I prefer something comfortable over its fancy appearance…”

  Stel interrupted them before they could make any extravagant renovation to her room, she had already made herself Theo’s enemy and did not want to give him more reasons to make her life miserable. Now that matter was sorted, Stel would be sleeping in Ophelia’s room according to the original script.

  “Well then…since your room is in a complete mess, you have no choice but to sleep with me.”

  “I suppose that’s the case for tonight.”

  The way Stel went along with the flow somewhat caught Ophelia’s attention. She showed no surprise at the state of her room nor resistance to sleeping in the same room as the omega as well. Ophelia’s green eyes locked on her as she studied Stel’s actions and expressions closely.

  “You seemed not surprised by the state of your room.”

  “Well, seeing how I embarrassed him at the dining hall, how hostile he was the entire day, and how he kicked me earlier. None of this comes as a surprise to me.”

  “Hmm…”

  The omega pondered quietly behind those unreadable green irises, but then she simply shrugged it off and had nothing else to question. When it was Stel’s turn to use the washroom, she took her time to wash her hair and check out the throbbing bruise on her left shoulder.

  This injury… on the same side… even though it wasn’t exactly the same, it was close enough.

  Previously, it was also her left shoulder that was injured by Theo. Even though she avoided the incident at the dining hall earlier and introduced many deviations… she still couldn’t avoid getting the same injury from the same man. Was this a warning to her not to be overly confident?

  She may have changed the dynamic of her retionship with Ophelia and Matteo to some extent…but she was still far from avoiding the sibling’s tragic end. The course of the events might’ve changed, just like how it happened at the banquet, but the outcome was still inevitable…

  -

  The scarlet sky gradually turned pitch bck while Ophelia was waiting for Stel in her white nightgown on the couch. When the alpha stepped out of the washroom, the omega called her over immediately in a collected manner.

  “…Show me your shoulder.”

  “Huh?”

  “That was a bad fall. It is obvious that you are injured.”

  Since there was no point in refusing when it was just them and Emily in the room, she sat down next to her and pulled up the sleeves to reveal her red-purplish bruise. Ophelia barely showed much of an expression and only let out a quiet exhale.

  “Don’t move.”

  Even if Ophelia spoke quite brusquely, Stel could feel her concern hidden behind that. The omega quietly applied the herbal ointment onto her shoulder with that unreadable expression again. Eventually, Stel caught a whiff of the nostalgic herbal ointment and she recalled smelling that before.

  … She didn’t need any proof to know who applied the medicine to her injured shoulder in the original timeline. Stel remembered waking up to a faint fragrance of the herbal ointment on her bruise. Even though she had a hunch about who it may be, she refused to acknowledge that possibility and pretended that it never happened.

  “…Why are you being so nice to me?”

  Those words escaped her lips as that was what Stel had always wanted to ask her for the longest time. Even if she was already aware of Ophelia’s feelings, it was only recently that she truly understood that it was not an infatuation—she genuinely loved her. This made her question what kind of significant interaction they once had in the past that led Ophelia to develop such deep feelings for Stel.

  “Obviously, it’s my job to take care of my alpha, or else it would reflect poorly on me.”

  “Is that truly the only reason you have?”

  She knew that wasn’t Ophelia’s real reason. Stel tried to pressure her in case she was able to get some more hints out from her, but that ended up backfiring instead. The omega leaned in and closed the gap between their bodies before their eyes locked. Stel was spellbound by those assertive green irises and couldn’t take her eyes away from them.

  “What do you want me to say? That I did all of this because I love you?”

  “…”

  Stel was at a loss for words, gaped slightly, and experienced the butterflies fluttering in her chest. This distance, their faces being a couple of inches apart, made her flustered. The alpha gently pushed Ophelia to establish a comfortable distance between them. They were too close for her to keep a straight face, and she prayed that her cheeks were not changing colors.

  “…That’s enough, you’re too close.”

  “Aw? Don’t tell me that you are blushing?”

  “No, I’m tired and sleepy.”

  Ophelia wore a guileful smile, but then Stel was quick to change the topic before this omega would tease her further. However, she didn’t lie that she was exhausted after all the things that happened today…she deserved a good rest tonight.

  -

  It was about time to get some rest for the night. When the lights were off, the entire room fell into darkness while the soft light of the full moon shone through the windows. This felt strangely peaceful as if she was in a completely different world from the Chevalier manor. Both dies y down in bed with a body pillow in between them and Stel couldn’t fall asleep even if Ophelia’s bed was very comfortable. She was tired but wanted to enjoy this sweet silence a little bit longer. She gnced over and noticed that the older omega had already fallen asleep with her back facing her.

  …The cozier she was in bed, the heavier her eyelids became.

  On this peaceful night, she was soothed by the gentle fragrance of fresh vender. Instead of arousing her primal instinct, it felt more like a warm embrace that was putting her to sleep. It was because of her pheromones that Stel was able to have a long restful sleep.

  A/N: This chapter is long overdue, I hope you guys have fun!

  These are some drawings (done by me) :)

  More sketches?

  Lastly, the cover (for now lmao)