<Episode 63>

“Are you a little short on stamina?”

“I’m not a mage-warrior.”

Ivenes said that without meaning to — Ferite Crown Prince’s pace felt strangely slow to her.

She remembered how Elkias had carried her and moved before, and compared to that, this felt slow.

Elkias used to move so fast it made her dizzy.

“Why are you smiling?”

Ivenes pictured the first time she met Elkias here, when he’d hoisted her up after she’d twisted her ankle and carried her along.

“Are you having trouble with the uphill?”

“Even if I’m slow, my stamina’s fine.”

Ivenes glanced at his golden eyes. He kept walking forward, then, when she looked at him, he smiled fresh and met her gaze.

“Your blue eyes are even more beautiful up close, Milady.”

“You said the same thing to my brother.”

“At the time, Abellard was a royal Omega.”

When a high-grade Alpha and an Omega paired, their child was likely to be the same royal grade. At worst they’d have an upper-grade Alpha or Omega — it was rare for a royal couple to have a Beta.

That’s why the House of Willayden had been so miserable.

“I wish Alphas and Omegas would just disappear.”

“You mean leave only Betas?”

“No. I wish those whole types would vanish. Being split from birth is too sad.”

“You’re innocent, Milady.”

He quickened his step, and Ivenes wrapped an arm around his neck so she wouldn’t fall; he smiled even more brightly.

“The Cropperis Empire has a class system, doesn’t it?”

“Within that system, grades are divided by constitution. I want an era where effort counts more than birth or type.”

“If you want that, become Empress. If my Princess becomes Empress and tries to enact that policy, I’ll support it wholeheartedly.”

Ivenes scoffed at him.

“Do you think I’d trust Your Highness?”

“Are we not walking together because you trust me now?”

“I wouldn’t trust you with my life. I only trust you because I’m hurt and have no choice.”

“Hahaha. In any case, Milady will come to trust me more. I intend to be sincere toward you.”

Ivenes grew uncomfortable with how he kept checking on her while walking.

“If I’d stayed a Beta, I don’t think I’d ever have even caught Your Highness’s eye.”

“But that’s a pointless assumption. You’re an Omega now.”

“……”

“And the royal-grade Omega I’ve always longed for.”

For some reason, his silver hair and yellow eyes made her think of a white fox.

“I was a Beta originally. Who knows if I’ll be a Beta again when I return?”

“If we make a child here and leave, what then?”

“What if I give birth, then turn back into a Beta and the child is a Beta too?”

“Still, I will take responsibility.”

“How do I know your ‘responsibility’ won’t be to take my life?”

“Hahaha.”
He was laughing as if he truly found it amusing that she never lost an argument.

Ivenes thought that, at least, he wasn’t the kind of man to scold her for being “disrespectful” — which made him seem a bit more broad-minded than Grand Duke Rubellite Croppers.

More than anything, Crown Prince Ferite had been the kind and gentle sub–male lead in the original story.

Of course, that gentleness was cut short before it ever had a chance to shine.
The two male leads got stranded on a deserted island together, and by the time they escaped, they’d already marked each other and even had a child — unable to sense anyone else’s pheromones after that.

“So if we swear by a mark, would that be enough?”

“Why go that far? What’s so important about our types anyway?”

“If there’s only one royal Omega in the entire Empire I could ever meet, would you understand then?”

“And what about the Omegas Your Highness has already called to your bedchamber?”

Ivenes watched him talk while maintaining a brisk pace — maybe not fast, but his stamina was nothing to scoff at.

It would’ve been better if he’d had the sense to bring a gun, though.

“I’m the Crown Prince. Someone destined to be Emperor can’t ignore their type. I must pass down the imperial bloodline.”

“Then that only raises my chances of being abandoned. I doubt I’ll still be an Omega once I return.”

“That’s something we can’t know. Still, I didn’t expect talking with you would be this enjoyable.”

Startled by his sudden gaze, Ivenes instinctively shut her eyes. She frowned without realizing — there was something unreadable, almost unsettling, about him.

“Do you refuse to mark me because you want to mark another Alpha instead?”

“I don’t want to be marked by anyone. That’s why I hate being an Omega.”

If anything, she wished she could be an Alpha — the one who chose and initiated the mark. That was why she’d felt a fleeting bit of joy when she’d been in Abellard’s body.

But to be a man — and Abellard, of all people.

She would’ve preferred to be a female Alpha, even if only of middle rank.

“Omegas have a desire to bear an Alpha’s seed.”

“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t been an Omega for long.”

With that, she leaned against his shoulder, too tired to keep up the verbal sparring. Her body had gone weak, and she just didn’t have the energy anymore.

At last, they reached the mountain’s peak — where a crimson temple stood.

By the time they’d arrived halfway up, even the Crown Prince seemed a little winded. He only smiled quietly now, saying nothing.

“How do we open this? I can’t use divine power.”

Last time, at the bottom of the lake, Abellard had used divine power to open the door. But Ivenes had no such ability.

Besides, the divine power of Dekarv, the god of destruction, was nothing like that of the goddess Yulias. Divine power of destruction was rarely ever granted to mortals.

“Try smearing your blood.”

“Pardon?”

“If you have divine power but can’t wield it, blood will do. The divine essence within it should activate the door.”

At his words, Ivenes wondered what she could use to draw blood.

Seeing her look around, he spoke up.

“I can summon an ice awl.”

“Better than fire, I suppose.”

“I should’ve practiced wind magic more. It would’ve been easier.”

He could use wind magic, just not with much control.

On the battlefield, though, that had never been a problem — he’d once used it to slice enemy commanders into pieces midair.

“How about an ice blade instead?”

“That would dull the moment it touched your hand. Your body temperature’s too high right now.”

She sighed and extended her hand. He summoned a thin ice spike that grazed past her fingertip, neatly cutting it open.

Soon, a bead of blood welled up on her skin.

She dabbed it onto the massive red door that looked like the temple’s entrance.

Instantly, the chirping of the birds around them stopped.

“Milady?” he said quietly.

“Ah…”

“Lady Willayden!”

At that moment, Ivenes lost consciousness.

***

When she came to, she found herself in a place that felt oddly familiar.

She took in the statues surrounding her once again—sculptures of powerful women and warriors carved in lifelike detail.

She waited for the light to grow brighter.

Soon, a flicker of orange light spread across the space.

She knew a man would appear soon, and she stood waiting.

The torches flared up all at once. Though there was no wind, the flames wavered, casting shifting shadows across the room.

The marble floor beneath her feet gave a crisp *clack* each time she took a step to steady herself.

“Lord Dekarv.”

[Lord Dekarv.]

[Lord Dekarv.]

[Lord Dekarv.]

The voice echoed again and again.

She knew he would appear once the echo faded.

The fire burned hotter, stretching her shadow long across the floor, and the damp air around her seemed to vanish.

“Welcome.”

Ivenes turned her head—the voice had come from the opposite direction of where she’d been looking. In that instant, the scene around her shifted.

It now resembled the imperial audience chamber, though it was shrouded in darkness. The statues that had seemed to be made of plaster and bronze moments ago now gleamed gold. Only the flames provided light.

“This way.”

Ivenes began to walk toward him.

The floor beneath her was lined with red tin tiles, perfectly matching the crimson figure seated upon what looked like a throne.

“Lord Dekarv.”

He chuckled softly, amused, lifting his chin. Ivenes walked steadily toward his dais, the dull sound of her heels echoing through the chamber.

When she was close enough for him to reach her hand, he motioned with a crook of his finger for her to come closer still.

And suddenly, she was standing right before him.

“So it’s you who watches over me, Lord Dekarv.”

“That’s right.”

Uncertain how long she was permitted to remain in this place, Ivenes went straight to the point.

“Is it true that only one person on this island can survive?”