“Please wait here.”

The maid, dressed neatly and speaking modestly, gave Aileen a polite bow before leaving the room. The more Aileen thought about how someone she should be speaking formally to was instead treating her with such courtesy, the more bewildered she felt.

Aileen was an ordinary girl born in an island village. If she had to pick something special about herself, it would be that her knowledge could solve the problems of three men whose troubles were serious enough to threaten their lives.

The current Emperor ruling the empire had very close and precious friends—the Duke and the Marquis. The three men had devoted themselves to the empire and struggled to create better foundations. Each obtained a wife and in the same year, they were blessed with precious sons.

That’s where the misfortune began. Though their birthdays were different, the three sons grew up maintaining a relationship closer than blood brothers. Then, when they turned fifteen, all three collapsed with the same fever. After that, the three continued to suffer from mysterious fevers at similar intervals, and it had been going on for ten years now.

Then, Aileen appeared suddenly like she had fallen from the sky and solved everything. She never could have imagined that the solution would be ‘marriage,’ but Aileen had no choice but to accept this fate.

Everything changed completely when she became the Crown Prince’s wife, the Duke’s eldest son’s spouse, and the Marquis’s second son’s companion. Palace maids speaking formally to her—life really was unpredictable.

Aileen sat forlornly on the edge of the bed, which was as spacious as a noble’s garden, staring vacantly into space with unfocused eyes. The thought ‘How did things end up like this?’ floated around her small, delicate face.

Her wavy light brown hair didn’t move for quite some time. She remained in a daze for so long.

Click.

“Eek.”

Aileen, who was usually sensitive to small sounds, showed a very different reaction than usual. Her normally lively and energetic demeanor had completely disappeared, leaving her creaking like a broken doll. Aileen seemed unable to accept her current situation and floundered for a long while.

The sound just now came from the maid who had left earlier and seemed unlikely to return, but she had opened the door carrying a modest tray. She had apparently tried to enter without Aileen noticing, because when their eyes met, she stopped her stealthy steps and looked embarrassed.

“His Highness will arrive shortly.”

“…Yes.”

The maid said this while placing the tray on the table beside the bed. The tray held two glasses and a bottle of wine. The plate in the center appeared to contain fruit cut up as appetizers. Upon seeing this, Aileen bit her lips and hunched her shoulders.

Thump, thump, thump-thump. 

Her heart pounded even harder than before.

“Well then.”

Could anyone have predicted such a situation? 

An ordinary country girl suddenly becoming the bride of three men. Aileen had only come to the capital to help those suffering from a chronic condition, and there had been no ulterior motives involved.

‘I only came because it’s what my parents wanted…’

Thud.

Startled again by the sound of the maid leaving, Aileen looked toward the door and let out a deep sigh. The flimsy nightgown that seemed to reveal all her bare skin bothered her.

Before entering the bridal chamber, Aileen had been bathed, dressed up, and forced to wear a see-through gown by the maids without even being allowed to put on undergarments.

The room left empty wasn’t cold, but her n*pples, feeling the unfamiliar touch of silk against her skin, had perked up improperly and wouldn’t settle down.

The more embarrassed she became about this, the more prominent her n*pples became from rubbing against the soft fabric. They looked lewdly eager for him to come in and touch them. Aileen shook her head to dispel the thoughts that arose unbidden.

Unable to bear it any longer, Aileen moved her bottom to the edge of the bed and sighed again. Her sigh was deep and heavy, like the ground might cave in.

“That earth-shaking sound could be heard even from outside the door.”

A brief laugh brushed past Aileen’s ear and disappeared. Only then did Aileen realize that a man, not a maid, had entered the room. She jumped up and looked at the source of the voice. There stood a large, elegant man.

“My lady.”

“Y-Your Highness…”

“You’re calling me that again, my lady.”

When did he come in? 

Aileen looked at the already firmly closed door and swallowed dryly. The man who had just entered—Crown Prince Devion, who had become Aileen’s husband just hours ago—smiled freshly and took a step forward.

Upon seeing Devion approach boldly, Aileen instinctively hesitated. This led to her stepping backward, and Devion immediately caught Aileen as she moved away from him and pulled her into his arms. Rather than the suddenly shortened distance, what caught her eye first was her forearm caught in his large grip.

Aileen put strength into her legs, suppressing the urge to scream and run away immediately. If she collapsed or fell over now, the only option would be to lie on the bed right beside them. The moment that happened, the Alpha before her would surely unleash the instincts he had been holding back and devour her.

“Y-Your Highness… W-would you like a glass of wine? The maid just left it…”

Devion cut off Aileen’s words and brought his handsome face close. While Aileen was distracted by his refined and gorgeous face, more strength entered the grip holding her slender forearm.

The hand gripping her forearm was larger and harder than it looked. Not a ‘man’s’ hand, but an ‘Alpha’s’ hand had captured all of Aileen.

The warnings ringing loudly in her head like instinctual cries made Aileen dizzy. Not only was Aileen directly facing an Alpha she had only heard and read about, but she also lamented inwardly about her suddenly changed circumstances and her trait.

‘This is an Alpha’s pheromones…’

Aileen flinched as she felt some fragrance rush all the way to her lungs. His scent, which was practically her first time experiencing it, was very cool yet sweet. 

Like expressing the freshness of a forest, it was clear yet somehow sticky, clinging to Aileen’s skin hidden beneath her loose nightgown.

The Alpha pheromones she felt for the first time in her life were very different from what she had imagined. Aileen had met with all of them together for several days to provide information about Alphas and Omegas, but at that time, they hadn’t released even a trace of the scent called pheromones.

‘So it was true that Alphas dislike other Alphas. Alphas are sensitive to pheromones and reject other Alphas…’

Aileen recalled what she had heard from her father about Alphas. She had heard that Alphas reject other Alphas to compete for Omegas. That’s why they instinctively close off and don’t reveal their pheromones when Alphas are together.

Because of this, Aileen, who was fully experiencing Devion’s Alpha pheromones for the first time, vaguely felt herself being drawn to him rather than feeling instinctual fear.

“Or… shall I call you my ‘Omega’?”

Even his lowered eyelids seemed elegant. Although Aileen recognized mentally that she should answer the question she had just heard, she couldn’t provide any response and only panted.

Only then could she feel the fragrance filling her nose and mouth with each breath she took in and released. The scent that stimulated both smell and taste rushed in instantly before she could stop it and flowed into Aileen’s body.

“Ah…”

“Finally, you understand my heart, my lady.”

Devion whispered with a smile, lifting the corners of his mouth. Aileen was already leaning against his chest, panting. At the same time, her fluttering clothing couldn’t hold up against her smooth skin and slipped down with a soft rustle.

Her white, supple body was revealed in an instant, and upon seeing it, Devion frowned and once again embraced her from her slender waist.

“Haah… finally.”

His voice, filled with ecstatic satisfaction, was very soft and gentle. The only Omega he had searched for over ten years. That being was right here in his arms. Unable to bear the heat and stiffness spreading from his lower body, Devion immediately revealed his impatient desire.

The small, delicate body was more enchanting and beautiful than Devion had imagined. He had heard she was twenty-three, but her innocence that made her look nothing like that age captivated the starving Alpha’s eyes.

As soon as Devion released his scent, he inhaled the scent she was emitting in response rather than resistance. The Omega’s fragrance filling deep into his lungs brought both satisfaction and a sense of conquest.

‘She just manifested, so it can’t be helped.’