Even when they caused trouble, being together meant they could blow it up threefold – they were complete hellions. Though the Emperor only had one son, Devion, he used to joke that raising Dionte and Rashad alongside him was like raising triplets.

Perhaps that’s why the three of them did everything together when something came up. They didn’t hesitate even when it was dangerous. They only had one desire: to help their friends.

“That was probably before we manifested as Alphas, right? We hurriedly set out when His Majesty ordered us to patrol the empire’s outskirts.”

“Right, I remember. When His Majesty said he was sending only you on that long journey, Rashad and I insisted on going together and persuaded our fathers. We said it would be more dangerous since the war had just ended.”

“Exactly. That was fun. For the first time in our lives, we slept on the ground and got to see the world to our hearts’ content…”

Devion and Dionte chuckled as they recalled those times. Rashad complained that his back still ached from sleeping on the ground back then. Aileen listened to their conversation without missing a word while wiping her sweat-soaked palms on her skirt.

“Aileen?”

“Y-yes?”

“…What’s wrong? Is something bothering you? Or do you need something else? Oh, if you need to use the restroom, feel free anytime…”

Rashad, who seemed like he would just chatter away, was the first to notice Aileen’s condition. Dionte also looked at Aileen, who was only smiling awkwardly, and tilted his head wondering if something was wrong. It was a sign telling her to speak up anytime if she had something to say or wanted to do something.

Despite feeling their consideration, Aileen couldn’t say anything and only bit her lips. She looked anxious, like she was hiding something stuck in her throat.

“Um, that, that’s…”

The three men’s gazes poured toward Aileen. Of course, it was always like this, but when she received their attention, she might react awkwardly but had never been this anxious.

“Aileen.”

Dionte called his wife’s name once more and approached her. Rashad also wanted to come closer like Dionte and ask what was wrong, but he couldn’t move because of some memory that suddenly flashed through his mind.

Devion seemed to recall something and frowned, then asked Dionte instead, leaving the silent Rashad aside.

“Dionte, don’t you remember? The last village we stopped at. I still remember that day clearly like it was yesterday. The child we met then too.”

“A child? Suddenly mentioning a child, which one…”

Dionte held Aileen’s hand, which fit perfectly in his palm, and tilted his head like he couldn’t remember. He couldn’t understand Devion suddenly bringing up a story from 10 years ago or mentioning a child he couldn’t recall.

“Aha, I remember now. So that’s why you called us? Together with Aileen.”

As soon as she heard Rashad’s words, Aileen jumped in surprise and gripped their joined hands with an even more anxious expression than before. It was a force filled with nervousness. As soon as Dionte felt this, he looked at Aileen again and recalled the ‘that time’ Devion was talking about.

“It seems Rashad has remembered.”

“You mean that child who was the only one in the village, right? The little one who became lonely because the one friend they had went up to the capital recently. I thought it must be really boring for them when I heard that. Right, that child envied us tremendously. For being together as friends.”

“And do you remember this too? They wanted to return to their parents who were on the village outskirts, but couldn’t, so they asked us to help. How pitifully they cried. I learned for the first time then that human eyes could swell up like a carp’s.”

Dionte, mulling over Rashad’s words, searched through memories from 10 years ago to find the answer Devion wanted. Ten years ago, in the outskirts of the empire, a child crying after losing their parents, the color of eyes brimming with tears was exactly the same as Aileen’s beside him…

“The child who was temporarily staying with a friend after being separated from their parents due to an enemy raid also had light brown hair and light brown eyes. Their crying looked so pitiful, like an injured rabbit. That memory comes back vividly.”

Gasp. Feeling a chill and unconsciously flinching, Aileen pulled her hand away from Dionte’s grasp and clasped her own hands together. It was an extremely defensive action.

Though the memory from that time came back completely as Devion guided them, they couldn’t understand what connection that incident had with the current Aileen. Devion gently embraced the shoulders of his wife, who looked extremely anxious and was busy trembling.

But Aileen avoided even that, pulling her upper body away like it was burdensome. Devion, feeling slightly hurt rather than just unpleasant, let his arms drop and only stared at Aileen.

“No, it’s nothing. I, I just suddenly got nervous… Maybe because it’s been a while since I came here! The imperial palace requires more etiquette, so…”

Aileen, speaking rapidly and incoherently, still looked awkward. Devion silently stared at such an Aileen, then spoke in his usual tone.

“I thought that child was a boy back then. They had short hair like us and wore pants, so I believed what I saw.”

“Ah… good heavens. I wondered why they seemed somehow familiar. There was a reason I felt close to them.”

“Aileen.”

Dionte recalled the appearance of the boy they met 10 years ago that day and swallowed a hollow laugh. It was true they had mistaken the child for a boy because of the short hair and pants, but even then, compared to themselves who were larger than their peers, the child’s small and petite body didn’t look thirteen at all.

That’s why they couldn’t guess. The fact that child had grown up and returned like this.

“The child we met then was definitely you. Right? Aileen.”

Devion looked at Aileen while recalling the child playing in his memory. The child who smiled shyly with a round, cute face was definitely Aileen standing before him. Three pairs of eyes shining in different colors held only her.

Aileen felt those gazes and squeezed her eyes shut before opening them, nervously fidgeting with her clasped fingers. She would have wanted to hide it for life if possible, but now she had to acknowledge that she couldn’t. Finally giving up, Aileen broke the silence she had maintained all along.

“…Yes, that’s right. It was me who met Your Highness and the two lords then. I thought you wouldn’t remember since it was such a small village…”

“I could never forget. Rashad particularly praised your appearance. He was so disappointed that it was a pity you were a boy.”

“Right, that’s true. If you had been crying from the shock of losing your parents, I would have taken you straight to the estate. I would have fed you well, raised you well, and kept you by my side. It would have been better if you were a girl, but even as a boy, a good-looking servant can be a nice ornament for nobles.”

Rashad became nostalgic as he recalled those times. Young Aileen had truly been very pretty and beautiful. Of course, she wasn’t in good condition due to the war’s aftermath, but even considering that, Aileen’s beauty had already been shining since childhood. Enough to feel it was a waste for her to be stuck in such a rural village.

“Aileen, don’t you have more to tell us?”

After a brief silence, Devion’s heavily settled voice knocked at Aileen’s ears. As soon as Aileen heard those words, she realized what he was urging. He seemed to want her to reveal the secret she hoped they would never know for the rest of their lives.

Aileen instinctively knew she could no longer hide from him who spoke like he already knew everything.

“…Actually, I didn’t just come here out of goodwill to help with the Alpha side effects you three are suffering from.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Unlike Devion, who was quietly listening to the gentle continuation, Dionte and Rashad asked back like they didn’t understand what she meant. Aileen realized more explanation was needed and took a slow deep breath before bringing out the words she had to hide until now.

“…Because Your Highness, Lord Dionte, and Lord Rashad manifesting as Alphas was my fault.”

Dionte and Rashad’s eyes widened greatly after hearing Aileen’s words completely. Their Alpha manifestation was because of Aileen? They had no idea how to interpret and accept these words.

“Special traits manifest after age fifteen. Before that, potential Alphas are the same as ordinary children, but when they meet an Omega, their traits are revealed and they manifest as Alphas.”

“No way… Wait, then you’re saying we manifested as Alphas because we met you, an Omega? But Aileen, you only manifested as an Omega now. The timeline doesn’t match.”

“Lord Rashad is right. I manifested as an Omega only after meeting you three. And at twenty years old too. When I explained to you three, I always said ‘manifestation happens after fifteen.’ What that means is…”

“Right. It means there’s no limit to manifestation once you pass fifteen. Even an elderly person who’s reached sixty would manifest if they met an Omega or Alpha.”