When the Crown Prince addressed her, the color drained from Seraphina’s face. Her hand, clutching at her chest, trembled involuntarily.
“That is…”
‘How much had he heard?’
She would eventually have to tell the Crown Prince about the annulment, but not just yet. First, she intended to fulfil the conditions, and then inform him — thereby minimizing the risk as much as possible. She planned to speak to him at a time when he would be unable to refuse.
Yet she had been exposed so easily.
“Your Highness, the truth is—”
Her mouth went dry as she searched for the right words. Her pupils dilated as she looked at him. The Crown Prince twisted his lips into a bitter smile that was reflected in her eyes.
“So you were plotting to abandon me and run away with Count Steinbel.”
“From how much… did you hear?”
Seraphina tried to understand the situation, asking carefully, but the Crown Prince interrupted her without hesitation. His blue eyes, bearing a sorrowful glint, were fixed on her.
“So you were thinking of leaving me—yet all you care about is how much I know of your plan.”
“…I intended to discuss it with you as well. You are a party to the marriage, after all.”
Seraphina spoke, hoping her voice would not waver. When she replied, the Crown Prince frowned.
“‘A party’?”
Clearly displeased, he repeated the word and strode towards her. Grabbing her roughly, he pulled her towards him and spoke to her harshly.
“Not ‘husband,’ but ‘a party.’ You speak as if our marriage is already something that never existed.”
“If that sounded cold, I’m sorry. But Your Highness—do you truly believe there is meaning in maintaining a married life with me?”
“What reason would there be for it to lack meaning?”
“It may sound naïve, but I believe marriage should be built on affection. Do you… like me, Your Highness?”
At Seraphina’s question, the Crown Prince’s eyes wavered minutely.
“And you? Do you like me?”
“You know very well that I don’t have my memories.”
“…That’s true.”
The Crown Prince murmured bitterly. He lowered his head, burying his nose in the nape of Seraphina’s neck and taking a deep breath, as though intending to absorb every trace of her scent.
“You don’t even remember becoming an Omega. You don’t remember anything at all.”
His whisper slid directly into her ear. The resonance of his deep voice made her heart pound.
Why was that?
Why did her heart react to his voice as though she liked him?
“……”
Seraphina parted her lips, ready to speak. At that moment, a group of maids passing through the garden came into view. Ignoring the imperial couple, they lowered their heads and hurried on.
Startled, Seraphina pushed the Crown Prince away. Turning to him, she said, agitatedly,
“This is inappropriate. There are people watching.”
In response, the Crown Prince took her hand and began striding forward. Caught off guard and dragged along, Seraphina asked in alarm.
“Your Highness? Where are we going?”
“Somewhere without prying eyes.”
Seraphina watched his back, her lips pressed into a thin line.
Sunlight glinted off the Crown Prince’s golden hair as she traced the epaulets on his broad shoulders with her gaze and took in the way his frame tapered from chest to waist.
To be walking hand in hand with the Crown Prince through the Imperial Palace—
The realization struck her all over again.
Not long ago, he had seemed impossibly distant. He was her master — the future leader of the Empire. He seemed to belong to a completely different world.
In a sense, that had never been wrong. She was a Beta and he was a dominant Alpha.
She had never dared to imagine becoming his lover, let alone speaking to him freely. To her, the Crown Prince was merely an employer who provided a stable home and a regular salary.
And yet now, she was his wife.
Life was truly unpredictable — so much so that it bordered on the absurd.
“This should do.”
The Crown Prince led her into a room that she had never seen before. Furnished in dark colors, it resembled an office or private study.
The walls were completely covered in bookshelves packed with books, and there were piles of documents that looked as though they had been left half-read on the table in front of the sofa.
‘Where is this place?’
Seraphina slowly looked around the room. Although she thought she had seen most of the Imperial Palace during her time working there, she had never come across a place like this before.
Then again, the palace had hundreds of rooms. It wasn’t all that surprising. Even those born and raised as imperial royalty had probably never explored every corner of it.
Unlike her, however, the Crown Prince appeared completely at ease in the space. He sat down on the sofa and naturally guided Seraphina to sit beside him.
“I come here sometimes to clear my head. It’s not exactly my office.”
Hearing this, Seraphina glanced at the documents on the side table. But before she could read a single word, he calmly turned the papers over.
‘Confidential, maybe?’
Taking the hint, Seraphina quickly turned her gaze away. She had only looked because they were there; she wasn’t particularly interested in the Crown Prince’s work.
“If you’re willing, I’d like to continue the conversation we were having.”
“Go ahead.”
Seraphina nodded lightly. He studied her for a moment before asking,
“Why did you discuss annulling our marriage with Count Steinbel? Do you like him?”
“What?”
Seraphina’s eyes widened at the direct question. She did like Brandt, just not in the way he meant. She answered firmly.
“Brandt is my friend. I talked to him because he’s a friend. There’s no other meaning to it.”
The Crown Prince examined her expression carefully, as if weighing the truth of her words.
“If that’s the case, that’s a relief. For Count Steinbel’s sake as well.”
“I don’t think annulling the marriage would be a bad thing for you either, Your Highness. Wouldn’t it be better to be paired with a dominant Omega rather than someone like me, a fervent one?”
“A dominant Omega?”
At Seraphina’s attempt to reason with him, the Crown Prince lifted one brow.
“I mean Lady Mireille. Haven’t you kept her in the palace all this time because you still have feelings for her?”
“What?”
The Crown Prince exclaimed, mouth falling open. Then, as though startled by his own voice, he quickly pressed his lips shut.
“So that’s what you were thinking?”
He looked at Seraphina with a deeply displeased expression, placing his hands on his knees as if incredulous.
“She is my mother’s guest. She has nothing to do with me.”
Of course she isn’t.
Seraphina swallowed the words that rose to her throat and shrugged. At her lukewarm reaction, he swallowed dryly and asked,
“If I were to send her back to her duchy, would you reconsider the annulment?”
“No.”
Seraphina answered without hesitation. Lady Mireille had never been the reason she wanted to annul the marriage.
“I hope you don’t misunderstand. I’m not doing this out of jealousy toward Lady Mireille. I simply… can’t go on living without knowing anything.”
“You are my Omega. I cannot let my Omega go.”
“That’s exactly what I don’t understand. I was clearly a Beta. How did I even end up manifesting?”
“That is…”
The Crown Prince allowed his words to trail off under Seraphina’s persistent questioning. Eventually, he turned his head away to avoid her gaze entirely.
“It’s my fault. That’s all you need to know.”
Seraphina frowned. No matter how powerful a dominant Alpha’s pheromones were, they could not alter someone else’s characteristics. It was almost impossible to change one’s innate nature.
This meant that the Crown Prince was lying.
The reason was obvious: he didn’t want the marriage annulled.
“If you’re doing this because an annulment would be dishonorable, then I’ll disappear quietly.”
Seraphina said calmly.
When she had finished speaking, the Crown Prince turned back to look at her. His gaze burned as though it might consume her entirely.
In that instant, a dense wave of pheromones poured from him.
Translator
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GAIA_AHL
Wow, what a d*ck move even from the start. To use the same trick twice, she just woke up from a coma and then assaulted her by releasing his pheromones and now he’s using it again.