“We can take our time with a child, Sephi.”

Seraphina’s mouth twitched at Damian’s easy-going words.

How comfortable it must be for him!

If she failed to conceive quickly, she would lose her position as Crown Princess. She had never wanted the title in the first place, but that did not mean she was willing to be cast aside so easily.

Her wedding had been so grand that the whole world now knew her as the Crown Princess. What would people say if she were expelled before two years had passed? They would assume there was some grave flaw or shameful secret.

She could not return to her family home, where Marianne and Leoban lived. Returning to work at the imperial palace would also be unthinkable. Ultimately, she would have no choice but to wander alone, hiding her face and her identity.

She would have to hide both her face and her name.

If that happened, she would never be able to find the child she was searching for. A disgraced former crown princess would have no authority to search for anyone.

“Shall we talk about something else instead of children?”

Seeing that Seraphina was silent, Damian spoke up to ease the awkwardness. Holding her hand, he asked gently.

“I heard you attended Her Majesty’s tea party today. How was it? Did you enjoy yourself?”

“As if.”

Seraphina said, smiling bitterly. She turned her head and looked out of the window. Gazing at the dark night sky, which mirrored the darkness in her heart, she finally spoke.

“…How did I end up becoming an omega?”

At her question, Damian’s hand, which had been idly touching her, paused. He withdrew it slowly and replied,

“Who knows.”

“Goetz, the palace physician, said it was an accident. But it’s strange. Accidents don’t just happen out of nowhere without a trigger. They say that even if the condition manifests in adulthood, it doesn’t erupt immediately. But the fact that my heat cycle started on that exact day is far too strange.”

Seraphina finally voiced the doubts she had harbored all along. There were simply too many unanswered questions surrounding the incident that had turned her life upside down. Even Goetz, who had studied medicine for over thirty years, admitted that he could not explain what had happened.

She recalled Goetz’s explanation.

It was possible for a beta to become an alpha or an omega after reaching adulthood. On rare occasions, a trait that should have manifested in childhood could awaken much later. However, such a change required a trigger.

When an alpha — or an omega — released an overwhelming amount of pheromones, a dormant trait could be activated.

But in Seraphina’s case, there had been nothing of the sort.

None of it made sense.

“Did you encounter a special-trait individual shortly before your manifestation?”

Goetz asked her that question while reviewing her pheromone levels during a routine examination. In response, she carefully retraced her memories of that day — the day she became an omega.

She had encountered two individuals with unique characteristics: Brandt and Damian.

Brandt waved off the question in surprise, swearing that he had never released pheromones towards her. He said that doing so to another person would have been discourteous. He even offered to track down whoever had released pheromones around her if such a person existed.

So it couldn’t have been Brandt.

That left only one possibility: Damian.

Damian had gone through a cycle with her that day. He was also the only person to react to her pheromones.

“Damian, how did your cycle end up overlapping with mine that day? You said it wasn’t your scheduled one.”

Lost in thought, Seraphina asked the question. She heard Damian swallow. He had been silent until now.

“…Who knows.”

“Goetz said my pheromone levels are low, even for a recessive omega. That I shouldn’t be able to trigger another alpha’s rut cycle. But you—”

“That’s enough.”

Seraphina turned to look at Damian, who had interrupted her.

He was the one who had suggested talking things through. Yet he had responded with nothing but perfunctory answers, and now he was shutting down the conversation completely.

“Damian, why—”

Seraphina had barely begun to speak when her lips parted slightly.

The face that had seemed so relaxed only moments ago turned pale. Alarmed, she quickly stood up and examined him.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No.”

Damian pushed away the hand Seraphina had reached out to him with. Avoiding her gaze, he stood up from the sofa.

“I’m just tired.”

“Then… should we sleep? Um, tonight… we could… together…”

Seraphina fidgeted with her fingers as she spoke haltingly. Tonight, she needed to be with him, even though it was not a cycle night. Damian was going to get busier and busier as preparations for the Founding Festival intensified.

“I’m sorry, but I still have work to do. I’ll be sleeping in the study again tonight.”

Without hesitating for a moment, Damian rejected Seraphina’s unspoken plea.

Her humiliation made her flush crimson, yet he did not even look at her properly.

“Good night, Sephi.”

He gave a perfunctory greeting before leaving the bedchamber. Even after the sound of the door closing had faded and his footsteps had died away in the distance, Seraphina remained standing there, motionless.

***

Everyone envied the Crown Princess.

After all, it was said that the Crown Prince cherished her deeply.

He spared no expense when it came to her. He sent her an endless stream of gifts from the finest dressmakers and jewelry in the empire. Rumor had it that the Crown Princess owned more dresses and jewelry than she could wear in a lifetime.

Those rumors were not entirely wrong. Damian truly did shower Seraphina with an excessive number of gifts.

And yet, she was not happy.

Since that night, Damian had been avoiding her altogether. They no longer shared a bed, and they no longer conversed. On the rare occasions they met, he would only ask her for her opinion on the gifts he had sent her. The moment she tried to speak seriously, he would excuse himself on the pretext of work and leave.

And so, even as she adorned herself with heavy, jeweled necklaces and wore lavish gowns,

Seraphina felt unbearably, crushingly alone.

‘You said we should talk… but avoiding me like this is just cruel.’

Damian felt heartless.

That was why Seraphina went to the Crown Prince’s office.

“Your Highness? What brings you here…?”

Arno asked in a fluster when he saw the Crown Princess. Seraphina replied calmly to her husband’s aide.

“I’ve come to see His Highness the Crown Prince. Is he here?”

She glanced around the spacious office. This was her first visit to Damian’s workplace. It seemed that one had to pass through the aide’s room at the entrance before entering the main area through the large doors beyond it.

“He should be resting right now. There’s a brief gap before the next meeting.”

After checking the schedule, Arno answered. Seraphina gestured toward the large doors and asked,

“Then he’s in there?”

“Well—yes, but he did say not to let anyone in—”

When Arno carefully refused her request, Seraphina pressed her lips into a thin line. She turned sharply towards the door, her voice resolute as she walked straight towards it.

“I’m his wife.”

It almost sounded as though she were trying to convince herself. She could hear Arno’s startled voice behind her, but she ignored it and stepped inside.

She was sorry, but there was no other choice. Only by doing this would she have a chance to talk to Damian.

‘It’s laid out just like a private residence.’

Seraphina pushed open the central doors and stepped inside, slowly taking in the office.

The main workspace was far more spacious than she had expected. Bookshelves lined the walls of what appeared to be a sitting area, with several doors standing between them. Through the narrow gaps in the slightly ajar doors, she could see a desk and a bed, which were probably in the workroom and bedroom beyond.

‘So this is why he’s been sleeping in his office.’

Only now did Seraphina truly understand how Damian had been living these past few days. Coming from a lesser noble family, she had always imagined an office as being just one room. But Damian’s, befitting royalty, was on an entirely different scale. It was so fully furnished that he could live there without any inconvenience.

‘But then… where is Damian?’

Seraphina stood in the sitting area, tilting her head in confusion. Both the workroom and the bedroom were empty. She took a few steps forward, searching for him.

That was when she heard it.

A familiar man’s voice reached her ears.