Alarmed by the situation, Rosalynde and the maids hurried over to support Seraphina. However, the Empress merely looked down at her, showing no sign of agitation.

“Tsk—those pheromones.”

The Empress clicked her tongue at the faint floral scent, casting Seraphina a chilling glare.

Then her own pheromones surged outward — those of a dominant omega.

Overwhelmed by the sharp, clean scent of lemon and basil, Seraphina instinctively submitted.

“Hngh…!”

Seraphina’s body, already on the floor, crumpled completely. The Empress’s pheromones were so overpowering that the other omega maids in the room also sank to the ground, weak with submission.

“If you behave and do as you’re told, I will allow you to see the Crown Grandson once a month. So stop this pathetic display.”

Tears welled in Seraphina’s eyes. Looking down at her, crushed beneath the weight of her pheromones, the Empress smiled, seemingly satisfied at last.

“Considering the humiliation I’ve endured because of you all this time, this is a generous concession. Be grateful.”

The Empress cut off her smile and turned away.

Seraphina clawed weakly at the floor, trying to grab hold of her.

“My baby… my baby!”

Cold sweat streamed down her forehead and her body shook violently. Seraphina thrashed around desperately, trying to endure the crushing pheromones.

“No… please—!”

“Hmph.”

With a scoff, the Empress left the bedchamber.

Toward the woman’s retreating back, Seraphina screamed in raw desperation.

“Give my baby back!”

Her vision blurred and turned white at the edges as the Empress receded into the distance. Seraphina crawled across the floor, watching her baby disappear from view. She finally lost consciousness.

***

“Your Highness! Crown Prince!”

Damian had just emerged from the Emperor’s palace when he heard the urgent call. Rosalynde was running towards him. Reaching him, tears streaming down her face, she gasped out her words.

“Please—please save His Highness the Crown Grandson!”

“What do you mean? Calm down. Tell me properly.”

“Her Majesty the Empress took His Highness the Crown Grandson. She begged Her Highness not to, but she took him anyway! Your Highness, please—please save the Crown Grandson!”

Rosalynde stamped her feet in panic. As Damian listened, the color drained from his face.

“Sephi—what about Sephi?”

“She lost consciousness after they took the baby. What should we do, Your Highness…?”

At Rosalynde’s words, Damian’s eyes hardened. He clenched his fist and let out a heavy breath.

“So it’s come to this after all…”

He ran a hand through his slicked-back hair. Although Seraphina had woken up, he couldn’t bring himself to feel fully relieved.

While he had been away, even for a short time, the Empress had arrived and taken the baby. She had chosen this moment precisely because she knew Damian would be at the Emperor’s palace.

“I’m going to Sephi. I need to see her condition first. The palace physician?”

“We called him the moment Her Highness collapsed. He prescribed a potion and left.”

Damian nodded, then issued an order to Arno.

“Bring a horse. A carriage is too slow.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

The carriage that had taken him from the Crown Prince’s palace to the Emperor’s was no good. He needed to reach Seraphina as soon as possible.

As he watched Arno hurry towards the stables, Damian gritted his teeth.

***

Seraphina gasped sharply when she woke up.

Lying in bed, she immediately reached for her chest, where the baby had been lying. Her trembling hand searched the spot where the child had been and her eyes shook violently.

Gone.

The baby was gone. Just moments ago, the child had been in her arms.

‘It wasn’t… a dream.’

The Empress had taken the baby.

The moment Seraphina woke up, the Empress appeared, seemingly intent on inflicting unbearable pain. She then took the child away.

“Ah…”

Hot tears spilled from Seraphina’s eyes. Then someone gently dabbed them away with a handkerchief.

Still sobbing, she looked up at the person and took their hand in hers.

“Damian… my baby… our baby…”

Damian frowned with anguish as he looked at Seraphina, whose lips were dry and cracked. Tears streamed down her face as she clung to him and begged him for help.

“We have to get the baby back. My baby—the one Her Majesty took. We have to find him.”

“First, drink the potion. You need to regain some strength before we can do anything. In your current state, it’s impossible.”

Seraphina gulped down the potion that Damian handed her. If it meant she could find her baby, she would do anything. She drained the vial in one go and said.

“I drank it. That’s enough, right? Let’s go. Now.”

“Sephi, your body is still—”

“Let’s go!”

She cried out, tears spilling as she spoke.

“I only got to hold him once. Just once—and he was taken from me right away.”

She lifted both hands and stared at her palms. Seeing how empty they were, her chin trembled violently.

“I haven’t even given him a name yet. I don’t even know what to call our baby…”

She hadn’t even chosen a name for the baby yet.

Throughout her pregnancy, she had experienced both peace and fear. She had never felt confident that she would give birth safely, and because of this, she hadn’t dared to choose a name for him. She was so cautious that she couldn’t even bring herself to give him a nickname.

Instead, she thought about what she would call him once he was born. She had countless names in mind. He was so precious to her that she wanted to give him the most beautiful name possible.

She filled an entire notebook with possibilities. She wrote down meaningful names, crossed them out, and wrote new ones again and again.

This one felt too ordinary.

That one was too difficult to pronounce.

Another carried such a grand meaning that it might weigh too heavily on a child.

She chose and discarded names endlessly, unable to decide.

Before she could give him a name, before she could call him anything at all, he was taken from her.

So she couldn’t even cry out to him.

“I’ll go and bring him back. Just wait a little.”

“I’m going too.”

Seraphina grabbed Damian urgently. He answered with a troubled expression.

“If Her Majesty releases her pheromones again, you won’t be able to withstand it. Leave it to me. I’ll bring him back—no matter what.”

“You promise?”

Her eyes shone as she asked, staring straight at him. Damian met her gaze and nodded.

“I promise.”

“You have to bring him back.”

She repeated herself. She trusted him, yet her baby had been taken from her. Taken immediately after birth. It was difficult for her to regain her composure.

“Please… bring our baby back.”

Her voice was filled with desperate sincerity. Damian took her hand as she begged. Holding his hand tightly, Seraphina bit down on her lip.

***

“What did you just say?”

A short while later, inside the empress’s palace…

The Empress was shouting furiously at the Crown Prince. At her outburst, the maids guarding the bedchamber immediately dropped to their knees. The Crown Prince remained unmoved, meeting her glare with an expression of calm indifference.

“I said that Your Majesty committed theft.”

Having finished speaking, Damian stepped towards the baby’s cradle. Thankfully, the child appeared peaceful and was fast asleep. As he approached, the Empress, who had been gripping the side of the cradle, stiffened, her fingers tightening instinctively around the edge.

“I said I would raise my own grandchild with my own hands, and instead of being grateful, you call it theft?”

“We never once asked Your Majesty to raise our child.”

Damian’s voice was low and ominous as he glared at her. His blue eyes were fixed on his mother and gleamed with a cold, cutting light.