“Damn it… There are many vassals who think even minor actions by the Marquis represent the ducal family’s stance.”

“……”

“Do you know how many seats those vassals hold? Nearly 50 seats!”

That was true. It was separate from the ducal family not engaging in any political activities. The senate seats held by vassals under the ducal family, or families simply supporting them, could not be ignored. Their voting rights would determine the successor to inherit the throne.

Clifton irritably kicked the pile of newspapers strewn on the floor. The crumpled and folded papers flew. The sound of violence from mere paper piles was chilling.

“Damn it… I’ve barely got public opinion on my side, and now things twist like this.”

The feet of the enraged one paced in place. The carpet crumpled and dust rose under the heels of his shoes pressing down with force.

“Just when I was about to abandon Plan A because the engagement with the Wiche family fell through…!”

It had been a long-term plan.

He had been working for the past few years to create a connection through engagement with the Wiche count family, and gradually take over their capital and businesses. Clifton had infiltrated people into various businesses run by the Wiche family from the start, bribed some people to his side, and also drawn in nobles as helpers.

It was groundwork that took a long time and effort. The plan was to slowly swallow up those businesses that were like geese laying golden eggs, while dragging out the engagement for years after it was made until marriage. To take and simultaneously destroy their assets. To completely take over all those things.

But where did it go wrong?

Valentin Wiche, who had been annoyingly persistent like a leech, started refusing the engagement at some point. And then he left Elden altogether.

‘I thought this engagement would never fall through.’

Their marriage had various interests overlapping that couldn’t easily be overturned. Not to mention the Empress’s strong will and the support of the Hedderfield ducal family. The complex circumstances and power of various powerful people. But Valentin Wiche had achieved that difficult thing. It was a mistake to ignore him as insignificant.

‘How on earth did he overturn this…!’

The engagement was completely nullified as if years of work and effort had never existed. And his father the Emperor wouldn’t say anything about the reason. Even despite the pleas of his maternal grandfather, the Duke of Hedderfield. He completely closed his mouth, citing top secrecy as the reason.

‘That fellow, Reynard Dennox must certainly be involved.’

His father, petty and greedy from birth. The Emperor, now on the verge of becoming a powerless old man, had a terrible complex about the Dennox ducal family. He was jealous of their power and influence, while simultaneously coveting it. There must be some vested interests tied up with them.

‘I thought I could cajole him… that greedy old man playing at being Emperor…’

Even a toothless, ugly carnivore dripping with grease was still a beast of prey. Having held the throne for over 30 years, the Emperor was still the Emperor. He didn’t budge no matter how much Clifton tried to persuade him.

“Let’s say the engagement with the Wiche family falling through can’t be helped.”

The face distorted with irritation and anger emerged from contemplation and turned towards the root cause. The root cause and target for venting anger was conveniently right beside him. Evener trembled seeing Clifton’s murderous face. Scenes of past violence and madness occasionally shown when things didn’t go well flashed through the omega’s mind. It was enough to make him afraid.

“But we shouldn’t have turned the Marquis into an enemy.”

Even if they couldn’t make him an ally, he shouldn’t have become an antagonistic relationship.

No matter how much they implicitly didn’t participate in politics or political strife, there was such a thing as public opinion. The influence exerted by their very existence was absolutely not to be ignored.

It’s the same even now.

Just from this damn newspaper reporting that the Marquis shook hands and conversed intimately with the First Princess, the hearts of the naval faction and those supporting the ducal family will lean in that direction. They easily took over public opinion beyond just the senate seats.

“I was at ease because the Marquis of Valkyries hadn’t taken any action until now…”

A person they thought would remain neutral and a third party in politics forever has started supporting one side. And it was Clifton’s competitor. The problem had become serious.

“Damn it. This is all because of you, Evener.”

“Your Highness…”

“Why on earth did you go to the dress shop? Did you decide to make a fool of me?”

“I just went to congratulate Lord Wiche…”

Before those words were finished, Clifton grabbed Evener’s collar and lifted him up.

“Ha! Don’t lie. Do you think I don’t know about the relationship between you two?”

“Hic…”

Tears now fell from Evener’s reddened eyes. Sobs flowed from his mouth.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know that you’ve hated Valentin Wiche from before? No, you even subtly bullied him, didn’t you?”

It wasn’t that he didn’t know and left it alone.

It was just that two omegas being jealous and fighting was an insignificant matter to him. What could those lowly things do, squabbling with each other.

So he had left it alone until now. Because it was too trivial. Moreover, he was certain that no matter how much his Evener secretly acted spiteful, he wouldn’t truly become vicious.

“Did you think I didn’t know that you detest him, and so ‘that ability’ doesn’t work on him at all?”

“Gasp.”

Evener stopped breathing, shocked at Clifton’s words as he glared ominously.

Chilling alpha pheromones began to spread in the air.

“Ah… Evener. My lovely Evener.”

It was an affectionate voice unbelievably from the person who had just been grabbing and shaking his lover’s collar. The hands that had been roughly grabbing his collar released the hem of his clothes. And then they rummaged through there and felt the neck that the clothes had been covering with both hands. It seemed like tenderly touching a beloved being, but it was different.

It was a posture that could instantly change to strangling his neck. And Evener knew that if his hands twisted, he could do so.

“Evener… my poor lover.”

Teardrops of fear continued to fall from the omega’s eyes.

“Did you think I didn’t know that your ability is affected by your emotions?”

Clifton whispered, stroking Evener’s neck and face. Goosebumps rose on the skin where his fingers brushed past. The alpha’s lips rubbed against his ear and cheek. The omega’s face, wet with tears, filled with fear.

“Did you think I didn’t know that the strength of your amazing special ability changes according to your heart?”

The room filled suffocatingly with the alpha’s angry pheromones.

It was a frightening and dizzying pheromone. Even for an alpha, let alone an omega, it was hard to endure that power. Tears flowed ceaselessly from Evener’s eyes. And those tears touched the alpha’s lips as well.

“Your power is truly marvelous. It’s really a power I absolutely need.”

Strength entered the whispering alpha’s hands.

“When you first demonstrated this special ability in front of me at age 6, I knew right away. That you would be mine forever.”

That’s right. Evener Luwin was a special ability user.

And no one except the lover in front of him knew that fact.

“It’s truly an amazing power. The power to make others strongly like you.”

“Your Highness…”

Evener’s pitiful voice leaked out, trembling under the oppressive pheromones, but Clifton lightly ignored it.

“It’s a shame it doesn’t work well on trait holders, but it’s okay since there are more betas in the world. Most citizens are betas. Right?”

“Hic…”

“You’ve done well until now, haven’t you? Hmm?”

A tongue emerged from Clifton’s smooth mouth. The red, smooth flesh licked his lover’s cheek. Even the tears trembling with fear. The tears that flowed down to his neck were caught on that tongue.

“Fuck. But you messed things up this badly?”

Crack.

“Aah!”

The lips that had been licking his lover’s tears and neck bared teeth along with anger. The skin of the omega praised as beautiful as the archangel Michael, that neck, was mercilessly bitten by the angry alpha’s teeth.

“Y-Your Highness!”

When the flesh was crushed and blood flowed shallowly, Clifton removed his mouth from Evener’s neck.

And as if in exchange, this time he applied force to his hands. He strangled Evener’s bleeding neck.

“I didn’t expect you to be able to beguile the superior alpha Marquis of Valkyries with that ability in the first place.”

“Ugh…”

“You know too, don’t you? How great your ability is, yet how trivial it is, hmm?”

He didn’t apply full force to his hands, but it was enough to take the omega’s breath away and threaten him.

“Even if you couldn’t win his favor and make him your ally. Fuck, you shouldn’t have turned him into an enemy!”

Evener’s body was choked and shaken by the fierce force.

Evener’s special ability to win others’ favor.

That special ability of Evener’s that affected people’s hearts and minds had several blind spots.

First, it didn’t have much effect on trait holders.

For unknown reasons, while Evener’s ability had considerable effect on betas, it only had a weak influence on trait holders.

And second, the ability was affected by the emotions of Evener, the user.

No matter how hard he tried, it was impossible to brainwash someone Evener truly hated or disliked.

The reason wasn’t clearly known. It was already an era where almost all special abilities had disappeared. There were no people left who could teach what it was or uncover the cause. They could only speculate that since it was an ability that manipulated people’s emotions, his own emotions would also have an effect. And Evener thought he alone knew this fact. But that was a complete misconception.

That smart person who had always been by his side since childhood. To think his lover Clifton had completely grasped even the second weakness. Well, Clifton had always been beside him when he conducted many experiments on the special ability. No, all those special ability experiments and executions were things Clifton had ordered.

Evener had drawn many people to his side until now. Mostly in social circles, sometimes among the public. Everything was at Clifton’s request. Those requests increasingly took on the color of coercion and became orders as they grew older and time passed.

Clifton released the force from his strangling hands as Evener’s face turned dark red.

“I hear you fought with Valentin at the dress shop? Are you in your right mind?”