As if it was sized for him, not for Valentin. Or maybe he thinks the size of this bouquet is a measure of his courtship…? Valentin thought while looking at him, appearing like an alpha who had come in a textbook manner to court an omega he liked.

 

‘Does this person really like me…?’

 

The heavy and fresh scent flowing from the rosemelia with petals as big as Valentin’s fist made his mood a bit better. Valentin unknowingly sniffed and took several deep breaths, savoring the scent, then raised his head, stared straight at the one who handed him the flowers, and exclaimed in admiration.

 

‘Wow…!’

 

It was his first time seeing him in casual clothing.

 

Unlike the magnificent appearance with his uniform adorned with dazzling medals standing tall on the first day of the ball, he was wearing a tailcoat suit with a long back like any gentleman.

 

The conviction from the past that the overwhelming stature and solid, intimidating presence like a huge sailing ship came from his uniform seemed to need correction. Despite wearing a suit that used this year’s cute dark violet vest color as a point, delicately tailored by a designer who poured their heart into it, he boasted an exceptional aura.

 

“It’s been a while, but you don’t look well.”

 

After coming without an invitation and nestling a bouquet in his arms without a greeting, he started off by commenting on Valentin’s appearance. How insensitive and rude… Valentin pouted his lips, taking advantage of the gap hidden by the flowers. Then who told you to suddenly visit? Where did you learn the manners to visit an elder(?) omega like this out of the blue? And whose fault is it that I look like this…! 

 

However, unable to openly express complaints in front of him who was notorious for a different reason than himself, Valentin could only ask a timid question in a small voice.

 

“What brings you here today…?”

 

“Let’s go out. Let’s go on a date.”

 

Reynard’s purpose came in straight, cutting off Valentin’s unfinished words.

 

“Pardon…?”

 

A date…?

 

“I heard you just woke up, but you’re flawlessly beautiful as always. Just put on an outer garment and it’ll do. Let’s go out, quickly.”

 

Like that, Reynard took the bouquet of roses back from the hand of the staggering Valentin and entrusted it to the butler standing next to him. And he directly ordered to prepare for going out immediately. He caught Valentin again, who was swaying and losing balance from suddenly having the bouquet snatched away.

 

Perhaps because he was in the military, his commands were natural yet subtly coercive. Swept up in his momentum, Valentin and the butler Dawson unknowingly found themselves following his orders like marionettes.

 

And a moment later, Valentin was neatly loaded into Reynard Dennox’s carriage and riding down the streets of Eldon’s downtown with a blank face.

 

The carriage he was riding for the first time in broad daylight boasted battleship-like defense and sturdiness, made with steel-like black iron. Valentin blankly fell into thought as he touched the walls of the carriage that felt like a prison, solid yet cozy, from which he would never be able to escape on his own without his help.

 

‘What in the world is happening right now…?’

 

Valentin, who really ended up going outside after getting dressed in appropriate clothing with the quick attendance of Dawson, couldn’t come to his senses at all due to the excessively fast-paced events.

 

And perhaps because he looked quite out of it even to the other person, Reynard raised his hand from across, gently stroked down Valentin’s face with his fingers, lifted his chin, and asked.

 

“Why are you so quiet? Are you angry?”

 

“Pardon…?”

 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t write. I had to urgently go to the Grand Duchy.”

 

But he added that he did his best to quickly go and return in order to hurry back to the capital.

 

Were we on terms to exchange letters, sir…? Valentin became even more out of it as if he had become the protagonist of some role-play he wasn’t aware of. He only kept dumbly asking back, “Pardon?”

 

Perhaps sensing something from the blankly opened mouth and round sky-blue eyes, Reynard moved to sit next to Valentin and naturally wrapped an arm around his waist to hug him. And he brought his mouth to meet the cutely gaping mouth as if water was flowing.

 

“Ah…!”

 

He moved carefully and slowly, but seemed to have no hesitation about the justification for his actions. As if saying the natural destination of my lips is your lips, he kissed like naturally handling an omega that fully belonged to him.

 

The alpha’s pheromones, strong enough to be suffocating, explosively spewed out and filled the carriage. His pheromones had a heavy scent reminiscent of the deep sea, cool yet bitter, like powerful pomelo or mint. It was Valentin’s first time encountering an alpha pheromone that felt so strong and heavy enough to be considered potent.

 

It gradually changed its color from pheromones expressing pleasant emotions to sexual pheromones with a seductive meaning. And it was only natural for Valentin to lose his mind from that scent.

 

His nose bridge, upright like a Greek war god on his sculpture-like handsome face, touched and rubbed against Valentin’s delicate white face.

 

And his thick, hot tongue invaded Valentin’s mouth, caught his soft tongue and curled it up.

 

“Ahh…”

 

After sweeping the inside of his mouth and gently biting and licking his lips, he suddenly dropped his lips, brought his nose to Valentin’s neck, and took a deep breath. He repeatedly pressed his nose firmly to Valentin’s neck and head to smell the scent multiple times, then licked the area near the pheromone gland with his tongue to taste it and deeply smelled the scent again. What is he, some kind of drug-sniffing dog…

 

“Your pheromones seem to have changed a bit…”

 

Valentin flinched and stiffened at his muttered words. 

 

Could it be…?

 

Did this person realize I’m pregnant through my pheromones?

 

‘Did he notice…?’

 

Valentin stiffened, feeling the blood drain from his entire body. Come to think of it, he seemed to have heard somewhere that pheromone scents change when pregnant.

 

Unaware that Valentin had tensed up, Reynard expressed his thoughts on the pheromones.

 

“It became more cozy and sweet than before. But it’s not something that stimulates sexual desire… Hmm, it’s strange…?”

 

Fortunately, Reynard didn’t seem to know at all what the change in pheromones meant.

 

Valentin secretly sighed in relief and swept his chest, trying not to show it.

 

For a dominant alpha, he’s more sensitive than the dominant alphas in my family. Of course, it may be natural since my family wouldn’t have a reason to stick their noses in my neck and detect pheromone changes. Valentin shrugged his neck and naturally escaped his embrace before anything else was discovered, changing the subject.

 

“Where are we going?”

 

As he asked, changing the atmosphere, Reynard also detached his body and sat up straight.

 

“I heard from the butler earlier that you haven’t had a single meal today?”

 

“Yes…”

 

“Then we should eat first. Do you like seafood?”

 

“Well, more or less…”

 

Valentin didn’t really have any food he was picky about.

 

It was true. 

 

It really was, until just yesterday.

 

“Ugh.”

 

As soon as he entered the entrance of the restaurant that Reynard introduced as most closely resembling the excellent taste of seafood dishes, the pride of the Grand Duchy where three sides of his territory were surrounded by the sea, Valentin felt nausea rising and secretly covered his nose.

 

“Is there a problem?”

 

Reynard raised his eyebrows and asked, seeing Valentin hurriedly covering his nose with his arm while escorting him.

 

No…! Absolutely not! It’s over if it’s found out.

 

Thinking that he absolutely cannot let anyone, not even the sperm donor in front of him, know about his pregnancy, although he didn’t know exactly what it was, Valentin held back his gagging with all his might.

 

It felt like some huge thing would happen if this fact was revealed.

 

Unknowingly breathing through his mouth instead of his nose, he answered in a nasal voice.

 

“No! No problem at all!”

 

Not even noticing that it sounded like ‘Nyo! Nyo pwablem at all!’, Valentin swung his arms more vigorously and followed the restaurant manager first.

 

Thinking that he looked like a cute puppy pretending to be a beast, Reynard secretly chuckled and followed in to sit in the private room.

 

Valentin painstakingly ate the fresh seafood dishes that came out course by course. The unique fishy smell of the sea entered his nose and stirred his stomach into a mess, but he tried with tremendous patience to absolutely not show it.

 

If it’s really found out, it’s over.

 

If it’s discovered, it feels like something tremendous will happen. Such thoughts had been dominating his little head for a while.

 

This was the first time he had shown such perseverance.

 

Trying to endure with all his might reminded him of the past. In the past, he had filled canvases larger than 100 numbers for days with passion to depict the shimmering scenery and images in front of his eyes. But even then, he hadn’t tried this hard…

 

So this was Valentin’s first perseverance with all his heart and soul.

 

And the strong, huge alpha who had gone back and forth between the military and battlefields throughout his youth, thus hardly having proper dates with omegas, didn’t notice that at all. He just kept eagerly recommending his own dishes as well, saying the sight of him eating well was lovely.

 

As a result, Valentin ended up eating an tremendous amount compared to usual and got properly stuffed…

 

With an overly full body, he came out of the restaurant and while going down the stairs, he staggered from pregnancy anemia and eventually fainted again.

 

“Valentin…!”

 

He fades away to the sound of someone desperately calling his name from somewhere…

 

*

 

It felt good to be wrapped in soft sheets.

 

Satisfied with the somehow familiar yet alluring alpha pheromone scent coming from the blanket, he unknowingly rubbed his cheeks and snuggled deeper into the sheets, pressing his body closer.

 

He wanted to lie down a bit more like this, but the murmuring voices kept coming from the side, waking Valentin up.

 

“He’s pregnant.”

 

What…? Did I regress this time?

 

Valentin was plagued by a strange sense of déjà vu as he heard the pregnancy announcement again, which he seemed to have heard earlier.

 

Is this déjà vu…? He was sure he had experienced a situation like this earlier too.

 

“What did you say?”

 

The low, thick baritone of the alpha reaching his ears is familiar yet eerie.