Chapter 30
“They said it works best on an Omega who already has feelings for the Alpha… but Lucas isn’t an Omega.”
The thought made Leon sulk as he trudged toward the study.
Whenever he touched Lucas, his body grew hot, his head dizzy, and his whole being filled with a strangely pleasant sensation—yet, Lucas wasn’t an Omega.
Leon was certain that he himself was an Alpha.
Then why wasn’t Lucas reacting the way an Omega should?
It was mysterious—just like everything else about this mysterious fairy he had met in the North.
And since it was too confusing for his young mind to figure out, Leon settled on a simple conclusion:
“It must just be another one of those strange things about the North.”
“Ugh, whatever! I just wanna see Lucas!”
The moment he thought of Lucas, his steps grew lighter, and soon, he was practically flying down the hall.
He reached the study in no time, paused for a moment to catch his breath, and checked his reflection in the polished marble wall.
After smoothing down his golden hair with his hands and adjusting his collar, he opened the door.
The moment Lucas lifted his head and looked at him, Leon’s heart pounded.
Just meeting his eyes made his chest tighten and his mouth dry.
“Luca…”
“Yes, Your Highness. You’re back. Was everything in order at the greenhouse?”
“Yeah! I was practicing flight maneuvers with Jerry and his friends.”
Leon hesitated before asking, “By the way, do Jerry’s friends have names?”
Lucas blinked in mild surprise.
“They… don’t. How did you know that?”
“Oh no! Lucas doesn’t know that I can understand animals!”
Leon quickly corrected himself.
“Uh, well… I just never heard you call them anything.”
Lucas nodded, accepting the explanation, but his expression turned slightly regretful.
“They’re still quite wild—even though they’ve been here for a long time, they refuse to be fully tamed. But speaking of that… have you seen any others like Lulu in the greenhouse?”
For the past few days, Leon had definitely seen Lulu acting like a little leader, lining up a group of winged cats and bossing them around.
In fact, it was thanks to Lulu’s influence that those cats had joined today’s flight exercise.
But Leon decided not to tell Lucas just yet.
“I’ll wait until they can fly really well—then surprise him!”
So, he smiled mischievously and shook his head.
“Well, it took Lulu a while to warm up to me too. I guess cats are just naturally more cautious.”
“That does seem to be the case. Still, it would be wonderful if even creatures with monster blood could coexist peacefully with humans.”
“Yeah, totally!”
“Don’t worry, Luca. They already like you.”
Leon silently reassured Lucas in his heart as he stepped closer and lightly took his hand.
Just holding hands made his body heat up, his breathing grows shallow.
And in the back of his mind, he kept thinking about what that knight had said earlier—about pheromone showers.
That night, Leon decided to test what he had learned.
All throughout the evening—in the study, during their lessons, at dinner—Leon subtly released his pheromones.
And each time, Lucas’s gaze would flick toward him.
Leon, pretending not to notice, simply smiled innocently every time.
Then Lucas would just tilt his head slightly and look away.
“If I overdo it, he might notice and resist. I have to be careful.”
Even while bathing, Leon continued to slowly increase the number of pheromones he released.
And Lucas, completely unaware, didn’t react much—probably because of his naturally gentle and oblivious nature.
But when Leon returned to the room after his bath, he noticed something different.
Lucas’s cheeks were flushed red.
Seeing this stirred something inside him.
He felt greedy.
Even though he knew he had to control himself, Leon let out a stronger wave of pheromones.
“Just a little more. Just a little bit more…”
Lucas’s breathing grew heavier.
Just as Leon was about to push further—
BANG!
The door slammed open, and Michelle entered.
“Lucas, about that new knight—”
She abruptly stopped mid-sentence.
Her nose wrinkled slightly.
Leon froze.
“Did she notice?! My pheromones?!”
In a panic, he immediately suppressed them.
Luckily, Michelle didn’t seem entirely certain—instead, she simply tilted her head in confusion and glanced at Leon, who was pressed closely against Lucas.
Leon immediately plastered on his most innocent smile.
Michelle narrowed her eyes but said nothing.
“Did the new recruits cause any trouble during training?” Lucas asked smoothly.
“No, nothing like that. Sion just seemed a bit overwhelmed, so I wanted to suggest adding more senior knights to help out.”
“…At this hour?”
Michelle simply smirked.
Truthfully, Sion’s complaints weren’t urgent.
The real reason she had come was because she had sensed something strange.
Even as an Alpha, it wasn’t easy to detect pheromones at a distance like this.
But Michelle had always been especially sensitive to them.
Something had felt off—a faint, unpleasant nausea—so she had come to investigate.
However, now that she was face-to-face with them, the sensation was harder to pinpoint.
“No… I definitely felt something.”
Had it been a young Alpha struggling to control their pheromones?
Or was it something else entirely?
Either way, she decided she would need to have a word with Leon later.
After shooting one last suspicious glance at him, she finally turned and left the study.
Leon let out a silent sigh of relief, clutching his chest.
“Did she come here because she noticed? Was she testing me?”
It seemed likely.
But even so—he wasn’t going to stop.
Leon stretched lazily, then turned to Lucas.
“Luca, how long are you going to keep reading?”
Lucas glanced toward the window.
Outside, the night sky was pitch-black, with light snowflakes drifting down.
Even though spring had come, the unpredictable northern climate made it easy to lose track of time.
“If you’re tired, you can go to sleep first,” Lucas suggested.
“No, I’ll wait. I have to sleep with you,” Leon insisted.
Despite his words, his eyes were already drooping with sleep.
Lucas let out a soft breath, reaching over to extinguish the candle beside him.
“Then, shall we sleep now?”
As he closed his book and pulled up the blanket, Leon burrowed into his arms.
By now, Lucas had grown accustomed to the boy seeking his warmth like this.
A gentle heat wrapped around him—a warmth even thicker blankets couldn’t provide.
For a brief moment, he thought Leon’s scent felt stronger than usual, but then quickly dismissed it.
He had never been particularly sensitive to pheromones, after all.
“Could this be why I’ve been sleeping so well lately?”
The thought flashed through his mind, but sleep quickly overtook him before he could dwell on it.
Leon, pretending to be asleep, waited patiently until Lucas’s breathing became deep and steady.
The exhaustion from playing flight games all afternoon lingered in his body, but the moment he looked at Lucas’s sleeping face, his drowsiness vanished.
Holding his breath, Leon carefully pressed his body closer to Lucas, watching him intently for any reaction.
Lucas’s shoulders flinched slightly.
Leon waited until he settled again before he began releasing pheromones.
“…Hmm.”
Lucas let out a soft noise, his slightly parted lips moving as if murmuring in his sleep.
Leon paused for a moment—then, when Lucas grew still, he continued.
A pleasant heat spread through his lower belly, his toes curling involuntarily.
Just then—
A low, rumbling sound filled the quiet room.
Grrr…
It was the sound of a tiger growling.
Leon stiffened in shock, immediately clamping both hands over his mouth.
The room fell into silence, the bitter-sweet scent of his own pheromones thick in the air.
Taking a shaky breath, Leon slowly pulled away, but—
Lucas’s shoulders twitched again.
“Did… did he notice?”
The knights’ words echoed in his head—if your partner notices, they might resist even more.
“I have to go slowly. The northern nights are long, after all…”
Leon murmured to himself, taking another deep breath before releasing his pheromones again—this time, more carefully.
A soft, stable scent enveloped Lucas’s body.
Though invisible, it felt as if his presence was completely covering Lucas.
Leon’s palms tingled at the thought.
Lucas’s breathing grew heavier, his lips flushed a deeper red.
Leon could barely tear his gaze away.
Keeping his pheromone release steady was proving to be more difficult than expected.
To keep himself focused, he dug his nails into his thigh, trying to anchor himself.
Some time passed.
And then—
Lucas’s scent began to change.
His natural fragrance—normally so faint that Leon could barely pick it up—deepened.
The warmth of his body intensified, and Leon’s throat grew dry.
An unfamiliar, overwhelming urge crashed over him.
Leon’s hands clenched tightly into the blanket as he buried his face into the bed.
His entire body felt strange.
“…Grrr…”
Another growl slipped out, his heightened senses making it impossible to suppress.
He had never felt like this before.
And for the first time—he felt afraid.
“If even I feel this way because of my pheromones… what about Lucas?”
“What if he’s struggling right now, too?”
“What if I make him sick?”
That thought alone was enough to scare him completely.
Leon slapped his own cheeks lightly, trying to snap out of it—but it didn’t work.
Frustrated, he jumped out of bed, heading straight for the bathroom.
Splashing cold water over his face, he gripped the edge of the sink, forcing himself to steady his breath.
Being away from Lucas helped.
The heat inside him gradually cooled, and his mind cleared.
Staring at his own reflection, Leon took a deep breath.
His body had felt hot, feverish, and uncontrollable…
Yet—
It hadn’t felt bad.
If anything… he wanted more.
Turning toward the window, Leon saw the round moon glowing golden in the night sky.
He slowly brought his hands together, whispering a small prayer.
“Please… don’t let my greed make Lucas sick.”
