Chapter 31
Having had a restless night, Leon woke up feeling utterly exhausted. Blinking sleepily, he turned to the window. The sun was already much higher in the sky than usual.
He tilted his head in confusion. It was well past their usual waking time, yet Lucas remained motionless, still deep in sleep.
“Could it be… is he unable to wake up because of me?”
Panic gripped his chest. Leon scrambled over, grabbing Lucas’s shoulders and shaking him frantically.
“Lucas! Lucas, wake up! It’s already late morning!”
“…Mmm.”
Lucas’s eyes fluttered open halfway.
Leon let out a sigh of relief, pressing a hand against his chest. At least he isn’t unconscious…
“I thought you couldn’t wake up,” he admitted. “I was scared.”
Lucas let out a soft chuckle, lifting a hand to ruffle Leon’s hair.
“I just slept deeply. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Still…”
Leon studied his face carefully. Despite waking up much later than usual, Lucas looked… different. His eyes, though half-lidded, seemed calm and refreshed. His skin glowed with a healthy radiance, and his lips looked softer than ever.
“You really feel okay?”
Lucas stretched his arms, his body adjusting to wakefulness.
Leon watched anxiously, half-expecting some sort of aftereffect from the previous night, but Lucas seemed perfectly fine. The only noticeable change was a slight widening of his eyes before he composed himself again.
After a moment, he smiled reassuringly.
“There’s nothing wrong. I actually feel quite refreshed.”
To prove his point, Lucas rotated his shoulders, feeling warmth flowing through his body. His muscles, usually stiff from tension, felt oddly relaxed.
Leon, who had been watching him like a hawk, finally let out a breath of relief.
“Lucas, I’m hungry! Let’s eat first, and then let’s go to the greenhouse! I have something to show you.”
Lucas shook his head.
“We can eat together, but I won’t be able to train with you in the greenhouse today. I have a lot of work to catch up on.”
Leon pouted. He had wanted to show Lucas how well the animals had been listening to him lately. But more than that, he was just relieved that Lucas was okay.
“Okay… well, at least you got good sleep. You look even prettier—no, I mean, your complexion looks better!”
Before Lucas could respond, Leon leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before hopping off the bed to change into his clothes.
Lucas, momentarily stunned, touched his cheek in mild disbelief before shaking his head and getting out of bed as well.
On the Way to Breakfast…
As they walked down the hallway, hand in hand, Lucas began noticing something unusual.
The servants they passed seemed more at ease than usual, their expressions calmer.
And more importantly—his own aura felt… different.
It wasn’t as harsh as it usually was.
“Is it just because I slept well? Or…”
He turned his head, meeting Leon’s bright, innocent gaze.
Leon beamed up at him.
Lucas hesitated. Then smiled back.
“…It’s probably nothing.”
After Breakfast – The Greenhouse
After finishing breakfast, Leon headed to the greenhouse alone.
Lucas had suggested staying with him in the study, reading while he worked, but Leon had plans.
He needed time to practice with the animals before showing off in front of Lucas.
“It’s a little sad to be apart, but it’s for a good reason!”
Leon walked down the hallway, pausing to eavesdrop near the knights’ training area, just in case they were discussing anything interesting again.
Unfortunately, today’s training must have ended later than usual—the knights weren’t there.
“Tsk. Too bad.”
Slightly disappointed, Leon reached the greenhouse and grabbed the door handle.
Just as he was about to enter—
“Hah! There you are!”
The door burst open, and standing right in front of him was—Michelle.
Leon yelped in surprise, stumbling backward.
Michelle’s expression was far too mischievous for comfort.
Leon froze.
“What is she doing here?! More importantly, why is she smiling like that?!
Michelle was always serious. The only time she ever smiled was when she was planning something dangerous.
And given last night’s close call, Leon immediately knew why she was here.
“Somebody save me!”
Panicked, Leon sent a telepathic plea to the animals in the greenhouse.
But—
The moment they saw Michelle, all the animals scattered in terror.
Even LuLu, who was usually fearless, darted behind a tree.
“Traitors!”
Leon swallowed hard, switching tactics.
If running wasn’t an option, maybe he could act polite and escape quickly.
“A-Ah! Good morning, Grand Duchess! What brings you to the greenhouse today?”
Michelle clicked her tongue.
“Hah! So sneaky, Your Highness.”
“Huh?! W-What do you mean, sneaky?! I—I don’t understand—ah!”
Before he could even finish his excuse, Michelle grabbed his wrist and dragged him inside.
Deep Inside the Greenhouse…
Once they were far from the entrance, Michelle finally released him.
Leon rubbed his wrist, looking up at her with wide, wary eyes.
Her playful expression had vanished, replaced with something much more serious.
“Your Highness,” she said, voice lowering. “I need you to answer me honestly.”
Leon tensed.
He nodded wordlessly.
“Did you notice it?”
Leon blinked.
“Notice… what?”
Michelle studied him for a long moment, then sighed.
“Hm. I suppose not.”
Her piercing gaze softened slightly—but only slightly.
“Then tell me this,” she continued. “The pheromones I sensed last night—where did they come from?”
Leon’s heart stopped.
“She noticed!”
His mind raced for an excuse.
He couldn’t let her know what he had been doing!
Trying his best to look genuinely confused, Leon widened his big, innocent eyes and whispered,
“Pheromones? Did I… release some?”
To sell the act, he shifted anxiously, fidgeting like a guilty child.
Michelle narrowed her eyes.
For a long moment, she just stared.
Then, finally—
She let out a long, deep sigh.
“…Your Highness,” Michelle said, her voice unusually firm. “You may be too young to fully understand, but when an Alpha inhales another Alpha’s pheromones, it can cause nausea or even weaken their health. Lucas may be too dense to notice, but…” She narrowed her eyes. “You need to be more cautious. Control your pheromones properly. Understood?”
Leon quickly nodded.
Seeing Michelle’s sharp gaze, he lowered his voice and spoke carefully.
“I… I really must have done it without realizing. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
As he spoke, his attention drifted to Michelle’s hands. She was fidgeting with her sleeve, something unusual for her.
“Strange… if Lucas is a dominant Alpha, Michelle wouldn’t be this concerned. If Lucas had been affected by it, he would’ve told me first, wouldn’t he?”
A small spark of hope began to grow in Leon’s chest.
In the Greenhouse—A Secret Meeting with the Animals
After making sure Michelle had left the greenhouse, Leon let out a loud whistle. At once, the animals that had been hiding hesitantly gathered around him.
“I’m disappointed in all of you!”
At his scolding, a wave of excuses erupted from the animals—Michelle was too scary, they weren’t strong enough to help, she was different from Lucas, and so on.
Leon sighed. “Fine, I won’t blame you. But stop making excuses.”
The animals fell silent.
Leon stomped his foot lightly against the ground.
“Tomorrow, when Lucas comes to the greenhouse, we’re going to show him everything we’ve been practicing.”
Hearing this, Lulu wagged her tail excitedly, and Jerry tilted his head.
<Why?>
“What do you mean, why? To show off! If Lucas sees how cool we are, he’ll love it!”
<Ohhh! Good idea!>
Jerry’s enthusiasm spread, and soon the other animals nodded in agreement.
In truth, they had long wanted to reassure Lucas. They had seen him come to the greenhouse so many times, sighing and worrying about them.
They had always wanted to tell him: We’ll never turn into monsters. We won’t hurt people.
But words wouldn’t reach him. All they could do was rub against him or fly around to cheer him up.
Now, with Leon as their voice, they finally had a chance to show Lucas the truth.
<Let’s do it!>
<We’ll be amazing!>
<We need to show him properly this time.>
Leon grinned and gave them a thumbs-up.
“Lucas is going to love this.”
A Change of Plans
However, the next day, Leon’s grand plan fell apart.
A sudden monster outbreak in the nearby mountains forced Lucas to leave on an urgent mission.
Watching Lucas ride out of the castle, Leon’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.
“I wanted to show him so badly…”
“Meow…”
Lulu, noticing Leon’s sulking, rubbed against his leg and let out a small cry.
“Hey, Lulu,” Leon murmured, “how long does Lucas usually take when he goes on missions like this?”
<Um… I don’t know.>
“What do you mean, you don’t know?!”
<Because it’s always different!> Lulu explained. <If the monsters are strong or there’s a lot of them, he takes longer. If they’re weak, he comes back fast.>
Leon bit his lip.
“Maybe I should’ve asked to go with him… Not that he would’ve let me. But still…”
“If I had pretended I still couldn’t control my power, maybe he would’ve stayed…”
He was just starting to regret not stopping Lucas when the castle suddenly became noisy.
Lulu’s fur bristled, her ears twitching in alarm.
“Something’s happening,” Leon muttered.
His stomach twisted uneasily.
“…Lucas isn’t here. What if something goes wrong?”
