NOVEL NEXT #19
#19
“Ah, you mean Damiel? Yes, that’s right. My father selected him.”
Anture’s face contorted slightly. Was it because he had grown up receiving only doting affection? Enrique realized for the first time that such a young boy could make such a pained expression.
Enrique was puzzled.
He knew that alphas were naturally possessive. But was it necessary to be so distressed over someone he wasn’t even married to yet and had only met a few times? After all, the relationship between himself and Anture was merely an important transaction involving large sums of money between nations, nothing more and nothing less.
“Then… does that mean you didn’t choose him yourself, Enrique?”
Anture asked with a dark expression. Enrique nodded without hesitation.
“I didn’t choose him directly, but I trust my father’s choice.”
“But that’s… that’s…”
The boy mumbled, chewing his lip as if he might tear it. Enrique became more worried that Anture might actually tear his lip. How painful it would be until it healed.
“Isn’t that too cruel to you, Enrique?!”
Anture suddenly shouted. Enrique looked puzzled.
“Cruel? How so?”
When Enrique asked, Anture’s expression twisted even more painfully.
“Having to… do that… with someone you don’t even want, isn’t that extremely cruel to you? I know the King of Shamier cherishes you greatly. But this is excessive interference. To even choose your partner and force you to… do that! As your fiancé, I absolutely cannot accept such a thing!”
Anture’s outcry and the anger in it were so intense that even Enrique could feel it. Enrique looked dumbfounded. He couldn’t understand at all why Anture was so angry.
At that moment, Anture suddenly knelt down on one knee beside the bed. He grasped Enrique’s hand firmly with both of his.
“Please don’t do such a thing. You don’t need to. No, please don’t do it. I beg you as your fiancé.”
Enrique looked at Pol standing beside him with a bewildered expression. Pol, also looking perplexed, shrugged as if to say, “What do you want me to do?” His face clearly indicated that the prince should handle this himself.
Enrique rubbed his face with his free hand. He couldn’t help but sigh.
It seemed that the education in the Ruben Empire was worse than he had thought. Shouldn’t an alpha heir have received basic alpha education? What was he supposed to do with this tantrum?
“Um, Anture?”
Enrique carefully called out to Anture, who was holding his hand as if it were a lifeline. Anture looked up at Enrique with flushed eyes. The boy’s black eyes were filled with desperation.
“I think there’s been some misunderstanding.”
Enrique said definitively. Then, before Anture could say anything, he continued.
“Lord Damiel is an excellent partner carefully chosen by my father solely for my sake. After meeting him once, I found him not bad enough to refuse. So it’s no different from me choosing him myself.”
“But…!”
“And I’m in a situation where I need to go through my first heat cycle. Telling me not to do it, are you suggesting that I should endure the heat cycle painfully without a partner, or take harmful drugs to suppress it?”
Enrique reprimanded Anture with stern eyes and voice. Anture’s face visibly paled.
“That’s… that’s…”
Anture opened and closed his mouth repeatedly.
“Seeing that you continue to act this way even after hearing my words clearly, it seems you want me to endure the pain and maintain my purity until I marry you.”
“……”
A devastated look appeared on Anture’s face. He couldn’t deny Enrique’s words.
Enrique inwardly sneered.
Even at an age where some innocence remained, it seemed an alpha was still an alpha. But if one wants to act like an alpha, they should also possess the tolerance and composure befitting an alpha. This wasn’t 100 or 200 years ago… In these times, what alpha would demand an omega to maintain their purity while enduring pain? If he wanted such a pure bride, he should have been born at least 5 years earlier.
“Since we’re on the subject, let me make this clear. As a Superior Omega, I have a precious and valuable body that must bear heirs for Ruben, Monta, Baron, and Shamier. Therefore, I have no intention whatsoever of ruining this valuable asset by taking harmful drugs for five years due to your selfish and immature desires.”
“That’s not what I meant…!”
Anture tried desperately to explain. But Enrique immediately cut him off.
“Of course, I have no intention of enduring the heat cycle alone in pain for the sake of maintaining purity. No matter how much you are the prince of the Ruben Empire, you cannot force that upon me.”
As Enrique declared this, the strength in Anture’s hands gripping Enrique’s hand loosened.
“If you must have a pure bride, return to the Ruben Empire right now, declare our engagement broken, and find someone else. Even our Shamier won’t force a marriage that Ruben doesn’t want. Of course, we’ll return all the gifts in full.”
Enrique coldly pulled his hand away from Anture’s grasp after this icy rebuke. Then he turned his head to the side, indirectly dismissing his guest.
A heavy silence fell over the bedroom. Anture remained kneeling with one knee on the ground, his head bowed deeply. He was so still that he seemed to have turned to stone in that position.
As time passed and Anture remained motionless, Enrique’s gaze on the top of Anture’s head became slightly complex.
He could have spoken kindly. He could have calmly explained the reasons and tried to persuade him. But Enrique wasn’t the type to exercise patience for things that offered no benefit.
Well… in fact, his twisted feelings weren’t entirely uninvolved.
He wanted to strike at the heart of this boy with such innocent eyes, so unbefitting of a prince from a great power like Ruben. He was also curious to see how the boy’s eyes would change after being hurt. Surely he had pride as a prince of a powerful country. Would he be able to smile again with pure and harmless eyes after being treated like this?
Yes, Enrique hoped that this puppy-like boy would no longer look at him with such devoted eyes. He and Anture were bound purely by a transaction between nations, and after their short four-year marriage, they would divorce and never see each other again. And someday, they would have to engage in political maneuvering while ruling their respective countries. So he hoped there would be no unnecessary emotional investment between them.
“All this talking has made me tired. Pol, please see our guest out. I need to sleep some more.”
Enrique said loud enough for the motionless Anture to hear. Then he removed the pillows he had been leaning on, laid them flat, and turned on his side to lie down. Pulling the blanket up to his shoulders, he felt a slight sense of relief, as if he had put up a barrier.
How many breaths had he taken lying like that? He sensed movement beside him as someone got up. He also felt a gaze on his back for a moment. Enrique closed his eyes completely. Then he heard light footsteps heading towards the door before completely disappearing.
As Anture left and the door closed, the heavy atmosphere immediately lightened. Pol let out a deep sigh beside the bed.
“You went too far just now, Your Highness.”
Pol said reproachfully. Enrique silently snorted in response.
“He would have understood if you had spoken kindly… Why did you have to be so harsh? No, that’s just your personality, what can we do? But still, you went too far.”
“If I had tried to persuade him with kind words, it would have taken at least an hour or two more. Both sides saved time, so it’s a win.”
Enrique said, turning over to lie on his back, facing the ceiling. Pol shook his head as if giving up.
“I’m thirsty. Get me some water.”
Enrique said, abruptly sitting up. Pol stared at Enrique for a moment with eyes that seemed to have something to say, then let out a faint sigh and picked up the water bottle.
It was almost noon when Enrique finally opened his eyes, and he immediately frowned.
He could immediately feel a slight fever throughout his body. His mind was hazy, unlike usual, and his vision was somewhat blurry. His senses were overly sensitive, making even the soft touch of the sheets against his skin feel stimulating.
That wasn’t all.
His body felt a strange tingling sensation. It wasn’t pain or itching… but a very subtle tingling feeling. This unresolved, strange tingling caused a sense of frustration and anxiety to well up.