work to your heart’s content and forgetting will be much easier. after that, a drink of the golden liquid that aven prepared separately.

    it was about time for olivia to wrap aven’s whole body with her pheromones. her anticipation of the pleasures that would follow was steadily rising.

    “i think i need an explanation.”

    she shook as he looked her straight in the eyes. it was at that moment, olivia noticed something strange and cloudy with a hint of red in his black eyes.

    ‘what is that…?’ she wondered.

    olivia was distracted by the look of aven’s eyes, all the while feeling as if her feet were floating off the ground.

    “why is that a ridiculous deal for me and askan?” aven asked. “tell me everything… the things that you want to get.”

    the way he spoke managed to hold olivia back from the giddy sensation of floating in the air. if aven wasn’t around, she thought that she’d constantly fall into a black hole where the bottom was nonexistent.

    olivia thought maybe it was all a dream.

    it wasn’t just because her power as a high-ranking noble omega, didn’t work on him at all who was just askan’s servant. it wasn’t just because the pheromones she poured out disappeared without a trace.

    it must all be a dream…

    otherwise, how can a person’s eyes shine red?

    aven helford wasn’t even a guardian, the last one to protect the beasts’ nest.

    “i….”

    when he heard olivia’s purring lips, aven placed the glass he held the whole time on the railing. then, he left the terrace without looking back.

    light and music poured in through the wide-open door, but olivia felt nothing. not until she grabbed the glass and swallowed all the golden liquid in it.

    * * *

    it was time for the second dance song to end.

    ‘olivia tellon… why did she have to tell aven?’

    seira’s concentration was abruptly disrupted when she witnessed an unexpected scene unfold. fortunately, louis’ lead allowed their dance to end well, but she was no longer in the mood to dance.

    “shall we take a break?” the duke of franto asked.

    “yes.”

    seira agreed with a nod to louis’ suggestion and left the middle of the hall. alphas, who were waiting for an opportunity to ask her to a dance, pretended not to look disappointed.

    rather than them, seira was much more concerned about calrad sitting on the throne and staring at her, and the second terrace which was closed.

    olivia, who had great affection for baron, thought it was just a simple mistake until she headed to the terrace where aven was. however, after the door closed, the curtains were drawn, and no one came out for more than five minutes. for those who didn’t know of their relationship, it was enough reason to think the two were having a secret meeting.

    ‘no way…’

    what if the bitter olivia approached to intimidate askan’s vassal, aven?

    come to think of it, seira recalled tellon’s omega power was on the side of disrupting the mind.

    seira became increasingly nervous when her thoughts reached that point.

    it was illegal to engage in sexual activities when one has neutralized the other party using their powers, so punishment could be easily demanded when caught. however, it wasn’t easy to prove the situation between the alpha and omega, so it was mostly unsure.

    ‘wouldn’t it be better to go now and check if everything is okay?’

    suddenly, a glass was handed in front of seira as she chewed her bottom lips in deep thought.

    “…?”

    “i thought this would suit your taste, so i brought some over.”

    seira turned her attention to the man in front of her. louis franto was looking down at her, a smile hanging over his mouth.

    “ah…thank you.”

    she wasn’t expecting him to hand her the glass, but soon she realized her mouth was dry and she took a sip of the drink. when the sweet and fruity flavor of the wine quenched her thirst, seira’s breathing became easier.

    “this is delicious!” she said in surprise.

    he lowered his voice as he leaned over her hair, “i’m glad to hear that. his majesty is most likely to come this way. what do you want me to do?”

    cold sweat covered siera’s whole body at louis’ words.

    ‘where is your mind going now? geez!’ she chastised herself.

    the biggest threat to aven wasn’t olivia tellon or anything else. compared to the danger seira would face from running to him recklessly, seira could only laugh at herself. the act was comparable to showing her weaknesses.

    calrad was watching. louis was watching her too. many people had their eyes on her, looking forward to the day they could find a good reason to take down askan.

    it was only right to behave and be wise rather than to get herself riled up with aven and olivia, who may have been enjoying themselves in mutual consent. if she wanted to spend the night with baron and make the trouble of attending the banquet with louis as her partner, she mustn’t make hasty moves.

    “i think it’s a little hot.”

    seira looked up at louis with a pretentious rose-tinted googly eye as if she was a teenager madly in love.

    she made her pretty turquoise eyes look a little bit bigger, and then lowered them shyly as she asked, “shall we go to the terrace?”

    “as you wish,” louis said as he extended his hand towards her.

    seira accepted his hand, and they walked out of the hall.