Chapter 7.1

“…”

Baron’s expression was disturbed for a second. He was sure he read her lips right. Seira’s pheromones were not out of control at the moment, but he did feel that her body seemed to be heating up.

The Omega’s rut, or what they call the ‘heat cycle’, was far more dangerous than that of an Alpha’s rut. If the two phases overlapped, it was no different than a bomb, ready to detonate in any given time.

Baron pulled out an inhibitor medicine without even breathing, and then swallowed the pill right in front of Seira.

“All right. See you later, Baron,” she bid him farewell.

As he waved his hand goodbye, Baron stared blankly at Seira’s back as she left his tent. Even after her silhouette was out of sight, her soft voice still lingered in Baron’s ears. His name spoken softly from her lips was like a reward for the commander-in-chief.

All of a sudden, his eyes turned red as if he accidentally swallowed an accelerator instead of an inhibitor.

“This is driving me nuts!” he heaved a weary groan.

People would say that the two of them were beat each other too much. This to Baron was complete bullshit. It didn’t make any sense to him at all.

No matter how he looked at it, he was the only one who easily trembled and got swayed. Then, now, and always.

* * *

The 11th war of suppression, which had been boring for a year, ended with Askan’s participation. The beast nests made the entire empire tense, but the Duchess of Askan’s appearance helped them completely remove the nests. Soon, the remains piled up like mountains and were purified and burned.

There were a lot of things to be dealt with afterwards, but Seira didn’t shy away from the idea of taking it easy once in a while. There should always be a time to stop and find comfort from the hardships of the past.

When the strictly prohibited wine was released from the oak barrel, an uproar rose from everyone. Knights and soldiers alike joined together in the celebration. Nobody paid attention to their superiors anymore as the entire camp turned boisterous with all the chatter and music playing.

Among the festivities, Baron, Seira, Aven, and Zion were gathered in the barracks of the commander-in-chief. They were supposed to be the star of the evening, but unlike the others having fun, the four of them were pretty quiet.

The compensation paid to master-class slayers and wizards who play the most dangerous and crucial roles during any mission was very large. The pay in gold was enough for any ordinary person to spend their whole lives.

However, that was less than the size of a year’s tax that a duchy had to pay to the imperial family.

Seira actively participated in the war as a mercenary on the condition of tax exemption for three years to raise money. This is because the tax exemption deadline for the Askan duchy, whose land had been dead since the disaster 15 years ago, ended last year.

She poured astronomical amounts of money every year to restore the land. But for her, solving the tax problem quickly was more important than anything else. If she even missed one payment, the land may be seized and confiscated from her.

Zion watched Seira, who only sipped as much as a bird drank, and thought, ‘The Emperor is one son of a bitch…’

Those who belonged to the privileged class might think otherwise, but most of the common people such as Zion felt the same way.

Seira’s father, Nathan Askan, made huge sacrifices to protect the empire. Zion felt that they should take the lead in protecting Seira and the duchy. It was far too cruel for the imperial family to not make her the Crown Princess and kick Seira out without giving her a handful of jewels.

What was even more surprising was what happened after that. The Emperor passed away within a few years, and the nobles instantly changed their attitudes. Whenever they criticized the imperial family, there were those that undermined the heroic sacrifices of Nathan Askan.

Looking back at the timing, it was pretty obvious.

‘If they put Askan in the corner, one would think Seira was inevitably going to collapse. Her ex-fiancé was surely behind it,’ Zion thought at the back of his mind.

It was obvious what the intention of those waiting for the precious pure-blooded Omega to fall rock bottom.

Those snooping outside the barracks were Alphas from hundreds of noble families. There were a lot of idiots who wanted to take the opportunity to fill her stomach with their seeds.

“My poor Duchess!” Zion suddenly exclaimed in worry of the annoying men around Seira. “Stop drinking. You have to sleep sober.”

“What…?” she asked him in confusion. Seria’s eyes veered towards Zion and his reckless nagging.

“I’m responsible too, so I’ll add half the price of Pommel. So don’t be so upset and just rest early,” Aven quickly added.

The Duchess of Askan looked at them with round eyes and burst out laughing. Aven, who glanced at her, sighed and grabbed Zion’s arm as he rose.

“You should be the one to get some rest. How much did you drink to get your face as red as that?” Aven asked him.

Zion turned to Aven and replied, “I only had one glass. I guess I’ve earned it out of anger because of the beast cubs hanging around outside.”

“Beast cubs…?” Seira, who had barely stopped laughing, burst into hysterics once again.

Aven pulled Zion to his feet and tried to drag him away, “Let’s go, Zion. I’ll take you to your tent.”

“No, I’m fine. And the Commander-in-Chief… you can’t buy it like that!” Zion said, his forehead wrinkling in annoyance.

Zion didn’t like Baron either. The man didn’t think of how much Seira worked to the bones to win her prizes. Baron had wealth and power built up thanks to his family, not himself. It was not enough for him to bring both Pommel and precious Dambon as his sword. It was so low of him to do that.

“You need to have a conscience. Stop bothering my poor Duchess,” the wizard added.

Baron shrugged at his fierce criticism and then steered his attention to Seira, “Is that so?”

“Yeah, you should have decency and lead a noble life,” Zion adamantly told him.

Seira clicked her tongue with a smile plastered on her face. She looked at the two, Zion struggling from Aven’s grip and Aven himself not budging. Then, she beckoned to Aven.

“Leave it alone, Aven. Zion should get to enjoy his night,” she said, “It has been a while since we had a break too.”