He came here as an employee and, of course, could not have the same meal as the Duke. He knew that, but to sit at the same table and be discriminated against like this. At least he knew how to share fig pies.
Although the meal was below expectation, Niall ate the food using utensils without breaking the etiquette. No sound of bowls and spoons colliding was heard as they used each piece of the cutlery according to its purpose, chewing food silently with their mouths closed, they finished their meal neither too quickly nor too slowly.
After the meal, the tea was served. Niall’s eyes widened slightly. At least the tea served was the same as that of the Duke’s. It was the finest tea that could never be bought with Niall’s salary. He took a sip and it was so good that he smiled without even realizing it, and his body, which had been subtly stiff, also slowly relaxed.
“Duke.”
It was snowing outside the window, but the fire burned warmly in the fireplace, and the soft melody of a heptachord being played by someone behind the colored curtains was faintly audible.
Niall mustered up the courage to open his mouth, knowing that he would have to go back once he finished drinking the tea. He couldn’t let the Duke he met after four days go away like this.
“From now on, I want to have a meal together every day.”
“Dinner with me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Well……”
Why you ask? Because I have to complete the commission.
“Because I like the Duke.”
Clink, the Duke put down the teacup. His dark eyes were fixed on Niall indifferently.
“I told you. I will begin to like you. Is it strange to want to eat with someone you like?”
“I have hit and insulted you. You mean to say that you can like such a person so easily?”
“Even though you hit me, and insulted me…”
Niall put one hand on his chest and continued to speak step by step.
“I still like you. Frankly, I do not mind if you hit me a few more times. The Duke is too beautiful to hate.”
“Beautiful?”
The Duke tilted his head to the side as if he had heard something unexpected. His silver-blue hair flowed down his slanted head, and soon a human expression came up over the cold face of the Northern Retainer. Niall was slightly excited.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. More beautiful than the dawn. More beautiful than a rainbow. More beautiful than the vast fields of blooming flowers.”
Pa kjr atf ageat klatbea j rlcuif ilf.
Ktf atlc lmf bc atf Gexf’r ojmf lcrajcais mgjmxfv. Lf aglfv ab gfujlc tlr mbwqbregf, yea la vlvc’a rffw ab kbgx. Ktf Gexf kbgvifrris iloafv atf afjmeq jcv rkjiibkfv la klat tlr atgbja ugbjclcu. Gfrqlaf yflcu j Xgjcv Gexf, tf vgjcx afj jr lo la kfgf kjafg.
When he put the teacup down, the Duke returned to his normal face. It was the usual noble and cold expression.
Niall did not miss that fleeting moment. It was only for a moment, but the Duke was clearly shaken. It was so nice to know that it was done by himself.
“If you would allow me to dine with you. I will be waiting for you when the afternoon comes. I wish to meet you, so I will pray for the sun not to set sooner. I will think about what to say to you when we meet, and I will wait all day counting down to when you smile at me.”
“……”
“Duke.”
Niall mustered up the courage to rise from his seat. The Duke frowned at the sound of a chair being moved back.
“Greetings, Duke. My name is Niall Giles.”
Niall walked close to the Duke and carefully knelt down in front of him. Then he raised his eyes and looked up at the Duke. He made sure to look harmless, with his downcast brown eyes.
When working as a port assistant, upon meeting a ferocious man, Niall would lower his posture and look up at the man from below, whilst expressing with his eyes that he had no intention of hurting them. He raised both his hands a little to show the bare floor and blinked slowly.
No eloquence was of any use to those who have hardened hearts, as they were strongly bolted because of their wounds. To such a person, he must show it using eye contact, just like how you do with animals. That they are the ones who have the upper hand in this relationship, and you are just looking at them from below. Just like a dog showing its belly.
“From now on, please call me by my first name instead of ‘lowly thing’. Please call me by my first name.”
Let’s get to know each other.
Niall added cautiously. The Duke’s brows continued to furrow.
“Um.”
Niall was a little troubled and slowly reached out his hand. He was really sweating at this moment. While Niall slowly reached out his hand over towards the hand of the Duke, which was naturally drooping, the Duke watched him without blinking an eye.
It was not approval, but it wasn’t denial either. Thinking so, Niall mustered up the courage to place his hand on the Duke’s hand at once. Ugh, he heard the Duke gasping for breath. His chest swelled in an instant, and his shoulders stiffened.
If I mess this up, I am really going to die.
Niall thought as he felt sweat running down his back. The air was as stifling as it was in the stable that day. It was said he was the alpha among alphas, but this was the first time he felt this kind of tension. No other alpha he had ever met was like this.
As the Duke became tense, the air became aggressive and pierced Niall. Goosebumps formed on his forearms and the nape of his neck got cold. This alpha was trying to dominate even the sensory organs of others.
The soft sound of the heptachord flowing from behind the colorful curtains stopped for a moment but then resumed. The performance continued, but the pitch bounced unsteadily. The influence of the alpha’s pheromones was affecting even the musicians who were out of sight.
“I am not disgusting.”
Niall whispered softly. He wanted to scream out loud, but he couldn’t. His legs did not listen to the head’s commands and tried to run away. As a recessive omega, Niall had a hard time suppressing his body.
“Touch my hand. It is warm, right?”
Niall gently squeezed the Duke’s hand, which did not intend to move, and released it. The Duke’s shoulders twitched.
“Look at my body. It is not strange at all. It is simply the body of a human.”
Niall’s hand remained on top of the Duke’s. The act of simply touching. However, both the Duke and Niall were on edge. To the point where he could feel the ropes of air pulling back.
“I came from Galen.”
Niall said in a low voice as if he were reciting. The Duke moved his eyes towards Niall, gaze still sharp like a dagger.
“It’s a beautiful port city in the eastern part. I was an assistant to the Port Quarantine Administrator. When the sailors docked their boats in, I would be dispatched. Albeit everyone hates taxes, right? Oh, perhaps the Duke likes them.”
Niall joked and laughed a little. Then, a voice suddenly came from above.
“Me too.”
“Pardon?”
“I hate taxes, too.”
The Duke sealed his mouth yet again.
Taxes paid by the Duke. Niall shook his head. Northern wealth was concentrated in the hands of the Duke, but it was the Duke’s duty to pay tax on that wealth to the central government.
Niall smiled a little brighter and nodded his head.
“I see. The Duke hates taxes just like me, Look, we also have something in common. Haha.”
“……”
It was a light laugh, but it softened the atmosphere a little bit. The sweat that was running down the back of his neck had stopped. Even the sound of musical instruments that had been playing like plucking strings behind the curtains had become barely pleasant sounding again.
Niall wiped his forehead with his other hand. Phew. He laughed but took a deep breath without realizing it.
“I used to do side jobs when I had the time. I am very poor. I would frequently be requested to replace the roof rafters or rebuild a collapsed wall. Mortar chips off as it ages.”
“……”
“Sometimes I even performed on stage. The people of Galen love theater, so a theater stage was set up in the plaza almost every day, and it often happened that there would be a shortage of actors. I had a good memory, so I memorized my lines quickly and thus was called often. Even if I could not play the main character, playing the role of a page boy was no problem.”
At the end of the sentence, Niall bent his eyes and smiled. Acting wasn’t difficult. See. Wasn’t he still doing it? It was not difficult to please others. He was the port’s best administrative assistant after all.
“I am also good at knitting.”
Niall said in a rather merry tone.
“I am good at embroidering and stitching clothes. Men teased me that I would lose my balls if I did something so unmanly, but you saw it last time, right? They did not fall.”
The Duke did not respond and looked at Niall in silence. Niall quietly erased his smile and met the Duke’s gaze with friendly eyes.
“Do you have any questions for me?”
“……”
The Duke’s fingers wriggled slightly under the loosely placed palm. It was in response to the question asking if he had any questions. Niall waited calmly, but the Duke’s lips did not open again.
This long should be enough… Niall raised his hand, thinking that was enough. Just as he approached the Duke, he moved very slowly and tried to put his hand back.
“Last time I saw you.”
Even if the Duke hadn’t opened his mouth, he still would’ve done that.
“Last time?”
“……”
“Are you talking about the last time we met in this room?”
The Duke opened his mouth first but closed it again. Niall was a little troubled. He knelt down again and placed his hand on the back of the Duke’s hand.
“Duke, please tell me. What did you see then?”
T/N: hello~ i’m finally back!! thank you all so much for your patience, this will be regularly updated every week!
Wow, it’s really smart to show your submissive by your physical position
Thank you for your translation 💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝
Yeayy thanks
Thank you for the chapter. 😘
Its back ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻)
Thanks for the chapter 🙂
Welcome back 😆✨
I can’t wait for the next chapter 😍😍
…every week? 😥
In love with this novel!! I was missing reading omegaverse and this one so far is so good and interesting! Excited to what happens next!
Thank you for the translation ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for translating. I like this novel.