“No, Giles won’t be of any help there.”
“But I—”
“Let’s be honest.”
Majordomo interrupted with a voice that was dry and rigid, unfamiliar to Niall.
“The Duke needs war more than he needs Giles right now. There’s nothing Giles can do while there’s a war going on. Do you understand?”
“I’m not saying I’ll join the war. I mean to continue the Duke’s treatment there.”
“It seems you don’t understand.”
Their conversation paused for a while as soldiers with spears raised high, like the tops of pine trees, passed by them in a line. During that time, Majordomo stared at Niall with intense eyes.
“Do you know what happens to an Alpha if they can’t handle pheromones?”
“I know it’s agonizingly painful.”
“Do you know how to extract them?”
“By smelling Omega pheromones.”
Niall replied, turning around. Alpha pheromones become more refined with higher dominance. Alphas used pheromones to show violence to dominate other Alphas, and sometimes they used it as a means to express joy or passion. There were stories of Alphas among the powerful moving objects, much like Dukes.
And because those pheromones kept surging like an inexhaustible spring, if left unattended, they would drown the Alpha, much like suffocation in mud.
The only way to explosively release them was through Omega pheromones—precisely, by Alphas stimulated by Omega pouring mating pheromones onto them. It wasn’t possible to ingest Omega pheromones from a distance, nor was it possible for them to stimulate each other to exchange pheromones. Unless one was in extreme heat, the only way to suppress Alpha dominance was through that.
“No, there’s another way.”
“What is it?”
“Murder.”
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.
Majordomo’s voice lowered. The sound of horses whinnied. Soon, the Duke would hold a departure ceremony.
“Rba pera bcf bg akb, yea j ijguf-rmjif xliilcu lr cffvfv. Aera jr veglcu atf lctjijalbc bo Ywfuj qtfgbwbcfr veglcu mbqeijalbc, bcis ijguf-rmjif xliilcu lc kjg mjc vglnf jc Ciqtj lcab fzagfwf fzmlafwfca mbwqjgjyif ab wjalcu klat jc Ywfuj.”
“…”
“Xlifr.”
Pc j ufcaif abcf, Zjpbgvbwb, vfajmtlcu Rljii’r tjcv, rjlv, “Tbe jgf j ubbv qfgrbc. Cirb, sbe jgf rlcmfgf. Lbkfnfg, lo Xlifr mjccba lwwfvljafis jvvgfrr atf Gexf’r lrrefr jcv gfrbinf tlr qtfgbwbcf qgbyifw, qifjrf kjla tfgf klatbea mjerlcu jcs vlraegyjcmf.”
While Niall remained speechless, Majordomo entered the midst of knights, wielding his helmet like a whirlwind.
∞ ∞ ∞
Perhaps I came to the north to become a stablekeeper.
Uncovering the blanket he had placed on the horse the night before, Niall thought.
Twenty days ago, Majordomo set out with the Duke. Before leaving, he instructed Niall through the stable manager to ensure overall well-being and comfort, but the stable manager showed little interest in Niall. It was because Majordomo’s disappearance had made him extremely busy.
“Do as you wish.” That was the stable manager’s instruction to Niall, so Niall returned to Mr. Phil’s stable.
The war vividly brought Phil’s past to life. Whenever he saw Niall, he wanted to share stories about his own courage in his prime. Stories about how the Duke admired the horse managed by Phil, what the horse’s name was, how heartbreaking it was when the horse died, and so on. Phil’s stories were endless.
After boasting about his achievements, he always followed with curses towards his assistant. Phil, who had never seen his assistant, suddenly fell off a ladder at home, claiming to be bedridden.
“It’s probably a trick, that guy is not from the North,” Phil, who didn’t drink alcohol but shouted like a drunk person, insisted.
“Niall, after you’re done with the blanket, bring some hay over.”
“Yes, sir.”
After patting Niall’s shoulder, Phil got up and headed to the hay storage. Due to the snow that fell last night, Niall’s feet were soaked with moisture inside his boots.
The Shiralund Castle boasted a grandeur that could not be described as that of an ordinary lord’s castle. If an enemy invaded the castle, even after passing through the first gate, they would have to break through four more gates to reach the lord’s quarters.
The gates were arranged like a maze, and to breach these four gates, the enemy had to move zigzag, searching for an exit.
Built for perfect defense and counterattack, this fortress is designed to become a separate castle in times of crisis, allowing for multiple sieges. Phil managed the stable built for the Duke’s personal riding horses. The horses currently in the stable were all young, but Phil mentioned that in the past, during the era when the previous Duke was in charge, he had cared for aging horses that could no longer run or those afflicted with illness.
The stable was within the perimeter of the main tower so that the Duke could visit anytime. However, it was positioned at a distance sufficient to avoid disturbing the Duke with the smell of manure, meaning it was close to the castle gate.
Beyond the barricade, the sound of galloping horses could be heard, and a knight swiftly passed through the castle gate. As Niall watched with narrowed eyes, the knight, reflecting the burning sunset on their silver helmet, ran straight towards Niall without slowing down until they stood right in front of him.
“Niall Giles?”
Almost reaching Niall’s nose, the knight grabbed the reins, causing the horse to rear up with a loud neigh. As Niall nodded, the knight reached out their hand.
“Do you know how to ride? If not, take my hand.”
“What’s going on?”
“The Duke requests your presence.”
“Me? Why… No.”
Niall, who was asking with widened eyes, suddenly closed his mouth and furrowed his brow. After a moment of contemplation, Niall ran straight to the stable, leading out a dappled horse. Niall put on the saddle, stepped on the mounting block, and effortlessly leaped onto the horse’s saddle in one fluid motion. There was no trace of hesitation in his actions.
“Let’s go.”
Holding the reins in one hand, Niall urged the horse forward. The knight raised an eyebrow at the casualness, but realizing it was not the time to question, they turned the reins immediately.
“Niall?”
Despite Phil calling from behind, Niall did not look back and spurred the horse on. The two horses passed through the five gates side by side.
In the north, one must ride northern horses. Niall understood the meaning while riding. The shaggy, thick-furred horses native to the north confidently trotted over the snow-covered ground.
Niall crossed the undulating hills formed by the mountain ranges enveloping Shiralund in silence. After occasional rests at resting points, they arrived at the sacred place after three days. Although the messenger knight changed horses at the resting points, Niall continued to ride the same horse. The Duke’s horse was that sturdy.
The sacred place, preserving scars from the wounds of the past, was more like several towers than an actual castle. The knight led Niall to an auxiliary fortress known as Asung (亞城), a secondary castle within the castle walls.
“Niall Giles has arrived.”
After verifying his identity several times with the guards, Niall was finally allowed to enter the inner fortress of Asung. Waiting at the staircase landing was Majordomo. The messenger knight, having completed the induction process, deeply bowed with a tired face and then stepped back.
“Mr. Giles, this way.”
Majordomo took hold of Niall’s arm, and they ascended to the top floor once again, under the escort of the knights.
“What’s going on, Majordomo?”
“The Duke.”
Majordomo fell silent for a moment before continuing.
“He can’t see. Shh, don’t show any signs.”
Surprised, Niall quickly composed himself.
“War doesn’t work anymore.”
Majordomo’s expression turned somber. Only then did Niall realize why he had been summoned here. The Duke was unable to see. The reason was the overwhelming presence of pheromones, akin to the curse of the Alpha.
“I should have listened when Mr. Giles asked me to bring him.”
Lifting the thick curtain blocking the entrance, Majordomo murmured. Niall gently squeezed Majordomo’s arm in reassurance before entering.
Inside the room, covered with red velvet over the windows, five knights stood guard around the Duke. The soft glow of candlelight filled the room, and the Duke, seated on a high-backed, throne-like chair with a draped backrest, stared into empty space.
When Niall entered, the knights instinctively reached for their swords. Following Majordomo’s nod, they lowered their hands, but their attention remained on Niall.
Niall recognized the faces of four out of the five knights. The knight with faded golden hair was the one most frequently seen around the Duke, and he had encountered the other three at close quarters before.
Seeing the fifth knight surprised Niall inwardly. The reason was that this knight was a woman. Although she had the height and armor similar to the men, it was evident that she was a woman. It seemed she was the leader of the knights, as mentioned by Rosemary.
“He was quite agitated until a moment ago, so approach cautiously without provoking. Right now, he’s under the influence of opium.”
