A soft knock broke the quiet hum of morning.
"Rin?" Lys's voice filtered through the wooden door, careful yet suspicious. "You weren't in your quarters last night. Where did you go?"
Rin froze midway through fastening his cloak. "I… went to the apothecary wing," he answered evenly, keeping his tone steady. "I needed to check on the herbs that arrived yesterday. The palace servants are careless with storage."
Lys eyed him for a moment when the door opened. Rin's face was calm, as always, but there was a faint tiredness around his eyes.
"Next time, at least leave a note," Lys said finally, sighing. "The palace was restless last night. Something happened near the royal chambers."
Rin merely hummed, tucking a few vials into his pouch. "Is that so?"
When he stepped into the corridor, the murmurs of gossip met him halfway. Palace maids whispering, knights pretending not to listen — snippets of words reached his ear.
"...His Highness, the First Prince, requested the King to summon all noble-born omegas..."
"...To choose a fiancée, they say! Finally!"
"...A gathering will be held ,I heard—what a surprise!"
Rin stopped in his tracks. For a moment, his chest tightened painfully.
Summoning all omegas?
His fingers curled around the strap of his pouch. Did he remember...?
But as the gossip continued, he caught the rest—
"...Seems he doesn't recall the one from last night, only some scent he couldn't name..."
Rin's breath eased quietly. He looked away, forcing his steps forward toward the prince's chamber.
Inside, Alaric was already waiting, half-dressed, seated by the window as the morning breeze stirred his silver hair. His gaze lifted when Rin entered.
"You're late," he said curtly.
"My apologies, Your Highness," Rin replied, bowing slightly before setting down his tray of tonic bottles. "You've summoned me?"
Alaric nodded once. "Yes. I need you to double the dosage of the suppressant for the next two days. The gathering will be filled with omegas, and I have no desire to deal with another... incident."
Rin paused, his expression polite but unyielding. "That is not advisable, Your Highness. An excessive dosage may destabilize your scent glands and cause long-term imbalance."
Alaric arched a brow. "Imbalance? Or are you simply afraid your tonic might prove ineffective again?"
The words struck sharper than intended, but Rin only smiled faintly — the sort of smile that didn't reach the eyes.
"Your Highness speaks as though the fault lies with the tonic," he said lightly, "when in truth, it was only your instincts that betrayed you. No potion can silence what nature dictates."
Alaric's jaw tightened, his gaze flicking away. "You make it sound like I'm some beast overcome by base urges."
Rin's voice softened, though his sarcasm remained buried in the politeness of his tone. "Instinct does not make one a beast, Your Highness. It only makes one... alive."
For a heartbeat, silence stretched between them — charged, almost fragile.
Then Rin added, setting down a vial with practiced precision, "Still, if Your Highness insists, I will prepare a secondary tonic — something subtler. It will shield you from the effects of omega pheromones, but you will still be able to distinguish their scents. A temporary safeguard, nothing more."
Alaric regarded him for a moment, the faintest trace of something unreadable flickering behind his eyes.
"Do it," he said at last, his tone quieter than before.
"As you wish, Your Highness."
Rin bowed low, his face unreadable. But as he turned away, he couldn't stop the ghost of that same peach-and-earth scent from lingering faintly in the air — the same scent Alaric still couldn't forget.