Back then, Cecilia recognized that Yuan was destined to become the master of the magic tower. So she desperately stopped him from wiping out the bandits with magic in one fell swoop, and in the process, she had no choice but to reveal her identity and plan to Yuan.
"I'd never seen a kid who didn't know magic yet acted so boldly, so it was fun."
Yuan said with a slight smile.
"Kid? We're only two years apart, you know? You were short back then too."
Cecilia shot Yuan a playful glare. Her tone felt a bit intimate, causing both Gillen and Hexion to tense up simultaneously.
"But now I'm much taller than you."
Yuan said, staring directly at Cecilia. The playfulness vanished from her face.
Gillen swallowed hard. That was definitely Yuan, that rascal, trying to charm her, wasn't it? Cecil, you absolutely cannot fall for it!
As if hearing Gillen's inner thoughts, Cecilia laughed it off.
"Alright, congratulations on being tall. And congratulations on becoming a noble, Yuan Hampton. I was surprised to hear you took a different path from before."
"Before?"
"Oh, I mean, you used to say you'd become the master of the magic tower! I was shocked that you chose a title over that."
Cecilia, true to her regressor heroine nature, slipped up. But, as expected of the main and secondary male leads, Hexion and Yuan didn't take her mistake too seriously.
Only Gillen, calming his startled heart, watched the atmosphere between Yuan and Cecilia with wary eyes. Sure enough, Yuan's charm offensive wasn't over yet.
"That title was for you."
Yuan's expression was serious.
"I became a marquis because I knew you were a duke's daughter. To gain the qualifications to propose to you."
In a rigidly hierarchical society, even among nobles, ranks were sharply divided. No matter how exceptional or capable, a lower noble couldn't dream of becoming the spouse of a duke's daughter.
Yuan's appearance far surpassed mere handsomeness, and his abilities were extraordinary. Hailed as a "once-in-a-millennium genius," he was designated as the next master of the magic tower at fifteen. He was naturally brilliant, and—by wizard standards—he had no major character flaws. He was even a rare dominant alpha, a trait-bearer superior in reproductive ability compared to other males.
Wizards, who typically despised gods and temples, even joked that Yuan must be the son of a god. That's how universally acknowledged his perfection was.
Except for one thing: he was a commoner.
When he was at the magic tower, social status was no obstacle. The tower judged solely on magical ability.
But when the woman Yuan wanted to marry was a noble, and a high-ranking one at that, things were different.
"Nobles? That's solved once you become the master of the magic tower. Look at me. I got a useless count title when I became master."
The tower master had said so, but a mere count title wouldn't do. To even consider sending a proposal to the Blake family, one had to be at least a marquis, if not a duke.
So Yuan subdued an entire continent. He brought another crown to the emperor. It was an undeniable, monumental achievement. As planned, he became Marquis Hampton.
"Why on earth do you want to marry me?"
The unspoken part of Cecilia's question was: after going to such lengths? When she asked, puzzled, Yuan shrugged.
"Your face meets my standards of beauty to some extent. And I like that outspoken personality of yours. But above all…"
Yuan paused, elegantly placing a piece of meat in his mouth. Building anticipation for his next words, he finally swallowed and spoke.
"Because I decided so."
Gillen realized that was essentially the entire reason for his proposal.
Yuan, who had never failed to achieve what he set his mind to. Yuan, who bent everything to his will. Naturally, he believed marriage would go the same way. This, too, stemmed from his immense self-love and confidence.
"Impressive."
Gillen couldn't help but scoff. But Yuan took it literally and nodded.
"I am, aren't I?"
"…"
Gillen savagely cut into his steak.
He absolutely couldn't let his lovely daughter marry this insufferable secondary male lead. Gillen chewed the piece of meat with determination.
No matter how much you struggle, it's Hexion's story. I've been blocking you to make Cecilia's path smoother, not because I'm afraid you'll steal the male lead's role.
Perhaps sensing Gillen's fierce gaze, Yuan raised one eyebrow slightly and looked at him.
"…Ahem."
Worried Yuan might accuse him of staring suggestively again, Gillen quickly lowered his eyes. A faint scoff from Yuan was audible.
That damned guy…
Gillen cursed Yuan inwardly while aggressively chewing his steak.
After dinner, a proper drinking session began. Hexion shared the noble rot wine Gillen had gifted him with everyone. Paired with sweet desserts, the wine didn't feel like alcohol and went down endlessly, leading them to finish one bottle and open another.
The problem was that Hexion wasn't even slightly drunk.
"…Your Highness, you hold your liquor well."
Gillen said reluctantly, and Hexion smiled.
"I'm weak with distilled spirits, but I'm strong with fermented ones. Though I'm probably no match for the Blake family's capacity."
"But what about him?"
Cecilia pointed across the table with her chin. Gillen and Hexion's gazes turned that way.
"Please stop staring at me."
Yuan, his cheeks flushed red, slurred his words.
"We made a contract, didn't we?"
"Contract? Dad, what contract did you make with him?"
Cecilia frowned at Gillen. He gave a slight smile and stood up.
"A contract? Don't take a drunk person's words literally. Marquis Hampton seems very intoxicated, so I'll take him to his room."
He strode around the table to the other side.
"You're going to carry Yuan by yourself, Dad?"
"Your dad can still handle a few sacks of rice, my dear. Keep chatting with His Highness. Your Highness, I'll be back."
Gillen rattled off quickly, hoisted Yuan onto his shoulder, and left the dining hall before anyone could stop him, ignoring Yuan's protests of "What? Put me down!"
Thud. Yuan's body flopped onto the bed. But, already completely drunk, he only furrowed his brow once.
"The guy who was supposed to get drunk didn't, so why is this guy drunk?"
Having carried a grown man up two flights of stairs, Gillen didn't have a single bead of sweat on his forehead.
"If I'd left him there, it would've been a disaster."
Gillen clicked his tongue and wrapped Yuan tightly in the blanket. Perhaps due to his drunken state, a faint alpha pheromone was loosely emanating from Yuan.
Yuan's pheromone had a slightly tangy fruit scent. Orange? Lemon? If he released it fully, the sweet-tart aroma might make one's mouth water.
But as it was another alpha's pheromone, it felt a bit sharp and unpleasant to the nose. It even made Gillen's skin prickle. He trapped Yuan in the thick blanket and piled pillows on top.
"Ugh…"
The blanket lump twitched.
"What's this, ugh… Damn it, when did… Let go of this!"
Right after Yuan muttered curses, his pheromone suddenly intensified. The blanket began to shake violently.
"Gasp, huff, huff… ugh…"
Perverted breathing sounds came from within the blanket.
Why is he breathing like that?
Gillen frowned and quietly stepped back. He'd heard some people's sexual urges surged when drunk, but he never imagined he'd witness it firsthand. Was Yuan rubbing himself under the blanket? Knowing Yuan, even if he was the one doing it, he'd probably accuse Gillen of manipulating him and call him a pervert.
Time to get out.
Gillen turned and stealthily moved toward the door.
"Gasp, ugh… Please… No…"
But the voice sounded off. It was a pained, tearful moan, accompanied by labored breathing as if he couldn't breathe properly.
Gillen stopped his escape and approached the bed. When he removed the pillows, Yuan's distressed breathing became clearer.
"Hampton? Hey, Hampton!"
Gillen pulled back the blanket and lifted Yuan, who had been trapped inside. Yuan, possibly hyperventilating, was pale and gasping for air. Tears streamed from the corners of his closed eyes.
Gillen covered Yuan's nose and mouth with one hand and firmly massaged his shoulder with the other.
"Hampton, snap out of it!"
"Ugh… Blake, ugh, Duke?"
"Yes, do you recognize me?"
"What's… this…"
Yuan shook his head, dislodging Gillen's hand from his face.
"Are you holding me right now?"
"You were suddenly struggling to breathe. I was only trying to help."
Gillen quickly withdrew his hands from Yuan's body and said.
"I know it's a situation ripe for misunderstanding, but I really was just trying to help."
"…I understand."
Yuan irritably ran a hand through his hair. He seemed accustomed to such episodes.
"If you need any help—"
"Don't cross the line. It's my problem."
Anyone would think I was trying to extort money or something. At Yuan's sharp response, Gillen let out a hollow laugh and stood up.
"Alright, well… I hope you get proper treatment. I'll be going."
Gillen gave a light nod and left Yuan's room. He could feel the stinging gaze and pheromones pricking the back of his head, but he didn't flinch or look back.
"Phew…"
He had told Cecilia and Hexion he'd return to the dining hall soon, but instead of heading downstairs, he went to his own room. He firmly believed the two would have a good time without needing alcohol's help, and besides…
"This is really awkward."
Whether it was due to brief exposure to overly strong pheromones or because it had been a while since he'd encountered another's pheromones, his lower body was half-erect.
Of course, it wasn't to the extent of an omega's pheromones, which could send an alpha into a state of extreme arousal. The reason Yuan had released pheromones earlier was far from seduction. If anything, it was more accurate to say his pheromone control faltered during a panic episode.
'Even so, getting aroused by another dominant alpha's pheromones? What's wrong with me?'
Gillen pressed down on his increasingly stiff lower half and hurriedly entered the bathroom attached to his room. As he pulled down his pants and underwear, a massive erection sprang free.
"Why are you acting like this? Huh?"
Gillen muttered, looking down at his member. Was it because he'd held back for too long? Or was it some kind of illness? A pheromone issue, perhaps? All sorts of questions cluttered his mind, but he concluded that he needed to deal with this first.
He roughly stroked himself up and down. His skin still tingled, and the citrusy scent lingered at the tip of his nose.
'At this rate, I can't even argue if I get called a pervert.'
Gillen bit his lip and moved his hand faster. Since he'd gotten aroused by pheromones, the best course was to finish quickly and be done with it.
His mind, clouded by pheromones, cleared after release. Having masturbated almost as if detoxing, Gillen took a leisurely bath while thinking.
'That earlier seemed like a panic attack… Why did that crazy guy suddenly have one?'
The most likely trigger was being unable to move freely. Gillen's half-joking act of wrapping Yuan tightly in the blanket had touched something in his subconscious while he was drunk.
Should I apologize? Gillen rubbed his face with an uneasy expression. Even if it wasn't intentional, he had caused Yuan significant distress. Though it wasn't entirely unintentional either.
Gillen stood up from the bathtub. Water cascaded down his sturdy physique. He roughly dried himself with a towel, changed into comfortable indoor clothes, and left the bathroom. But…
"Gah, you scared me!"
In the dimly lit corner of the bedroom, on a single-seater sofa, sat a silver-haired handsome man.
"H-Hampton?"
"You take awfully long baths, Duke Blake."
Has this guy decided to drop all formalities with me? Not even "Duke" or "Your Grace," just plain "Duke"? thought the forty-five-year-old man, seasoned by twenty years in a hierarchical society.
As if reading his thoughts, Yuan gave a mocking smile.
"You secretly carry a drunk person to their room, try to suffocate them with blankets and pillows, and take the chance to molest them. Am I supposed to keep calling you 'sir'?"
"Molest? I was trying to help you! And I didn't carry you secretly! I did it openly!"
"Oh, so you admit you openly took me to a room."
"Did I take you to my room? I brought you to your room! What's wrong with your head? It's not like I'm possessed by some lust demon."
"Lust demon? What's that? Are you saying I'm possessed by an evil spirit?"
Yuan asked with a serious expression.
Gillen forgot—this world actually had people possessed by evil spirits, with priests going around performing exorcisms. With divine powers that could heal the injured in a second and gods delivering oracles directly, evil spirits were a given.
"No, it's just a figure of speech. I meant your thoughts are too perverse."
Gillen quickly clarified. Yuan scoffed.
"More perverse than a duke who got aroused by my pheromones and went to the bathroom to masturbate?"
"…"
How did he know? Did he hear everything? Gillen's face flushed red.
Seeing the uncharacteristic blush on Gillen's cheeks, Yuan gave a strange look. But only briefly—he stood up from the sofa.
"This room has traditionally been used by the lord's wife. Not only is it connected by a door, but the walls are thin too. I could hear the sound of water dripping in the bathroom, so how could I not hear those blatant noises?"
Then you should've told me earlier, you jerk!
Gillen's face grew hotter with the humiliation of being caught masturbating by someone young enough to be his son. Getting aroused by another alpha's pheromones was an unspeakably embarrassing matter.
"It's… it's definitely some kind of problem. We're both dominant alphas, aren't we? It's probably some medical reason, like a clash of overly strong pheromones! You think I did it because I enjoyed it? I wasn't aroused by your pheromones. If it was offensive, I'm sorry, but—"
"Yes, it was very offensive. It woke me up from my drunken state."
"Ahem…"
This time, Gillen was truly at a loss for words. As he quietly shut his mouth, Yuan ran a hand through his hair and said.
"If you keep what you saw in my room a secret, I'll keep quiet about this too."
"Really?"
Gillen was genuinely surprised. He had expected Yuan to say something like, "I recorded your masturbation sounds in a magical projection orb, and by tomorrow, the entire empire will know Duke Blake's sordid nature."
"I'm not so shameless as to lie like some people."
His words had a knack for being infuriating, but the content was generous, so Gillen nodded.
"I won't tell anyone. And I'll apologize again. Even if pheromones can cloud one's reason, I shouldn't have done that. It's understandable that you'd be offended. I'm sorry."
"…Well, I know how troublesome pheromones can be."
Yuan said curtly and turned away. He approached the door connecting to the lord's room.
Then Gillen called out to him.
"By the way, Hampton, are you really okay?"
"What are you talking about?"
"That panic attack earlier. If you're keeping it a secret, it sounds like you've never gotten treatment for it."
Yuan's eyes wavered. But he soon cut Gillen off coldly and firmly.
"Mind your own business, Duke Blake."
With that, Yuan entered his room. Gillen stood still for a moment. As Yuan had said, sounds from the next room were as clear as if they were right beside him.
'This is driving me crazy.'
Gillen lay on the bed, covering his face with one hand, letting out a silent scream.
He'd often heard stories of friends getting caught masturbating during puberty, but he'd never heard of anyone over forty enduring such humiliation.
At least Yuan, whose face was still flushed from alcohol, had offered to keep it a secret first. If he hadn't, Gillen might have fled the empire out of shame.
'By the way… there's definitely something going on.'
In the original story, there were no scenes of Yuan struggling to breathe or suffering. But for him to trade silence for something as compromising as Gillen's masturbation meant what Gillen saw was a significant secret to Yuan.
"…Mind my own business."
Gillen muttered but stopped himself. Yuan, in the next room, would likely hear even that. He carefully slipped into bed under the covers.
He didn't want to know Yuan's secrets. He didn't want to get any closer to him. Right now, he just wanted to fall asleep quickly.