"Ashley said, "Alright, go wait in the car first. Papa and Daddy will come with Bliss."
"Okayyy."
Grayson answered as if singing, and Ashley watched his retreating back as he walked away with light steps before muttering,
"He didn’t say anything strange to Bliss, did he?"
"Don’t think of Grayson so negatively, Ash."
Koi did not miss the low voice that sounded like a mutter and reproached him.
"That child just lacks a bit of empathy and is curious. He hasn’t caused any major trouble since then, has he?"
Despite Koi’s remark, Ashley kept his expressionless face as he stared in the direction his son had disappeared.
"That’s right. Because I managed it thoroughly."
Koi could not say anything more and simply closed his mouth. The most defining trait that distinguishes extreme alphas from other types is their pheromones. The pheromones of extreme alphas grant them exceptional immunity and regenerative ability, so they rarely fall ill from common diseases and do not become addicted to alcohol or drugs. Moreover, they age slowly and even live longer, making extreme alphas objects of admiration and awe to the majority of other types.
However, those same pheromones that make them "special" can also become poison. If they are not regularly released, the accumulation in the body attacks the brain and causes impairment. If this condition persists, the pheromones turn toxic, driving them mad or even killing them.
To prevent such worst case scenarios, extreme alphas had to release their pheromones regularly, and the most effective and easiest method was sex. Therefore, the necessity of "releasing pheromones so they do not go mad and die" was more than enough to justify the indulgent lifestyles of extreme alphas.
The same applied to Ashley’s children. Unfortunately, all of them except Bliss were extreme alphas, and Grayson, Stacy, and Larien had already possessed purple eyes from birth. Because of that, pheromone management had to be even stricter, and Ashley had constantly worked to ensure that children who could not properly feel emotions due to pheromone influence would not end up harming others.
Even so, it seemed there were things that could not be controlled by human will alone. Ashley recalled the incident long ago when the children, still very young, had almost killed Koi, and he let out a deep sigh.
"…"
Closing his eyes and pressing his forehead with one hand, he spoke in a low voice to Koi, who was looking at him with concern.
"I’ll bring Bliss. Wait here."
"Okay."
Leaving Koi behind as he nodded, Ashley began walking with long strides. It was close to midnight, yet the hall where the party was held was still filled with loud music and overlapping voices. Soon, Ashley found Bliss, and together with the rest of the family, they got into the car and headed home.
Bliss, who had eaten his favorite ice cream to his heart’s content and fallen into a deep sleep, burst into tears the next morning.
"Waaah, I can’t open my eyeee!"
At the sight of Bliss crying loudly, Koi panicked and did not know what to do, while the other siblings examined his face with curiosity. One of his eyes, which he had struck hard with his fist the day before, was bruised dark blue and swollen to a considerable degree.
"Uh, uh, uh…"
"Don’t cry, B. If you cry, it’ll swell more."
"Waaaaaaah."
Koi tried to soothe him somehow, but Bliss only cried louder. After explaining the situation to Ashley, Koi calmed him down enough to change his clothes and even had breakfast with him, but the child continued crying the entire time.
"Hic… sob… hic."
Even after returning to the room, the youngest son was still sniffling and rubbing his swollen eyelid with his fist, and Koi let out a frustrated sigh.
"It’s okay, Bliss. If you stop crying, it’ll get better."
"Hic… hic…"
At Koi’s words, the child held his breath as if trying to stop his sobs, but nothing really changed. Knowing well that Bliss had been trying to stop crying for a while now, Koi could only look at him with pity.
"Here, B. It’s caramel."
When Koi held out the snack he had brought on purpose to distract him, Bliss glanced at it briefly before quickly turning his eyes away again.
"B, come on, try it. Hmm?"
At the gentle coaxing voice, Bliss did not budge, but Koi saw it—the way his eyes secretly rolled sideways despite his stubbornly turned head.
Barely suppressing a smile, Koi asked again in a soft, coaxing tone,
"It’s sweet caramel you like. Don’t you want it?"
Gulp.
Bliss swallowed. The pain, fear, and sadness quickly faded, and his mind filled entirely with thoughts of caramel. He slowly rolled his eyes and stole another glance at it. When Koi unwrapped it and placed the caramel on his palm, holding it out, Bliss hesitated for a moment.
Of course, the hesitation was very brief. As Bliss cautiously reached out his hand, his body naturally turned toward Koi. Drool slipped from his slightly open mouth. Startled, Bliss quickly wiped his mouth with his arm and grabbed the caramel from Koi’s palm, popping it into his mouth.
"It’s gooood."
As the sweet taste spread throughout his mouth, Bliss’s mood immediately lifted. Seeing the child place his hands on his cheeks in delight, Koi also relaxed and smiled.
"Good thing you ate it, right?"
At Koi’s question, Bliss nodded, then immediately asked again,
"Daddy, can I have one more?"
Looking down at his expectant eyes, Koi smiled.
"No, you can’t."
Bliss immediately dropped his head in disappointment. As expected, it wasn’t allowed.
Koi usually avoided giving him snacks out of concern for his teeth, so today’s caramel had been a special chance. Since he had already eaten plenty of ice cream the day before under similar circumstances, the chances of getting more snacks today were extremely low. Even though his eye had turned into something like a frog’s, Bliss thought it wasn’t entirely a loss and slowly sucked on the caramel, trying to make it last.
"Sigh…"
He thought he had eaten it very slowly, but the caramel melted and disappeared in no time. Bliss’s shoulders drooped again.
"My life is so depressing."
"What?"
As Koi, startled, was about to respond, a knock suddenly sounded. When Koi turned around, the door opened, revealing Ashley standing there.
"Time’s up, Koi."
"Ah, okay."
Koi awkwardly got to his feet. There was only one reason Ashley, who should have already left for work by this hour, was still here. They were expecting a visitor. Thinking he needed to change clothes and prepare quickly, Koi had no choice but to change the subject.
"B, an important guest will be coming to the house today. You can stay quietly in your room, right?"
"A guest?"
At the unexpected words, Bliss asked in confusion, and Koi nodded.
"Yes. You’re not feeling well today, so let’s rest in your room. If you need anything, tell April…"
After adding a few more instructions, he patted the child’s head and left the room.
"Sigh…"
As Koi closed the door behind him and let out a sigh without thinking, a question immediately followed.
"How is he? Bliss."
"Ah, yeah. He’s calmed down a bit. I think he’ll be okay."
Then he frowned slightly.
"He says his life is very depressing."
"What?"
Ashley frowned at the unexpected words.
"I don’t know either. Where did he learn something like that?"
Shaking his head and sighing, Koi looked puzzled, and Ashley seemed to think for a moment before changing the topic.
"Let’s go first. We’re late."
"Ah, okay."
Grasping the hand Ashley held out, Koi hurried along to match his pace and asked belatedly,
"The guest coming today… they’re very important, right?"
Ashley answered simply,
"They are. Most likely."
"I see…"
Nodding, Koi recalled what Ashley had told him the day before. The visitor was a noble from England, and there would be three of them—the current duke and duchess, and their eldest son who would inherit the family. Since that was all Ashley had told him, Koi felt quite nervous.