"Um, how high is a duke, exactly? They don’t really have much real power, right? The king in England is mostly symbolic anyway."
At the cautious question, Ashley answered indifferently.
"You can think of them as relatives of the royal family. They don’t directly engage in politics, but the Strickland family has considerable influence both within England and abroad, so it’s better to build a connection."
He added lazily,
"The fact that they’re bringing their son means they’re also thinking of establishing some kind of relationship with us."
"I see, okay."
Koi nodded, then looked up at him as if something had just occurred to him.
"How old is their son?"
Wondering if any of his own children might be around the same age, he asked, and Ashley narrowed his eyes slightly as if searching his memory before answering,
"Around the same as Nasaniel. I heard he just entered university."
With that, he ended the topic as if it were nothing.
"I’ve already sorted the necessary documents, so go change first. You can read them after you’re ready."
"Ah, okay. Got it."
Koi hurriedly nodded and was about to head into the bathroom connected to the bedroom, but he stopped and turned back.
"Um, could you at least tell me their types first?"
Koi could not smell. Because of that, he could not sense other people’s pheromones, nor even his own, and he often worried that he might accidentally let his scent leak and commit a social mistake. As if he understood that concern, Ashley replied casually,
"They’re betas."
Then he added, as if to reassure him,
"The duke, the duchess, and their son. All of them. So you don’t have to worry about pheromones. And…"
At the strangely trailing end of his sentence, Koi lifted his head, and as if he had been waiting for that, Ashley leaned in and kissed him. When their lips touched briefly and parted, Koi’s eyes widened, and Ashley smiled as if amused by the reaction.
"If your scent leaks, I’ll tell you right away, so don’t worry."
It was an obvious statement. The mere thought of anyone other than himself smelling Koi’s pheromones made Ashley feel like his blood was boiling. Perhaps aware of that, Koi flushed slightly and nodded.
"I’ll be quick."
With a small wave and a smile, Koi quickly disappeared into the bathroom. Left alone, Ashley headed toward the dressing room. As he leisurely picked out Koi’s clothes, his mind, in contrast, was filled with thoughts of taking them off.
After leaving the main road, the car continued on for quite some time. Just as the endless stretch of forest on both sides began to grow tiresome, the duke, who had been silent until then, finally spoke.
"It’s quite far."
Though brief, the remark was enough to convey his mood. As if trying to soothe her husband, who seemed to be growing tired, the duchess beside him spoke.
"I hear Mr. Miller has six children. How lively. It must be nice."
"Indeed. And they are all typed individuals as well."
The duke nodded readily and continued,
"For their traits to have been passed down from the previous generation until now, that alone is quite remarkable."
Alphas and omegas make up only a small portion of the population. Among them, extreme alphas and extreme omegas are even rarer. Unlike extreme alphas, whose physical traits are obvious at a glance, extreme omegas can conceal their pheromones even without medication and appear as betas in tests, making them extremely difficult to detect. It is said that encountering an extreme omega even once in a lifetime is extraordinary luck—yet one resides where they are now headed.
Connor Niles.
He, who had borne six children with Ashley Miller, an extreme alpha, was that rare extreme omega, and as a result, all of their children had inherited exceptional traits.
"There must be many advantages to sharing the same trait. I heard the eldest is a genius."
"Or perhaps merely clever with tricks."
The duke spoke with distance. It was too early to judge. Cunning and intelligence are often confused.
"That’s true. There wasn’t much said about the youngest child’s trait. It must still be too early for manifestation, given the age?"
At the duchess’s words, the duke replied lightly,
"I heard some of that family’s children were typed from birth, but that one has not yet manifested. We’ll confirm when we arrive."
"I’ve heard the child is very cute."
As if suddenly remembering, the duchess added, and the duke turned to look at her. She continued,
"The entire Miller family are extreme alphas, so of course they’re all good looking. But the youngest is still young and hasn’t manifested yet, and yet they say he’s exceptionally cute. We’ll be able to see him today, right? I’m quite looking forward to it."
"Hm…"
The duke let out a thoughtful sound as he stroked his beard. The only child between the couple was Cassian, who sat across from them. The duchess had wanted a daughter, but due to poor health, she had been unable to have more children. Because of that, she tended to show unconditional fondness toward families with children, and in that sense, this visit had clearly excited her greatly.
"I’m looking forward to it as well, if he’s truly that adorable."
Watching his wife, the duke responded gently. The duchess nodded, then suddenly turned to her son.
"Cassian, you went to that party yesterday, didn’t you? Did you happen to see anything?"
The man with glasses, who had remained silent until then, finally spoke slowly.
"No, not at all."
He smiled at his mother.
"I didn’t see anything."
"Sniff."
Meanwhile, left alone, Bliss sniffed audibly and took a deep breath. If he kept crying, his eye would swell even more.
"Huuup."
After taking another deep breath, he suddenly noticed the small wrapper lying on the sheet. It was from the caramel he had just eaten.
I want more.
But that was out of the question. Koi was always gentle, but once he said no, he never wavered. And lately, since his baby teeth were starting to loosen, snacks had been restricted even more.
"So unfair."
Bliss pouted and fiddled with the wrapper. Just then, he heard a noise outside.
What’s that?
He immediately jumped off the bed and ran to the window. Standing on a chair, he looked down and saw the servants gathered in front of the estate. Tilting his head in confusion, he then noticed several cars driving across the garden.
Huh?
Startled, Bliss pressed himself against the window and tried to see more clearly. Even to a child not yet ten, the line of cars looked anything but ordinary.
Are those the guests?
Normally, he would have gone to greet them, but today was different. Daddy had phrased it gently, saying it was because of his eye, but in truth, it might also be because this was not a place for a mere six year old. It didn’t matter. They would just talk about boring, uninteresting things anyway. What mattered was that right now, the adults of the household, including Papa and Daddy, had no time to pay attention to Bliss.
"Tch."
Bliss clicked his tongue softly and started to climb down from the chair, but then paused.
Wait… then…
A brilliant idea suddenly struck him. At this moment, there was definitely no one in the kitchen. Papa and Daddy would be busy receiving guests, and the servants would be occupied as well. Wasn’t this the perfect opportunity to turn one of his usual fantasies into reality?
After a brief hesitation, he quickly made up his mind.
Action immediately!
The moment the thought formed, Bliss jumped down from the chair and ran straight across the room. Even if Daddy ended up spanking him later, that would be a problem for then. Right now, making his life happy took priority.
Off to the sweet caramel…!
That was the plan, but even after making up his mind, he had to take a deep breath once he grabbed the doorknob. Hoo. Letting out a short breath, Bliss opened the door just a crack and peeked out, scanning the long hallway carefully.