ALL NOVEL Chapter 52
Belfry scrambled past the corridor and followed his father.
“You mean His Highness Adrian and Viscount Thomas contacted you at the same time?”
They did not receive word until evening that the Crown Prince, who had left the palace in a hurry, found the Prince at Thomas’
viscounty
[1]
Viscounty is the territory under the authority of a viscount.
.
He didn’t just find him but had informed them that he had to stay for one more day in Thomas’ viscounty due to a disgraceful incident involving Prince Carl Lindbergh before returning.
Moreover, not long after, Viscount Thomas reported expressing regret over the ‘disgraceful incident’ that occurred in his territory and vowed to punish all those involved severely.
As a result, the Hendrick father and son, who were waiting at the palace, went home to the Duke’s house before dinner, but the lack of specific mention about the ‘disgraceful incident’ kept them awake throughout the night.
“How is the Prince’s condition?”
“He didn’t say anything. Judging from His Highness Adrian’s not-so-dark expression, it didn’t seem to be something serious.”
It wasn’t just a matter of not being serious; his face looked refreshed, as if he had recovered from some ailment.
“If it’s not serious, why would he continue to stay in the territory?”
Belfry suddenly became anxious, thinking that since he couldn’t bring him back to the palace, even if it was just for a day, his condition must be serious.
Duke Hendrick touched his forehead.
“If Viscount Thomas himself is apologizing, it must be more than a minor issue, but well, he’ll handle it on his own.”
“
Hoo
.”
“As of now, there’s only one thing we can infer: Someone stupid dared to touch the prince.”
Belfry opened his mouth in shock, his hands trembling, saying, “Isn’t this a really big deal?”
If someone were to harm Carl Lindbergh, the Crown Prince, who has just fallen in love, would go crazy. And the fact that his expression looked relieved meant something else.
“There was a big issue, but the rift between His Highness Adrian and the Prince has been resolved. Son.”
Under his father’s prickling gaze, Belfry felt inexplicably awkward and grumbled about why he was being scolded.
“Father is saying His Highness is worrying, and the Prince is even more worrying, but the biggest worry is you.”
Startled by the sudden words from his father, Belfry’s eyes widened with confusion.
“No, why would you be worried about me?”
The Duke crossed his arms, glancing at his son.
“When you were born, you were born premature, and you caused your father a lot of worry, and you grew up sticking closely to the Crown Prince’s side.”
After that, he lived a one-track life of education as a political prodigy and kept his distance from love and socializing.
Moreover, carrying the Crown Prince’s favor on his shoulders, his arrogance pierces through the sky.
Having been surrounded by numerous Alphas, his standards became high, making it difficult for him to see anyone around him as a potential romantic partner, regardless of their gender or status. He developed what they call ‘romantic apathy.’
“Wasn’t that your political ambition, Father?”
As the Duke’s gaze grew more menacing, Belfry mumbled in a hesitant voice.
“Father, it was you who pushed me into the palace from a young age.”
“That’s because, you brat, you ended up being born between a Duke and a Grand Duke! There was nowhere else for you to be!”
Eventually, Hendrick exploded, raising his voice.
“As soon as you saw Adrian, you firmly believed that he was someone to be served, and you couldn’t just easily let go of that idea, right?”
Belfry scratched his head in embarrassment.
“No, that’s not it. Is it any different from you, Father? Even though His Highness the Grand Duke is always glaring at you as if he is going to devour you, you don’t leave His Majesty’s side….”
This time, the Duke, who was pricked by the truth, averted his gaze.
His youngest son, who suddenly became spirited, retorted, “It’s all because of you, Father, that His Highness the Grand Duke is always leaving, saying that he is busy with the merchantry.”
The reason why he refers to the Grand Duke as His Highness the Grand Duke, despite being one of his fathers, is because Belfry always found him difficult.
Although Duke Hendrick was the first to fall in love, the Grand Duke was much more obsessed.
Grand Duke Balvenie, who had long abandoned politics and lived freely, lived in seclusion in the ducal estate after partnering with Hendrick until the birth of their two sons and Belfry.
Half of it was concern, and half of it was because of that bastard’s possessiveness.
Written as ‘lived in seclusion,’ but read as ‘confinement.’
The Grand Duke, who was soft towards Belfry, was so cold in his treatment of his two Alpha sons.
The fact that he kicked his two Alpha sons out of the house as soon as they manifested as Alphas says it all.
Thinking of his older brothers, who are eating and sleeping with the knights, leaving their perfectly good home behind, makes him tear up.
“Seeing Father sick, he reluctantly allowed you to go back to work, but because he couldn’t bear to be jealous of his brother, Emperor Glenn, he chose not to even see him.”
The Duke, having understood, stopped Belfry.
Why would he not want to live with his husband? But being a Duke meant that he was bound to the Imperial Palace.
Incidents broke out regardless of time, and there were even more things that needed the hand of the Duke, who was the Emperor’s closest aide.
Before being an Omega or a husband, Duke Hendrick, a loyal subject, became noticeably emaciated as the period when he couldn’t participate in politics grew longer, almost as if he were protesting.
In the end, the Grand Duke chose to reduce the time he could see the Duke instead of keeping him tied up.
〈If you’re in my sight, it seems like I’ll end up doing whatever I want without caring about your suffering.〉
Balvenie’s possessive temperament, which could not tolerate others having different thoughts about the Duke, his mate, tormented his lover greatly, and convinced that he would only continue to torment him in the future, he formed a merchant guild and traveled all over the continent.
Hendrick loved him and was similarly obsessed, but occasionally, very occasionally, he was overwhelming and frightening.
“His Highness the Grand Duke is a walking tightrope. Father, it would be best to postpone your retirement. That is the only way to maintain your freedom…”
That jerk, really.
The Duke raised his eyes.
“Alright! I got it. Enough.”
I won.
Belfry grinned.
“Anyway, what I’m saying is… it’s best not to spend too much time with Princess Leia. You’re a Beta, and an Alpha’s obsession doesn’t always have to be directed towards an Omega.”
“What?”
In front of his bewildered son, Hendrick’s expression grew somber as he extended his hand.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to endure some hardships for a while. Both you and me.”
From what he observed, once the matters of Thomas’ viscounty were settled, the aftermath should be handled by the imperial palace.
After that, they would have to prepare for the real engagement ceremony.
In addition to that, Lindbergh had to be granted independence as a principality, while keeping an eye on the Kingdom of Parma.
Belfry nodded and quietly closed the door, seeing the Duke sigh through the crack.
Come to think of it, the Grand Duke would be returning soon. Before that, various matters needed to be resolved so that Father could be comfortably confined.
Traits really cause a big problem
, Belfry clicked his tongue.
He was sober.
Carl Lindbergh killed the blanket, his face flushed.
Although he was a bit dizzy, he vividly remembered every step of the process, as it was his first time biting, sucking, and rolling with a sober mind.
Of course, due to Adrian’s firm attitude that ‘the real first time’ cannot be done in a place like this, he couldn’t fully experience it.
In all honesty, from Carl’s perspective, it didn’t matter either way.
“It’s still cold.”
The man, who kicked the blanket and held the world’s sweet laughter, looked so pretty in his eyes, making one wonder if his eyes are okay.
The aide knocked on the door and asked if they would have dinner, but neither of them had the presence of mind to answer, so he quietly left.
After the first night they had spent together in a daze due to his heat cycle, he had expected the world to turn upside down when he did it with a sober mind, but it didn’t.
Ahh, will it be overturned at that decisive moment?
Carl, who had imagined that day, kicked the blanket off again, but Adrian firmly covered him again, wrapped him up tightly, and let out a relaxed sigh.
Like a cocoon, Carl wrapped the blanket tightly around himself, leaving only his face visible, and his eyes had returned to their original blue color.
“How does it feel to use magic for the first time?”
Adrian asked, tracing under Carl’s eyes.
“If you ask me to use it again, I don’t think I can.”
The magic power that erupted in moments of crisis, like a protagonist in a comic, didn’t seem to immediately become his just because he became aware of its existence.
Adrian leaned in and pressed his lips against Carl’s forehead, saying that if he practiced a few more times at the imperial palace, he would soon be able to use magic as if it were his own.
Adrian’s lips, exposed to the cold air, felt cool and chilled.
It was only then that Carl remembered what they were talking about and began speaking eagerly.
“Oh, right.”
“What is it?”
Adrian, who wanted to savor this moment a little longer, felt slightly dissatisfied, but they had to finish their conversation, so he patiently asked.
“When you draw magic formulas on a magic stone, do you know the meaning behind them?”
“No, I’ll show you later, but there are rules to the formulas. I refer to those rules when drawing them.”
“What kind of rules?”
Adrian pondered on how to explain it easily and came up with a suitable example.
“When learning magic formulas, we read a book about this thick.”
Adrian held his thumb and index finger about 3 centimeters apart to illustrate the thickness.
“That book has formulas drawn in it, and it explains the meanings of each formula. We combine them according to their purposes.”
Ah, like a dictionary.
Carl Lindbergh’s face brightened significantly.
“Can you draw a more specific formula?”
Adrian, who knew that Carl could read and comprehend formulas, nodded his head.
“But the more specific they get, the more complex the formulas become, and to do that, the size of the magic stone would have to increase. It wouldn’t be suitable for portability.”
That’s because you’re drawing the text as a picture!
And that ambiguous sentence is also a problem.
Excited, Carl jumped to his feet.
“I think I can solve that. How to input the correct magic formula for the purpose of the magic stone while also fitting it to the size.”
“Can you really do that?”
Carl nodded eagerly, wearing a determined expression.
“That book, show me that book as soon as we return to the imperial palace, and I’ll study it.”
It was funny how he doesn’t mind being naked and acts like he is the first person to discover the magic formula, but Adrian, who was blinded by love, found even that endearing.
While pulling Carl towards him with the blanket, Adrian answered, “Alright,” with a smile from ear to ear.