WMT | Chapter 20

The wedding was over.

‘What is this guy thinking?’

Wiss was dragged away by the palace staff to wash up again.

All that fuss from the morning just to wash off after a single ceremony. However, Wiss didn’t even think it was a waste of time.

“Your Highness. This gown comes off if you pull here.”

“If the Duke struggles, just subtly undo it like this.”

The palace staff gave their earnest advice and left.

Only then did Wiss snap out of his thoughts and look in the mirror. He was wearing an absurdly thin gown.

‘I’m supposed to meet him looking like this?’

The garment seemed incapable of fulfilling its function. Even with it on, his skin was visible.

Wiss understood what the palace staff had in mind when they dressed him, but what would happen next would be contrary to their expectations.

Wiss swept his hair back.

‘It’s not about the outfit.’

“I know your intentions.”

There was only one thing that could be called Wiss’s “intention.” The problem was that Wiss had only mentioned it to his Royal Guard Knight in his bedroom.

‘He heard it then.’

The presence he felt in the hallway.

It wasn’t Wiss’s imagination. The Duke had been there at that time.

Regretting the past was useless. What was needed was a plan. Wiss ruffled his hair and replayed the conversation from that day in his mind.

‘I didn’t mention the most critical part.’

He hadn’t even whispered about the Palatine civil war.

What the Duke heard was probably the part where Wiss agreed with the Royal Guard Knight’s flattery.

“He seems completely taken with Your Highness.”

“I know.”

‘This could be a problem.’

Nobles are creatures with nothing but pride. It would be understandable if Theodore threw a fit, yelling, ‘How dare you insult me like this.’

‘If it comes to it, I’ll just take a hit.’

Wiss steeled himself and stood in front of the door leading to the bedroom. A beaded curtain blocked the way between the rooms.

He pushed the curtain aside and stepped inside.

But he didn’t get far.

Theodore was sitting on the edge of the bed. The canopy bed was fitting for a first night. It was unnecessarily romantic in that sense.

The candles on the table, the rising incense, the floral and porcelain decorations all faithfully recreated a newlywed couple’s bedroom.

But Wiss didn’t notice any of that.

Theodore had his fingers interlocked on his knees, looking as if he was deep in thought. He looked up.

“You’re here.”

‘Why are you half-naked?’

Theodore was shirtless.

Wiss quickly scanned his body. He had thought Theodore had a great physique, but the muscles hidden beneath his clothes were beyond imagination.

‘If he hits me, I’m done for.’

Wiss abandoned his plan to take a hit.

“Why aren’t you coming in further?”

“……I don’t know where to sit.”

“Isn’t the bed yours, Your Highness? Please sit wherever you’re comfortable.”

Theodore took Wiss’s hand and pulled him onto the bed. Wiss sat beside him, feeling like he was putting his neck in a noose.

The bed bounced under his weight. It was unnecessarily soft, causing Wiss’s body to slide toward Theodore. Their thighs touched.

Theodore glanced at Wiss’s attire for a moment before turning his head.

“Aren’t you cold? Would you like a drink? Summer’s liquor is sweet.”

“……Yes. Please.”

Wiss took the drink and downed it in one go. The alcohol warmed him up, clearing his mind.

‘Looks like he won’t beat me to death.’

Wiss had been married multiple times and betrayed just as often. He never let those who betrayed him off. But it seemed Theodore wouldn’t retaliate like Wiss.

“Why did you say such things?”

Maybe Theodore hadn’t heard Wiss and the Royal Guard Knight’s conversation properly.

“Because I heard it.”

“……What did you hear?”

“That you seduced me for the kingdom. That it’s going well.”

Wiss wanted to bite his tongue.

‘He heard everything.’

“That was just… I was teasing the guard.”

“Teasing?”

“Yes. Doesn’t everyone boast a little? I wanted to look like a great master to my squire, so I told a pointless lie. That was my mistake.”

Wiss minimized his fault and tried to steer the conversation toward ‘But you eavesdropped on me too. You were wrong, and I was wrong, so let’s drop this.’

Theodore nodded with a sincere demeanor.

‘Is it working?’

“It’s fine.”

Not ‘I understand,’ but ‘It’s fine.’

Theodore was still holding Wiss’s hand. He interlocked his fingers with Wiss’s and smiled.

“You must have been sincere about wanting to marry me.”

“……Duke.”

Wiss felt the atmosphere was turning strange.

“You need to use me, don’t you?”

Wiss closed his mouth. Not because of Theodore’s words, but because of his actions.

He was kissing Wiss’s palm. The ticklish sensation pressed against the soft flesh of his hand and moved upward. Wiss was so tense he forgot to breathe.

‘What is he doing?’

Every time his lips touched, Wiss’s body flinched and tensed. The thin gown easily slid up as it was lifted.

Theodore was kissing the inside of Wiss’s forearm, past the hollow of his arm. It was ticklish and strange. Wiss couldn’t tell how far he intended to go.

Unconsciously, Wiss tensed his arm. As his body leaned back, his arm slipped out of Theodore’s grasp.

But he didn’t get far.

“……You’ve become my wife as you wished. You should fulfill your duties.”

Theodore said.

In that moment, Wiss went limp.

Heat surged through his body. His pale skin flushed red with warmth.

His skin tingled. Even the slightest breath made him flinch.

His sensitized skin felt the touch of the blanket on his legs as a stimulus.

Theodore’s chest against his cheek was firm. It rose and fell slightly with each breath.

Even that felt ticklish and strange. His stomach churned. Wiss didn’t even realize he was gripping Theodore’s clothes tightly.

“This is, what……”

“Ah, the scent……”

A large hand wrapped around Wiss’s back.

His body wouldn’t move. Theodore buried his face in Wiss’s nape.

“The scent is too sweet, it doesn’t suit you……”

Theodore murmured. He sounded like a drunk person.

“……I like it.”

Wiss lay beneath Theodore, clutching his clothes.

A bit of judgment returned to his sense-overwhelmed mind.

‘Pheromones.’

This man was an Alpha.

And Wissmia was an Omega.

Wiss understood what that meant intellectually. But most humans were Betas, and Wiss himself was one.

He had only heard theoretically that Alphas and Omegas were drawn to each other’s pheromones and thought, I see.

‘It’s not being drawn……’

It’s being dragged.

Wiss’s senses were forcibly awakened. Like a person who had never known cold suddenly realizing what cold was, Wiss was exposed to Alpha pheromones and understood.

His body trembled and reacted on its own. It felt unfamiliar—too strange—so he couldn’t help but realize: this was it.

To Wiss, pheromones weren’t a scent but a pain. It was a sensation his skin forced upon him.

When Wiss curled up, Theodore gently asked.

“Are you cold?”

“Ugh… It hurts. No… I’m cold.”

Wiss groaned.

The touch that swept over his skin or the light kisses felt too strange. They tormented him.

Not knowing how to express it, he kept repeating that it hurt. His body trembled, so he could only plead that he was cold.

Theodore sighed.

“Shall I warm you up?”

“Yeah……”

“Like this?”

Theodore’s hand stroked his thigh. He squeezed tightly enough to hurt and moved upward.

Wiss squeezed his eyes shut.

“……!”

A strange sound kept coming from his throat.

His vision flashed. It brightened white and then blinked black.

“More……”

“More?”

“Touch me more……”

Theodore stopped his hand. Just as Wiss opened his eyes to protest, he kissed him. Wiss couldn’t say a word.

A soft tongue soothed Wiss. Without any sense of urgency, it swept inside until Wiss felt languid.

The endlessly pleasant and soft sensation turned rough the moment Wiss sighed like a moan.

“……Your Highness.”

“Wait……”

Wiss was pushed against the headboard, receiving Theodore. He was dazed, his mouth open, letting Theodore take everything. He didn’t know how else to respond.

Theodore bit Wiss’s lip and pulled away.

“……Hah.”

The pain brought Wiss back to his senses a little.

“You’re beautiful.”

But he shouldn’t have come to his senses.

Theodore was spouting words that couldn’t be heard unless he was insane or drunk!

“What……!”

Wiss realized his gown was all disheveled. His face flushed hot. He was so mortified he couldn’t even tell him to shut up.

Theodore’s large hand rubbed Wiss’s cheek. He kissed him again.

Wiss stopped trying to fix his gown and was dazed. Theodore’s hand was hot enough to melt his skin.

“Hng……”

A sobbing sound escaped his throat. It was definitely not Wiss’s intention.

Even as he heard his own voice, Wiss couldn’t believe it. This body was utterly useless!