CH 99

“Your Imperial Highness?”

Khalid’s shoulders flinched when Renato suddenly rubbed his nose against his nape. His chin became stiff when Renato’s smooth hair and hot breath tickled his skin.

“Your scent……”

“Excuse me?”

“I also want to smell your pheromone, your highness.”

Renato stammered out what he wanted. Then he deeply inhaled. But he couldn’t smell anything other than the body odor he was already familiar with. Perhaps upset with that, Renato’s face became teary.

“Trudy also said he could feel your highness’ pheromone in me.”

“Uh……”

Khalid was momentarily at a loss for words and opened his lips. Alphas and Omegas’ pheromones could stimulate others’ instincts. Due to that, accidents caused by pheromones often occurred.

To prevent that, Alphas and Omegas were all trained to control their pheromones from an early age. In particular, a knight like Khalid was trained even more strictly.

But Khalid wasn’t always able to suppress his pheromone. When he became emotional enough to lose his reason, or he was relaxed while falling into a deep sleep, his pheromone would flow out. Those kinds of natural physiological phenomena couldn’t be prevented.

“I’m sorry, I should have told you beforehand…… Were you very surprised? His Imperial Highness the 2nd Prince must have been taken aback, too.”

Khalid apologized with an abashed face. Except for yesterday, Renato and he had shared the same bed all week. On the days of hypnosis treatment, he slept while hugging Renato, who trembled with anxiety in the aftermath of recalling the past, so it was natural for his pheromone to smear onto Renato.

But he didn’t expect that it would be detected by others. It was the first time Khalid had shared a bedroom and slept together with someone like this.

“Trudy had a strange misunderstanding……”

“Misunderstanding? What did he misunderstand?”

“Uhmm, I can’t say that.”

Unable to answer Khalid’s question, Renato shook his head. His flushed cheeks became even redder.

“Why can’t you?”

“I just can’t say it…… It’d be better if you don’t know, your highness……”

Renato mumbled a refusal to answer Khalid’s question. In a drunken state, he still had enough rationality not to say Trudy misunderstood that they did something like that.

“Rather than that…… I want to know what you smell like, your highness…… But why can’t I?”

Renato muttered, pressing his forehead between the man’s firm shoulder and neck. He felt sad because no matter how many times he inhaled, he still couldn’t smell Khalid’s pheromone despite being in the man’s arms like this.

“Uhm.”

Khalid was perplexed when Renato became sullen like a rabbit with drooping ears. He wanted to give Renato what he wished, but this was a problem he couldn’t solve. After all, Betas couldn’t smell Alphas and Omegas’ pheromones.

“It’s on my body, Trudy can also smell it, hic, but I can’t, so unfair……”

“I’m sorry.”

When Renato complained about being unable to smell his pheromone, Khalid apologized. He somehow felt the need to do so. Renato then pouted his lips.

“It’s not something you should be sorry about, your highness, it’s my fault as a Beta……”

“Please don’t say that. It isn’t a problem that you are a Beta, Your Imperial Highness.”

“Still……”

“My scent, uhm, according to others, it’s reminiscent of a snowy winter forest.”

Khalid interrupted Renato’s words so that he wouldn’t blame himself anymore, and hurriedly explained his pheromone. Fortunately, Renato showed interest in his words. Two eyes sparkling with curiosity turned to Khalid.

“Winter forest?”

“Yes, many people say it’s like being among the trees that keep their greenery in the snow. I also heard that during my rut, it smells a bit like cornelian cherries.”

“Winter trees, cornelian cherries……”

Renato repeated Khalid’s explanation and wrinkled the bridge of his nose. Somehow he felt like he knew it, but didn’t know at the same time.

“Is it different from your body odor that I can smell, your highness?”

“I guess so. Some people say that Alphas’ and Omegas’ body odors are slightly similar to their pheromones…… But after all, body odors and pheromones are different. Body odor is present in everyone, regardless of their traits.”

At Khalid’s words, the light purple eyes opened wide. Renato had never been conscious of his body odor, but he was worried that it might smell bad.

“I hope it doesn’t smell weird……”

“Haha, you don’t have to worry about that. It smells really good.”

Seeing Renato sniff the back of his hand, Khalid burst into small laughter and told him not to worry. Renato’s scent was both fragrant like a flower and sweet like heated milk. Although different from Omegas’ scents that seduced Alphas, Khalid quite liked Renato’s natural body odor.

“I didn’t know that……”

“That’s because we don’t know our own body odors. I wouldn’t have been conscious of my pheromone scent if other people hadn’t told me, either. Anyway, did that satisfy your curiosity?”

“Hmm.”

Imagining Khalid’s scent in his head, Renato lightly hummed instead of answering. As expected, just listening to his words was not enough. Even though he knew he was being greedy, he kept wanting to smell it directly by himself.

He wondered if there was a way, but it was difficult to continue his thoughts with a dazed mind due to alcohol. Then, an idea crossed his mind. At the same time, the words popping up in his head came out of his small lips.

“……Pheromone shower.”

“Pardon?”

“You said that last time. I can detect pheromones…… So, can I take a pheromone shower?”

Khalid’s eyes widened at the unexpected request. Feeling urgent when the man didn’t answer right away, Renato added.

“Even if I can’t smell it…… I want to feel your pheromone properly, your highness.”

There were a few times that he recognized Khalid’s pheromone, but all of them were brief. Renato recalled the emitted energy that made his body tremble when Khalid saw the needle mark on his arm and when the man got angry. He thought it would be less regrettable if he could properly feel it.

“As you are a Beta that can detect dominant Alphas’ pheromones, you can get a pheromone shock if something goes wrong. It’s too dangerous.”

Renato did not give up despite Khalid’s refusal. Normally, he would have been frightened and retreated when the man showed just a sign of reluctance, but he was different now.

“What if we just do it a little so that it won’t cause a shock?”

“Your Imperial Highness……”

Khalid couldn’t hide his perplexity when Renato looked at him with sparkling eyes. Is he the type to act more childlike when drunk? Looking down at Renato who was completely different from usual, Khalid fell into agony. Renato was cute when honestly talking about what he wanted, but he was also very difficult to deal with.

“You won’t put me in danger, your highness.”

Khalid froze at the words and voice filled with trust in him. Ha, he let out a sigh and swept his face with his hands. Even though he couldn’t get drunk with just one glass, he felt like he was getting drunk.

“……All right. After all, I’ve heard from Nasir about the need for marking, so just a bit will be fine.”

“Marking?”

When Khalid agreed, Renato was delighted, then tilted his head and asked back when hearing something he never knew before.

“It refers to how Alphas and Omegas coat their pheromones on their lovers or companions. It is often used to show off how good their relationship is, or to warn others not to recklessly approach. It’s like claiming ownership in terms of objects, so it’s something that needs the other person’s consent……”

Amid explaining about marking, Khalid suddenly thought that Trudy might have misunderstood his pheromone on Renato’s body for marking.

“Did Sir Nasir recommend marking? How do we do that?”

“Ah, yes. Since we are engaged, he advised us to do it as a way to show the nobles that our relationship is good. There are many ways to do so, but we can also do it through a pheromone shower. It is also the method that is often used.”

“Then can we do the marking while having a pheromone shower?”

“Yes, we can. But I didn’t mean to do the marking like this……”

Khalid trailed off at the end of his sentence, feeling unwilling. At the height of the engagement celebration banquet, Nasir suggested that Khalid should do the marking on Renato, hinting that some nobles were interested in Renato.

Alphas fundamentally had an instinctive rejection toward other Alphas’ pheromones. Especially so for a dominant Alpha’s pheromone like Khalid’s. If they approached Renato with irreverent intentions, they would have no choice but to be faltered when they sensed Khalid’s pheromone.

Khalid replied that he would consider Nasir’s advice. People wouldn’t even think of touching Renato unless they were quite crazy, but there might be at least one insane person rushing to seduce him.

“Marking without the other person’s permission is considered indecent and is treated as sexual harassment, so I was planning to ask for permission later……”

“I will allow it! Marking and pheromone shower, you can do everything!”

Renato quickly replied before Khalid could finish his words. Khalid momentarily had a blank expression, and soon chuckled. Then, he wrapped his arm around Renato’s waist to pull him closer.

“It would be nice if you were this assertive normally as well.”

Khalid sat Renato on his thighs and bitterly murmured. Then, his pheromone which had been neatly suppressed was released. Immediately, the calm air of the bedroom changed.