The old head attendant Torrington, who had waited on the emperor for nearly 30 years, thoughtfully brought hard liquor in a beautiful glass.
From the glass, the mature aroma from long aging in oak casks faintly wafted out and brushed past sensitive noses.
As if trying to drive away the people beside them who were subtly paying attention, the emperor recomnded the glass to Reynard and slowly moved his steps to a quiet place behind the stage. Based on the position of the family that called itself a subject of the empire, he took the glass and quietly followed the emperor’s footsteps.
“How old are you?”
It was a question as if he was truly a close uncle.
Stopping his steps and facing him in a quiet place, he barely swallowed the scoff that almost ca out at the sudden question.
“I’m thirty.”
“Already that old?”
An old man who has risen to the peak of power tends to not be good at perceiving the flow of ti.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Even knowing all of that, he smiled brightly and affird.
Really, what story is he trying to tell, beating around the bush like this?
“As you know, you are currently the only successor as the child of the Grand Duke of Dennox.”
“That’s right.”
Reynard was the only child and sole successor of the Grand Duke.
There were no other brothers or sisters. And it was the sa for his father, the Grand Duke.
Whether it was a side effect of that bloodline and psychic ability or sothing else, it was unknown, but the Dennox ducal family had few and precious children for generations.
“Isn’t it ti for you to get married now?”
‘Aha!’
With those words, Reynard figured out the emperor’s purpose.
Coming directly to the person involved and openly bringing up the topic, it seed the emperor was determined this ti.
“If you don’t intend to end the Dennox lineage in your generation, it’s ti to start making active efforts.”
It was a remark as if he had never pushed him to the battlefield to defend the rights of worthless colonies and self-esteem in international affairs.
With just those words from the emperor, Reynard could perfectly understand what he was thinking.
He was afraid right now.
Afraid of losing an ally with the greatest military power in terms of military command, passed down from the previous generation.
As if he had never been jealous or wary of the vastness of that power, while believing and being assured that they were allies and subjects.
‘But it seems losing the greatest military power is the most frightening.’
It seed that greed for power had won over that self-esteem and jealousy.
Reynard barely held back the crooked smile that tried to co out and spoke leisurely on purpose.
“Your Majesty is saying this even though you know my situation.”
As if his own situation was too regrettable for himself.
As if this situation was not at all his intention.
“As you know, I am unable to marry.”
Of course, he had never actively thought of being with soone until now, but he answered in a tone as if it was due to other naturally unfavorable conditions unrelated to his will. It was the excuse Reynard always used whenever this kind of talk ca up.
‘It’s not my fault that I’m alone.’
Reynard always claid his unique constitution in that way.
“Colonel Reynard Dennox…”
The emperor hardened his face and showed a displeased expression, even though he knew well what he was talking about.
Before the emperor could throw any more words to bother him, Reynard began to spit out more blatantly about his situation.
“What oga could possibly endure my pheromones and live with ? Those terrible things that make them tremble with physiological disgust and fear of being attacked just by feeling and slling them.”
The way he shrugged his shoulders seed like soone else’s business.
‘Reynard Dennox’s unique pheromones.’
His pheromones were actually very strange. As ntioned, other genotypes could not endure his pheromones.
The very few who knew this fact thought it was a weakness, but Reynard himself, who was born noble, was not very impressed by his unique constitution to the point of being able to joke about it. He ignored the advice of his closest aides to always hide it and used it from ti to ti when needed.
Perfectly hiding his pheromones as advised was not a big deal. It was quite common for dominant genotypes to not properly reveal their pheromones.
Although it was a little tiring to hide even the everyday pheromones in personal spaces, it had now beco just a habit after many years. He didn’t feel any discomfort after becoming an adult.
Pheromones are not simply a scent.
Pheromones could be largely divided into two types. It was sotis a ans for those who were alphas or ogas to signal their emotions, and sotis a ans to seduce the opposite sex, induce arousal, and breed.
An alpha’s pheromones could let the other person know their mood, give off a sense of intimidation, or excite them.
And alphas were individuals with a strong instinct to dominate and intimidate in order to serve as the leader of their kind’s mbers as the Alpha Male, especially in a pack of alphas.
Reynard Dennox.
He was a congenital mutant.
When Reynard Dennox was born through the young body of the Grand Duchess in the Grand Duchy. As the eldest son and successor of the Dennox family had always been, he was born as a dominant alpha.
He was born with a genotype that stood at the peak of alphas from birth.
Looking at the Dennox family’s genealogy, the psychic ability only existed in alphas for generations, and the stronger the alpha nature, the more powerful the psychic ability.
Therefore, at first, everyone blessed his very existence as a dominant alpha worthy of a successor.
Until the second puberty and proper second manifestation as a genotype, everyone really did.
[The Grand Duke’s son is an extrely dominant alpha.]
An extrely dominant alpha who stood at the complete pinnacle, at the very top even among dominant alphas.
After the second manifestation occurred, those around him who felt sothing strange about his pheromones sent the Grand Duke’s successor to soone who was a professional researcher and doctor in related fields.
The person who had gone through various tests for a long ti spoke with difficulty.
[But… the alpha nature… is too strong.]
The second trait of an extrely dominant alpha manifested along with the trendous psychic ability comparable to the first Grand Duke manifested a constitution that was so terrible and rare that it could be called a disease in a way.
Pheromones that attack others.
That’s how the doctor, who beca the Dennox family physician while conducting long examinations, described it.
His alpha pheromones were so powerful that they not only intimidated and dominated other alphas, but also made even ogas, the opposite genotype who should have felt them alluring, afraid and unable to bear them.
All genotypes rejected Reynard’s unique pheromones.
No, what rejection?
No oga could endure those pheromones.
The Grand Duke sighed as he saw the ogas brought in experintally by the Dennox family physician, nearly a hundred of them, collapsing from dizziness, vomiting, and running out unable to bear being there.
[This is no different from a curse, isn’t it?]
It was a sharp but simultaneously accurate judgnt about his son.
An alpha who made ogas, who should be attracted to him, sick and afraid instead. It was a terrible mutation never seen before.
[It may not necessarily be seen that way…. Look at the young master’s ability with water and the sea.]
According to Dennox family records, it was true that historically, the stronger the alpha nature, the more outstanding the psychic ability.
In response to the words of comfort the closest aides did their best to give, the Grand Duke scoffed and replied.
[That damn ability…. In this era where all psychic abilities are treated as legends, it would have been better to not have it.]
There was truth in what the Grand Duke said through gritted teeth.
It was a period of technological advancent.
Even without supernatural abilities, cannons and bombs with stronger offensiveness were being developed in each country every year. An era had arrived where advanced technology could greatly influence battles. The Grand Duke had spoken by accurately pointing out such circumstances of the present era.
[Your Grace the Grand Duke….]
[It would have been a hundred tis better to be an ordinary alpha without abilities! How the hell can he live like this?]
When Reynard was young, after sending off his wife the Grand Duchess first, he was the only remaining family and sole son. As befitting his blunt personality, he didn’t raise him while kindly saying affectionate words even once, but he was a son he had raised by personally taking care of and directly training.
[As the genotype is so excellent, if you live while perfectly hiding the pheromones, surely….]
Citing his outstanding ability to control pheromones as befitting an extrely dominant alpha, the aides tried to comfort the Grand Duke. But the Grand Duke accurately pointed out the flaw in those words.
[Even in bed?]
[That… that’s….]
Although it seed too emotional, he pointed it out precisely.
Even though he knew his teenage son was listening beside him, the Grand Duke couldn’t hold back his anger and spat out the truth.
[What alpha can possibly have relations without pheromones, and even if they can chanically do so, how can they impregnate an oga without pheromones?]
[……]
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