Heavy Rain Chapter 31

“Don’t do anything useless. Get out.”

“……Understood.”

The Butler bowed submissively and stepped back. Lyle leaned back deeply into his chair with annoyance and let out a sigh. Perhaps because his emotional agitation was so great, his head throbbed as if it were splitting apart again.

Even in the midst of that, Lyle firmed up his thought that he needed to take more definitive measures regarding the Butler’s attitude. The sensations that had been persistently grating on him seemed to pierce his head like an awl for an instant. As expected, he would have to give him a firm warning once more right before leaving for work tomorrow.

For now, it should be fine since he had spoken so clearly. The Butler had always prioritized his orders with obedience above all else.

Thus, Lyle did not yet foresee what kind of consequences this unconscious trust would eventually create.

𓂃ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ 🍂༄˖°

Walking through the dark hallway, the Butler anxiously clenched his fists. This made it certain. Lyle’s behavior lately had been extremely strange.

If pheromone congestion becomes severe, it interferes with work. His master was a person who loathed interference with work more than anything else. Therefore, there was no reason for him to tolerate the whines of a mere Omega to this extent. Since Lyle had officially taken the position of Chairman, there hadn’t been a single instance where he returned to the mansion early due to health issues.

In particular, the way he doted on that recessive Omega fellow made the Butler restless. He had made him stop the ‘preparations’ that were done every time for the master who found them bothersome, and then at some point, he was fussing about taking care of the Omega fellow’s meals. Did that not look exactly like an Alpha looking after his own mate? Though he was also recessive, he was an Alpha, and thus sensitive to this kind of wariness.

“I thought as much.”

No matter how deep the loathing due to the affairs of the previous generation, his master was an Alpha who couldn’t help it. In the first place, although he admired his master as a fellow Alpha, the Butler could not understand why he distanced himself from Omegas to such an extent. Why endure it when one naturally reacts once pheromones mix?

In any case, it was much better than the master agonizing over the issue of pheromone release every time. The problem was that the subject happened to be Haejin.

The Butler organized his thoughts while anxiously stroking his palms again. The relative he had placed in the position of the mansion’s driver was still working safely. Originally, the mansion’s servants could only enter after a thorough background check. This was clearly an abuse of authority on the Butler’s part.

He didn’t know if the Omega hadn’t spoken up or if the master had listened and ignored it. The important thing was that if the driver were to be made an issue, measures would have been taken long ago.

The problem didn’t lie only with that driver. The Butler had been reported a while ago that clothing had disappeared from Haejin’s closet again. The servants who had developed a taste for stealing couldn’t help themselves and touched them in the meantime. One fellow was even caught red-handed by the Omega while coming out with the clothes.

“Stupid bastards……”

If they were going to do it, they should have done it without leaving a trace; what on earth were they doing? It was troublesome for them to cause trouble like this when it hadn’t been long since the master had given direct orders. Furthermore, since Haejin’s room had moved to the main building, entering and leaving carelessly could lead to a major misunderstanding.

However, the foolish servants did not know moderation. By the time the Butler realized it belatedly and tried to undo it, it was already too late.

The failure to take Haejin to the hospital during the last contract, the embezzlement of his belongings, and so on. The Butler’s transgressions involving Haejin were too many. Things that clearly started with a light heart had piled up like a mountain before he knew it when he looked back. Those heavy faults were casting a precarious shadow toward the Butler as if they would collapse at any moment.

But in this situation, if the master were to keep that Omega by his side by any chance.

“That won’t do, that simply won’t do……”

If that happened, he would lose this job to which he had devoted his life. It would be a relief if it ended simply with unemployment. If things went wrong, he would be embroiled in a lawsuit without a single cent left for his retirement.

What if he could kick Haejin out?

“……”

If only that one person disappeared, everything could pass without being discovered. If Lyle had resolved his loathing for an Omega once, there was no law saying he wouldn’t do the same with another Omega.

If so, Haejin had to leave this mansion as soon as possible. Before Lyle, by some chance, realized the possessiveness of a stray Alpha.

Suddenly snapping out of it, the Butler hurriedly looked around. The path to his room was secluded, without a single person passing by.

“Ahem.”

No. He wasn’t doing this just because he was afraid his deeds would be discovered. This was, to the end, for the sake of his master.

Because his father had passed away too early, the Butler was the only adult who had watched over the master’s childhood by his side. This was because the previous Butler had also resigned in a hurry after that incident.

Of course, Lyle was not the kind of child who needed an adult’s touch. Nevertheless, at this moment, the Butler solidified the thought that he must use some means for Lyle’s sake. Was his master’s judgment not clouded because of pheromones?

Even if it meant disobeying his master’s orders for the first time.

Conveniently, there was one good method. Having arrived at his room before he knew it, the Butler took out a medicine bottle from a corner drawer. It was transparent, tasteless, and odorless—appearing good for slipping into something.

“……If it’s this.”

It was a heat cycle inducer for Omegas.

Originally, it was an expensive medicine he had bought to have some fun with an Omega who acted high and mighty, but it couldn’t be helped. Was it not a good way to resolve Lyle’s abnormal reaction immediately and handle the eyesore Omega at the same time?

Surely, once Lyle regained his senses after resolving the pheromone stagnation, he would make a proper judgment again. From the start, the Butler intended to hide the fact that he was the one who fed it and frame Haejin for it.

Sometimes, certain recessive Omegas would use their heat cycle with a sliver of hope. Originally, the probability of pregnancy is extremely low without knotting, but it couldn’t be guaranteed during a rut or heat cycle period. He had heard that Omegas often did such things, thinking it would be the crowning touch if an Alpha, driven mad by heat pheromones, happened to get excited and performed knotting.

Lyle was originally a person who loathed an Omega acting clingy. The Butler remembered clearly that he had shown repulsion even during Haejin’s heat cycle. So, if Haejin acted fully like an Omega due to the heat, it would reawaken that loathing.

Furthermore, when he regained his senses, if he found out the fellow had pounced with the intention of getting pregnant, he would surely be greatly enraged and cast him out.

All of this was, to the end, for Lyle.

𓂃ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ 🍂༄˖°

At a time when evening had nearly arrived, a knock was heard while he was blankly watching the drifting clouds.

Haejin settled his startled body and looked toward the door. He desperately soothed himself, saying that this was not the knocking sound from that day.

However, the moment the door opened and the Butler’s black suit became visible, Haejin had to grit his teeth.

“Mr. Bright.”

“…….”

Just as it had been for the past few days, a food tray entered his room. When it was mealtime, the servants would burst into the room without Haejin’s permission. As if his refusal was meaningless.

But today, the Butler himself had appeared. This was a man who had been avoiding even running into Haejin after being sternly told to get out last time, so it was a strange occurrence.

“It is dinner time.”

He hated seeing him appear again with a smile plastered across his face. It was the same even at this moment when he was trying hard to suppress his trauma.

He also hated that tray that forced its way in every time. Even if he hadn’t originally intended to skip meals to this extent, it was something to feel a sense of repulsion toward. It was also uncomfortable that the servants stood in that spot for days to monitor him. He simply wanted to be left alone, so why did they not leave him be?

“Now, please eat. You must not eat too little.”

“……Later…….”

“Mr. Bright.”

“…….”

In a situation where even other servants were uncomfortable, he did not want to eat composedly with the Butler in front of him. Because he had just recalled the events of that day, his appetite, which was already nonexistent, vanished completely.

So, Haejin, who had been submissive with resignation for several days, showed his repulsion for the first time in a while. At that moment, the Butler, who had completely wiped away his smile, strode toward him.