The Villain's End Is Pregnancy - c91
– Hendrick
Hendrick’s face froze like ice as he supported the body that lost consciousness and collapsed. At the same time, the hall was swept by an extreme alpha’s pheromones as if a storm was blowing.
“Hendrick!”
Despite the king’s rebuke, the anger that wouldn’t subside only disappeared when the complexion of the person in his arms turned pale and his groans were heard.
“Call the doctor. Hurry!”
Not missing that gap, the king’s order fell. The alpha knight, who had been suppressed by the threatening pheromones, finally came to his senses and tried to open the door. But Hendrick moving to the entrance came first.
“Move aside.”
The prince holding his omega was like a vigilant beast. The knight hesitantly stepped aside and waited for the prince to pass.
“I will guide you this way!”
The chamberlain who received the king’s order followed behind Hendrick as he walked down the corridor. The place he guided was a room not far from the hall.
And not long after laying Ryan on the bed, the court physician who heard the news appeared.
“What is the situation?”
The court physician asked, examining Ryan’s complexion and pupils.
“He complained of abdominal pain and fainted.”
Hendrick, who had been holding his omega’s hand until then, answered quickly. His eyes were filled with pain and self-blame, and his voice was also dark.
The court physician, who glanced at the prince, quickly checked Ryan’s condition and sighed with relief.
“Fortunately, it seems there will be no major problems with the fetus or Ryan. It seems he collapsed because he has been in a state of tension for the past two days and couldn’t rest properly.”
Upon hearing those words, the fiercely suppressed pheromones shook to come out again. It had been a long time since he felt this way, unable to control himself, since that day when he was 14 years old.
“Prince, for now it would be good for Ryan to rest and stabilize in a comfortable place.”
“Move him to my palace, right now.”
At Hendrick’s words, the court physician looked at the chamberlain. Judging from the atmosphere flowing in the palace, it seemed that Ryan was here as a criminal, so he hesitated whether it was okay to leave his position.
“Yes, Prince. Rather than staying here, a place where he can be physically and mentally comfortable will likely be more helpful for Ryan’s stability.”
Unlike the court physician’s hesitation, the chamberlain moved immediately. He called another attendant who was waiting outside and instructed them to move Ryan.
And the court physician did not miss the sight of Hendrick’s eyebrows twitching as he watched the attendant carrying Ryan on his back.
‘The prince is also quite an alpha.’
Originally, an alpha’s obsession with their omega is quite strong. Especially the deeper the affection, the more severe such cases are.
But it was interesting to see the prince, who rarely shows his emotions, displaying such possessiveness.
“Prince, I will take responsibility for attending to Ryan.”
The chamberlain bowed, meaning that the prince should please return and finish his business. Hendrick’s gaze, which had been unable to take his eyes off Ryan on the attendant’s back until then, shifted.
His eyes were colder than usual. The chamberlain lowered his waist even more, feeling goosebumps rising on the back of his neck for some reason.
“I will inform you as soon as he wakes up.”
Only after adding those words did Hendrick’s firmly fixed mouth open.
“…Alright.”
If it were up to him, he would have wanted to hold Ryan himself and go to his palace. He wanted to stay by his side until he woke up and watch the moment he opened his eyes.
“Ha…”
However, he knew that sorting out the situation came first now. Hendrick slowly approached and carefully caressed the cheek of the unconscious person.
And unlike before, he released gentle and kind pheromones. Hoping that his omega would find stability and the child in his belly would not be anxious.
“Ryan, don’t worry and rest well. When you wake up, everything will be sorted out.”
Why was it so hard to let go of his hand?
Pushing away the lingering touch, Hendrick gestured. The chamberlain, who understood the wordless order, urged the attendant to leave first.
After watching the court physician follow, Hendrick left the room as if cutting off his hesitation. And the nobles tensed at the ominous force exuded by the prince who reappeared in the hall.
“Liam, say it again. You’re wronged?”
Liam trembled at the fierce pheromones and cold gaze of the extreme alpha pouring down on him. Still, he desperately opened his mouth.
“Prince, don’t be fooled by whatever Ryan said. That bastard is a born liar!”
“Ryan?”
Hendrick tilted his head. The sneer that spilled out contained contempt.
“Liam Seiden. I remember it clearly. The words you whispered to me.”
“Wh-what did I…”
“Don’t you remember? The day of the coming-of-age party. You told me. You accidentally overheard a conversation between the two of them and saw something being mixed into a glass of alcohol.”
“…What?”
At least when trying to frame someone, it would be good to remember one’s own actions. It seemed Liam didn’t have such a brain.
But Hendrick was different. Of course, he didn’t immediately recall the conversation from that time either. It was while interrogating Derek, whom he brought after hearing Liam and Derek’s secret conversation, that he remembered.
* * *
Right after taking the cat to his palace, Hendrick instructed Elena to bring Derek before he left the palace.
“Derek Watson. It’d be best if you tell the truth. What was your purpose in giving Ryan the alcohol containing hydrian extract?”
“Huh, what?”
Thus, Derek, who was about to go home after parting with Liam, was dragged by the knights and had a dumbfounded face, not knowing what kind of situation this was.
However, Hendrick had no intention of waiting for him to come to his senses. Considering the hardships Ryan had endured because of what Derek had done, he should be grateful just to have his life spared.
“I heard the conversation between you and Liam Seiden. That you handed that alcohol to Ryan, and Liam gave it to you.”
“Gasp!”
Derek let out a cry of astonishment at Hendrick’s words.
“So tell the truth. If you don’t want your neck to be cut here right now, it’s best not to talk nonsense.”
Derek couldn’t feel the threatening pheromones released by the extreme alpha because he was a beta. However, his body trembled at the prince’s sharp eyes that seemed to cut him at any moment.
“P-prince. I just did that because Ryan was so upset that you were getting engaged to another omega.”
Derek swallowed his dry saliva and barely managed to make an excuse.
“What?”
Hendrick looked at him with disbelief in his eyes and asked again.
“Who am I getting engaged to?”
What the hell was this about? Who was he getting engaged to without his knowledge? And Ryan heard about that, of all people?
Even though it was something that happened a long time ago and was already over, Hendrick felt displeasure just by the fact that such a story had reached Ryan.
“Well, it seems Ryan accidentally overheard Liam and his friends saying that the prince would meet another omega soon. So he confided in me.”
Derek blurted out the words while trembling.
“And as I was thinking about it, I heard that there was a way to trigger pheromones and seduce alphas or omegas…”
Of course, it wasn’t that he had no intention at all to tease Ryan by mixing such a thing in the alcohol.
He did have some desire to make Ryan suffer a bit too, as he sometimes found his attitude of acting superior to him annoying, but he didn’t think it would become a big problem.
But Hendrick had no interest in Derek’s other excuses. He only had his eyes lit up at the story related to pheromones.
“Who did you hear that from?”
He cut off Derek’s following words and asked without listening further.
“What? Ah, well. There’s a guy named Mason among Liam’s friends. He told me. He said he got it from Liam and it works well.”
“Liam Seiden, you say.”
“Y-yes, yes.”
It was that moment. When the memory of the coming-of-age party, which he thought he had forgotten, came to mind. More precisely, the words that Liam, who was sticking close to him, had whispered.
‘Prince, it seems Ryan and his friend are up to something again over there.’
Seeing Hendrick’s gaze heading that way, Liam added with a meaningful smile,
‘I heard from my friend that he saw them mix something into the alcohol. So be careful.’
* * *
At the time he heard that story, he brushed it off as trivial. No, he was even a little curious about what cute thing Ryan had done again.
If he had known it would lead to what happened now, he wouldn’t have overlooked it.
‘In the end, it was my fault.’
It was a painful thing to realize that the price of turning a blind eye without knowing his own heart was being paid by the person he gave his heart to, not himself.
So he had to sort out everything today and go to Ryan. Hendrick, who made up his mind, asked the king with an even firmer face.
“Your Majesty, I will submit evidence and witnesses that Liam Seiden cultivated hydrian and illegally processed it!”
It was enough to cause a stir in the hall again.