Meanwhile, in the servants' quarters, gossip spread like wildfire.

Within minutes, every corridor buzzed with whispers about the new guest—a man none of them had ever seen before.

"Who is he?"

"Will it end like last time?"

"They say he's pretty. Master Veyr took him in. They looked... perfect together."

Others shook their heads.

"No, Master Matthias suits him better. An S-class Alpha—elegant, refined. He deserves Master Veyr."

But some voices hushed, lowering to wary whispers.

"Better not. We all know how last time ended."

By noon, the gossip had already reached Matthias.

He was in his private study, book in hand and tea at his side, when Sevren's message came: Veyr brought an Omega home.

The teacup stilled in his hand. His jaw tightened. This was not ordinary. Not in the Duskveil Estate.

When a servant slipped in to ask what he wished for dinner, Matthias gave a rare answer—calm, but tight:"Not here. Tonight, I'll dine at Duskveil."

Back at Duskveil—

Lioren lay on the bed, feigning sleep. His body, however, was genuinely exhausted—his irregular cycle left him drained far more than usual. Pretending soon turned real; he slipped into slumber without meaning to.

Leyla entered quietly, brushing a hand over his brown hair. She lingered there, watching his face soften in sleep until the others joined her.

Cyrin frowned. "Wtf, he fell asleep again?"

Meirei's voice was matter-of-fact.

"Leave him be. He won't escape—not in this state. Irregular heats are harsher, especially without a mate."He nodded toward Sevren. "Bring some of Veyr's clothes. The ones left in the other room."

Sevren went for the clothes, while Leyla and Cyrin returned to the dining hall.

Meirei signaled Sevren out of the room. With quiet efficiency, he gave Lioren a sponge bath and changed his clothes. When Lioren woke, he would already be wearing Veyr's garments—without even knowing.

Later—

Veyr sat at his desk, the laptop's pale glow carving sharp edges into his face. Three hours had passed when soft footsteps broke the silence.

Two hands slid across his chest from behind, a warm body leaning close.

"Oh, Veyr, I came as fast as I could. Don't tell me you were lonely without me?" Neil's voice dripped with exaggerated sweetness, lips nearly brushing his ear.

"You're so cold... so dangerous... how do you expect a fragile Omega like me to resist?" His tone rose into a dramatic sigh. 

"But you know, right? You called me two days ago, and since then, I haven't been able to get out of bed. All because of you..."

Veyr didn't even glance up. His fingers stilled on the keyboard, then he reached for his phone, thumb tapping once. A familiar voice filled the room—"Oh, Veyr, I came as fast as I could. Don't tell me you were lonely without me? You're so cold... so dangerous..."

Neil froze. His eyes went wide as he heard his own voice played back.

Veyr finally smiled, tilting his head just enough to let his words brush Neil's neck. "Shall I send this to Noah? I wonder how your omega wife would feel about his husband acting so gay with another man?"

Flashback

Neil was sprawled across his bed, half-asleep, blankets twisted around him. The afternoon sunlight filtered lazily through the curtains. His phone buzzed loudly on the nightstand. He groaned, reaching out with one hand to answer.

"Veyr..." he mumbled, voice heavy with sleep, just as the phone call connected.From the other line, Veyr's calm, measured voice filled the room. "Neil. Let's meet up, now means now! "

Neil sat up, rubbing his eyes, but before he could answer, Noah had called him for lunch. Neil blinked and straightened, voice bright, "Coming, baby!" He shouted.

End of flashback

Neil practically dropped to the floor in a bow, flailing his hands."Don't! Veyr, please! Delete it, I beg you!" "Don't, Veyr... I beg you!"

Veyr's tone stayed smooth, mocking.

"I must say, your acting's improved quite a lot since the last time you pulled this stunt. You almost sounded like that pathetic Omega that was killed."

"I think your wife deserves to see your debut performance."

Neil's face drained white. "No! He'll skin me alive if he hears this!"

Veyr's lips curved faintly. "Skin you alive? Hm. I might pay to see that."

"Oh god, How do I always get myself into such situations?!" Neil groaned, burying his face in his hands.

Veyr leaned back in his chair, smirk sharp as a blade.

"Alright. But this is the last time. Next time, you won't crawl out of the mess you make."

Then, with deliberate coldness, he added:

"And for the record—I'm not interested in Enigmas."Neil blinked, taken aback at the dismissal. Forcing an uneasy laugh, he sat up and dusted off his robes.

"Haa... you really know how to kill the mood."

Neil lounged on the sofa, arching a brow. "So... I heard you brought an Omega home."Veyr, calm as ever, replied without looking up, "Yes. I did."

Neil clutched his chest, voice dripping with mock despair. "Aaah! Are you... cheating on me?!"

Veyr held up his phone. "By the way... my recording is still on, just so you know.

"The omega you brought", Neil threw his head back and laughed, shaking his shoulders. "Was it because of the bet we made last time? Did you actually pull that childish stunt? It was supposed to be just a fantasy,Veyr?" 

Veyr's lips curved into a faint, amused smile, eyes glinting. "Childish? I call it... a dream come true."

Veyr pushed the phone into his pocket and watched Neil with a hard, deliberate calm. "Cyrin's getting impatient."  he said flatly.

Neil flopped into the sofa, still fluttery. He shrugged, the cheerful mask slipping into something sharper. "Of course, he is getting impatient, you know how he is—first thing on his mind is always his fist. What else would you expect?"

veyr's mouth twitched, not with amusement. He shook his head once. "He isn't mindless. He's crude, violent—yes—but not utterly careless. This time it's different."Neil's brow creased. "Different how? "

Veyr leaned forward, the spare light catching his face. "You know. They're looking for the discarded batch again—to study Enigma's biology, so he is on edge and high alert. Everyone thinks Omega's presence will make me lose control, just like last time. Why can't they just forget something that happened a month ago? He didn't say a single word to me. What makes them think he can make me lose my temper?"