I Became the Omega in a Game - Chapter 48

‘I have to give up on collecting data on the extremely dominant alpha.’

At least as long as she was an omega, it was very difficult to play tricks on an extremely dominant alpha.

She had met Idelli Grace, an extremely dominant omega, even though she wasn’t an alpha. So, she thought based on her, but that was a mistake.

There are levels even within dominance. Not all dominant traits are the same level.

The Crown Prince must be among the top of the extremely dominant alphas. As soon as Riche confirmed that he was the man in her memory, she discarded all plans to approach him from her mind. She didn’t realize that she was terrified.

‘Next. Next, what…’

She calmly looked at her hands, which were trembling like those of a caffeine addict. She felt like her body was heating up. It was clear that it was difficult to continue thinking. The heat was spreading to her head. The symptoms were similar to those she had suffered from a year ago, although to a lesser extent.

She realized that she had to first drive out the alpha pheromones that had already penetrated her body.

“Riche? Riche!”

A strong force grabbed her shoulder. When she raised her head, Cairos was looking down at her with an unusually urgent expression. The moment she saw his face, Riche’s legs buckled. Fortunately, Cairos was holding her shoulder, so she didn’t fall to the ground, but it was difficult for her to move on her own.

She gripped his wrist tightly. It was weak because she didn’t have any strength, but her will was clear.

She had to get out of here. She wanted to get away from that man.

“I’m not feeling well.”

“Can you ride in a carriage?”

Riche thought for a moment and shook her head. Her body was not in a state to endure the vibrations of a carriage. As soon as Cairos understood her answer, he picked her up without hesitation. Riche grabbed Cairos’s shoulder and buried her face in his chest, afraid that the Crown Prince would find her. Cairos’s shoulders stiffened, thinking that she must be seriously ill for her, who was usually calm, to be trembling like this.

“Just hold on a little longer. I’m here, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

His gruff voice was as reliable as an unbreakable stone. Her mind was calmed, but her body was getting hotter and hotter. Cairos hugged her hot body tighter and moved his long legs, striding away.

“General! Is there anything I can do to help…!”

Cairos had already disappeared. The knight was dumbfounded and looked in the direction Cairos had disappeared. The face scratching the back of his head with his rough hand became strange.

“What’s going on? Were they lovers, not just an item?”

Count Cairos Strigo, whom he served, was a gentle man for an alpha, but that didn’t mean he didn’t meet women. He knew that he maintained relationships with women to the extent that his desires didn’t build up too much, so at first, he didn’t pay attention to the woman he was with, but after what had just happened, his thoughts changed.

The knight recalled the atmosphere that had changed in an instant when the woman faltered and lightly shrugged his shoulders. Cairos Strigo’s overwhelming presence, by far the best among all the generals currently active in Dobrak, still seemed to weigh down on his shoulders. He had fought alongside him for five years, but he had never seen him so shaken.

“Looks like I saw something amazing.”

“Sir Landon.”

The knight, who hadn’t hidden his dumbfounded expression even after Cairos disappeared, turned his head when his name was called. A man with a goatee stood with a slight bow.

“Swall? What’s going on?”

He wore a brass-colored, ornate justaucorps, commonly worn by courtiers, and a white scarf with lace frills. His lower body was clad in white hose that revealed the curves of his legs, and an houppelande decorated with yellowish silk. The man extended one hand with a graceful movement rather than a formal one. The man was Swall, a low-ranking courtier serving the Emperor.

Lately, he was seen more often near the Crown Prince than near the Emperor. Many clicked their tongues at his bat-like behavior, but there was nothing particularly wrong with it. It was only natural to focus on the rising star rather than the setting sun. Moreover, if the seed of the sun was seen in the rising star, it would be a wise move to change course ahead of others.

Landon, who acted half like a scholar but still had a firm pride as a warrior, didn’t like Swall, but he didn’t show it because the Crown Prince didn’t say anything in particular.

“His Highness the Crown Prince is calling for you.”

Landon, puzzled, smacked his forehead.

“Ah! I was on my way to the armory. Oh dear. I completely forgot because I was meeting with the commander just now. I’ll go right away!”

As Landon turned to leave with a flustered expression, Swall quickly stopped him.

“There’s no need for that.”

“No need? What do you mean?”

“His Highness said he wouldn’t compete in anything other than archery.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes, and you were just with Count Strigo, weren’t you?”

“I was.”

“What were you talking about so enjoyably?”

“You saw that? His Highness is fond of the general, so he must have been curious. It wasn’t anything special, though.”

As Landon habitually scratched the back of his head, Swall smiled faintly and stepped aside.

Landon tilted his head, but he couldn’t delay when the Crown Prince was calling for him. Landon hurried his steps.

Behind him, Swall had a suspicious look on his face. He didn’t quite understand the Crown Prince’s order.

‘Find out about the woman who was with Cairos.’

***

Riche was unaware that she was being laid on a white bed in the Imperial Palace’s medical room, and closed her eyes due to dizziness. Even with her eyes closed, the afterimages of the past flashed before her, confusing her mind. The memories that had been deeply submerged in her subconscious were now popping up like fireworks, tormenting her.

Amidst her fading consciousness, she faintly heard voices.

“Lord, His Highness the Crown Prince is calling for you.”

“Now? This isn’t a good time.”

“He says it’s an important matter.”

“Damn it.”

Cairos’s troubled voice brushed past her ear. Soon, a large, cool hand swept across her cheek and forehead simultaneously. Riche unconsciously rubbed her face against the hand.

“She has a high fever. Why is this happening?”

“It’s impossible to tell just by looking at her, so we’ll need to examine her closely. Don’t worry and go. I’ll take responsibility for restoring the young lady’s health.”

“Alright. The healers of the Imperial Palace are skilled, so I’ll trust you.”

“Don’t worry.”

Even though the conversation was over, Cairos’s pheromones showed no sign of leaving. The Crown Prince was calling for Cairos. If Cairos didn’t go, could that man come all the way here? The thought of facing the Crown Prince now made her head spin. Riche was anxious.

She forced her eyes open groggily. She moved her lips towards Cairos, who couldn’t take his eyes off her with worry.

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll be fine if I rest a bit.”

He bit his lip disapprovingly, then soon, soft lips pressed firmly against her forehead.

“You’re as weak as a soft peach, so I can’t help but worry.”

“……”

“Lie still. I’ll be back soon.”

Riche, feeling a little embarrassed by his words, quickly nodded. Cairos’s pheromones moved away. Riche took a deep breath. She finally felt a little better. She had never thought that alpha pheromones were uncomfortable, but was it because she wasn’t feeling well? It felt like her stomach was turning inside out. Only after Cairos left did Riche curl up, relieved that her stomach was somewhat more comfortable.

The healer’s cold hands touched various parts of her body. Riche flinched. His hands were colder than Cairos’s, so they felt slightly chilly when they touched her body. The healer clicked his tongue.

“She really has a high fever. Usually, such a sudden high fever appears when someone is in heat, but a beta wouldn’t be… The antipyretic isn’t working either…”

Riche briefly considered whether she should reveal that she was an omega. But heat? There was no way being this sick was heat.

“I think it’s because she was very shocked.”

“Young lady, are you conscious?”

Riche nodded weakly towards the healer, who looked pleased.

“A mental shock?”

“Yes.”

Riche thought for a moment and then asked. Even a brief thought made her head throb and her stomach churn. She swallowed the rising nausea with a grimace.

“Are there cases where abnormal reactions occur when suddenly exposed to high-density pheromones?”

She had a feeling that her worst condition was related to the Crown Prince.

“Young lady, so you weren’t a beta. Of course, there are such cases. If the body has difficulty accepting pheromones, a pheromone reflux phenomenon can occur…”

As the lengthy explanation pierced her ears, her head spun and she felt like she was going to throw up. Riche raised her hand to stop him.

“Then prescribe some Medichina that will help. I can’t anymore…”

The healer, surprised to see her losing consciousness, reached out his hand. A white light gently enveloped his palm, but Riche’s complexion showed no signs of improving.

“Even the ability isn’t working, this is unusual.”

The healer sighed frustratedly. Regardless, Riche curled up and sank deeply into slumber. The memories that had been popping up were making a mess of her mind.

Shutting out external sensations, she was soon sucked into the world of the unconscious, which she had never properly looked into before.

***

When Riche first fell into this dimension, it was in the territory of the Kingdom of Evelyn. It was the country that was frequently fighting with Dobrak across the border.

The aftereffects of moving through dimensions without any equipment or preparation were severe. All the senses in her body were shaken, so Riche couldn’t even dream of grasping the situation or acquiring information about this place.

Highly skilled agents and a small number of researchers receive emergency training for survival. Riche had also received survival training as part of her basic education. In the event of unexpected isolation in another dimension, the first thing to do was to find a safe place. Usually, it was an abandoned house in an uninhabited area, or if that wasn’t possible, to find a cave in the forest and hide, which was the existing manual, and Riche naturally followed the manual.

Meeting people in her current state, unable to even twist a chicken’s neck, was dangerous. She had a severely lacking ability to judge who was dangerous and who wasn’t, so she had no choice but to protect herself.

Fortunately, she fell in a remote mountain valley and was able to find a cave not far away, and she moved towards it as if crawling. The cave had vines hanging down like curtains at the entrance, so it was a stroke of luck that Riche found the cave at that time. Only later did she realize that she had made the worst choice, but at the time, she didn’t see any other options. God hadn’t abandoned her. It was luck. That’s all she thought.

Riche had been supporting her collapsing body with willpower, but after entering the cave, she felt a sense of relief and her strength drained away. The cave’s unique dim but warm comfort grabbed at her ankles. She didn’t have the strength to curse the commander who ordered the investigation or the crazy engineer who invented such a dangerous thing. All she wanted was to rest.

Riche sat down at the entrance of the cave, sweating profusely, and stared at the dark interior. She groped the floor and grabbed a stone the size of a child’s fist. She picked it up and threw it into the cave. A normal wild animal would have reacted in some way, but it was silent. Riche threw stones five more times just in case, and only then did she feel relieved.

She couldn’t hold on any longer.

Pushing aside the vines that hung down like curtains at the entrance, she crawled inside. At the time, she didn’t realize that the shape of the vines was artificial, not naturally growing from the cave.

How many steps had she taken? Riche stopped. Her neck tingled. A knife was held against it. Cold sweat broke out at the sight of the faintly visible silver blade.

“Who are you?”

She didn’t understand what he was saying. At the time, Riche didn’t know Evelynian at all. Only after crossing over to Dobrak and learning Dobrakian did she vaguely realize that the man at that time was from Dobrak.

She didn’t know exactly what it meant, but it must have been a question about her identity.

She hadn’t thought that there would be anyone in this deep mountain. The man, who was probably hiding inside the Evelynian forest to carry out some kind of mission, had a cold voice.

At that moment, a faint light shone through the gaps in the vines at the entrance, illuminating the man’s face. Riche was so impressed by the revealed face, which didn’t look like a human, that she exclaimed even in her pain. She had never seen such a handsome person since she was born. The person who had already occupied the cave had a very handsome appearance.