The Dignity of the Omega

#30

“Damiel! Damiel!”

Enrique shouted desperately, but the rider seemed to have no capacity to save Damiel and just galloped at full speed. Enrique had to struggle to hold onto whatever he could grasp to avoid falling off the horse. Soon, Damiel’s figure disappeared among the dense trees. The wolf that had been closely pursuing the horse gradually fell behind and vanished at some point.

“Stop! I said stop! We left someone behind!”

Enrique shouted desperately. But the only sound he could hear was the hoofbeats of the horse running with all its might.

‘Damiel…!’

Enrique’s face contorted as he thought of Damiel left behind alone.

*

His eyelids felt incredibly heavy. Enrique, sensing his consciousness slowly returning, forcibly lifted his heavy eyelids. His vision was blurry, and it took several blinks before he could start to make out his surroundings.

The first thing he saw was a small campfire burning bright red. The moment he saw it, the thought “I’m alive” flashed through his mind.

His whole body ached dully. Especially his head, which throbbed severely. Enrique pushed himself up with his hands on the ground.

Sitting up, Enrique looked around at where he was. It was a space that would be crowded if three or four adults sat around. The walls, flickering with the red light of the campfire, were made of wood. Judging by the ropes and such hanging on the walls, this seemed to be a very small and shabby cabin in the forest. The outside wasn’t visible, but given that no light was seeping through the gaps in the crude wooden walls, it seemed the sun had already completely set.

Haah….

Enrique let out a heavy sigh. White breath puffed out.

He couldn’t remember exactly when he had lost consciousness. The last thing he could recall was being carried on someone’s saddle for quite a while.

Enrique felt his body to check his condition. His forehead seemed to be cut above, and his right ankle stung. It was a very minor injury considering he had fallen from a fast-moving horse.

After grasping the situation and checking his condition, Enrique immediately scanned the surroundings with his eyes for anything that could be used as a weapon. But he had no weapons on his person, and nothing on the dusty floor seemed suitable as a weapon either. Enrique shifted his gaze from the floor to the cabin walls. A shabby rope hanging on the wall. It was better than nothing.

Just as he was about to get up to grab the rope, his right ankle stung sharply and his whole body screamed in pain. Enrique gritted his teeth and staggered to his feet, walking towards the wall. Up close, the rope looked decayed in places and seemed barely fit for its original purpose. As it was the only thing available, Enrique grabbed the rope and wrapped it tightly around both hands. Then he went behind the only door in the cabin and leaned against the wall.

White breath puffed out with every exhale. The light from the small campfire was comforting, but insufficient to ward off the biting cold of the winter forest. His body shivered from the cold. But Enrique quietly held his breath and waited for whoever had brought him here to return to the cabin.

For now, this person was his savior. But it was certain they weren’t a knight of Shamier.

It wasn’t just because they had abandoned Damiel. If it had been a Shamier knight, they would have returned to where people were as soon as they rescued him. But instead of rejoining the others, they had brought him to this unknown cabin.

Of course, they hadn’t harmed him, but for now, he had no choice but to prepare for the worst-case scenario. For example, they might be planning to kidnap him and demand a ransom from Shamier, or they might intend to take advantage of him as a superior omega.

His body was freezing from the cold. The urge to put his frozen hands close to the campfire surged. But Enrique quietly waited for someone to return. When they came back, he had to subdue them and turn the situation to his advantage.

How long had he waited like that?

Finally, footsteps began to be heard through the gaps in the shabby cabin. The footsteps approaching, treading on the slightly frozen snow, were heavy. From the steady and unwavering footsteps even in the dark forest, Enrique deduced that the person was familiar with the forest environment and trained in swordsmanship. Of course, judging by how they had snatched him up onto a running horse in one go, they must also be incredibly strong.

‘Can I subdue them?’

Enrique asked himself. Honestly, the odds didn’t seem high. But he couldn’t just helplessly hope for the other’s goodwill. Even if the chances were low, he had to at least try.

The footsteps finally approached right in front of the cabin. Enrique lowered his breathing even more. His whole body was tense. Instead of immediately opening the door and entering, the person stood still for a moment.

‘Have they noticed?’

Just as he was thinking this was a disaster—

Creeak-.

The shabby wooden door of the cabin opened slowly with a harsh sound. Enrique held his breath and stood behind the open door, then lunged like lightning at the black shadow stepping inside.

Just as he was about to wrap the rope tightly gripped in both hands around the other’s neck, suddenly the world flipped upside down and his vision spun around once.

Thud-!

“Ugh…!”

His body was thrown to the floor, and his back struck painfully. Despite the shock spreading through his body, Enrique tried to immediately raise his upper body. But the other was faster. Enrique quickly found himself completely subdued and pinned to the floor by the other.

Rough breathing mixed with pain rang out. With each exhale, white breath puffed out towards the person sitting on top of him.

Enrique glared fiercely at the other person, who was wearing a black cloak pulled up to cover their head. The flickering light from the small campfire swept over the outer part of the black cloak. But that light didn’t reach inside the cloak that was pulled down over the head.

He could feel the other person staring intently at his face from within the dark cloak. Though he was used to being looked at, the other’s gaze was excessively blatant and intense. Enrique stared hard at where the other’s eyes should be, trying not to be overwhelmed by their presence.

The other person remained motionless, pinning Enrique’s wrists to the ground and just staring down at him. As if their sole purpose was to gaze at Enrique’s face, they didn’t move at all. Finally, Enrique broke the silence.

“Who are you?”

His low voice was thick with wariness.

“……”

The other person didn’t answer. Enrique maintained his guard and carefully examined the other. Though all he could see was the pitch-black cloak and the shadow within it, Enrique’s keen observational skills allowed him to discern a few things about the other person.

The black cloak flickering in the campfire light was of very high quality. The hem of the cloak sprawled on the floor had delicate embroidery in gold thread. The leather gloves worn by the person pinning his wrists to the floor were also of the highest quality, showing the careful touch of a master craftsman. Recalling when he had lunged to wrap the rope around the other’s neck, he estimated they were about a head taller than him, and judging by the weight pressing him down, they clearly had a very muscular body.

Considering all points, it was highly likely that the other person was an alpha of considerably high status. Now the question was what they wanted.

“If you want a ransom, my father the king will pay plenty. But judging by your attire, you don’t seem to be in such dire straits as to hope for money…”

“……”

The other person remained silent even at Enrique’s words. Was it because of the disadvantageous situation of being pinned down? The grip on his wrists seemed to tighten even more.

“If you intend to force yourself on me and leave your seed, you’d better think again. I have absolutely no intention of bearing a child conceived with seed I didn’t choose. I’ll find a way to tear it out of my body before my belly even starts to swell.”

Enrique spoke fiercely, filled with sincerity.

The other person was still silent. But Enrique could feel their breathing becoming a bit rougher.

“…Enrique.”

Finally, the other person uttered a single word. Their voice was slightly hoarse, and also a bit husky.

‘Enrique.’

With that one word, it was clear that the other person knew exactly who he was.

“If you know who I am, then you must also know the consequences this situation will bring. Release me from this restraint and step back right now. If you harbor any impure thoughts…”

Enrique paused there for a moment, then added the next words, glaring at the other person and enunciating clearly.

“I don’t care what country you’re from, or what power you hold as royalty or nobility. My fiancé, the prince of the Ruben Empire, will have your head and crush your family.”

Enrique calculated that if they didn’t back down at the name of Shamier, they might react to the name of Ruben.