The First Petitioner

“I am thirsty. Fetch me some water.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

From that day forward, Chase became my valet. Though it was I who had intended to make him so, he had taken to the role with such fervor that he never left my side, save for the hours he slept.

I watched him closely as he quietly attended to my every need throughout the day without a single word of complaint. A sense of unease gnawed at me; it felt like the unnatural stillness at the eye of a storm.

Chase brought a pitcher and a cup, poured the water, and offered it to me. When I took it and drank, he remained standing right beside me, clutching the pitcher as if anticipating I might want more.

‘That must be heavy.’

The pitcher was quite large and made of solid silver to detect poison. Ever since the incident, almost every object around me had been replaced with silver. Because of the weight, Chase was practically hugging the pitcher to his chest to keep it steady.

Just as I was about to tell him he could put it down, the door swung open with a bang. I frowned at the rudeness, but upon seeing the intruder’s face, I could only sigh in recognition.

“Brother!”

A shock of hair, the color of a deep pink flower—darker than my own—burst through the doorway.

“Ethan.”

At the mention of his name, Ethan beamed. His light-green eyes, curved like crescent moons, suddenly flashed with a predatory brilliance the moment they landed on the person beside me. It was unmistakable murderous intent.

“You! What are you? Why are you here?!”

“Urgh!”

“Ethan!”

Ethan strode forward and shoved Chase, who was still holding the heavy silver pitcher. Ethan’s sharp, narrowed eyes looked ready to tear Chase to pieces.

I tried to reach out for Chase, but he was already off-balance. He landed hard on his backside, completely drenched as the water splashed out of the pitcher and over his body.

“Brother, why do you keep a thing like that by your side?”

Ethan clicked his tongue petulantly and gave Chase a final glare before clinging to my arm. His rudeness gave me a headache, yet I found it difficult to truly scold him.

‘After all, I am the one who permitted his insolence.’

Ethan is my first cousin. He is the son of the Duke of Berlingen, the Empress’s brother and head of her natal house. The Berlingen family has always maintained a blood-deep bond with the Imperial House; they have provided many Empresses, and the heirs of the dukedom often married Imperial Princesses. Because of this, they possessed a faint, trace amount of the Authority usually reserved for royalty—though they held no right to the throne.

Ethan was a precious child. He was adorable and full of charm, and I had been quite fond of him, which led me to turn a blind eye to his bratty behavior. He had never crossed the line before, but…

‘In the past, I wouldn’t have even considered this “crossing the line.”’

Before I regained my memories, I wouldn’t have thought twice about Ethan tripping or hitting Chase. But now that I could empathize with others’ pain and felt a visceral distaste for bullying children, seeing Ethan torment Chase genuinely bothered me.

Chase, unaware of his biological father, had lost his only parent, Dahlia, and his status as a Prince. I knew all too well how terrifying and sorrowful it was to lose everything one possessed. In this cold-blooded palace, a Chase who had lost his title had no way to protect himself. At least as a Prince, anyone harming him could be charged with treason.

‘But now, he is a commoner.’

His status was lower than that of the lowest maid or valet, who were at least children of minor baronets. There were no commoners in the Imperial Palace. While the palace staff wouldn’t dare touch him because they knew he was under my protection, someone like Ethan, coming from outside the palace walls, wouldn’t know or care.

“You’re keeping him here to torment him, right? It’s not because you actually want him around, is it?”

“Ethan.”

“Right? Tell me! It’s not because you like him more than me, is it?”

Ethan clung to me like a burr, glaring at Chase with a mixture of jealousy and a faint desire to kill.

Come to think of it, Ethan had always been obsessed with me, constantly wanting to be together. There was even a time he threw a tantrum, refusing to return to the dukedom and demanding to live in my palace. I doted on him, but his blind devotion could be exhausting. I was a man who liked to live as I pleased, and there were limits to how much I could indulge a younger child’s whims.

Back then, when I told him he couldn’t live here because he wasn’t royalty, his large eyes had filled with tears, and he wailed, refusing to let go. Only after I promised to prepare a room for him to stay in occasionally did the crying stop.

Ethan seemed to be remembering that now. That was why he was questioning why Chase—no longer royalty, but a mere commoner—was allowed to stay. But I had no way to explain. If I said it was because I remembered my past life, would he even believe me?

“Ethan, stop it. You’re being noisy.”

“Brother!”

“And Chase, go change your clothes.”

When I dodged the question, Ethan’s face soured, his cheeks puffing out in a pout. However, not wanting to bicker with me further, he sat down quietly by my side.

“So, how did you get in? The entire palace is closed to visitors right now.”

Since a former member of the Imperial family had been executed, all palaces except the Emperor’s were currently refusing guests. I was no exception.

At my question, Ethan grinned and burrowed into my arms. “I begged Father until he let me come.”

He explained that he had tagged along with the Duke of Berlingen, who was at the palace for the state council. Ethan clung to me even tighter, as if afraid I might cast him out.

He was a spoiled child who had only ever known love, but since I was one of the people who had nurtured that selfishness by giving in to his every whim, I couldn’t bring myself to be angry. I simply stroked his soft, flower-like hair. Ethan smiled like a satisfied cat.

After a moment of silence in my arms, Ethan whispered, “I wish I would grow up faster.”

“…”

“Then I’ll become an Alpha and marry you, Brother.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. I didn’t know where he got the absolute confidence that he would manifest as an Alpha. It wasn’t that I was mocking him; I just found his boundless self-assurance fascinating.

An Alpha was, so to speak, the god-given partner for an Omega. When an Omega was born into the Imperial family, there were those who would secondary-manifest into Alphas around the age of fifteen—the same age the First Emperor was said to have met God.

An Omega could have one Alpha or several. Of course, even without an Alpha, an Omega could have children; history recorded an Emperor who had impregnated a consort. While it was possible to have descendants without a fated pair, no royal had ever turned down the chance to have a partner chosen by God.

It was said that Alphas and Omegas could smell each other’s pheromones and would be blindly captivated by the scent. It was a bond that ensured love would never waver.

‘It sounds a bit like a baby bird imprinting on the first thing it sees.’

Regardless, I had never smelled my own pheromones, nor those of an Alpha, so I could only guess what it felt like.

Since I was lost in thought and not focusing on him, Ethan began to fret in my arms. “Brother, are you listening? If I become an Alpha, I can stay with you all day long, right?”

“Ethan, it’s not even certain whether you will become an Alpha or not.”

“No! I definitely will! If not me, then who else could be your Alpha?!”

My words seemed to spark his temper. He huffed in indignation before his green eyes clouded over with hurt, and fat tears began to spill.

“Why would you say that? Do you want someone else to be your partner?”

The tears quickly turned into a sob. Ethan grabbed my shoulders and buried his face in my chest, pleading with me not to marry anyone else.

“I’m going to be your only partner.”

“Yes, yes. I understand.”

I hugged his trembling body and patted his back. Even as he sniffled, he kept pushing for an answer: “So you won’t marry anyone else, right?”

“Fine. I won’t.”

“It’s a promise.”

Ethan whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around my neck and rubbing his damp cheek against my skin.

I didn’t plan on getting married anyway, and I was going to die soon. I had no intention of making anyone a young widower. Besides, perhaps because of my past-life memories, the idea of doing things with a man felt a bit awkward.

‘And being the one “underneath” is also a bit…’

Unaware of my internal monologue, Ethan stopped crying and giggled, overjoyed to have secured my promise. By the time Chase returned in fresh clothes, Ethan went back to glaring at him, though he seemed to decide to simply ignore the boy for now since I was right there.

“Brother, what do you think your pheromones will smell like?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t know myself.”

“I’m sure it’ll be a beautiful, fragrant scent.”

Ethan smiled, his eyes crinkling. In that gaze, I saw a flicker of obsession and possessiveness. But it wasn’t exactly romantic love…

‘It’s the look of a child who is desperate for affection.’

Ethan had been an only child until the recent birth of his twin siblings made him the eldest. It wasn’t that the Duke and Duchess didn’t love him, but to Ethan, it likely felt as if his share of love had been halved.

That was why he clung to me. Unlike his parents, I was the one person whose affection for him remained constant and undivided.

‘And the fact that he’s the only one I dote on probably helps.’

No wonder he had rushed here in a panic. The mere thought of sharing my affection with Chase must have been dizzying for him. I figured this kind of possessiveness would naturally fade as his world expanded with age.

‘Will he eventually look back and say, “Brother was my first love”?’

The thought was both amusing and endearing, and I found myself smiling faintly.