I Married A Proud, Beautiful Omega First, Then Fell In Love - Chapter 7

Albert Manor.

Douglas gazed at the white roses swaying in the wind and held his breath. An Alpha’s physical constitution was formidable, enough to handle any emergency on the battlefield; going without oxygen for an hour would not cause any harm to his body.

Beside him, Susanna, dressed in a European-style long gown, shot him a faint smile. She elegantly set down her pruning shears, donned her lace gloves, and turned around. “General Doug does not like flowers?”

The two walked from the courtyard toward the interior of the villa.

Susanna seemed to find it quite amusing. “Your partner, Elan, is exceptionally passionate about floral arts. He frequently attends events organized by the Art Association. By the way, the association is organizing an exhibition of classical paintings in half a month. I wonder if your partner would be interested?”

Douglas recalled for a moment; there didn’t seem to be any flowers displayed at home. He wasn’t sure if Susanna’s comment about Elan liking flowers was a casual remark or a test of their relationship. He didn’t comment on the first sentence, simply stating, “I’ll ask him.”

The butler served tea. Two people already sitting in the living room showed shifts in their expressions upon seeing Douglas.

Will held his head high, looking like a stiff-necked Miniature Schnauzer—stupid and arrogant.

Douglas imperceptibly glanced at the man with tensed muscles. The man’s upright posture signaled his resistance and defensiveness toward Douglas; this person seemed to be named Adam.

Douglas sneered inwardly. Adam… wasn’t that the fellow who had drugged Elan?

Since returning from the banquet, Douglas had felt something was off. If what Elan said was true—that he had just taken suppressants last week—how could he suddenly go into heat?

After an investigation, he indeed found results.

Susanna knew the purpose of Douglas’s visit. After beating around the bush with him for a long time, she finally began to point it out euphemistically. “I know why General Doug has come. However, it is quite unfortunate; the Art Association has recently spent a great deal of money preparing for the painting exhibition. We truly have no spare capacity to invest in other projects.”

In other words: Don’t even dream of me putting money into your school.

Douglas leaned back on the sofa and crossed his legs, his fingers interlaced over his thigh. Susanna’s polite refusal didn’t cause any change in his emotions. He looked at Adam, who resembled a fighting rooster, and said slowly, “Mr. Adam, did you invite my partner to a drink at the banquet?”

Adam’s expression turned somewhat ugly. “Elan and I are old classmates. Meeting after so long, I was happy and invited him for a drink. What, is General Doug going to interrogate me even for this?”

Seeing his brother at a disadvantage, Will chimed in from the side, “I heard General Doug and Elan have a very good relationship and often kept in touch via brain-link during the past three years. But no matter how good the relationship is, you can’t control your partner’s freedom!”

As Susanna watched the sudden scent of gunpowder rising between them and the clearly agitated state of her two sons, the smile on her face lost its warmth.

Douglas raised an eyebrow. “Who told you that? Elan?”

Will blurted out, “Exactly! He told me personally at the banquet!”

Douglas let out an ambiguous laugh and turned his gaze toward Adam. “Elan felt unwell after drinking your wine. What exactly was in your wine? Do I need to clarify it in front of your mother?”

Adam gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with resentment and jealousy as he looked at Douglas. He had originally intended to drug Elan and have a night of passion himself; he hadn’t expected Elan to head straight for Douglas without a backward glance.

God knew how jealous he was when he saw the two of them coming down from upstairs with their clothes in disarray!

Susanna seemed to only just realize her son had caused trouble. She rubbed her temples and said, “Adam was in the wrong regarding this matter. As an apology to General Doug, the Art Association will provide a group of teachers for the Imperial Special Academy. However, regarding funds… we truly cannot provide any.”

She had already said there were no extra funds; to offer an investment now would be a slap in the face. As a member of the Albert family, Susanna still valued her reputation.

“That is enough.” Douglas hadn’t actually planned on getting money from Susanna; he had come specifically to solve the teacher shortage.

He stood up and deliberately walked past Adam, simultaneously releasing his mental power to strike Adam swiftly.

Adam’s reactions weren’t sharp enough. A sharp pain erupted in his brain, and he let out a cry of agony, looking at Douglas with hatred.

Douglas didn’t even look back, his calm voice echoing in the living room: “I heard Mr. Adam graduated as the top student from the Imperial Military Academy. Looking at it now, you still need to practice. The Imperial Special Academy welcomes your application.”

Walking to the door, he seemed to remember something and looked back. “Oh, right. Keep your eyes off other people’s partners, lest you end up not knowing how you died one day.”

Once out of the Albert family’s doors, Douglas sighed, lamenting that the workplace was not easy.

That brat Adam had truly angered him. He opened his brain-link and sent an ill-tempered instant message to Elan.

Douglas: Stay away from that Adam.

The reply came quickly.

Elan: None of your business.

Douglas laughed out of anger.

Fine. If he wants to jump into a fire pit himself, why should I bother stopping him?

Douglas then went to see Nan Sorey.

The amiable white-haired old man sat in a rocking chair and shook his head. “It’s not that I won’t provide you with funds. Although I am the Chief Justice of the Interstellar Joint Court, I have enforced the law impartially all my life. I haven’t embezzled a single penny from the Empire, nor have I accepted a single gift from a litigant. I truly am unable to help!”

Just as Douglas’s eyes darkened and his mental power became restless, Nan Sorey changed the subject to soothe him. “General Doug, why don’t you try the Riemann family? Your partner hails from the Riemann family; I believe they would be very happy to help you.”

Douglas stood at the gates of Nan Sorey’s manor with a grim expression, sending a message to Elan.

Douglas: Where are you?

Elan: Home.

Douglas: Which home?

Elan: …The Riemann house.

Douglas: Perfect. Stay put, I’m coming over.

Elan frowned and closed the light screen. Alexia put down the book in her hand and asked, “What is it?”

“He’s coming,” Elan’s tone was a bit strange.

Even without a specific name, Alexia knew who he was talking about. She curled her lips. “I thought he would come in a couple of days; I didn’t expect him to be so quick.”

She glanced at Elan sitting on the sofa. Seeing him dressed in casual, relaxed clothes, she frowned. “Go upstairs and change your clothes.”

Elan clenched his palms, his body momentarily stiffening. He greatly disliked his mother’s attitude of treating him like a decorative vase to please Douglas.

But in the end, he didn’t speak. He simply walked upstairs and didn’t come down for quite a while. By the time he descended, Douglas was already sitting face-to-face with Alexia.

His gaze swept over Douglas. Seeing him in a crisp, majestic military uniform with a handsome face, he felt a momentary lack of adjustment.

Compared to the messy appearance he had when he first came home, they seemed like two different people.

Having seen Douglas at his most disheveled, seeing him now looking so “human,” Elan felt that Douglas was being quite pretentious.

“How has General Doug been lately?” Alexia exchanged pleasantries.

Douglas answered casually and chatted with Alexia for a bit about nothing in particular. The words he truly wanted to say were bottled up inside. With Elan sitting beside him, he truly couldn’t bring himself to lower his pride to ask for money.

Fortunately, Alexia saw through his predicament and said considerately, “I have a sum of private liquid capital here. I heard you encountered difficulties running the Imperial Special Academy; this capital might be of help to you.”

Douglas gave her a deep look, seemingly not expecting her to be so easy to talk to. But his suspicion of the nobility remained active in his heart. He said, “There is no such thing as a free lunch.”

Alexia smiled. “General Doug is indeed a clever man. Even if you are Elan’s partner, we must settle accounts clearly. I will provide you with funds, but of course, there are conditions attached.”

She looked at him formally, her smile one of certain victory. “I hope you will adjust the enrollment quota for noble children at the Imperial Special Academy to 80%.”

Douglas’s eyebrows slammed down, his expression instantly filling with hostility.

Are you joking?

Currently, the ratio of noble to commoner enrollment at the Imperial Special Academy was 1:1. If the noble enrollment quota was raised to 80%, wouldn’t the Imperial Special Academy be completely taken over by the nobility and become their toy?

Aside from the Imperial Special Academy, almost all other universities on the Capital Star did not recruit commoners, which led to commoners losing a massive amount of educational opportunities.

To agree to Alexia’s condition would be tantamount to betraying his original intention.

Douglas glanced at Elan sitting beside him. Seeing him back in that “exquisite doll” state, seemingly having no objection to his mother’s proposal, fire rose in his heart. He sneered, “Impossible.”

Seeing Douglas stand up, Alexia narrowed her eyes. “Won’t General Doug reconsider? After all, this is a very ‘cost-effective’ condition.”

Cost-effective my ass.

Douglas turned to leave immediately, but heard Alexia call out behind him: “Wait.”

“Is there anything else?” Douglas turned back, his tone harsh.

Alexia, however, gave a good-natured smile. “Elan has stayed at home long enough. Why don’t you two go back together? There is no reason for a married Omega to keep living at home.”

Douglas truly couldn’t understand such logic. Can’t you live at home just because you’re married? Why are there so many rules?

But he didn’t snap. He simply frowned and stared at the expressionless Elan for a while, then turned and said, “Let’s go.”

Behind his back where he couldn’t see, Alexia embraced Elan with feigned reluctance, while leaning close to his ear and whispering, “When you go back tonight, I don’t care what means you use—make him agree to this deal.”

Elan’s face turned pale.

He knew what his mother meant. Nobility always spoke euphemistically, but for Alexia to put it this way, she definitely wanted him to use those “dirty” methods.

He closed his eyes, and only after a long moment did he say, “I understand.”

Inside the control cabin of the starship, Douglas looked at the cold and aloof Elan. He felt as if the man didn’t regard him at all, and yet seemed very disdainful of his starship.

He mocked, “You’re like a little lamb at home, but with me, you turn into a ‘Tyrant Flower’—quite picky.”

And a pretentiously aloof Tyrant Flower at that.

Elan gave him a cold sidelong glance. “Do you think I wanted to go back with you?”

Douglas clicked his tongue. “Do you think I wanted to take you back? Don’t worry, I’ll drop you at the front door and leave.”

Elan’s beautiful eyebrows knit together. “Where are you going?”

He swept his eyes up and down Douglas, attempting to find traces of another Omega on him.

Douglas saw through his intent and said on a whim, “The office.”

The moment he said it, Douglas almost bit his tongue, feeling a surge of secret regret.

Why am I telling him so much?

Douglas shook his head and set the destination to Villa No. 003.