Maybe my mother and father are aware that something is going on, but they just choose not to ask.

“Tell me.” 

I suppose I could talk to Raizo-san about it. Of course I’ll leave Ren out of it, but I can share with him about my current state of mind.

“……… I know that if I want to take over my mum’s company, I definitely need a husband. I need someone to help me take on the burden and support me when I have to take time off work due to my heat, plus I need an heir, I also want to show my mum and dad their grandchildren.

However I need to carefully think about it.

Just as Takamichi had found his fated pair, my next partner may too have a fated pair somewhere out there.

If he bites me, it is true that I won’t be at the mercy of other alphas’ pheromones and I won’t have to take more suppressants than necessary during my estrus, so everything will be fine for me, but I wonder if I’m willing to destroy my future partner’s chance of finding his destined person, the one who was meant only for him.”

“What about Wakaba? You have the possibility of meeting your fated pair, too.”

“Well you see since I have this pheromone abnormality thing, even if we ever met, they wouldn’t recognize me, and that’s okay because I’ve given up on being with them already.”

I could see Ren’s image in my mind, but I dismissed it by keeping my eyes down.

“Wakaba is sweet, I guess. You probably think about political marriages more as business deals.”

“It’s not like that. I am neither a sinister person nor a hopeless romantic.”

Raizo-san pondered for a while with a serious look on his face, before taking a sip of wine.

That’s his second bottle of wine, is this okay? I’m only drinking to keep him company, so that means Raizo-san was drinking most of it.

No matter how strong his alcohol tolerance was, Raizo-san is approaching what is called middle age, so I want him to take care of himself.

He is three years younger than my mother, so he must be 40 years old. Although he looks young as if he were in his early thirties but he is not as healthy as he was and I can’t help but worry that one day he might get seriously ill.

“I see.”

I wonder what ‘I see’ could mean.

Raizo-san muttered, drank his glass of wine in one gulp and set it down on the table with a thump, he then picked up the bottle of wine on the side, tilted it and poured the wine up to the middle of the glass.

“So it’s okay if it’s with someone whose fated pair will never appear?”

“There’s no one like that. The only way would be to marry a Beta, but they wouldn’t want an Omega wife, besides, I’d still be at the mercy of Alpha’s pheromones for the rest of my life, since I’d not be bitten by an alpha.”

“No, there is. Me for instance.”

“What?”

I didn’t understand what he was saying and just opened my mouth with a pout.

I think Raizo-san had too much to drink after all. Does he know what he’s saying?

“Jesus, look at your face.”

He chuckled and I shut my mouth in a panic. I must have looked like a pigeon that had been hit by a peashooter.

“Are you kidding me?”

“No, I’m quite serious. I can make Wakaba’s wish come true.”

The serious expression on his face, which changed from his usual joking manner, seriously puzzled me and I tried to open my mouth to say something, but in the end I couldn’t think of anything and choose to keep quiet.

“- An alpha whose fated pair will never appear, who can bite the nape of Wakaba’s neck to release him from other alpha’s pheromones, and who has sufficient financial resources to raise a child and the capacity to support a wife and a child.- That’s what Wakaba wants, right?

My fated person has died 11 years ago, so you don’t have to worry about that, and of course I have the financial resources to make it happen.

I also understand Wakaba’s situation well, both at home and in terms of your body special condition.

As a senior manager, I can advise and support you in your work.

I think it’s a pretty good deal. Though I am still considered second hand goods I guess.”

There are more conditions than what I said, but it certainly sounds like Raizo-san would fulfill my wishes.

However, Raizo-san has already bitten his wife’s nape and she was his fated pair, I wonder what kind of state he will be in if he bites my nape in that condition.

“Raizo-san took his fated pair once, right? What happens when you bite my nape in that state?”

“You know that once you get your fated pair, no other pheromones work on you, right? That can’t be overturned in any way, so I can’t feel Wakaba’s pheromones even if I bite the nape of your neck.

In Wakaba’s case, if I bite you, of course you won’t be able to sense the pheromones of other Alphas, but my pheromones can’t be sensed by anyone except Kanade^[1]His late wife., so you won’t respond to anyone’s pheromones not even mine and your pheromones won’t affect anyone else anymore.

It’s kind of like being in the same situation as a married couple of betas”

Nobody is affected by my pheromones, and no one affects me. What does it feel like to no longer feel the pheromones of others that you feel on a daily basis? Will I feel a sense of loss?

“Is there anything else you want to ask me?”

“You have Jin and Zen, Raizo-san. If you tell them you’re getting remarried, won’t they object?”

“If Wakaba becomes their mother, I’m sure those guys would be all hands on deck. No, would they still be against it? I think either Jin or Zen would say they’d rather marry Wakaba than give him to an old man like their dad.

But well, those guys can’t fulfill Wakaba’s wishes, so you’ll have to put up with this old Man. Anything else?”

Other things…. I’m sure there’s more to ask, but I can’t think of anything right now, probably because I’m so confused….

“Why would you go to such lengths? Raizo-san isn’t looking at me romantically, is he? The only advantage you get from marrying me is that you can be a relative of my mother. That’s not an actual advantage for Raizo-san.”

“What do you mean by ‘advantages’, Wakaba? That’s a very sad thing to say. I’ve never acted with that in mind towards Wakaba.

I just want Wakaba to be happy. When I was at my lowest point, you took care of my sons so I could concentrate on my rest and recuperation, and because you were there, I got a chance to get back on my feet.

I will never forget what you did for us and I always hope to help you if you need anything.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry, that was a weird thing to say.”

I spoke in a terrible way.

Raizo-san has never asked me for anything in return, but the way I phrased it was like I was trampling on his feelings.