IRTRHP 07

IRTRHP

Posted by george.adam, Released on October 14, 2025

Episode 7. The Meaning of the White Gloves

“Why are you acting like that?”

At the man’s wary question, Grand Duke Rihast stood silently.
It was as if he had discovered something — so much so that Aileen couldn’t even swallow or breathe.

“What’s that smell?”

Aileen’s eyes trembled. The smell he mentioned — could it be…

‘But I don’t have any scent yet.’

Strictly speaking, the pheromones of Alphas and Omegas weren’t exactly smells.
However, because they were more sensitive to pheromones than to any fragrance, they often called it a “scent.”

Aileen, still a Beta, did not yet carry a pheromonal scent.
But her body was one that would soon manifest as an Omega.
For a dominant Alpha like the Grand Duke, hypersensitive to pheromones, the thought that he might have sensed something dormant within her filled her with dread.

“Do you mean the freesia scent? It must be strong — this is the laundry room after all.”

When she heard the man’s reply, she let out a silent sigh of relief.
So it wasn’t her pheromone — just a regular scent.
She didn’t dare make a sound, even pressing her hand over her mouth so not a breath escaped.

“There’s no one here. Let’s check somewhere else.”

“Did you look in the greenhouse?”

“Not yet. I’ll go myself.”

Their voices faded away.
Only when their conversation disappeared completely did Aileen open her tightly shut eyes.
Her trembling eyelids stilled, and her racing heart gradually slowed to normal.

She had thought she was completely caught.
Now that the danger had passed, her lungs finally loosened enough for a breath.
When she no longer felt anyone’s presence nearby, Aileen threw off the bedding she had used to hide and stood up.

“I’m never doing this again.”

The near-death experience left a deep impression.
She knew eavesdropping while hiding was efficient, but she couldn’t handle doing it again.

Aileen checked that the hallway was empty and let out a sigh.
“Now I should go back and—”

She froze mid-sentence, caught by a pair of eyes staring straight at her.
Like a rabbit that had just realized it was face-to-face with a crouching tiger.

Leaning against the wall stood Grand Duke Rihast.
A silent scream erupted inside her.

‘Why is he here?!’

She suddenly understood what it meant to be too shocked to make a sound.
While she stood speechless, the Grand Duke slowly pushed away from the wall.
He looked utterly unbothered, as if running into her here wasn’t surprising at all.

“There’s a freesia scent coming from you.”

That meant he knew she’d been in the laundry room.
Having been completely exposed, Aileen didn’t know what to say and darted her eyes around nervously.

“Well, I, uh…”

Her mind went blank — not a single excuse came to her. She had to say something.

“Go back to your room.”

At his curt command, Aileen hung her head low.

It was over.
She had wandered around the Grand Duke’s mansion without permission and eavesdropped.
Even if he kicked her out now, she had no defense.

“What are you waiting for?”

He started walking, glancing back at her with a raised brow.
“I don’t like waiting. If you’re not coming, I’ll go first.”

“I—I’m coming!”

She hurried to follow.
She still didn’t know why he wanted her to return with him, but she obeyed.

When she’d left, the hallway had felt endless; now the return trip felt far too short.
The Grand Duke entered the room first and sat down without checking if she followed.
Aileen stayed standing, staring at the chair opposite him but not sitting.
If she sat, she’d be looking up at him — she wanted at least a semblance of balance.

The Grand Duke spoke as if her refusal to sit didn’t bother him.
“Why did you go out?”

“I went to look for you, Your Grace.”

“You must’ve been in quite a hurry to leave without permission, then.”

There was unmistakable sarcasm in his tone.
It was her fault for wandering his house without leave — but still, Aileen felt wronged.

“I couldn’t just sit still knowing you were talking about me. I know it wasn’t right.”

She immediately apologized; it was, after all, rude to trespass in someone else’s home.

“I’m sorry.”

“No,” he said flatly.

“You don’t need to apologize. You did well.”

“……I won’t do it again.”

“It’s fine if you do. Go wherever you want.”

His parting words — “It’ll be fun” — sent a chill down her spine.
She understood perfectly well that it was a threat disguised as amusement.
No, she would never do it again.

As the awkward silence stretched, the Grand Duke stood.
Aileen’s heart raced — he still hadn’t mentioned anything about confirming their marriage.
If the conversation ended here, it might never come up again.
Panicking, she blurted out,

“Marriage.”

When he turned his head toward her, she realized how abrupt that sounded.
So she forced a sweet smile and rephrased,

“Let’s get married.”

…Was that really any better?

In her previous life, Aileen had first stepped into the Grand Duke’s mansion on the day of her brother Ethan’s wedding.
It was all dazzling — she’d never been married herself, so the whole affair fascinated her. Her brother looked radiant in his white ceremonial attire.

The next day, before returning home, she wanted to see her brother again.
But she lost her way while wandering the mansion’s halls.
Just as she was standing there awkwardly, hoping to run into someone to ask directions, she heard footsteps approaching.

‘Oh?’

At first she was relieved — until she heard her brother’s name. Instinctively, she hid behind a pillar.
Only afterward did she wonder why she had done that.
Maybe it was simple curiosity — she was excited to hear someone mention her brother.

‘So it was Ethan who had the “heat” yesterday?’

‘That’s what I heard.’

‘Well, it makes sense. Only a dominant could release pheromones that strong. I thought it was because someone’s scent was just irresistible! Oh my — does that mean the Grand Duke and he spent quite a night together?’

The gossiping women giggled, and Aileen covered her flushed cheeks.
She wasn’t married, but she had read enough books to know what such words implied.

You don’t make a baby just by sleeping — you have to kiss, touch, and… line up your bodies.

‘Not necessarily,’ one of them said.

‘Huh? But it was Ethan, wasn’t it? He just got married — and had a heat. It’s obvious what happened.’

‘Sigh…’

‘What’s that sigh for? Tell us!’

Aileen leaned closer, her heart pounding.

‘How could they spend the night together? The Grand Duke wasn’t even there.’

‘What do you mean? They didn’t spend their wedding night together?’

‘After the ceremony, His Grace took his knights and left. He said he had to depart immediately for the front.’

‘Then what about Ethan? I don’t sense any of his pheromones now.’

‘Well…’

‘Spit it out!’

‘Apparently… he spent the night with someone else.’

‘What?!’

Aileen’s vision spun. She clutched the pillar for balance.

‘The Grand Duke was gone, his suppressants weren’t working, his body was burning up. You know how reason fades during a heat. They say he grabbed a passing knight and wouldn’t let go.’

‘Are you serious?’

‘That’s what they said at the retainers’ meeting.’

‘Then Ethan’s heat… was triggered by the Grand Duke’s… oh my!’

One woman gasped — because she’d finally noticed Aileen.

“Who are you?”

“How… how did my brother end up like that?”

Aileen barely managed to speak through her shock.

That day, she never saw Ethan.
Later, she met him only twice more — but could never bring herself to ask about that night.
His darkened expression, and the fact that the Grand Duke never returned from the battlefield, told her enough.

She met Rihast’s eyes now, suppressing her emotions.

‘How could a man leave for war on the very night of his wedding?’

If only he’d stayed one night longer, perhaps her brother wouldn’t have died.
But she couldn’t accuse him for something that hadn’t happened — yet.

‘Stay calm. That’s why I came back.’

She had returned to stop her brother’s tragic fate.
Even if it meant doing something she didn’t want to.

“I’m saying—marry me,” Aileen said firmly.

The Grand Duke studied her face for a moment, then let out a quiet laugh.

“Is that the face of someone proposing?”

Aileen glanced at her reflection in the mirror.
She looked like a child forced to eat something she hated.
Not an ounce of joy or excitement.

“Your Grace looked the same,” she shot back.

“Me?”

“You had a terrible expression when you proposed. And you basically dragged me here!”