The Mills family was a noble and wealthy house with a long history.
Ashton Mills, the sole heir of the family, had lived a life without difficulties.
That is, until one day when, at the age of fourteen, his father brought an Alpha boy into their home and said, “He’ll be staying with us from now on. Ashton, he’s going to be your brother.”
“What did you say?”
Ashton asked in disbelief.
His father placed a hand on the shoulder of the Alpha boy.
“Hello, Young Master Ashton. I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m glad to finally meet you.”
The Alpha boy, who was called Owen, spoke gruffly.
Contrary to his words, he didn’t seem to be particularly happy to meet Ashton.
Ashton, too, wasn’t thrilled, but he couldn’t help but ask again because he still couldn’t understand the situation.
“What does this mean?”
“Owen is one of the children I’ve sponsored. He’s very bright, has excellent character, and is determined to take on the responsibility of a family. Ashton, you no longer need to study. Go ahead and play, enjoy your games of tag and cards as much as you want,” his father, the Duke of Mills, said kindly.
He had always been a soft-hearted man when it came to his only son.
Despite rumors about him having illegitimate children who might someday take over the family, Ashton never believed those rumors—until now.
Ashton was the heir to the Mills family.
Unfortunately, he was born an Omega.
His father had tried to train him to be his successor, but Ashton wasn’t an outstanding student.
He knew it himself and often cried over it.
But he never expected his father to betray him like this.
When the family elders had advised his father to marry a new wife and have more children, his father always answered, “Ashton is enough for me.”
Ashton had always believed that his father loved him.
Just as firmly as he had believed he was the rightful heir.
But was it not true?
Did his father have other plans?
The Duke of Mills was a gentle man with Ashton, but he was essentially a strict Alpha.
He had started to show signs of graying hair, which he always neatly combed back, and had sharp eyes that seemed to see right through people.
The Alpha boy, who had his hand on the Duke’s shoulder, seemed to resemble him.
He appeared a few years older than Ashton, tall, handsome, and with a face that showed no expression.
Ashton guessed that this was what his father might have looked like as a child.
How could this be?
Ashton was furious.
His father had taken one of his many illegitimate children into the house.
He was trying to replace Ashton as the heir with this bastard child.
His late mother would have been heartbroken and fainted at the news.
Ashton couldn’t stand it.
“Don’t be ridiculous! This kid is the bastard child of his father, right? Where did you pick him up? This kid is going to take my place?”
“A bastard child? That can’t be. Where did you learn such bad words?”
His father asked in surprise.
To him, Ashton probably still appeared as the cute little boy who had once cried in his cradle.
Even though Ashton already knew worse words than this.
“How shameless! You think you, a bastard, could ever become the heir to the Duke’s family? How dare you eye my position!”
Ashton pointed his finger at the Alpha boy.
And he caught the boy looking at him with a disdainful expression.
Ashton had never been the recipient of such a gaze, and he was momentarily taken aback.
“Ashton, I understand why you’re angry. But you’ve always struggled with your studies, haven’t you? I’ve felt uneasy for a long time, burdening you with such a heavy responsibility. This decision is for your own good. The Duke’s title is, of course, yours. This child is just here to manage it for you. It hurts me that you don’t trust me…”
The Duke of Mills tried to soothe Ashton.
But Ashton, not paying attention to his words, immediately complained about the boy’s expression.
“Father! He glared at me!”
Ashton didn’t know how else to describe ‘that expression.’
“What?”
The Duke looked at Owen.
The Alpha boy, whom the Duke had brought, had returned to his original neutral expression.
He appeared slightly awkward when meeting the Duke’s gaze, like a servant caught up in a difficult situation for the master’s son.
His face, sculpted like a statue, had a serious aura, making him seem like someone incapable of lying.
The Duke sighed.
“Ashton. You should get along with your brother. What do you mean by ‘that one’? Didn’t I just tell you that you’re brothers from now on?”
The Duke didn’t believe Ashton’s words at all.
Ashton had often changed the situation in his favor, twisting the truth for his own convenience. But this time, Ashton was genuinely wronged.
“Look! He glared at me earlier! He’s pretending to be calm now that you’re looking, but he’s a fox!”
“Use nicer words. I think your etiquette teacher is the one to blame. Where did you learn such nasty words?”
“That guy! He glared at me!”
“Ah, that’s much better.”
The Duke nodded with satisfaction.
Ashton felt like he was about to explode with anger.
The Duke patted both Ashton’s and the Alpha boy’s shoulders.
“Ashton, listen. I’ve grown old. I’ve always felt sorry that you’ve been alone without a brother. Aila was a wonderful Duchess, but she was weak and couldn’t give you a sibling. But now, I’ve met such a wonderful child, and I’m happy to introduce him to you. You two may not get along like brothers born of the same mother right away, but as time goes on, you’ll see how good he is. Now, I’ll leave you two to it. Say hello.”
The Duke lightly pinched Ashton’s cheek and smiled before leaving.
As soon as the Duke was out of sight, Ashton glared at the unperturbed Alpha boy.
His eyes stung from not blinking, but he endured it.
He needed to make it clear to this boy that he was not welcome here.
However, the moment the Duke completely disappeared, the boy spoke.
“Idiot.”
And then the Alpha boy left.
Ashton stared at the back of the boy who was walking away from him.
What did he just say…?
“Hey! Hey! Don’t just walk off! Hey! You jerk! What did you just say to me?!”
The boy ignored him and kept walking.
Just then, his etiquette teacher, who had come to check on him for his lessons, was so shocked that she almost fainted, rushing to scold him.
“Sir! Where did you learn such rude words…!?”
“No, it wasn’t me! It was that jerk!”
“Sir!”
“That guy, no, that kid, he—he…!”
Ashton couldn’t even express his anger properly.
Is this what life is?
He struck his chest with his fists.
He felt so suffocated by the frustration and anger that it seemed to fill up his insides.
This was the day Ashton Mills first encountered a major obstacle in his life.
***
Ashton wasn’t one to give up easily.
Having a father who would eventually give in to his stubbornness, he had grown up as a child skilled at throwing tantrums.
However, this time, his father didn’t believe a word he said.
Owen was indeed a sly child.
He never showed his true colors to anyone, not even the servants.
The servants whispered among themselves, saying, “Sir Ashton really hates young Master Owen, doesn’t he?”
They also praised Owen for how maturely he handled Ashton’s outbursts and stubbornness.
“You can’t seem to get enough of trying to make trouble for your good older brother.”
When his father finally said this, Ashton cried out from his large bed in his room.
He hated his father for not believing him, and he hated the world.
How could he resolve this injustice?
It was he, not anyone else, who had lost his position as heir to a bastard showing up overnight.
But no one understood this hardship.
‘Am I the bad guy for picking on my good older brother?’
No one had explicitly said that, but in Ashton’s mind, his father’s voice had already transformed into something else.
‘Fine. If that’s the case, I’ll become the real bad guy.’
Ashton, being a child, thought like one and sobbed.
He was truly desperate.
Was he really going to lose the only thing he had to someone else, just because he was an Omega?
Ashton needed to change his father’s mind.
He decided to do what he knew best for his goal: to cause such a commotion that his father couldn’t help but pay attention.
He first declared it to his history teacher, who had come for his lesson.
“I’m not going to study!”
“Oh, is that so? That’s good news. After all, as an Omega, there’s no need for you to push yourself studying, Mr. Ashton.”
The history teacher left with a pleased expression.
Is this right?
Why isn’t he stopping me?
According to his plan, the history teacher should have run off in shock to report to his father, saying, “Master Ashton is causing a ruckus…”
He fidgeted behind the door.
Shouldn’t he at least pretend to stop me?
I just said I’m not going to study!
But by now, the teacher had already taken a step forward.
There was no turning back.
Next, Ashton declared in a dramatic fashion to his fencing teacher.
“I’m going to quit sword fighting!”
“Is that so? I’m glad you’ve finally given up. I’ve told you several times that sword fighting wasn’t right for someone with your fragile health.”
The fencing teacher left with a relieved look.
What’s going on?
Why does everyone seem to just disappear, as if they’ve been waiting for this moment?
Shouldn’t they show more interest in me?
Ashton was uneasy, but he decided to go all in with the rebellious act.
His father would soon realize that he had made a mistake.
And then, he would have to listen to Ashton’s words seriously.
He dropped all his studies.
He did everything his father had told him not to do.
He played with the servants, wandered outside, and strolled through the marketplace.
He mingled with commoners and even peeped into the back alleys.
Time passed…
And Ashton turned twenty-two.
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