After The Mission Failed, The Scumbag Alpha Ran Away - Chapter 4

4: Your Highness, It Seems Our Fate Has Arrived

Jiang Youbai lay sprawled across the seat, half-dead and listless. “It doesn’t matter. This is nothing.”

Chi Ruo, seeing her like this, was furious. “Get up! Get up right now! How can you say it doesn’t matter when he’s humiliating you like this?”

Jiang Youbai responded weakly, “It really doesn’t matter. Him trampling over me isn’t a one-time or two-time thing—it’s been ten, twenty years. What’s the big deal?”

Chi Ruo grew even angrier. “You’ve become numb to it!”

Jiang Youbai waved her hand. “Let me sleep first. I’m exhausted.”

“You can’t sleep yet. There’s a banquet tonight that you have to attend. The Prime Minister’s wife personally sent the invitation.”

Jiang Youbai sat up with a slight sigh. “From now on, these social gatherings will only become more frequent.”

“Knowing how busy these engagements are, yet you still run around everywhere,” Chi Ruo mocked. “The Prime Minister’s family has a young Omega who presented around the same time as you. Whether it’s the Prime Minister’s family, or some duke’s or senator’s, you’re now a coveted prize everyone wants a bite of.”

Forcing herself to stay alert, Jiang Youbai sat up and began handling official business on the aircraft.

After her presentation, the Emperor had dumped a pile of miscellaneous tasks on her under the pretext that she “should start sharing his burdens.” These tasks weren’t necessarily difficult but were time-consuming and mentally draining, with no real authority attached—purely meant to wear her down.

Chi Ruo started the aircraft. “Your uncle is ruthless. Not only does he grind you down, but he also does the same to his own children. The Crown Prince is already in his forties, pushing fifty, and his sons are more numerous than his father’s, yet he’s still stuck managing botanical gardens, zoos, and planetariums. Who knows if this long-lost Alpha child can gain any advantage under his rule.”

Jiang Youbai chuckled, circling a section on a form about trash can placements in the lower districts while replying, “No one will. No one can snatch even a sliver of power from my uncle’s hands.”

The Emperor, in his old age, had turned the decisiveness and wisdom of his youth into suspicion and paranoia. His ascension to the throne had been marred by rumors of patricide and fratricide, and now, faced with ambitious young heirs, he couldn’t help but project his own past onto them.

If a father could kill for the throne, so could a son.

Thus, in recent years, the one who had suffered the Emperor’s suppression the most wasn’t Jiang Youbai, but the Crown Prince.

Jiang Youbai drew a circle on the form. “A while back, the Crown Prince misspoke, and the Emperor was so furious he assigned two tutors—meant for teenage royals—to teach him. Can you imagine? A man nearly fifty, forced to recite arithmetic sequences.”

Such matters were usually kept under wraps, and this was the first Chi Ruo had heard of it. She was stunned. “Your uncle has become this petty?!”

By the time Jiang Youbai finished handling the trivial tasks, dusk had begun to settle. Chi Ruo took her to change into formal attire before heading to the Prime Minister’s residence for the banquet.

When they arrived, the banquet was already in full swing. Fortunately, it was customary for high-ranking guests to arrive late, so their timing wasn’t too off.

The Prime Minister’s residence was lavishly decorated, the grand hall glittering under brilliant lights as nobles mingled and laughed. The moment Jiang Youbai and Chi Ruo entered side by side, a group immediately approached to strike up conversation.

Chi Ruo was a Beta, but as a young heir to her mother’s dukedom and a member of the upper house with considerable influence, she was a promising figure. Many young Omegas were quite taken with her.

After exchanging pleasantries all the way in, both were mentally and physically exhausted.

By the time they reached the Prime Minister’s wife, Chi Ruo had already downed six or seven glasses of wine.

The Prime Minister’s wife was on the second floor, having tea with several noblewomen. Seeing their state, she teased, “Her Highness the Princess and Miss Chi are both such outstanding talents. No wonder the young Omegas are so enthusiastic.”

Chi Ruo was itching to kick something in frustration but restrained herself, remembering this was a gathering of noblewomen.

She subtly nudged Jiang Youbai. “You flatter us, Madam. Today, I’m just Her Highness’s plus-one. The real star is the Princess.”

Noble matchmaking often involved gathering young people and noblewomen for banquets and private interactions under the guise of fostering social connections—ostensibly for reputation’s sake, but in reality, it was a tedious affair requiring half an hour of small talk alone.

Jiang Youbai sat on a single sofa at a polite distance, engaging the noblewomen with warm smiles and witty remarks, charming the entire group effortlessly.

Chi Ruo watched from the side, deeply impressed by Jiang Youbai’s ease.

It takes twenty years of being teased by elders to develop this skill.

The conversation was meaningless, and soon enough, the Prime Minister’s young Omega son would make his appearance.

But after three rounds of tea and Jiang Youbai starting to recycle her jokes, the noblewomen grew restless, and the Prime Minister’s son was still nowhere to be seen.

As the servants brought the fourth pot of tea, the Prime Minister’s wife asked, “Where is Yunze? Where is he now?”

A servant hesitated. “The young master hasn’t appeared at all.”

The Prime Minister’s wife’s smile stiffened. “And you didn’t go look for him?”

Chi Ruo quickly interjected, “Ah, why don’t His Highness and I go search? With us juniors here, the ladies can’t talk freely.”

Without waiting for the Prime Minister’s wife’s approval, Chi Ruo stood and pulled Jiang Youbai away.

Not daring to pass through the main hall, they slipped out through a side staircase.

Chi Ruo grumbled, “What ‘couldn’t find him’? Ten to one, the Prime Minister’s son is refusing to come, dragging his feet to slight us. If he doesn’t want to come, fine, but my backside is sore from sitting.”

The side staircase led to an exquisite garden filled with plants unique to Pandora.

Chi Ruo glanced around. “A few years ago, the Prime Minister’s residence still had fruit trees from Earth. Now it’s all immigrant planet flora. Your uncle has really put the noble families through the wringer.”

As they strolled through the garden, whispering, Chi Ruo, slightly dizzy from the wine, went to the lounge to rest.

Left alone, Jiang Youbai lingered in the garden, unwilling to return to the nobles’ idle chatter, and decided to explore.

The night breeze carried the scent of flowers, and away from the banquet’s noise, the garden was serene and beautiful.

Jiang Youbai paused to admire the exotic blooms when faint sobbing reached her ears.

The sound was mournful and frightened, as if someone was struggling desperately against a muffled grip.

The mingled scents of Alpha and Omega pheromones drifted through the floral air. Given the circumstances, it was likely an Omega being forced by an Alpha.

Jiang Youbai frowned. As a newly presented Alpha, she was highly susceptible to Omega pheromones triggering her rut. Without suppressants on hand—Alphas rarely carried them—the best course was to alert the Prime Minister’s staff.

But doing so would inevitably cause a scene, which wouldn’t be good for the Omega involved.

With a quiet sigh, Jiang Youbai followed the pheromone trail.

A strong metallic tang of bl00d mixed with floral and pheromone scents hit her nostrils, stark against the night’s quiet.

Jiang Youbai’s heart sank.

She quickened her pace and saw a tall Alpha lying on the pebbled path, his throat slit, gasping hoarsely as his body twitched sporadically.

Nearby, a male Omega—likely the Prime Minister’s son, Ning Yunze—sat on the ground, stunned and terrified, tear tracks on his face.

Following Ning Yunze’s gaze, Jiang Youbai spotted another Omega crouched in the flowerbed.

The pheromones and bl00d grew thicker, stirring a restless heat in Jiang Youbai’s chest—the primal urge to claim an Omega.

Suppressing her Alpha instincts, she stepped forward.

Pandora had two moons. Under their silvery light, Jiang Youbai finally saw the figure in the flowers clearly.

“Lou Huaiche.”

Lou Huaiche was on her knees, one hand braced against the ground, her face hidden by cascading black hair. Even in disarray, her posture was arrestingly alluring.

Jiang Youbai caught the scent of citrus and cedarwood—a light, pleasant woody fragrance.

Hearing her name, Lou Huaiche slowly lifted her head. Half her face was splattered with bl00d, droplets falling like crimson petals as she moved.

Under the moonlight, the stark contrast between the bl00d and her porcelain skin was breathtakingly fierce.

A drop must have landed in her eye, for Lou Huaiche blinked, madness flashing in her amber gaze.

Recognizing Jiang Youbai, Lou Huaiche swayed to her feet, a dagger glinting coldly in her hand.

Dangerously, devastatingly beautiful.

Jiang Youbai narrowed her eyes. Her heartbeat seemed to slow, steeped in the intoxicating blend of moonlight and bl00d.

Under the Emperor’s watchful tyranny, amid the nobles’ hollow pleasantries, behind her gentle facade—the madness buried in her bones finally surfaced.

Lou Huaiche lunged, pressing the blade to Jiang Youbai’s throat.

Her voice was icy, laced with venom. “Your Highness, it seems our fate ends here.”