Bondage and Marriage - 63

“Gabriel… is that what you said?”

Noah was a little surprised by the unexpected name. He had thought Gabriel had given up after sending persistent threatening messages for a long time and then recently becoming less frequent. Still, how Gabriel had gotten the address to this mansion was a mystery. There was no way the Frost family would have shared it. Well, it didn’t matter how Gabriel found the address, so Noah decided to set that aside for now and thought about it.

Visitors to the mansion were divided into two groups. Those who were invited, and those who came without an invitation. The former were greeted warmly, but the latter would be stopped at the front gate by the guards and kicked out. Or, if they entered illegally, they would be handed over to the police.

“Noah-sama’s French tutor, Gabriel, says he had an appointment in advance. What should we do?”

“Ah…”

Noah paused for a moment. If it wasn’t a pre-arranged appointment, the servant would have no hesitation in kicking Gabriel out. And he would likely be blacklisted, unable to come near the mansion again. But… Noah couldn’t shake off a feeling of unease. Gabriel, like Ian, was someone who didn’t know his true nature. So, given the lingering guilt Noah felt about Ian, he couldn’t just ignore Gabriel.

Of course, Noah felt no guilt toward Gabriel. Gabriel had never been kind to him, and while it was never spoken, it was clear that Gabriel had a history before Noah came into the picture.

Ian had also tormented Noah, but at least… unlike Gabriel, Ian didn’t cross the line into criminal behavior. After all, Ian was Noah’s spouse. (Though, of course, just because someone is a spouse doesn’t mean it’s okay to torment them; at least Ian had given Noah a choice. If Noah didn’t like it, he could leave the mansion…)

Additionally, while Ian’s actions couldn’t be justified, he had at least had a reason and a purpose for seeking revenge on Tanner. He wasn’t like Gabriel, who took pleasure in seeing others genuinely suffer. Ah, it’s true that Ian hadn’t enjoyed his time with Noah, but…

If we were to compare, neither of them could be considered good people, but if Noah had to choose between the two, Gabriel was someone from the past. Noah had standards when it came to enjoying time with others. There were people like Dmitri, whom Noah should never have been with, people like Gabriel who weren’t exactly dangerous but weren’t the best to be around, and people like Alex, who were good to enjoy time with. And then there was Ian…

“Noah-sama?”

Noah’s thoughts about Ian were interrupted by the servant’s question. Hmm, what to do now? He decided to at least try having a conversation. Since Noah didn’t know if Gabriel had any obsessive or stalker-like tendencies—having known him for years without noticing them—Noah wanted to understand the situation better before proceeding.

“Sorry, I forgot to mention earlier that I already have an appointment. It was an old appointment…”

“Then I’ll escort the guest to the reception room.”

Noah nodded to the servant and stood up. His current appearance wasn’t suitable for greeting a guest, so he decided to change clothes. Since Gabriel likely hadn’t expected Noah to greet him right away, Noah took his time and leisurely made his way to the reception room. After changing, Noah opened the door to the reception room and saw a familiar face.

“It’s been a while, Gabriel-sensei.”

“Noah-dono. How have you been?”

Gabriel looked quite different from when Noah had seen him last. His hair, which used to be neatly short, was now long enough to be described as hippie-like, and he had lost weight, making his eyes appear sharper. Considering it had been three months since Noah had last seen him, it was a noticeable change.

Gabriel casually approached and gave Noah a cheek kiss (*a kiss on the cheek). Normally, people just brush cheeks or give a light kiss, but this time, as Gabriel kissed the side of Noah’s cheek, out of the servant’s sight, Noah flinched. Did he just lick him? It wasn’t quite a kiss on the lips, but…

Noah hesitated for a moment, then suppressed the urge to rub his cheek and suggested that Gabriel sit on the sofa. Gabriel sat very politely. As he took a sip of the tea the servant had brought, he casually asked in French:

[Have you been studying French much lately?]

Noah thought for a moment about whether he should respond as he usually did, but then decided to humor Gabriel. After all, Gabriel had changed so much since before, so he wanted to get a sense of the situation.

[Why are you here?]

[It seems like you’ve been quite busy with your honeymoon, so I thought you might have missed my messages.]

Noah had seen those messages many times. Too many times. Eventually, he just saved a few and deleted the rest because the content became repetitive. He hadn’t been able to understand why Gabriel had suddenly started sending threatening messages this time, given that he used to hate leaving any evidence.

[I’m no longer “Noah-dono.”]

[No, to me, you will always be “Noah-dono.”]

Gabriel said with a smile, his tone as gentle as if speaking to a pupil. But Noah noticed that Gabriel’s eyes gleamed ominously. Noah had been his tutor before and had received far more money than he would have earned at any ordinary home, so money wasn’t the issue… So the only remaining factor was Gabriel’s secret “private tutoring.”

[What do you want, sensei?]

[There’s only one thing I want. Your French skills seem to have deteriorated since you haven’t been studying, so I would like to resume my private tutoring with you.]

Noah was briefly tempted by the mention of private tutoring. After all, lately, Ian had been far too… excessively… kind to him. But he was still married to Ian. Even after moving out, Noah had no intention of contacting Gabriel again, let alone bringing him into his married life. That would clearly be cheating.

[That… is not possible. I don’t need a French tutor right now.]

Noah said, maintaining a polite smile as he tried to handle the situation quietly. Gabriel closed his eyes for a moment and then smiled again. But his words were the complete opposite of his expression.

[Would you like me to show your father and the Alpha that picture?]

[What are you talking about…]

[No Alpha likes an Omega with a stain in their past. If you refuse, I’ll gladly go to prison and sell this story to the press. “The youngest son of the Frost family, sexually abused by his tutor for four years…” The reporters would love that.]

Noah’s smile faded slightly. That… would be troublesome, but Gabriel seemed to underestimate both the Frost and Miller families. While Ian might let it slide, his father would never allow anyone to harm his precious youngest son. In fact, they might be happier if Gabriel ended up in prison…

And the media knows there are topics they publish and topics they don’t. They know it’s more profitable to sell the person who provided the story to the Frost family rather than publishing the article about the Frost family.

It was when Noah decided to stop playing along with Gabriel that the door to the reception room suddenly opened without a knock. Now, Noah could tell who it was without even looking. He was the only person in this mansion who didn’t have to knock. Gabriel’s face stiffened a bit.

“I didn’t know there was a guest.”

“Ah… Ian.”

It seemed like Ian had returned at the perfect time. For a moment, Noah was distracted by the sweet scent coming from the shopping bag Ian was carrying. It smelled like something with whipped cream…

“Hello, I’m Gabriel Hooper, Noah’s former French tutor.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Ian gave Gabriel a quick look up and down before shaking his hand lightly. Noah rolled his eyes a bit. Ian likely knew French, so having an honest conversation with Gabriel now would be… quite inappropriate. Noah didn’t want Ian to find out about his various preferences. He decided to postpone his conversation with Gabriel and answered a little hastily.

“Well, I’ll end the conversation for today… Teacher. Let’s meet again this week.”

“I understand. It’s getting late. I’ll leave now.”

When Noah said they would meet again this week, Gabriel’s eyes seemed to flicker for a moment. His look was almost manic, but it seemed like only Noah noticed. Gabriel was very skilled at secretly tormenting others.

Noah muttered to himself that he couldn’t just leave Gabriel like this. He hadn’t thought about it when he got married suddenly, but now that he wasn’t Gabriel’s student anymore, someone else would likely be tormented by him. It had been a source of enjoyment for Noah, but he knew it was violent torture for those who didn’t have sadistic tendencies. The next time they met, he needed to make sure Gabriel couldn’t teach anyone again.

After sending Gabriel off, Noah stared at the dessert Ian was holding with sparkling eyes. It was still far from dinner time, so maybe this wasn’t dessert but just a snack. Sure enough, Ian handed Noah a small shopping bag, and when Noah checked, it contained a cake covered in whipped cream. He asked the servant to bring tea.

As Noah spent more time enjoying desserts with Ian, Ian had begun to eat sweets more often. Noah thought that Ian was gradually developing a taste for them. After all, there were very few people who didn’t like sweets. Just as giraffes eat grass and tigers eat meat, people are born to instinctively want sweets…

“That person was your French tutor, right?”

“Yes… I think my French has gotten worse, so I asked the person who taught me before to come again.”

Noah made an excuse but added cautiously, knowing Ian probably wouldn’t want anyone else in the mansion. He quickly added, “If you don’t want it, I’ll cancel.” Ian didn’t seem pleased, so if he said no, it was to be expected. Still, it wouldn’t be a big issue for Noah. He could always meet Gabriel outside the mansion, where there wouldn’t be anyone watching. In fact, meeting outside would be better since Noah wouldn’t have to worry about Ian. But Ian’s response was different from what Noah expected.

“If you want to learn, you should learn.”

As Noah thought, Ian didn’t like having Gabriel in the mansion. Ian behaved politely, but there was something about him that seemed uncomfortable.

However, since Gabriel was neither an alpha nor a beta, but an omega, Ian couldn’t really say anything about it. Just like female alphas weren’t attracted to other female alphas, male omegas weren’t attracted to other male omegas. Moreover, Ian had no choice but to be generous toward Noah lately. When Noah was around, Ian’s heart softened endlessly.

“If you’re having a tutor, you should tell the servants beforehand. They need to prepare.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Noah, unusually obedient when dessert was involved, responded calmly. He decided he should call Gabriel tomorrow or the day after. He needed to have lessons and discuss things in the study. He’d gather some evidence too…

As Noah slowly ate the cake with a fork, thinking about his conversation with Gabriel, Ian stared at him silently, seemingly lost in thought. It looked like jealousy… but still, Noah thought it was better this way. Ian mumbled to himself.